In Due Season
Chapter XI
The Plan is Set and the Troops Will Go
Omega really wasn't burdened with the need for sleep; one of the perks of being a robot. Instead, he was satisfied with the role of keeping guard over the workshop, making sure it's recovering occupants made no more disturbances. It had been a peaceful watch as Shadow and Blaze were too exhausted to make any more trouble. In fact, they were still asleep when Tails and Solana came into the workshop that morning. The two canines decided to let the pair rest as they set to work.
Others in the makeshift camp outside were trying to form a morning routine. Knuckles and Espio went to gather breakfast while Cream and Cheese helped pack away sleeping bags and tents. Omega even chipped in once he realized his night watch duties were fulfilled. Rouge busied herself with trying to catch a few more winks in her ship not being a day person really. The hedgehog family was . . . nowhere in sight.
The little family was having anything but a peaceful morning.
Sonic had been plagued by more terrible nightmares and was in no better condition than the night before. Amy may have been a heavy sleeper, but it had been impossible for her to miss his tossing and turning. She had questioned him about it and each time he discounted the problem and encouraged her to go back to sleep. Now, grant it, if bad dreams and poor sleep were all that afflicted him, Amy may have let it slide, but it wasn't. The morning brought a noticeable limp to his walk and as he did a few excruciating toe touches, Amy frowned deeply.
"Sonic? I don't think you're okay," she stated softly coming up behind him, holding Kimi. He shook his head a bit and gave her a confident grin.
"I'm fine, Ames, never better. . ." he began until a groan escaped his lips involuntarily as he stood up straight. The pink hedgehog cocked an eyebrow incredulously.
"I'm just a little sore, that's all."
"Well, I don't think you are. If anything you should rest some more; you look awful," Amy said dryly as she came around to gaze at his tired eyes. The blue hedgehog's smile fell away.
"Thanks a lot, Amy. You look great too," he stated sarcastically as he walked forward. Amy glared. She knew she had decided earlier to let him pick his battles, but this was ridiculous.
"I'm serious, Sonic," she stressed.
"So am I. I've been through worse and made it. I'll be fine now," he grunted. Kimi gave a small whine as she felt her parent's tension.
"Sure, Sonic, whatever," she huffed, hurrying her pace and walking past him towards the others. She could hear his frustrated sigh but didn't care. She had a right to be angry. Here her husband was exhausted, in all kinds of physical pain with very dangerous circumstances ahead of him and he wanted to play the hotshot card. What made it even worse was she knew she couldn't stop him or so she thought.
"Ames, wait," he called after her, but she didn't turn. His unhappiness deepened. Why did she have to be so sensitive? He said he was fine so he was fine. Aside from the searing pain in his legs and the dull throbbing in his back . . . and the nightmares . . . Okay, maybe she had a right to worry and request he take a break, but that didn't mean he had to, right? Right?!
The young hedgehog let out an exasperated breath of air as he watched his wife storm off. He followed after her at a distance.
o
"Rouge, why don't you get out here and help!?" Knuckles yelled as he banged on the canopy to the purple and pink jet. The white bat startled awake as the red echidna gave her a self-satisfied smirk. Cream and Cheese were looking on with apologetic faces. When the young rabbit asked for help packing up camp she didn't know the guardian would take that as an invitation to deliver a rude awakening. Rouge began shouting. Muffled sounds came to the ears of those outside the ship. Knuckles just put a hand to his ear in a mock gesture.
"Can't hear you, Rouge."
He jumped down once the canopy began to rise.
"Can't a girl get any beauty sleep around here!" she gripped, stretching a bit before floating to the ground.
"Why? I don't think it'll help," the guardian snickered. Before Knuckles could blink she gave him a quick smack on the back of his head.
"Ow! What was that for?" he whined, rubbing the affected area.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Now don't make me smack you again."
The echidna got the hint and quickly slinked off before he received any more 'good mornings'.
"Now, did you need anything, Cream?"
"Could you help me with the campsite, please?" the rabbit asked sweetly.
"Sure."
As the two packed, the bat noticed a pink hedgehog coming up the trail.
"Hiya, Amy, how's the little angel doing?" she asked, walking over to the young mother. She reached down and gave Kimi a light squeeze on the cheek.
"She's fine now that she's gotten a good night's sleep. Isn't that right, sweety?" Amy replied as the baby gave the white bat a wide-eyed stare.
