Chapter 9: Reception
Somewhere Near the Northern Tundra, Artika Region, Mobius
Within the cold confines of an ice shelf, a female Mobian Ermine was seen pacing in front of a female Mobian Seal.
"Ugh, I feel like a coward just sitting down here waiting, as if hoping the cold will subside."
"Ze Imperial Off-worlders is out thair still, Erma. But at least we can enjoy ze nice cup of tea, no?"
"You and that stuff, Sealia…," said Erma.
A male Mobian Wolf, a male Mobian Polar Bear, and a male Mobian Penguin looked at each other.
"Even so, with the amount of activity going on up there, it's best we wait until they slack off before we make our move."
"I just hope the cold slowed them down, Guntiver. We ain't got the supplies to last forever down here."
"With how much you eat, maybe it's time to lose some weight, eh, Augustus?"
"Save it, Flip," said Augustus.
"Come on, Guntiver, we can take this guys, you know it. I don't care how high tech or how many troops they got, we got the home field advantage here," said Erma.
"And we'll probably be in some cell in Akhlut or Tundra's bases, if not in the hands of the off-worlders," said Guntiver.
"Never mind that, we gotta try anyway, either we flee or scavenge for supplies," said Augustus.
"And you will be risking yourself getting caught. No, Augustus," said Sealia.
"A few more days, if we can't raise anyone on the comms, then we-"
Guntiver was interrupted by the room shaking.
"What was that?" said Flip.
Erma ran to a periscope and used it to look outside.
"Oh, great...those Bombers are dropping a lotta bombs on the ice shelf!"
"Do they know we're here?" said Augustus.
"Not likely, the way they're going. They're just dropping bombs at random spots on the shelf...I think they're trying to force us out!"
"Oh, I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to zis...but we won't last if ze shelf begins to break!" said Sealia.
"Sealia's right, this shelf can't take this abuse for long, if it collapses, we either die or get discovered," said Augustus.
"Yeah, okay...start destroying everything! We're gonna go out the emergency exit," said Guntiver.
"On it, monsieur!" said Sealia.
The Freedom Fighters began smashing their equipment and pulling their data drives, smashing them too.
"Augustus, Sealia, pack the transmitter and the scrambler. We might need them, for where we're going," said Guntiver.
"I think I have a hunch as to how they tracked our position," said Flip.
"Oh, you think? Our scrambler must not have been effective enough at masking our signal from those off-worlders!" said Erma.
Suddenly, the room violently shook as a bomb landed directed above them. The ceiling began to crack and crumble from the explosion.
"Arguing amongst ourselves will not get us out of here! Now come!" said Sealia.
Sealia moved a table out of the way, revealing a hatch, which she proceeded to open, and as soon as they grabbed their breath masks and strapped them on, the Freedom Fighters leapt down the hatch, into the cold, frigid waters that surrounded their homeland.
Lake Adele Refugee Camp, Adele Wroshyr Park, Sapphyrus
The Freedom Fighters and Rebels rode in their landspeeders down the dirt road leading to the park grounds, where they saw a simple force field barricade enclosing a large camp full of tents and prefabricated shelters.
"Here we are," said Jericho.
Sonic did not look too impressed.
"This is it? I was expecting...more," said Sonic.
"Sonic, doesn't this remind you of Knothole?" said Sally.
"How?"
"It's hidden among the trees, it's got clean water….,and the air...it's cleaner than it was back home," said Sally.
"It sure does, dear. I was remembering Knothole when we built this place. Such a shame I never got to see it again," said Lady Saffron.
Sonic suddenly heard a steady vocal harmony coming from the direction of the lake.
"Hey….do you guys hear that?" he said.
"Hear what, Sonic?" said Tails.
"Some kind of….weird music…" said Sonic.
"Uh….music?" said Rotor.
"Ah ain't hearin' anythin', Sugah-hog," said Bunnie.
"I swear! I hear something!" said Sonic.
