A/N Ok so here we go, we're gonna get this going to the end. About time, I say. Thanks for the encouraging words as well. This story has become my most reviewed story. So thank you for all the reviews.
"This is an insane plan you know" Shadow sighed.
"Hard to believe, but I agree with Gloomy" Scourge nodded pinching his nose "Crazier than letting me on the team" he added.
"It can work, with some luck prescision we can do this, it only needs a small amount of preparation too. It's simple, that's why it can work" Tails defended himself.
"But if one thing is wrong then it all falls apart" Blaze replied also agreeing this was insane.
"If I had said any kind of plan would have agreed? We're attacking the strongest fortress Eggman has ever created, filled with possibly thousands of eggbots, any plan would be insane. We have to be unpredictable to make this work" Tails said in frustration. He couldn't blame them though.
Shadow just made a heavy sigh, despite his objections he said "It's a crazy plan but he's right…. Eggman has defended himself from everything logical, illogical is the only thing he anticipate"
"So we searched for days for that cave for no reason?" Silver groaned.
Fiona shrugged with a smile "I guess it was, but atleastyou got to walk, keep yourself healthy. I got stuck making bullets all day"
"Atleast some of us will be using those bullets" Silver mumbled a little angry all that effort went to nothing.
Nicole had been in thought absorbing and analyzing Tails' plan, she hoped to think of something that could help make the plan easier then finally said "I could build some new copies of myself. So everyone can use them to hack the base if need be"
Shadow nodded in agreement scratching his chin "If we get separated at some point that would be useful, and…. If the first part fails, atleast Nicole will be safe and not captured"
Scourge seemed to perk up hearing that "Ya, we should do that"
"I'll need to make some equipment for Silver and I" Tails added "I can easily make what I need"
"Anything else we should do?" Silver asked.
"Just prepare yourself" Tails said making his way to the workshop.
Silver rolled his eyes scoffing, but gave his suggestion a serious thought; ya mentally preparing himself would be a good idea. Silver looked to Blaze and they both agreed to go somewhere for some quiet.
Nicole got to work making mini copies of herself. She had actually been planning on doing this already, so there were already some half finished devices.
"So how exactly are you gonna copy yourself?" Scourge asked scratching his nose "Shadow told me that when Tails wanted to bring his mom with us she said it would take possibly days to copy her"
Nicole nodded sadly remembering back then, despite the time it still felt kinda fresh, a reminder that at any moment their new home could come tumbling down, and this time they'd have nowhere to go and eggbots surrounded them in this city.
"No, I won't be making exact copies, more like simplistic copies, they'll have my hacking protocols and basic personalities" she explained beginning to build the most complete device, they were crude looking and were meant to be able to fit inside a pocket. The one she was working on was nearly complete, she just needed to add a screen, then download a copy of herself to the device.
So there will be like five of you?" Scourge asked eyebrow raised.
"I guess that's a way to look at it" Nicole shrugged.
Scourge smirked "Can ya make my copy wear something sexy"
Nicole flinched then blushed "W-well I-I…"
Scourge smirked and said "Was joking Nikki"
She blushed more "Oh…. Yes… of course" her hand was shaking a little, why?
Scourge walked off and sat on a chair closing his eyes after that. Looked like he was attempting to nap. So atleast it was quiet and Nicole was able to recover and get back to work. She had a question for the green hedgehog, but it took her half an hour to finally ask.
"What do you plan to do if we make it through this?"
Scourge apparently had just been resting and not napping and hummed in thought for a moment "I don't know" was his simple response.
"You don't?" she turned.
"What? You think anyone else knows what they are gonna do after this. We're all going in against near impossible odds. It's easier to just focus on the here and now than make plans for a future you may not be in" Scourge surprisingly explained.
Nicole didn't quite get it, maybe because she wasn't like them and could think at much higher speeds, but she'd thought about the future. Though she did come up with a few options she hadn't really chosen one yet.
"But if we win you'll have to make a choice, have you atleast thought of any ideas to choose from?"
