Chapter 2: The training begins

The next morning in Knothole, Gandar prepared to train the young children. Wanting to be merciful the first time out, he let them sleep until 9am. Not surprisingly, it wouldn't matter. Nobody got much sleep, especially Sonic. He could not stop tossing and turning, thinking about how much he missed his family and wanted to avenge. Sally on the other hand cried herself to sleep, but could get no more than 4-5 hours at best. Like with Sonic, her mind was a whirlwind, constantly in turmoil.

At 8:30 am, Sally could not sleep another wink, now getting up to brush her hair in a mirror on her nightstand stilled dressed in her nightgown. As she did so, she remembered what Sonic told her the night before.

"Just follow your heart, Sal."

After those words buzzed in her head for a good couple of minutes, her portable super computer named Nicole that was currently placed nearby abruptly turned on, asking, "You seem to be deep in thought about something, Princess. May I ask what it is?"

At first Sally was taken back that Nicole could sense her emotional distress. Nevertheless, she answered nonchalantly, "Just doing a lot of soul searching, Nicole."

"Of what exactly?"

Feeling too embarrassed to tell her directly, Sally instead responded, "You'll find out soon enough. So will everyone else. Let's just leave it at that."

Not wanting to press the issue, Nicole said, "Fair enough." She then added, "I know this may sound hard to believe, but I do understand what you're going through more than you think. You can always talk to me if something is troubling you."

As expected, Sally found that response of her super computer very confusing. So, she just said instead to not be rude, "I… appreciate that, Nicole, but I must handle this one on my own."

"As you wish, Princess."

From that moment on, Nicole did not talk again, as she let Sally continue to get lost in her thoughts. Once more, her childhood friend's words ran through her mind. It soon struck a chord with her to the point she said now with determination in her eyes, "I will indeed, Sonic. It's time I stopped acting like a damsel princess and do whatever it takes to help the cause."

And with those words, she did just that. She soon undid the braids in her hair, now letting her long hair down fully. She then looked at her nightgown, getting ready to change out of it. However, as she did, she asked herself with fear and hesitation on her face, "Can I really do this? Can I really just toss aside my princess heritage?"

After pondering this for a bit, she soon toughened up, saying to herself, "It must be done. No turning back now."

While she did that, the other children in Knothole ironically woke up early as well. Neither of them could sleep in either due to their broken hearts. Besides Sonic, Sally, Antoine and the three Seedrian children, there was her best friend Bunnie, a commoner rabbit girl in Mobotropolis. Unlike Sally, Bunnie was not one for fashion or girly attire. In fact, Bunnie didn't wear anything. She just felt more comfortable in her fur. Bunnie wasn't the only who shared that sentiment. Next to Sally, her next closest friend was a forest green hedgehog named Clover, a naturist girl also bestowed with super speed as well as being able to harness a plant like attack. Ironically enough, Clover lived in a forest before being escaping to Knothole along with her two-year-old little sister Blossom. They were sadly the only ones of their family to escape Robotnik's raid three months ago.

Last, but certainly not least, there was Rotor, a purple walrus with two moderate sized tusks on his face. Like with the others, none of his family escaped the raid. Unlike the others however, he was one who had a fascination for technology, even at five years old. Unknown to the four adults running Knothole, he had wanted to learn more about Sir Charles' work through Renee. Ironically enough, he would soon get his chance to do so.

As planned, Gandar gathered most of the children together at 9am, letting them eat a special breakfast of eggs and hash browns made by Rosie herself. Ironically, the only one who didn't show up was Sally. Gandar was about to call her to come out, but Rosie asked him to let her be until after breakfast due to yesterday's horrible events. And so, he did.

Once breakfast was done, Gandar addressed the other children, saying with authority, "All right, young ones, listen carefully to what I have to say."

As soon as he had their attention, he added, "I know you're all still upset about everything that's happened. However, after much discussion, we realize it's in our and your best interest to begin training you for future Freedom Fighter missions."

Not surprisingly, the news horrified most of them. Only Sonic seemed to relish the thought.

"You cannot be serious." Antoine protested in fear. "We are just a bunch of young kids. We don't know the first thing about fighting."

"That's why I'm going to train you now so you will know how to." Gandar affirmed to him. While this caused most of the young children to stir among themselves, he soon quieted them adding, "Look, I don't like doing this anymore than you do, but it must be done. We have a big situation on our hands, and you need to be ready for anything."

"You're not gonna be mean to us about it, are ya?" Bunnie asked, still nervous about the whole idea.

"Of course not." Gandar answered reassuringly. "I will be fair, but also very tough on you all. I will only push you as hard as you need to be. I promise you that, so I want you to promise me you'll trust me on this and not complain about it."

Not surprisingly, none of the kids other than Sonic wanted to answer him. The thought of being pushed hard scared most of them. When he pressed them about it, they all said with reluctant nod, "Ok then, we promise."

"Good. So, from this point on, I expect you to call me sir, understand? I am your sergeant now and we will have order and discipline when it comes to your training. Do I make myself clear?"

Again, most of the kids did not answer him. He then shouted louder, "I SAID, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

That got their attention, as they soon whelped in fear, replying, "Yes, sir."

