AN: Hello one and all! I have finally completed this chapter, so please enjoy
Disclaimer: I neither own Sega, Archie, nor any of the characters afiliated with them. I do own this plot and my OC's.
Unknown location
February-19-3457
17:18 Mobius Time
A screen turned on in the dark room. The screen showed a video feed that depicted the large explosion of the Kinetic Orbital Cannon Space Station. Pieces of the debris flew all around the screen, depicting its utter destruction. The light from the video reflected off of a certain rotund scientist's blue shades as he stared in awe.
Eggman narrowed his eyes at the screen and let out a sigh. "It took me months to construct the individual components of that station." He grieved. He was starting to huff, angry at those who had done it.
"It took me many more weeks to assemble it, too." He muttered. "And they destroyed it in a matter of five hours."
A robotic sigh was heard in the background, causing Eggman to turn his swiveling seat around to face Decoe, a servant bot he made that was human sized with an elongated head. Decoe slumped his shoulders and let his eyes fall to the floor. "I have some, uh, shocking news, sir."
Eggman stood from his chair and walked over to him. "And what might that be, Decoe?"
Decoe led him to another monitor and played the recording. It showed the core reactor room with massive pools of blood everywhere. Eggman almost gasped at the sight of it. In the middle of the room were Epsilon squad's infiltrators. Eggman spotted a figure he didn't want to see again.
"Is that Tails?" He shouted in surprise, causing the robot to jump. "I thought I destroyed that rodent when I last fired the cannon!"
"Yes, Doctor." Decoe replied. "He somehow managed to survive the blast, but his body was never found.
"That, however, isn't the shocking part of the tape."
Eggman, irritated with his robot, grumbled. "Well, get on with it already!" He barked, causing the robot to jump once more.
"Well, sir, if you'll divert your attention to the top left corner of the screen." The robot suggested, to which Eggman followed. What he saw made his eyes widen even more. There was a black fox, tampering with the operating system of the core power generator.
"Karen!" He shouted while banging his fist against a random piece of machinery. "I swear, you'll rue the day you betrayed me!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
…Syaoron the Fox Presents…
…The Third in the Series…
The Mobius Code
Tribulations
Chapter 10
Shaking the Foundation
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Green Hill
February-19-3457
17:20 Mobius Time
All was silent. The wind blew across the hills, flattening the grass and bending the trees before giving some leeway. The sun was low on the horizon, turning more to an orange color as the clouds gained purple and reddish hues.
Epsilon squad stood separate from one person across from them. The Mobian was a black fox in ninja dress and an almost insane smile stretched across her face.
Tails narrowed his brow and stared at her momentarily. "Do you really expect us to believe that?" He asked of her while she continued to look at her surroundings. She appeared almost unaware of their presence as she gazed at the hills.
There was more silence with no response. A vein pulsed on Tails' forehead as he awaited an answer. "Well? Are you going to answer me?"
She continued to observe her surroundings, as if ignoring him. She then walked over to a small Mexican Petunia and plucked the flower from its stem.
Tails looked on in question. "What are y-"
"These flowers sure are beautiful, huh?" She cut him off. She continued to marvel at and sniff the Petunia she had plucked and smiled at it. "Isn't it sad that their only purpose is to survive, reproduce, and die?"
Cosmo cocked her head to the side. "I don't follow." She was the botanist of the group, but she had no idea where this was going.
Karen began walking toward them, with an expression of calm and happiness on her face. As she approached, the others backed away. When she came face to face with Tails, she took the flower and put it in his hand. "I mean, isn't it sad that this flower dies after it completes its sole purpose?"
Tails raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand what you're trying to tell us."
Karen then held out her hand and it pulsed with a yellow light. They all gasped at the notion, but Karen kept calm. When the light dissipated, she held a small photo showing her and Heather, partying to their hearts content while Heather held a bottle of booze. "She had a mission to complete." Karen whispered while holding the photo.
She tightened her grip and it became shaky. Her breathing was heavier and she glared at nothing in particular. "And when she completed her mission, she was laid waste to. She was discarded, and Eggman did NOTHING!"