"Maybe zat fuel iz going crazies…" said Antoine.
"I heard that, Ant!" said Sonic.
Sally took a very deep breath and smiled.
"I'm gonna say it again...the air...I haven't felt air this good since before Robotnik...I almost forgot what it felt like," said Sally.
Lady Saffron slithered atop a crate to address the refugees.
"Attention everyone...attention. For those of you who have just arrived from the recent rescue, I welcome you, I am Lady Saffron Laurent, former Senator of Mobius. For those of you still residing here, wonderful to see you all again. We have visitors, today, not just the brave Rebel Alliance personnel who risked their lives to help you all, but also the brave Freedom Fighters of Knothole, back home on Mobius, have finally come to join us in our war against the Empire. You may recognize them from the bootlegged holovids we've provided you; Princess Sally Acorn and Sonic the Hedgehog."
The refugees murmured and talked among themselves in surprise.
"The Princess? She's really here?" said a refugee.
Sally opened her mouth, but suddenly, Sonic jumped in front of her.
"She is, and so am I! Hi there, Sonic the Hedgehog. Hero of Mobius and Robotnik's biggest pain in the butt!" he said.
The Freedom Fighters rolled their eyes in annoyance, but many of the refugees were staring in awe.
"Sonic the Hedgehog…" said an awestruck child.
"The one who destroyed Robotnik's Death Egg?" said an elder.
"The one who stopped a giant water monster?" said a refugee.
"And managed to save Mobius from destruction at the hands of a long dead man?" said another refugee.
"Yep, yep, and yep! That's me! The one and only!" said Sonic.
Sonic posed, but Sally soon stepped in front of him.
"He didn't do it alone. He had the Freedom Fighters helping him, and we're all here to help you and the Alliance," she said.
"Everyone, give these fine heroes a warm welcome...they helped the Rebellion destroy the Empire's Death Star at Yavin IV, and deserve every bit of praise for that and the effort they made back home," said Lady Saffron.
The Freedom Fighters dispersed amongst the camp refugees and mingled with them. Sonic, of course, was surrounded by his admirers, and he took in all the attention and praise he was getting.
"My favorite color is blue, because it's cool like you are, Sonic!" said a child.
"Well, duh. Of course blue is cool. Why else is it perfect?" said Sonic.
Sally simply facepalmed in annoyance, but Bunnie giggled.
"Let 'im have this, Sally-girl. Y'all know he's a regular hero," she said.
"I know, Bunnie, but it doesn't make it any less annoying," said Sally.
Meanwhile, Knuckles stood in front of a large boulder, in front of some of his admirers.
"Observe."
He then leapt into the air, raising his fist up high and then brought it down, punching the boulder hard, causing it to crack and split in half, falling in opposite directions. Knuckles gently glided back down to the ground and bowed a bit, getting a bit of applause, while one child approached him.
"You must be the strongest guy on Mobius! How'd you get so strong?!" said the child.
"Upper body workouts….exclusively," said Knuckles.
Knuckles then flexed his muscles a bit, which earned him some praise. Meanwhile, Amy, Tails, and Cream were standing by the water's edge, amazed by what they were seeing.
"That water...it looks so clean, Miss Amy," said Cream.
"It sure does, Cream. It could be perfect for Chao, don't you think?" said Amy.
"It sure could! What do you think, Cheese?" said Cream.
"Chao, Chao." said Cheese.
"Cheese definitely thinks so, too!" said Cream.
"I haven't seen water this clean since the Lake of Rings back in Knothole," said Tails.
"Chao!" said Cheese.
They saw Cheese pointing at a large floating and rotating tower-like object with three fixed arms reaching out into the water, moving towards the shoreline.
"What...is that?" said Amy.
Rotor, who was nearby, saw the object come close as well.
"That looks like a Water Purifier," said Rotor.
"Oh yeah...that is a water purifier! Looks like a CryonTech model….uh...blast, I know this…"
"Looks like a GL-600 model," said Rotor.