"Nah…. What I do anyway?" Scourge asked eyeing her as he did "Moebius wants me dead if I ever came back, the people hate me here, I'm essentially an interdemensional fugitive as well, so tell me what I could do besides go back on the run"
"Stay with us and help us keep the peace" Nicole suggested like it was simple.
Scourge scoffed "This world knows who I am, who's gonna trust me?"
"One of us will stay with you and reassure everyone that you are with us" she turned to him stopping her work for a moment.
Once again he scoffed "Somehow that would fail, that'd be my luck"
Scourge sat deeper into his chair still facing away from the lynx. She was quiet for a moment then walked over to him. She was quiet and he didn't seem to hear her. So when she stood just behind him she gently put her hands on his shoulders. He made a very distinct flinch from the contact.
"You would never know unless you tried" she took a breath then continued "Take it from me, earning their trust may be a life long endeavor, but it's all worth it when someone smiles at you once in awhile. When the threats become less common" she frowned remembering those old days.
"You have the excuse that you were corrupted and forced to serve unwillingly" Scourge dismissed what she was saying "I'm just a bad, no excuse" he crossed his arms.
She sighed kneading his shoulders a little "That did not stop people from threatening me, from fearing I could be changed again even though my firewalls were reinforced and upgraded. For months I was afraid to walk through the city, even with friends, because I didn't want to see the angry faces, hear the angry voices. But I never stopped trying to make up for what I did. Even when council fully disconnected me from the city systems, leaving me with only enough nano-bots to make my physical form"
Her eyes were tearing up a little, it had been so painful knowing an entire city she had devoted her life to protecting turned on her without hesitation, and the years of torment didn't help. She atleast had friends by her side who cared, it was all that kept her going sometimes. If she couldn't find a reason to fight for the people, she could atleast find a reason to fight with her friends.
"You should have taken back all your nanobots when you had the chance" Scourge grumbled. It's what he would have done, why help those who didn't appreciate it?
Nicole surprisingly made a coughing chuckle just as her tears started choking her up "I thought of doing that, but if I wanted their trust, would taking revenge change anything for the better?"
Scourge went quiet not wanting to answer.
Nicole just smiled her tears stopping as she finished up her tale "Years later after I'd protected the city with the Freedom fighters I slowly noticed threats stopping, I was able to go out more. Eventually I felt like people wouldn't look at me with distrust as much. Even had a little girl tell me that she thought I was a good person and what happened was an accident"
Scourges ears flicked a little listening to her tale, he didn't say anything, just thinking over her words.
"You just need to keep trying, it may take five, ten or even all your life, but eventually people will start to turn around….. you just need patience" Her hands let go of his shoulders and turned to get back to work.
Scourge just sat in silence, he didn't look back, nor did he speak. He was too deep in thought.
Elsewhere…
Silver and Blaze had left to try meditating, they'd been trying for half an hour but Silver continued to show no signs of being able to do it. Blaze was very patient, she'd already explained that it took her years to do it right. She put no pressure on Silver to figure it out. Especially since she knew he had an active mind.
Silver took a deep breath and tried again to clear his mind, even for a second but some knocking filled his ears. Due to it being so quiet it made him jump in fright. He opened his eyes initially thinking it was Blaze doing something but found her looking to doorway , so he looked that way.
Standing in the door =way was Shadow.
"Oh hey Shadow, what brings you here?" Silver asked as he got to his feet.
"You" he replied.
"Me?" the younger male asked a little confused "I didn't do anything wrong did I?" was he about to be scolded for complaining about his comments on the cave?
"Yes" he nodded back "Blaze I would appreciate speaking with him privately"
Whatever was going on in her head she didn't show it, but nodded "Of course" granting him his request.
She shot Silver a quick glance before walking out of the room and passing by Shadow. When she was gone Shadow walked into the room approaching the white hedgehog.
Silver was admittedly a little scared, despite being on better terms than most people with the infamous hedgehog he still found himself anxious when he wanted to speak to him privately.
So before Shadow could speak Silver asked "Did I do something wrong?"
Shadow stopped in front of him hands linked behind his back, his face was very hard to read. Silver hated that, even after all this time working with him he still couldn't read him a lot of the time.
