CHAPTER 2
"No matter what happens; no matter what they do to us; no matter what…Do NOT give them any reason to suspect that you work for us." Sonic said the next morning to Rose and the Doctor.
The morning was still very dark and cold, and a frost had accumulated over the grass outside. They had gotten up around five in the morning for a brief pep talk and breakfast before heading out into the unknown.
"So our main goal is to rank ourselves up…and then kill their leader?" The Doctor asked, dunking a doughnut in his coffee. "Sounds like a plan to me. Shouldn't be any harder than getting rid of stone angels. So when do the recruits come?"
"In half an hour. Before then you'll have to hang out around here…but as soon as we spot them coming that's when we shove you over there. This is probably the most dangerous part of the plan out of all of it." Sonic said, glancing out one of the bulletproof windows that looked out over the hills.
"How are you going to get us in there unseen?" Rose asked. "I mean…are we just going to run into their ranks and hope nothing happens or do we actually have a logical plan?"
"We'll cause a distraction." Sonic said. "A slight explosion near the end of the recruit line. Hopefully no one will die, because we want this as a warning from us to them. While everyone's preoccupied with the explosion…that's when you join their ranks. We've watched the recruits come in before, and after they gathered on a specific spot for a given amount of time we figured that that was their place to put all the recruits when they first arrive."
"Sounds good enough to me." The Doctor said, leaning back in the chair and taking a long gulp of coffee. "So…you have a uniform for us? Or do we just hope that everyone is wearing street clothes and that we'll blend in?"
"We do have uniforms for you." Sonic pointed towards a closet that was nearby. "But we have no idea if they'll fit you or not. We stole these a while back, but we're not sure if they changed the uniforms at all."
"Now here's where luck plays into this to the extreme." The Doctor said, getting up from the table and heading over to the closet. He opened it to reveal two army uniforms, not unlike the uniforms used in the 20th century Earth in Afghanistan. Camouflage of greens, tan, and varying shades of black. Long sleeved with pockets all over the arm, sides and legs. They were even complete with a helmet, rifle and extra bullets.
"This I can live with." The Doctor was obviously satisfied.
"Might as well get into that." Sonic suggested. "The sooner you're ready, the better. Rose, you too."
Rose went over to the closet and took the uniform that was left. It looked like the pants would be longer than her legs, but other than that, it seemed a perfect fit. She began to put it on over the clothes she was already wearing, following the Doctor's example.
"Perfect. I couldn't pick you out from a crowd of other humans if I tried." Sonic said once they were in full gear. "Perhaps that would be a bad thing in battle…"
"We'll give you a sign and we'll fire only blanks or something along those lines." The Doctor promised, buckling the helmet under his chin. "Wow, perfect fit."
"Here, take these. They're ordinary wristwatches, but if you push the button on the side for five seconds it'll convert into a recorder that will send the recordings back here. This is how you keep in touch with us." Sonic said, handing both the Doctor and Rose a watch. They hastily began strapping them on their wrists.
"Sonic!"
The door to the small conference room was nearly ripped off its hinges as Knuckles burst into the room. "They're coming! The new recruits!"
"Hurry, outside." Sonic commanded. Rose and the Doctor followed him and Knuckles outside the small base into the cold morning. In the distance was a group of many humans, all in line and hardly moving, by the looks of it.
"Quickly, start running. The explosion will happen in about five minuets. You should have time to get into line. Good luck." Sonic nearly whispered.
"See you soon." The Doctor shifted the rifles' strap around his shoulders and began running, Rose close behind. The people in the distance didn't seem to move throughout the entire journey…in fact they didn't even seem to be getting any nearer.
"How far away are they?" Rose gasped. The army uniform was stiff, restraining her movement slightly. Her legs were cramping up along with her side and she was afraid she was breathing too loudly.
"Not far now." The Doctor said quietly. "But we're close enough to them that they could see us. We have to wait for the explosion."
They didn't have to wait long. Within about two minuets there was a high pitched whine and then a torrent of flame that came from the end of the recruit lines.
"Now!" The Doctor lunged forward and darted towards the recruits as they backed away from the flames, shouting.
They managed to get lost in the crowd of humans just as order was being restored. There were thousands of questions being fired around a second, there were assumptions being made as to who set off the flame, and there was the blame.
"Client! Client did it!" Someone shouted. "He said that he had a weapon earlier today!"
"No, that was Kepping!" Another recruit shouted.
"SILENCE!" A voice boomed into the darkness. Instantly everyone arranged themselves into a straight line and facing forward. The Doctor and Rose followed the lead and stood still.
"I believe those savages set off the bomb." The booming voice continued. "Now I will have order or there will be serious consequences. I thought that they trained you for this sort of thing at the camps!"
"Yes, sir!" Every recruit said in unison. "Sorry, sir!"
"Good. Now…onward! To the base."
