(Chapter Six! Sorry this is so late. Real life got in the way, y'know. Bug infestations, buying Evangelion 1.11, downloading Evangelion 2.22, wondering when info's gonna come out on Evangelion 3.0. Y'know, all that jazz.)
Rotor, for all of his scientific genius and mechanical know-how, could only really sum up the damage to Freedom in its battle with ARK in five words.
"It was really badly damaged."
Elias nodded in understanding, before turning to face the four new arrivals: The Wandering Orphans.
"That Black Arms that looked like a hedgehog," said Knuckles, "He said something about a Möbian Suppression Squad."
"Are ya serious, big bro?" asked Marine.
Knuckles nodded. "And I don't think that 'Squad' means we're dealing with a small group of creatures here. He said he was Commander of the 'Far East Division'."
"An army, you mean," said Elias, sighing. "The Black Arms really are serious, then. They won't let a single Möbian slip through the cracks and live on the surface."
CHAPTER SIX:
That's What It Means To Be Partners
"Tails, why did you dig a tunnel?" Sonic said through half a mouth of grape-hippo leg. Tails had rarely heard Sonic sound disappointed, and it was a very disheartening thing to hear. He bowed his head, looking at the shadow the Moon cast on him.
"I wanted to run away," Tails explained. "Let's go back to Knothole, Sonic. They got lots of people up here to fight with them. They got Elias and Knuckles and the Wandering Orphans and so many other people to handle this stuff. I don't wanna die, and I don't want to see you die, either. If we stay up here much longer, you're gonna end up like your dad!"
The sound of Sonic tossing the leftover bone from the grape-hippo leg met Tails's ears. Turning to look, he saw Sonic hopping down from the mound they were sitting on, before pointing to the sky again.
"C'mon, Tails!" he said. "Your drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens! It's not meant for running away!"
"But..."
"I'm gonna go count some Z's, Tails," Sonic said, flashing one last grin at Tails before walking towards the village. "You should, too. Night."
Tails sat there, feeling down about his circumstances. Kukku hovered by his head, softly cooing 'Chao' in sadness at his master's sadness.
How can we possibly win if that guy comes back tomorrow? he thought.
raw! raw! fight the power!
Sonic entered the hangar where Rotor was now back to work knocking the dents out of Freedom's silvery plating.
"Sonic."
Sonic turned.
Sally had her arms crossed as she leaned against the sliding door. She was scowling.
"There's something we need to talk about," she said.
"What's that, Sal?" Sonic said, putting a hand on the door, just over her shoulder. "You want me to sleep with you tonight?"
"No," she said sharply and seriously. "It's a more serious subject I would like to speak to you about."
From her tone, Sonic knew that he should stop playing around.
So he stood back from Sally.
"I'll pilot Emerl."
Sonic stared in confusion.
"Yeah, well, Tails is the pilot, so why-..."
"No. When that Shadow guy comes back tomorrow, I'm gonna pilot Emerl. I'm more used to fighting than he is. You saw what happened when the going got tough earlier today; Tails ran away! He's just not the fighting type."
Sonic turned away from Sally, looking up at Freedom. "Tails will pull through tomorrow."
Sally balled up her fists. "How? What exactly do you think will happen that will make tomorrow any different from today? Why do you have such faith in him?"
Sonic scratched his head. "Y'know, there's no real logic to it, I guess."
Sally loosened up slightly, but was by no means dissuaded. "Then what is it?"
"It's all the same to me," said Sonic, looking at some point beyond the ceiling. "I believe in him because I believe in myself. And because I can believe in him, I can believe in myself. It's all the same to me."
He turned to Sally, wearing That Smirk.
"That's what it means to be partners."
And he gave her one last thumbs-up before walking to his quarters.
"You know..." Sally said to herself. "I have no idea what you're on about."
狼が来た!
Sonic was set with Freedom at sunrise. As were every one of Acorn Village's gunmen, and the Wandering Orphans.
"Don't put yourself out on our account," said Elias into his communicator microphone. "This is our home, and if we don't stop this Shadow guy, we'll lose it." He smiled a little to himself. "Besides, here we are looking at someone who got himself a great weapon by doing something crazy."
