o3o: Sonic will definitely need a break. Suffering builds character. Fiona is very experienced in combat. She also has a bit of history and understands the Wolverine, at least a little bit. Johan is very brutal and efficient, which allows him to deal with any one who causes problems… anyone.
Guest: Well, that is an interesting theory, but you may need to revisit some points on it. Not everything is logical, sometimes emotion alone is enough to motive rather stupid decisions…
/*-*/
Fiona's eyes opened to the sound of men scrambling up. Fiona reached for her rifle, only to look around and not find it…. Because she didn't bring it. No one had rifles. She looked around, "What's going on?"
One soldier, a grey wolf turned and shouted, "He's gone, He left us here!"
"What? Who?" Fiona asked groggily, before sitting up, popping her back after sleeping on a rock all night.
"The Wolverine, He's left us here!" The Wolf shouted angrily, before scrambling around with the men who were all trying to find some way back.
Fiona got up and followed the wolf as he and several soldiers walked down the mountain. They had several small parties that seemed to form up and walk down the dusty greyish yellow mountain. The clusters seemed to form a line, when they got below where they crossed.
Instead of finding the array of stones, they found a solid river. Many of the soldiers now seemed to panic, with Fiona remaining pretty calm.
"What are we going to do? How are we going to get back?" Fiona heard one shout over the rest.
"CALM DOWN!" Shout a possum, who was clearly upset as well.
"Now everyone, calm down!" Lanolin called out, climbing on a rock. Heads turned to look at the sheep who suddenly looked very nervous. She cleared her throat, "Now, We'll get through this together. I'm sure he'll be back soon. He… he doesn't leave us for very long."
In the distance, Gewis was shouting the same thing at another group of soldiers.
"What do you mean? Why would he leave us?" Shouted a panicked soldier, a purple squirrel who was all too fidgety for his own good.
"Because he left us before during the civil war, and he… came back. So He'll be back for us. He won't leave us, it's not like him." Lanolin didn't sound confident, but she conveyed it in a way that made most of the men sit down. At least at first.
"What do you know, you stupid bitch! He left us!" Shouted an angry brown bear who threw his hands up, "He's not coming back! I'll get us out of here!"
"Hey, you shut your mouth!" shouted the blue bear from before. Fiona thought she remembered his name as Oscar.
"What are you going on about?" the brown bear seemed to size up Oscar. Who balled his fist. Things were about to get fun. Fiona looked up at Lanolin who seemed a little surprised, and kept her distance from them.
"She's a great captain, and she won't let you down!" Oscar barked, before looking back up at her, and the two shared a sort of understanding.
"I don't know her-" The brown bear growled, but was interrupted by Lanolin.
"That's enough! If you don't listen, I can tell the Wolverine, and you can answer to him." She let that hang in the air. The brown bear backed down with some grumbling, but the crowd seemed more interested in her. Lanolin got down from her rock, before climbing back up, " We should head back up the mountain, he might be expecting us there."
That seemed to sit well with most of them, and they walked up the mountain and sat down. Johan was not waiting for them, but they still sat down.
Fiona slumped against some rocks as the sun rose higher in the sky. Then she noticed the foot imprints down the mountain. Fiona could investigate on her own, but that meant if something bad happened, then she could be in a very bad situation.
Fiona could feel something off in the forest down the mountain, but she ultimately decided to at least grab a few hands to help. She went to Lanolin and Gewis, "Hey, I found some large tracks, might be our wolverine?"
Gewis looked at Lanolin, and the two nodded, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to look."
They walked down the north side of the mountain that was to the north east of Roja. Gewis taking care to help them down. He seemed particularly nervous around Fiona. Did he have a little crush? Regardless, he was extra careful to try and help her down the mountain.
They made their way to the bottom of the mountain, and arrived at the edge of a large forest. Fiona knew the forest was just out of Sonic's territory, but she had bit of trouble remembering who own the area exactly. There were about two hundred landed nobles in the kingdom. She couldn't keep track of all of them.
Not to mention the new lines that were put in place after the civil war and Johan's little purge.
"The tracks lead here, right?" Gewis asked, gesturing to the inside of the forest. It had a nice thick canopy, the kind that developed from being undisturbed for a while.