Rosie gave him a small frown, as she did not want him using that tone with them. Gandar though brushed it off, saying, "Ok, now then, I think it's time for our last recruit to join us. Rosie, go get Princess Sally at once."

"That won't be necessary, sir." said a voice from a familiar hut.

Before anyone could respond, Sally finally came out. However, she came out much differently than anyone expected. It not only got looks from the young children, but even the adults as well

"What's everyone staring at?" Sally asked nonchalantly.

"Young lady, why are you… dressed like that?" Rosie interrogated still in disbelief. "This is so not like you."

"It's my new look." Sally answered firmly. "Considering the circumstances, I think it fits perfectly."

Gandar was at a loss for words. Even Sonic could not believe what he was seeing.

"Why is everyone making a big deal about this?" the squirrel princess asked, now getting annoyed by their constant glances at her.

"Look, Princess, I um… can understand now wanting to get your royal clothes dirty." Gandar said, not trying to stare. "But… did you really have to come out of here… umm… you know..."

Sally could not take this charade any longer. She then yelled in frustration, "YES, I'M NAKED NOW! SO WHAT?!"

Indeed she was, from head to toe. Back in her hut, Sally had made up her mind she was no longer going to look or act like a princess. She was now going to be like her friends, in both attitude and appearance, thus shedding her royal garments earlier.

"Why are you getting so flustered about this anyway?" Sally asked again. "Bunnie and Clover aren't wearing any clothes either and I don't see you making a fuss over it."

"That's different." Gandar argued. "They're common folk. You're a princess."

"I must agree." Rosie chimed in. "You should not be degrading yourself like this."

Sally though wouldn't budge. She now looked Gandar in the eye, saying, "As of this moment, I am no longer a princess and request that you don't treat me like one. I am just like the rest now."

This again caused Gandar and Rosie to be at a loss for words. Sonic finally spoke up, asking, "Yo, Sal. What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just doing what you told me to, Sonic." The young squirrel answered firmly. "You said follow my heart. Well, that's what

I'm doing. I'm now going to toughen up and help out anyway I can."

Before Sonic could answer her, Rosie tried to reason with her once more, asking, "Sally dear, are you sure you want to do it like this though? You could at least wear a t-shirt for this training."

Again, Sally wouldn't budge. "No." She answered her nanny with firm shake of her head. "I must do this like my friends. I am on the same level as they are now, both in body and spirit."

Ironically, Bunnie and Clover were both touched by Sally's humbleness to be on their level as friends. Gandar meanwhile took Rosie aside, saying, "I don't like this at all. It's just… too awkward. I wasn't expecting Sally to train in her princess dress, but completely naked? You seriously need to talk some sense into her."

After a long ponder, Rosie finally answered him," Well, she's only five years old now. Maybe it's just a phase she's going through. So, do this for now: Humor her for the time being until she gets older." As Gandar pondered this over, Rosie added, "Plus, she is right. You don't have any problems with Bunnie and Clover not wearing any clothes during their training, so why not allow Sally to do it as well? What could it hurt?"

Realizing Rosie did have a point, Gandar finally sighed in defeat, saying, "Very well then."

He soon returned to look at Sally and said to her boldly, "I'm not for this at all, but since you insist on being treated like the others, I will do just that. I shall be as tough on you as I will be with them."

"That's fine with me." Sally acknowledged, now grabbing her right paw foot to stretch her leg from behind. "As I said before, I am no longer a princess, so do what you must, sir."

"Very well then." Gandar said with a nod. "Let the training begin…"

And so began the first of many drills Sonic and his young friends would be put through. After Rosie escorted the Seedrian children to a place where they could be trained to their strengths, the others now awaited to see what the training would include.

The first part of it, not surprisingly, was calisthenics to get their blood going and have them mentally sharp. It was not your run of the mill calisthenics either, but a long and grueling one of nearly every single one, ranging from lunges, jumping jacks, pull ups on tall monkey bars, pushups, sit-ups, even doing sit-ups while upside down using their legs to push them up and down. Gandar went to no expense to get them mentally and physically ready for the harder drills yet to come. Sally soon found that out the hard way, as her new choice in life would not come without growing pains. She was not used to doing rigorous exercises, let alone doing them in her bare fur. Nevertheless, she pushed on through, determined not to quit after making her bold speech earlier.

"That's right, kids." Gandar said in a tone of authority as they did their calisthenics. "I want to see you to do fifty jumping

jacks in a row. No slacking off!"

As expected, some did better than others. Sonic thrived in it, doing any exercise thrown at him with near ease. Bunnie as well as Clover showed they had a lot of heart as well for their age, keeping a good pace during the exercise lessons. Even Sally soon showed for once a princess of royalty, she could keep just about as good of a pace. The ones who didn't do so well were not that surprising. Antoine and Rotor just did not have the athletic ability and heart of the others. It soon began to annoy Gandar to no end.

He soon narrowed his gaze on Antoine and Rotor, telling them firmly, "Unless you two have a good excuse for lagging behind, I strongly suggest you pick up the pace ASAP!"

Rotor then spoke up, saying, "Uh, you know, sir, I do believe I have one.." adding sheepishly, "sorta anyway."

