Unknown Place, Unknown Time
In a dimly chasm lit by, a crystal ball rang like an old telephone. It flickered in sync with the ringing.
A pair of glowing, yellow eyes slowly opened.
"Speak," said a slithering voice.
A bald man with blue glasses appeared.
"Get—" he began before being cut off by static
"What was that?"
"I said— *BZZZZKTSH!*"
"One moment." A massive claw diagonally slammed on top of the crystal ball twice before pausing and practically smashing it a third time.
"Can you hear me now?" asked Dr. Eggman.
"Yes, yes. You have the floor."
"Seriously? Dial up? In this day and age? Get with the times, man."
"Get a diet."
"Cute, but shut up and listen for a moment. Those morons are keeping Tails busy and Sonic's nowhere in sight. But that could change at any moment so we don't have time to waste. You have your assignment. Get busy."
"Mind your tongue, boy. I hope you realize the full extent of this alliance."
"Indeed, I do. And I hope you realize the full extent of my wrath if you speak to me like that again."
"Don't screw this up and I might just forget about that little slip of your slithering tongue, you scaly, horned freak."
Afterwards, the crystal ball blinked and went blank.
Some horned dude in a cloak slowly stood up. He turned around and walked towards the exit. A wave of his right hand revealed sharp, gloved fingers and all the torches in the room blew out.
Seconds later, his figure emerged from the shadows at the large, circular exit of a cave. Several crows were gathered around the top and bottom. He walked to the edge and basked in the scenery as his cape flapped in the slight breeze. The spooky pumpkin shaped mountains left him with an odd sense of belonging.
Yes, he thought with a somewhat longing expression. He gazed at the unmoving smile carved into stone was miles away from him. We are…the same.
He inhaled for a long time, then sighed as if to release a good smoke. He crossed his arms then abruptly jerked them to his sides, causing his cape to loudly whip the air. With several overlapping cries, the crows dispersed into the foggy scenery in all directions.
We are symbols of fear.
He took a few steps back onto a magic circle drawn in chalk. An odd symbol that could easily be mistaken for scribbles appeared in the center. They appeared to be the same strange writings from the walls of his chambers.
"And with fear," he said with a snake like essence to his voice. "Comes change."
In a purple flash of light, he vanished.
Knothole Kingdom, Entrance Gate, 08:13
At the massive entrance of the most affluent kingdom in the world, two Acorn Kingdom guards stood with their arms folded behind them, their sabers sheathed. Despite being the lowest rank, they brought with them the same natural air of authority and royalty that came with the monarch. Passersby usually greeted this type with respect and if not that, fear. Regardless of the obvious weaponry they freely wielded, they still represented a force much greater than any one member. Trifling with that power usually led to consequences many had no chance of dealing with.
Sheila, a pink, indigo-eyed sparrow, shut her eyes and sighed. Opposite her right Bensen, a lime green, orange-eyed gopher tilted his head
"S'up?" he said.
"Nothing," she said dryly as she stared to the ground, bored.
"It's never nothin'."
There was a little over 30 seconds of silence before she spoke.
"It's just...it's nothing."
Bensen sucked his teeth and glared at her like he was going to smack her.
"I'll never get why women just say things but then don't mean 'em. If it's nothin', you wouldn't've brought it up and you wouldn't sound so depressed. If you jus' want my attention, then shut it because we've got a job to do. But if something's got you so bent out of shape it's got you poutin' and sobbin', then just say somethin'."
Sheila raised an eyebrow and looked at her irritated cohort who placed a hand on his hip like a sassy mama. Then she smiled and waved her hands.
"Alright, alright. Sheesh…If it's really got your panties in a knot." That comment bared its fangs as Benson's expression stiffened. Sheila's however slowly softened and her voice dimmed. "I'm just…so...bored."
"Good. Boring's good. You know why school's do boring? 'Cuz it's so gosh darn good."
"Yeah but—when you joined the guard, didn't you expect—I don't know, more?"
"More than what?"
"More than this. Day in and day out, all we ever do is patrol the kingdom or stand by on guard or do drills or whatever. It's the same thing every day. And I mean every single day. There's no sense of fulfilment, of accomplishment. We just do what we're told with no questions asked."
"…And?"
