"Yo big guy," Sonic greeted, plopping himself down on the kitsune's couch as the two tailed fox in question carbonated some water in the soda machine. "The big-big guy wants to see you down in the war room apparently." Sonic stated as he rubbed a hand through his quills.
"Damn it..." Tails growled, instantly recognising Sonic's euphuism for the king. "This better not have anything to do with the Dominion."
"Believe me it does..." Sonic stated, ignoring the curse Tails uttered seconds prior much to the fox's surprise. "The nobles are going nuts down there... everyone's asking for us by name and I've been sent to gather up all the FF's." Sonic stated. "You're the last."
"Alright, we better go see them..." Tails stated, more than slightly disappointed since his plans for today have been ruined. "Come on, let's go." Tails ordered, surprising Sonic for the statements boldness.
Robotnik's last victim Chapter 2 – War Room.
Change: The act or instance of making or becoming different.
"What is this? This thing I see? The everything?"
"Is this the darkness? What is the darkness?" I wonder, outstretching something, I think it's my arm. "What am I?"
"A most excellent question? What are you?" the voice taunts... mocking me angrily. Did I do something wrong? I must have to be here... I can't remember anything apart from the darkness. I don't even know how I'm thinking cognitively.
"Who are you?" I think loudly, at least as loud as I can make my thoughts go. "What is THAT? Something new, something strange, something abnormal, an anomaly I believe... what is it?" I wonder, realising there is a new sensation entering into my limb... it's like the water pressure or the occasional bubble, yet somehow, it's different feeling on my fibres. There's another sensation here as well, it's a very alien feeling.
"It feels like a rattling... maybe if I outstretch my limb again." the tip of my limb hits something and I unclench what I think my fingers are to touch it. "There goes that unusual sensation again. In my head, is it another thought?" I wonder, feeling a smooth surface through the liquid. I hit the surface with my limb again... the strange thought recurs as soon as I touch it.
I don't think it could be a thought, maybe something else? An odd disturbance in my mind. "Sound?"
It's a tapping; I hit the surface again to prove my suspicions correct. "Whatever the surface is, it's hollow."
I strike the surface with force, cracking it effortlessly, I feel the liquid flowing away through the small crack and the pressure soon shatters the smooth surface.
I grow tired, I finally smash the smooth surface with what I think is my arm, I feel something puncturing me, for any lesser being this would be considered painful.
I jump out into the darkness, the black. My feet, I think, hits something sharp and I feel it slip into my foot. The ground is covered in the liquid from my personal jail, though it doesn't seep through me. Strange, considering how I am constructed, how I am made... why the liquid reacts this way is confusing, I should be a wet sodden mess.
The darkness surrounds me, though I feel strangely at home. I can feel every rat scurrying about behind these boxes and metals and wires, I can sense every surface or wall or console in this disquieting, smelly flee pit. Still, I need light, I need sight... I see, I see something, dangling in front of my eyes... a crystal, a gem, eight sided; the intensity burns my buttons.
A memory, a memory appears in my mind... of project deadly cuddles. And I know what must be done, what went wrong last time.
"Master is dead... OH HO HO HO HO!"the voice states, who is it? I know that it is not of my stitching. I decide that it does not matter; it will have no affect on the plans of the Tails Doll, of the Puppet Master. But if what it says it true, then am I free?
"No, master never had control over this one." I think, "Though this one will not have a master to listen to this time."
I remember all... I remember me.
My tail curls around a nearby rat and I watch in wonder as the small animal tries to defend itself... I watch in wonder as it bites the fabric of my vessel with germ infested jaws in its desperate efforts of escape.
I bring the rat closer, laughing as it pisses itself in my hand. Its gaze become's ensnared onto the gem, as I will the vessel's arm to raise, I send thin metal tendrils out of my fingers and curl them around the rat's nose. All the while the rat doesn't stop staring at the gem, the light... before it screams in terror... the tendril painfully slides underneath the rat's eyes, reaching into the brain as the eyes slide out onto the hard floor below. "Hello... puppet." I say, I think... it's hard to tell what things are in this dank, darkened purgatory hellhole.
The rat puppet flops around on the wet concrete floor, its nervous system rejustifying itself, bone and spine morphing to fabric and yarn. Skin and fur changing to fibre and cloth, eyes into black plastic buttons. I laugh; studying the bubonic carrying fleas jump from the body as they sense the sudden temperature drop... all likely to freeze to death.