"And what would that be?" Gandar demanded of him, giving the purple walrus the evil eye.

"Uh, well, you see, sir… I think my strong point is building stuff and learning electronics." Rotor explained nervously. "So, I'd like your permission to be excused of these training exercises and do that instead."

Gandar was about to lower the boom on him for his answer, when Renee spoke up instead, who had been watching the whole thing, saying, "You know, now that I think about it, I could use an assistant to help me with my work."

"Are you serious?" Gandar demanded of her. "He's only a child. He could get seriously hurt working around those things."

"Well, let's try it for a day." The red haired fox proposed. "I'll find out soon enough if he's not fit to work in a tech lab with me."

Realizing it would be one less child to give him a headache for the day, the olive-green lion rolled his eyes in defeat, "Oh, fine… one day won't hurt I suppose." He then looked Rotor in the eye and said, "All right, you heard her, son. Now get going!"

Rotor didn't have to be told twice, as he soon ran off with Renee in tow towards Sir Charles' lab. Once they were out of sight, he finally zeroed in on Antoine, saying, "And what's your excuse for not keeping a steady pace?"

Antoine not surprisingly didn't have one. Instead, he tried to play on his emotions, saying, "Well, sir, I'm just not cut out to be a Freedom Fighter. I don't have the heart and skills to be as good as my father. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's the truth."

Also not surprisingly, Gandar would not budge this time, shouting, "Don't pull that garbage with me, son!"

Antoine nearly jumped out of his shoes at his booming voice. Gandar then added, getting in his face, "Now look, you, I understand losing your father was very hard on you and you have my sympathy for that. However, that doesn't mean I'm going to let you disgrace his good name with your cowardly excuses either. I expect you to do your best, and I know you aren't even trying to."

Antoine could not even answer him on that. Instead, Gandar kept the pressure on him, saying, "I will make a solider out of you yet, like it or lump it. Do you understand?"

Realizing he was in a no win situation, Antoine sheepishly nodded his head.

"Good." He then turned to the others, saying, "all right, no more standing around. Let's get back to work!"

And with that, the training continued. Once the calisthenics were over, they were put through boot camp drills after a short recess. The first one was a mile run around Knothole to work on their agility and stamina. Since Clover and Sonic were bestowed with super speed, they would run separately after the others. Antoine, along with Bunnie and Sally would go first.

"Alright, now I want you to give me your very best." Gandar told them. "On your mark, get set, go!" He immediately blew a whistle right after saying that, and the run was on.

Like before, it would be anything but easy, as they had to run on not only grass, but dirt as well, even having to jump over fallen tree stumps as part of it.

"Mah stars, this is exhausting." Bunnie exclaimed gasping for air while running around.

"You're telling me." Sally chimed in while also panting heavily. "My feet are killing me."

Gandar though wouldn't ease on them, saying, "C'mon now, pick up the pace! Remember the old saying, "No pain, no gain."

"That's easy for him to say." Antoine muttered indignant while trailing far behind. "He's not running with us."

Once again, Gandar was getting annoyed at the young coyote lagging behind. He soon shouted at him, "You know you can do better that, son! Make your father proud. Show him how tough you can really be!"

That sadly only made Antoine less motivated, as he was tired of his sergeant putting this much pressure on him. Eventually, they finished the run, with Sally beating Bunnie by five feet. Gandar at this point could not help be impressed by the young squirrel's determination.

"You got a lot of heart, Princess." Gandar told her. "Even if I'm against you training like this, if it makes you work this hard, then maybe it's not such a bad idea after all."

"Thank you, sir." Sally answered, trying to catch her breath. "And please, just call me Sally. I don't want any royal titles."

Before Gandar could answer her back, Bunnie asked, "Hey, what about me?"

"Oh yea… sorry." The olive-green lion muttered sheepishly. "Good job, young rabbit. You got some strong legs there I can see."

Bunnie could only giggle at that remark, saying, "Hey, it's in my genes after all."

Thirty seconds later, Antoine crossed the line. Gandar could not even congratulate him. Instead, he shook his head in disappointment.

"What? I tried hard this time!" he exclaimed frustrated. "I REALLY DID!"

"No, you didn't, son." Gandar retorted, now more saddened than angry with him. "I can tell when someone is trying. I have recruited many solders in the past. I can read their body language and eyes. And yours is one of defeat. You don't want to be here, nor do you even want to try to live up to your father's good name. You just don't care. It's time for you to stop pretending and admit that."

At this point, Antoine could not take his sharp tongue anymore. He then kicked dirt in his sergeant's face, shouting with rage, "That is it! I've had enough of this! I'm tired of you kicking me around like a dog!"

"Don't you talk back to me, son!" Gandar roared with indignation after rubbing his eyes. "I am your sergeant and you will respect me. I'm doing this for your own good."

Antoine though would have none of it, as he stormed off in disgust.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Away from you." The young coyote declared at him. "Go find yourself another sap to order around. I QUIT!"

"You get back here before I do something I'll regret!" Gandar ordered. "I will not have you disrespecting your father's reputation with your childish antics."