She continued to rant and shout about the wrong doings she had been dealt. "The Doctor didn't compensate for her. She didn't get a funeral, or a memorial. Even though we knew what we were doing was wrong, even in death, she still never got the respect she deserved!"
Tails widened his eyes. He felt the same thing once, when Cosmo had died. He was sure that Sonic and Cosmo felt similar when he almost died.
But her best friend wasn't coming back. "I want revenge on Eggman." Karen summed up. "I will kill that monstrous lard ball. If it takes me my entire life, I will make sure that he suffers a very slow, painful death."
Taking in the revelation, Tails nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked into his eyes and he looked back, seeing only what he saw in the mirror. Eyes full of pain, full of hatred, and so full of… a want? Yes, that was it. She wants to be accepted. Just like… me…
Karen felt arms wrap her in embrace and she looked up to see Tails hugging her, slightly tearing up all the while. He leaned into her ear and her everything became so silent, she could hear her own heartbeat. "I know the feeling. I know what you're going through" Tails whispered to her, embracing her tightly all the while.
She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes through her teary ones. She saw no malice or malicious intent, but rather an opening; an accepting.
Even she was surprised by the offer, even if she was the one who had come begging. She looked down at the flower in her hand and let it go. "But, why?" She muttered, barely audible enough for Tails to comprehend.
The kitsune only smiled. "Because, you may lose your way in life, or your road may become obstructed…" He paused and scuffed a trail of dirt into the hill. Leaves from a nearby tree fell onto the dirt streak, as if on cue. "All it takes is for someone to clear the path." He then swiped his hand and the leaves blew off, leaving the dirt streak clear again.
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Upon the ending of the conversation and pep talk, they returned to Angel Island, where everyone who hadn't gone on the mission was resting. Explaining the situation to them went without a cinch, though Karen was sure some still resented her, but she would make attempts to come to amends with her sins.
For a successful mission, the return of a friend who was previously missing in action, and the gaining of a new team mate, they decided to host a party. A party that was paid for by Knuckles, of course.
"Can someone explain to me again why I have to pay for the party favors?" Knuckles questioned openly, waiting for someone to reply.
Sapphire shuffled over to Knuckles and shrugged. "Probably for some ridiculous reason, like because it's your house, or something like that." She replied.
Knuckles looked back at his supposed daughter and raised an eyebrow. Skeptical as he was, he decided to ask, "If you're my daughter, and Julie-Su's gone, then who's the mother?"
She paused in her dancing and grabbed his wrists, twirling him around and bringing him into a slow dance. She rested on his chest and breathed a sigh of comfort. One she hadn't breathed in many years.
"Rouge, of course," she simply answered while continuing to dance with the now shocked echidna. He took a glance in Rouge's direction and smiled.
"I guess I can live with that, if I get to have such a wonderful daughter, like you." He muttered, only loud enough for her to hear, at which she blushed and chuckled. He then leaned into her ear and whispered, "Don't tell your brother I said that."
Hearing this sent her into a fit of giggles that forced her to sit out for a moment. Knuckles sat down at one table for a moment, next to Durin who scooted towards him. "You didn't mean that, did you?" He muttered as Knuckles chuckled.
"Well, I did, but that doesn't exclude you." Knuckles expertly answered, dissolving the conflict. Taking his father's words, Durin left to have a dance with Violet. Knuckles watched his son twirl the purple rabbit about. He's certainly a better slow dancer than I am, Knuckles thought.
The song finally decided to change, unveiling Refugee, by: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Alexa thought it ironic that the radio would play this, considering their new team member. The song began after a short guitar intro.
We got somethin', we both know it,
We don't talk too much about it…
Ain't no real big secret; all the same,
Somehow, we get around it…
Alexa listened to the melody and an idea popped into his head. He rushed over to Karen and grabbed her by the wrist, attempting to pull her. She resisted, asking, "What are you doing?"
Alexa responded cryptically with, "Helping you heal." She followed her to the front of the room where a microphone sat, and they began singing the chorus in synchronicity.