"And, I don't know!" She glared at the ground with a disappointed expression. "When I signed up, I figured I'd find excitement. A thrill. You, be out there kicking butt like Sonic. And. And not only that but a sense of belonging and purpose. But most importantly, variety. All the commercials show the troops doing cool things overseas or behind the scenes or even making children smile just by giving them toys or food.
A bitter look slashed her across the face as she turned her gaze aside.
"But all we ever do walk around looking tough just for some punk in a crown. We fight battles we don't agree with and we take orders against our moral code. I hate to sound cliché, but this isn't what I signed up for. All this quite, walking around and looking all serious? It's boring."
The gopher scratched his chin for a while before speaking.
"I think I know what your problem is."
"Eh?"
"You're an idiot."
The sparrow put a hand on her hip and turned her head.
"Excuse me?"
But Bensen had already entered full powered nagging mode. The gopher hunched forward and raised a finger as he fired his unblockable attack with a very cheap status ailment of guilt.
"No, no, you're not excused. First of all, the military isn't some after school club. If you're lookin' for a thrill, that's fine. Insane, but fine. But don't do somethin' as major as signin' up for the army of richest kingdom in the world if you're not willin' to do a little grunt work. That comes with the terratory.
"Do you even know what an army's for? We live to serve the people. Everything we do is an extension of obtainin' peace. You see all this? All this borin' you keep yappin' about? That's the end goal. That's what people like us and Sonic fight for. You can only complain about it because of people like us bein' around.
"You want some entertainment? Go to the arcade. Pick up a sport. Read a dang book, any booj. But right now, we're doing somethin' much bigger than ourselves. So buck up, or shut up.
"Okay, okay!" After her HP reached 0, she breathed an irritated sigh. "Stab me in the chest, why don't you? I was just saying we could stand to lose the routine every once in a while."
"That don't even matter. Ain't no reason to change somethin' if it works."
"If only life were that simple…By the way, is that how you talk to all the ladies? It's no wonder you're still single."
"I ain't pulling my punches to spare your feelings."
"Assertiveness is okay, but don't cross over into jerk territory. It's really unattra—"
A stern English voice over some static interrupted them.
"Sheila, Bensen. There's nothing wrong with fraternizing but you're losing focus. Give me 1000 crunches and 40 laps around the kingdom when your shifts are over. And if I have to repeat myself, I'm adding shuttle loops to the mix. You like that? Those loopty loop things will shred your abs."
"Yes sir, Sargent Geoffrey" they miserably groaned after being placed on timeout by the mean old teacher who likes cats.
"Excellent. Also, Bensen, loosen up a bit. Ladies don't like it when you're so stiff."
"Uhhh..." began Bensen. "Ssssir—"
"50 laps."
With a static sound, the voice ceased. There was silence for a few seconds.
"This is all your fault!" whispered Sheila.
"That's applesauce and you know it," spat back Bensen. "You're the one that was yappin' so much."
"Is that supposed to be another sexist comment?"
"Is it sexist if it's true?"
After her HP reached the negatives, Sheila scoffed and folder her arms.
"At least I don't sleep with an anime body pillow."
"Oy. You leave Lisanna out of this."
"Annnnnd you named it."
"No, that's her name from the show."
"Pillows don't have genders."
"You talkin' a lot of smack right now."
Soon after their rematch after the timeskip, they both felt a chill shoot down their spines. They instinctively faced forward and noticed a towering cloaked man with pointed ears and a horn on his head. They hastily turned around corrected their postures.
"Ahem," coughed Bensen. "We're gonna have ta see some identification, sir."
"Yes, yes," he said with some slithering in his voice. "But first, would you mind telling me more about this dilemma of yours, young lady?"
Sheila awkwardly pointed at herself.
"Uh…me?" she said.
Wait. How long was he standing there? she thought afterwards.
"Why, of course. You've expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. If I may share, lately I've been feeling the same regarding how this monarch goes about its business. It is the world's richest kingdom, but it does nothing short of bragging about a reputation they've made no significant attempt to contribute to outside of public appearances and boisterous chants about how superior they are. It's nothing but a face, a mask it wears to distract the people from its lack of cohesive leadership. Yes, those who focus excessively on appearances often do so to hide their lack of essence.
"The people are blissfully unaware of what's really going on. As long as they're provided with their little trinkets and substances to fill the meaningless void that is their lives, they're merely satisfied with being able to live freely to be ignorant. You'd be surprised how aversive the masses are to data acquisition. But answer me this, young ones. Would it truly be best to cling to dated ideals that hold one back for the sake of comfort?
