Chapter 4: Training continues/Mysterious informant

Like yesterday, they began with a rigorous one hundred set of jumping jacks. Unlike yesterday, Gandar now joined in, giving them an example to follow. Not surprisingly, Antoine still struggled to keep up with the others.

"C'mon, son… I know you can do better than that." The olive-green lion said firmly, looking him in the eye. "Just do like me. You can do it."

Seeing Gandar's example gave the young coyote the courage to press on, now trying as hard as he possibly could. Even though he was still lagging behind, Gandar didn't press him on it for the time being.

"Ok, onto to the next drill." Gandar said after they finished. "Fifty push ups. Let's go!"

The young children quickly got into position and did just that. To help Antoine out, Gandar laid down next to him while doing his.

"See? It's not hard, son." The olive-green lion said, doing some on one hand. "All it takes is heart and courage."

Ironically, Antoine felt discouraged hearing that due to how little he had of each. Nevertheless, he refused to quit this time, eventually picking up the pace little by little.

"That's it!" Gandar said with a beaming smile. "Just keep telling yourself, "No pain, no pain… let the mind control the body, not the body control the mind."

Antoine tried to follow that advice, though it would not come easy. His body was already starting to ache after twenty pushups. Even so, he willed himself to press on, eventually making it to fifty nearly exhausted.

After giving them a small breather and some water to refresh, Gandar said, "Ok, time for fifty sit-ups. I'm going to pair you into teams of two this team. Sonic, Bunnie. You're team #1. One of you does sit-ups while the other holds their legs down until they finish. Antoine, Sally, you're team #2. Clover and I will be team #3. Let's see who can do theirs the fastest. Ok, let's go, go, GO!"

Within seconds, they all formed their stances.. Sonic went first on his team while Sally went first on her team and Gandar started off for his.

"Oh yea, I've been waiting for this." Sonic said with a smirk. "This time I'll show ya why I'm the best here."

"I guess I'm going to have to knock your pride down a peg again." Sally quipped, smirking back.

"Less talking, more sit-ups!" Gandar barked.

The young children quickly complied, as they all did their job. Not surprisingly, Sally could not help but notice some odd glances from Antoine while he was holding her ankles down, making her frown at him.

"Would you please just focus here and quit staring at me for once?" She asked annoyed.

"My apologies, princess, but I've been meaning to ask you… why are you training like zis? It is very odd."

"Why do you care?" She shot back frowning. "I can train anyway I want. It's no concern of yours."

"Well, no, but, don't you feel at least a little bit embarrassed training um… au naturel?"

By this point, Sally was getting fed up by all of this unwanted attention. She soon let out a fierce grunt, answering bluntly, "I'm naked and proud of it. If that bothers you, then too bad."

Antoine was a bit speechless at her words. "Zis is not like you at all, Princess."

"Well, I'm not a princess anymore." She shot back. "So either help me win this competition or I'll make you train naked with me."

This no doubt freaked him out, saying, "You wouldn't dare…"

Gandar finally spoke up, saying with a chuckle while doing one sit-up, "Well, if you don't stop bothering Sally about this, I may just let her do that, son. So I strongly suggest you get back to work and end this pointless chatter."

Antoine didn't have to be told twice, now focusing on the task at hand. After the first set was done, it was nearly neck and neck with Sonic ahead by one pushup. Gandar could have pulled way ahead due to being much stronger and faster, but went easy to not discourage them. Eventually, Bunnie along with Antoine and Clover got into position to do their sit-ups.

"Alright, give me your best, Antoine." Sally told him. "Don't let me down."

Due to him having a bit of a crush on Sally, Antoine did just that, even avoiding eye contact with her to keep the awkwardness to a bare minimum. Bunnie meanwhile kept up Sonic's lead by showing off her strong athletic abilities. Even Clover kept a steady pace, staying within one to three push ups of the young rabbit's pace.

Not wanting to lose, Sally said to the young coyote, "C'mon, pick it up! I know you can do better than that!"

Sadly, Antoine could not. As hard as he tried, Bunnie and Clover were just better at it, finishing ahead of him with the young southern belle rabbit winning by half a pushup.

"Oh yea, score one for the hedgehog." Sonic said, pumping his fist in the air.

Not surprisingly, Sally was annoyed at this, looking at Antoine with disappointment.

"What, I did my best, Princess." He quipped. "It's not easy doing this."

Before Sally could retort back in disgust, Gandar stepped in, saying, "Now let's not have any bickering about this. As much as I'd love for you all to excel to the highest level, you all are different and have different talents and skills. So, as long as you give me your best, that's good enough for the time being."

