Freedom Fighters, a sonic the hedgehog fanfic

Author's Note:

Found this thing on my USB (it's a year old apparently) and I read it and wondered why I never put it up here. I remember where I wanted to go with this though; it was supposed to be a television series-script like fanfiction based on Jarred Spekter's deviantart idea about an Adult Swim/Toonami kind of Sonic Television show. I really liked its rugged depiction of Satam Sonic and the Freedom Fighters and some of the pictures reminded me of kind of a Celtic style artistry and it fit well with my desire to make a Gaelic style kind of story. Not sure on whether I'm going to expand on this and make 'episode-like' chapters or whether to just leave it alone but regardless, I will be finishing "Still A Need For Heroes" before I begin anything else. I just figured I'd put this up here for your enjoyment (You get a cookie if you know what song I based the below jingle on :P).

Read Review and Enjoy!

Freedom Fighters

The calm wind of a forest meadow echoed with the soft tune of a gentle guitar and a lonely anthem. The scene looked mighty dreary with a morning fog blanketing the area and makeshift huts etched across the narrow ways between the tall trees. No one was outside and nothing was moving. It was a very still forest village but amongst the gloomy atmosphere, it looked almost peaceful or serene. It was still early morning and the sun has yet to be spotted between the massive trunks of the Great Wood.

The tune that was lifted on a damp breeze rolled forward and one could get a sense of melancholy from it. It was a native kind of tune, one that rang with tradition and folk as the slow-paced strumming of the guitar dragged on in a four chord chorus. Soon a small whistle joined in, uplifting the tone only slightly. Slow and somber lyrics began to be sung:

"I was born on a village street where our exile do us meet,
and the fair cries of a dying green city,
And e-ry single night when me dad would come home tight,
he'd invite the neighbors to sing this old ditty."

"Come out ye tough tin cans, come out and fight me for my land,
Tell your tyrant how you stomped out us small children.
Tell him how the Great FFs threw you down into the depths,
kept you 'stray from Knothole, our sweet old haven"

The wood around resonated with the words of a soft and nearly silent cry from a war-torn populace. It was a calling for a small group of people, a proud and rebellious people fighting just to survive. The song fit the scenery almost perfectly as more words pierced the air.

"Come let us hear ya tell how you made life living hell,
by the damn pure call of ro-bot-i-ci-zation.
Where are the sneers and jeers that you loudly let us hear,
by the destruction of our once fair nation."

"Though we've been here locked away from our home that fateful day,
many have gone to see if lands will still show welcome.
But for we still stand true hoping to see our glory due,
we will fight, we will die; our jobs never done."

The final verse of the song leaves a stagnant message, a clear and true statement. The forest begins to show the first signs of morning light as a bright yellow ball erupts on the horizon over the tops of trees far in the distance. Another day in the refugee village of Knothole.

"Come out ye tough tin cans, come out and fight me for my land,
Tell your tyrant how you stomped out us small children.
Tell him how the Great FFs threw you down into the depths,
kept you 'stray from Knothole, our sweet old haven."

That single chorus haunts the thick air. The four lines alone speak of unmatched determination and the power to overcome the odds. It is such a profound profession of defiance and perseverance. An anthem for a fallen culture and a testimony of promise to rise once again. It tells a story of a group of children who rose from the ashes of a conquered land to fight for their homes and to protect those still with them all the while triggering the mind with a single lingering question… How did this happen?

*o*

"Let me tell you a story… now I'm not the best story teller so bear with me. Imagine, you're lying in bed sound asleep and all is well. But not before long, the black veil of your eyelids snap open as your mother shakes you violently to get you awake. You don't know what's going on but as you focus your eyes to get rid of the blur from the sudden awakening, you see it's still dark out. The lights aren't on but you see bright flashes fill your room as if in a lightning storm. You hear loud crashes as if a lightning storm too but there is something else mixed in: screams. As you gain full consciousness, the confusion and stupor remain and in fact grow as you look up at your mother and see complete fear in her eyes.

"Now from what I can remember, I've rarely seen my mother scared. She fought alongside my father in The Great War before I was born but when I came along she stayed at home while my dad continued to fight. So she can be a tough cookie when she needs to be. But this was a different kind of fear from what you or I are familiar with. It was fear for the life of her son. She grabbed me by the wrist and directed me where to go. 'Hurry Sonic' she would usher as we ran through the halls of our house. Now she knew I probably could get out of there faster than she could say so but I don't think that was the point. She wanted to make sure I got to safety.

"When we got outside, I saw complete and utter terror. I had no idea what was happening. I went to sleep after just another ordinary day and woke up to chaos. The city I lived and grew up in all my life, Mobotropolis, was practically in ruins. The sky was glowing with a dooming red as flashes in the distance were slowly succeeded with soft booms. Debris was everywhere and all the other people were frantically running around trying to get to cover. It was hell at my front doorstep. Fire was erupting from the Grand Palace in the distance and I could see strange objects flying all over the place shooting beams of light, which I now suspect to be lasers, at targets on the ground. I looked down the hill that my house rested on and saw large android like beings grabbing and stealing people from their loved ones. They were being thrown in transport vehicles and taken off toward the burning palace. Those hunks of scrap metal came to hold a name later on. Swatbots.