"Yeah, but it doesn't look like mama got one," Rouge implied as she saw the bags under the pink hedgehog's eyes. Amy sighed as Cream and Cheese also made their way over to see baby Kimi. The circle of friends began chatting back and forth as Knuckles set down another basket of fruit he had gathered up. He rolled his eyes as he could never understand what the big fuss over babies was all about. Just as a chorus of 'awes' could be heard from the women over Kimi's toothless smile, Sonic came up the path Amy had.
"Hey, Sonic, over here! You look awful."
"Thanks, Knuckles. You're the second person to give me that compliment today," Sonic stated snidely.
"Sorry, man. Get any sleep last night?"
"Meh. So, uh what's for breakfast? Don't tell me its fruit salad again?" Sonic groaned as he noticed the bundle of produce.
"Hey, fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals that give you energy and strength throughout the day."
"And what health-nut billboard did you get that from," Sonic quipped as he reached down and grabbed a mango. Knuckles frowned and was about to make a reply when the doors to the workshop burst open. Everyone turned to see Solana standing at the entrance, her tail twitching with excitement.
"Come quickly! Tails found something very important!" she instructed turning to lead the way in. Sonic, being the fastest thing alive and all, was the first to follow her in; a hopeful grin plastered on his face.
"Whatcha find, Tails?" he asked just as everyone else started bustling in. With all the sudden commotion, Shadow and Blaze stirred from their sleep, each in a confused daze.
"What's going on?" Blaze said, barely audible. The black hedgehog glanced over at her and then back over to the others. He held up a hand to shield his eyes from the incoming light. It appeared there would be some answers. He motioned for the feline to be quiet, using a nod to refer her attention to the group.
"Remember the plan I was talking about last night? I think there's a way to shut down one of Eggman's main warehouses, possibly get a Chaos Emerald back and find out more information on what's going on," Tails said as he brought a laptop over to the group gathered at the entrance.
"Go ahead, Tails, lay it on us," Sonic prodded, trying his very best to contain the eagerness building within him. That same anticipation defined the atmosphere of the room as everyone leaned in to listen. The fox cleared his throat, placing the computer down on a counter in their midst.
"In past years, we've never been successful in destroying a main base of operations because we had no clue where to start looking . . . until now but I have to warn you, there is some bad news in all this. I'll get to that later. First, one of Robotnik's strongholds is just twenty miles from here in a nature-preserve called Crescent Falls."
"Figures he would build something out there. Should have thought of it sooner . . . Wait, isn't that place a tourist hotspot? Why hasn't anyone else ever seen it before?" Sonic questioned scratching his head. Tails frowned.
"That may be part of the bad news, Sonic. Most of the locations are in areas where they should have been easily spotted by people. At the very least the government or . . ."
"Their military," Rouge interjected darkly.
"Exactly," Tails nodded. Sonic's expression was unreadable.
"Hold up? Are you saying people may be covering for Eggman?"
"I know you don't like the idea, Sonic, but from the looks of it, their either blind or purposely looking away," Tails stated.
"Why would anyone do that!? Egghead's caused the destruction of Station Square, blown up half the moon and endangered the entire world for crying out loud! How could anyone want to protect him?! It just doesn't make any sense," Sonic fumed in confusion.
"Because, recently, the threat has no longer concerned them and their compassion for us grows thin," Shadow stated emotionlessly from behind the group. They all turned to see him standing there, arms crossed, eyes closed and looking no worse for wear.
"You're talking about humans, am I right?" Sonic questioned with the same amount of calm, but clearly, the resentment of the accusation was clear in his eyes. The atmosphere took on a new tense silence; one that seemed to suck the air out of the room.
"Do I need to clarify?" Shadow voiced with cool sarcasm, "We all know you'll defend them, Sonic. You'd die for them, but would they even bother to defend us?" the dark hedgehog paused as he glared into his rival's eyes, "Any answer?"
Sonic lowered his eyelids.
"I have an answer alright, Shadow. In fact, I have several and 'they' have names. Its' Molly, Chris, the Professor, the President, Hope . . ." the blue hedgehog listed as he ticked them off his fingers, "all humans who've helped us one way or another. If that's not enough I have more . . ."
"Yes, but you've forgotten to mention that as many who help there are ten times as many who didn't! Not to even mention the doctor himself!"
"Shadow, let me handle this okay," Rouge interrupted. The dark hedgehog glared but kept silent.
"What handsome over here is trying to say is, we know not all people are bad. In fact, most are good, but the leadership and military seem to have some flaws in their moral compass at times, especially if it benefits their agendas if you know what I mean."
"They have a point, Sonic. I can't see Gun over-looking a base this close to a public area unless it was intentional," Tails stated as he looked at the hero with concern. Knuckles crossed his arms in irritation and narrowed his eyes at Rouge.
