-Chapter 294-

GUN Control, Part 3


CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains dark subject matter in the form of roofie usage and dubious consent. While only mentioned and not outright shown, reader discretion is advised.


Training Yard

Scrape watched as various GUN cadets went about their daily training. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. These men and women were the future defenders of Mobius and, more importantly, a symbol of how far they had come since the old days when humans and Mobians were at eachothers' throats. Now, they were working and fighting together, side-by-side as brothers and sisters in arms. It was a sign that, had it not been for the Robotnik Empire, his daughter could live in a peaceful world.

His smile faltered as he thought of his daughter and the conversation they had after the meeting. The look of disappointment and anger she had when she called him out. He knew that this would happen. He knew it the moment Sperry approached him for help with her plan to convince Tower to kick the children off the Freedom Fighters. But, he had to do it, Tangle was everything to him. If something happened to her…

He cast that thought from his head. Tangle had proved she wasn't ready to go to war. Besides, he needed to focus, he had work to do.

He returned his attention to said work, a young, twenty-something human woman with short, light hazelnut hair and green eyes. She was clad in the standard black track pants and gray T-shirt all cadets wore in the yard and was in the middle of one of the obstacle courses. She had just got over the wall and was making her way across the rope bridge. Once she'd made it across, she just needed to slide down the rope and make a mad dash for the finish line. He watched as she jumped off the bridge and grabbed the rope, sliding down as fast as she could without burning her hands. She landed on the crash pad below, then rolled off before breaking into a sprint toward a small gate.

"And...time!" Scrape called out as she crossed. "40.395 seconds. Not bad, Alexis."

Alexis smiled tiredly as she tried to catch her breath. "Thank you...Colonel, sir..."

"That said, you probably would have finished it in half that time if you hadn't been slowed down by the wall. You might want to practice on that more."

"Yes, sir. I'll remember that, sir."

Scrape put a hand on her shoulder. "Just keep at it. We'll make a Hollow out of you yet."

"Ohhhhhhhh…"

Scrape paused as the sound of singing greeted his ears. A sound that made him frown in contempt. Not because someone was singing, but the contents of the song and the person singing it…

"I don't give a shit / I don't give a fugg / I don't give a shit / I don't give a fugg..."

Scrape scowled as a certain redheaded agent strutted by, bopping his head with hands in his pockets as he sang his cheery, profanity-laden tune.

"Shears…"

"Is something wrong, Colonel?" Alexis asked.

"Alexis, why don't you head back inside?" He narrowed his eyes on GUN's resident troublemaker. "I need to take care of something."

As Alexis headed back inside, Scrape headed over to Shears.

"Now, if I gave a shit / I might just give a fugg / But, I don't give a shit / So, I don't give a..."

"Shears."

"Fugg?"

Shears stopped and looked behind him to see Scrape walking toward him.

"Ahhh, if it ain't my second favorite, non-gorilla/chimp/monkey primate!" he greeted with a smile. "Hiya, Colonel-Corn, heard ya got snubbed."

"What are you doing out here, Shears?" the colonel asked sternly. "The training ground is currently reserved."

"I know, I can see that. I just...well, you heard the song."

There it was, that irreverent, smartassery that made him infamous.

"Agent, you are out of line," Scrape snapped, doing his best to keep his temper in check. "Commander Tower might be willing to put up with your lack of decorum and disregard for authority, but I won't."

Shears' response was to burst out in a fit of manic laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Shears took a moment to wipe a tear from his eye.

"You are. You're the last person to be talking to me about decorum and authority, Colonel, let alone being out of line."

"What are you...?"

"You think you can just waltz up to the Freedom Fighters - who have been doing our job for two fugging years without us - and tell them to ditch half their team? The people who have put their lives on the line for each other. All for what? Some fancy gadgets and a stupid logo?"

He shook his head in disappointment. "Seriously man, you're supposed to be the smart one."

Scrape clenched his fists at Shears' tone, but otherwise kept his cool.

"My daughter is one of them, Shears. I only have her best interests at heart."

"Bullshit," the redhead scoffed. "If you did, maybe you'd have actually been there for her, instead of throwing yourself into your work after-"

"Rory…"

Shears bit his lower lip as Colonel Lemur's expression went from stern and serious to cold and murderous; his eyes promising nothing good if he dared to finish that sentence.

"Okay, low blow," Shears said apologetically. "But you know deep down I'm not wrong about her…and them."

Scrape took a breath, calming down. "Chris and his friends shouldn't be out there risking their lives. They should be going out, having friends, and being like other kids their age at a mall or an arcade. Having normal lives."

"Yeah, well Kat's hope of doing that ended the day the Eggpire came to Chun-nan, and Hope..." Shears shook his head. "Let's face it, the rest of Mobius won't let her have one. Everyone knows she's the granddaughter of that asshat Ivo. She's gonna bear that stigma until she's dust and bones. Add on what Eggy's been doing, and any future she has without the Freedom Fighters will likely end with her in a ditch…" His expression turned serious. "Either by someone else's hand or her own."

"And sending them out to risk their lives fighting killer robots and mad gods is any better?" Scrape asked, smothering the ember of doubt that briefly flared up in his heart.

"It's their choice," Shears said. "And even then, they aren't normal kids. Three of them are super-brains and one is the first human with Chaos powers in...I don't know when. Plus, they have over twenty super-genius, super-powered, legally adult Mobians to back them up. Without helping Sonic, what are they gonna do? Be average Joes who bag groceries for a living?"