Sally still was not satisfied by that, but not wanting to make a scene, she said to Antoine with a sigh, "Very well then. I appreciate you trying at least."

Hearing this made the young coyote smile a bit, saying, "It's no trouble at all, my princess."

"It's Sally." She told him bluntly. "I don't want any more of this princess talk from you until further notice. You got it?"

Wanting to please her, Antoine quickly nodded in compliance. Gandar then spoke up, saying, "Anyway, that's enough standing around. It's time for the next round of calisthenics!"

While that was going on, Rotor and Renee began their daily work. As Renee got out the supplies to do so, the purple walrus asked her, "So, uh… what kind of explosive are we going to be building?"

"The electromagnetic kind, my young apprentice." The red-haired fox answered, starting to assemble it with her toolkit. "So, make sure to pay close attention. One of these days, you will be making these yourself."

Being fascinated by this, Rotor had no problems with that whatsoever. He watched very carefully as Renee began to assemble a laser triggered EMP bomb the size of a small boulder a few dozen feet up from the first trap. Not surprisingly, he had a few questions about it.

"So, uh… just curious, but how long will this take to build?"

"Well, considering how delicate and intricate this kind of explosive is, Rotor, it'll take us at minimum three to four hours."

"That long? How come?" he asked puzzled.

"We have to make sure all the wires and parts are assembled properly." Renee explained. "Otherwise, you risk having the bomb exploding on you while working on it. And even though this one is not a standard explosive, you could still do great harm to yourself. Any kind of explosive is not to be taken lightly when constructed. You must treat it like you would a small infant."

"Wow, I had no idea how complicated this kind of work was." Rotor stated, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"That's why you're only going to do the light stuff of it for now." Renee reiterated. "We can't afford to have something go wrong with this one."

Rotor couldn't help but wonder what she meant by that last part, but not wanting to make things awkward like Sonic did earlier, he instead asked, "So, will I be learning how to build other kinds of explosives too?"

"Huh…? Oh yea, of course." The red-haired fox answered a bit sheepishly. "But I want you to focus on learning this one first, and then we'll talk about building other kind of explosives."

"Cool. Which ones exactly?"

Renee was again caught off by this questions, but to keep his suspicions at bay, she answered, Oh, um… the standard pipe bomb, electromagnetic grenade, and when you're at a higher level of bomb building, I'll even show you to make the most advanced one of all: a red phosphorus grenade."

"Ooh, I like the sound of that last one." The purple walrus stated with giddiness. "What does it do?"

"Well, think of it like a standard smoke bomb, but a much more advanced one." Renee explained. "On top of blinding Mobian and Overlander vision, it can blind machines like Swatbots with infrared vision too. Basically, it's the ultimate deterrent when it comes to vision."

"Oh, I can't wait to learn how to build that one." Rotor said, still excited. "I hope they'll be enough supplies for me to practice on when of age."

"Don't worry about that." Renee told him. "Sir Charles brought a huge supply of metal parts, wiring and bomb mechanisms to Knothole a few months back. We have enough for quite some time."

"Really? Huh… so why did Sonic's uncle bring that much here?" Rotor asked puzzled.

"Well, the Great War was still going on and It wasn't going good for either side." Renee answered. "It was pretty much a stalemate for months on end, so wanting to find a place to develop his research to help the Acorn Army get an advantage; Sir Charles chose a place that was unknown to the Overlander troops to do it without worry of being bombed for the time being."

"That is very interesting." Rotor said. "Sounds like he had quite a few projects going on here from the looks of it."

"More than you even know." The red-haired fox told him firmly. "And had it not been for that traitorous Julian and his vile nephew interfering, they no doubt would have been developed a lot faster than now."

Rotor could not help but sense deep anger in Renee when saying that. Even the purple walrus was emotionally disturbed thinking about it.

"I sure hope Sir Charles is still alive and well, even if he is a machine now." She added with a deeply saddened expression on her face. "I really miss him. He was a great mentor and friend to me."

It was then Rotor noticed Renee abruptly stopped working and began to softly cry to herself, making him realize just how close the two of them had been before. The purple walrus eventually put his hand on her shoulder, saying with sympathy,

"Well, at least his work was left in good hands. I know you'll carry on his legacy until he can be brought back to us."

Despite his brash words, Renee could not help but appreciate him trying to encourage her to keep going. She eventually wiped her tears and gave him a warm hug, saying, "Thanks, I needed that."

"Hey, what are apprentices for?" he answered with a humble smile.

"Well, I'd say you'll be more than an apprentice to me at the rate you're going." Renee remarked, smiling back at him.

Ironically enough, Rotor did not feel the least bit awkward about this. Despite their difference in age, he could already sense they were starting to bond like she had with Sir Charles during their time together when working on his projects.