"Yeah, that's it! Those things can run forever if you maintain 'em well enough. That one looks like it's at least thirty years old," said Tails.
"Thirty-five, actually. It's one of five remaining units of this type still functioning in this lake. Most use CTC H-Series or Mobius DefTech Puro-DX models," said Molly.
"Those are great machines, though the Puro-DX is way too slow," said Rotor.
"That's why you overclock the pumps," said Molly.
"Nah, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Glad to see these old G-Series models are still in use," said Rotor.
"Hey, look! Over there, across the lake on that island!" said Amy.
The mists that were shrouding much of the lake were clearing a bit, revealing a large fortress on the island across from them.
"Isn't that the old Knights of St. Acorn fortress?" said Rotor.
"It iz, and it's still in ze ruins," said Antoine.
"You sound like you've been there before, Ant," said Tails.
"Oui, oui...with my fathair, when ze last of ze St. Acorn Knights evacuated zis place," said Antoine.
"Why would they abandon it? It doesn't look that bad in shape," said Amy.
"Zey had been shrinking in ze numbairs, and ze cuts of ze budgets, according to my fathair. No finances for repairs," said Antoine.
"I think I might of heard about that too, this place was in bad shape after the two battles that took place here during the Clone Wars. Makes sense that when the fighting between us and the Baronies started dying down, they couldn't justify this place staying open," said Rotor.
"So they just left it to the elements to rot away?" said Amy.
"We have been trying to turn that place into a museum, you know, since local history buffs have been keeping it intact, but eh...with the war, it's no longer a priority," said Indigo, Sr.
"I see…" said Amy.
"But it would do this planet good with tourists, since this planet isn't on any major trade routes, and it's not exactly a good tactical position due to the nebula's position in this system," said Milena.
"I'll say."
Milena turned around.
"Derek, you're back. How's your sister doing?"
"For one, she gave me the usual worried sister routine, and I just learned she's officially a single mom now," said Derek.
"What? Raising two kids by herself? That's not gonna be easy," said Milena.
"I don't know what happened with her ex-husband and I don't wanna know," said Derek.
"Don't worry about it, son. Jade will manage just fine."
Derek jolted around behind him, and an older male Mobian Falcon was there.
"D-Dad?" said Derek.
Derek hugged his father with joy.
"Mr. Alddelfor, good to see you again, sir," said Milena.
"You too, Milena. How have you been? Has my son been staying out of trouble?"
"I do my best to keep him out of trouble, sir. My brothers certainly keep him busy and on the straight and narrow," said Milena.
"Please, Milena. 'Rodney' will do, we're friends," said Rodney.
"I think she's just being polite, dad," said Derek.
"I know, Derek, but you know me," said Rodney.
"Hi there, Mr. Alddelfor. You can tell that your son made it through the events of the past several weeks just fine," said Jericho.
"I know that. When I heard what happened, I feared for the worst. But I'm glad my son is safe and sound," said Rodney.
"I know I must've worried you, dad. But I'm here. Speaking of, what brings you back here? Besides Jade," said Derek.
"Well, I was asked by Bail Organa, rest his soul, to get some supplies in for some refugees who ended up here over the years. Even had to...uh...smuggle some through Imperial blockades," said Rodney.
"I know all about that mission you worked with my old man on," said Jericho.
"Speaking of old man...Jericho...up there," said Dayton.
Jericho looked up at the wroshyr tree, and saw an older Mobian Male Raccoon appearing to be in a meditative stance. Dayton looked at him with a venomous stare, and when Milena turned, so did she.
"Oh yeah. He asked for me to drop him off here. Dunno why he's at that wroshyr tree; he's been there for a few hours now," said Rodney.
"How typical. He's here instead of greeting us," said Milena.
"Yeah," said Dayton.
"Calm down, you two," said Jericho.
Jericho started walking towards the tree's ramps, and as Derek turned around, he saw Natalia, which made his heartbeat intensify.