"No baby, you don't… ha-have, to live like a refugee!"
Everyone else caught on quick and began singing for the background voice. "Don't have to live like a refugee…"
Singing to their hearts content, the song eventually came to an end and the karaoke moment stopped. Afterwards, Karen seemed to open up more, if by just a little.
After the party died down and everyone went to their separate tents outside, Karen walked over to Tails. "Hey, I thought you might want to discuss military Intel." She asked him, to which he responded with a nod. He had almost forgotten that she was an enemy before that day.
"Well, spill the beans." Tails encouraged. "Speak your mind."
Karen nodded and they sat down at the dining room table. "Okay, you know that Eggmans army is comprised of Mobians and robots, right?"
Tails almost rolled his eyes. "I've put down enough of both sentient and non-sentient beings. How could I not?"
"Well, Eggman has started a program called Norse that will involve augmented soldiers wearing neural-integrated armor systems."
Tails was slightly taken aback. He gave her a skeptical look for a moment before replying, "Well, I took down two of these super soldiers, so they can't be that bad."
"That's because they were only in the Beta stage."
The kitsune gritted his teeth. "Is that so?"
Karen nodded. "Yes. Right now, the armor is not up to its full potential and the candidate soldiers haven't been augmented."
"I knew it was too easy to be true."
"Well, let's look on the bright side." She reached through her tail, as if looking for something. "I just happen to have a list of fortresses that Eggman could be hiding at." She smirked as she said that, pulling out a small flash drive and waving it in front of vulpine.
He looked in awe at the small memory stick that could very much help win the war and smiled in glee. "You said he had multiple bases, right?"
She nodded. "Yes, but I'm sure we're smart enough to deduce which one he's hiding at."
"That sounded condescending."
"I know, because, and I mean no foul, some of your friends' intelligence is…"
"At a level of high stupidity?"
"Well, I was going to say 'below average', but that works too."
Tails sighed and snatched the flash drive from her hands at lightning speed. She felt the wind, and squeezed her hand to find nothing there. "Let's at least try to stay on topic, okay?" He requested while tossing the memory stick around.
He walked over to a desk and turned on the nearby laptop, inserting the drive once it had loaded. What he was given was very shocking to say the least.
"This is…"
"A detailed, 3-D map of all four bases." Karen cut him off while taking control of the computer. She scrolled around the area of one compound. "It gives you your opposition, what the guards are equipped with, paths of patrolling, everything you'd need to know… except the location of the kitchen sink."
Tails raised his eyebrow. "Why would we need to know where the kitchen sink is?"
"Haven't you ever heard of that exaggerated phrase 'throwing everything but the kitchen sink'?"
"No."
"Well, never mind then."
Tails then extracted the cartridge and stuffed it into his tail fur. "I'm going to have to show the General this." He mused while imagining his reaction. He then went outside, to join Cosmo in their tent. Alexa followed along and went into her own tent, deciding to catch some shuteye as well.
She smirked as she lied down on her sleeping bag. Oh, you're in a load of trouble when Tails gets a hold of you, Eggman.
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Parliament Conference Room
February-19-3457
19:38 Mobius Time
There was an air about the room. It just seemed utterly uncomfortable, as if the room had suddenly been deprived of oxygen. The parliament glared at nothing in particular, but a person to glare at came across their minds.
"I can't believe it…" Jeremy muttered in disgust. The rat was not in a good mood, as none of the others were. The other members along the circular table nodded in agreement.
"Who'd have thought that after all this time, after all our efforts… he is still alive." Persepolis spoke with malice, enticing the others all the while.
"This fox is obviously more of a threat than we perceived." Gerard proclaimed, to which he was met with 'here, here'.
Lucifer Walrus motioned over to the crow. "So, do you have any possible solutions, Gerard?"
Gerard sighed. "Only one," he said as he stood up. "It has come to my attention that we will no longer be able to help Eggman while keeping ourselves undercover. I propose that we merely hire professional snipers to take him out."