"Anyway, I think that's enough sentimental stuff for now." She said. "We got work to do, do we not?"

"That we do, Miss Renee." Rotor acknowledged with a nod. "Let's get to it."

Meanwhile, Rosie continued to help the Seedrians during their special training. This sadly was not easy for her due to having duties of monitoring the others' activities on top of having to babysit Clover's young sister Blossom. Nevertheless, she knew someone had to run things, so she multitasked to the best of her ability.

While nursing the young hedgehog girl, Rosie again couldn't help but notice the struggles of Cosmo as the others practiced mastering their Seedrian given abilities. Jasmine was now getting even stronger with her seed healing skills, causing one of the nearby fruit trees to flourish and even grow a bit. Galaxina continued to improve trying to learn the solar force field skill.
Cosmo on the other hand? As hard she tried, she could barely implement the basic seed healing techniques on a nearby rosebush. After struggling to help it flourish like Jasmine had with the tree, she soon collapsed in exhaustion, eventually sobbing to herself in pity.

"Hey now, don't be like that." Rosie said, walking over to her. "You did your best."

"What good is doing my best when I fail so much?" The green haired Seedrian retorted, now sitting on the ground, laying her head on her knees. "I'm just wasting my time. I should quit now and save myself the trouble. I'll never be as good as my big sister and best friend."

By this point, even Galaxina and Jasmine stopped what they were doing and came to her aid, feeling deep sympathy.

"You don't have to be as good as us." Galaxina told her with a warm smile. "It's not a competition."

Jasmine soon added as well, "It's possible you're a late bloomer. It's happened before to our kind."

"You really think so?" By this point, Cosmo didn't know what to think, still feeling completely discouraged inside.

"Well, I don't know that for sure." Jasmine reiterated sheepishly. "But one thing I do know: you're not a loser or failure in our eyes, Cosmo, so I don't want you to ever think of yourself as one. You hear me?"

"What else am I supposed to think though?" Cosmo argued. "I can't even do basic Seedrian stuff now."

"That doesn't matter to me." Galaxina told her. "I just want you to be you, little sister."

"Same here." Jasmine added, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about what you can and can't do for now. You just be that person we both grew to love. When the time is right, I'm pretty sure you'll develop those skills just as good as we can."

Despite her inner doubts, Cosmo was deeply touched by their words, soon hugging them both tearfully. Even Rosie could not help but feel happy seeing them bond.

"Thanks. I really couldn't be happier to have you two in my life." Cosmo said with a sniffle.

"The feeling is mutual, little sister."

After they finished embracing each other, Jasmine said to Cosmo, "Anyway, go ahead and try again. Even if you still struggle, don't give up. You'll only be a failure if you stop trying."

"Well, ok then." Deep down, Cosmo was still feeling pessimistic about her worth as a Seedrian, but wanted to show that their faith in her was not in vain. And so, she buckled down and continued to practice at her Seedrian skills to the best of her ability.

Even Rosie could sense Cosmo's change in attitude. Seeing they could take care of themselves for the time being, she went to put Blossom down for a nap while preparing to make lunch for everyone.

Meanwhile in the Great Unknown, Lupe and her team continued their daily tasks of strengthening their base. Just then, an unknown small flying device came soaring to them. It swooped in so suddenly, it nearly caught them all off guard to the point of panic and fear. Lobo though readied his spear to destroy it.

"Wait…" Lupe told him, holding him back with her arm. "Let's see what it is exactly first."

"Are you crazy?" he demanded of her. "That thing is obviously from Robotnik. He probably sent it here to spy on us!"

"But why have it get our attention like this if that's the case?" Lupe argued. "You know he's craftier than that if he was trying to scout our base out."

Lobo couldn't deny that was true. Nevertheless, he said, "It's still too dangerous. I say we destroy that thing just to be safe."
Before Lupe could argue back, the mysterious metal flying device soon spit out a small piece of paper, where she slowly knelt down to pick it up.

"What does it say?" Lyco asked, still in a state of fear.

The paper read the following message:

Greetings, WolfPack. I don't consider myself an ally of yours, but I know it's in my best interest to help you now, so I'm sending this message this to warn you: Julian is planning to raid your base after midnight, so I strongly suggest you ready your defenses before then because you're going to need them all.

"A raid…? No!" Both Lyco and Leeta looked on in a deep fright.

The message continued saying:

Enclosed is a list of battle codes as part of his formation attacks to help further put the odds of survival in your favor. Memorize them well for your sake. The small flying device then spit out another paper with that info and quickly took off after Lupe picked it up. As she read it, Lobo frowned greatly, exclaiming, "What kind of nonsense is this?! Is this some kind of sick prank? None of our allies use such methods to warn us about a possible attack."