To his surprise Shadow shook his head and smiled, amused that he thought he was in trouble "No, nothing like that"
"Oh" his shoulders loosened up in relief.
Once again Shadow was quiet just staring at Silver for a few moment, his gaze wasn't hard like it usually was, but soft but also…. Worried.
"We've come a long way"
"Huh? Oh, ya. I guess we have" Silver said shrugging "It's been quite a ride"
"Yes… it's been… an experience" Shadow said choosing his words carefully.
Silver just nodded not sure what was going on.
Shadow let out a long breath from his nose then said "It's going to be over soon…. One way or another"
"Don't worry, if anyone can do it, we can" Silver said wondering if Shadow was having doubts.
"We're the only ones who can do it" Shadow looked away for a moment.
It was quiet, yet again so Silver scratched his cheek nervously and asked "If you don't mind me asking, but what's up? You're acting weird"
Shadow look at the younger hedgehog and sighed "Silver…" he stood up straight "I just wanted you to know, no matter what happens. I'm proud of you"
Well he hadn't been expecting that, it was so out of character for Shadow to say like that, why was he doing this?
"I…. thanks…. But is this coming from?"
Shadow seemed a little annoyed that Silver kept asking questions, it was already strange to be saying that, now he had to talk more after that.
"Silver, we're about to under go a mission so dangerous even I'm afraid of what will happen. I just wanted to tell you something I've been meaning to tell you for awhile. I am thankful and proud of you. You've come so far since the day I saw you attempt to protect our people" Shadow explained.
"I-it was nothing I was just-"
"It was not nothing, it's take a special person to risk their own life for others as you have. When we started working together you were uncoordinated, clumsy, inexperienced and more of a burden than help at times"
"Are you motivating me or putting me down" Silver asked jokingly hearing the not so great part of his speech. Shadows un-amused stare shut him up.
"But now you are strong, confident, and you've shown me just how far you are willing to go to protect others"
Silver recalled back to when he nearly was killed protecting Blaze, or when he kept everyone safe during the ambush.
"In less than two years you've progressed so far, and if we make it through this I know you'll do your best to keep people safe. So I am proud of you Silver, I wanted you to know that before it's too late"
Silver looked at Shadow not sure what to say, he'd never thought he'd hear such things from Shadow. But despite that hearing it all made him smile.
"Thanks…. You were a great teacher. You did everything to make me ready. So thank you for being patient, I know I pissed you off sometimes…. But thank you for helping me reach my true potential" he did a light bow to his teacher when he was done.
Shadow smiled back, but suddenly Silver pulled him into a hug. Shadow was not expecting it but oddly didn't push him off. Silver was nice though and broke it quickly.
Shadow fixed his quills and fur clearing his throat "Well…. I'll…. Let you get back to, whatever it was you were doing"
"Ya, thanks" Silver smiled watching his mentor leave the room regaining his composure, but stopped. He looked back at Silver then the door, then back at him "And I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy" he nodded then left the room.
He left and found Blaze waiting nearby.
"You weren't too hard on him were ya" clearly she believed he'd scolded Silver or something along those lines.
Shadow just chuckled, the smile surprising her "Yes, I wasn't too hard on him" he said walking by.
Blaze was pretty sure now that he hadn't scolded, so what did he do? He wasn't giving any information to her so maybe she could ask Silver. She went back inside and found Silver staring into space smiling. Ok now she knew he hadn't gotten in trouble.
"Hey, so what'd he say?" she asked.
"Huh?" he was knocked out of his daydreaming "Oh, nothing don't worry about it"
Blaze eyed him hands on her hips, a single eyebrow raised. A classic 'I want answers' stance.
Silver just shrugged with a smile refusing to say anything. He knew it was hard for Shadow to say stuff like he just did, so he was gonna stay quiet and save him some embarrassment.
Blaze huffed crossing her arms "Fine be that way"
Elsewhere…
Tails had been working for over an hour making some equipment they may need while attacking Eggmans fortress. All of it was simple stuff. Gas masks, additional pockets on their utility belts to carry more stuff. And anything else that came to mind.