The recruits began marching in twos towards the human base, which could be seen even at this distance. Rose wondered why they wanted to seem so exposed out here. Was it because they had a great defense system too, or was it because they simply had too many troops and it didn't make any difference if some were killed? Were they just waiting to sacrifice their armies to lure the Mobians out of hiding? Was human life just so meaningless to the generals that thousands could be thrown away to lure a few Mobians out? These people didn't have hearts…
Rose shuddered, disgusted by these people. The people she used to know on Earth were so nice and caring…the exact opposite of these monsters here. How could they live with themselves? She clenched her hands into fists and thought about giving the general a good pounding.
"Rose…" The Doctor whispered. "You look really angry. Relax."
"Sorry. I just can't believe these people." Rose muttered, putting one hand on her gun. "Why did we volunteer to be double agents again?"
"Because I think it's the way to win this war." The Doctor gave her a half smile and then turned to face the recruit in front of them. "Humans always seemed to crumble without a leader. Besides, they think they're already invincible. That'll make our job easier."
Rose smiled an evil little smile to herself, ducking her head slightly so the general wouldn't see. Oh, she was going to enjoy this job; even if she couldn't bring herself to kill anyone. No, she wasn't going to stoop to the level of these humans. She would lead them away in chains if she had her way, but she wasn't sure about the Doctor. He may just fire, given the chance. Rose hated killing, but sometimes there seemed like there was no alternative until you consider the fact that you had the power to take away life. It's just too much power to have…Rose shuddered at the thought.
"Remember, act like them." The Doctor muttered as they marched into the base.
Rose set her face in a mask of no emotion, or so she hoped. They had all entered into large garage-like structure, and another general was inspecting the troops that marched past.
Both the Doctor and Rose walked with faked pride past him and lined up against the wall with the other recruits.
"So, fresh meat." The new general said, smiling wickedly. "Good. We need all the troops we can get before we storm their puny Resistance."
The Doctor swallowed loudly but didn't react any more than that.
"Now," The general continued on. "I am General Legacy. You know the drill…don't speak unless spoken to…respond with either 'no, sir' or 'yes, sir'….etcetera etcetera…" General Legacy said in a bored tone. "Now General Kaio-Dism will lead you to the barracks."
The general from earlier motioned for everyone to follow. The Doctor followed the recruit in front of him so close that Rose thought he would step on his heels. She managed to whisper to him, "I expected worse."
"I think the worse is yet to come." The Doctor murmured back.
They were marched down three halls until they came to two doors that were slightly ajar. General Kaio-Dism pushed the door open that was closest and said, "At ease, men. Women, your barracks are here."
The Doctor and other male recruits began to stray from the rows and claim a bunk. That was what it was: a room filled with at least a hundred bunk beds. There were two small trunks at the foot of the lower bunk, probably for your few belongings. In one corner was a small sink and past that were three doors that were probably bathrooms. The Doctor wondered if the women's barracks were any better, but that thought pushed itself out of his mind as he claimed one of the top bunks before anyone else could take it.
"Hi."
The Doctor glanced down from the top bunk at the young recruit sitting on the lower one, craning his neck to look up at him. He couldn't have been more than nineteen.
"I'm Jason." The kid said. "Jason Stone. Who're you?"
"I'm ….Fletcher Doctor. Just call me Doctor." The Doctor said quickly.
"Sure thing, Doctor." Jason said, giving him a small half-smile. "You can just call me Jason."
Jason had wavy blonde hair that curled slightly at the ends and went past his ears, reminding the Doctor of the beach; when the waves would crash over the sand. Jason's eyes were wide, blue and slightly frightened, like he didn't know what to expect past the point of arrival (Well, no one really did). He was very skinny, like he hadn't eaten a decent meal in some time. The Doctor wondered how the Resistance was doing with the food he managed to get.
"So why are you here?" The Doctor asked, hopping down from the bunk and sitting on one of the trunks at the foot of the beds. "Couldn't find a job? Just wanted to serve? Why?"
Jason cast his line of vision at the ground. "I'm guessing you're not from America, then. You even have an accent. But if you were in America, they won't give you a choice. I was arrested for something I didn't do, and they send all criminals there to a camp to train them to come here and take this planet."
The Doctor nearly gasped. "So…all you here are criminals?"
"Most of us. The States say we're expendable and send us here, not caring if we die or not. The real army is waiting far beyond the hills..waiting for the chance to kill not only the Mobians, but us."
"Wow." The Doctor managed to say. "So…you kill or be killed, right?"
"We kill to live." Jason said quietly, still looking at the floor. "I want to stop this somehow, but I don't..." He trailed off for a second. "…I don't think I'll be strong enough to take anyone's life, human or Mobian."
"Same here." The Doctor confessed. "Well, we've got each other, and there's a really pretty girl over in the other barracks I want you to meet…"
WITH ROSE…
Rose, along with all the women recruits, entered their new home.