"Clearly not. Society never advanced by relying on the primitive ways of our ancestors. We build. We thrive. We acquire more knowledge, and in turn more power.
"But recent generations seemed to have found comfort in their present surroundings. Wanting to progress as a people, particularly on the individual level, has increasingly become a dying trend. Even the so-called geniuses of today lack the character, the drive, and the vision needed to truly plunge society forward. All the rich want is to get richer. The brightest minds are either too doubtful or too egotistical to be of use. We praise false idols for the stupidest of reasons. We give into our base desires, justifying the most savage treatment of our fellow man. We put pineapples on our pizza.
"All this is the result of fear. The higher chain of command has made this a world where the dull can thrive and markets murderous behaviors in the name of profit. They've glamorized the lazy, hedonistic, and overall selfish life style. They encourage effort but make it synonymous with suffering because in the end, it will benefit their pompous wallets. Why bother quitting when there's something better waiting at the end of your suffering? Why not tough it out as a testament of your strength? But more often than not, pain and suffering are just. There is no grand prize waiting at the end of the stage and it's too much work to actually try and make something commendable of yourself or go after what you truly want in life. After all, who is really satisfied with working at the helm of somebody else and making then richer?
"The people are afraid to change because they are afraid of the unknown, and the powers that be are afraid of change because they cannot manipulate an educated mind.We've come far since our days spent in caves, young ones. There is no conceivable reason why genius and athleticism aren't the norm. There's more than enough resources to provide for every person on the planet, yet everyday children still die of starvation, naked, confused, and scared. There is more information at our finger tips than in any other age, yet the global IQ drops by the decade."
Under his cloak, he seemed to try his best to make his shaking clenched fist concealable but the sound of ripping fabric betrayed his efforts.
"In the end, this complacent life style will lead to the downfall of us all. Sin has a way of catching up to you, and the same can be said for the global community. We will be swallowed up in a flame of our own petard and then find someone or something to place blame on when we had to opportunity to prevent our destruction the entire time. These are the end of days, young ones. And unless we rapidly achieve a great change, all things are doomed to end in a brimming orange cesspool. And that day will come much sooner than we expect."
For a while, nobody said anything. Because what do you really say when some gargoyle tells yiu "We're all too stupid to live,"?
"Uhhh," said Bensen. "No offense, but you shouldn't talk so much smack about the monarch to its soldiers. We personally don't care, but it can really bring down our morale sometimes. In any case, if you don't have proof of I.D. or a letter from the crown or aren't associated with Freedom Fighters, we can't let you through."
"Is that the true extent to which you can reply to my musings?"
"Not gonna lie, I don't really know what else to say."
"I'm still trying to process that very depressing soliloquy," said Sheila who looked like she had seen the ghost of her favorite pet she accidentally fed bad food.
"Shame…"
The towering figure raised his right hand to reveal a sharp glove.
"But I don't think morale is of much relevance to you anymore."
"Okay…" said Sheila as she slowly drew her sword. "That's…cryptic. Gonna take that as a threat, if you don't mind."
Bensen unhesitatingly aimed the tip of his saber at the towering figure.
"If you don't have any proof that you're associated with the king or the kingdom, you cannot pass. It's just how it is. No hard feelins'."
"I happen to know the king personally," said the towering figure. "As they say, we go way back."
"Wait a second," said Shelia. "You look kind of familiar. Like, I don't think we've met but I think I might have seen you somewhere before."
Bensen squinted. Seconds later, his eyes shot open.
"Hot tamale," he said. "They told us about you in orientation! You're--!!"
But his voice was drowned out in an orange wave.
Knothole Kingdom, Castle Acorn, 08:18
Draped in her night gown, Sally Acorn rose from her bed and comfortably stretched her upper body with a smile. She turned to the left and gazed outside the massive window. Behind it, she could see the beautiful and bustling kingdom that was a mixture of gothic and modern architecture. Even though they appeared like specs, she could only imagine the various feelings the citizens felt after living through another calamity unscathed.
A rainbow school of flickies flew past towards the blue sky. She was by no means haughty but for that moment, she felt a great sense of pride that she felt in the deepest pits of her heart.