They all nodded heads before they heard a chuckle from nowhere. "A good plan, indeed. Too bad you won't be able to carry it out." The feminine voice called out.
A white cloud suddenly began forming in the room. "A smoke screen?" Juliet commented while watching the cloud of dust.
When the cloud dissipated, Queen Sally stood there, wearing her original Freedom Fighter attire, consisting of her blue jacket and teal boots. Behind her stood Lynx soldiers, each wearing black military clothing and a patch with an eagle holding arrows in one talon and poles in the other. The elite soldiers of Seal Team 6 had hand cuffs in one hand and an HKP9 pistol in the other.
"For treason and conspiracy, with the lawful powers I've been given, we are here to arrest you." Sally stated overdramatically.
One of the lynxes sweated and glanced in her direction. "Your majesty, this is a military operation, not a soap opera."
Sally shrugged as the parliament submitted themselves to arrest.
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The Master Emerald Alter, Angel Island
February-20-3457
6:09 Mobius Time
"TAILS, TAILS, TAILS! WAKE UP!" A voice yelled at him. He rolled around in his sleeping bag and put the pillow over his head.
"I'm not awake yet." He muttered sleepily. "Come back in half an hour."
He felt the pillow being pulled from his grasp as he was forced to look at the grey colors of his tent and the green colors of his girlfriend. "No Tails, this is really important!" She reasoned, to which he groaned.
"Reason enough to get me out of bed at… what time is it?"
"It's 6:10, why?"
"… I slept in…"
Cosmo almost fell over dramatically at that. "Well, c'mon! The parliament has just been arrested for treason and conspiracy."
Tails twitched his ears and immediately stood up. "You're kidding, right?"
She sighed. "I'm kidding, wrong!"
They rushed inside the house to the TV which everyone was crowded around. They looked at the news report as it was streamed, live.
It showed the Jeremy, Persepolis, Gerard, Juliet, and Lucifer all being led into the heavy confinement. The reporter, a female pink fox wearing a red trench coat, spoke, "Earlier, last night, the parliament members were arrested for treason, conspiracy, and possible murder. Apparently, Queen Sally led five members of Seal Team 6 to their meeting place and caught them red handed."
Tails smirked. Way to go, Sally.
"The Parliament has also made the decision to banish Miles 'Tails' Prower. Due the unlawfulness of their authority, his sentence is being lifted, much to the discomfort of the populace." In the background, some Mobians had formed mobs, protesting against the act. Tails frowned at them as his fur flashed black for a split second.
"I believe I've seen enough." Tails said with a smirk as he walked towards the door.
Cosmo followed behind him. "Where are you going, fuzz ball?"
Tails reached into one of his tails and pulled out his red chaos emerald. "I'm going to confront the parliament." He said before vanishing in a blip of light.
He reappeared seconds later next to Sally, who jumped a bit at his coming. "Oh, Tails! You surprised me!" She gasped.
Tails shrugged. "That tends to happen with chaos control." He commented.
Mobbing Mobians who noticed him started insulting and screaming at him. Tails just glared back, his eyes flashing red for a moment, silencing the crowd.
"Hey, at least you're free." Sally said, trying to sound optimistic.
Tails just glared at the confinement building. "The parliament is the least of my worries."
Sally noticed and sighed. "You still don't forgive them for banishing you?"
Tails shook his head. "You don't understand, Sally." He muttered. "Two of those members created me; nurtured me… abandoned me."
His eyes flashed red again, and this time, Sally took notice. "Tails, what a-"
"I'm going to talk to them." Tails cut her off, walking towards the prison with a look of absolute hate on his face.
He nodded at the soldiers in front of the building, who nodded back and stood aside. I'll have to thank the military for sticking on my side, Tails reminded himself while continuing into the large building.
In the back was a fairly large, bared room, easily able to fit a standard living room. The members of parliament stood on the other side while two soldiers stood outside. He nodded at them and they let him into the confinement area.
They all glared at him as he entered. Tails gazed around the room, glaring as well. He then set his gaze on Jeremy, who jumped a bit. "What did you get?"