"You're right." Lupe said with a frown of her own. "They don't, but something tells me this is no joke. It's way too detailed.

That and no enemy of ours would warn us of an attack unless it had something beneficial to them."

Lobo couldn't argue with that. "Then what in the heck is going on?" He asked with puzzlement on his face. "Are we supposed to really believe this mysterious informant? We have no idea who they are or why they're helping us."

After Lupe pondered it over some, she soon answered somberly, "Normally, I wouldn't, but considering the catastrophe it would bring to us if this is real should we choose to ignore it, I say we have no choice but to heed it. Too much is at stake now."

As Lobo soon pondered this himself, Lupe meanwhile looked over and saw the fear in Lyco and Leeta's eyes. She slowly knelt at their level, saying with compassion, "Fear not, young ones. We'll be fine. Just do what I tell you when the time comes and everything should work out."

"How can you be sure?" Leeta asked with a whimper. "We… we might end up being killed or turned into robotic slaves."

"We have the upper hand for the time being." Lupe explained. "We know of their coming and we will be ready for it. So, if all goes according to plan, none of us will suffer such a fate."

The wolf pack twins still looked on frightened, as Lupe added, "It doesn't do any good to worry. Just be ready to help when the time comes, alright?"

Leeta and Lyco softly nodded their heads slowly at her in response.

"Now then, run along, young ones." She told them. "I'll call you when needed."

As they did that, Lupe soon turned to the others, now saying with fierce vigor, "Alright, you heard the message, everyone. It's time to defend our home from that creep Robotnik at all costs!"

The others soon nodded with thunderous yell, raising their weapons high in the air.

Lupe then gave out the following orders: "Lobo, Canus… you two ready the boulders at once. Have them stationed near the top of the cliffs, but out of sight from the vision of the group troops. Reynard, Drago, you two bring out the traps on the ground level, have the landmines and trap doors placed in the most strategic spots and ready to activate on my signal."

"What are you going to do?" Lobo asked her with concern.

"I'll try to be a stealth diversion by using Sir Charles optic camo suit and specially made arrows." She explained. "It should give you guys plenty of openings to attack."

"No! It's too dangerous." Lobo protested. "Allow me to do it."

"I appreciate the thought, but I must decline." Lupe told him. "Robotnik would definitely target me since I'm the leader of the group. This way, I can play mind games with him. Also, I'm more nimble and agile too, so I'll be able to optimize this role better."

"I suppose that's true. Well, promise me you won't do anything crazy or too risky at least." Lobo replied with a frown.
Lupe soon put a hand on his shoulder, saying with a soft smile, "Hey, you know I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize this. Trust me."

Before Lobo could answer back, Drago now spoke up, saying, "Uh, I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but what about a possible aerial strike?"

"He's right." Lobo acknowledged. "Do we have anything for that?"

"Well, we do have a high powered mounted crossbow that can fire those specially made arrows in reserve." Lupe told him.

"But it would sadly be a sitting duck against an aerial attack, so we would need to keep it out of sight and use it only as a last resort."

"Agreed." Lobo nodded. "I'll get it out and ready it for battle."

As Lobo went to do that, Lupe said to the rest, "Ok, you have your orders, now let's get to it!"

Lupe's comrades didn't have to be told twice. They soon spread out with haste. After the wolf pack leader was by herself, she couldn't help but wonder who sent that not.

It really doesn't make sense, she thought to herself. Just who would send us this message and why exactly? The kind of info they brought us is very confidential, but how did they access it so easily knowing Robotnik's security? It's almost as if…

Lupe could not finish that thought, as the idea of that happening was too much to take in.

No, it can't be! She thought to herself, brushing it off. I mean the whole idea of someone like that helping us? Absurd!"

Realizing there was no time to figure this out, she quickly ran off to get Sir Charles gear and prepare it for battle.

"Well, whoever sent us that info." Lupe said to herself as she did that, "They certainly have my thanks. I'll make sure to put it to good use."

As she readied her gear, she eventually looked towards the West towards Robotropolis, saying with a fierce glare, "Robotnik, this time, we're going to hit you where it hurts. Mark my words..."

While this was going on, Robotnik made a video call to Commander Abraham Tower, the leader of the organization known as Guardian Units of the Nation.

"What do you want, Julian?!" Abraham Tower demanded, glaring at him as fiercely as possible.

"My, my, such a hostile tone." Robotnik retorted. "Is that anyway to greet someone who only wishes to talk?"

This only made the Commander glare even angrier at Julian, saying with his teeth now fully clenched, "After everything you put us through, you have the nerve to demand respect? You don't deserve anything from us but a painful and agonizing death!"