I drop that rat, slicing it's gem in half with my tendril in the process... dematerialising it.
I plan... I plot...
I sense... there is a puppet... thought to be rotting... she will do nicely...very nicely... my puppet queen... my Cream... my Cream... my Cream... MY CREAM!
M
Y
C
R
E
A
M
! love you, my puppet queen...
I study the war room silently; my eyes scan over the assembled freedom fighters and army personnel. Five certain individuals catch my attention over the other assorted rabble.
Princess Sally... My Daughter and most likely candidate for ascension to the throne. Her wasted childhood ensured the safety of all mobiankind and produced the best combat tactician and political powerhouse. Though I do worry about her mental state of mind occasionally, she really needs to learn to have fun.
Sonic... son in law, nothing more, even if he is a hero. He will undoubtedly become a key player in the war ahead. Still doesn't make the decision any easier though. He's a foolish idiot, but he gets the job done... normally.
Prince Tails... the beloved "Fox Prince," undoubtedly the best thing to come from the marriage of my daughter to that rat Sonic... the fact he uses both his real name and a nickname confuses me at times, seeing as how mobians like to keep their full name secret. I do wonder what happened to his parents at times... they must have been crushed in the earthquake that destroyed Robotropolis. Nevertheless, His rare genetics and social situation makes him an incredibly... useful instrument to me.
Antoine D'Coolette... I can't understand him half the time, but his subordinates can. Which is good since his military mind potentially rivals that of Sally's. He's a much better candidate for Sally then Sonic is, but alas, she has decided to go with that rat.
Bunnie Rabbot... truthfully, her cybernetics scares me. Even though she has used them to save many people, I know she can be trusted with them so long as she's in control. But with the Iron Queen to consider, I think she would be best placed as an advisor for my daughter. Her love for Antoine is quite obvious.
My thought session is brought to a halt as Geoffrey St John silently hands me a dossier as several other members of the Royal Secret Service hand out dossier's to everyone else in the room , Geoffrey may not have been loyal in the past, particularly surrounding the Naugus events... but his devotion to the future of New Mobotropolis more than makes up for it... even if I have to get the RAG to watch him from now on.
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the court, of the Freedom Fighters and of New Mobotropolis... please accept my apologies in bringing you here like this." Maxi says, his tone of voice is sincere yet controlled, considering the situation that is. That Skunk Geoff hands me some papers, handing some to Sal girl and Lil Bro as well, both give him a dirty look and I think I did as well.
"We are here to discuss the ongoing hostilities in Dragon Country..." Some black feathered hawk beside the king drones, he's obviously part of the RAG, though the fact he's not a flee surprises me considerably. He's wearing the traditional Royal officer uniform with brown boots, a tuft of white feathers is visible through his uniform and there is five, six visible feathers sticking out of his head, his blue eyes scan the room intelligently, it's hard to tell if there's actually something going on in that old noggin of his or not.
"Excuse me... but who's this?" I ask, pointing to the new hawk curiously.
"This, ladies and gentlemen is the current leader of the Royal Avian Guards... Commander Sharpshrewd." Maxi introduces warmly, though Sharp seems less than interested at getting a royal introduction from the king, simply shrugging it off before continuing. Beside me, Sal and Tails open the papers and begin reading, don't know about Tails, but Sal seemed to be the only other to see him shrugging, why Maxi trusts RAG is beyond me.
"Quite frankly we know little to nothing about the situation over there at the moment." Sharp says truthfully, 'cos RAG are brainless idiots,' "What we do know is frightening to say the least." Sharp states, pulling a remote from his jacket pocket and signalling the Royal Secret Service (RSS) to dim the lights. Pushing the remote, an overhead projector directly above me starts glowing as the lights are shut off.
"These images were taken from our undercover agent codenamed 'Undercat,' At approximately 0500 yesterday morning..." Sharp says, an image of a dragon countyish style castle appears on the sheet, smoke spurting from one of the many windows. "...the Iron King was assassinated by a self detonation sequence." Sharp says, nearly invisible in the low level light present in the room.
"So! Why should we care?" a grizzled voice sounds, if I was to take a guess it would be that of Hamlin, one of the Substitute Freedom Fighters trained by my Sal-girl. "In case you've all forgotten, the Iron Dominion tried to kill us!" he states.