Sally exhaled and smiled. She reached for a round, silver device on the side of her pillow. She flicked it open with her thumb and to reveal a mirror. Afterwards, it turned into a green screen with a ":D" text in black pixelated text
"Nicole," she said. "What the day's schedule?"
A cheery feminine voice answered.
"At 9:30, you'll be having breakfast. At 11:00, you'll be served lunch. At 12:30, you will join the King for a video conference between the Meropolis, Joyopolis, and Sheng Fu kingdoms as well as the United Nations regarding Eggman's latest attack and the direction the allied forces should take. From 2:30 to 5:30, you'll be free. At 6:00, dinner with the king. At 7:00, there's the meeting with the Freedom Fighters where you'll brainstorm strategies against Dr. Eggman's latest plot for world domination. At 9:30, your favorite soap opera Busy Teen Princess will come on. At 10:30, you'll have trouble falling asleep as you contemplate how lost you'd be without me. At 10:52, you'll be soundly asleep."
"Ugh, Joyopolis? I don't see how they kept that name with a king like Sharkakahn. What a tool…"
"Indeed. Also, I heard his breath smells like sea water."
"Now that's just uncalled for."
"I calls it like I sees it, princess."
Sally smirked and rolled her eyes. She somehow ended up staring out the window again.
"Just another day in the life of Sally Acorn…"
Sally didn't speak for a while.
"Princess? Is something the matter?"
"Not this time Nicole. Just feeling a little…nostalgic. Life in the kingdom is monotonous. But the citizens are happy. Even if we just bounced back from a major scare, people can still find the strength to get up in the morning and walk outside in spite of the fear. All because they have faith in us. All because of our boring little lives."
"To be fair, some of what you do can be fairly exciting."
"I mean, yeah, being a Freedom Fighter always offers a change of pace. But…I wouldn't give up this repetitive peace for anythinnnn…"
Sally seemed to lose control of her verbal abilities after noticing a massive orange explosion at the edge of the kingdom. The castle was already a few miles away from the main entrance. Anything that looked big from her point of view would be more than a sufficient wake up call.
But an explosion was the very last thing she had hoped, nevermind expected, to see that morning.
"What on Earth…?" she whispered.
As a cloud of gray expanded, Sally did nothing but stare wide eyed from a distance. Her expression seemed somewhere between shocked and sad.
Giant humanoid rock monsters jotted out from out of the smoke. Animated cedar trees soon followed. Homes, shops, and business buildings exploded into fragments and dust. Shards of glass and bricks soared through the air. She could not make out the finer details but the various specks across the kingdom soon sporadically fled in several directions.
"Princess," Nicole said. "I'm receiving a distress signal from Sargent Geoffrey St. John."
Sally continued to stare out the window with her hands covering her mouth.
"Princess? Sally!"
She blinked and shook her head a few times to gather herself.
"I'm sorry. I…it's not important."
"Sally, you received a distress message from St. John."
"Right. Put him on."
An English accented man spoke with a distraught voice.
"Princess, are you alright?" There were several footsteps in the background.
"St. John, what's going on?"
"Walter Naugus is back."
"What?!"
"His, whatever those things are, are spreading rapidly across the kingdom from the main entrance. Citizens are probably being slaughtered by the minute."
Sally's eye brows curved up. All strength seemed to have left her face as her expression dropped.
"Oh no…"
"In any case…"
The large, shiny red doors leading to her room abruptly swung open. In seconds, a dozen Acorn Army soldiers filled the room. Standing in the middle of the entrance, a skunk with a utility belt and a crossbow on his right glove pointed at Sally.
"I want troops surrounding the princess at all times," he said strictly. "Don't let her out of your sight for whatever reason."
Sally covered her chest with her arms and glared at entrance.
"Geoffrey," she said. "What's going on?!"
"Those freaks are moving at an alarming pace. There's a good chance they're on their way to the castle. As such, we're moving you to the private jet and booking it."
"What? No, no! I need to get out there and fight alongside the Freedom Fighters."
"Negative. Your life comes first. King's orders. You can mobilize the Freedom Fighters but you're coming to safety."
"Geoff—"
"We don't have time to argue. You two, grab her."
Two soldiers walked over to Sally. One wrapped his arms around hers as if to take her out on a hot date.
Get it? Hot date? Because the town is on fire?
I'm sorry.