"I'd watch my tone if I were you, Commander Tower." Robotnik told him with a taunting wagging of a finger with his right hand. He then added with a glare of his own, "Don't forget, I own you and your pitiful group now. I only let you keep your position because you are still of some use to me, but that can change on a moment's notice if I choose to, so I strongly suggest you don't push your luck with me."

Seeing Julian wasn't bluffing in the slightest, Commander Tower quickly composed himself, saying with a sigh, "I understand. It won't happen again."

"That's better." Julian said with a smirk. "Now then, the reason I'm calling you is to inform you that soon I'll be doing a raid of the Great Unknown to weed out a pathetic rebel group known as the Wolf Pack."

"Why are you telling me this exactly?" Commander Tower inquired with furrowed eyebrows.

"Because I want to make sure you don't get any ideas about possibly helping them." Julian answered.

"Why would we bother?" Abraham Tower asked, furrowing his eyebrows further. "You know as well as I do we hate the Mobian race."

"True, but I don't put it past you that you might ally with them if it was mutually beneficial." Julian told him bluntly. "I'm not foolish enough to believe you wouldn't put your prejudice aside if it meant taking me down."

Commander Tower could not refute that accusation. As much as he and the Overlanders that resided in Central City hated the Mobian race, they hated Julian even more so. Abraham then said after a long pause, "I assure you we have no desire to interfere here, Julian. This is your business and we will respectfully stay out of it."

Not fully convinced, Robotnik told him bluntly, "For your sake, you had better not be lying to me, Commander. If I ever do find out you allied with even one of these Mobian rebels, you'll quickly live to regret it."

"I understand Julian." Abraham Tower replied, trying to keep a straight face.

"Good. Oh yes, one more thing. From this point on, you will address me as sir, Abraham." Julian said. "Since I am now ruler of this planet, you will refer to me with a title of respect. No ifs, ands or buts. Do I make myself clear?"

Abraham again gritted his teeth in fierce anger, but not wanting to test Julian's patience, he answered as calmly as possible, "Crystal clear, sir."

"That's a good boy." Robotnik said with a smirk. "Anyway, I have things to do. Carry on."

And with that, Julian disconnected the call. Not even three seconds later, Abraham Tower could not restrain himself any further and banged his desk in fierce anger over and over, saying with rage, "Curse you, Julian! I swear one way or another; I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to us!"

After Robotnik had turned his robotic army against the Mobian race to enslave them and turned their capital into his headquarters known as Robotropolis, Julian had permitted only one place for his Overlander brethren to reside without threat of attack: the city known as Central City. Nevertheless, it didn't come without a price. The Overlanders had to do Julian's bidding no matter what it was. He even set up a huge Swatbot patrol there to keep the citizens in line. Any that attempted to rebel would be roboticized and turned into a decoration for Robotropolis.

Not long after the Commander had banged his desk in anger, his 2nd in command, a lieutenant named Hugo Brass, came into his office, asking, "Sir, is something wrong?"

Not wanting to go into detail about it, Abraham Tower merely answered him disgusted, "Oh, just that vile Robotnik making more demands on us is all."

"I see."

After a long pause, Abraham Tower said with deep anger, "There's got to be SOME WAY to take down that monster."

"Sir, I want him taken out as badly as you do." Hugo Brass reiterated. "But there's nothing we can do at the moment to even consider rebelling. The Great War sadly ended up killing most of our numbers. We barely have enough soldiers to defend our own city."

"Yes, I know that!" Commander Tower said, now completely losing his composure. "I don't need you to remind me how bad the situation is!"

"Commander, I meant no offense. I was just stating the facts." Hugo Brass told him. "With all due respect, sir, getting angry isn't going to help the situation. We need to keep a level head and try to think of a plan that will help us be free of Julian's clutches."

Realizing he was right, Abraham Tower again composed himself, saying, "My apologies, Hugo. I don't mean to snap at you, but I just can't take much more of Julian's dictatorship."

"I understand, sir." Hugo replied. "That is why I think we should consider forming an alliance with the Mobian rebels to fight back.

"Are you insane?! We can't do that!" Commander Tower told him sharply. "Julian just warned me earlier there would be dire consequences if we did!"

"What other choice do we have, sir?" Hugo argued back. "You really think if we play nice, Julian's going to keep his word about leaving us alone? You know better than that. The second our usefulness is gone, he will dispose of us just like he did of most of the Mobians."

Abraham Tower knew again Hugo was right about that last part, but due to his extreme prejudice of the Mobian race, he doubled down, saying, "It wouldn't work even if we did. They're scattered across the planet due to Julian hunting them down. He'd quickly find out about the alliance and squash it."