"You guys got guts, I'll give you that," came Sonic's voice through the comm channel. "I'm gonna make you guys all honorary members of the Freedom Fighters!"
"Freedom...?" Elias said.
"Fighters...?" finished Knuckles.
"It's a group organized around giving common sense the boot and going beyond the impossible! A place for people with manly souls!"
"I... don't really follow you, but we'd be honored," said Elias.
Meanwhile, Rotor was trying to get Emerl started.
"That's odd," he said, twisting the Core Drill this way and that in its slot. "Even with the Core Drill inserted, it's not starting up. And there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it mechanically."
"It's hopeless..." Tails mumbled.
Then a green-and-orange flash got right in his face, and Marine's pointing forefinger nearly touched his nose.
"Oi, you!" she shouted at him. "Act more like a proper bloke!"
"Marine, please get down!" called out Blaze, pulling the spunky raccoon girl off of Emerl.
"Aww, what now, Blaze?" whined Marine.
"Please don't mind her, Tails," Blaze smiled sheepishly.
"Considering what happened yesterday," said Meg, her arms folded, "It can't be helped."
"Meg," Tails asked, "Aren't you and the rest of the Wandering Orphans... scared?"
Meg lowered her head, her brown bangs shadowing her eyes. After a moment of silence...
"My village, in Feral Forest, was destroyed by that white Gizoid, ARK. It was flourishing on the surface, and so Shadow was dispatched to kill us all. The same thing happened to Knuckles's Gawain Village, Blaze's Percival Village, and Marine's Windmill Village."
And when Meg looked back up at Tails, he could see the glint of unshed tears in her eyes.
"We all have one thing in common: we all lost all our loved ones to this Gizoid, and we couldn't lift a finger to help them."
"But if your enemy is like that, then..." Tails began, unsure what to say.
Meg gave Tails a sad smile. "Look. If we said we weren't scared, we'd be lying... But if you keep running away, you'll eventually be killed."
"And we can't afford to run away now, because there's nowhere to run to!" Sally strode to a spot some five paces in front of Emerl, cocking her rifle Nicole. "And that's why, even if everyone else should fall, I won't take one step from this spot!"
Rotor sighed to himself.
"Guess it's do-or-die time," he said.
If running away gets you killed, Tails thought. And standing your ground and fighting means you'll also get killed... then... it really is hopeless...
Time passed. The sun gradually turned the sky a blue brighter than Sonic.
A whooshing sound filled the air.
A white flash crashed into the rocky field just outside of Acorn Village. A tornado appeared there.
When it dissipated, ARK was crouched there. It stood erect, facing Freedom.
"If nothing else," Shadow's voice echoed in the air, "I commend you for facing me rather than running, Möbian."
Sonic retorted, "And I commend you for facing us in the open like a real man, you... vague, sorta-Möbian-sorta-not-a-Möbian bastard!"
"You're just as loud as ever, I see..." said Shadow.
Then black smoke exploded off of ARK.
"Ha!" shouted Knuckles. "How do ya like the taste of the Wandering Orphans' Burning Water Bombs, huh?"
Shadow's voice returned, "It feels a little warm..."
"What? It had no effect?" was all Knuckles got out before ARK drew a large automatic pistol and fired where Knuckles was standing. He ran to dodge the bullets as big as his fists, when Freedom knocked the pistol from ARK's hand.
"You're not hurting any Freedom Fighters today!" said Sonic.
ARK drew back its other fist and knocked Freedom back.
"Provoking me like this..." came Shadow's voice. "...is like calling out to death!"
"FIRE!" shouted Elias. Every armed Acorn villager opened fire on Shadow's Gizoid. The bullets did not even leave dents in the armor or scratches in the paint.
"Something itches now," said Shadow's voice, and ARK fired off several spade-shaped blades from slots in its side. Many Acorn villagers were knocked aside by the projectiles. Miraculously, none were killed.
Again, Freedom was there to push ARK away.
"You guys are Freedom Fighters!" Sonic called out to Elias and company from Freedom. "No way will I let this bastard touch you!"
Freedom pitched forward; ARK had kicked out its legs.
"You never learn any new tricks..." said Shadow. "DO YOU?"