Fiona nodded, and they stepped inside. As they walked through, Fiona felt a strange itch on her neck, like they were being watched. They trudged on soft dirt and mud. Fiona could barely make out the shapes of Gewis and Lanolin in the limited light as they swirled around.
"You know, we should probably go back and get the others. Who knows what's lurking in this forest." Lanolin muttered softly, turning her head. A crack in the canopy allowed Fiona to see Lanolin's worried expression.
"If Johan is out here, then we don't have to worry about any wild animals or predators." Gewis mumbled, continuing on.
Fiona hadn't thought of it that way, but it made sense. Fiona looked down at her feet to make sure she wasn't wading through a pool of blood and slush. Nope, just mud.
Gewis stopped in the middle of the darkness, causing Fiona to bump into him as she stumbled forward, "What the hell?"
"He's here…" Gewis mumbled, his ears flicking in the darkness. Fiona looked around for Johan. She heard a *Plop* sound and Johan's voice echoed through the darkness.
"Very Good, Gewis. Where is the rest of the army?" Johan growled from the darkness around them.
"We left them back and decided to look for you." He mumbled, nervously.
"Then this training was nothing more than a waste of time." Johan growled, Sounding somewhat frustrated.
"Training? This was training?" Gewis growled angrily, also frustrated.
"This was not exactly a training program." Fiona mumbled.
"I left you a marker pointing down to the forest." Johan growled, a little annoyed, "You should not need me to tell you everything you must do. Gather the others and return to me."
Gewis mumbled something Fiona couldn't make out, or maybe it was just a grunt of displeasure. Regardless, they walked back to where they came. Johan followed them and sat at the edge of the forest.
"I will be here, tell the men to come down and we will begin our next training." Johan growled.
"You know, they might want to eat some breakfast first." Lanolin mumbled, and Johan turned to her.
He growled in his throat slightly, before nodding, "Very well, let them eat something."
"We didn't bring food." Gewis mumbled, "We weren't exactly planning on spending the night."
"They should be able to get their own food. The forest is rich, and the river is full." Johan growled simply.
Fiona raised her eyebrow at him, " You can't be serious? We don't have any tools or anything to catch food."
"If they can't learn to survive the wild, they will not survive war." Johan growled, and sat down.
Fiona… didn't think that was right, but she had learned to survive. Maybe the others had too. They returned to the camp and broke the news, which prompted more outrage.
"He intends to starve us!" That brown bear shouted angrily. The soldiers nodded in agreement.
"He's not!" Gewis growled defensively, "He just… want's us to be…" Gewis couldn't seem to find the words.
"I want you to be capable of fending for yourselves." The heads all turned, including Fiona's to see Johan standing behind her, "You may need to know how to survive when we go into enemy territory."
"This is the first day of training for some of us!" The brown bear groaned angrily at Johan.
Johan growled in his throat, "Second, and this will be the foundation of most of your training. Follow me, and you will have your… breakfast."
The mobians grumbled about, but they again, had no leadership. Fiona could feel the unrest from them, however. Johan would need to be careful around them. They were pretty angry.
That Anger, however, vanished when they got to the bottom, and saw a pile of nuts and fruit. IT wasn't a lot, but that didn't stop the army from cheering, and sending a wave back to the very end of their ranks.
Fiona and Lanolin noticed the issue though. Lanolin came over to Johan, "That's kind of small isn't it?"
Johan bellowed at his men, "Yes. This is not enough to feed you. The rest you can find in this forest, or in the river with today's training!"
Gewis walked into the center of the crowd and began to repeat what Johan was saying.
"You will go into the forest, and attempt to find me." Johan growled at the men. Gewis was a little slow to repeat his message.
A group looked certainly upset by that, "Wait, we're out here to go looking for you? That's it?"
"Yes." Johan growled simply, before turning around and walking in the forest.
"I don't think that will be very hard." A green wolf laughed, earning a chuckle from some of the men around him.
Johan simply trudged into the forest, leaving them to pursue. Fiona watched his form disappear.
Everyone seemed more focused on the food in front of them. Everyone took either a handful of nuts or fruit. Fiona sat down with the grey wolf she'd talked to earlier, the brown bear who seemed so uppity, and a blue goat who seemed all around cheerful. She ate a red wild plum, the others ate nuts.