"Even so, we have to at least try, sir." Hugo reiterated. "We do nothing, we'll definitely lose everything. At least if we try our best, we have a shot at taking back our freedom. Don't let your fear keep you from doing what is right for us all."

"That's enough, lieutenant!" Commander Tower told him sharply. "We are not allying with those filthy creatures and that's final!"

At this point, Hugo Brass could only look at his leader with disgust, saying, "You're going to regret this, sir." He then walked away adding, "If you're that content being Julian's lapdog, be my guest, but I'm going to find a way to put an end to this madness one way or another. Good night to you, SIR."

And with that, Hugo walked out, slamming the door behind him. Normally, Abraham Tower would have reprimanded him for such a rebuke, but deep down, he knew Hugo was more in the right than he was. After another long pause, Abraham Tower asked himself with a shake of the head and a sigh, "Is forming an alliance with those mutants really the only way to get our independence back? There's got to be another way."

While he thought this over, one of the newer recruits, a female solider by the name of Topaz was in her quarters, mulling over some paperwork before calling it a night. As she did so, she began to sigh in sadness.

"To think at one time this was my dream to become an elite G.U.N officer." Topaz muttered to herself. "And now… it's turned into a nightmare."

Even as a young child, Topaz had dreams of one day working for G.U.N. She had been one of the top of her class as a graduate, working hard to one day achieve her goal in life. Unfortunately for her, the timing of it could not have been worse. Before she turned 16, the Great War was in full swing, causing a massive shift in her training, going from a possible peacekeeper to a full-fledged solider.

If that wasn't bad enough, the war began to shift in the favor the Acorn Republic, causing her training areas to be moved several times due to the Mobians invading and destroying it. Then, to top it off, just days after graduating, Julian invaded Mobotropolis and soon after took over as the new dominant power of the planet.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Topaz asked herself while putting her hands on her face. "I wanted to help bring peace and unity to the planet, not this." Like Abraham Tower, she too wanted to do something about Julian's reign of terror, but felt completely helpless.

"What's the point of being a G.U.N solider if I'm just going to have to do Julian's bidding?" Topaz asked again of herself, now fully disgusted. She was so disgusted in fact, she even thought about quitting. She quickly thought better of it however, realizing that would only complicate matters. Not to mention there was no other place for her to go without fear of being captured and roboticized either.

"No matter what I do now, I'm in a serious pickle." Topaz muttered again. After a long pause, Topaz decided to sleep on it, as she was very exhausted from her day's work.

A few miles away, a shadowy figure slowly walked towards a mausoleum that was known as the personal burial site of the Kintobor family. It was past closing time to visit, but this individual had done so intentionally, considering its past history with the city. It then quietly broke in, using a special hacking device to open the door without triggering the alarm, quickly shutting the door behind him.

As the figure got closer to the tombs, it finally pulled back the hood he was wearing around his face, revealing it to be none other than Snively. Snively first walked towards his mother's tomb, putting his hand on it to touch it. As he began to do so, he began to shed some tears, thinking about how she died.

"Why did those filthy Mobians have to kill you?" Snively asked himself, with more tears streaming down his face. "You were the glue that held our family together."

Snively's mother, Miriam Kintobor, was one of the many victims of the retaliation air strike by King Max after his son Elias was assaulted and assumed dead. It was her death that primarily led to Colin declaring war on the Mobian race.

After a few minutes of this, Snively moved over to his father's tomb to touch it as well. Unlike his mother's, Snively had more resentment than grief towards his father's passing.

"You never once treated me like a son." Snively said with bitterness in his voice. "My whole life, I was always second rate to you. You ALWAYS favored Hope over me. It's your fault why I helped Julian in the first place. At least he treated me with some kindness."

Ironically enough, Snively deep down regretted helping Julian after knowing his true intentions. Nevertheless, for that brief time his uncle was kind to him, Snively felt appreciated and loved, something he had longed for from his father from his early childhood, but never received.

"Even hours before you were to be executed for your war crimes, you still wouldn't reconcile with me." Snively added, now with a heavy frown on his face. "You went so far as to say you never had a son." He then added with fierce anger while slamming his fist on his tomb. "Well, I hope you're happy, dad!"

While Snively did indeed hold a deep hatred towards his uncle for manipulating and abusing him, he strangely enough hated his father even more so. Even now, a part of Snively wanted to do something to punish him for all the neglect he had gotten from him.