"Right this way princess," he said.
"Hey—!" Sally said with a raised eyebrow. But before she knew it, another guard took her other arm and she was forcefully dragged out of her bed towards the exit. "Can you at least bring me my clothes?!"
"Somebody grab her usual wear," Geoffrey said exasperated.
Five men rushed over to her dresser a little further on the other side of the room.
"Somebody female."
A woman ran passed the embarrassed men to Sally's dresser and after briefly rummaging through it picked out a teal vest, a pair of white gloves with teal wrist rings, short black tights, and a pair of teal boots.
"Bloody perverts," Geoffrey said under his breath. "Roll out."
"Transforme—" one of the guards begun.
"Todd, I swear to God."
Before they reached the door, Sally swung her arms inward. She didn't overpower the guards, they just complied with her. She walked ahead of them and spoke into the silver device in her hand.
"Nicole," she said with a serious look. "Put everyone online."
"Right away," said the digital assistant.
On a green screen, mugshots of Sonic, Tails, Amy, Cream, Big, Antoine, Bunnie, and Rotor appeared.
"Freedom Fighters. Mobilize in Knothole immediately. We're under attack by Walter Naugus."
Knothole Kingdom, D'Coolette Residence 08:23
Bunnie slowly sat up from her bed and yawned. She rubbed her eyes with the insides of her hands. She turned to her left to see her husband Antoine soundly asleep on his stomach. His mouth was slightly opened and he snored. With a smile, Bunnie lightly rubbed the side of his face with the back of her right hand.
She would be interrupted by the sound of a massive explosion and the shaking of the room. Dust and fragments of the ceiling fell. She grabbed the sheets and jerked her head to the window.
"WHAT IN TARNATION—?!" she shouted. She leapt out of bed and ran over to the curtains. She pulled them apart to see a too close gray cloud of smoke rapidly rising behind some buildings. In the distance, she heard the nearby cries of citizens and what sounded like ice cracking. In a huff, she ran back to Antoine and forcefully shook him by the shoulder. "Twan! Twan, we gotta go! The Kingdom's under attack!"
Antoine turned to face her with a smile.
"Oiiiii," he said ecstatically. "Honey, is zhat a saber in your blouse or are you just happy to see me?"
Bunnie squinted.
"…Wha—"
Antoine shot up to a cadence with a blank expression.
"WHAT."
"Antoine, something's attacking Knothole! We gotta do something!"
"Mon Diu," he said as he whipped of his covers and jumped out of the bed. "Is zhere any word from Sally?"
"Not yet," said Bunnie as she slipped into a pink leotard. "But in any case, we gotta skedaddle. Citizens need our help."
"Of course," said Antoine while putting on a pair of red boots. "At once." He quickly slipped a pair of white gloves and wrapped a white sash across his shoulder blade and fasted his belt. He crouched down on all fours and looked under the bed. "Uhhh, where is my saber?"
"Check the bathroom. You were 'sharpening' it last night."
"What? But I was not—I mean, yes, zhat is zhe only zhing zhat happened in the bathroom last night."
As Bunnie tightened her leotard, Antoine sprinted to the bathroom. He returned with a gold hilt sticking from a green sheath. Sally's voice came from his right wrist and Bunnie's left.
"Freedom Fighters," she said. "Mobilize in Knothole immediately. We're under attack by Walter Naugus."
"Way ahead of you, Sal!" said Bunnie into her wrist.
"Oh, dear!" said Cream over the com.
"Okay," said Big.
"Ohhhhhhh, Sonic…" said Amy in a drowsy voice.
Bunnie raised and eye brow but a moment later shook her head.
"I'm done with sleepy heads for the day," she said before turning to Antoine. "C'mon hon! We're outta here like an elephant at a mice convention!"
"Oi, oi," said Antoine. "You should not reinforce zhe stereotypes, mon cheri."
Bunnie ran to the window and lifted it open. She grabbed Antoine's hand with her mechanical left hand and jumped into the air. Soon, Antoine came back to shut the window before running off.
Central City, Amy Rose's Apartment, 08:25
Beneath a pink sheet on a heart shaped bed, a tiny mass wriggled about. As she tightly hugged a pillow with a famous blue hedgehog's face on it, Amy Rose wore a content smile. She gently rubbed her cheek against the stitched image of her one and only.