There were rows and rows of bunk beds as far as the eye could see, with two small trunks at the end of the bunks for your clothes and possessions. There was a small sink in the corner along with five doors which were probably bathrooms. Rose wondered if the men's barracks was different or more homely in any way.
She quickly claimed the top bunk closest to a window and sat there, looking out into the morning that was beginning to get brighter. She hoped that nothing had given her away yet.
"Enjoy the view while you can." A girl with long straight brown hair muttered, claiming the top bunk closest to Rose. "It may be your last. I heard we storm their puny Resistance tomorrow."
Rose hoped she wasn't going pale. Instead she put on what she thought was an evil smile and said, "Good. The sooner, the better."
The girl nodded enthusiastically. "They're giving me a special job. Instead of the normal rifles and guns I get a Tazer. I'm going to bring back some of them and watch them get killed." She smiled a sickly insane smile, like a small child plotting revenge on their older brother.
"That is an important job." Rose agreed, trying not to gasp. "Do you have any idea what they'll do to them once you get some?"
"They promised me that it'd involve scalpels and pain." The girl's smile got wider, showing that she was missing two teeth in the back. "And lots and lots of screaming."
Rose turned to the window and saw how pale her reflection looked. She hoped that the girl didn't notice and continued looking at herself. "Well then…you'll have to tell me how that turns out. Where are you from?" Changing the subject was probably the only thing that would keep her from fainting.
"I'm from Indiana." The girl said. "In the USA. I'm guessing you're from Europe from your accent. Well, in the U.S., they don't give you a choice if you want to join the army or anything. If they catch you committing a crime they immeadentally ship you off to a camp to prepare you for this. But this is a better place than prison. In prison, there's hardly any pain."
Rose began to wonder if this girl should be put in an insane asylum instead of a barracks with other live human beings. "So you're happy with this?" Rose asked, not averting her eyes from the window.
"Very."
"Why were you arrested?"
"I murdered someone. But they deserved it." The girl began to laugh; a wild maniac laughter. "After what they did to my family they deserved every second of it. I so very enjoyed watching them die by my knife! Anthony was finally avenged…"
Rose turned to face the girl again, but she was staring at the floor, muttering something that Rose couldn't quite hear. Rose wondered what could have happened to drive someone insane like that…and then she wondered how the USA government could be so corrupt. If what the girl was saying was true, then it meant that the USA was forcing people to come here and fight…while the other countries volunteer. Come to think about it, there were hardly any Hispanic, Asian or Blacks here, which was quite a good sign. Hopefully they realized that the Manifest Destiny of this planet was murder.
She looked across the room to see another woman, this one with long black hair that was three shades darker than her skin and bright brown eyes. She was staring directly at Rose and the other girl, like she couldn't decide if she should tell them something or not. After a few second's hesitation she came up to the side of Rose's bunk.
"I used to know her before she went insane." The girl whispered. "Before her family was murdered. Now she only wants to see other living things in pain and under her control. She will kill you if you upset her, even slightly. My advice is to get far away from her and stay like that."
"Who are you?" Rose asked. "I'm Rose Tyler."
"I'm Starr. Jayda Starr."
"Well, Jayda. How did you get here?"
"I came for an entirely different reason than she did…and please call me Starr." Starr said quickly. "I came here out of my own free will to see if this place was as bad as everyone said it was…and it isn't. They described the Mobians as savages that killed their own kind if they were even in the way. I didn't want to kill any of them, but a few days ago…"
Starr's eyes filled with tears. "A few days ago there was a group of them scouting around, and…and my group fired on them. One was killed and another was dragged off by their comrade. But by the look of the wound it was too severe. I killed that day, it was the first time in my life. I'll never forget the look of shock and horror on his face…something changed in me that day. Something said to me, 'Jayda, you need to get out of here'. But I can't leave! No one can leave!" Starr stared at one of the bunk posts. "Once I was a follower, now I'm a leader. I plan to lead a group of people to revolt against this cruelty and take this planet back to the Mobians."
"That is a great cause." Rose said. "And I'm willing to follow."
MEANWHILE AT THE RESISTANCE…
Thanks to the vast array of medicines, Silver's fever was nearly gone and he was very social again.
"I really thought I was going to die when that bomb went off. What about you, Blaze? I was really scared and then that glass and metal came at me and I thought I was cut in half. It hurt a lot and then I sort of had these weird dreams. You were there along with Sonic and you said to me, 'Silver, don't die!' and I think I said something back to you, but you didn't answer me. Then I fell asleep for a long time and when I woke up I felt like my stomach was on fire and I tried to find some ice but I couldn't move. And you said some things to me, but I don't remember what…I was really cold too. Then I fell back asleep and dreamed of food because I hadn't had any in a long time. And...Oh, hey! Peaches!" Silver shoved about fifty of them in his mouth and then continued on with his endless ramble. "Wow, those were good! So are Rose and the Doctor with the humans now? Did they get killed? I hope they didn't, because I liked them. I hope they can stop the humans. I like this planet! What happens if they capture us? Blaze? Are you listening? Ok, what if they catch us? Will we die? I heard someone say something about them killing us slowly and they do it for fun…That's a terrible way to die, isn't it? Oh my gosh, what if it's death by papercuts? That would be a terrible way to go! What if it's death by…by…the electric chair? That's be worse! Ooh, there's so many terrible ways to die nowadays! Ow! My stomach hurts! Are you sure they got all the glass out of me? It sure doesn't feel like it…I think they're slowly going to cut further into me until they reach my stomach and cut it open and-"
"SILVER! SHUT UP!" Blaze shouted. "Shadow's in enough pain already!"