"'Let's move Sonic!' My mother shouted from a few feet away, noticing I had stopped frozen by the sight. My ears were droopy and my eyes were large. 'Wh-what's going on mom?' I asked but we didn't have time for explanations. 'SONIC!' she shouted and I complied. I rejoined her and we took off away from the city. Others were running with us but my mom was a little more tactical than most others so she knew when to stop and take cover and when to keep running. I can still recall her hand cusped over my panting mouth masking the slight noise it was making as I watched from under hidden cover as some of those swatbots captured other Mobians that were fleeing with us. They were taken away swiftly and we moved on when we could.

"We finally got far enough from the chaos and close to the city's edge where I saw my Uncle Chuck. 'Bernie! Sonny boy!' He said in jubilation. 'Oh thank aurora, you two got out.' He often called me Sonny Boy which actually gave me a little bit of comfort at the time, knowing some things haven't changed. But I had let that thought go too soon. 'Charles, Sonic needs to get out of here!' She ordered which threw me off. Why would only I need to get out of there? Where would she be going? 'Bernie, wait–' but my uncle was cut off by my mother. 'I'm going back for Jules.' I remember her saying sternly. All the while, little ole' me was rattling in my sneakers about everything. I still had no idea what was going on. I'm surprised I even got what they were saying to each other. Everything was in such a haze from the chaotic and frantic panic; I hardly could pick up on their words. I remember Uncle Chuck's face though when she said she was going back for my dad. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. I wouldn't doubt if he was. He said something to my mom but there was a loud crash in the distance. I turned my head to take a look and because of that, I couldn't make out what my uncle had said but my mother did. I felt her grip on my hand loosen as her eyes grew bigger than mine at the time.

"Just then, a shout sounded in the distance as the three of us turned to see Amadeus Prower, a friend of my parent's and a Royal Army Field Commander, coming running our way. 'Bernie! Charles!' He called out. He was holding something wrapped up in a little yellow blanket in his hands which was obviously slowing him down as he was being really cautious with it. Deep down, I was always a bit intimidated by Mr. Prower mostly because of the eye patch over his left eye and his always stern composure but he, just like everyone else, was different that day. 'Please help! I need help!' He panted as he came to a stop right in front of us. 'I must ask a request of you two!' He almost pleaded. 'Amadeus, what are you doing? Where's Rosemary?' Uncle Chuck asked. 'She's safe, for now. I need your help.' He urged once again. 'We're about to head back into the city.' My mother explained. 'No! I- I need you to save him.'

"I saw a side of Mr. Prower I had never seen. He too held a face full of fear as he gently extended his arms to show my mother and Uncle Chuck what he was holding. My mother let out a gasp as Uncle Chuck's large bushy eye brows dropped a little. 'Amadeus, I can't.' She said and looked down at me. 'Have Sonic take him.' She said. Take who? I thought. 'But he's just a boy!' The fox, who was quite a bit younger than my mother and definitely Uncle Chuck, aggressively rebuked in desperation. 'Amadeus. There are others fleeing. They will be able to take care of–?' My mother paused, waiting for the fox to finish her statement. 'Miles.' He said, sure enough doing what she expected.

"I remember he said it with the greatest adoration too as his face melted, canceling out all what was going on around as he was trapped in a gaze with the Miles that he was holding. 'Not even a day old.' He sniffled a bit as a tear ran down his face. He looked at me and knelt down to my level. 'I have a task for you boy. Take my son. Keep him safe. Find someone who will take care of him.' And with that, he unraveled the small blanket just enough to where I could see the little pup's muzzle. I took the creature not sure what else to do. Mr. Prower leaned in and gave a gentle kiss on the baby's forward before standing back up and turning away, while he covered his mouth to hide the quivers in his teeth.

"My mother and Uncle Chuck gave the fox a big embrace and comforting statements but I was too mesmerized by the small being that was staring up at me to even take note. It was peculiar to say then but it all makes sense now, that when I looked into that little guy's eyes I knew it was the start of a great friendship. After my trance, I looked back up to the trio and Mr. Prower bowed his head in almost defeat. I didn't know then but he was handing over his new born son, knowing he would never see him again. I don't think he would have handed him off so easily, and to a kid like me even, but the circumstance definitely called for it.

"I saw him think of one last thing, signified by the almost visible light bulb appearing over his head, as he pulled out a small stick from his pocket. He drew out his pocket knife and carved something into the end of it. 'This was to be a gift for our son. Something my father handed down to me. I'm entrusting you to make sure he gets it.' He said to me, and that was all the fox could handle. He hid his face from me in what seemed like shame as he let the tears flow down his face. I studied the small gift and saw it was a firm hollow piece of wood with six different sized holes in designated positions. It was a feadóg – flute whistle. I turned it over to where he made his engraving which appeared to be two adjoined fox tails with one partially overlapping the other.

"I hadn't noticed but at this time my mother came down to my level. Tears were noticeable in her eyes but unlike the young field commander whose son I was still holding, she wasn't trying to hide them. 'Mom, what's going on?' I asked her. Seeing everyone in such a sorrow state probably transferred their dismay to me as I began to snivel and whimper. 'You're going to get out of here son. Take Miles and run.' I recall her taking a pause to wipe the snot from her running nose onto her sleeve before continuing. 'Do you remember where you stayed for a while with Rosie and Julayla? With your new friends?' I gave the lightest nod to answer her question. My mother gripped me hard to make sure she had my attention. 'I need you to go there. Go to Knothole. You'll be safe there. Your father, Uncle Chuck and I will be there soon.' I think I saw through her hollow words almost instantly at that point because I immediately broke down. 'Mom, I don't want to go! I don't want to leave you!' She caught me in a big bear hug but remained cautious of the fragile new born I was still cradling. 'Shh. It'll be okay Sonic. It'll be okay.' She pulled away and rested her palms on my shoulders. Her face scrunched up as her words began to fluctuate in tone. 'Olgilvie Maurice Hedgehog.'