"Uh...hi, Natalia. How are you doing?"
"Huh? Oh, hi, Derek," said Natalia.
"Uh...beautiful night, isn't it?" said Derek.
Natalia raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"Huh?"
"You know, you can see Mobius from here, just barely, but you can see it. See? It's that bluish-white one right...there. Sol is just next to it," said Derek.
"If you can tell which is which through the tint of the nebula," said Milena.
Derek's mood dampened.
"Milena, what do you want now?"
"You still don't know how to talk to a lady," said Milena.
"I've been talking to women as long as you have been talking to men, thank you very much!" said Derek.
"Hey, um...I need to check the supply cache real quick. Be right back," said Natalia.
"Natalia, hang on, I wasn't finished….ugh! See what you just did, Milena?" said Derek.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but it must be more exciting than what you were trying to do," said Milena.
Derek snarled in annoyance. Jericho, meanwhile, had reached the wroshyr tree platform where his father was meditating, but the second Jericho came close, his father's eyes opened and without turning around, addressed him.
"So...you made it back in one piece. Welcome back….Skipper."
"Good to see you too, old man," said Jericho.
"First Scarif, now Yavin. I suppose that makes you a hero now, right?"
"Like you said, old man. There aren't any heroes. Just people surviving hell."
"Meh, you ain't dead yet, all that matters, boy."
"You and Mac's training got me through all that, sir."
"Nah, I know it's impossible to hold you in the long run, you escape well."
"Didn't help me on Dirus, sir," said Jericho.
"Just weren't lucky is all. Now...suppose I gotta quit draggin' my feet and meet this so-called 'royalty,' so let's get me introduced. Do I look okay for royalty?"
"You look fine, sir," said Jericho.
"Good, good. Let's get this introduction done."
Jericho and his father walked back down to the ground, where Sally was waiting, as was Nora, the latter getting the attention of Jericho's father.
"Enjoying the quiet up there, Skipper?" said Nora.
"Only way I can keep it quiet, Mac."
"Princess Sally Acorn, this is my father, General Proteus Raccoon," said Jericho.
"It's an honor to meet you, General. Your reputation precedes you," said Sally.
"Nah...I just survived, it's the historians who blow it all out of proportion," said Proteus.
"Hardly undeserved, General," said Sally.
Proteus looked unimpressed by what he was looking at, and looked at Sally closely.
"You're really sure this is ol' Max's daughter? She looks like a clone of her ma," he said.
"It really is her, sir," said Jericho.
"Huh...genetics are a very strange thing," said Proteus.
Sonic was offended.
"Sally's a lot more capable than she looks, sir! Without her, there wouldn't even be 'Freedom Fighters'! In fact, neither of us wouldn't even be here thanks to her! So I think you should change your tone while you're in her presence!"
Proteus' gaze turned into a glare as his eyes pierced Sonic's direction.
"You watch your tone, boy. I got shot 5 times on that hill over there so that this city wouldn't be bombed by Separatists during the last war. So don't be tellin' me to watch my tone. I can kill you in 15 different ways with my bare hands,"
Sonic, not showing fear, gnashed his teeth.
"Why I oughta…"
"Okay, okay, let's take it easy, it won't do us any good killing each other," said Sally.
"You were right about one thing, boy. He's just as annoying as you said he was," said Proteus.
"I heard that!" said Sonic.
Proteus then saw Dayton and Milena, who were still coldly staring at him.
"Sir," said Dayton.
"General," said Milena.
Proteus just nodded, and then turned to Nora.
"Mac, let's talk," he said.
"Sure, Skipper," said Nora.
Sally then turned to Jericho.
"Your father and Capt. McCormick must go back a ways," said Sally.
"Like I said, she served under him. He turned a politically motivated promotion into something better," said Jericho.
"What was up with your brother and sister?" said Sally.
"That's another story in itself for another time," said Jericho.
