Author's note: This final chapter is very gritty, so read with caution!

Chapter Four

Global unrest increased as time progressed. A week had passed since Shauland's accusations, and nations across the planet were at each other's throats, paranoid and enraged. Rumors of wars were circulating amongst various forms of communication, from radio to televised media to virtual worlds. Many of the most distressing rumors were started deliberately. Shauland's propaganda became so convincing, that as people began taking sides, friendships and families were torn asunder from the vehemont clashes of beliefs. The United Federation and its allies were trying in vain to quell the unproven fears of espionage, corruption, and plans to invade, but the conspiracies continued, as did sporadic violence.

Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters were carrying out various tasks within their headquarters. Some were analyzing media information, some were establishing additional security systems, and some were simply sharing thoughts on the issues at hand.

Rotor was humming merrily to himself in the kitchen while preparing lunch for everyone, or more specifically, homemade egg rolls. He mumbled the list of ingredients to himself, making sure that everything was precisely measured and mixed. As he reached for a bottle of fresh spices, he noticed it was empty. He raised his eyebrows, shrugged, and made his way outside to a patch of herbs, where he knelt down and began gathering a few.

Tails watched Rotor from one of the bulletproof windows while speaking to Kaolin. The vulpine grinned slightly, having thought of an amusing joke the walrus had told earlier, and that led to another fun tangent in the conversation. When he started to turn his head back toward his smiling wife, he heard the crack of a gunshot echoing across the area, and in horror witnessed Rotor collapse onto the herb patch. Two other bullets exploded against the window a split second later; one next to Tails' head, and one next to Kaolin's. Tails shouted a warning of impending danger to his friends, resulting in alarm system activation and nearly each member equipping themselves with armaments. Four seconds passed before a rocket hit the back door, blowing it apart and sending hot pieces of metal and masonry sailing down an adjacent passage. Another rocket blew a hole in the wall that was housing energy cables, leading to the power suddenly shutting off. Everyone took cover as six mercenaries rushed in and opened fire with automatic weapons. The lead mercenary shouted orders to his associates, telling them to spread out and leave no one alive aside from their main target.

Amy, who had neglected to grab a gun, dove into a box-filled storage room as one of the attackers came around a corner and fired a few shots, one of which grazed her boot. Terrified beyond her wits, she stumbled her way into a dark corner, almost hyperventilating, and prayed that she would remain unseen. The pursuer, a young, scruffy, tattoo-covered Overlander, chuckled evilly and sprinted into the room, intending to perforate the pink hedgehog with an overkill amount of hot ammunition, as was recommended. As he slowly walked past the rows of boxes, he whispered sadistic threats, hoping to intensify her fears and cause her to become careless and make a noise. She knew better, and tried as hard as she could to stay silent.

In another section of the building, Bunny, too, was being hunted. She surreptitiously slipped behind some large equipment as the assailant carefully searched the area. Her hunter, also a leporid, was the only female in that group of mercenaries, though she almost didn't look like one considering her heavy military attire and overall rugged appearance. As the mercenary wandered into a large closet, Bunny rushed into the open and punched straight through a wall between the room and the closet. Her hard metal fist collided with the unfortunate mercenary's head, knocking her out cold. She pulled her arm out of the wall and grinned, completely unaware of another mercenary, a canid, approaching her position. It wasn't until the merc brushed against a vase that she noticed. The enemy panicked and opened fire, hitting Bunny almost exclusively in her cybernetic appendages, though she was hit a few times in her organic arm. She extended her mechanical arm and knocked the gun from his hands, but the trained soldier responded quickly by grabbing her arm and jerking her towards him, clubbing her very ardently over the head with a baton shortly thereafter. He grinned and prepared to beat her to death on the spot, but his plans were foiled when he felt the cold steel of Antoine's sword penetrating his chest from the back. He looked down at the portion of the blade that was protruding from the front of his tactical vest, and his lips flinched in surprise. Blood trickled down from his mouth as he coughed lightly, and he slowly sank to the ground as he gradually lost energy, dying moments later.

Antoine yanked the sword from the soldier's chest, stolidly wiped the blood away with a cloth, and sheathed his weapon with almost liquid motion. He quickly dragged his wife to a secure place behind a sofa and checked her to make sure she was still alive. Seeing as she was indeed still living, he let out a sigh of relief and immediately patched the wounds on her arm.

Sally was behind the kitchen counter, using her pistol in a ferocious gunfire exchange with a feline gunman, also armed with a pistol, who was behind an overturned metal table. Both of them had the other pinned down by a salvo of bullets; each had many extra magazines. However, as Sally reloaded yet again, the soldier took that brief opportunity to jump out and rush into the kitchen. Sally reloaded just in time to shoot him in the right upper leg and hip, but he managed to shoot both of her forearms and one of her upper arms. She shouted in pain as her gun fell from her hands, and she scrambled inside the network of cabinets as the injured attacker steadied himself enough to fire more shots.