"Ohhhhhh~ Sonic," she whispered ecstatically. "I love it when you ignore me...Being too available is a huge turn off."
As if in response, a familiar, and bossy, voice echoed from underneath her pillow.
"Freedom Fighters," it said, slightly muffled. "Mobilize in Knothole immediately. We're under attack by Walter Naugus."
"Way ahead of you, Sally!" said Bunnie.
"Okay," said Big.
"Oh, dear!" said Cream.
"Ohhhhhhh, Sonic…" said Amy in a drowsy voice.
"…Ummm, A-Amy?" said Sally nervously.
"Soooooonnnnic…"
"Amy..."
"Ohhhhhhh, Sonnnnnic! Penetrate me with your emotional and literal distance!"
"AMY."
"Oh, nooooofff—!"
Amy's eyes shot open and with a yelp, she fell off her bed. During the fall, she brushed against the side of her counter which caused an unhealthy amount of Sonic the Hedgehog related merchandise (games, comics, toys etc.) to pile drive her into the carpet.
She rose from the pit of fan merchandise like a zombie rising from its grave and brought her wrist to her lips.
"S-Sally…! I, uhhh… *cough* *ahem* totally wasn't dreaming about Sonic leaving an empty yet alluring void in my life."
"…Honey, we both know you're lying but that's not important right now. Walter Naugus is attacking Knothole with an army of golems and tree monsters."
"What?!"
"That's why I said. The Freedom Fighters are needed but Daddy wants me out of the kingdom for my safety like I haven't been doing this for a decade."
"...I didn't hear Sonic say anything. And he always has something to say."
"This call was sent out to all the Freedom Fighters and that bum hasn't answered. His unavailability is both highly frustrating and attractive."
"Right?"
"Tails hasn't responded either. I don't know what happened but we can't focus on that right now. Get over here ASAP."
"On it."
Afterwards, Sally's picture disappeared from the screen on Amy's communicator. She brought it closer to her lips.
"Call: Sonic."
Christmas Island, Sonic's Borrow, 08:28
Sonic slouched on a coach with his limbs limply spread. A noise came from his wrist.
"Sonic!" said Amy. "Are you there?!"
With a slightly irritated look and a low grumbling, Sonic turned to the inside of the couch.
"Sonic, answer me! This is not the right time to be mysterious!"
At that point, Sonic began to loudly snore.
"Sonic, Knothole's under attack by Walter Naugus and we could really use your help in saving citizens and fighting him and STOP IGNORING ME AND SAY SOMETHING ALREADY!!"
"…hmmmm," Sonic said blissfully as he turned up. "Can't annoy me in my dreams, Amy…zzzzzz…"
"SONNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!!!"
Central City, Amy Rose's Apartment, 08:29
"Ughhhhh!" Amy groaned with an irritated look. As she sat in a pile of Sonic the Hedgehog merchandise, she placed her index finger under her chin and looked to the side.
Okay, so there goes my ride, she thought. He's probably asleep. We did get home awfully late... Amy folded her arms and sighed. And here I was hoping he'd carry me in his arms as we heroically stormed into the sea of battle. Maybe next terrorist attack.
Amy unfolded her arms and spoke into her wrist.
"Call: Tails."
A second later, a beeping noise rang and a message appeared across the com device.
"'Unavailable?' Is Sonic finally rubbing off on him?"
She then narrowed her eyes.
But that's odd. Neither Sonic or Tails are answering. And they'd be the first ones to reply. Sonic's not enough of a jerk to ignore a distress call and reaching Tails is out of the question for some reason. Him losing his com device or just leaving it off is also unlikely.
Amy stood up from her fan wreckage and opened her drawer. She grabbed her PJs by from the back and yanked them off from the top.
Something must have happened to him... If Naugus is working with Eggman like we thought, and with Tails off the grid all of a sudden, then it would stand to say that Eggman sent someone over to deal with him! Amy bit into her nails with a worried expression. Oh, no…I hope he's alright...
She slipped into her trademark red blouse.
That's just awful! Now, they're attacking us in our homes?!
She paused for a moment and placed the side of her index finger on her chin
But…why Tails? And why not anyone else? Aside from him being a genius, he's not an especially dangerous member of the team. Sending a hit squad to Knothole would be a lost cause unless it's an army or ninjas or an army of ninjas. So that leaves Sally, Antoine, Bunnie, and Rotor out of the equation. He knows where Cream, Big, and I live too…
She put on her head band, and dashed out of her room.