When they were finished, the brown bear stood up, "Alright, let's go find this stupid beast." He seemed agitated, clearly.
The grey wolf shook his head, "What, do you just want to leave without a plan? I think that's a pretty bad idea."
"Do you have a better idea? He's not letting us off here without finding him, so might as well get this over with!" The bear snarled very defensively. Fiona could tell he was going to be fun to work with.
"Well, I think if we found a light source we could do a lot better. Or maybe cut into the canopy." The Wolf grey wolf proposed with a certain amount of calmness that tried to hide his anger at the bear.
"With what tools?" The bear snarked back, having a smirk of superiority.
"We can find a way, or make something. I just think going in the forest without anything to light the way is kind of stupid." The grey wolf grumbled, but held his hands up in surrender.
The bear looked up and down Fiona, not even coyly checking her out, before snorting to himself. Definitely a fun guy to be around.
He turned to the goat, "Alright, everyone coming? I want to get this over with."
Fiona rolled her eyes and stood up, along with the goat, and they entered the dark forest. It was amazing how dark it could truly get.
They stuck close to each other. The Goat seemed timid, but was very observant. The grey wolf was very annoyed as they trudged through the dirt.
Fiona watched the canopy, as that was the only area that had light. Fiona felt like they were being watched. Her back hairs were standing up which really set the mood for Fiona. She kept walking when she heard the sound of the soil becoming muddy and soft.
"Oh come on." Mumbled the grey wolf. Fiona could heard the squelching sounds as he trudged forward. Fiona made sure not to follow-
*Squenlch*
Her boots sank into mud, and She growled, before trudging along. To her mind at ease and perhaps calm down a bit, Fiona decided to start up a conversation.
"So, you seem agitated, I don't guess you're enjoying this anymore than I am." Fiona felt the mud stick to her knees. She kept trudging through the sludge, follow the bear to try and catch up to the others.
The Grey wolf snorted, and continued to trudge forward, his ears flicking in the darkness, "No, I only came out here to fight badniks, keep my home safe. Instead I'm out here playing hide and seek with a giant monster in the dark."
"Well, it could be worse. You could be dining with traitors and having them watch your back." Fiona snorted in her throat.
"Yeah… So what's your story?" The wolf asked, "I'm Richard by the way."
"Fiona, I'm the traitor watching your back." Fiona snorted at him, earning a look over his shoulder.
The Goat was really quiet, for some reason. Fiona heard a rustling in the canopy and she looked up.
"Hey, are you still behind me? It's kinda hard to see." Richard called out through the darkness.
"Hey, you guys alright!" Another voice shouted behind them. Probably another squad.
"I'm Good!" Fiona shouted, before squinting at a branch that didn't look right. There was a dark lump on it…
Fiona gulped but kept moving. Her ears perked up and she called out to her team, "We need to stop. Stop moving!" She barked at them.
The boys stopped as Fiona listened. There a slight pattering of feet on a branch, rapidly moving. Fiona's ears flicked between the sloshing in the mud and the movement of the trees
"What, what is it?" The Bear grumbled angrily, "We don't have time for this."
"We're not alone in the forest. Someone or somethings are in here with us." Fiona mumbled, and the bear stopped.
"What are you talking about?" The bear growled, "Come on, let's go."
"Something is up there!, I know it is." Fiona mumbed before she saw the glint from a pair of eyes gazing down at her.
"Stop stalling, I want-"
"Found him!" Shouted a team, followed by a roar in the forest.
Fiona saw the darkness scury away as silent forms moved along the branches. Fiona had a few theories, but she tucked them away as a light filled the forest. The Wolverine held a lantern up, and the soldiers moved towards it.
"You had that tucked away? Why'd you make us look in the dark?" The grey wolf growled angrily.
"I did so because you need to learn to rely on more than you eyes." Johan barked as he crawled towards the edge of the forest, "The eyes lie, and tell you an enemy is too great, or that you are safe. You must give your whole body to the fight, as they did."
Johan gestured to two sheep, a cow and a fox who spotted him.