Shadow proceeded to turn himself painfully over to his side facing away from them and throw a pillow over his ears. His bandaged leg was turned at an awkward angle like it would hurt if he moved it into a more comfortable position.
"Sorry." Silver muttered. He stuffed more peaches into his mouth. "Wow, these are really good. Honestly. Really good. Maybe everything tastes better if you haven't eaten in a week or so."
"You're so naïve," Blaze growled, but she smiled eventually. "but what would we do without you?"
"Throw an obnoxious party." Shadow suggested, his voice muffled from the pillow. "And after that dance on his grave."
Silver's ears drooped. "You're so mean!"
"What gave you the hint?"
Blaze rolled her eyes and took the can of peaches from Silver. "You can have some more later. The doctors don't want you eating yourself sick, especially after what you went through plus an operation."
"Have you noticed how every time someone tries to kill me I survive?" Silver said happily, completely forgetting that he was offended by Shadow. "I'm unstoppable!"
"Until I can walk again…" Shadow hissed.
"Be quiet!" Blaze said.
Silver didn't really notice anything after he announced that he was unstoppable. He just stared at the roof for a while and then rearranged the pillows he was propped up against and looked at the roof again. "Hey Blaze…What happens after we win this war?"
"We go back to the way it was before."
"But it'll be hard to forget this…no one will ever be able to forget this." Silver kept on staring at the roof like it would explain his question. "So many of us died…"
Shadow took the pillow off from his face and announced, "But it'll mark a major victory for us. It'll prove we're stronger than we look."
"Oh, that'd be nice. There should be a huge plaque hanging in the Mayer's office announcing something like, 'We're Mobians, don't mess with us! We took out the entire Earth army of twelve billion or so with our six thousand! Don't make us mad or you'll regret it!'" Silver smiled grimly, the childish humor suddenly gone.
Blaze sighed and glanced out the nearest window. "I just hope this war ends soon."
"You're telling me." Shadow hissed. "I just want my damn leg to heal!"
"Stop thrashing around so much and maybe it will!"
"This contraption of springs and metal you call a bed isn't that comfortable!" Shadow turned himself over so he was facing Blaze and Silver. "If my leg ever does heal I'll end up with dozens of bruises from this thing!"
"Life is just so hard."
"Shut up."
Shadow lay there for a while, an angry look plastered to his face. He eventually sat up and eased his foot onto the floor and stood up, all of his weight on his good leg. "I'm going to find something more comfortable to rest on."
"I wouldn't." Blaze suggested, giving him a disapproving look. "You're going to take two steps and fall."
Shadow took two steps and fell, cursing loudly because Silver began laughing.
"I told you." Blaze grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet, half dragging, half leading him back to the bed. "Now stay there or else."
Shadow threw the pillow over his face again; determined to shut the world out for a while. "Leave me alone."
"Blaze is right, your leg won't heal if you try to walk already." Sonic said, coming into the room. "The bullet tore through some of your muscle."
"How long have you been there?" Silver asked. "I didn't see you until now!"
Sonic didn't even smile. Instead he held out a small device in the palm of his hand. "Listen. This is what Rose reported about five minuets ago." He pressed a button on the mechanism and Rose's voice filled the air, surprisingly loud coming from something so small:
"Things here are worse than I originally thought. Turns out the army that has you surrounded here is mostly made up of prisoners from Earth who are being forced to come here and slaughter you. There's a reserve army…but it's further than these hills. They'll only invade if you overthrow the prisoners. Earth is just throwing away these people's lives! We're trying to get to the bottom of this as fast as we can, but by the looks of things the main guy in charge is with the other army right now. Even if you somehow destroy this entire base he'll still be safe.
"They're planning to possibly invade tomorrow. Be on your guard and make sure you all have weapons. I-" There was a shout in the background. "I have to go now. Hopefully I'll talk to you soon!"
There was complete silence.
"So Earth is forcing people to come here and kill us all?" Silver's golden eyes were wide. "And they don't care that the prisoners get killed in the process?"
"Sounds like it." Blaze hissed. "I never can understand humans."
"Their government is corrupt." Shadow muttered. "Some damn idiot somehow got elected and this is what happened. I'll bet my other leg on it."