Before Freedom even touched the ground, ARK roundhouse-kicked it away, its crown-like crest glinting in the sun.
"Sonic!" she called out; this was almost as bad as yesterday.
"Okay, I thought that guy was kinda cool before," said Knuckles, wincing, "But he's just an amateur after all."
Sally ignored this, readying Nicole for a shot to ARK's torso.
She pulled the trigger.
As soon as she did, ARK raised its left arm and Shadow's voice called out, "Protect Shade," and the armor plating on its left forearm spread out in a circle that completely protected its torso from Sally's shot.
"No way!" she said.
Freedom came barreling in to sneak-attack ARK while its Protect Shade was up, but apparently Shadow was too well trained; he brought Freedom down to its knees with a right elbow brought down on its head.
"On your feet!" called out Shadow, kicking Freedom to its feet. It stood. Shakily.
"Are you ready to die?" Shadow's voice hissed, before missile silos emerged from ARK's shoulders, firing its payloads into Freedom. Sonic's cries of pain from within Freedom rang out to everyone with open comm channels.
The armored plating on Freedom's right arm was blasted off, the emblem of the Freedom Fighters facing the Acorn villagers.
"I knew it..." murmured Tails, and Sally wheeled about to face him.
"It really is hopeless," Tails continued, clenching his eyes shut. "Let's just go home, Sonic! It's too dangerous up here."
The sound of hands slamming into metal.
Tails looked up.
Sally was glaring sharply at him, her hands gripping tightly into Emerl's rim. It was all Tails could do to keep his eyes from drifting to her cleavage. Meg, Blaze, and Marine were watching this scene with intrigue.
"Just watch!" Sally said. "He keeps getting up, again and again. And until you show up to help him out, he'll keep getting up, as many times as he needs."
She fixed him with a serious, hard gaze.
"Do you remember what Sonic said just before you activated Emerl the first time? 'Don't believe in yourself. Believe in me! Believe in the Sonic who believes in you!' That's what he said." Her glare intensified. "What about you?"
"I..." Tails said uncertainly.
Then Emerl's display lit up green.
"I..." Tails grit his teeth.
Then Emerl's eyes glowed green.
"I...!" Tails yelled.
Then Emerl was engulfed in a flash of green.
Sally covered her eyes. When she looked back, Emerl was gone, a tunnel with spirals running down it carved into the earth beneath where the miniature Gizoid once was.
フリーダム
Blood was dripping into Sonic's eyes from that time he bumped his head when Shadow kicked him around.
"Oh, you're getting up again, aren't you?" he said to Sonic, derisive amusement in his tone.
"No way... am I gonna let you win here!" Sonic replied through gritted teeth.
Then Freedom launched itself forward.
"If nothing else..." Shadow guided ARK to dodge the blue hedgehog's Gizoid's fist...
"I commend you..." ARK grabbed the Gizoid's arm...
"For not knowing..." ARK lifted it off of the earth...
"WHEN TO GIVE UP!" And with a spin, Shadow tossed the blue hedgehog and his Gizoid into a mound.
エメル
"He's a sitting duck!" cried out Chris, a human man with spiky brown hair.
"Come on, Sonic!" Elias clenched his fists. "Get up!"
ARK's crowned head pointed at the fallen Freedom. And glowed red.
"He's gonna fire that beam!" shouted Knuckles.
"It's over," came Shadow's voice from within ARK.
I guess it is... thought Elias, his knees ready to give way.
Then a green tornado tore itself from the ground just under the ARK, a drill as large as a human man at the tip that blasted up and tore into the front spike of the crown, breaking the Chaos Blast and sending the burst of crimson energy up into the sky, parting a cloud which was floating overhead.
Emerl landed in front of Freedom.
"What took you so long, Tails?" came Sonic's snarky query.
"I'm so scared," Tails said, sounding it. "I'm so scared that I can barely move. But..."
Inside Emerl, Tails's face was set with determination.
"The thought of sitting on the sidelines and watching you die is even worse!"
Freedom picked up Emerl.
"Well put, little brother!" Sonic's face on Tails's display showed a determined grin. "Guess it's time to finish this. Let's do the 'you-know-what'!"
"What? The 'Cannonball Attack' thing again?"