Fiona decided to wait and tell the Wolverine about those who were in the forest later. He would know what to do then, but they didn't need a panic.
"Now, We will cross the river once again." Johan growled at them as they made their way to the deep water.
Johan crossed first, then Fiona.
"I'm now coward, I won't be outdone by fox." The brown bear in their group muttered, and crossed the river rapidly. Then two more. The others looked cautious, but the pressure from their compatriots began to take its toll, and they began to cross.
The army began to trickle along, and they made their way back to the Head Quarters.
Fiona heard some grumbling from the other soldiers as they made their way back to Headquarters. They were grumbling about rifles or something.
"A Weapon should be the last thing you pick up before going into battle." Johan's voice bellowed across the ranks of men as they moved.
When they got back, however, Fiona was surprised to find several mobians waiting at the headquarters. They weren't members of the army, at least not yet. Fiona saw the ranks of men awaiting some form of direction, when their faced looked brighter and more joyous.
Fiona followed their eyes and saw the Wolverine walking up to the top of the hill. Gewis was with him, and looked a little concern as people broke from the line and ran to the large beast.
Fiona scrambled out of the way as they began to rapidly talk at him.
"We read your speech, We're in."
"You're an inspiration to us all!"
"We won't let that bastard win."
Both Fiona and the Wolverine found themselves confused. Johan cocked his head, "I do not remember you." he growled confused.
The Mobians help up papers. Newspapers from the press. Freshly printed: NEVER SURRENDER!
Fiona read the article. It recounted everything Johan had said to them two days ago. The words "Sleeping Giant" were written in bold. Fiona saw the crowd that was possibly double their regular numbers.
Gewis looked especially nervous as Johan walked through the crowds. Elias came over, especially annoyed, "Listen, everyone, please get back in line, and we'll look over you shortly." He called out.
A few members turned their head to look at him, and fewer actually listened.
Johan growled in his throat, "Go, do as he says and be ready. This will not be easy."
Some of the soldiers coming along snorted, "Yeah, we're learning to swim and playing hide 'n seek. It's not easy."
Johan grumbled within his throat. Fiona had a vivid flash of when she was in the forest. It was dark, but she was certain people were in the trees. Were they the black creatures from before? Fiona felt puzzled.
Johan dealt with them, so maybe he would be able to help. She walked up to him as the crowd went back, "Did you feel anyone in the forest? I felt like I saw some people moving in the treeline."
Johan growled softly in his throat as if he was thinking, "I felt like someone was trying to hide their scent. It was faint but fresh. Someone was in that forest."
"You don't think it was like the black creatures from before, do you?" Fiona asked, licking her lips.
"No. These were your people, clearly. I could smell their fur. They were intruders of course. I doubted my senses, so they were very experienced at hide, cowards." Johan growled, agitated.
Gewis came over to them and faced Johan, "I need to talk to you."
Johan nodded, and walked over with Gewis and Lanolin, leaving Fiona with her own thoughts.
/*-*/
Johan wandered back with Lanolin and Gewis. The two seemed scared for some reason, which only served to anger Johan.
"Why are you afraid?" Johan growled, agitated with the current state of the his high command.
"We don't guns for these people." Gewis growled at Johan.
Johan sat down and cocked his head at his general. This boy had truly grown comfortable around Johan. Perhaps he did need to be reminded of his place.
"He's right. We have maybe a thousand old guns in storage. Ten rounds for each of them, maybe." Lanolin muttered nervously around Johan.
"We do not have enough weapons?" Johan growled, allowing some of his anger to leak out as the sun began to beat down on his back.
Lanolin shrunk down, but nodded, "We don't. Even if we bring back a lot of old guns and ignore some defects, We still won't be able to fill who we have. Not to mention how many more we're going to get. Those papers are fresh, which they haven't fully made it throughout the kingdom yet."
Johan nodded slowly. She was being honest with him. Johan growled, "Very well, we will proceed." Johan could get them weapons, hopefully. He could put them to work producing their own weapons.
"Without the right weapons?" Lanolin asked, and Gewis looked especially outraged by his statement.
"We don't have guns!" Gewis cried in angrily.
"Have faith in me. I will do what I can. Not every part of war is holding a weapon." Johan growled as his mind quickly went to work. He could put them on stationary weapons.