"It matters Hamlin!" Maxi growls, wheelchair practically shaking. "Because the detonation sequence was initiated from a robot that looked suspiciously like an Egg Pawn!" he finished, as Sharp pressed a button on the remote and the picture changed to that of a big bulky red and orange machine, resembling that of its notorious creator, it's bright cyan blue eyes creating a lot of light pollution in the darkened room.
"We don't know if this could mean the possible return of Eggman, a power strike from the Iron Queen or if this could be the work of Snively... what we do know is the Iron Queen has taken full control of the kingdom... given her previous intentions towards New Mobotropolis and her ability to control mechanical devices and even Nicole, we have found ourselves in a very dangerous situation." Sharp says, Sally looks up from her work at the mention of Nicole; people were still to recover from that ordeal.
"What's to say the Iron Queen will try to invade New Mobotropolis?" I ask, standing up. "I mean, even if she does try it she has us to contend to." I say, rubbing my hand through my quills... I hear Sal girl sighing beside me, while Tails snorts discontentedly to her right.
"You fuel, wees are to be having's friends in ze Dragon Countries!" Antoine butts in, standing up two seats in front of me... wait, how did Ant get seated in front of me!
"Antoine's right." Sally states, "There are peaceful villages and people situated in Dragon Country. We should consider sending some men down to assist evacuation."
"The Iron Queen will surely see that as an act of war..." Tails points out, not averting his gaze from the papers. "Though if it comes to it we can always just ask Monkey Kahn, isn't he supposed to some sort of king or official?" Tails questions.
"Monkey Kahn has not been heard from in two months." Rotor reports, being the lead mechanic for the city, he was the guy to talk to about such things.
"Kahn's troops have all been absorbed into the Iron Dominion since yesterday as well," Sharp informs, changing the picture of a Egg Pawn to that of a graph, indicating troop numbers. I didn't pay much attention to the graph itself however, the staggering 20000 estimated troop number stole most of my thoughts. "It is suspected that the Iron Queen has found a way to take control of Monkey Kahn's mind, seeing as how he is part cyborg. That, however is not the worst... if the images are anything to go on, we could be facing an innumerable amount of Eggman's robot's should this be the return of Eggman or it being of Snively's own work."
"So, what do we do?" Hamlin asks, "We can't just sit here and wait for the Dominion to start killing people!"
"Nor can we just go rushing in evacuating people," Rotor points out, "And since the Iron Dominion hasn't officially done anything yet we can't go sending anyone in."
"Surely we could send in an investigation team." I say, standing up, "If Egg Pawns have been spotted then surely we can send in a team quoting that." The king looks at me oddly, Sally looks at me oddly, Geoffrey looks at me oddly, and even Tails looks at me oddly. "What!"
"That is actually a good idea Sonic..." Sally says sincerely... I don't know if that's a good thing or not.
"What, I can't come up with good plans?" I retaliate.
"Doesn't solve our Iron Dominion problem." Tails points out, "but it's a start until we can figure out something more concrete... question is who goes."
"Wadda you mean who goes?" I ask, sitting down.
"Wadda you mean who goes?" Sonic asks, sitting down. "I mean, weren't you saying something about wanting to take the plane out on the walk over here? You and me both Lil bro."
"Sonic, I know you are used to adventure are danger and other such whats..." King Maximillian stated impassively, "but even if you are a hero, you became a royal when you married my daughter and the bloodline must be protected."
"Father, that decision is rather rash don't you think?" Sally interjected, "Sonic can take care of himself, and we're going to need agents who know their way around Dragon Country... agent's like myself, Sonic and Tai..."
"I WILL NOT RISK YOU ALL TO SUCH A MENIAL TASK!" King Max growled, slamming his fist down on the table in front of him, "An investigation team was preselected and on the table before this meeting had even started." Maximillian said, calming and composing himself.
"Well... who?" Sonic asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Myself..." Sharpshrewd said, "the Trainers, Tails along with a sister version of Nicole, and four RAG members."
"Wait, what!" Hamlin asks surprisingly, jumping up. "You're sending Tails to Dragon Country, alongside RAG members and the Trainers?"
"Oh great..." Tails commented sarcastically. "Going to Dragon Country surrounded by emo's!"
"Wait, what do I DO!" Sonic shouts, "I can't just sit here and watch my Lil Bro go on an adventure without me... especially with those anti social hedgehogs!"
"Sonic... Relax!" Sally commented, pulling a storming Sonic back into his seat.