Sally was left puzzled. Amy and Cream meanwhile were admiring the fish swimming close to the shoreline when they heard a voice.
"Cream?"
They turned around, and saw an older female Mobian Rabbit standing there. Cream's mouth hung open in shock.
"Cream….my baby!"
"Ma...ma?" said Cream.
Cream slowly walked towards her mother, and it turned to running, straight into her mother's arms, and the two of them embraced.
"Oh, Cream...you're alive and safe! I thought I'd lost you back at Knothole!" said her mom.
"Mama...I thought I'd lost you too! But you didn't have to worry, Miss Amy here helped keep me safe!" said Cream.
Amy just waved.
"Oh, Amy, I'm glad to see you're here too, thank you...thank you…"
"You're very welcome, Miss Vanilla. I take it you were with those people we rescued from that station?"
"Yes, indeed...when I heard that Sonic was helping in the rescue, I just knew somehow you two must have been with him. Oh, it's such a relief you're all safe! And I'm not the only one," said Vanilla.
Vanilla gestured and a brown-colored Chao flew up to Cheese. Cream and Amy's eyes lit up.
"Chocola! You're here too!" said Cream.
"Chao, chao!" said Cheese.
"Chao, chao! Chao!" said Chocola.
Cheese and Chocola held hands and spun around. This got the attention of Sonic, who walked over to them.
"Mr. Sonic! Look!" said Cream.
"I can see that, Cream. Hi, ma'am. Glad to see you're back with us again," said Sonic.
"Thank you, Sonic. Once again, I am grateful you helped keep Cream safe and sound," said Vanilla.
"Heh, no prob!" said Sonic.
"Sally? Is that really you?" said a voice.
Sally and Sonic turned around, that voice was familiar, and when they made eye contact with that voice, Sally was in shock.
"Rosie!"
"Yes, Sally. I am. You won't forget your nanny, dear," said Rosie.
Sally's eyes teared up with joy as she hugged her nanny. Sonic could only smile.
"Hey there, Rosie! Guess we saved you too when we hit that station,"
"Yes, the Imperials would've sent us to the Roboticizer or Kessel if you hadn't shown up when you did," said Rosie.
"I thought I was done for when Vader took me from Knothole," said Sally.
"Vader?"
"Yeah...he showed up at Knothole after the Empire's attack. He took me prisoner, but I never found out why," said Sally.
"Oh no…" said Rosie.
Sally noticed Rosie appeared to mumble something.
"Sorry?"
"Oh, nothing…, just was worried there for a minute," said Rosie.
"Well, thanks to Mr. Rebellion here, we're okay," said Sonic.
"Only because you blew up that Chemical Plant," said Jericho.
"Are you gonna ever-?"
"You'll live it down when you're good and dead. Not," said Jericho.
Sonic just pouted indignantly.
The Arctic Freedom Fighters swam through the frigid waters, seeing shadows of TIE Fighters and other craft flying overhead. They kept swimming around the ice shelves and icebergs.
"Guntiver, any idea where we're going?" said Erma through her breath mask.
"Once we evade Robotnik and the Empire, we can head to one of the villages. But let's keep moving," said Guntiver.
But as they turned a corner, they ran into a squad of Imperial Seatroopers.
"There they are! Blast 'em!"
"Blast this!" Augustus said.
He fired off the harpoon launcher in his hands, striking one of the troopers, and before the seatroopers could return fire, the harpoon exploded, sending them flying into the ice shelves.
"GO!" said Guntiver.
The Freedom Fighters swam as fast as they could, but it didn't take long for a few Seatroopers piloting OMS Devilfish Subs to give chase. They fired their blasters at the Freedom Fighters, forcing them to scramble for cover as the subs glided past them to make another pass. Guntiver grabbed Erma's hand to stop her from spinning away in the water.
"Stupid Imperials are coming back...OPEN FIRE!" said Erma.
