"Eggman's attacking!"

The cry rang through the village and brought all activity to a standstill. As the racoon ran by repeating his warning, villagers dropped their things, gathered their children, and ran to their homes or to the nearest homes that would take them in.

"A badnik army is coming! Save yourselves!"

"AH-Hahahah! 'Save yourselves', he says!" Watching as the helpless villagers fled through the streets and hid in their homes, the small chinchilla Thunderbolt cackled from the safety of her hovercraft.

Mothers and elderly citizens locked themselves and their children into their homes, shutting their windows and drawing their blinds, whilst those able to fight grabbed weapons to defend themselves. "Your puny village escaped our notice for a while, but not anymore! Surrender now and I'll show you mercy!"

"We'll never surrender to the Eggman Empire!" one fox, wearing a feathered headdress, declared. The villagers behind him cheered, even as an army of robotic soldiers marched towards them. They were tall and bulky with spiked shoulder pads. The badniks pointed their fists at the villagers and fired lasers, hitting some and forcing the others to duck for cover.

"Egg Swats! Aim for the eyes!" Arrows and bullets were fired, and when the first three badniks fell, the villagers carrying close-ranged weapons charged. "Don't give in! We'll protect our village from the Eggman!"

"OH-HOHOHOHO!" Thunderbolt cackled as she watched the villagers' desperate stand against her army, only to fall one-by-one to the superior firepower of the robots. Still, a few seemed to know a thing or two about combat. A good number of Egg Swats had fallen and their formation was beginning to break up. "Well then, I guess it's my turn to-"

"Not today!"

Thunderbolt gasped and turned around, sparks flying from her fur as she came face-to-face with a brown-furred squirrel-chipmunk, wearing a blue vest and a pair of combat boots, and two blue bracelets that emitted energy blades along her forearms.

"Sally Acorn!" Thunderbolt held her hands out, but she was too late; Sally slashed at the hovercraft, damaging it and forcing it to fall onto the army of Egg Swats below. "NOOOOOO!"

Sally grinned as she extended her arms, using her blades like wings to glide safely down to the villagers. "The Knothole Resistance is here to help!"

"T-Thank you!" the fox with the headdress called out, before turning to the villagers. "Now's our chance! Let's drive out these invaders!"

"YEEEEEEEEAH!"

Thunderbolt roared as she jumped out from the crashed pod, electricity spraying wildly everywhere. "THAT WAS A GIFT FROM LORD EGGMAN! YOU WILL PAYYYYYY!"

"Just as planned," Sally whispered. "Now, Rotor!"

"On it!" From one of the alleyways, a purple-skinned walrus ran into the centre of the fray, carrying a large machine in his bulky arms. He stopped and planted the machine firmly into the ground, adjusting his glasses as he flicked several switches. A blue field generated, forming a wall that protected himself and the villagers from the bolts of electricity.

The only ones vulnerable now were the very bots that Thunderbolt had brought with her. One-by-one they fell. Her rampage eventually stopped, but not before almost all of her forces were defeated.

"So, you done now?" Sally asked, walking towards the enraged chinchilla as the shield dropped. "If so, then it's our turn!"

"You won't get out of here!" Thunderbolt threatened, jumping back into her pod as Sally and villagers rushed forwards. She sent the last of the Egg Swats to guard her as she activated the emergency force field in her pod, and by the time Sally reached her, she was safe behind a field of energy that no force could penetrate. "AHAHAHAHAH! Too bad! I've just sent out a distress signal! Soon, even more Egg Swats will arrive, and Shadow, too!"

Sally gritted her teeth. "Don't mention that name," she warned.

"What, sad that he betrayed you?"

Sally wasn't so sad that Shadow had betrayed her, but more that he had betrayed her childhood friend… "Go ahead and bring him here. I'll be the one to pay him back for what he did."

Thunderbolt tilted her head, before she put two and two together, and gave a devious grin. "Oh, I see. You were in love with that loser, weren't you? That 'Sonic the Hedgehog'?" She saw Sally's eye twitch. Bullseye. "Must hurt knowing he died at the hands of his friend, huh?"

Sally swung a blade at the force field, shocking Thunderbolt and causing her to fall back as the impact shook the pod. "Sally!" Rotor called out. "Don't let her get under your skin! Remember the plan!"