Sonic's grin got wider.
"No way!" Sonic said. "It should be obvious what we're supposed to do now...
"WE'RE GONNA COMBINE!"
"We're gonna combine?" Tails asked, confused.
"They're gonna combine?" said Shadow in his ARK, slightly fearful.
"They're gonna combine?" shouted Sally, Elias, Knuckles, and the other Acorn villagers, anticipatory.
"They're gonna 'combine'..." said a blushing Meg, her hands on her cheeks, also... anticipatory.
"They're gonna 'combine'...?" said Blaze, blushing at the thought.
"Yay! They're gonna combine, and I dunno what it means!" said Marine, excited.
"These things are giant robots, right?" said Sonic. "And giant robots have to be able to combine and become even more powerful! That's what so cool about them!"
"It's impossible," said Rotor, shaking his head. "Forget about it."
"We'll never know until we try, right?" Sonic replied to the 'ROTOR - SOUND ONLY' image on one of Freedom's computer displays.
Sonic brought Emerl over Freedom's empty shoulders.
"TWO... BECOME... ONE~!"
Freedom drove Emerl's drill into the space between its shoulders.
And suddenly...
...
...
...
Nothing happened.
"Alright, how about now, Black Arms bastard?" called out Sonic from Freedom. "Now we got two faces just like you!"
All around Acorn Village, people's jaws dropped at the ridiculous display of the miniature Gizoid jammed into the silver, shades-wearing Gizoid's head.
"Ehh, it's a little wonky," said Sonic, adjusting Emerl on Freedom's shoulders. The stupid thing's drill had pretty much broken into Freedom's cockpit and nearly stabbed him in the head.
Inside ARK's cockpit, Shadow had put his face in his hand.
"You are a real idiot, you know that?" He prepped the Chaos Blast attack. "It's the skill of the pilot that makes the difference, not the number of faces!" He fired it. "Now DIE!"
And Emerl's eyes glowed like twin green suns.
A spiraling green field appeared from Emerl's third-eye crest and absorbed the Chaos Blast.
"Impossible!" shouted Shadow.
A hurricane billowed out from Freedom and Emerl. It was all that Sally could do to not get blown into the rocks.
"Sonic! Tails!" she called out.
Within Emerl's cockpit, the canopy displayed images of a drill piercing through a headless mecha, and spiraling tendrils of green light ran through the mecha's body.
"A-amazing!" Tails breathed.
In Freedom's cockpit, every display showed solid green.
"W-what the heck?" said Sonic softly.
A green light passed over Freedom's body, and its silver carapace shifted to the same yellow hue as Emerl's body, its limbs suddenly extending from the clunky stumps that had been salvaged from the wreckage of the two attacking Gizoids of two days before, to much more lanky, humanoid length.
"Wow, Sonic, you were right. We really combined!" Tails said in awe.
"Looks like it!" said Sonic.
The green tornado which had engulfed Freedom and Emerl dissipated...
And a tall, yellow Gizoid stood in its place.
"Th-they combined?" said Shadow from within ARK. "How could lowly Möbians do this?"
ARK and Freedom's chests collided; now, they stood level. Emerl was level with ARK's crown-shaped crest.
"How do you like that, Black Arms?" boasted Sonic. "Now we got a lid like you and everything!"
"GO TO HELL!" shouted Shadow, punching with ARK's left fist.
"No way, pal!" returned Sonic, punching with Freedom's right fist.
The fists collided...
Slid past each other...
And punched each other in the face.
"A c-cross counter!" shouted Elias from the sidelines. Someone behind him cheered.
"Remember this, Black Arms!" said Sonic, Freedom's fist now moving to grab ARK's crest-crown. "Combining is all about two souls colliding with each other!"
And ARK's helmet was broken, the front crest of the crown shattering. Shadow's Gizoid fell back.
"A combining of spirits that sets a man's soul on fire!"
Freedom held ARK's detached crown in its hand, lowering it over Emerl.
"FREEDOM EMERL!" shouted Sonic.
Emerl's crest blasted away the front of the crown, green light passing over the crown and turning it yellow.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?" Sonic shouted as the newly named Gizoid stood to its fullest height, the high-noon sun glinting off of its chest shades.