"Some damn racist idiot is more like it." Blaze growled.
"If what Rose says is true, then we need to get everyone who can fight ready." Sonic said, ignoring both Blaze's and Shadow's comments. "Blaze, this includes you too."
"Yes sir." Blaze said, getting up from Silver's bedside. "Shall I round up some others?"
"Yes, and meet us in the Grand Hall."
Blaze hurried out of the room.
"I can fight!" Silver protested.
"You both are in no condition to fight." Sonic headed back to the door. "The best thing you can do right now is work on recovering."
"What about what Knuckles said?" Shadow sighed, pulling the pillow away from his face and squinting in the sudden bright light. "He said that if it was absolutely necessary…he can use the Emeralds' power to heal anyone that's wounded."
"If it was absolutely necessary." Sonic agreed. "But we have the shield plus a couple thousand troops. We should hold up."
Shadow then just stared a disapproving stare at Sonic. Sonic noticed this but didn't say anything about it other than, "I should leave now."
And he left them.
"Awww…Blaze put the peaches just out of reach!" Silver strained to get to the can that was sitting on the floor. "Ow!"
"Aren't you psychic?" Shadow hissed, already annoyed with his roommate.
"Oh yeah, I forgot."
It was pretty easy to see why Blaze took pity on the poor kid the moment she saw him.
WITH THE DOCTOR…
"ATTEEEN-SHUN!" General Legacy shouted. All the recruits stood at attention in perfect rows; saluting and with their chins held high.
"Now as you may or may not know, we are planning another attack on the Resistance." Legacy continued. "Tomorrow night is when you will live your first battle."
The Doctor glanced around worriedly, but no other recruit seemed worried. In fact, most of them seemed eager. Jason whispered almost inaudibly to the Doctor, "They didn't tell us anything at the camps about coming here and launching into a battle like this."
"At ease." General Kaio-Dism said, walking in a nearby door. The recruits all stopped saluting and faced him. "Now you shall have some practice with your weapons in a little while. But for now I must explain to you how vicious these creatures are."
Jason swallowed loudly. "They…they really aren't what I was told, are they?" he whispered to no one in particular.
"Trust me, they aren't going to be how the general describes them." The Doctor whispered back. "In fact, I should just re-explain how they are later on."
"First of all, you should know that they are smart. They aren't your average dumbass criminal scum; you can tell because if they were, they wouldn't still be living crammed at the base of the hill like they are now. Just like our army, they have a leader."
General Kaio-Dism let that settle on everyone for a few seconds and then continued, "Their leader has, single handedly, taken out hundreds of us. We've tried in vain many times to capture or kill him, but somehow he escapes every time. Once another one of them sacrificed their life to keep him safe!" His voice rose in anger and he took a deep breath before continuing.
"But we know who he is and what he looks like. He is always out and fighting us. He never backs down from a battle…and that flaw will be his downfall. The reason we know these measly pieces of information is because of a blurry photograph and one of their soldiers." Kaio-Dism handed something to the closest recruit. "Pass it on and learn who we must take out at all costs."
The photo eventually reached the Doctor and Jason. "He's the only reason the Resistance is still alive." The Doctor whispered. "Without him, this planet may already be invaded."
The photo was blurry, like someone had just managed to snap the shutter before being killed. But the picture clearly showed who the leader was, there was no mistaking that. Sonic was shouting orders at some of his soldiers while at the same time trying to drag someone back from the line of fire. To the Doctor, he really was a true leader.
"So…" Jason muttered. "If we take him out, the entire Resistance crumbles and…we win?"
"I wouldn't say that." The Doctor passed the photo on. "Humans will then populate this planet…and overpopulate and destroy it…until we have to move on to another to invade. How the heck did you even get here in the first place?"
"A Time Rift." Jason said. "Scientists don't know for how much longer it'd be open…but for now it's linking our two worlds…but we can only come here. We can't leave."
"That Mobian's name is Sonic." General Kio-Dism continued. "And as far as we know he's leading about ten thousand more Mobians into battle. That's all their army has, and with the proper weapons we can wipe them all out."
"Sir…" A recruit spoke up somewhere in the back. "How do you know this, sir?"
General Kio-Dism's face broke out into a sick smile, like he was all too happy to explain something that normal human beings wouldn't ever speak of. "A while back we managed to catch another one of them." He began. "We gave him two ways to tell us everything he knew; voluntarily, or forcibly. Unfortunately, he chose not to cooperate with us. That was when we let our doctors at him. He didn't live long enough to tell us more than his leader's name and how many troops he had."
"What did they do to him, sir?" The recruit continued, not a hint of emotion in his voice.
"We used a combination of mental and physical torture. Regrettably…too much of it, if I may say."
Silence settled over the large room like a blanket; blocking out any other sound or thought.
"Rest assured that not every prisoner we take has the same fate." Kio-Dism said, the wicked grin on his face wider if possible. "Some we interrogate, some we put out of their misery because they're too badly wounded, and some we examine. They are very interesting life forms."