"So, why haven't you kept us in the loop?" he growled. Rouge glared back.
"I may have my suspicions, but I didn't have any proof, knucklehead. I may work for Gun but that sure doesn't mean they're going to tell me 'hey we're in cahoots with Egghead' now does it."
"But how do we know you're not a part of this too," Solana accused. The white bat and red echidna turned their angry glares towards the dhole.
"We are not starting that again," Amy interrupted in a warning tone, silencing the group, "Please, go on, Tails. What do we need to do?"
"Right. Well, I also used the green Emerald to make a tracking device," he said moving over to grab a gadget that looked like a handheld radio with the gemstone in its center, "It gives off a signal that should lead us closer to the other Emeralds. Since I really believe those robots are powered by the Emeralds, I think we should break up into teams. One group should go check out Crescent Falls and the other take this and find the Chaos Emeralds."
"I hardly believe you will need my assistance in accomplishing these tasks," Shadow deadpanned as he made for the exit.
"No, but Blaze may need you for her dilemma," Tails stated. The dark hedgehog paused.
"What do you mean, Tails?" the purple cat asked as she approached him.
"Remember when we were studying both sets of Emeralds and we noticed some kind of interference," the fox began as Blaze gave a nod, "Whether it was from Eggman's robots or some other source, I couldn't pinpoint it then and still can't, but this morning I detected the obstruction lessened. In fact, go ahead and pick up one of the Sol Emeralds."
"Alright," the feline stated as she walked over and grabbed the green jewel. It was slight, but she felt its power again.
"Does it feel different?" Tails asked hopefully. Blaze nodded.
"There's only been one variable of change I can think of. Stand closer to Shadow."
She did so and felt a sudden jolt from the emerald. She gazed at the dark hedgehog in awe as he simply looked away from her.
"I don't see how this is possible. I'm not doing anything," Shadow growled as he looked to Tails.
"Maybe you're more connected to this than you think?" the fox reasoned.
"You might be on to something!" Sonic said suddenly, past animosity forgotten, "When you came along Shadow, those bots stopped attacking us for a little while, remember?"
"Yes, but they had no trouble trying to kill me before I ran into you!" Shadow exclaimed as he turned to face the blue hero. He didn't like being the center of this discussion.
"You know, come to think of it though, they didn't really attack me or Blaze that much when we were helping you, Sonic," Knuckles chimed in.
"True, it's like they were in seeking missile mode and I had the target on my back," Sonic mused.
"Wait, what? Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Tails stressed as he quickly set down the tracker and picked up his laptop. He began typing away while everyone around him began to reevaluate what happened yesterday.
"This is bad."
"What? What's bad?" Knuckles voiced through the commotion.
"Shadow, where did you say you got this flash drive from?" Tails asked, looking at the black hedgehog worriedly.
"I downloaded the information from one of the doctor's bases, why?" he questioned, feeling uneasy again.
"Yeah, what does that have to do with anything we're talking about?" Knuckles asked.
"I've been going about this all wrong, that's what," Tails strained. Solana came up behind him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"You got the Chaos Emerald from the same place, right? Did anyone else see you while you were in the base or were you captured on film maybe?"
"Unfortunately, there were some surveillance cameras, yes," Shadow began until suddenly there was a noise from the door of a robotic nature. Everyone jumped in panic, ready to fight until they realized it was just Omega.
"Receiving mandatory orders from G.U.N command center for agent Rouge the bat: Report to section base 21 of the alpha quadrant immediately," the robot stated. Rouge gave him a weary glance.
"Now what do they want?" she gripped silently before addressing the others, "I'll be right back. I just need to make a quick phone call. Don't get too far ahead of me now."
She walked out of the workshop towards her airship hoping she could get out of the order.
"Keep going, we can tell her later. This is too important to wait," Solona pressured. Tails sighed.
"This is just a theory, but maybe those EBH-1 robots were after the Chaos Emerald Shadow took. Since Sonic and Shadow look similar they might have confused one for the other."
"That could be true. That one robot in the hanger sure looked confused," Amy said. Sonic nodded.
"Yeah, and we did have the Chaos Emerald . . ." he mused.
"But that's just it. If those things were looking for the lost Emerald Eggman already had, but they run off Emerald power, why didn't Eggman make seven EBH-1s. Why would he have this Emerald sitting in some base? He's crazy, but not inefficient. Either my equipment read the power signatures wrong . . ."
"Or those robots weren't Eggheads'," Sonic said in all seriousness. Everyone went silent.
"Why wouldn't they be Eggman's?" Amy asked.
"If they weren't the doctor's then guess who the next most likely culprits would be," Shadow stated coldly.