The Freedom Fighters fired their blasters at the Submarines, and were only able to hit one of the pilots, sending his submarine floating aimlessly towards Guntiver, who grabbed onto it and began to slowly make his way towards the controls. Meanwhile, Augustus stood his ground in front of the second one, exchanging blaster fire with it and failing to score a hit. Before it could impale him, Augustus reached out with both arms and grabbed the front of the submarine and held on, just barely. The seatrooper tried to swerve to shake him loose, but Augustus started to crawl towards the controls, and the seatrooper drew out a blaster pistol, but Augustus simply lunged at the trooper, smashing into him and sending the trooper floating away towards an iceberg, and Augustus, reloading another harpoon into his launcher, fired it, and the trooper ended up impaled by the harpoon, stuck to the iceberg. Augustus reloaded as Erma swam over and took control of the sub. Guntiver, with Sealia and Flip holding on to his captured submarine, rejoined them.
"Let's keep moving, there's gonna be more coming," said Guntiver.
"You think?!" said Erma.
The Freedom Fighters continued swimming through the icebergs, carefully avoiding any responding Imperials. They then turned a corner and saw some rocky shoreline ahead.
"We're getting close to some villages. Those fishermen should help us get out of this area," said Guntiver.
"Oui, considering we have helped zem many a time," said Sealia.
"If the Empire hasn't gotten to them yet," said Erma.
Flip looked around, and then he saw bubbles from behind an ice shelf.
"Those don't look natural…..AMBUSH!"
The Freedom Fighters only moved seconds before a set of blaster shots could direct hit them, and they saw multiple Imperial Submarines emerging from cover and turning towards them. They also saw multiple Seatroopers and Mobians loyal to Robotnik outside the submarines, but what got their full attention was the cybernetically-enhanced male Mobian Orca leading them.
"Akhlut!" said Guntiver.
"Did you really think you could hide from me? The seas of this land are my domain," said Akhlut.
"That's not what Tundra says, he won't like this," said Flip.
"That fool couldn't find his way through these waters with a map. Give yourselves up if you want to live," said Akhlut.
"So you can probably feed us to the Roboticizer instead. No thanks," said Erma.
"I knew you'd resist...justifies me doing this next...KILL THEM, NOW!"
The Submarines, Seatroopers, and Mobian Soldiers opened fire, forcing the Freedom Fighters to take evasive action. Akhlut directed his group to follow at full speed. The Freedom Fighters swerved between rock and iceberg, trying to avoid them, but suddenly, they turned a corner, and Akhlut and his submarine was directly ahead. But before Akhlut could fire, the Freedom Fighters felt an explosion behind them, sending them careening towards Akhlut, but they barely managed to dodge crashing into the submarine. Akhlut looked up and saw several small objects floating down towards them.
"Whose depth charges are those?! I did not order them deployed!"
"I don't know, sir! We are off the coast of Holoska now, and…"
"Tundra...that fool doesn't even care I'm here. Evasive action!"
The depth charges exploded around Akhlut and the Freedom Fighters, accidentally killing several Seatroopers and Robotnik soldiers, Akhlut directed his submarine to chase the fleeing Freedom Fighters, and when they saw more depth charges, Erma snarled.
"Guntiver, we're not getting far until we lose this guy!"
"I see your point! Looks like we won't get past without a fight!" said Guntiver.
