Chapter 05: Avalon's Mercy

Deerwood Forest, Mercia-Avalon, Mobius

The sparrow hustled across the trees, running across their limbs, his breathing heavy, feeling small snowflakes land on his face, melting instantly from the body heat. He looked up as it suddenly grew dark, spotting an Imperial-class Star Destroyer looming overhead, with TIE Fighters and Bombers flying out of it, along with several transport vessels, headed towards the castle that was visible behind him, in the distance through the trees. He leapt down to the forest floor, and ran, until he stopped, hearing a humming sound. He took cover behind a narrow tree, drawing out a blaster pistol instead of the bow and arrow he had; he kept very still, almost not breathing, as an Imperial Probe droid hovered near. The droid hummed a bit, but then it flew off, and the sparrow sighed in relief. He continued heading deep into the forest, until he came across a set of wooden walls, with several heavy blasters atop them. He waved his way through the gate, where more Mobians were waiting for him.

"Heh, took ya long 'nuff, Bow. What's goin' on out 'ere?"

"Hardly the time for acts of humor, Munch…whereat the king? Much urgency to my words," said Bow.

"Bow? What is going on out there?"

Bow and Munch turned around, seeing a female red Echidna walking down from a tree.

"You look like you ran several laps to and from town."

"M'lady, Mari-An…I must speaketh with his majesty…t'is urgent!"

Mari-An nodded and looked up at the hut atop the large tree behind her.

"Rob, m'love! Bow hath returned, with urgency!"

Soon, a teal male Mobian Hedgehog appeared on the balcony of the hut and gestured.

"King Rob O'The Hedge, m'lord!" said Bow.

"Much obliged m'loved, allow him to enter," said Rob.

Mari-An nodded and directed Bow up the steps, and he soon met Rob inside the hut. Rob then gave Bow some water and they sat down.

"Thank you, your highness."

"Take your rest, my friend. Why art thee exhausted?"

Mari-An, with the rest of the Mercia-Avalon Freedom Fighters, soon joined them.

"My king, the forces of Lord Hood work alongside the off-worlders known as the Galactic Empire, working to destroy yet more of our defenses, forcing many to take flight or face a fate worse than a quick death," said Bow.

Mari-An gasped in horror.

"I wish well-being for those lost souls, brother; correct, Friar Buck?" said Rob.

Friar Buck, a male Mobian deer, nodded.

"Do you believe they will be alright, Friar?"

"I cling to hope, Sister Thorn, for all this bloodshed brings nothing but depression to one," said Friar Buck.

"At least you survive, brother Bow. Are they conjuring?"

"Verily, brother Alan. Even now, tis futile to hide, for their scouting droids are searching high and low for our village of Hideaway. I fear they may be conjuring for an assault," said Bow.

"Heh, their droids can be broken, same to their soldiers and machines," said Munch.

"Yet those off-worlders craft them out of metal far harder than thee head," said Alan.

"All the more we'll find a way to stop 'em," said Munch.

"Brother Munch, we cannot fight fire with fire today, from what brother Bow states, t's a fool's errand for this group to fight an army of many millions," said Friar Buck.

"You suggestin' surrender? No way!" said Munch.

"Surrender was not what I was suggesting, brother," said Friar Buck.

"I agree, t's would serve little to surrender, for we'd either be summarily executed or Roboticized…" said Rob.

"You'd be correct, your highness," said Munch.

"Your highness, thee must consider flight, the army of the Empire is far stronger than any we could possibly face," said Bow.

"Where would we go?" said Mari-An.

"Knothole is out of the question, owing to it's destruction by these off-worlders," said Alan.

"Why not Robotropolis, m'lord? The Imperials seem to focus on looking for us and others in the wilderness, and we could find transport off-world," said Thorn.

"You are partially on the right track, sister Thorn, but not for reasons thee believe. There be a place of hiding that Princess Sally made me aware of."

Rob produced a small chip from his satchel and handed it to Bow.

"Take this, used in tandem with thee location device, you can find it. If the other Freedom Fighters live, they will go. But first…we maketh our stand," said Rob.

"A stand? Your highness, t's foolish! The Imperial war machines bear unstoppable might," said Bow.