"Another crash and bang happened in the background but this one seemed much closer. 'Bernie?' I remember Uncle Chuck asking a bit unsure, 'the boy can make it out safe. He's fast enough' he finished. 'We need to get moving.' I heard Mr. Prower say without prudence. 'I love you son.' She said with a fragile smile and a light kiss on my forehead before bolting up to her feet and turning away from me, running with Uncle Chuck and Mr. Prower toward the fray that was the attacked city. She turned around to see me still standing there. I was crying and can only imagine the sight my mother was seeing looking back at me. 'Run! Sonic speed son!' I remember her saying. A small inside joke between me her and my dad so with that, I ran. I cradled the baby carefully and made sure I wouldn't break his only memento from his parents and I headed for the Great Wood of Knothole.

"I was still in my stupor as to what in my great speed was going on. No one seemed to explain the explosions or the fact that all of Mobotropolis was under siege but in amongst it all I felt a great responsibility being vested upon me that day.

"I was five when all this happened."

…

"It didn't take long for me to get to my destination, thanks to my 'sonic speed.' I ran deep into the woods and got to the sanctuary village of Knothole. Not even a year earlier I had spent a few months here because at the time things weren't doing so well for us Mobians in the Great War against the furless apes called Overlanders so King Max ordered many of the children, including his daughter Princess Sally, to be sent here under the care of Rosie and Julayla just in case things turned for the worst.

"I stood on top of a hill where I could see most of the small huts from years before and even newer makeshift shelters that were quickly being constructed. It was a peculiar site in amongst all the tall solid trees. The place was a refuge; numerous abandoned children and only few adults to watch over them all. I remember hearing a few whimpers come from the lump I was still carefully carrying which told me, I had to find Rosie.

"I bolted down into the village and ran past each person hoping to find her. Luckily she made it out of Mobotropolis. She was with Princess Sally at the time while she was clinging onto Rosie's legs like her life depended on it, crying with never ending tears. She kept her palm rubbing on Sally's back, letting the young princess continue her grieving. I slowly made my approach hoping Rosie would notice me before I had to say something. She turned to me, bringing Sally's attention to me as well, and exclaimed a relieved 'Sonic! You're safe!' I could see in Sally's face she was thinking the same thing but she was too distraught about everything that had just happened to let it show verbally.

"I still had Mr. Prower's son in my hands and he began to cry at this time. Rosie came to notice pretty quickly. 'What are you holding there, Sonic?' I extended my arms and gave her the living parcel. She looked down at it and saw the baby. 'It's Mr. and Mrs. Prower's.' I told her. She held him in one hand and let the other cover her gapped mouth as tears began to fill her eyes just like practically everyone else at this time. 'Oh my.' I recall was all she said.

"She fumbled with the baby to get a better hold and in amongst it, her older hands must have lost hold of the blanket as it lightly fell in the gentle woodland breeze. As she held up the naked baby, we noticed the little guy had two tails! Didn't seem like the place to crack a smile but I guess I thought it was funny. I kind of chuckled which was just the little bit of joy that was needed at the time because Sally began to smile too. 'Well aren't you something special?' Rosie said. 'We're going to make sure you get through this, just like the rest of us. And you've got some friends that I'm sure will help, right you two?' She said to me and Sally. Rosie always was the one to see the bright side of dark situations. Sally again let out a light smile and a firm nod. I took a bit more enthusiastic response. 'You betcha! We're going to be like bros, you'll see little guy.' Rosie gave me a gentle smile before heading to her hut, one of those that were preexisting. 'You two stay together and keep each other company. I'm going to give this guy a home.'

"I turned over to Sally where she tried to snivel up her chokes and running nose. 'Hey Sonic.' She said pretty gloomy. I said something around the lines of, 'Hey Sal. Funny seeing you in a place like this.' which I don't think she took too kindly, I can't remember exactly, but she knew I liked to joke around so she probably just dismissed it if she didn't.

"I don't remember much of the rest of that conversation, or the rest of that day really. I think once I finally calmed down and got to safety, my mind turned to mush from all the adrenaline that was pumping through me until that point.

"The next day, more people kept coming into Knothole. Not a whole lot but there were some. I was waiting for my parents and Uncle Chuck, hoping to see them again but I wasn't having any luck. I ended up meeting with my other friends from my previous stay in Knothole, Rotor and Antoine. They were doing the same – searching for loved ones. Antoine's father was a Field Commander too like Mr. Prower but was a bit higher up on the chain of command. Judging from my last experience with Mr. Prower, I didn't think he was going to make it out either. I felt bad for Sally though. She told me that day, after gathering some strength, she had to witness her father's fate. He was presumably still alive, but thrown into another 'zone.' Like another dimension or something. I asked her how but she wasn't ready to tell me at that time. If it wasn't for Rosie, she would have never gotten out of the palace. It seemed we were all orphans at this time.