Guntiver and Erma turned their Devilfish Subs around and faced Akhlut and his submarine, and they punched it at full throttle. The Imperial sub fired blasters at the Freedom Fighters, who fired the Devilfishes' blasters at the Imperials, killing several Seatroopers and Robotnik soldiers, then they took aim at Akhlut, he simply put both index fingers on his forehead, and his headpiece began to glow. The Freedom Fighters suddenly clutched their heads, they heard a loud, high-pitched noise that felt like their heads were about to explode. This caused Guntiver and Erma to lose control of their subs and smash into the sides of Akhlut's submarine, sending the Freedom Fighters flying in various directions. Augustus looked up as he grabbed the edge of the submarine. The first thing he saw was Sealia and Flip stunned from the crash. He then saw Akhlut slowly moving towards him. Mustering all his strength, he launched himself at Akhlut and punched him square in the jaw, knocking Akhlut into the front of the submarine. But an enraged Akhlut simply launched himself and swam towards Augustus, locking fists with him. The two exchanged punches until Akhlut felt someone wrap an arm around his neck, and Augustus saw Guntiver, trying to choke out Akhlut, but Akhlut resisted, and tried to reach for his cybernetic headpiece, but Augustus tried to stop him. Akhlut then opened his mouth and bit Guntiver's arm hard, causing him to howl in pain and release his grip. Akhlut then headbutted Augustus and damaged his breathing apparatus. He then drew out his knife and tried to stab him, but suddenly, he was impaled by a harpoon to the arm, causing him to drop his blade. Flip then swam head-first into him, sending Akhlut spinning away from the submarine, screaming. Flip, joined by Erma, picked Augustus up and quickly swam up, as Sealia grabbed Guntiver and swam up as well, moving as fast as they could until they reached surface. As soon as they reached the surface, Flip removed Augustus' damaged mask, and Augustus gasped and coughed, trying to breathe again. Sealia carefully helped Guntiver onto shore and helped tend to his wounded arm. Guntiver removed his mask.
"Aw...this is not good-OW!"
"Be still, Guntiver! Be still!" said Sealia.
"I got him, check Guntiver!" said Erma.
Flip nodded and ran over.
"Any deeper, he could've chomped your arm in half, Guntiver! Geeze! We need to stop the bleeding fast!" said Flip.
"Do we have ze medical kit?" said Sealia.
"Hold on…"
Flip checked their bags, first his, then Erma's, and when he came to Sealia's, he found a medpack.
"Got it! Lemme see...ah-ha! Here's some bacta bandages. Gimme one sec…"
Guntiver gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists as Flip carefully placed the bandages over the bite marks on Guntiver's arm. Sealia kept Guntiver steady and not flinching much as this took place. Flip had just barely finished when Erma looked over a ridge and saw someone approaching.
"Oh, come on...seriously?!"
They saw a line of Stormtroopers running towards them, and saw some "Occupier" assault tanks not far behind.
"Can you walk?" said Flip.
"I can try. But we need to move!"
"Too late," said Augustus.
They turned around and coming the other direction, they saw more Occupier tanks with Imperial and Robotnik soldiers, but they were also in the company of an old male Mobian Walrus.
"Ugh...Tundra. We walked right into this one," said Flip.
"What are we gonna do...Erma?"
Guntiver saw she had disappeared, and kept his cool, and simply nodded to Sealia, Flip, and Augustus as they were surrounded.
Tundra leapt down from his perch atop one of the tanks and approached.
"Did you really think you would escape? I would've been glad to have killed you all in combat, but I guess roboticization will have to do, Dr. Robotnik's orders. Then again...you could've been killed while resisting us, anarchists," he said.
Guntiver simply looked at Tundra with contempt.
"I still cannot believe that you're Rotor's father, for what-"
"Don't you dare bring him into this...that coward went and abandoned all of you! You don't owe him any loyalty now."
"I just got one thing to say to that; Freedom Fighters Forever," said Guntiver.
"Oui, Freedom Fightairs Forevair!" said Sealia.
"Yeah!" said Flip.
"Typical of you children. Defiant even when you've lost. So be it. Finish it," said Tundra.
The Imperial and Robotnik soldiers raised their weapons to fire, but suddenly, one snowtrooper heard beeping from behind him. He turned and looked around and then saw his thermal detonator flashing. Soon, several more began beeping and before the troopers could remove them, they began exploding one by one, killing them and several others.
"NOW!" said Erma, uncloaking.