"From now on, this mecha's name is... FREEDOM EMERL!"
フリーダムエメル
Freedom Emerl
"Freedom...?" Sally said.
"Emerl?" Elias finished.
"How creative, amateur," remarked Knuckles sarcastically.
"That was..." said Meg.
"Sort of..." said Blaze.
"Definitely bonzer!" shouted Marine.
ARK stood again, drawing the twin swords on its hips: each a black blade with a golden parrying edge and golden filigree in the blade.
"To think I'm now forced to resort to my swords..." came Shadow's low voice. "I underestimated you... MÖBIAN!"
ARK charged, its twin blades drawn back.
"I told you, this Gizoid's name is Freedom Emerl!" shouted Sonic as Freedom Emerl charged forward.
"Sonic! Drills are coming from your wrists!" shouted Tails.
Indeed, drills were coming from either side of Freedom Emerl's right hand.
The instant Shadow's blades touched the drills, they shattered.
ARK held the twin hilts in its hands, and its pilot Shadow suddenly realized that he had an urgent summons by one of the Four Generals somewhere else - anywhere else - just as Freedom Emerl's other fist came around and socked ARK in the gut.
"How? How can this be?" shouted Shadow. "How did he suddenly get so powerful? All he did was attach that miniature Gizoid? HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?"
"Do you think you'll ever understand what it takes to be a true hero?" came Sonic's reply.
"Damn you!" yelled Shadow.
ARK leapt back from Freedom Emerl's assault and - eyes widened in shock throughout Acorn Village - its entire face split open, revealing several missile silos and laser blasters.
"Wh-what the bloody hell is that?" shouted Marine.
"That's just plain cowardly!" added Knuckles.
The weapons cut loose.
Freedom Emerl pointed at ARK, and Freedom spoke in Sonic's voice, "You really think that that's gonna hurt Freedom Eme-..."
Freedom Emerl disappeared in a cloud of black smoke from ARK's desperation attack.
"SONIC!" yelled Sally, who then had to brace herself against the blast's shockwave. Behind her, pretty much everyone had to follow suite. For several seconds, all anyone could see was billowing black smoke, and all that could be heard was rushing wind.
The wind ceased, but the smoke was still very dense.
"No way..." said Meg, covering her mouth from the smoke.
"Were they taken out?" asked Blaze, a hint of fear in her tone.
When the smoke cleared, ARK was gone. Shadow had evidently chosen to retreat rather than risk the battle continuing any longer.
And Freedom Emerl was undamaged from the distracting barrage.
"Wow... that was actually kinda cool," said Knuckles, his hand shading his eyes from the sunlight.
"And Freedom Emerl wasn't damaged at all," said Sally in awe.
"Maybe it was some sort of energy shield," said Rotor, his arms folded. He was smiling slightly. "Maybe there really is something special to those two."
Meanwhile, Meg, Blaze, and Marine were swooning over how tough Sonic was.
raw! raw! fight the power!
"Where are you, you Black Arms slime-ball?" shouted Sonic, looking back and forth with Freedom, blinking blood out of his eyes.
Tails appeared on one of Freedom's screens.
"Wait, Sonic! It's over now. And you and Freedom are both hurt pretty badly. Let's go back to Acorn Village."
"Tails..." said Sonic.
"It's not because I'm scared," said Tails, before shaking his head a little. "Well, I am, but that's not why I want to go back." He gave a determined look to Sonic. "It's so we can fight another day."
After a moment, Sonic sat back. "Y'know, Tails, it's that attitude of yours that keeps me breathing."
Tails looked confused.
"Never mind," he said. "Let's get some rest."
raw! raw! fight the power!
"Hey! Hairmateur!" shouted Knuckles to Sonic.
"Huh? 'Hairmateur'? What's that mean?" Sonic asked.
"It means you're someone who's a hair's width better than a regular amateur," snarked Knuckles.
"Hey! If you think you could handle yourself better than I did, then just steal yourself a Gizoid!"
Knuckles ignored this, hopping back on to his warble-runner.
"You sure you can't hang around a little longer?" asked Elias. "With the ARK repelled, the Black Arms could attack us in full force."