Antoine finally turned around and glared at him angrily. "Who are you to talk about respect when you don't even bother to join in our own training? You're not even setting a good example for us to follow." This statement ironically left the olive-green lion speechless, as Antoine added, "Also, If you knew anything about my father, he was a man of great compassion, something you clearly don't have!"

Again, Gandar had nothing to say in response. In a way, he knew Antoine was right. He sadly had not shown much compassion during the training. Before he could find a good answer for that, Antoine stormed back to his hut. Gandar at once tried to talk with him. However, he bumped into Rosie, who was now heading back.

"Oh, Gandar. How's the training going?"

"Not as good as I had hoped." Not wanting to explain, he asked her, "So, did you find a way to utilize those Seedrian children's abilities?"

"I sure did." Sally's nanny answered with a smile. "Turns out, they get stronger by absorbing a lot of sunlight and water. So, I just told them to soak in as much as they can to help us keep our home full of healthy trees and plants."

"Glad to hear it." Gandar remarked softly. "At least they're putting their skills to good use."

So, um… what exactly happened during your training?" Rosie inquired.

"Yea, I think I might have been too hard on Antoine." He replied sheepishly.

"Goodness, why did you do that?" Rosie asked with a frown. "You told me you were going to be fair with them when pushing them."

"I thought I was… but, I guess I was expecting too much from him all things considered." Gandar said with a sigh. "I get the feeling he's dealing with a lot of bitterness from the way he talks about his father."

Rosie now looked at him disappointed. "Yes, Antoine has been very depressed since his father passed. The past few months, he hasn't even eaten much either. I think it's really weighing on him losing the one he respected so much."

"I suppose I should asked you for your personal advice on how to handle the children before the training since you know them better than I do."

"Yes, you should have, Gandar." She told him firmly. "However, what done is done. I think you should let Antoine be for now and make up with him tomorrow. For now, just ease up a bit on the other children. It's only their first day of training after

all."

"You're right. I do need to start them off slow and work it up the level I truly expect from them." The olive-green lion acknowledged. "Ok then, you have my word I won't push them too hard from this point on. I don't want them to get discouraged and quit."

"Good for you." Rosie said with approval. "Ok then, go ahead and continue their training. I'll try to talk with Antoine after he cools down a bit."

"Yes, ma'am." And with that, Gandar walked back to the other kids.

"Everything ok?" Bunnie asked concerned.

"Not exactly." Gandar explained. "Antoine won't be training with us for the rest of the day."

"That's not fair." Sally muttered. "He should be pulling his weight like the rest of us."

"Yes, you're right, Princ… I mean, Sally, but Antoine doesn't seem to have that determination like you have. Maybe one day he will. In the meantime, I just want you to know from this point on, I'm going to be setting a much better example for you once we do the next drill."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked, now curious.

"Well, I haven't done my part to train with you." Gandar explained to him with guilt in his eyes. "After all, I am your sergeant. I need to show you how it's done."

"Yea, I was going to ask why you weren't joining in." Sally said sheepishly, "But I just thought it was best to suck it up for now and ask another time."

"Well, rest assured, I won't be doing that any longer." Gandar stated. "We are a team and I will lead you as best as I know how."

After hearing that, the children couldn't help but smile, as they felt he wasn't just lording over them now.

"Ok then, enough of this sappy stuff. Sonic, Clover. It's your turn to run. And since you two have super speed, I want you to race each other for ten miles around Knothole. Do your best and may the best hedgehog win."

"You got it, chief." The blue hedgehog with a thumbs up. He soon looked at Clover, saying, "You ready to eat my dust, girl?"

"We'll just see about that, boy." Clover answered with the same confidence.

Gandar then held a starting flag, shouting, "On your mark, get set, GO!"

Once the flag fell, Sonic and Clover revved up their legs and blasted off, running against each other with great competitiveness, trading the lead back and forth.

"Whoa, look at them go." Bunnie exclaimed watching excited.

"Wow, I didn't know Clover had that kind of speed in her." The young squirrel remarked. "She seems to be really in her zone."

"Hee hee, sounds like Sugarhog might have found a kindred spirit." Bunnie quipped, teasing Sally about her friendship. Sally was tempted to retort back, but decided to let it go this time.

Within two minutes, Sonic and Clover finished their run, with Sonic barely edging her at the line. It was a photo finish to say the least.

"Mah stars, did you see that? Clover girl nearly beat Sugarhog."

"She's a lot faster than I give her credit." Sally stated impressed.

Even Sonic was impressed as well. He then looked at Clover while trying to catch his breath, "Dang, you got a lot of guts, girl. I thought I was going to blow you into the weeds.

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm a female." The forest green hedgehog answered with a sly smirk. "I can be just as tough as you are."

"I can see that. Well, I look forward to racing you again." Sonic told her, now extending his hand to shake hers.

Clover soon extended her hand as well, as the two of them now mutual respect for each other. Gandar meanwhile soon walked up, clapping at the results of their race.

"Well done, you two." He said with a warm smile. "Now that's what I call heart. I hope to see more of that in the next drill."

"What is the next drill?" Bunnie inquired out of curiosity.

"One of the toughest of your training sessions today: The obstacle course."