…

"It had to be about three days since The Reckoning, what people around Knothole began to call our forced flee from a destroyed Mobotropolis, and no one else had made it to the haven in the past day. It seemed like the handful of refugees that were there at this time were all that escaped. Most were children without any guardians younger than the age of 8 with a few under ten. There were only a few adults to look over us and Rosie was one of them but by this time we kids were kind of doing our own thing in the great wood. Many of the families that escaped were talking about leaving, finding a new home farther away from the destruction of Mobotropolis but there was speculation as to whether or not that was practical since no one still was completely sure what had happened. We didn't know if this was an isolated event or was happening all around Mobius. One thing for certain though was that those that were orphaned didn't have a choice but to stay.

"I remember I found a fruit that must have fallen from someone's grip and was lying on one of the paths. I had just started to eat into it when I saw a familiar face rise over a nearby hill. If it wasn't for his bushy mustache and large eye brows, I would have thought him as just another refugee. It was my Uncle Chuck. I called out his name and dashed to him in an instant. He was slightly shocked by my sudden appearance in amongst a blue blur but responded a little disheartened regardless, 'Hey sonny boy.' I saw there was no one else with him. I asked him where my mom and dad were but he closed his eyes and let out a gentle shake of his head.

"I felt the world collapse and fall into an empty pit in my stomach. My legs couldn't keep up my body and I fell on my butt. I dropped the fruit I was holding and let it all out. Deep down, I think I knew they wouldn't be coming back since the moment I departed with them and was surprised to even see my uncle again, but it wasn't until then that it all became a realization rather than a suppressed thought. He consoled me and held me in a grip I didn't know he was capable of. Usually I don't like to show it when things get to me but knowing your parents were gone forever is something you can't hide. First Sally had her grieving, Antoine was crying for almost all three days now, and now it was my turn.

"Later that night, the entire village gathered around the campfire as Uncle Chuck explained what had happened to our beloved city. If I wasn't curious about it since the moment I was awakened three days ago, I probably would have been too caught up in my grieving to pay attention. But I wanted to find reasoning for it all. I wanted to know if there was some way I could fix it.

"It all started when King Max took in a distraught Overlander by the name of Dr. Julian Ivo Kintobor. We all knew his name well for he was appointed Warlord of the Royal Army at the beginning of the Great War. King Max was a bit more sympathetic to overlanders than many of us because of Nate Morgan, an old friend of his father King Frederick, who disappeared after some claims that was the cause of the death of some Mobians. Despite how King Max still disclaimed these rumors, Nate still held prominence in our society for creating something called the Power Rings. Never really got their significance when I was young but they're pretty much pure power with incredible accessibility and efficiency. Their study and up keeping was taken up by my uncle after Nate left.

"Anyway Kintobor, like Nate, was exiled by the Overlanders for some reason but if as the old saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. He gave unbelievable insight in the field of tactics and warfare leading to a change in pace in a losing war. Well the fat man Kintobor worked close with many people in the palace including the king, many commanders, and even my uncle on a project where they were creating a solution to ailment and fatal injuries, later coined 'The Roboticizer.' He never really talked about that much but strangely enough Uncle Chuck abandoned the project two days before The Reckoning and had plans to scrap it and burn the blueprints.

"Apparently these past few days have been quite eventful as he then began to say the Great War unofficially was over the day before The Reckoning and King Max wanted to begin the negotiation of the Overlander's surrender before making it public. The Overlanders, partially at their own suggestion, agreed to leave the planet on their technologically advanced machines that could take them to a new home. Sounded like a sci-fi comic I had read once but the Overlanders did in fact have that kind of technology, as demonstrated by Kintobor's technical skills. Us Mobians had advanced greatly mostly because of the Power Rings but we liked our more natural, less industrial approach to advancement.

"Word got out around the Grand Palace that the war was over, and that's when things turned for the worst. Turns out, the one man that won the war for the Mobians had been scheming a coup for years. Kintobor had apparently sabotaged my uncle's Roboticizer to create mindless robot drones out of its subjects that obey only his command and in the meantime had kidnapped many Mobians to be thrown into the Roboticizer. Uncle Chuck had told me later that my father was its first victim, sparking his decision to terminate the project. With just a handful of Mobian robots, or Robians, he was able to use their labor to mass produce an army of cyborgs in no time. Once the Overlanders had been defeated and were out of the picture, he saw his chance to unleash his creation into Mobotropolis. He took up the anagram Robotnik – more like Ro'butt'nik – and claimed himself soon-to-be ruler of Mobius. And thus The Reckoning occurred.

"It occurred from the inside out so there was no way to foresee it, and it was very hard to undermine. In mere hours, the head of an entire kingdom was taken down by disposable Swatbots that felt no pain and kept on trucking until they were defeated. And since he chopped off the head of a cobra, the entire kingdom collapsed once Mobotropolis fell.

"The Robians were still being used for slave labor in Kintobor's labs underneath the Grand Palace. That place became his stronghold once he had secured it from the Royal Army. Machines flew, drove and stomped through the city destroying any resistance, and took practically the entire population prisoner and sent them to be roboticized. It was over before anyone knew it.

"Uncle Chuck said that he was hiding around the scraps that remained of our city in hopes to find more survivors but decided to call it in after those three days. He also mentioned that the city had been completely transformed. It astounded him how it could be done in such a short amount of time, but our city that was filled with growth, nature, and life was now a desolate industrial wasteland where the skies were so polluted it seemed like it was constantly night.