The Arctic Freedom Fighters quickly charged Tundra and Augustus smashed him in the face with a solid punch, while Flip and Sealia swept kicks at his feet, knocking him down, with Guntiver kicking him down, and then they ran to join Erma, but the Imperials behind them opened fire. They had barely gotten around the tanks when suddenly, several missiles landed near them. They turned to see a Submarine had surfaced with a wounded Akhlut atop it.
"STOP THEM! DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY, YOU FOOLS!" said Akhlut.
Tundra got up, gnashing his teeth in pain as some of Akhlut's missiles caused splash damage on his forces.
"STOP! STOP, YOU FOOL!"
Akhlut simply turned and glared at Tundra.
"Stay out of my way. The tides are in my favor today, you're just in the way," said Akhlut.
"They are on my land now! My ice! They are mine to destroy!" said Tundra.
"Yet you forgot that girl can camouflage herself and do damage to your warriors. These Imperial offworlders may provide us with strength, but you clearly cannot control it any more than you could control your own son," said Akhlut.
"I may just kill you, right here, right now," said Tundra.
Akhlut looked to his right and turned back to Tundra with a smug grin.
"No you won't."
"And why not?"
"Because the Freedom Fighters have gotten away while you were distracting me," said Akhlut.
Tundra turned around to the direction the Freedom Fighters had fled.
"What? ARGGH! They're gone! It's your fault! You distracted me!" said Tundra.
"Technically...they were on your ice. Your territory. My territory is the entire Northern Seas, starting with your shores," said Akhlut.
"Find them. NOW!" said Tundra.
Akhlut smugly turned to his subordinate.
"Well? We're waiting. And get me that medic. Now,"
His subordinate nodded and went back down into the submarine. Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters were not far away, hiding behind some rocks and ice.
"Heh. Gets them every time," said Flip.
Guntiver, clutching his still hurting arm, looked around.
"Augustus, wasn't there a train line near here?"
"Sure was. Over that next ridge. Why?"
"Those trains go right to Robotropolis. It's too risky to get to the locals."
"Agreed. It's a good Plan B," said Erma.
"Good. Let's get there and hope the next train comes by," said Guntiver.
"Oui," said Sealia.
The Freedom Fighters quietly snuck away from Akhlut and Tundra's forces and the Imperials, calmly making their way over ice and rocks until they came to a large trench where the train line was. They climbed up a steel signal structure and sat down on the overhanging arm and faced to the North.
"Now what?" said Flip.
"We wait. That's what," said Erma.
"In the meantime...got these ration bars that need eating," said Guntiver.
Guntiver reached into his backpack and handed out some ration bars to his friends, and they sat and waited. After a few minutes, Sealia felt the structure begin to rumble.
"It iz coming!" she said.
"Get ready to jump," said Guntiver.
The Freedom Fighters stood up and took each others' hands as a Hover Train finally appeared around the corner, coming towards them. They looked at each other and nodded, and as the train came close, the Freedom Fighters leapt off the signal structure, and landed atop of the train. Guntiver struggled to hold on to Sealia and Augustus as they hung off one side, and Erma barely got a foothold on a ladder rung on the side, keeping Flip from flying off as he hung by Guntiver's arm on the other side. Eventually, Augustus grabbed a rung with his other hand and gradually helped Sealia up to the roof, before pulling himself up. The Freedom Fighters quickly caught their breath, and Guntiver opened a hatch atop the car they were on, and he directed them to climb inside. They saw that the car was full of crates, which they all began to sit down on.
"Well, not exactly what I had planned, but...at least we're heading in the right direction," said Guntiver.
"We didn't exactly have a plan. We just did what Sonic would do, Guntiver. Wing it," said Erma.
"It worked, didn't it?" said Flip.
"I suppose," said Erma.
"I am hoping ze othair Freedom Fighters are okay," said Sealia.
"Yeah, me too," said Augustus.
"I know. I'd hate for us to be the last ones standing," said Guntiver.
The Freedom Fighters sighed as the train continued on it's way south out of Holoska.