"It's true the data names the bots, but it doesn't list who built them. That's unheard of for Egg . . ." Tails started.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I still fail to see how the Sol Emeralds are affected by his presence," Blaze commented hurriedly. She hadn't meant to be so pushy, but she was frustrated her gemstones were being influenced by some unknown source and that her only means of reprieve from such interference was the likes of Shadow.
"To be honest, I don't have the answer to that, but the Chaos Emeralds might. That's why I think you two should go look for the emeralds," Tails suggested.
"What?" Shadow said in disbelief. Blaze looked on with an equal expression of shock. Sonic couldn't help but try and bite back a laugh. The blue hedgehog turned to the fox.
"You're kidding, right? Tails, these two were trying to destroy each other last night and you want them to find the emeralds, together!"
Everyone seemed to agree with Sonic's logic. Even Solana felt Tails forehead to make sure he was alright.
"Look, if Shadow is able to break the obstruction of whatever it is working against the emerald's energy, then he and Blaze should have no problem fighting those robots and getting the emeralds back. Plus, they're the only ones available to do it now," Tails explained.
"What do you mean? I thought we were going to break up into teams," Cream spoke up.
"We still are, but now we have two other things to check out: Gun headquarters and Eggman's base. Not to mention someone will have to stay behind as a point of contact. I was thinking Rouge and Omega could go back to Gun and . . ."
"Omega had to leave," Rouge stated as she came back into the workshop.
"Oh," the fox said simply.
"Yeah, they wanted us to report back to HQ but I'm staying. They're just gonna have to deal with it. So what'd I miss?" she asked
"Tails is breaking us up into teams. He wanted you and the metal man to go back to where you came from," Solana stated sending the conversation into another tailspin of disorder.
After a few minutes of arguing and a heavy-handed direction from Amy, harmony was finally restored. In all matters, Tails made it clear it was best to have two or more on a mission for the sake of safety. Teams were made based on need and skill set and by the end of it all there was only one point of peculiarity weighing on the fox's mind.
"Hey, guys, where'd Espio go?"
o
"Shoot! She broke off communication, sir. She's not coming," Officer Henderson stated as he took off the radio headset. He jumped as General Davis slammed a hand on his desk.
"I just knew we couldn't trust that blasted animal," he growled. Henderson lifted his eyebrows in astonishment.
"Excuse me, sir?"
"You heard me, Henderson! That bat just refused a direct order to report to her duties. It's agents like her that have corrupted this whole organization!" the general stated, fuming.
"Well, I guess agent Rouge can be a little . . . unpredictable, sir, but I wouldn't say she's corrupting anything. She's done a lot of good work for us . . ."
"Are you taking the side of that insubordinate operative, officer?" General Davis accused as he stood up from his seat. Henderson could feel his heart rate increase. He hadn't meant to upset his superior, but he just didn't see why the general was so upset to begin with. Agent Rouge had defied orders plenty of times in the past; even the Commander let it slide.
"No, sir. Sorry, sir," he replied looking the general in the eye with sincere regret. Davis stared back in sternness at first, but it soon gave way to calm.
"No, Henderson, you're . . . you're right. I'm just frustrated with all these new policies taking place and I shouldn't take it out on you or agent Rouge. Please, forgive me."
"Okay, sir."
"Look, why don't you break for lunch. I'll probably join you shortly," General Davis stated. Henderson nodded, standing up and leaving the room. The general sat back at his desk and stared at his computer screen. On it was a correspondence from Lieutenant Todd reading:
General Davis
5th division
11th department
Send documentation on project Geodesic via fax to division 9.
Project Mach has been a success, will send results via fax to division 5 at your attention.
Have Agent Rouge report to the tryst point a.s.a.p. for further training.
Lieutenant Todd Crevan
9th division
Classified
The general's gaze fell to the keyboard in front of him. He needed to let Todd know that step three to their scheme was not going as planned. Now, all they had was that dumb robot heading to a top-secret facility meant to contain those like the spy.
"Oh, well," he breathed as he began typing up a formal letter to send back to the Lieutenant. Once finished, he sent it off, hoping to receive a quick response to an inquiry of what to do next. He stood up and left to have lunch with a few other officers in the department. When he returned about an hour later he came back to his desk to find he had a response back from Todd.
General Davis
5th division
11th department
Report to the tryst point immediately. A jet has been prepared for you; hanger 9.
List of items to bring:
...Project Geodesic updates
...E-123 override
...Clearance passes
Prepare for Agent Rouge's arrival and training. Bring as many operatives as needed.