As the children looked on wondering what that was all about, Gandar told them, "It won't be easy, but rest assured, I will go first and show you how it's done. So make sure to pay attention, ok?"

"Yes, sir." The children responded with an enthusiastic nod.

Gandar then took them towards an obstacle course he had set up to train other recruits, consisting of a rope climbing up some walls, swimming from one side of the lake in Knothole to the other as well as jumping some hurdles before heading back to the start finish line.

After he explained this all to them, Sonic was smirking at it, saying, "Sounds like my kind of drill."

"Yes, but this time, I don't want you and Clover to use your super speed. It defeats the purpose of this exercise."

Sonic was not as enthused once he heard that. Nevertheless, Gandar made good on his word, as he showed them how to it. Needless to say, even he didn't exactly breeze through it due to being one of the more difficult drills of their training, but gave them a good example on how to beat it nonetheless.

Once he finished, he said now trying to catch his breath, "Alright, that's how it's done. Now let's see you do likewise."

"Just leave it to me." Sally replied with confidence. "I'll go first."

"Very well then." The olive-green lion nodded. "Show us once again how tough you really are."

The squirrel princess would do just that. Once Gandar waved the flag, Sally was off, getting a good jump off the line, speeding off towards the rope climb drill. Once there, she would again show her determination to be tough. She quickly climbed up the rope and over the wall, soon racing off towards the lake, diving in full speed.

"Wow, look at her go." Bunnie remarked with impressed. "Sally girl's sure got a lot of spirit I have to admit."

Like before, Sally kept the pace up, swimming for thirty feet jumping out and running back another fifty feet to the start finish line, gasping for air near the end.

"Well done, Sally." Gandar praised, handing her a towel to dry off. "I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you, sir." She replied, still catching her breath. "Just wanting to do my best for you and everyone else."

"Well, you have done that indeed." The olive-green lion acknowledged. "I'm very impressed with your humble attitude today."

Even Sonic couldn't help but be impressed. He was not seeing the same princess who was sobbing on his shoulder last night.
"

Nice one, Sal." The blue hedgehog told her, giving her a thumbs up. "But I'll show ya how it's really done once I get started."

Needless to say, Sally couldn't help but roll her eyes a bit at that. Gandar meanwhile responded with a slight scolding, "Now, Sonic, I don't want to hear any bragging until you actually deliver first. You need to walk the walk before you talk the talk."

"Don't worry about me, sir." Sonic responded with the same arrogance. "I was built for this kind of thing."

"Well, I hope you're right, son." Gandar told him. "Just remember you have to do it without using your super speed. I'll be watching closely."

"Yea, yea, I know. Just get the flag ready and let's get it going."

Not wanting to argue with him over this, Gandar did just that. He quickly raised his flag and dropped. Like with Sally, Sonic was off in a flash, running as fast as he could to the rope climb drill without using his super speed. Unlike Sally, Sonic would not climb it up as fast as she did due to his inexperience of having to do it all without his special talent.

"C'mon, son, pick up the pace!" Gandar shouted. "You're falling a bit behind."

Not wanting to be humiliated of being slower than Sally, Sonic did just that, running fast again to the lake. Once he got to the lake though, he was faced with one of his big weaknesses: His inability to swim.

"Doh man, this is not fair." The blue hedgehog complained, now jumping in. "Why can't I use my super speed here?"

Since Sonic was able to run on water with his super speed, he did not need to swim. However, since he couldn't, Sonic lost a lot of time, trying to get to the other side.

"What's the matter? It's not that deep." Gandar exclaimed by the sight of it. "Just use your arms and legs to paddle."

"Easier said than done." Sonic muttered.

Eventually, Sonic was able to do that and jump out, running towards the finish line. As expected, he was over twenty seconds behind Sally's time.

"So much for showing me how it's done." Sally quipped with a sly smirk.

"Hey, swimming is not easy for me." He shot back, trying to dry himself off. "Cut me some slack."

Gandar then handed him a towel, saying with a frown, "Well, Sonic, I think I'm going to have to teach you how to swim on top of your other training."

"Can't I just use my super speed when I have to deal with water, sir?" Sonic suggested. "It's not like I'll ever need to run at this slowmo pace."

"Son, it's time you learned an important motto I was taught during my years in the military: "Always be prepared"

"How am I supposed to do that?" the blue hedgehog argued with a frown. "There's no way to be prepared for everything."

"That is not true." Gandar told him. "Yes, there will be occasions where you will be taken by surprise and won't be fully prepared to deal with it. At the same time though, you need to be as prepared as you can in order to handle it in the most effective manner. That's why you need to learn how to do things without your super speed. There may come a time when you will have to do that when on a mission."

"Bah, I doubt it." Sonic replied, blowing him off. "They'd have to make it so I couldn't run fast for that to happen."

Gandar was tempted to rebuke him for his arrogance, but he thought better of it after his encounter with Antoine. Instead, he said firmly, "Well, I'm not going to take that chance. As your sergeant, you will learn how to improvise when necessary. Understood?"

"Yes, I read you loud and clear, sir." Sonic answered, rolling his eyes.

