A/N: Sorry it's been so long but I'm finally back from my holiday and I'm ready to begin writing again. We start back right where we left off. Sonic has escaped Macton and Shard's clutches, Tails, Blaze, Knuckles and Tikal are still in Zuncon with Cosmo and Galaxia and Wave is about to be hanged in Vapos by Razor. So, without further ado, enjoy.

Chapter 16

The Assassin

Shadows doused the entire grotto in darkness. The moon, a phantom crescent hanging low in the sky, was shrouded by clouds that hid its luminescent glow. Tails stirred in his sleep, as usual. The young kit still had troubles sleeping, each dream that seeped through his subconscious contorted into a nightmare without fail. Knuckles lay next to him, fast asleep yet in an equally unsure state. Blaze and Tikal slept soundly in the adjacent room, neither one concerned with earthly problems. And finally, in the next room, Galaxia and Cosmo slept. Before bed, Galaxia had gathered some of her troops that would aid her and the teenagers in their trip to Mobius. About thirty men were set to accompany her at first dawn.

However, although all inside Earthia's wooded hut-like home, not all was quiet. Movement outside, a shadow streaking through the night, as quiet as a mouse. It dodged between branches disturbing nothing but the water below.

The shadow landed in silence on the spindly branches that meshed together to create a platform outside of the hut. A quick break in the clouds overhead revealed the shadow to the surrounding insects of the grotto. A figure, dressed head to toe in an ashen cloak scanned its surroundings before sneaking into the hut.

The cloaked figure tiptoed through the hallways, searching each room until it found the one it was looking for. Slowly inching open the door, it peered inside to see the sleeping figures of both Tails and Knuckles. The figure crouched to the floor, pulling out a small, silver dagger and got ready to pounce.

Three quick seconds past before the figure bounded off its heels and flew silently through the air, dagger outstretched as it soared towards the bed where Tails lay. Tails stirred, frustrated that he couldn't sleep yet again and sat up to open his eyes, rubbing sleep out of them. He turned his head just in time to see the glint of the dagger soar towards him. All Tails could do was let out a loud, blood curdling scream before the figure descended upon him, dagger first.

…

"It's time to face punishment for yer war crimes…" Razor continued as he gripped the leather sac placed on the prisoner's head and removed it with a mighty tug. "…Wave the swallow!"

The sudden light pained Wave as she scrunched her face, letting her eyes slowly adjust to her surroundings. She found herself inside a large, circular stone arena. She swiveled her head, only seeing countless enraged faces standing up and yelling in the stands all around her. She looked above her, noticing the primitive, yet effective, noose hanging from a bar above her.

"Razor, you can't be serious. I didn't do anything, I came here to warn you about Vector and the Mobians," Wave urged, struggling to break free of her binds. It was fruitless.

"You sent those flying monstrosities to bomb our people in a fight that didn't even concern you. A cowardly act at best, destroying both our armies in one fell swoop," Razor bellowed, making sure the crowd could hear. A chorus of boos filled the arena.

"Why would I attack you?" Wave protested meekly, knowing it was impossible to argue with the angered shark.

"You used this time of war to get everybody in one area. Just so you could wipe us all out and take the land of the five communities all for yerself and Aves," Razor spat angrily. Wave panicked, her eyes darting all around her but everywhere she looked her gaze was met with angered glares. It seemed that the entire remaining population of Vapos was out to watch the execution. Everyone hissed, booed and shouted, waiting for their bloodlust to be satiated in her death. Everyone except one bystander draped in a pink hood. The person watched, still and calculating.

"It's time," Razor forced, gripping Wave's arms tightly behind her back as Abyss pulled down the noose and positioned it around Wave's head, tightening it. The two stepped back and Razor grabbed the long, metal pole that functioned as a lever for their primitive gallows.

"Any last words?" Razor asked, as was customary.

"Not like you would hear them anyway," Wave concluded darkly as she closed her eyes and accepted her fate. "I'm sorry Jet," she whispered silently to herself as she held her breath and waited for death to come.