Jason was staring at the ground like it would tell him that everything wasn't as bad as it seemed at the moment. But even if it did say that, Jason knew better.
"They said that if they catch any of us helping or sparing the Mobians they'd kill us too." He whispered. "I don't want to kill and I don't want to die."
"I don't either." The Doctor said back. "That's why I'll fire blanks."
Jason brightened up a little. "That may work…"
"Follow me now to the training rooms. We'll get a weapon picked out for all of you and you can begin working on your aim." General Legacy said. "Forward, troops!"
Everyone marched out the doors and down the hall. What the Doctor saw next would forever stay with him. Time couldn't erase some horrors.
WITH ROSE…
The women in the barracks were marched down three halls until they came to a locked door that demanded identification. Their general that lead them there took her dog tag off a chain around her neck and held it next to the scanner. After a beep, the door popped slightly ajar.
"I am, in case you didn't know, General Ming." The general said. She had an Asian complexion and a slight accent to go with it. Her dark hair was done up tightly in a bun and her face was set in serious tones. "I'm going to give you a tour of the building's most important rooms, like the hospital. Many of you won't be in the war zone, but here where you're more desperately needed. Come."
The female recruits followed her into the room. Rose didn't even need to glance around to see that this was some sort of advanced hospital. Three beds were occupied by the far side of the room, with a young girl tending to the patients. The equipment was so advanced that Rose didn't even know what half of it was for and the room was so bright that she was beginning to see spots.
"I know some of you haven't had advanced medical training or you're planning to fight the Resistance. If you haven't signed up to fight; or don't have advanced medical training, please come with me. The rest of you wait here." General Ming said, turning and heading towards the back of the room where a large gray door stood.
To Rose's relief, Starr caught up with her and whispered, "Something tells me this…" She trailed off for a moment. "…this is going to cruel."
"Everything about this place is cruel." Rose responded.
Ming turned around once she reached the back of the room and waited for the women not trained in the medical field to catch up. Once they were all gathered around her she said, "Here is where you will be needed the most. I assume you've had some basic medical training, because this is where it comes in. You're in charge of treating the prisoners we capture and bring back here."
Rose nearly fell over. Glancing around, there had to be at least twenty other women here with her..how many prisoners did the humans plan to take? And after they captured them…what would they do with them?
"So we treat any wound they may have?" Starr asked, desperately trying not to sound shocked. "We treat them like we would a human?"
"For the most part, yes." Ming said. "they are very much like us, believe it or not."
"What's behind the door?" Someone demanded.
"I'll show you." Ming pulled the dog tag out and waved it in front of a scanner. The door popped open a second later and Ming entered. "Come."
Starr glanced at Rose and muttered, "No matter what, I swear I will not faint."
Rose only managed to give her a small half-smile before entering the door. What they saw would never leave their memories for as long as they lived.
The room was square, but everywhere they looked all they saw were small, thick glass cages, each containing a Mobian that didn't have nearly enough room. Every head swiveled to face the light that spilled into the room and the people that were walking in. Rose found herself looking into the blue eyes of a small orange fox who's terrified expression probably matched her own. Starr clung to Rose's sleeve like a young girl, tears brimming in her eyes.
"How could they do this?" She whispered. "How could they? It's inhuman!"
The small orange fox pressed a hand to the glass prison it was contained in, never once taking its eyes of off the girls. There was what looked like a metal collar around its neck, and after looking around, Rose saw that many of the other Mobians had the same thing on. She knelt down to its eye level and then truly saw the fear in its eyes. It was so intense that she began to wonder if it had seen someone it loved killed..or worse.
"It's ok." Rose whispered, placing her hand on the glass over the fox's. "I promise. I'm going to help you."
The fox didn't seem to hear her but continued giving her a pleading expression until she stood up and forced herself to look around the room.
Cages were stacked on top of each other to make room for everyone to walk down the isles. Rose slowly made her way back to the end of the room, closely followed by Starr.
"Rose, look."
Rose followed Starr's line of sight and saw a cage that was slightly bigger than the others because this one held three very small cats. All three of them were piled on each other and deeply asleep, like they didn't know and cared where they were or what was going on. They were definitely siblings; each one had dark gray fur, patches of white on their faces, and they had the same dreamy expressions. It broke Rose's heart.
"I swear on my life they aren't going to harm a hair on their heads while I'm standing." Starr growled through gritted teeth. "The first chance I get, I'm going to-"
She was cut off as an enormous BANG sounded. Rose and Starr whirled around to see a pink hedgehog in a red dress scramble up from where her glass prison had shattered and run for the door.
"BREECH!" Ming screamed, pounding a button on a radio she had in her pocket.
The door swung shut just as the hedgehog reached it. She hit the steel and fell backwards onto another cage, knocking it to the floor. The Mobian in it was flung around like a rag doll, but it didn't seem to be hurt.