Elsewhere, Sonic was preoccupied with his own opponent. They were in a bedroom; Sonic was huddled behind a dresser, and the mercenary had taken cover next to the bed. Their situation was similar to that of Sally's previous exchange of fire with her adversary, though it was with automatic weapons. Before either of them could run out of ammunition, Sonic heard Sally's distressed scream. Everything around him suddenly became extrinsic, including his own safety. Without thinking, he dropped his gun, placed his back against the wall, and kicked the back of the dresser hard enough to blow it apart and send one of the heavy wooden drawers, along with many shards of wood, soaring toward his enemy's general vicinity. The drawer collided with a wall and ricocheted, successively striking the gunman's neck, resulting in instant internal decapitation and death.

Sally's attacker shot relentlessly at the cabinets, hoping to get in a few lucky hits on the wounded chipmunk. All he managed to do was graze Sally's small tail before Sonic almost literally flew in. The hedgehog planted a foot on his side, rupturing a kidney and causing severe bruising to many other organs, and landed a fist on his face with the force of a speeding freight train. The mercenary was launched through three walls and outside of the building itself, and finally through the trunk of a tree, coming to rest on a second, leading to branch loss and some of the bark being flung from the other side. Needless to say, he didn't survive.

Sonic stood there for a few moments, panting, and rubbing the aching hand which had struck the attacker so very hard. He quickly retrieved his beleaguered wife from her makeshift bunker, and the two embraced, though only for a short while considering her painful, bleeding injuries.

Kaolin rapidly smacked the gun away from the lead mercenary, shortly after his entrance into the large utility room where she had taken cover. Considering the ursine soldier's training and combat experience, the move was highly humiliating for him. However, he partially regained his dignity when he punched her across the room and into a crate. Before she could grab her pistol, he threw a tray of tools at her, prompting her to dive out of the way and momentarily lose track of his movement. This gave him enough time to pull a large tactical knife from his belt and sprint toward his female target. A small amount of ash-gray fur became airborne when the knife grazed her shoulder as she narrowly evaded a lung shot, and she rolled across the floor, taking that oppotunity to grab her pistol. Once steady, she aimed for his head, but the quick-thinking commando swatted it from her hands and carved a small gash on her wrist. Startled by his skill, the fox took to the air and sped around the room, in an attempt to enervate the brute's resolve and cause him to lose focus. It didn't take long for him to corner her, much to her surprise, and as she dodged another strike, his knife penetrated a still-live electrical conduit. The resultant release of energy stunned him briefly enough to allow her to perform a good, hard kick to his face, sending him aback. The vulpine then dislodged the knife with a kick, grabbed it, and rushed him. Before he could evade, she rammed the knife up through his lower jaw and into his skull, killing him immediately. She surceased her flight and landed on her feet, just as the lifeless bear collapsed to the cold, concrete floor. Her expression was imbued with bitterness and lugubriousness; she despised taking lives with an unadulterated passion, but knew it was necessary, not only for her own personal safety, but for the safety of her friends as well. She quickly patched her wounds with supplies from her portable medical kit, and subsequently grabbed her gun and made her way into the rest of the headquarters to see if she could assist the others.

Back in the storage room, the crazed Overlander soldier drew closer to the position of the shivering Amy. His depraved threats continued, but he became distracted in his sadistic delight and failed to notice Tails sneaking up behind him. When he determined that the mercenary wasn't even paying attention, the golden-orange fox was quick to fly up and roundhouse-kick the soldier in the head. Due to reflex, the Overlander fired a few rounds into the wall before he toppled over onto a pile of boxes, out cold.

Once he steadied himself and made sure the monster was out for the count, Tails consolingly told Amy that the immediate threat was over. She poked her head out from behind some boxes with a demeanor of happiness, and responded with joy and thanks. Tails then shouted a request for a status report from his friends, and found that the area was secure.

As the wounded were treated and surviving enemies put into holding, the Freedom Fighters who were available traveled outside after Nicole, who had been dormant for one of her occasional system maintenance sessions, scanned the area for more threats. They somberly walked to where Rotor lay, but were surprised when he began to stand up and dust himself off.

"Rotor! We thought you were dead!" exclaimed Kaolin, wiping tears from her bleary eyes.

"At the risk of being shot again, I played dead. I'm really REALLY glad I added bulletproofing to my jacket," replied Rotor with a chuckle, and he continued, "The hit left quite a painful bruise, though," while rubbing the hole in the back of his jacket.

Before they could continue their conversation, Nicole interrupted with urgent news. One of the United Federation's allies was undergoing a massive aerial attack by a pro-Shauland government, which had declared war upon the nation moments prior. The declaration was immediately reciprocated, thus commencing the first major conflict resulting from Shauland's deception.

The Freedom Fighters listened in utter shock. If global peace was that fragile, they could only imagine what could happen next. They headed back inside the building in order to plan for a possible attack on United Federation soil. The place was a mess, but cleaning the floors of debris and blood would have to wait until another time. However, Sonic went ahead and gathered some plywood in order to tend to the more pertinent issue of patching the gaping holes he'd caused in the walls, which bore obvious testimony to his excessive, though understandable, response to the mercenary who attacked Sally.

For the following fifteen minutes, they monitored the mounting situations across the globe. The attack had emboldened other groups to carry out their own nefarious plans, and violence spiked sharply, including conflicts on the United Federation's borders.