He briefly considered grappling launchers, but only had enough to make two, he had another in his morph gun so that made three.
The gas masks were a bit of a problem, normal ones would cover the entire face incase the gas damaged your eyes as well. But he didn't have the equipment to make glass. So he found goggles and made make shift masks that covered the mouth and nose. That would have to be enough.
As for pockets, that was easy to do. So that wouldn't slow him down too much.
Along side him was Fiona making more bullets, any extra amount would only help. Like Tails had asked none were made with powder, they simply couldn't make gun powder to fire the shots so they would need something else to propel them. In this case pressurized air would do that.
Tails also created some weapons, mostly made of tubes. But Tails had tested them, they'd hold up. Fiona still had her pistols and a few bullets, not enough to last her very long, but she still was gonna take them. The only other fire arms they had was Tails Morph gun and Scourges double barrel.
Scourges weapon also had little ammo, but Tails' weapon was different. It worked on it's own rechargeable energy cartridges that worked with all the modes. Everyone else would have to rely on his make shift weapons.
Silver and Blaze could use their powers and most likely wouldn't be using them often, Scourge had his speed and abilities and would use them less as well. The problem came from Shadow, though he had all the abilities of Scourge, the fortress was surrounded by an anti chaos field.
That meant he'd be unable to use his chaos powers. Shadow was their most powerful member of the team with those powers, but now a lot of his effectiveness would be gone, unless they found a way to shut down the field.
Tails sighed, even with a plan, this would be astronomically difficult and anything could go wrong. Losing Shadows powers would only make it worse.
"You worried?" Fiona asked hearing him sigh and stop working.
"You have no idea" he leaned against his work bench.
"Can't blame ya" she frowned ears drooping "But know we're all choosing to do this"
Tails nodded though still looked quite worried. He felt like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. One mess up, one over sight, one bad turn could mean the end. The last people who could save the planet from Eggman, and save everyone from this hell, gone from one mistake.
Fiona didn't know what to say, what could you say to someone at a time like this. Dammit, she hated to admit it to herself but Sally would know what to say.
She stood up and stood next to him "I'm sorry…. I don't know what to say to help" she sighed rubbing the back of her neck.
"It's ok…. I keep trying to remember what you say but it's still hard. Everything the Freedom fighters fought for is leader to what happens tomorrow. We either make it all worth it or it all goes to a waste"
"It wasn't a waste" Fiona said sternly "If it weren't for them you'd still be an anxious kid with no self confidence. Everything that they did has led to today, because they prepared you for this"
Tails didn't believe that "How'd they prepare me"
"Everyone there was like family to you, friends, and mentors. I saw it. You looked up to all of them, and they were constantly trying to teach you. Sonic boosted your confidence and encouraged you to be the best you could possibly be. Sally taught you patience and thinking about everything when making a decisions. Antoine may have been a coward at first but you watched him as he became a true hero. He showed you anyone can show their courage and be a hero. And Bunny taught you to always be positive and cheerful even in the face of danger" Quite the speech from the female, she hadn't even expected that.
Tails listened, his ear twitched in the silence, he could tell she meant what she said "You're right, I just need to keep focused" his face already showing his mind focusing now.
Fiona just smirked seeing that, something about that face reminded her of the old days when he was younger and was hyper focused on a task to help the team.
"That's what I like to see" she said proudly.
"I'll try my best, thanks" he said getting back to work.
"That's all anyone is asking for… and you're welcome" Fiona nodded. After a few moments she leaned in and kissed his cheek before getting back to work.
Everyone was ready by the end of the day, Nicole had her copies made, Silver and Blaze had been keeping to themselves and keeping their minds clear. Tails made his equipment for everyone and Shadow had simply made sure no last minute attacks came at them. But now it was time to sleep.
Tomorrow would be either begin Eggmans uncontested rule, or end it entirely.
So that's the newest chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed this last bit of fluff, from here it will be final mission. So far thanks for holding off with me and my disappearance, hopefully I'll get through the rest of this.
Hope this all goes well, I got some stuff to reveal and hopefully you guys will enjoy it and not hate it.
Live long and prosper
Admiralkirk