Realizing the best way to deal with his attitude was by letting the others run, the olive-green lion did just that, saying, "Ok, next up: Bunnie. Let's see you show us how it's done."

"You got it, sir." She replied with enthusiasm, running to the starting line.

Once she was in place, Gandar raised the flag, dropping it after a three second pause, and the young rabbit was off. As expected, she also got a good jump off the line, running towards the rope climb drill full speed. What wasn't expected however was how much agile she was when climbing up. She used her arms and legs to get up and over in record time, now racing off towards the lake

"That's it, girl!" Gandar said with a cheer. "Show us just how strong you really are."

Bunnie would do just that, as she quickly drove in, using her strong legs to paddle across, getting out even faster than Sally did, now racing towards the finish line.

"Wow, she might even beat my time." Sally stated, watching in awe.

Indeed she would. Bunnie sprinted to the line three seconds ahead of her best friend, and not even that much out of breath either.

"Great job, young one." Gandar said with glee. "You got a lot of stamina in you."

"Daw, shucks… it ain't nothing at all." The southern belle rabbit answered with modesty. "I just did my best."

"Now that's a great attitude to have." The olive-green lion stated with a nod. "We could more of that around here."

Needless to say, Sonic was not that thrilled to see him get beat by two girls, as he frowned at the whole scene, silently pouting inside.

"Ok, last, but certainly not least, Clover… you're up!"

Unlike the others, Clover didn't even answer Gandar. She just walked to the starting line and gave the nod for him to start the obstacle course. Not wanting to waste any time, Gandar did just that. He quickly raised the flag and dropped it again after a three second delay, taking off a split second later.

As expected, Clover would beat Sonic's time with ease due to her not struggling in the water like he did. However, she would not beat the others due to her inexperience of doing drills without her talent. She would instead cross the line five seconds behind Bunnie. Nevertheless, Gandar had little complaints about her run.

"Not bad, girl. Not bad." Gandar stated with a nod of approval. "I can see you two need some work learning how to do runs without your super speed, but other than that, I'm impressed."

"Well, I certainly am willing to learn how to, sir." The forest green hedgehog girl answered him. "I want to be prepared for anything like you said."

Again, Gandar was impressed by her humbleness. He soon handed her a towel, saying, "I shall do that in due time. You'll make a fine Freedom Fighter once you get my full training."

"Hey, what about me?" Sonic said, now indignant.

"Yes, you'll make a good one too." Gandar said, now looking at him with a frown. "But if you want to be a great Freedom Fighter, you're going to have to learn some humility and not rely on your talents alone."

Not surprisingly, Sonic did not want to hear that. He was already humiliated enough being beat by three girls.

After a long pause, the olive-green lion said to them, "Well, considering this is your first day and you are all wet now, I'll let you have the rest of the day off.

"You sure that's a good idea, sir?" Sally asked. "We could go again after we dry off."

"Nah, I want to work you up to it." Gandar explained. "So, go ahead and have fun now. We'll pick it up tomorrow. Rosie should have lunch soon."

Not being one to argue over that being just young kids, they all did just that. Even Sonic, though his having fun would mostly include improving since he did not want to swallow another humiliation like that again.

Once they all scattered, Gandar went to see Rosie, who was now making sandwiches and soup for everyone.

"Oh, hello, Gandar." She greeted. "Aren't you supposed to be training the children?"

"Eh, I let them have the rest of the day off." He explained sheepishly. "Like you said, it is only their first day. No point in over doing it."

"I see. Well, I suppose that is for the best." Rosie stated. "As long as they improve everyday, that should be good enough for now."

"Yea, but I still do wonder if they'll be ready in time when Robotnik decides to raid us." Gandar muttered with a frown. "I'm still very concerned about that."

Rosie couldn't help but admit that as well. Nevertheless, she said, "Well, let's not speculate for the time being. We have a big trap set near the entrance to keep them at bay and escape should it come to that."

"I hope you're right about that." He said with a heavy sigh. After a long pause, he asked, "So, did you talk with Antoine?"

"Yes, I did." Rosie replied. "Needless to say, he's still sore about you for what you did, but I did get him to promise me he would hear you out after he cooled off, so just be gentle when you do. He's not like the other children. I hope you'll keep that in mind."

"Yea, I know." He sighed again. "I just don't understand him though. Antoine looks up to his father a lot. Heck, even I do too, but it's like he wants nothing to do with fighting or even being a brave solider like Armand.

"Can you really blame him for that?" Sally's nanny asked. "I mean, his father was tragically slain because of his choice to be a soldier. Perhaps Antoine feels like if he tries to follow in his father's footsteps, he'll end up just like him."

"No, there's more to it than just that." The olive-green lion argued. "I can sense something more personal, like he's afraid if he follows in his father's footsteps, he'll bring shame and dishonor to his name."

"Hmm… it could possibly be both." Rosie acknowledged. "Who can say for sure? One thing I do know: being too tough on Antoine won't do any good. He just lost his father three months ago. He's still dealing with that pain, and I think you need to let him deal with that first before he gets your personal training."

Gandar could not argue with that at all. "I suppose that is true. Are you saying I shouldn't train him at all until then?"