"Brother Bow speaketh truth, your highness. Even to give the folk of this village time to flee, this will be inevitable loss for us," said Friar Buck.

"Do not fear, Friar! We will take many of them before we flee," said Alan.

"For once, I'm agreein' with Alan. We go down, we at least take dozens with us," said Munch.

"But the Friar remains correct as well; no battle we fight today will be won. When the village flag burneth by my arrows, you lot will see cause to take flight," said Rob.

"Where will you lead us, m'lord?" said Bow.

"To the place of hidin', brother. You hold on to that chip, I know it'll be safe with you, brother," said Rob.

"Yes, m'lord!" said Bow.

Rob nodded.

"Prepare our defenses then, for now, we fight. When the flag burns…"

"We take flight," said Bow.

"Good, now be off," said Rob.

"One final question, m'lord," said Bow.

"Yes?"

"In the event something was to happen to thee…. what will thou tell the Lady Rose upon encountering her?" said Bow.

Rob paused for a moment, looking down at his hands, and then looked back up at Bow.

"Inform thee fair cousin Rose…. only of the truth. Nothing but. No attempt at fairy tales, Art thou clear?" said Rob.

"But…. As thee wishes, your highness, thee wish is thou command," said Bow.

"Excellent, be off," said Rob.

Bow bowed as he joined the rest of the Freedom Fighters down below. Rob then took a deep sigh as Mari-An took his hand.

"Are you sure we'll be alright?" she said.

"We shall be fine, m'love," he said.

Down below, the Freedom Fighters were already moving civilians out of the village, while the remaining militia were helping them prepare defenses.

"Are you finished with those traps, Friar?" Thorn said.

"Just about, sister, though I wish it didn't have to be this way," said Friar Buck.

"Nor I, Friar, though many doth feared the return of these off-worlders. They have caught us unawares and unprepared," said Bow.

"I say bring 'em on if they want a fight," said Munch.

"What would that achieve, brother Munch?" said Friar Buck.

"T's but inflation of ego, Friar," said Alan.

Alan then sat down and prepared his mandolin.

"Alan, if you consider singin' right now, I'm gonna-"

"Be fair, brother Munch. His tune might give us a boost in morale," said Thorn.

"Sister Thorn speaketh truth, brother," said Friar Buck.

"T's a sad day indeed…. thee losses cause us to heed…thee shall stand to fight many more a day…"

Munch just cringed as he zoned out to avoid listening to Alan's song. Meanwhile, Rob was at his balcony, sharpening his arrows, as Mari-An wrapped some rags around another set of arrowheads. Rob then saw his glass of water vibrate and heard loud heavy footsteps from far away. He then ran to the edge of the balcony.

"THEY COMETH! THEY COMETH NOW! TAKETH POSITIONS!"

The Freedom Fighters signaled the town militia to take up positions on the main entrance to the village, where they saw signs of movement far off in the distance in the trees.

"Restrain thyselves! Await them to enter range!" said Bow.

"Where be the fun in that, eh?" said Munch.

"Contrarily, brother Munch, t's will catch them unawares this time," said Alan.

Rob watched the advancing Imperials through his electrobinoculars, and then he grabbed one arrow, and held it to the flame of a torch, lighting it up. He then took aim and waited a few moments before he let off the arrow, sending it flying towards an Imperial officer leading the battalion, setting him ablaze to his death.

"THERE THEY ARE! BLAST THEM!" said a Stormtrooper.

"ATTACK!" said Bow.

The Freedom Fighters and town militia opened fire with a hail of arrows and blaster bolts, striking the front line of Stormtroopers, forcing them into cover among the terrain and trees.

"The war machines t's out of range! Make the most of it, brothers and sisters!" said Bow.

The Freedom Fighters clashed with the charging Stormtroopers, with Munch and Alan throwing punches and firing pistol shots at troopers they got close and personal with in combat. Friar Buck simply stood at the gate, not even raising an arm as a Stormtrooper squad advanced on him.

"Hands up!" said a trooper.

"It would be unwise of you to suggest that, for my compatriots are not restrained with triggers," said Friar Buck.