"So that was it. We, at literally the very end of a massive war, had been undermined and taken over. Forced to live in the woods in fear that we might be discovered and suffer a fate worse than death and fight just to survive in a world that turned hostile. This was convincing enough for the families that contemplated fleeing to do so as they had packed up and left the very next day. The minority in Knothole at that time was Mobians that could even barely be considered 'young adults.' Rosie did her best at taking care of the vast amount of young orphans while the older orphans took their share in aiding her in that task. The few adults held order in the camp and made sure everything was rationed for everyone. Uncle Chuck was one of them and was pretty influential in the village. He also took me in seeing as he was the only family I had left.

"It was a good thing us Mobians were so in tune to the environment because the transition from Mobotropolis to Knothole wasn't as difficult for us as it would have been for the Overlanders if they had been exiled. With our natural roots coming from the woods, we just reverted to the ways of our elders and ancestors. We were able to get manage portions of food and resources in the woods and the best part was Robotnik had no idea there were survivors that escaped. He had no idea about Knothole."

…

"So we lived out our years in the sanctuary of the Great Wood. Pretty peacefully too I might add. But despite this fact many of the refugees, as they grew older, began to leave and move on. Occasionally in Knothole we'd hear the faint 'boom' of probably a weapon test or factory explosion way far away in the remnants of Robotropolis, but that was about all the excitement we got from there. We nicknamed the destroyed and industrially revamped Mobotropolis to Robotropolis from Uncle Chuck's story about The Reckoning and the roboticizer. It soon became a place of mythology almost. Like Niflheim in the ancient mythology of Mercia or Erebus in that of ancient Mediterria, it was like our version of hell. No one wanted to go there and no one wandered near. Not even Uncle Chuck who constantly talked about trying to scavenge for historical records or technological blueprints or anything of the matter, condoned venturing into that territory. No one except Sally.

"It was about three years after our escape to Knothole when Sally got this idea. It started out as small talk and 'what ifs' but eventually grew. Like any eight or nine year old we started to play out scenarios in our heads, usually of us doing some heroic deed. But I think they might have been more than daydreams for Sally. They were ideas.

"I think The Reckoning changed her a bit. Not so much her strong-willed, caring and logical attitude but she changed from a princess to a fighter. She was too young to get attached to materialistic things that came inevitable to those in royalty so discarding her silk clothes and living in the woods wasn't a big deal for her. Though she still was a very patient and cheery person, she got more composure as she saw probably what she felt was her duty to protect these people. She was after all technically in command, being the surviving heir to a conquered kingdom. She began to talk about fighting back and retaking the city. Dreams at the time that any youngster would gladly say they'd help with. Adventure was in all our hearts, even Antoine's when his body stopped trembling that is. Again though, just talk. Or so I thought.

"This 'scheming' about going into Robotropolis and taking control had been going on for about half a year now. Well one night, I woke up to Sally gently shaking me. 'Can't a guy get his beauty sleep around here?' I asked not entirely serious if you know me. 'Shhh!' She said with her finger vertically in front of her curled lips. 'Put on your shoes. You're going to need them.' She told me and turned to head outside.

"By now, me her Antoine and Rotor were really good friends so we all stayed in the same hut. In Rosie's failing health we began to watch over young 'Tails,' as we called him for obvious reasons, so he stayed with us as well. He was only three years old now but we can tell this kid was a sharp thumbtack. The four of us thought of him as a new addition to our family, which apparently he thought of himself in the same way, calling me brother and Sally aunt pretty early on.

"As Sally left through the door of our hut I saw Rotor and Antoine slowly getting up too. I let out a big yawn, stretched, and moseyed over to where I kept my shoes. They were a special pair of shoes my uncle had created so that they wouldn't deteriorate when I'd run. We made sure we wouldn't wake Tails as we all got outside where Sally was waiting for us, still in our rags we considered our night wear. 'This is it.' She said. 'This is what Sal?' I asked curiously. I think I remember tapping my foot which tended to bother her. 'Oui, why ze sudden dark and early treatment?' Antoine asked with his accent. It took me a while to get used to that thing. 'We're going into Robotropolis.' She answered.

"If that wasn't a wakeup call, I wouldn't know what is. 'What!?' Antoine shouted to which Rotor quickly covered the coyote's mouth. 'I'm with Antoine on this one. What are we going there for?' He asked. 'We need to start our comeback. We need to begin our resistance against Dr. Robotnik.' I remember her saying so forcefully. 'So we're just going to walk in there and say, 'Hey, we're here to dethrone you fat man!' and expect him to do so?' I retorted. 'Not at all Sonic.' She said with such a familiar tone. 'I have a plan.'

"Apparently she had been planning this mission for weeks without any of us knowing. There wasn't anything special about it, we weren't storming the Grand Palace, we weren't going to blow up some Swatbot factory, we were just going to go in and look around. Reconnaissance if you will. But even a small task as snooping would be a challenge in a place like Robotropolis we figured. Let alone the fact that the oldest one here was Antoine at age eleven and he was more afraid than a cat is of water.