"Come on! You got Freedom Emerl on your side," said Knuckles, guiding the warble-runner to the mouth of the valley, towards the setting sun. "A Gizoid fighting against the Black Arms should inspire other people to fight on the surface. Besides, we're the Wandering Orphans, and there are plenty of villages on the surface that the Gizoids are targeting. Me and the girls gotta nail 'em and nail 'em hard!"
And then, almost as an afterthought, he turned to Sonic.
"Oh, and 'Two Become One!'? Couldn't you come up with a better combining call? You wanna make it sound like it's some sort of ninja-type robot? How about something like 'Final Fusion, approved!'?"
"Pft! Whatever, 'Chief Knuckles'." Then Sonic gave the thumbs-up. "Just so you know, you're still an honorary Freedom Fighter. Check back in sometime."
"And you're an honorary Wandering Orphan," replied Knuckles, turning to ride away from Acorn. "But you're the good-for-nuthin' youngest of our little family." He waved a large mitt in the air. "See ya! Don't go dyin'!"
"You neither!" called back Sonic.
Meg, Blaze, and Marine, also on their warble-runners, followed Knuckles, before bidding their last farewells to Acorn Village.
"T-take care, Meg," stuttered Elias, scratching the back of his head.
"You too, Elias!" she said brightly.
Elias's smile could have split his head in two.
"Bye-bye, darling!" she then said to Sonic in a vaguely romantic tone. (Elias sighed heavily at this statement.)
"I will be cheering for you from wherever I am, Sonic The Hedgehog," said Blaze, her hands folded as if in prayer.
"See ya, mates! Let's meet somewhere back of Bourke!" Marine gave a sly wink and a wave.
"'Back of Bourke'? Where the hell's Bourke?" asked Sonic.
"I guess it's Windmill Village slang," mumbled Elias. "Somewhere far away, I guess it means."
熱砂の荒野を抜けて大グレン団が行くのだ
From Freedom Emerl's hangar, Tails watched the Wandering Orphans riding off into the sunset. Rotor was off doing repairs on Freedom Emerl, and Tails just wanted to rest a little bit.
"Looks like you do make a good team."
Tails turned. Sally was smiling at him.
"You and Sonic," she continued.
"Mm-hmm!" said Tails brightly. Now that Sonic had figured out how to make their Gizoids more powerful, no enemies could take Sonic down.
Then Sally scratched the back her head.
"Sorry. I was saying some terrible things about you," she said sheepishly. "But I know better now."
Tails was a little confused; he didn't know that Sally was saying anything unkind about him. But before he could ask about this...
"Hey, Sal! Elias!" shouted Rotor from Freedom's cockpit. "I found something interesting in Freedom's computer data!"
"'Interesting' how?" said Sally, walking up to the tall yellow Gizoid.
Rotor leaned out, holding a map of the surrounding area. He'd marked off an area on it.
"I found a recall point in Freedom's computer server," he smirked.
"A... 'recall point'?" asked Tails.
Rotor elaborated, "Freedom was an enemy Gizoid. The recall point is where Freedom goes for pick-up and repair."
Tails gasped.
"So that means the recall point..." he breathed.
He looked to Sally, who wore a serious expression again.
"...must be their headquarters," she said darkly.
raw! raw! fight the power!
Sonic stood over his father's grave at sunrise. His father's cape lay rested over the mound of dirt that covered his father's bones.
"Sorry, Dad," Sonic said in a serious tone. "But I'm gonna move on now... And see what's over every horizon in your place."
And with a flourish, Sonic pulled the cape from the ground and tied it around his neck in a dramatic wind.
A piece of the frayed red fabric tore off, and Tails caught it before it blew away, tying it around his left arm.
"You're really serious about going?" asked Sally.
"We know where their headquarters is, so it'll be an easy job to rock and roll our way there and smash it," Sonic said, punching a fist into his open hand.
Tails smiled at Sally.
"I'll be okay, too," he said as Kukku expressed his joy at Tails's bright attitude with a heart. "Even if it gets scary, I'll tough it out."