"Very well. Three. Two. On-" Razor counted down to signify the end but was interrupted by a large, loud flurry of wind. It was like a cyclone had swept through the arena. A dark shadow was cast down upon them, throwing the entire arena in darkness. Wave opened her eyes, confusion washing over her as she saw bystanders scurrying around frantically. People pushed each other out of the way, knocking anybody to the ground who stood in their way. In the panic, the figure in pink was knocked off balance and they toppled into the arena, landing with a thud and rolling off to the side yet nobody focused on them. Razor, Wave, Abyss and the few Vaposians who weren't hastening to the exits looked above them as a large, flying ship descended into the arena.

The wind finally settled as the turbines of the drone cut out and none other than Sonic stepped out of the pilot hatch. He jumped to the floor, landing with one knee as he straightened his body and sprinted as fast as sound up onto the raised platform and pushed Razor out of the way.

"Sonic?" Razor gasped, stumbling backwards from the force. "But… but yer dead. You were killed by her?"

"No, I survived and I came here to ask for your help once again," Sonic explained.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something," Razor grumbled gruffly, reasserting his dominance and once again took control of the situation, snatching the lever back from the hedgehog.

"What are you doing? Don't kill her," Sonic called out with worry."

"You don't understand. She sent those flying things that killed and wounded us all."

"It wasn't her," Sonic protested.

"It had to have been. If not her and her people, then who?"

"Shard, leader of the Mactons!" Sonic argued.

"What proof do you have?" Razor challenged, his eyes narrowing to slits. Sonic turned his head and pointed at the large flying, pilotable drone that he had flown, and parked right in the middle of the arena.

"After the blast, I went to search for survivors and was knocked out. I woke up in Shard's palace in Macton where he helped shelter me," Sonic clarified. "At lease I thought he was, but I discovered a hangar when escaping and found all these drones. The same ones that bombed the battlefield. It was never Wave. It was Shard!"

"Shard. Yer sure?" Sonic stared at Razor, their eyes locking. Sonic had never been so sure of anything in his life. Razor saw this immediately and instructed Abyss to release Wave. Abyss begrudgingly agreed, removing the noose from around her neck.

"Thanks Sonic, I owe you one," Wave smiled thankfully.

"After all you've done for me… this just makes us even," he smirked.

"And Razor," Wave turned to him. "I didn't come here to create more conflict. I came to help end it. I need your help."

"With what?"

"Mobius has taken down Aves. They control the entire south and central of the continent. Only this coast, the forest and swamps of Zuncon and the northern deserts of Macton are left but soon Vector will control them all. We need to stop him before it's too late."

"You propose an alliance?" Razor asked.

"Together we can drive him back just like our ancestors did one hundred years ago. Together we can-" Wave suddenly was cut off as a loud bang echoed through the arena. Sonic, Abyss and Razor all looked around frantically but Wave stood still, motionless.

"Wave are you alright?" Sonic asked. Suddenly, the swallow fell to her knees, clutching her chest before falling face first onto the wooden platform. "WAVE!" Sonic called out as he knelt down beside her, rolling her over onto her back. Her purple feathers pressing into her chest were stained crimson, the ruby red blood oozing through her fingers.

"S-Sonic…" Wave coughed, barely clinging to life as she lost the feeling in her arms and legs.

"Wave, don't worry we can get you help."

"It's too late. Please, stop Vector and save everybody…" she coughed, blood spurting from her mouth before her lids grew heavy and her head fell to one side, limp. Wave was dead.

"Seize them," Razor bellowed angrily but Abyss was way ahead of him. As Wave fell to the ground, she had leapt into action, sprinting over to the individual in pink and knocked the smoking gun out of her hand. Abyss grabbed the assailant's hands and whipped them around behind their back. They screamed in pain. Sonic and Razor watched as Abyss forced them down to their knees and ripped off the hood.

"A-Amy?" Sonic mumbled in bewilderment.

"Didn't think you'd ever see me again, did you," she cackled maniacally, showing rows of white teeth. Her eyes glinting maliciously as she locked gazes with Sonic. She finally found him.

…

Tails had no time to react, no time to think. Instinctively, he fell back to his bed and rolled sideways, collapsing to the floor with a loud thud as he continued to scream.