Sally took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a few moments. When she opened them, she exhaled. "… We'll be out of here before they arrive." With that, she turned and pointed to the east. "We have a ship prepared for you. Go there now!"

"A ship?" Thunderbolt asked. "Wait, that's… You stole my ship?!"

"We sure did," Sally declared, waving goodbye to Thunderbolt as she left with the villagers. "I'll let you go this time! Try to get that temper under control!"

"WAIT! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Thunderbolt smashed the control to lift the force field, shattering it. "… GAAAAAHHHHH! NOW I'M STUCK IN HERE! HEY, DON'T TAKE LORD EGGMAN'S SHIIIIIIP!"

Antoine gulped as he watched the two Egg Swats standing in front of the control room. "H-How am I going to get in zere?" he whispered to himself, his hands trembling as he held his father's sabre. "Princess, why did you 'ave to assign me to zis mission? I 'ave not ze combat experience to seize a whole airship from ze doctor."

The Egg Swats turned to look his way, and Antoine hurriedly ducked around the corner, praying they had not seen him. "If only zere was a vent that could grant me access…"

"Antoine!"

"EEEEE!" Antoine clapped his hands over his mouth, sweat dripping down his head as his eyes shifted down to the radio at his hip.

"Antoine, are you there?! We've got the villagers and we're heading your way! Please tell me you have the airship under control!"

"Ah, yes, well, about zat, ma princess, zere is being a slight complication…"

Rotor sighed. "Meaning you can't find a safe way into the control room. Just take them head-on then!"

"B-But mah expertise, it is in taking ze enemy out from behind zeir backs! From ze front is so… dangerous!"

"Antoine, remember what your father taught you," Sally said. "We can see the airship now. We need you to do this for us, okay? I believe in you."

…

"Antoine?"

"Z-Zey have spotted me! Zey are coming zis wa-"

The sound of a laser blast was the last thing they heard, before only static came from the other side. Concerned, Sally sped up. "I'm going on ahead!"

Rotor nodded. "We'll be fine! Go save Antoine!"

Sally made it to the airship first. As frightened as Antoine was, he was successful in taking out the bulk of the patrolling Egg Swats by utilising the ship's various vents and catwalks, as well as the subterfuge tactics his father had taught him.

Making her way to the control room, Sally readied her blades and slowed her pace. She rounded the corner, and found… "Antoine!"

There before her stood the brown-furred coyote with fancy blonde hair, wearing the distinctive blue jacket of her father's former military. In his hands was an elegant sabre with the name 'D'Coolette' inscribed along the side at the base of the blade.

At his feet were two downed Egg Swats, each one sporting many slash marks that caused their inner circuitry to fall out. He gasped and jumped at the sudden appearance of Sally, but relaxed upon identifying her. "M-Ma princess, I apologise for ze earlier interruption, but I was how you say, cut off, when zese two attacked me…"

Sally smiled. "Just glad you're okay. Knew you could it."

Antoine blushed, rubbing the back of his head. "Oui… All zat is left is ze cockpit, but she is locked."

"That's fine. I've got the universal key." Antoine stepped aside, and Sally rushed forwards, jumping and kicking the door so hard that it flew open. Inside, several Egg Swats pointed their hands at her, but she was too fast and nimble for their lasers. "You're too slow!" she taunted as she sliced the first one apart.

As Sally continued to make quick work of the badniks, Antoine crept inside and quietly made his way to the centre. Only one Egg Swat remained, and it was the one by the control panel. As it locked its sights on Sally, Antoine raised his blade and cut the robot in half. "Princess, we are in ze clear!" As Antoine sheathed his weapon, he regarded Sally with an odd look. "What was zat 'you're too slow'?"

Sally shrugged as she approached the control panel. "Just… something I picked up somewhere."

Antoine's face fell. "From zat Soneec ze Hedgehog?"

"'Sonic'," Sally corrected, "And… maybe."

Antoine sighed, but decided not to press it further. He did not care much for the hedgehog of legend, mainly because he held a tight grasp on the princess' heart, but he could not bring himself to speak ill of the dead…

"Sally, we're onboard!" Rotor declared over the radio. "But Shadow's on his way! Hurry!"

Sally froze. All she had to do was press one button and they would launch into the air. Not even Chaos Control could reach them then, but…

"Princess, we must leave," Antoine said in a soft tone.

Sally swallowed, nodded her head, and hit the button. The ship launched, rising into the air quickly, before closing the door to the loading bay.