"Here are some supplies for your trip," said Elias, holding a satchel full of fruits picked from nearby plants and meat taken from nearby animals. "Rote also built a small house out of whatever leftover Gizoid scraps he could find, even the three that attacked before ARK." Elias pointed at the small metal hut beside Freedom Emerl, its window (created from a Gizoid computer screen) glinting in the sun's light. He sighed. "I keep telling him that all-nighters can't be good for him."
"Thanks for all the help, pal," said Sonic, hoisting the satchel over his shoulder and giving Elias a thumbs-up.
Elias held out a hand, "A lot of us wanna go with you, but..."
Sonic shook it, "I understand. Protecting your women and children is an important job."
"Yeah," said Elias, "But looking at you two, I feel like we can do anything."
"Maybe even get your own Gizoid?" Tails offered.
Elias scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't know about that, but..."
Rotor ran up, carrying a pair of tool bags.
"Whoa, what's with the bags?" asked Sonic, pointing at said bags.
"I assume you need a top mechanic to make sure your Gizoids don't conk out on you?" he said cheerily.
"I... guess we do," Sonic conceded.
"Elias, are you sure?" Sally asked.
"Rote practically begged me to let him go," her brother replied. "I had no choice."
"But..."
"Oh, come on," said Rotor, facing Sally as Sonic and Tails boarded their respective components of Freedom Emerl. "You seriously think I'm gonna let a mecha this fascinating escape my line of sight? Besides, if these kids can do something about the Black Arms, I don't wanna miss out on it."
Rotor hopped into the small house he'd constructed that night.
Freedom saluted them. "Later, Acorn Village!"
And a rope tied around Freedom Emerl's waist went taut as it reached a certain distance from the small home, dragging it along the dirt.
Sally watched as Freedom Emerl departed. There was some strange pain in her heart as the thought crossed her that Sonic might never return to Acorn. She knew what it was, but didn't want to think she felt that for that blockhead.
But when Freedom Emerl was still less than one hundred feet away...
"You can go, too," said Elias, handing Sally her rifle Nicole.
Sally gave Elias a look of wonder. Her heart was singing for some reason.
"We'll look after Acorn Village," Elias said. "You have your own path to walk down."
Then he smiled teasingly.
"Still, I had no idea that he was your type, sis!"
The villagers who were seeing Sonic and Tails off laughed at this.
Sally didn't know why this made her blush so furiously; it shouldn't have, but it did. Sonic was a brainless dolt, so why would she feel like that around him.
"It's not like that at all!" she said sharply, before grabbing Nicole and running after Freedom Emerl. She called over her shoulder to Elias, "Thank you, Elias!"
"We'll meet again, Sal!" he called back.
Sally, her heart fluttering, reached Rotor's house, which bounced and rocked with each step Freedom Emerl took. She threw open the door, and Rotor, who was lying on the floor - exhausted, she knew, from his latest string of all-nighters - smirked at the sight of Sally and pulled out a communicator.
"Hey, Sonic? Sal just came aboard."
"Cool," came Sonic's voice, tinny from the old communicator. "Just so you know, we'll ditch you and that heavy ass of yours if it slows us down, pit chick."
"Oh, pipe down," said Sally, cheery in spite of herself; what was wrong with her? "You want me to put bullets up your butt, Mr. Leader?"
"Hang on. Are the Freedom Fighters their own worst enemy?" chuckled Rotor.
"The enemy are the Black Arms!" piped in Tails's voice from Rotor's communicator.
"Yeah!" added Sonic. "So hang tight, Black Arms! 'Cause this time, we're gonna attack you!"
Why am I so happy to be with Sonic? Sally thought. Do I really feel that way for him? Would it be right to get involved with someone else who's fighting in a war where neither of us could survive...?
王都
In a far-off location unseen by Möbian eyes, a pair of footsteps echoed down the dark hallway, stopping before a large pair of doors decorated with an impossibly large tree, its roots invading a planet.
A shadowy figure with red clawed hands barred her progress with a glaive.
"Do you have any business here at this late hour... Princess?" hissed the guard.
"Yes," she replied, blue eyes glinting behind green hair. "I have a question to ask... of my father."
つづく
To be continued...
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There are things you know in your head, and things you know in your gut. Even if you react instinctively, it's not the same thing as using your head. That's one thing I just don't get!
Next time on Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl: "I Don't Get It, Not One Bit!"