All this falls into messing with Sonic. That in mind, the motive behind this plan is a lot clearer. In other words, those slimeballs attacked Tails just to keep my guy busy.
Amy ran over to the front door and slipped her feet into her boots. She kicked the tip of them into the ground to tighten them and flung open the door.
So, they want to keep Sonic away from Knothole for the time being. He's the biggest threat to them, so it makes sense if they want to just mess things up for everyone. But he's also a major player in the Freedom Fighters. Without him, our effectiveness goes down significantly.
With her arms dangling behind her, Amy leaned forward and dashed down the sidewalk at high speed, kicking up a trail of dust barely keeping up with her. She casually side stepped into the street and she zipped past several cars.
Objectively, that would just make things harder for us. I don't know the specifics but if they're just generic monster henchmen, Sonic could probably mow down half of those goons by himself in record timing. But the rest of us aren't slouches. That wouldn't out of our range, not by a large margin. I can't see much reason for keeping him busy besides upping the difficulty.
While cruising down the street and swerving around cars a few hundred miles shy of Mach 1, anxiety weld up in the pit of Amy's stomach.
I…don't know enough about Naugus to compare him to Sonic, but Sally says he can only be beaten by light magic. Is it because he's just that powerful that it takes a major crutch to beat him…or is he invincible otherwise?
Amy realized she was looking down at the road for a while and with a gasp quickly swung her head up. A truck was in the middle of crossing an intersection. If she slid to a stop, it was very likely that she would end up directly in its path and be punted like a football during kickoff. She spun jumped in the space between the back of the truck and the cargo it carried and continued her trek.
In any case, all this stress isn't helping. They just know that Sonic would kick Naugus' bald, horny butt three ways to Sunday! But that shouldn't matter.
In a small dispersion of smoke, a large, red and yellow hammer appeared in Amy's right hand.
Sonic's not the only one who can kick a little butt.
Knothole Kingdom, Behind Castle Acorn, 08:34
Sally closed her silver handheld and lazily dangled her arm at her side. She closed her eyes and sighed.
Meanwhile, Geoffrey peered around the side of a cedar tree.
"We're clear!" he said. "Double time! Go, go, go!"
Afterwards, he ran with a dozen Acorn guards and Sally across a runway leading to a large, silver jet with an Acorn symbol on its side. He reached into a pocket on his utility belt and pulled a pair of what looked like car keys attached to a rectangular device with two square buttons on it. With his thumb, he aimed them at the plane and pressed button one of the buttons. The plane made a double beep noise and a door from underneath it slowly moved towards the ground.
Geoffrey swiftly turned around and flicked the keys to a nearby guard (orange duck, male) who fumbled with it before awkwardly catching it at the last moment.
"Take the princess to Soleanna until things smooth over. There's a communication device aboard the plane on the driver's dashboard. Use it to contact the Duke ahead of time and inform him of the situation."
Sally whipped her head around and stared at Geoffrey with a disgusted look like he had spiders coming out of his eyes and ears.
"Soleanna?!" she said, confused and surprised. "That's almost half the globe from here! Naugus would be beaten on the way over!"
"You don't know that and you're aware of how standard safety procedures go, princess. The crown and their next in line take priority over all else, even its citizens."
"The citizens take priority. Otherwise, what's the point?"
Geoffrey sighed, rolled his eyes, turned in the opposite direction and began to walk.
"I'm not discussing this any further. Nobody has time to be this repetitive. Melvin, secure her seat extra tight."
"Do you mind explaining why my father isn't here?"
Geoffrey didn't make it past his first stride before he stopped moving.
"You said it yourself. The safety of the crown takes priority. And yet, the crown is nowhere to be seen."
Melvin spoke from the side.
"Princess," he said, worried as he reached out to her again. "We reeeeeeally should be goi—"
Sally turned to him with an aggressive scowl.
"Do not. Touch me."
Melvin raised his hands and slowly backed away. Afterwards, Sally faced Geoffrey.
"The first thing you should have done was secure my daddy. Yet, you ran in the opposite direction of his chambers and were just about to send me on around the world by myself. You say you're following simple safety procedures but you're ignoring the most crucial element surrounding it. The king himself."