After the walls were repaired, at least to some extent, Sonic, who was carrying Nicole, went into the infirmary to check on his injured wife. The wounds on Sally's arms had been treated and bandaged, and he found her sitting on the side of a medical bed adjacent to the one cradling the still-unconscious Bunny.

"Hey Sonic," greeted Sally with a somewhat indolent tone. The gunshot wounds had left her with little energy, but she tried her best to show her appreciation of her husband's presence.

Sonic gazed into her big, cerulean eyes with tender concern, and asked "Hey Sally, how are you feeling?"

"I'm doing better, though nearly being turned into Swiss cheese really takes it out of ya, heh," remarked the chipmunk in a fairly comedic spirit, though residual consternation from the attack was still evident.

Sonic snerked and took a seat next to his wife, clasping his hands on his knees. In her mind, Sally was exceedingly thankful for the privilege of being able to enjoy Sonic's company again. She was thankful that she had a second chance. She placed one of her hands onto his, and the two locked eyes, kissing moments later.

Again, Nicole interrupted with an important development. A plane bearing semblance to a United Federation long-range bomber had just carpet-bombed a military area within Shauland's borders. The accompanying town had also been damaged, including an orphanage, a hospital, and a school full of children. Casualties were unknown, but were loosely estimated to have been between five-hundred and fifteen-hundred.

Those who were within earshot accelerated their efforts in war preparation. Whether or not it was a legitimate United Federation bomber was irrelevant. It was clear that Shauland wanted an excuse for war, and they were about to get one.

The leader of Shauland made a public announcement less than five minutes following the bombing, fiercely denouncing the attack and officially declaring open war on the United Federation.

The Freedom Fighters went into panic mode. They first sent out alerts to all of their family members and friends across the nation, warning them to be prepared for the worst. They then ran systems checks on their fighting equipment, as they would probably be seeing combat in the near future. A quick inventory count of survival supplies in the bomb shelter was also performed, should there be a widespread nuclear exchange.

In the midst of the commotion, Nicole added that she had detected another transmission, stating that troops were mobilizing in the country bordering the United Federation to the South. Further signal monitoring led her to conclude with eighty-nine percent certainty that they were primarily troops from Shauland's allies, and included true Shaulandic units as well. All the more evidence of a predetermined conflict.

As the minutes ticked by, similar conflicts arose between the nations supporting Shauland and the nations supporting the United Federation. Pro-UF nations had allegedly executed strikes against their opposition, and the so-called victims responded accordingly. The Freedom Fighters knew that a world war was imminent. Some of the members wondered if it would indeed escalate to a nuclear exchange, but it was ruled doubtful, considering the United Federation's highly advanced missile defense network, which had performed with flying colors in each of its trial runs.

They would get their answer very shortly.

A large airliner, carrying over two-hundred civilians, was cruising high above the Central region of the United Federation. In a blinding flash, a high-yield nuclear warhead hidden within the cargo hold detonated. Directly within its flight path was an important power regulation complex, which was swiftly knocked offline by the powerful electromagnetic pulse. A considerable section of the nation lost power immediately, and the mainland portion of the missile defense network had been damaged to the point where its purpose was essentially destroyed.

Many hundreds of hypersonic nuclear ballistic missiles promptly rose from their underground silos, launched not only from Shaulandic soil, but from three other nuclear powers sympathetic to Shauland's cause. Most of the missiles had major United Federation cities and military installations targeted, including New Mobotropolis, but many were directed toward UF-friendly nations. The United Federation responded by launching the bulk of their functioning mainland nuclear arsenal, as well as their ship- and submarine-mounted atomic weapons.

Nicole nearly came unglued when she got the satellite feeds concerning the launches, and Sonic, who was still carrying her, jerked when she shouted the alert. They scrambled in all directions to prepare for the possibility that one of the missiles was heading their way. Considering the fact that Shauland's leader harbored a staggering hatred of the Freedom Fighters, they figured it was well within the realm of possibility. If it didn't land directly on their heads, it would probably land in nearby New Mobotropolis.

The remaining missile defense outposts managed to shoot down dozens of the missiles, but most of them got through. Once Nicole determined that one was indeed making a bee-line for them, they abandoned their headquarters and took off to the South. If her calculations of the missile's blast potential were correct, the bomb shelter would've been vaporized.

The first targeted United Federation city, located on the Eastern coast, disappeared under a luminous mushroom cloud only a few minutes after five o'clock in the afternoon. Twenty-four cities and fifty-nine military bases followed suit. Shauland lost over half of its cities, but nearly all of its military might was either deep underground, in the air, or scattered amongst its allies. One of its nuclear partners was almost completely reduced to a glassed wasteland.

In total, over eight-hundred million people lost their lives that day.

Following the nuclear strikes, troops from various hostile nations poured into the United Federation from all directions, marking the beginning of a long and arduous war.

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Author's notes: A tragic ending, and the beginning of a new era. Keep a watchful eye for the sequel, coming soon! Please review!

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Canon Sonic characters and places © Sonic Team, Sega
Kaolin, story, other original characters, countries and organizations, etc © NuclearCookout