Sonic Haven Season 2 – Episode 13
"So what is at the end of this tunnel anyway?" Sally asked as she, Sonic, and Scourge made their way to the far end of the seemingly endless passage.
She took her attention away from Scourge as she sidestepped a rather large puddle of water that had formed from a broken water main, one which was sawed completely through when the tunnel was drilled however long ago.
By the time she'd raised her head and resumed her trek ever forward, Scourge was already beginning his explanation. "It's not necessarily what's at the end of the tunnel. It's what's not at the end of the tunnel." He said.
Sally thought about Scourge's comment, then asked for clarification. "What do you mean?"
He didn't answer.
They approached the end after several minutes of walking, a large opening set before them that led out to a hillside just outside of the city. Dirt and rock gave way to grassy fields and a highway off in the distance. Sally recognized it as the highway that ran from Mobitropolis to Knothole City.
"Wait a minute." Sonic said as he pointed at the highway. "I know that road. I used to use it to come into Mobitropolis every weekend. We must be about three miles south of the city limits."
Sally's face suddenly seemed to shrink in fear as she realized what this meant. "Oh no..." Her words were lost in her breath as her worry outraced her mind. "He dug a tunnel out of the city."
"Yep." Scourge said shortly.
Sally just blinked twice and continued to stare in shock. "This means that this whole time Robotnik has been moving S.W.A.T. Bots and Robians out of the city." What should've been an exclamation seemed to lose all its weight in her shocked tone.
As Sonic stepped out onto the hillside just outside of the city, he noticed something else at the bottom of the hill. There were tents set up along with other mobile buildings. There were trucks, big ones, with black colored cabs and large steel boxes behind them on trailers. A closer look at them revealed a symbol on the side of the box, a white G inside of blue circle that itself rested within a red circle. It was the symbol of the Guardian Units of Nations, or G.U.N.
After the additional shock of seeing military vehicles sitting just outside of the city had waned a bit, Sonic noted that it was actually a small operation for a military the size of the G.U.N.'s. Considering the fact that they were a global operation, it was surprising to see so few soldiers here to take back a city from a maniacal overlord.
Their gaze shifted from the distant horizon and its setting orange sun, back to the military base, then back to the horizon. As they all thought about what the future held for them now, Sonic's gaze was drawn away from the now completely submerged sunset and to a figure that was trekking up the hill toward them.
He saw a red female fox wearing a tight black t-shirt and gray shorts cropped just above her knees. She had long brown hair that fell over the left side of her face, obscuring her left eye, and tall black boots to complete the tough-girl look. When she finally stopped and had gotten the attention of the other two individuals standing next to Sonic, she spoke in a voice that was surprisingly smooth and low.
"Fiona Fox, agent for the Guardian Units of Nations. Who are you?" She asked.
Scourge spoke before anyone else could so much as take a breath. "I'm Scourge the Hedgehog, the leader of the local resistance group." He dropped his head so that he could look over the top of his sunglasses, then cocked a smirk before adding: "I'm also single."
Sally nearly gagged at the comment but was surprised to see Fiona return the smirk on her own face. She sighed and rolled her eyes before correcting Scourge's comment. "Actually, he's not."
"You sayin' that there's more than just a friendship between us Princess?" Scourge commented in what must've been the most annoying way possible.
Sally tensed and gritted her teeth, then forced out the words of her response through her incredibly tense expression. "I meant you're not the leader of the resistance you dolt."
"Right, we'll talk about this later then." Scourge said in the same cool tone he always used when he was being an idiot.
Fiona giggled before she responded. "So, I take it you're the leader then?" She said to Sally.
Sally made a noticeable effort to relax herself and return to neutral. "Yes. At least, most of the time."
Fiona raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any further questions on that point. Instead, she said. "I've been assigned the task of touching base with the local resistance groups and making sure that we help in any way we can. Although, I'm afraid that G.U.N. might be a little late on that one."
"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.
Fiona turned to look at him specifically as she replied. "Those robot things stopped coming out of this tunnel about two days ago. Everyone here has moved into position since then. We were just about to head in and see if we could get into the city when the barrier dropped a few minutes ago. Now that you're here, I guess I can just ask you... What's going on in there anyway?"
"Well," Sonic said as he held up his hands to count off things on his fingers, "it's a long story that involves robotic suits, people in computers, multiple dimensions, and a being made out of energy. And that's not even all of it."
Fiona's eyes widened a bit at the items on his list. "Well, that sounds like quite a story. Remind me to ask you again when we have more time."
"So," Sally started to ask, "where are the rest of your troops? I'd think that an occupied city would make them send in hundreds of soldiers." She paused a bit before continuing. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't look like it's more than a hundred." Her tone wasn't harsh, but curious.
Fiona dropped her head slightly at the comment. "There were more, of course, but they were stationed here before us. As the robots started marching out of the tunnel, they overran the others and took them as hostages. We sent others, but the groups that followed were all stopped in their tracks before they could even find a place to set up, and they were taken as well. We're the last group to be sent in, and we were told to simply wait for the robots to stop flowing out of the tunnel before moving into position."
"And..." Sonic said, his tone implying that he knew there was more. "What else?"
"Well..." Fiona said slowly. She started speaking slowly but picked up speed as she continued her explanation. "Last we knew, those robots that we saw had started taking over other cities in the area and destroying any local military presence. Over the last couple of days, we've been trying to contact G.U.N. Headquarters to see what's going on elsewhere and we haven't been able to get through. Due to the speed at which the robots were taking over the country, we believe that we may be one of the few squads left not captured by the bots."
"That's no good." Scourge said with a shake of his head.
Sonic nodded in agreement. "For once I agree with you." Then he turned and looked at Fiona. "If that means what I think it means then we're in trouble."
Sally nodded as well. "Big trouble." Then both she and Sonic looked at Fiona and said: "Where are we at then?" at the same time. Sally looked at Sonic out of the corner of her eye and he did the same, but they just shook their heads and made no mention of it.
"Well." Fiona said as she looked back and forth between the two of them. "We're cut off from supplies and there's not many of our troops left. The next step according to protocol is to set up a base inside of the city and operate from there until we receive further instruction from HQ."
"I have an idea about where you can stay." Sonic said as his always cheery smirk crept across his face.
"Great." Fiona said with a soft nod. "I'll tell my superior officer."
As they all turned back to the tunnel to head back into the city, Fiona spoke up from behind them. "I'll also need to stay and operate with your group to act as a liaison between the two groups."
Sonic and Sally looked at each other, having an unspoken conversation. Then Sonic turned back to Fiona and said: "Alright then. After we get G.U.N. Set up, I'll show you where Haven is."
Fiona nodded as she turned away to head back to her group. "Alright then, see you inside the city."