"I said-GAAAAAHHHH! AHHHHH!"

The lead trooper was caught by his leg in a trap, and his compatriots rushed to help, but fell through some leaves into a hole. Thorn then tossed a Thermal Detonator into the hole, and then shot the trooper in the trap. Bow continued to fire his arrows at Stormtroopers below, and Thorn continued to fight with a staff and her pistol. She dodged a Stormtrooper's melee attack before hitting another with an uppercut.

"Come on, bucketheads! Just gettin' warmed up 'ere!" said Munch.

Soon, the Imperials began to pull back from the fighting and back towards their line.

"Yeah that's right! Run!" said Munch.

"They retreat…. but why?" said Bow.

Thorn then looked up, seeing only clouds, but she gasped.

"BOMBARDMENT!"

Suddenly, several green turbolaser blasts came through the clouds and struck the village.

"BE AWARES! DOWN!" said Bow.

The Freedom Fighters and Militia scrambled to dodge the incoming blasts, but many were not quick enough as several blasts annihilated groups of militia and blasted several huts, trees, and struck areas of the walls, leaving holes for potential assault. Rob held Mari-An close as they kneeled, praying. Mari-An then looked up at him.

"M'love, if anything happens…"

"Words are unnecessary," said Rob.

The two of them then kissed as the bombardment raged on for what seemed to be minutes but was really seconds. Soon, the last shot struck the ground, and there was silence again.

"Much joy! They stopped!" said Alan.

"Only for now, brother Alan. Those varlets will resume their attack soon," said Bow.

"We have lost half our militia here, what do we do now?" said Thorn.

"Until the King gives us cause…we fight on," said Bow.

They soon heard marching through the thick smoke ahead, and the Freedom Fighters and town militia rallied their defense once more.

"THROWERS OF FLAMES!" said Alan.

Sure enough, several Imperial Flametroopers were leading the charge, and they begun using their flamethrowers on the defenders, setting several Militia on fire. The Freedom Fighters quickly rushed to return fire, dodging the flames in the process, Munch and Alan launched themselves at the Flametroopers, quickly planting some thermal detonators on their fuel tanks before getting clear of the impending explosion that took out several Flametroopers and Stormtroopers. But the Imperials just kept coming, with EVO Troopers joining the fight, and more.

"Be awares, they wear jetpacks!" said Bow.

"Bring 'em on! Flyin' don't mean tough!" said Munch.

The Jumptroopers flew towards the Freedom Fighters to support the rest of the Imperials' advance, as Thorn got into a melee with an EVO Trooper.

"Get off me, furball!" said the trooper.

Thorn responded by kicking the rifle out of his hands and shooting the trooper with it before using it on the other troopers. As this went on, Rob continued firing arrows from his perch, starting to take aim at one of the Jumptroopers and fired, striking the trooper's jetpack, causing it to malfunction and send him flying out of control into one of his comrades and exploding.

"M'love! Look!" said Mari-An.

Rob looked down, and saw several AT-PT, AT-DP, and AT-ST walkers advancing towards the village.

"Maddening…their mechs close in," said Rob.

The walkers opened fire on the defenders, Munch barely dodged some shots from an AT-ST, trying to get back up.

"Those…ain't so…tough," he said.

"Spare us the pride, brother!" said Alan.

"Do not break into song…" said Munch.

Rob took a deep breath, and looked up at the flag, lighting one more arrow.

"May thee souls be safe upon your leave," he said.

Rob then fired his arrow at the flag, setting it ablaze.

"The flag! It burns!" said Bow.

"Retreat! Get out while you still can! Hurry!" said Friar Buck.

The Freedom Fighters and militia began to retreat into the village with the Empire hot on their tails, as Gunships and IDTs began to fly in through the trees, dropping off more troops and providing fire support. Bow and the Freedom Fighters ran to a secret escape route in their hut, but Bow stopped and looked up at Rob, who simply nodded, and Bow nodded in turn, as they ran inside their hut through a hidden tunnel in the floor, with Bow going in last, shutting the door. The Imperial troops stormed the village, rounding up stragglers, with a whole platoon going after Rob and Mari-An. Rob continued to fire arrows as the Imperials closed in on him. Soon, the platoon surrounded him.