Gewis seemed to look at Johan with a sense of doubt. Johan would put that doubt to rest when this was all done…. If he could. Johan wouldn't say anything until he was certain, "Yeah… alright I… I trust you… Just don't let us down."
He was still hesitant. Johan paid no mind. Gewis would either trust Johan, or be proven wrong, and learn from his mistakes.
Johan wandered back to the men, as there was still time for another legend. Johan decided to tell them of Ingvar the fearless.
He walked over to the men as they began to gather papers which had a red stamp on them. There were several warriors which he knew. The rabbit, the small-wolf, The boy-prince. They seemed to be resigned to choosing who would serve in their presence, and who would be dismissed.
It was respectable.
Johan growled, "All of you, come, and meet me around the eatery tonight." He turned around and left them.
"What are you doing with them?" The prince demanded. He seemed so quick to action. It was a shame that the action was never war.
"I am going to tell them a story." Johan growled simply, and left. He was followed by the small wolf, who trailed behind him.
"So… I've beens of hearings that there is a openings in the generals?" The Small wolf sounded hungry and excited.
Johan cocked his head, "Speak again."
"There is a place for new generals, no?" the small wolf smiled a wide grin.
Johan nodded his head, "Indeed. There are capable men and women able to lead far better than the old guard. I am still looking for capable, courageous men to lead the coming armies."
"Well, I am a very capable man. I have beens in the Freedom Fighters for oh so long." The wolf sang proudly. His voice was an irritation without end.
"I see nothing of value within you. You are pathetic in all aspects of the word." Johan growled. He remember how the fool gave up their advantage in the campaigns, how he cowered and touted his supremacy. Johan had no time for such boys.
As if to prove his point, the small wolf staggered back, as thought Johan had struck him in the chest, "No, No, No. I am of impressives. I have many of the greats skills." He tried to argue.
"Then show them on the field of battle. Impress me, if you are so great. Do so, and you will have your place as one of my generals." Johan snapped at the small wolf, allowing his snout to show his irritation.
The wolf backed away with that statement, looking ever so wounded. No matter, if he was as impressive as he said, then Johan would have no choice but to give him a position worthy of his skills.
Johan continued to the eatery that had been set up to allow for the soldiers to eat together. One of the things they had that was a good idea. Johan sat down and the men began to trickle in.
Once the seats were filled, Johan began his story, "Back in the land of my birth…" He struggled to remember how the land looked, "We had settled, and carved out several kingdoms of our own. My people, the Saxons, came to the land from beyond the great seas."
The Soldiers seemed to feign interest. They clearly did not care, but there was nothing else to focus on.
"Our people were a powerful, and strong people, but we knew the dangers of disunity. When the dark god Venix sent his dark Guards to invade, our people banded together, as was law to defeat our enemy. However, the acting Emperor from the line of Utrek, abandoned his people, leaving the Lanz and Feldyr kings to unify the army. The Dark Guards poured into our lands, and outnumbered us greatly."
Many of the soldiers seemed to perk up, interested in at least hearing of blood and battle. He could respect it.
"The first battles we lost horribly, and were forced into our mountains. It was there that we have to make a choice, to retreat back and regroup with our brothers from the west, or stay and hold them in the mountains. We chose to retreat, gather our men and fight them off." Johan recited the very famous story from his homeland. He was not alive at the time, but it was still well known.
"We were outnumbered, and our enemy was persistent, though weaker individually. So to secure our retreat, we needed someone to hold off our foe." Johan growled as the men began to pay attention. Some of them looked as though they didn't want to hear what happened next. Johan continued anyway.
"Ingvar, an ulfheidnar offered up his life for his homeland. He slipped into a trance, and fought the enemy for hours, giving our people time to regroup. We would destroy the Shadow armies in those mountains as winter settled in." Johan settled down as the words finished.
"Why are you telling us this?" One of the soldiers who had been there a while grumbled in agitation.
"To let you all know that you will all die. But a single choice about how you die can change the world." Johan growled, before turning and leaving. Gewis seemed to weigh his words carefully along with a majority of the soldiers.
The stories were more than stories. They carried with them the glories and triumph of the past, and inspired the future.