"No, what I'm saying is take it slow with him." Rosie explained. "Let him go at his own pace for now and don't pressure him until necessary. Give him time to grieve and make peace with it first before he does all out training. Even you know the importance of being in the right frame of mind when preparing for missions."

"Very well then." Gandar replied. "So, when will lunch be ready soon?

"It'll be done in about twenty minutes, so if you want, go ahead and wait at the table for the time being. I'll call the children when it's all ready."

Being a bit beat from the earlier training, Gandar would just do that. While he took a little rest, Sally, along with Bunnie and Clover were doing the same as well, as they relaxed near the Power Ring Pool, dipping their paw feet in it to cool off after a hard session.

"Well, that was certainly interesting for our first day's training." Clover commented, enjoying the water sloshing around her toes.

"Indeed." Sally chimed in. "I wasn't expecting us to train that early, but I was ready to do so just in case."

"Speaking of training, I didn't know you had that much spunk in you, Sally girl." Bunnie said impressed. "I thought you would be more like Antoine about it. No offense."

"None taken." The squirrel princess replied. "Well, I was like that at first, but… I knew I couldn't just cry about it. What good would have that done? So, that's why I made up my mind to toughen up and toss aside my princess heritage for not only my sake, but yours as well."

"Hee hee, sounds like that's not the only thing you tossed away." Bunnie giggled, poking at Sally's tummy playfully.

At that point, it again dawned on Sally the choice she made of living just like her friends, making her feel a bit embarrassed inside.

"Don't take it personal, Sally girl." The southern belle rabbit said a smile. "If anything, I fully admire you wanting to be on our level."

"Same here." Clover added with a nod. "Nothing personal, but sometimes I did feel a little intimidated by the fact you were a princess and we were just common townsfolk."

"Well, I hope I never made you feel I was better than you," Sally explained sheepishly. "because I really am sorry if I did."

"Well, maybe you did a little, but it's ok." Clover told her with a warm smile. "I knew you were proud of your princess heritage, which is why I didn't hold it against you."

"Thanks." Sally said smiling back at her. "I appreciate that."

After a long awkward pause, Bunnie finally asked, "So, tell me, Sally girl. How does it feel living without clothes like we do? Just curious is all…"

Not surprisingly, this was one question Sally did not want to address since it was embarrassing enough to let everyone see her that way. Nevertheless, she answered with a sigh, "Honestly, it's kind of a mixed feeling. I mean, I don't like everyone looking at me differently because of it, but at the same time, I kind of like it too. I don't know how else to explain, but it just feels good having the wind blowing around my fur and feeling the grass between my toes."

Bunnie again could not help but giggle at that, saying, "Yea, it's feels pretty liberating, don't it? It's a big reason why I like living this way too. She then added teasing again, "Who knows? Maybe you'll want to stay like this. It is a good look on you. I bet even Sugarhog would agree."

Sally again could not help but blush at the notion of that. Clover soon added, "Well, whether you stay like this or not is your choice, Sally. As much as I appreciate you wanting to be on our level, I wouldn't want you to throw away your royal heritage for good. It just wouldn't be right."

Even Sally couldn't deny that. So, she said after a long pause, "Well, I doubt I'll live like this forever, but for now, I'm going to since I want to know what it feels like so when I do go back to my princess duties hopefully one day, I won't ever feel like I'm above those I rule over."

"Yea… I really hope you get to do that, Sally girl." Bunnie stated softly, looking at the ground a bit solemn.

"Same here." Clover chimed in with a nod, now starting to feel a bit sad inside as well. "I think that would be... just... great."

Not surprisingly, talking about this subject hit Sally and the others very hard. They quickly remembered their current situation they were in, making them feel heartbroken again over their losses. It got to the point there was silence for over ten minutes, as they all began to softly cry to themselves just thinking about it.

Eventually, Sally spoke up, saying after a sniffle, "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up now."

"It's ok, Sally girl." Bunnie replied, wiping away her tears. "We'll get through this… somehow."

Clover soon wiped her tears away as well, saying, "At least we still have each other. That's something we can be grateful for."

"Yea, you're right." Sally acknowledge with a faint smile. "I'm really happy to have you both for friends."

"The feeling is mutual on that, Sally girl." The southern belle rabbit said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

The three girls then stood up and hugged each other tightly in unison. Despite their inner turmoil, their bond as best friends gave them the strength to carry on.

After a long period of silence, Bunnie finally broke the silence, saying to Sally with a mischievous grin, "Hey, want to know one of the funnest things you can do in your bare fur?"

"Uh, what is it?" Sally asked, looking at her friend awkwardly.

"TICKLE FIGHT!"

The split second after that was said, Bunnie tackled Sally playfully, grabbing her ankles and tickling the bottom soles of her paw feet aggressively.

"H-hey HEY, stop it! AH HA HA HA!"

Sally tried to get away, but Bunnie had a firm grip on her, keeping her pinned down. Clover soon joined in the fun too, now tickling Sally's tummy playfully.

"Oh c'mon!" Sally protested halfheartedly, trying hard to keep from laughing. "Two against one, that's not fair!"

"All's fair in love, war and tickle fights, Sally girl." Bunnie shot back, keeping the intensity up.