Eventually, his eyes shifted toward his sister's tomb, or to be more accurate, her empty tomb. Her body was never found after her battle with Snively in Robotropolis. To add insult to injury, Hope's name was removed from it after she helped the Mobians last failed assault on Robotropolis. Abraham Tower had warned her she would lose her rights to the tomb if she helped them. Hope however didn't care about that anymore, wanting to strike back at Julian by any means possible. True to his word, Commander Tower carried out his threat, even branding her a traitor like Snively.

Snively walked over to the empty tomb. Even though Hope's remains weren't in it, he still envisioned her being there due to the fact he believed her to be dead after their last encounter. As with the other two, he began to touch it, even trying to reminisce of the good times he had with her. Unlike the other two tombs however, he literally broke down sobbing while thinking about her.

"Oh, Hope, I'm so sorry…" he said, trying to keep from crying further. "I never wanted any of this to happen. All I really wanted was for us to live together as a family, even rule the planet as brother and sister. But… you… wouldn't…"

Snively could not muster another word, as the memory of what happened to her hit him with full force. Unlike Colin, Hope was one of the few who actually treated Snively like someone who mattered to him. That is, before he was found out in helping Julian sabotage the war efforts. Snively had been against that idea from the start, but his uncle had talked him into it, saying it was the only way to get him his chance to prove himself.

"Why did I ever listen to Julian?" Snively asked himself with remorse. "It's because of HIM everything went wrong!"

After Snively was forced to flee with his uncle to Mobotropolis due to being branded a traitor, his relationship with Hope began to sour, especially after Julian had taken over. Julian had even forced him to kill someone Hope cared deeply about, eventually leading to their fight to the death in Robotropolis.

"If you only knew how much I wish I could take back all the pain I caused you…" Snively said, his voice still raw with emotion. Even at that moment, he still couldn't shake the last image of her out of his head, let alone that look on her face towards him. It was one of pure hatred. Even her final words before her mech exploded were full of venom.

"I HATE YOU! You are a disgrace to our entire race!"

Colin's last words had cut Snively deeply, but Hope's last words cut him even more so. Never once did he believe the two of them would be at odds, especially to that degree.

"I cared more about you than anyone." Snively said, sniffling. "How could you say such words to me?"

For the next few minutes, Snively continued to cry silently, as that memory was still too painful for him to endure. Eventually, he composed himself, saying while wiping away his tears, "You'll see, Hope. I'll prove to you that I'm not the horrible person you thought I was." He then added with vigor, "One day I'll make things right. Julian will fall and I'll restore what he has destroyed. I promise you that."

Soon after saying that, Snively donned the hood of his cloak around his face again and slowly walked out, more determined than ever to take Robotnik down by any means necessary.

Later that evening, in a cave way off the beaten path of the Great Unknown, the widow of Amadeus Prower, Rosemary, sat down deeply troubled. She knew Robotnik was hunting her and she knew why as well. To say she was emotionally distressed would have been a huge understatement. In a span of a few days, any semblance of a normal life was gone. She watched Amadeus die in her arms after the final siege failed, even forced to give up her daughter Zoey to another shelter due to not wanting her to be caught in the crossfire.

Rosemary eventually pulled out her last photo of her with her husband and daughter before all this happened, looking at it to the point tears began to soak the photograph in deep sorrow. She even held it against her chest, trying to console herself.

"I miss you so much, my love…" Rosemary said while sobbing. "I don't know how I'll go on without you or our child." She then added, even more emotional than before, "Or should I say now… our children."

Not long after saying this, she heard footsteps coming. Fearing the worst, she pulled out a high powered laser rifle she had brought with her just in case she needed to protect herself. Thankfully, she saw a familiar shadow, saying to her, "Relax, Rosemary, it's just me."

The person who was coming in was none other than Ari, a leader of one of the Mobian rebel groups.

Rosemary eventually let down her guard, saying with a sigh of relief, "Sorry, but… I can't take any chances. I know Robotnik will stop at nothing to hunt me down."

"Believe me, I understand." Ari said. "That is why I'm using his aggressive hunt of you as a means of doing some serious damage to Robotnik's Empire.

"I doubt it'll last for too long." Rosemary replied somberly. "Eventually, Robotnik is going to find out they are red herrings and no longer go all out about this. He'll even start setting up counter ambushes if I had to guess."

"Perhaps, but I believe Robotnik will keep it up for some time." Ari replied. "You have something he desperately wants and I know he will do whatever it takes to capture you to get it." He then added after a brief pause, "Besides, we need to keep his focus away from the Great Forest so the kids there can grow up and help us take back our planet."

Rosemary couldn't help but agree with that, though she did say, "I should have sent Zoey there instead of that other shelter. She'd probably be safer there."