Johan returned to the Konig's Faust, where his Garden Defenders were set to work, melting down captured machines. As Johan walked past Ezra, she perked up, "Uh… Sir?"
"Johan. Call me by my name." Johan growled firmly. After all, anyone could be "sir".
"Ok, Johan. What can we do for you?" She asked, as if his presence had surprised her.
"I need more guns, and ammunition for my men." Johan growled bluntly.
Ezra seemed to hesitate, "We can produce machine parts to make guns, but right now we're all hands on deck for repairs. It will take more time… in addition to another project one of us proposed…. If you'll hear it out."
Johan turned his head to see his ship being repaired slowly. The red Garden defenders and wolves sealing the holes and cracks, "What are you offering?"
"Well, we have a lot of aluminum from badniks. We've been patching the ship with some of it, but it won't serve as good long term material. So our engineer pulled a couple of old designs… somethings to round out the army." She held up several papers.
Johan looked over the top one. It appeared to be a large aircraft. It had been so long since the Saxons had actually needed to bring out the old bombers that he forgot the name they gave it. But he recognized it, and gave a nod, "Very well, work on them."
"Well, we won't be able to have all of them up unless we get some serious equipment, but we can maybe get one up." Ezra smiled in hesitation.
Johan thought for a moment, before nodding. After all, it might be good useful for later, "Then make the one. And the others?"
Ezra slumped a little, "Fighter planes, Interceptors for the Egg Carriers, Transports, small ground support aircraft, faster bombers…"
"And you can produce enough of these for our army?" Johan asked, feeling surprised by their productivity. They were very productive creatures.
"Well… theoretically." She smiled, and it became visibly obvious that the ideas were only that, ideas. At least until someone could put them to action, "If we were to get some actual industry in this kingdom, with some factories or at least a good workspace for machine tools…" She seemed to be implying something.
"If you need something, say it. Otherwise, do not waste my time with theoreticals and hypotheticals." Johan growled. She should have known better than speak of things that couldn't exist yet.
"So…" Ezra slumped down, awaiting an answer.
"What?" Johan growled as he passed a hallway.
"What can we make?" Ezra asked hopefully.
"Build me the bomber first. We will see afterwards." Johan growled. If they could produce a good version of the bomber, he would see about expanding their work load.
"Ok… one Griffon, coming up." Ezra gave a quick smile and walked outside.
Johan finished his inspections and returned to the base. He would stay close to the men he was leading, lest they think he abandoned them. He passed Gewis, who slumbered a restless sleep, and awoke as Johan passed him.
"Hey… Johan." Gewis mumbled, sitting up to look at Johan from his sleeping bag.
Johan was… tired. He was weaker, so his body was exhausted faster. "What?" Johan growled in agitation.
"Why did you make me a general?" Gewis asked, scratching his bag, "I didn't exactly do great. I lost good men in the desert. I've never led anyone else outside of that. There have to be better people for the job." He sounded skeptical.
"Do us both a favor and kill your doubt." Johan growled in frustration, "I chose you because you made a choice. In the desert, you did not freeze in fear or terror. You made a decision. That decision cost lives, but those lives were not lost in vain. There are those who would freeze when faced with decisions, and they would lose far more to pointless waiting and indecision."
Gewis turned to look at the dirt. He still had that foolish doubt the devil planted in good men, "I just feel like I am going to screw up."
"You will." Johan growled firmly. Gewis looked at him surprised, and Johan explained, "No one is perfect. Such an idea is arrogance. You will fail, and learn and become better. All generals must learn from that failure. What you have can not be learned: decisiveness. Leadership is about making choices, not waiting for a perfect one."
Gewis nodded, "And what do I say when I make the wrong one?" That was a question Johan… he probably had to ask himself. His memory continued to cloud itself.
"I'll be better." Johan growled, "If there are better men for the job, I haven't found them yet." He turned to leave.
Gewis nodded, before laying, "Thanks…I guess. I'm glad I got to meet you."
Johan kept walking, "Indeed. And I, you."
/*-*/
Johan trains the soldiers with an interesting and questionable tactic. Fiona and the high command seem torn, but have no choice but to keep on hoping.
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