"Let me go!" The pink hedgehog cried. "You know that you won't be able to keep us here forever!"
Many of the recruits in the room took a step backwards. It seemed to Rose that no one had told them that the civilization they were trying to wipe out could speak. Not only that, but speak English.
"Don't move." Ming warned sharply. Her dark eyes reminded Rose of a hawk's. "Don't move or I'll kill you."
Starr's eyes were as wide as they could possibly go and she held both hands in front of her mouth like she was afraid she'd scream if she removed them. She glanced at Rose and her expression seemed to say, "We have to do something!"
The pink hedgehog tugged at the metal band around her neck like it was too tight. "What is this thing anyway?"
"Your downfall." Ming pressed another button on the remote she held.
The recruits in the room all jumped as the loud wail filled the room. It wasn't just coming from the pink hedgehog…but from every Mobian in the room. It lasted only about five seconds, but to Rose it was five years. Even after they all fell unconscious her ears were ringing.
"They must know that if one of them makes a break for it, they all can be punished." Ming sneered, an evil smile playing on her lips. She grabbed the pink hedgehog's arm and dragged her to an empty cage and flung her inside. "But they still don't give up."
Starr's eyes were now filled with tears as she glanced around the room again. The only movement came from the recruits and their general as they slowly filed through the room, filled with horror. Rose hoped that the gravity of the situation had hit them hard and they would want to stop this at any cost.
"Where's their mother?" Starr asked as Ming crossed in front of the cage filled with the kittens. It broke Rose's heart to see that they also wore the metal collars.
"She's dead." Ming said slowly, like she enjoyed the sound. She unlocked the door to the cage and reached inside, stroking one of their ears. "She died giving birth."
Starr's hands dropped to her sides and clenched into fists. "You caught her…while she was still pregnant with her children…"
"She also refused anything we tried to give her." Ming brought out one of the kittens and held it in her arms, stroking its gray fur. "She died of her own free will."
"That's not true." Starr said through clenched teeth. "You murdered her, didn't you?"
"If you're so concerned about this scum then it can be your responsibility, soldier!" Ming snapped, nearly throwing the kitten at Starr.
Starr barely managed to catch the small ball of fur. She gently cradled it in her arms, like it was too fragile for the world. Tears began to freely fall from her eyes as she stroked the kitten's soft fur.
"You're going to care for them?" Rose asked softly as Ming called the other recruits to stop sightseeing and leave.
"I…I don't know if I can." Starr said, glancing from the kitten to its siblings, who were beginning to move around; blindly searching for the one Starr was holding. "Especially three of them…"
Rose gave her a small smile and said, "Well, I think I can help you help them by smuggling them out of here and to the Resistance's base."
Starr gave Rose a stare that said, "You can do that?" Instead she asked, "Won't you get caught?"
"Oh, no. I've done things more dangerous."
AT THE RESISTANCE…
The Grand Hall was anything but grand. If you wanted to call it anything, it would best be called The Hall that is Beyond Repair from Earlier Battles; because that was what it was. Probably the only thing intact in the entire place was a wooden table, aside from a few unloaded pistols shoved into a back corner. Placed on the table were intact pieces of paper from another room in the Resistance; and these papers were being read off of by Sonic.
"Blaze, you're to lead Squadron Two."
"Yes, sir." Blaze responded, walking over to where her squadron was.
"Knuckles, lead Squadron Three." Sonic continued. "You'll be some of the first in this battle."
"Yes, sir." Knuckles said.
"Jet, you'll lead Squadron Four, and you will be the others first in battle."
"Understood." Jet sighed, glancing at his squadron where every member of it looked terrified. It was true what they said, only the good die young…
"And last but not least, Espio will lead Squadron Five. I myself will be commanding Squadron One." Sonic said, shuffling the papers on the table. "Now here's the plan…Squadrons Three and Four will lead us first into battle. After the humans know that we mean to fight we'll send out Squadron Two and Five. Shortly after, Squadron One will take over, giving you time to get the wounded and killed off the battlefield before the humans do it for us. Our reserve, Squadron Six, will only join in battle if we desperately need them. The medical team will be at the ends of the battle, behind the protective shielding. They'll be sending out members to collect the injured as we fight."
Everyone in the room nodded slowly, dreading the day to come.
"Clear on instructions?" Sonic asked.
"Isn't Squadron Six made up of kids?" Blaze asked almost inaudibly. "Incredibly brave kids, but kids nonetheless?"
"…We only hope that they won't have to be sent into this war." Sonic responded slowly. "That's why they're on the reserve."
"But they're hardly old enough to really know what's going on."
"Would Kaylee do this?" Someone asked from Squadron Two. "Would Kaylee send hundreds of kids into this battle…a battle only meant for us?"