Jeremy cocked his head to the side. "I beg your pardon?"
"What did you get?" Tails rephrased as he walked toward him. "What did Eggman promise you? Power? Or maybe it was money?"
Jeremy shook his head. "A combination of the two. We did it for purely scientific reasons, but we could've potentially made our own army with the results."
Tails scoffed and turned his head. "You disgust me." When he turned back, his eyes were a fierce blood-red. "Well, that's your reason, as well as Gerard's, so what about you three?" He pointed at Persepolis, Lucifer, and Juliet.
None of them answered. They merely shuffled their feet and looked at the ground. Tails nodded and said, "So that's how it is, huh?"
He stepped forward and laughed. "Well look at your sorry selves now." He told them. "You've lost everything. You have neither more money nor the political power you once had. Heck, you don't even have your rights any more. All because you were greedy."
Tails continued to glare them. There was no forgiveness in his eyes; only hate and rage. "It is your fault that so many of my friends have suffered." They all jumped back at the accusation as Tails began to slowly walk towards them.
"Do you even remember Julie-Su?" His sudden question confused them as they continued to back themselves into the wall, keeping silent.
Tails huffed and rushed forward, grabbing Jeremy by the neck and slamming him into the wall. "Well? DO YOU?"
Jeremy, fearing for his life, quickly answered, "You mean that pink echidna girl about a year ago?"
Tails nodded and let him down. He continued to pace the room, letting his anger steadily rise. "It's your entire fault that she's dead." He accused them. "She had a life to live out. She wanted grow old ad have kids! SHE WANTED TO LIVE!"
He noticed that he was letting his rants get out of control and he immediately calmed down. The zebra guard at the door turned to him, asking, "Will you be okay, Miles?"
Tails only nodded and the guard turned back to his position. "Well, look at where all your efforts have landed you."
He smiled in a fearsome fashion as he continued to glare. "Out of here, you might have had the protection of your body guards, but in here, I control you."
He walked over to Persepolis and felt across her feather cheek. "Look at you; you're trembling. Tell you what; if you can honestly ask for a forgiveness of your sins, I'll let you go."
He then teleported away and came back an instant later, with Gary in tow. "He's very good at telling deceit from honesty, if you wanted to know."
Persepolis collapsed on her knees, with tears in her eyes and her hands clasped together. She lowered her head in shame as she said, "I'm so sorry! I didn't know what I was getting into! Can you please forgive me?"
Gary put his hands to her head and his eyes turned to a ghostly green color. After a few moments of silence, he took his hands off and smiled softly. "Your sins have been forgiven, go in peace."
Tails walked over to the guards and whispered something to him. The zebra widened his, but let Persepolis out anyway. "You will go to Queen Sally." Tails instructed her. "Ask for her forgiveness and tell her I sent you."
After a few more minutes passed, and more forgiving was done, the only two left in the cage were Jeremy and Gerard. "I think that will be enough, Gary." Tails told him, to which the purple hedgehog nodded and took his leave.
Once he had left, Tails' glare returned to his face. "Now, what am I going to do with you two?"
He flicked his hand out and let blood be drawn from Jeremy's cheek. "Maybe I'll just make you bleed and let you rot."
He then rushed forward and snap kicked Gerard's leg, instantly breaking it. "Maybe I'll do worse before I let you die."
Another flash appeared in the room, revealing Shadow. Tails glared at him slightly as he strode forward. "Well Shadow, have you come to give me some kind of speech and tell me that revenge will get me nowhere?"
Shadow looked at him blankly and nonchalantly shrugged. "Well, I was actually going to watch the show, but if you want a speech then go find Sonic."
Tails only smirked. He then directed his focus to the guards at the door. "You two might want to leave." He suggested. They understood and left without further ado.
Tails then let himself go and transformed. His fur turned black and his aura turned the same color as his red eyes. He slowly strode forward, with images of torture in mind.
They walking guards shuddered and continued on, hoping they wouldn't have nightmares about this. They could still hear their futile screams of terror and pain as they exited the door.