"I'm afraid you couldn't be more wrong about that, Rosemary." Ari corrected her. "Robotnik doesn't know the current location of the shelter Zoey currently is in, but he does know about the Great Forest and its shelter Knothole. If he knew your daughter was there, he would no doubt raid it now, assuming she might have the same DNA as you do to use for his evil purposes."

"Good point…" Rosemary then lowered her head, asking, "Why did I have to be cursed with this? I never wanted to have these special genetics."

"Don't talk like that." Ari told her. "What you have is something very special, something that could even help our war efforts should they drag out."

"If I'm able to last that long…" Rosemary retorted.

"Well, I assure you I'll do all I can to keep you safe." Ari reassured her. "Even the other Freedom Fighter leaders have agreed to keep an eye on you after learning of your special DNA."

"While that is nice of them, it won't be that simple." Rosemary replied. "Not to mention there's another problem too."

"What's that?" Ari inquired.

At first, Rosemary didn't say anything, as she didn't know how to tell Ari, let alone how much it was hurting her knowing about this as well. The ram though pressed her further, wanting to know what was troubling her. Eventually, she caved with words that nearly left him speechless.

"I'm pregnant, Ari." She told him bluntly.

"Y-you're not serious." Ari said, looking at her in shock.

"I was I wasn't, but after feeling some ill effects last night, I took a pregnancy test just to see if it was something else." Rosemary explained. "Sure enough, it came back positive."

"But… how?" Ari asked, still very dumbfounded by this. "We've been so busy preparing for the siege."

Rosemary looked away a bit embarrassed, finally confessing, "Yea, about that… during one night of preparation in Knothole, Amadeus and I… got restless after finishing our tasks for the evening that we… had a roll in the hay to put it lightly."

"I… see." Ari then decided to change the subject due to how awkward it was getting, asking her, "How did you feel once you found out?"

Rosemary gave him a bit of a dirty look, retorting, "How do I feel? Did you really just ask me that? What do you think?! I'm a widow on the run separated from my daughter and now I have to deal with nine months of bearing another child while trying to stay hidden! It should be obvious to you how I'm feeling!"

"Ok, sorry… I was just trying to show empathy is all." Ari replied sheepishly. "I wasn't trying to upset you."

"Well, no offense, Ari, but I don't believe you have any idea what it's like for me now." Rosemary said, still frowning a bit at him. "You didn't lose the love of your love or have to be separated from a child you raised yourself."

"Yes, I know that, but I do know what it's like to lose friends and comrades you care about." Ari argued back. "It may not hold the same weight, but I do know the feeling to a certain degree."

Realizing Ari had a point, Rosemary softened up a bit, saying, "Fair enough. Maybe we should change the subject here."

"Very well then…" Ari replied with a soft nod.

After a long pause, Rosemary asked Ari, "So, how is my late husband's unit doing at the moment?"

"Oh, you mean the Freedom Fighter Commandos?" Ari inquired. "Last I checked everything was still good on the com. They're mostly checking the area around you for any or Robotnik's spy drones trying to seek your location. So far, there's nothing to report."

"Well, while that's good to know, it's only a matter of time before they encounter them." Rosemary said with a somber sigh.

"Perhaps, but we'll be ready for them should they arrive." Ari reassured her.

Seeing Rosemary still discouraged, Ari said to try to cheer her up, "Hey, c'mon now, don't lose faith. The Freedom Fighter Commandos are some of the finest soldiers your late husband trained. They can handle this no sweat."

"I really hope you're right about that." Rosemary replied, not convinced.

"Anyhow, I better go inform them of your current predicament." Ari said after another awkward pause. "They'll need to know about your pregnancy so they can prepare to escort you whenever necessary."

Before Ari could take five steps, Rosemary said to him, "Actually, I rather they didn't know about this."

"But they need to know about this." Ari argued back. "How else can they protect you to the best of their ability if they don't know all the details?"

Seeing Ari had a point, Rosemary finally caved a bit, saying, "Ok, fine… you can tell Tatiana at least being a woman herself, but I rather the others didn't know until I talked it over with her first."

Tatiana was the sole female member of the Freedom Fighter Commandos, a brown female tigress who was also a deadly marksman with a sniper rifle.

"As you wish…" Ari replied with a nod. "Be back in a bit. If anything comes up, don't hesitate to alert me or the Commandos on the com."

Rosemary gave her a nod in return, as Ari walked out to fetch Tatiana. After he was out of sight, the young fox widow briefly walked out of the cave to look up at the night sky. While she looked at it still deeply troubled, she asked herself, "Is this going to be my life now? Am I always going to be on the run?"

Deep down, Rosemary didn't know what the future held, but one thing she did know: The hunt for her would not cease until Robotnik was dead or she was.

To be continued...