Geoffrey turned his head and peered at Sally out of the corner of his eye. She shot back with vicious indifference in her eyes.
"There are several implications behind what you're doing and they all end in treason. The consequences for such an act of rebellion towards the most affluent kingdom on the planet will most assuredly affect you for the rest of your life. But I digress. I think we both know what really went down."
Sally raised her arm up high and dramatically swung it down to point at Geoffrey. One could almost see the "Woosh!" sound effect in white lettering. It was really cool. You should have been there.
"Your king, my father, is risking his own life to protect his people. He's breaking rules that have been passed down for generations and you're going along with it."
"In case you're interested, half of those people are probably dying right now because you're holding me up."
"What you're doing doesn't make any sense."
"I'm just following orders. But in the event that he perishes—"
"He won't."
"—his next of line will receive the crown."
"But if that's so, it would make more sense to bring us both along. And in any case, it would make more sense to leave us both behind. My father has access to the Sword of Acorn is, which is our best, if not our only shot at beating Naugus, and he knows how to use it. Combine that with his experience and training in tacticiacal affairs with one of the world's most powerful armies at his helm alongside his daughter who I heard knows a thing or two about the art of war and her own mini army at her disposal."
Sally narrowed her gaze. Her tone was clearly bitter and belligerent.
"Geoffrey, you have no reason to send me off."
The militant skunk turned to face the princess.
"I didn't want to be the one to tell you," he said without hesitation. "But if it will truly calm your britches, the king just wants to settle the score."
Sally's lips slightly parted.
"…What?" she said almost in a whisper. "What do you mean?"
"It's exactly as I've said. Walter is a former associate gone rogue and has an extensive knowledge on top secret information. Your father only seeks a book ends to this meaningless squabble."
"You mean you left my daddy alone just so he can take his stupid revenge?! What is wrong with you?!"
"As much as that truly hurts, I can't do anything about it. He's a passionate man in power. Nothing I tell him would supersede that. Naugus won't stop until his ideals are realized and he's powerful enough to make them come true. These are ambitions men with an unquenchable thirst to fulfil their opposing desires. It's an immovable object versus an unstoppable force. The only thing your father is guilty of here is not wanting his only daughter to get caught up in the crossfire."
"…I really wish you'd stop using gender like it's something other than just that."
"Yeah, that's not what I did…Princess, give up. You've lost this argument and you know it. I've only humored you this long because I know you'd do something reckless unless you got the full scoop. That, and I have enough faith in the army to do the right thing in my absence, just like you should. This is not up for debate. This is a direct order from the king to you. Not only as your superior, but as your father. Now, get your royal butt, on that private plane, and get the hell out of here."
Afterwards, Geoffrey swung around and sprinted towards a bunch of cedar trees. He disappeared within the forest in seconds.
For a while, Sally did nothing but gawk at where Geoffrey stood. As much as she didn't' want to acknowledge, she felt a sense of defeat and that left her a bit spiteful and unsure of how to react.
A red beaver walked over to her and gently grabbed her by the forearm.
"Princess," he said. "We really should be going."
"Fine," she said. "And I can walk myself, thank you very much."
"Of course, m'lady."
Melvin let go of her and the two hurried to the entryway of the plane. Unbeknownst to the non-suspecting, there was a glimmer within Sally's eyes.
While dashing through the patch of cedar trees, Geoffrey pressed a button on the side of his wrist communicator.
"Hershey, what's it look like out there?"
A serious feminine voice responded.
"Just your typical stick and stone goons," she said without much emotion. "They're not showing any signs of intellect. And other than their movement patterns are hit, run, repeat. Basic and repetitive. They move slowly but attack hard and at random intervals. But strike them hard enough and they'll return to mother nature where they belong. I've got eyes and ears telling me they're spreading across the kingdom from the entrance but they haven't reached the center that marks the halfway point to the castle. Over."
"Give the command. Send 10 platoons to Knothole's equator and spread them out in every direction. Have them cover the most amount of ground. Over."
"But, Geoffr…I mean sir, that's not even half of the army. Over."
"From what you described, they're just cannon fodder. Recognize their patterns, hit them enough times and they fall. If the Freedom Fighters can do this by the dozens, there's no reason the world's wealthiest, most highly trained army can't. That, and…"
Geoffrey paused for dramatic effect.
"We're going to need the rest. Over."