"Wha?" Knuckles snapped awake, immediately on alert as he scanned the room. His eyes grew wide as he met the gaze of the irate intruder now crouched on Tails' bed. "Who… who are you?" Knuckles asked shakily as he slowly rose to his feet. The cloaked figure didn't make a sound. Instead they just spun the dagger around in their small hand and focused on the red echidna.

Tails sat up, his head pounding after colliding with the ground. The world was still spinning and he collapsed to his knees as he tried to stand. He watched, the world around him fuzzy and uncertain. The cloaked figure slowly approached Knuckles, weapon raised as Knuckles backed up, his back pressed firmly against the wall. Tails knelt helplessly, unable to do anything but call out his friend's name.

"Knuckles," Tails croaked, his voice scratchy and distant. Before Tails could register what was happening, the door to their bedroom swung open and Tikal and Blaze rushed in. Tikal froze in the doorway, impeding Blaze's advances as her gaze swept from Knuckles over to the cloaked figure.

"Move," Blaze bellowed from behind her, pushing Tikal out of the way. She sprinted headfirst into the unaware figure, knocking them off balance. Their knees buckled and they fell to the floor, rolling into the wall. Blaze ran over to Knuckles' aid.

"Help Knuckles," he protested as he ran over to Tikal and grabbed her hand. "We need to run, now." Blaze rushed over and helped Tails to his feet. The world had stopped spinning but Tails' thoughts still could quite make the connections to his brain. He wasn't sure how to do anything but his feet instinctively began to run on their own, following Blaze, Tikal and Knuckles out of the wooden shack.

"What was that?" Cosmo asked in the hallway.

"Are we under attack?" Galaxia cursed, surrounded by ten of her close guards, including Lumina. The teenagers said nothing, just sprinted passed the confused looking twin rulers of Zuncon. Their alarmed looks only confirmed Galaxia's fears. Before she could say more, the cloaked assailant shot out into the hallway.

"Galaxia, surely we can resolve this peacefully," Cosmo asked assuredly.

"Sister. Run," Galaxia commanded, her eyes cold and calculating as she turned and ordered her guards to stop the intruder. Cosmo stood her ground but instantly regretted her decision. Her eyes clouded over, filled with fear and dread as she watched the cloaked figure bound off the ground, soaring through the air and slicing the throat of the first two guards.

The other seven surrounded the assassin as Lumina grabbed Cosmo by the hand and forcibly removed her from the building. The two sprinted out of the hut and across the small platform of intertwined branches until they jumped off onto the small path that winded its way through the swampy forests of Zuncon.

"Where's Galaxia?" Blaze asked as Cosmo and Lumina caught up to the others. Cosmo's hands fell to her knees as she panted, unable to catch her breath.

"She… held back… fighting." Suddenly, as if their greatest fears were answered, the cloaked figure emerged out of the main entrance, their ashen cloak stained with dark blood. They turned, an evil glint in their eye as they bounded high into the air, grabbing a low hanging branch and swinging themselves up on top of it.

"RUN!" Knuckles bellowed as the six of them turned and footed off down the winding path. Tails chanced a glance backwards. He saw the rogue darting from branch to branch way up high in the tree's, gaining on them. Whilst preoccupied, Tails' foot was caught underneath a particularly thick tree root and he fell, his nose greeted painfully by the rough ground below.

"Tails," Blaze called, skidding to a halt but Cosmo was faster. She doubled back and tried to help the fox to his feet. She wasn't quick enough. The assassin took their window of opportunity and fell from the tree, landing on top of Lumina. The assassin grabbed both sides of the guard's head and twisted. A loud snapping sound echoed through the forest as Lumina fell limply to the ground. Cosmo stumbled backwards, falling with a thud to the ground in front of the imposing intruder. The cloaked figure towered over her, unsheathing its dagger again from within the darkness of their robes.

"Please," Cosmo stammered, clamoring around helplessly on the ground. "We don't need to fight. Violence is never the answer, we can solve this peacefully." The cloaked figure shook its head and reeled back its hand. Without so much as a squeak, it plunged the dagger forward until it was lodged deep into flesh. With an assured twist, the assassin wrenched the crimson soaked blade free, an annoyed scowl plastered on their face.