"But none the less, we complied. We ventured to the far edges of the Great Wood until we found ourselves starring down from a hill on the horror that was once our home. Smokestacks lined the skyline and the haunting glow made a sick discoloring of the night sky. 'Welcome to Robotropolis.' I remember saying as a joke. Sally ushered us to keep moving and for some strange reason we continued to listen to her. We stumbled around the outer edge of the city which remained just a bunch of ruins and debris from what stood before it, the factories and steel buildings had not traverse this far out yet. Occasionally we'd see a flying scavenging machine come our way which we immediately was prompted to take cover. I guess they didn't have audio capabilities because Antoine's teeth chattering could be heard a mile away. When they cleared we moved on. Just like when I was fleeing the city with my mother, I was using the same tactics to get back in.

"We probably only covered a few thousand feet of ground in our scouting but we came across some interesting items. Two notable objects were a book on the Great War from what we suspected a library once stood and a denim vest. You would think a vest wouldn't be a notable artifact to take back from the wreckage of a city but Sally seemed to think otherwise. She saw it hanging in a closet of a house that still partially stood. It was surprisingly in good condition despite sitting there for years. It was under cover from the weather and closed up in a cedar wardrobe which kept bugs and other crawlers out. Sally took it despite how it was a bit too big on her at the time. I think she saw something of sentimental value in it for she would wear it all the time. Except missions though, she couldn't move very quickly with the droopy vest.

"This first mission was majorly uneventful, which probably was the reason we decided to keep coming back to scout around the old town. But that book we picked up was pivotal in our future intentions. It was a surprisingly new book, published the year before The Reckoning, which detailed many key points of the Great War. Reading that, Sally figured it would be best to scavenge around for more history and military tactics books to help us in strategizing our future strikes against Ro'butt'nik. And I thought Tails was going to be smart when he got older, Sally was already impressing me with her cleverness. Of course it wasn't like me to word it like that so I tended to call her a bookworm or something along those lines.

"So we kept coming back mostly to that excavated library to search for more books. But I think it was our sixth mission or something, about half a year later from our initial operation, where we saw something that shocked us. Uncle Chuck was meddling around Robotropolis as well! We almost didn't believe it as it kind of crept up on us but nonetheless, that was surely him just a few blocks away. I remember we didn't really see him that often in the weeks preceding that which made sense after seeing him there in the city. Now a bunch of eight or nine year olds roaming around a place that was described as a death trap was usually not approved by those who watched over said children so we made sure we concealed ourselves from him as well for fear of our own hides.

"But after a while of just going in and out of the city, I was getting antsy. We were just slowly scavenging the same old places and I was a cocky kid who wanted actions. I hadn't even gotten to use my speed yet! Sally kept saying 'not now, we don't want to get caught' or 'you'll give us away, we have to be discreet.' Even back then, she was holding me down. But again I, like the others in our party, was compelled to obey her for some reason. Probably because she knew what she was doing and we were just there for the ride.

"Well after nagging and nagging her, I finally got my wish. We had been preparing this mission for a long time now and I was to infiltrate the inner city and get as close to the Grand Palace as possible in order to try and extract any kind of information we could get our hands on. To look back and think, 'man we were how young when we were doing this?' still bugs me out but I guess when you're taught, or in our case when you teach yourself, at a young age it sinks in a lot quicker than when you're older. So we got good at what we were doing and we got good at it quick. The older kids at Knothole and the few that were considered 'adults' probably wondered, what the heck we were talking about or mapping out in the dirt during the days. Even Tails began asking what we were 'playing.'

"So here we were, my time to shine and use my given talent of sonic speed! 'Go over the plan with me once again Sonic.' Sally said for like the tenth time it seemed like as we made our march over to Robotropolis. 'Geez Sal, as if the first three times wasn't enough!' I retorted. 'Just one more time. We have to get this right.' And me, being the little blaggard I could be sometimes, saw this as an opportunity to get under her skin. 'Get it right, or are you afraid that this hedgehog hottie would get captured?' I always said dumb things like that back then. Come to think of it, I still do. Anyway, she rolled her eyes and said something to which I probably had a comeback as well and the next thing I remember we were at our break away point. She tucked a walkie-talkie we excavated a while back into one of the front pocket of the red plaid flannel fleece I was wearing that day, my favorite shirt actually. 'Ok. Good luck Sonic, and remember – stick to the plan!'

"I remember just taking off. Weaving in and out of destroyed buildings making my way to the Grand Palace or what used to be the Grand Palace. I was really surprised that I didn't see any activity outside in the city. Compared to The Reckoning, this place was a ghost town vacant of even Swatbots. I guess Robotnik figured he got everyone so why worry about security?

"It wasn't long before I made it to the doors of the Robotnik retrofitted Grand Palace. Sally was keeping an eye on me with some binoculars we found on a previous mission and Antoine and Rotor were at different security posts around her. I ran up to the doors completely oblivious to the fact that there were probably cameras all over the place and also oblivious to the fact that the doors were also probably locked. So there I was standing there in the open, thinking of a way to get in. I looked over to a section of the wall and noticed it was pretty smooth and straight and had a curved piece of debris leaning up against it. Being the bold hedgehog that I am, I figured I'd try something new. I bolted off in the opposite direction of the tower, then turned around and ran full speed ahead. I picked up enough speed that I was able to run up the curved piece of debris and up the wall. I would have loved to see Sally's face at that moment.