Minutes later, Rotor joined the two in the cockpit, together with the fox wearing the headdress, who bowed before the princess. "Princess Sally, I am Chief Spandem, and I must thank you for saving our village."

Sally shook her head. "Please, don't. All I could do was get you out of there, but your village…"

"That… is what I was going to ask you about next. Pray tell, where are we headed, and will there be room enough to accommodate us? We do not wish to impose, but…"

"We're heading to the main Resistance unit, headed by Knuckles the Echidna," Rotor said, examined the remains of the Egg Swats scatted about the floor. "Sal, I can take whatever parts I want from these, right?"

"Of course," Sally answered, watching with delight as Rotor's eyes lit up. She couldn't help but giggle, despite their situation. She returned her gaze to the chief. "As Rotor says, we will be heading to the main Resistance headquarters. Unfortunately there simply isn't enough room in Knothole for an entire village, but do not fret. Knuckles will find homes for all you. You will all be asked to help however you can, but-"

"No, no 'buts'. You rescued us from the Eggman. You will hear no complaints from us, Princess Sally." The chief bowed once more, and then turned to leave. "Oh, I should probably inform you, one of our scouts spotted unusual badnik activity in the forests due west of our village. We believe there is a hidden lab there."

"Is that why you asked us to come?" Sally asked. "You feared you may have been discovered?"

The chief shook his head. "We sent no such request. Our village is- was poor, and we had no means of reaching the Resistance units." With that, the chief left the room.

Once he was out of earshot, Sally turned to Rotor. "So who was it then? Somebody tipped us off to that attack, but who?"

Rotor scratched his head through his cap, still examining the scraps beneath him. "Good question. The only name they gave us was 'F. F.'."

"I do not like eet," Antoine said with a huff. "Acting on information from zose who do not reveal zemselves."

"Well, we don't have a lot of choice," Sally replied. "The Knothole Resistance is small. We're practically running around in the dark as it is. But, at least now we know where our next target is."

"The forest?" Rotor asked, receiving a nod from Sally. "In that case, I'll whip up something to help with us stay hidden in that kind of terrain!"

Antoine grinned, standing tall and proud as he declared, "If it is leafy terrain of which you speak, then I am something of ze expert in that manner of combat."

"You mean hiding?" Rotor teased, earning a sharp glare from Antoine. Sally chuckled as she turned her attention back to piloting the airship, Antoine berating Rotor behind her whilst the latter simply continued to scavenge for parts.

Eggman tapped his foot on the ground as he glared down at the crashed pod, Thunderbolt smiling sheepishly back at him through the force field that she couldn't turn off. "I'm waiting for an explanation."

"I-It was a trap, sir!" Thunderbolt declared. "The Resistance, they knew of our attack! They knew we were coming and sent an army after us!"

"An army, huh?" Eggman turned to the black hedgehog beside him and asked, "Which Resistance unit was it?"

"It was the Knothole Resistance," the hedgehog replied.

Eggman turned back to Thunderbolt. "An army, was it? Three children playing soldiers?"

"T-There were more, honest!" Thunderbolt gulped. "A-And besides, they had some kind of advanced technology! T-That right there, it could deflect my electricity!"

Eggman turned to the remains of the machine that Rotor had planted earlier, and walked over to examine it. "You don't say. It seems they have something of a genius in their group. But still, this is of no use to me – it's designed to destroy itself from the inside after one use."

"And that's not all! That princess, she used some strange weapon! It was like, two swords, but they were made of energy!"

Eggman turned to Thunderbolt and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "So they got some new toys. Are you suggesting the robots I gave you aren't enough? Or that my weaponry is inferior to theirs?"

Thunderbolt recoiled. "O-Of course not, sir! I'm sorry, it won't happen again! Give me another chance, I'll-"

"You're lucky. I'm in a good mood today, having just crushed another resistance group. I'll let you off with a warning today." Eggman turned and walked back to his pod.

Thunderbolt sighed, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "Thank you, sir! You won't regret it! Um, but I can't quite get out of this, so-" In an instant, a blast was fired from Eggman's pod that completely shattered the force field. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"

"Fail again, and the next shot will be aimed at you." Eggman grinned as he observed the fear in Thunderbolt's eyes. "Ta-ta for now!"

"S-Sir… I'm on it, sir…" Thunderbolt sighed, and then passed out.