"Get down on your knees, fuzzball!"

Rob turned around slowly, and he saw Mari-An with the barrel of a blaster rifle to her head, and he calmly proceeded to throw down his bow and get down on his knees in surrender.

Outside the village, a door opened under the brush, and Bow, Thorn, Munch, Alan, and Friar Buck exited the tunnel.

"Where is the King?" said Thorn.

Bow and Friar Buck looked at each other dejectedly.

"I do not believe he nor Lady Mari-An are coming," said Friar Buck.

"What?" said Alan.

"They speak truth, brothers and sister…" said Munch.

They saw Munch looking out at the village with his electrobinoculars. He saw Rob and Mari-An in custody of the Imperial Forces.

"They….no…it can't be…" said Alan.

"They allowed themselves to be captured?" said Thorn.

"Verily…when he gave me this chip leading to sanctuary…that's when thou realized he intended to allow himself capture, to give us avenue of escape," said Bow.

"This is far from fair! We must go back for him!" said Munch.

"Thee shalt do no such thing, brother!" said Bow.

"I must agree, brother. That was not our decision to make back there, the King needed you to have confidence in the face of an army," said Friar Buck.

"T'was clearly the King's wish to allow us to escape at the expense of his freedom, to go back would dishonor that," said Bow.

"I pray for his well-being, we all know what Lord Hood will do…or worse," said Alan.

"In the meantime, we mustn't be consumed by doubts, we must abide by his command…find this sanctuary and pray help comes, or the other groups," said Bow.

Bow produced his locator and inserted the chip into it.

"The locator will show us the way," he said.

Friar Buck put his hand on Thorn's shoulder as she sobbed a bit.

"Do not be upset, child. The King and Queen know we will be safe, that gives them strength. We survive to fight another day, and a chance to find our allies and unite once more," he said.

"The Friar speakth truth; by my heart, the Freedom Fighters of Knothole may be lost, and the same may be true of many of our allies, but by my heart, I will not falter under the weight of our loss today, and neither will all of you. One day, we will get our home….and our king back someday…but we cannot do so alone. For now, let us ride to Robotropolis…and keep hoping for the best of things," said Bow.

Thorn, Munch, and Alan nodded, as Friar Buck smiled, and with that, Bow nodded as they set off on their long trek.

Fortress of Sub-Boss Lord Mordred Hood, Mercia-Avalon, Mobius

Rob felt himself be shoved off the IDT as the Stormtroopers forced him to walk into the fortress, where many of the Mobian soldiers of Robotnik cheered in delight as he and Mari-An were forced to walk past them. They soon came to the throne room of the castle, where Lord Mordred Hood sat, looking at him with sadistic glee.

"Robert O'The Hedge…after so long, we finally meet again…old friend," said Lord Hood.

Rob didn't even make eye contact with Lord Hood, keeping his eyes firmly on the floor.

"Oh, come on…let me see you, after all this time."

Lord Hood got up off his throne and walked up to Rob, who still refused to look him in the eye. Lord Hood then hissed in anger and grabbed Rob's collar, forcing him to look at him.

"WHEN I ORDER YOU TO LOOK AT ME, YOU LOOK AT ME! YOUR KING!" said Lord Hood.

"King?" said Rob.

"Do I detect sarcasm in your voice, Robert?" said Lord Hood.

"Thy crown belongs to thou, traitor. And if thee were truly a king, thee would've faced thou on the field of battle…. instead…thou art forced to watch off-worlders do the work…of a coward."

Lord Hood proceeded to slap Rob across the face hard.

"You're lucky the Doctor decreed your life be spared. He'll demand you give up what you know…and then you be roboticized," said Lord Hood.

"Do as you will…. for your victory is hardly one," said Rob.

Suddenly, Rob proceeded to headbutt Lord Hood in the face, hard, causing his nose to bleed, and Rob laughed his hardest as the Stormtroopers proceeded to beat him down to the ground.

"Some time in a cell will change your attitude. TAKE HIM AWAY!" said Lord Hood.

The Stormtroopers dragged the laughing Rob along as Mordred Hood tended to his injury.