"I came up to a window and tucked into a ball to fall horizontally into the open window. I don't exactly remember which room I was in, I was only in the palace once or twice before The Reckoning, but that room didn't look very familiar. It must have been a personal chamber judging by the looks of it. It looked like there was a struggle because the tables were turned and drawers and desktop items were thrown all over the place.

But in amongst the mess, I noticed something peculiar. Thrown on the floor in a discarded manner was a black leather book with a broken lock on the front of it. What made it stick out from the rest of the debris were the initials on it, S.A.A. Sally Alicia Acorn. I picked it up and noticed it was scratched and torn. The lock was broken into I remember and when I picked it up the book opened up to a page written in different handwriting than the rest of the book. It was rushed and frantic. 'Sally, I don't have much time. I'm sending this with a servant in hopes it might reach you. There is something I must give to you and it is imperative to our kingdom that he must NOT find it. I've had it hidden where our tree lies on the ground. Please, take good care of her. I love you, Dad.' Her? What was King Max talking about? But I knew Sally would know and figured this was a pretty important artifact so I tucked it away in my pocket for safekeeping.

"'What luck I have to stumble upon this so quickly?' I remember saying way too soon. I laugh now because right as I said that, two swatbots busted through the door to the room with their red dotted laser sights on my forehead. 'Halt. You are under arrest. Surrender now and prepare to be roboticized.' I was stunned. How'd they find me so quickly? I wouldn't admit it to anyone back in Knothole, but I was terrified. I was about to be turned into a mindless robot. They closed in on me and took me captive.

"Not a hard task for two swatbots to carry a nine year old kid so it made it hard to get away. If only my feet were on the ground, I could have broken their grip by running away. But nonetheless they took me into an elevator and for the life of me, I had no idea whether it was going up or down but it was moving fast. In no time, the doors opened to a large egg-shaped man with a bald and boiled head but enough hair under his nose to make up for it. 'Snooping as I can see.' I remember his breath was repulsive. I figured this was Ro'butt'nik. 'I'm surprised you're still alive!' He said as he turned away and walked to this large glowing glass cylinder. I almost instantly knew it was the roboticizer. The swatbots who still held onto me stepped forward at a constant distance from the mad doctor. My mind was in panic mode but I tried to tell myself to stay cool. I remembered the radio Sally slipped in my pocket and I squirmed a bit to try to hit the 'talk' button. It was in lock mode so I just had to hit it once and Sally would be able to hear everything. I wiggled a bit more until I heard a 'bleep.' I froze, hoping the tough tin cans that were holding me didn't hear the radio. I slowly slide my eyes up to them but they didn't react. 'Tell me, where did you come from?'

"If I had not turned on that radio I probably would be dead right now. It was the littlest of things but because I knew Sally and the others could hear me now I couldn't sound weak or scared. I couldn't fail them. 'Sand Blast City.' It was the first thing I could think of. 'Heard there was some fat man that caused all of the destruction across Mobius. Wanted to tell to his face that he killed my parents.' A little bit of truth was in that lie as I felt my anger toward that man standing in front of me fill my body with confidence. He was the reason for such planet wide destruction and he was about to kill me, or worse. Of course I was getting pissed. The sinister laughs of that man at my statement sent a shiver down my spine and only angered me more. 'How sentimental. Well, do you feel better now that you have said it to my face?' I just sneered and let out a small growl. 'I hate to say, if your parents are dead and not just another one of my mindless drones, you'll have to wait either way to see them. Swatbots, over here.' He ordered. They took me over to the entrance to the roboticizer. My heart was racing. The large glass cylinder chamber lifted up and the platform it rested on changed to an ominous green. Robotnik was typing something into the computer attached to the machine. I closed my eyes knowing the inevitable when I heard a voice I was not expecting to hear. 'You're not taking my nephew so easily.'

"Uncle Chuck! The swatbots didn't move; they weren't ordered to. But I remember Robotnik was just as surprised as I was. 'We can get the boy later, after Sir Charles!' He shouted, causing the tin cans to drop me. I guess Ro'butt'nik didn't know who I was because letting my feet hit the ground was his worst mistake. I got up and saw Uncle Chuck hiding behind a swatbot that was firing at the others. I guess he rewired and reprogrammed it to do his will. 'Attack!' The fat tyrant shouted. I remember thinking, not on my watch, and took off right at him. In a flash, I ran up to his stomach and punched him. Sadly, a nine year old Mobian isn't all that strong so I don't think I even fazed him. He was about to throw a similar swing at me when I took off again. This time, the doctor was stunned. 'What kind of kid are you?' I heard him say. 'Sonic! Get out of here!' I quickly heard shout out to me before I could rebuke to Robotnik's statement. I turned to see my uncle being held up by a swatbot and walked up to the roboticizer. 'Uncle Chuck!' 'Don't save me sonny boy, get the hell out of here!' And with that, they threw him in. The glass chamber closed down in an instant and I watched in horror as lights along the machine began to glow. 'Run! Sonic speed!'

"Just like with my mother, when I heard that statement I took off. As my back turned, I heard a loud zap and a drowning out scream. I hated myself for running away from my family twice now but I didn't stop running. I came across more swatbots but just ran past them. Fear, sorrow, and adrenaline were what was fueling me at that point. I came up to the locked door I came up to in the beginning of the mission and without thinking, jumped into a ball at it. I guess with my speed, I created enough force to punch a hole in it. I landed on the other side and just kept running. I met back up with Sally Antoine and Rotor and they looked at me with the saddest faces. 'Oh Sonic.' Sally said as she dove on me in an embrace. I didn't know what was going on. My breath was very rapid and I felt light headed. But it took me a second to remember the radio. They heard everything. I pulled the radio out of my pocket and dropped it, initiating a flood of tears.