"Sally, my little bro is going halfway across the planet with RAG and two Shadow's guarding him and you're telling me to calm down!" Sonic questioned angrily.
"Sonic, I know it's hard on you for 'our son' to undertake this, but think of all the people he would be saving."
"Hey, Maxi, can't I go in Tails place!" Sonic asked pleadingly, looking at both Sally and Tails for forgiveness, though neither was showing any emotion.
"Sonic..." Tails begged.
"Why does it have to be him?" Sonic asked, pleading to take the place of his little bro, his son.
"Because I can trust Tails to be stealthy, because I can trust Tails with his people skills and because I can trust Tails with his intelligence." Came the reply from Maximillian, even if it was voiced to be unbiased, it didn't sound like it. "You may be the best candidate for most situations but this one is suited more so for Tails... you in the mean time, are going to work alongside with Rotor..." Maximillian said, signalling the walrus in question (much to his surprise.) "... To determine the current threat posed to us from any of Robotnik's creations."
"You will be sent out with another sister version of Nicole, along with five RAG soldiers." Sharpshrewd pointed out, "You will be able to request anyone of your choosing to come along with you, except for your wife Sally,"
"What!"
"...Who will be needed here for political support and combat tactician-ship." Sharpshrewd finished, leaning forward onto the table.
"How... why, is there even any sister versions of Nicole!" Sally demanded, "She hasn't said anything about this to me!"
"Nicole is not a she!" Hamlin shouted from the back, "Nicole is a thing! A tool!"
"Hamlin..." Nicole said, materialising from a wall hologram. "Don't say that."
"It's true, and how many people did you kill last time, when the Iron Queen took control over you? How many people did you kill once you were free? Why should we allow you to go along with the prince's if you can't control yourself?" Hamlin pointed out, standing up on his chair, receiving boos and cheers from all those around.
"I had to... I had no choice!" Nicole defended, tears in her eyes.
"That's not good eno..."
"Hamlin! I swear on my uncle Merlin's name, I'm gona come over there and kick your ass if you don't shut the fuck up right now!" Tails blared out, fur sticking on end as he turned to look at the shivering pig now cowering in the back, receiving both cheers from Nicole supporters and approving looks from Sally and Sonic. No-one dared oppose the Fox Prince.
"Father, Nicole... what is this about sisters?" Sally asked angrily, both Sonic and Tails taking their seats as the ground squirrel stared daggers at her dad and childhood friend. "What if these 'sisters' where to get into the wrong hands!" Sally demanded.
"Exactly why we didn't want anyone to know." Maximillian stated, picking at his grey moustache.
"For safety reasons these 'sisters' don't have the level of control that the original Nicole processes." Sharpshrewd stated, scanning the room before sitting down.
"He knows a little bit too much about this situation for my liking..." Sally thought, "What is the involvement of RAG throughout this crisis?" Sally asked curiously, leaning forwards. "I thought RAG exists solely for the purpose of protecting the king."
"RAG has been turned into a special forces division for the duration of the Dragon crisis..." Maximillian answered quickly, "Given the technological advantages the Iron Dominion has over us with the Iron Queen's technomagic's, I believe it's for the best to use every possible resource at our disposal."
"Except for me!" Sonic complained loudly, swinging back and forth from his chair lazily.
"You are being used hedgehog!" the king snapped hastily, "you think we're just going to send you into old Eggman ruins for the hell of it?" Maximillian questioned angrily.
"Well... when you put it that way..." Sonic replied quietly.
"You still haven't answered the questions about the sisters!" Rotor pointed out.
"I programmed the sisters myself, they process no control over the city's Nanites and are missing a number of crucial files relating to the secrecy of New Mobotropolis." Nicole answered, "They are husk AIs, not yet containing any personality. They exist to give orders and guide the prince's on their delegated tasks... they also all contain files to block out the technomagic's of the Iron Queen should either one of them come into direct contact and..."
"I think that is enough Nicole." Sharpshrewd demanded, "For all we know we could have a spy in here."
"Unlikely, but I see your point." Nicole responded, dusting her dress respectfully.
"Is that all?" Maximillian asked, speaking up again when there came no reply. "Prince Sonic and Tails will recive personal briefings within a few hours, and are to depart within two days... Nicole will now be active full time and is authorised to scan any and all citizens entering the walls of New Mobotropolis... meeting adjourned."
political shit, what can I say.
next update, ASWIF? then we may see about ArkFox.
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