Realizing she was in no position to get away, Sally decided by get even by tickling them on the sides when they weren't expecting it, getting them to flinch. Once she got that opening, Sally soon returned the favor, now pouncing on both Bunnie and Clover, targeting each one on their ticklish spots just as aggressively.

"That's the spirit." Bunnie said, enjoying it fully while squirming around.

Even Clover couldn't help but enjoy it as well. In a weird way, it got their minds off their problems and had a moment where they could just have fun again and be kids. After everything that had happened in the past three months, it was something all three of them were grateful to have for the time being.

Meanwhile in the Great Unknown, Lupe eventually made it back to her home. It had been a long and dangerous journey to put it lightly. Her comrades and friends were on pins and needles the whole time until they one of the younger members saw her coming up from the canyon walls.

"There she is!" young Leeta shouted. Her and her twin sister Lyco, who were eight years old soon rushed out to greet her along with the rest of the pack.

Besides Leeta and Lyco, Lupe's team consisted of Lobo, her current boyfriend and second in command, a brown and gray furred Mobian Wolf. Next was Reynard, another brown furred Mobian. He was one of the main soldiers on the front lines. Then Canus, a white and blue furred Mobian responsible for cooking and feeding the troops. Last, but certainly not least, was Drago, one of the more recent recruits added to the pack. He also was one of the main solders that were on the front lines due to his athletic ability and natural strength.

"We were so worried about you, Lupe." Lyco said, hugging her tightly. "We thought those bots might have gotten you. You've been gone for over twelve hours."

The Wolf Pack leader soon returned her embrace, replying, "Sorry to worry you, young one, but I had to take it slow in order to avoid detection."

Lobo, her boyfriend, soon gave her a hug as well. However, he was more upset than relieved. "You should have let me go with you." He told her with a frown. "What you did was extremely dangerous."

Lupe though held her ground, answering with a frown of her own, "You know why I didn't. You would have been caught. We only have one optic camo suit to spare, and even that was no picnic. I even had to take out some bots with those special arrows as a diversion to keep from bumping into one."

Before Sir Charles had been roboticized, he had given some of his inventions to the Wolf Pack to help protect their home, with not only an optic camo suit, but even one hundred high tech arrows that could emit a strong electromagnetic pulse when hitting something on impact. The Wolf Pack were not one for using high tech equipment, but after Julian's invasion, they

realized they had no choice in order to survive.

"I could have handled them." Lobo shot back. "I'm not one of our best fighters for nothing."

"STOP IT!" Lupe shouted at him rebukingly. "This is no time to act tough. Robotnik's forces are a lot stronger than you realize." She then added in tears, "I don't want to lose you, Lobo. I need you more than ever now."

"After hearing that, Lobo quickly softened up, saying with a sad look in his eyes, "I don't want to lose you either. That's why I wanted to go with you. I couldn't even sleep last night because I was so worried about you being caught."

Lupe could not help but be touched by his words, as she hugged him once more, saying with a sniffle, "I'm sorry, Lobo, but I had no choice. Princess Sally and the others needed to be told what had happened during the last mission."

"I know… still can't believe it failed like that." After a long pause, Lobo asked Lupe, "So, did you ever find out what happened to Jules and Bernadette?"

Lupe shook her head in sadness, answering, "No, all I could find out before escaping is they're roboticized slaves now. What role that vile man has them doing now, I have no idea, but whatever it is, it cannot be good. "

Lobe softly groaned in anger. "I swear when I get my hands on that Robotnik, I'll tear him limb from limb."

"I know how you feel, but we can't do that for the time being." Lupe reminded him. "Our base needs to be reinforced before we even think about doing a military strike on Robotroplis."

Lobo couldn't argue with that, muttering soon after, "We should probably prepare for a possible raid as well. Knowing what the despicable Overlander has done, I have a bad feeling he'll be coming after us before too long."

Hearing this put the young wolf twins Lyco and Leeta on edge, as the thought of being caught and roboticized severely frightened them. Lupe soon saw the look of distress on their face kneeling down at their level, telling them "Don't worry, young ones. We'll make sure you'll be in the most secure part of our home should that happen.

"But what about you?" Leeta asked, still deeply concerned.

Wanting to put their minds at ease, "Lupe responded, "We'll be fine. Just try not to think about it, ok? It doesn't do any good to worry."

"Well, ok then, but we'll be more than willing to help if you need us." Lyco told her.

"I'll keep that in mind." The wolf pack leader said to them with a nod. "Anyway, why don't you go help Canus make lunch for everyone. I bet I'm not the only one starving now."

"Yes, ma'am." The young wolf twins answered. And with that, they ran off to carry out their duty.

"I hope you weren't serious about having them help with the defenses." Lobo told her with a slight frown. "They are clearly not ready for this kind of work."

"I know that." Lupe acknowledged. "But, like with Sir Charles' technology, we may have no choice in the matter. Better to have them prepared if worse comes to worse."

"Well, I sure hope it doesn't come to that." He told her. "We've had more than enough casualties for more than one lifetime."

Lupe could only nod in sadness, as she too could not bear to think of losing anymore of her pack.

To be continued...