"I said nothing in the trip back to Knothole. Uncle Chuck was my last remaining family and acted as my father over these past few years. In a sense I was disappointed that I turned on the radio because now they knew that I was the kind of guy that didn't like my emotions to show on my sleeve. But on the other hand, I would have still been frozen in fear to answer Robotnik's question about where I came from. And that simple response bought enough time for Uncle Chuck to save me. Then the disappointment came back because I would much rather had them take me instead. I realized then where my true strength was. It wasn't in my pride and cocky attitude, it wasn't in my speed, it was in my friends. Just by them being able to hear me, knowing they were the slightest bit closer when I was in the chamber gave me the strength I needed.

"I remember once we got back to Knothole, I handed Sally the book I retrieved and vanished to the Lake of Rings my uncle established just outside of Knothole about a year into our stay. I was there all night and into the next day.

"It took me a while to get over Uncle Chuck. I know I didn't really build on our relationship in this little story but trust me when I say he was my second dad. After a few weeks or so, Sally filled me in on what that note in the book meant. She pulled out of this small brown leather satchel a metallic handheld computer looking device. Apparently this was what King Max wanted Sally to watch over and to keep out of Robotnik's hands. It was hidden at Sally's mother's grave, hence the code in the message. She flipped it open and a small screen blipped on. 'Hello Sally. Who is your friend?' It said. It. Said. 'Hi NICOLE. This is Sonic.' She introduced me for the little device. 'Nice to meet you Sonic. May I ask to perform a bio-scan to get familiarized with you?' I just stood there in perplexity. I was having a conversation with a computer. Sally probably saw the look on my face and giggled a little. 'He won't mind.' Instantly, a light flashed quickly up and down my body. 'Scan complete. You have an amazing ability Sonic.' That thing was good. Apparently it was a project deemed above Top Secret. Classified with the utmost sensitivity to national security. An AI with almost limitless capabilities. It was obvious why King Max didn't want Robotnik to get his hands on that. There wouldn't be a chance for the Mobian race if he did. 'She's going to help us defeat him.' Sally told me. 'Especially now that Robotnik knows there are survivors.'

…

"Five years or so has passed since I was introduced to NICOLE. Now I stand, 15 years old still wearing that red flannel shirt and a pair of old jeans. Sally grew into her denim vest and wore it over an undershirt every day now. Her boots and low cut shorts made her militia appearance stick out. Antoine was still a bit on the jittery side even at the age of 18 but he only jumped at serious threats in the field now. We've decided he's earned the right not to be called a scaredy-cat anymore. Rotor was keen to his backwards yellow hat, his cotton stuffed corduroy jacket and a pair of old jeans similar to mine. He was a year older than me and Sal but that didn't change a thing. We raised Tails into our family as well and even began bringing him on some missions not too long ago. Those two tails of his can spin like a propeller so we don't mind having some air superiority occasionally. We were a bit cautious at first because he was a lot younger than the rest of us but we were right, he's a smart cookie. I often see him and Rotor tinkering with some contraption they plotted up. He wore a tunic and a loose shirt that fit his appearance pretty well. He was quite the whistler too. The feadóg his parents left him was a huge memento to him and he played it every day it seemed like. That boy can whip up a jig for all occasions. We'd often hear him and Mina, a Knothole orphan like us who housed an amazing voice, jam with a slide or something alongside Ash, another Knothole orphan, on his set of strings.

"The lot of us, including NICOLE and occasionally Tails, continued to go out on more missions and this time, we let Ro'butt'nik know we were after him. We've been a constant thorn in his side for years now. Sadly with Uncle Chuck gone and Rosie having passed away, we were on our own but we grew up fast. We stopped sneaking around which made the village know a bit more about our efforts. Sooner or later in the past five years, we've been deemed heroes. A star of shining hope in the dark exile we've been sentenced to. They gave us a name too. The Freedom Fighters. The Great FFs. Sally and her own Royal Army. It was an underlined unofficial decree that Sally was in charge. All of Knothole looked up to her and she was born to rule a kingdom. Now if only we could take that kingdom back for her. But that was our mission. We were to continue protecting our exiled home of Knothole and with small rebellious and underground movements, we were to overturn the tyrant named Dr. Robotnik and takedown his regime. We knew one day we were going to achieve this. And those tin cans we called swatbots weren't going to hold us back either. We were children forged into warriors. Kids that escaped hell then decided to go right back into it. We were strong, persistent, organized, and effective. We had a strong field leader and an unbeatable team, with yours truly of course. We, the Freedom Fighters, were going to win this war. And there wasn't any other way to put it.

*o*

The soft lyrics of a song an anthem could be made out of were heard. They rang with a bit more cheer and confidence than previously. They were faster and happier. Instead of a somber story, these words told of rebirth and uprising.

The words began to drown down into the natural sounds of an awakening forest village. They rested on the air for all to hear as they faded away; a message and reminder for those ready to fight. The tune continued to hum after the words have vanished, just like the song itself. It would remain even if no one would be singing it.