"S-Sorry to d-d-disappoint you," Galaxia smirked before falling to the ground. Cosmo shrieked, crawling over to the body of her sister.

"Why'd you jump in front of me?" Cosmo sniffed, tears welling in her eyes.

"Z-Zuncon needs y-y-you," Galaxia coughed, her words trembling in her throat. She could feel her body growing cold and knew she only had a few short moments left before she bled out.

"No. You were always the better leader. You were stronger, braver and…"

"And I lacked compassion," Galaxia finished. "You were b-b-born for this. Like m-mother always wanted. Save us… save th-th-them," Galaxia rose a shaky finger and pointed at the teenagers watching before the life fully drained out of her.

"No!" Cosmo shrieked, craning her head skywards as she howled into the night. However, as the two sisters said their goodbyes, rage had erupted within Knuckles. Before the cloaked figure had a chance to interrupt the grieving farewell, he had charged at top speed into the rogue, taking them by surprise and knocking them to the ground.

The assassin stumbled to the ground and landed painfully on their arm, letting a yelp of pain emerge. Tails froze. That voice… it sounded so… familiar.

"No…" he breathed as he stepped forward, breathing deeply. "It can't be…" The assassin tried to rise but a sharp pain shot through them. They dropped their dagger and clutched the arm they had fallen on, wincing in pain.

"Tails, what are you doing? Even with a broken arm they could still be dangerous," Tikal warned but Tails was deaf to her. All he could do was slowly approach the figure, hoping against hope his suspicions were wrong. The figure took a tentative step back, noticing both Knuckles and Blaze approach them from either side out of the corner of their eye. It was at that moment that Cosmo had let out her mighty howl, gaining the figure's attention for only a split second. That's all Knuckles needed.

He pounced, sending a strong punch deep into the assassin's gut, sending them flying off their feet. They hit the ground, another pained gasp of anguish escaping their mouth as their fractured arm hit the ground. The cloaked figure rolled along the ground to a stop.

Gasps filled the air. The figure furrowed their brow as they slowly rose to a stand again, looking at the teenagers with all of their mouths wide open.

"No way…" Blaze stammered.

"How is that even possible?" Knuckles asked, flabbergasted. The figure felt the wind whip the back of their head and realized that, as they had rolled along the ground, their hood had fallen to reveal their face. Her face.

"Cream," Tails announced. Before they had a chance to size the impaired rabbit, Cream turned and dashed off, holding her pained arm as she disappeared into the shadows of the forest. Tails turned to Tikal, his face more serious than ever before as he stared at Tikal.

"You have some explaining to do."

A/N: And there we have it. Cream was the cloaked figure in Vector's throne room the whole time and she was the assassin in disguise. The last major character from the last story has finally come into play. You didn't think I forgot about poor little Cream, did you? But how did she go from that to a badass assassin in the three months Sonic spent on the island? I guess it's thankful we have Tikal to give us all the backstory exposition we need on our villains, isn't it? And you guys still seem to hate her. What would I do without her?

Both Wave AND Galaxia died this chapter. At it looks like Amy might be meeting a greusome end next chapter. Let's just say there is much more death to come before the 100 day war is over, mark my words.

As promised, I said if I wasn't able to supply a new chapter before I left I would give an apology gift. So here it is, the titles of the remaining chapters of this story. I warn you, although they don't convey everything, titles can always be slightly spoilery so you have been warned.

Chapter 17: The Price of War
Chapter 18: The Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 19: Memories
Chapter 20: Fiona Fires Back
Chapter 21: Back-Up Blunder
Chapter 22: Castle Throne Room
Chapter 23: The Flood
Chapter 24: The Final Stand
Epilogue

So as you can see, just like last story this one will have 24 chapters but since this is not a trilogy, and I have no intentions of making this a trilogy, I will supply an epilogue to nicely rap up all 48 chapters and Sonic and Tails big story. So please, stay tuned and hopefully this will all be over before the new year :) And please, don't forget to review, it helps inspire me and makes me smile.

Next time on Sontails: War of Faith - Chapter 17: The Price of War