Sonic opened his mouth to reply…but shut it and paused instead. The death of Kaylee was still incredibly fresh in everyone's minds, even though it had happened a while ago. But the Resistance needed someone to look up to; someone to trust. Kaylee had done an incredible job at both. To Sonic, he had to live up to this expectation from his troops…or die trying; quite literally.
"Kaylee…Kaylee would have done what she could. For now, this is what I can do." Sonic replied after a few seconds. " I know it may not be the best choice, but this is what we have."
"Kaylee would have found a way…" the speaker muttered.
"What's your name?" Sonic demanded.
The unit of troops parted to allow a green hedgehog to step forward. Sonic recognized him from previous battles, but he never found out his name. He bore a remarkable resemblance to Sonic, save his eyes, color and scars. A faded scar hung over his right eye and two relatively new ones adorned his chest. His ears were torn and ripped from ago battles that probably many soldiers in Squadron Six had never seen; but he tried to cover them with a pair of red sunglasses. He stared down Sonic with his icy blue eyes that had seen many deaths and replied quite simply, "I'm Scourge and I think what you're planning is murder."
Many soldiers began to murmur among themselves; either agreeing to Scourge's statement or defending Sonic.
"SILENCE!" Sonic called when no one heard him the first time. "Please keep in mind that they are the reserve Squadron! They may not even be needed!"
"But what if they are?" Scourge demanded.
"Then I'm sure they will fight as ferociously as we will." Sonic said. "We need everyone we can get."
"Sending kids out there? You-?"
"They volunteered for this!"
It got very quiet very fast. Scourge fixed Sonic with another icy stare and saluted, saying, "Fine. You're in charge. Do what you want." He walked back to his place in Squadron Two.
"Right. Now everyone try to get some rest and we'll meet in here in exacally 7.34 hours." Sonic picked up the papers from the table and left the Grand Hall, shortly followed by the others.
"Sonic…"
Sonic backtracked a bit to find Shadow leaning on the wall, clenching his teeth in pain. "Shadow, what the hell are you doing?" Sonic exclaimed, catching him before he collapsed. "You can't be walking on your leg like that!"
"Well, then...give me an Emerald and that will all change!" Shadow hissed, trying to get steady again, but that proved nearly impossible. "Plus you'll have another soldier ready for battle!"
"The Emeralds are the only thing powering this base. We can't use their energy for healing unless we absolutely have to." Sonic snapped. "Here, give me your arm. We're going back to the hospital. Wasn't anyone in there to stop you from sneaking out?"
"Obviously not." Shadow growled, ignoring Sonic's offer to help him back to the sickbay. He leaned heavily on the wall but managed to move slowly down the hall. "You should have better security."
"It's not easy keeping up with everything around here, you know."
"And it's not easy to walk like this either. Give me an Emerald."
Sonic was about to reply but Shadow tripped and sprawled facedown in the hall, cursing loudly from the shock and the pain that flared up his leg again. Sonic grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. "Fine, I'll get you an Emerald…but only if we need you in battle, understand?"
"Loud and clear." Shadow hissed.
The two of them made it back to the hospital where Silver was waiting, looking extremely bored until they came in.
"There you are. I told you, Shadow, that won't work." He said brightly.
"Shut up."
Silver continued to sit there and smile a smug little smile until Sonic announced, "Both you and Shadow are on the reserve squadron. If we need you we'll heal your wounds with an Emerald and send you out there."
Silver's jaw dropped. "But…but…"
"You wanted to fight in the first place, didn't you?" Shadow demanded.
"Yeah… but-"
"Ok, then, be quiet!"
Sonic sighed and left the room, allowing them to fight as long as they wanted.
MEANWHILE…
Both the Doctor and Jason were given sub-machine guns, each fully loaded and with the safety switched off. They handled them like they were bombs ready to go off.
"Now behind this door is the training center." General Kaio-Dism announced. "We'll train here for an hour and then report back to the barracks until the mess hall is prepared. In you go."
Jason paled as the door opened and the recruits entered the large room.
The first thing the Doctor noticed was that the far end of the wall was covered in bulletholes, like earlier recruits had just shot wildly. But on a closer look he realized that the holes weren't any higher than his elbow…and there were some dark red stains surrounding some of them.
"What's that?" Jason seemed to notice it too. He didn't take his eyes off the red stains as he whispered, "What happened in here?"
"Now before we release some of the targets I have to remind you of two things. One, kill as fast as possible with the least number of bullets. Two, don't underestimate them."
"Wh..what?" Jason whispered in horror. "What does he mean?"
"Jason, it's a test. They'll see who resists and take care of them later on. Until then…pretend to shoot." The Doctor's voice caught. "But don't give them any reason to doubt you. Not one."
Jason nodded quickly and ducked his head for a few seconds before muttering, "I can't do this…I just can't."
"Neither can I." The Doctor said back as Kaio-Dism and a few other soldiers threw a few small and petrified Mobians into the room.
Jason shut his eyes as the first shots rang out.