Lieutenant Todd Crevan
9th division
Classified
General Davis smiled after reading the correspondence. He swiftly got up from his desk to prepare for his trip to the rendezvous base; gathering all the requested equipment and documents. Davis made his way to the door, planning to leave alone, but Officer Henderson intercepted him.
"Where are you going, sir?" the confused soldier asked as he noticed his boss with a briefcase and a few folders. The general gave his faithful suburbanite a thoughtful look. There was safety in numbers and Henderson was the most obedient, compliant young man he had.
"I'm leaving on a special mission to section base 21 of the alpha quadrant, officer, and I expect you to come with me. I'll need you to go collect your arms and day bag. Meet me in hanger 9, understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, man," the old general said as he went down the hallway. Henderson dutifully left to gather his things.
o
With the rising of the morning sun seemed to come a major headache for Alyson. She tried lifting her head, fighting the effects of drowsiness, but her chin fell back down to her chest in exhaustion. She was in a seated position and she could feel her hands were bound behind her back. Cracking open one hazel eye, the middle-aged woman saw she was indeed tied to a chair in what appeared to be a prison cell. Fear gripped her heart as confusion swirled around her mind. The last thing she remembered was being in her car.
"Where am I?" she said hoarsely.
"Unfortunately, for you, I can't say," a voice said from the other side of the bars. Alyson's eyes went wide as she found the energy to look up.
"Who said that? Please, what's going on?"
"I don't have to tell you that either, lady, but since you said please . . ."
From the shadows stepped a rather strange figure. Alyson couldn't put an identity to it at first, but human it most certainly was not. Judging by the voice, it had to be male and they were anthropomorphic, like Shadow, but not a hedgehog. This being was larger than her dark hedgehog friend yet had similar black fur covering their body. Alyson was so wrapped up in trying to figure out what the creature was she didn't notice the harsh look encroaching on its features.
"Don't you have any manners? It's not polite to stare," they growled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to . . . wait. You're the one that has me tied up in a cell. Where's the courtesy in that?" Alyson huffed as she fought a bit with her bonds to emphasize the point. Nonetheless, she was a bit unnerved when the creature smiled, showing off its gleaming teeth.
"Plucky; I like that," he said coming further into the little light offered by a pathetic overhead lamp. Once Alyson saw the white markings on the being's head, its thick, bristled tail along with its large claws on its exposed hind feet she immediately knew what species she was looking at.
"You're a badger!"
"Well, give the girl a prize . . . name's Bray," he drawled, leaning his weight against the bars and giving her a thoughtful gaze. Alyson looked away for a moment, knowing she wasn't in the best of situations at this point. It would be better if she played it cool, at least, until she could figure out why she was here and, more importantly, how to get out.
"Sorry. My name's Alyson, though you may know that already. Why am I here and what do you want from me?"
"Lady, like I said before I can't tell you anything. My job is to make sure you don't get out, that's all," Bray stated with an edge to his voice. It sounded almost like he didn't want to be here any more than she did.
"Can you at least tell me what's going on?" she asked. He waved her off and retreated back from the bars to a chair in the corner.
"Wait, can you tell me where I am, please?" Alyson pleaded in the most pitiful voice she could muster. Bray let out a remorseful sigh.
"Look, to be honest, I don't know exactly where we are, okay, but they're watching us," he stated in hushed tones, pointing to a security camera posted over his seat.
"Who are they?" she whispered back. The badger shook his head.
"I can't talk alright. Now leave me alone and be a good hostage," he stressed, grabbing a newspaper from under a chair and unfurling it for his pastime. Alyson gave her own sigh of frustration, but her persistence was undaunted.
"Bray, I know you can tell me how long I've been here, right?"
The badger merely turned his page, ignoring her.
"Did you help bring me here? . . . Are you a prisoner too? . . . Are we underground; I see stairs over there . . . did 'they' bring me here?" Alyson continued.
"Oh, this is going to be a looooong day," Bray moaned quietly. In spite of her circumstances, Alyson couldn't help but smile at the young man's frustrations.
"Maybe it wouldn't be so long if they had the decency to put a television in here or at least a window," she reasoned. Bray looked over at the older woman and to her surprise, smiled.
"Yeah, I've been asking them for months to do just that," he said softly, still displaying he was uncomfortable with talking to her. Alyson knitted her brows together. Even though she was brave in most situations, with nerves of steel in the worst, the fact her guard appeared to be uneasy made her worry. For now, she would have to wait and see what was in store for her as the badger lifted the paper again. The only thing she could do was study the dim prison cell for any advantage she could use later and pray Shadow was on his way.