Scrape raised an eyebrow at the thought of kids with their background having menial jobs. A thought Shears seemed to sense.

"You know what I mean," he cut in. "The point is, Team Thorndyke has what it takes to fight the fight and so does Tangle."

"Shears…"

"You need to stop smothering her. You can't wrap her in bubble wrap her entire life like she's a fragile, little snowglobe. You do, she's only gonna end up resentful and disappointed."

Scrape grimaced. He saw the truth in Shears' words. The meeting proved that.

"Better a disappointed daughter now than a dead one later. She's not ready, Rory."

Shears sighed in resigned disappointment.

"Then you need a wake-up call," he said, making his way to a nearby bench. "All your little cronies do. In fact…"

Shears walked behind the bench and bent down.

"I even brought a little pick-me-up."

Scrape felt his blood run cold as Shears picked up large thermos. It was about the size of a lemonade pitcher and, more importantly, was made out of material used to retain heat and covered in caution tape and warning stickers, the most prominent being a large square one that read "MB-19!" in big, red letters.

"No…" Scrape whispered. "Rory, you are not going to do what I think you are!"

"Depends," he said as he unscrewed the oversized cap. "Are you thinking I'm gonna down this special blend of coffee and go on a caffeine-fueled rampage?"

He gave the lemur a cocky grin.

"Because I am."

"Dammit!" Scrape pulled out his comm. "This is Colonel Lemur, we have a Code Red+! Repeat. Code Red+! This is not a drill!"

Shears pulled back the thermos, chugging down its hot, beany contents. He drank for about a minute, letting the dark, bitter liquid burn his tongue and throat, even as the smooth, creamy texture soothed it just as quickly.

"Ah!" he let out as he finished, panting as he caught his breath. "Tasty! Way better than that crap Bob usually makes."

"Rory, have you lost your mind!?" Scrape demanded. "Is letting a bunch of kids play heroes worth risking your whole career!?"

"Those kids are heroes, Scrape!" Shears shouted. "And all of Area 99 is gonna see it in three…two…one…"

Shears paused, as nothing happened.

"What the…?" he looked over himself, feeling his head, chest, shoulders, and backside, as if he was checking for something.

"What's going on? Why isn't it…?"

Before he could finish, Shears suddenly froze, his eyes going wide.

"Shears?" Scrape asked, worriedly.

"Oh shit…"

Suddenly, Shears doubled over, clutching his heart as he started dry-heaving.

"Rory!"

Scrape ran over to him, along with several cadets who noticed.

"Get back!" Shears cried out. "All of you get the fugg back and get inside! Fugg, I messed up! I messed up big time!"

"Rory, what are you talking about!?"

"Scrape, get those cadets out of here!" He cried out in pain, curling in on himself. "And call a Code Black!"

Shears' eyes went wide and his expression blank, his brain seemingly shutting down as he passed out.

"Agent Shears!" one of the cadets cried out as they ran to check on him.

"No!" Scrape ordered. "Get back inside, now!"

"Colonel?"

"Get back inside and inform Commander Tower! That's an order!"

Without so much as a second of hesitation, the cadets fled back inside. Soon, only Scrape and Shears were left in the yard.

"This is Colonel Lemur! We have an emergency in the training yard! Code Black! Repeat. Code Black! All Hollow Point Agents prepare for…!"

Before Scrape could continue, something flew past him, knocking the comm out of his hand. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that it had been pinned to a nearby post by some kind of throwing knife…a metal post, and a throwing knife made of carved, black bone.

"Oh no…" Scrape whispered.

Scrape didn't have time to react as a shadow suddenly overtook him, grabbed him by the back of his head, and slammed it into the concrete below.


GUN Archives

Agent Vellum sat at a table, looking over one of several files he had strewn about. He squinted as he read over one of the paragraphs, a finger tracing over the words carefully.

"Agent Vellum?"

Only to be pulled back to reality as Princess Sally entered the room with Sonic in tow.

"Princess, Sonic," the agent greeted.

"Hey," Sonic greeted back.

Vellum sighed. "If you're here to yell at me for General Doberman and Colonel Lemur's proposal..."

"No," Sally cut in. "We actually came here to ask you some questions."

Sonic nodded. "Ever heard of something called the 'Popgun Projects'?"

Vellum froze, his eyes widening behind his sunglasses as he dropped the file he was reading.

"I'm guessing that's a yes?"

Vellum adjusted his sunglasses nervously as he looked up at the two Mobians.

"How in the world did you find out about those?" he paused, holding up a hand to silence them. "Never mind, I don't wanna know."

He began gathering up his documents and putting them away.

"Agent Vellum, please," Sally pleaded. "We need to know."

"No. You don't," the agent started firmly.

"Clearly, we do," Sonic replied. "Especially if you're trying to hide it."

"That's highly classified information." Vellum began returning the files to their proper cabinets. "Extremely sensitive and dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands."

"More of GUN's dirty secrets?" Sally asked. Vellum said nothing.

"Look," Sonic began. "We need to get General Doberman and Tangle's dad off our backs for good and hopefully try and save our alliance with GUN, and that Shears guy told us to…"

Before Sonic could continue, a loud explosion echoed through the base.

"What the…?"

Just then, a communicator went off, prompting Vellum to grab the one at his waist.

"This is Vellum," he replied.

"Shamus!" Agent Stone cried out. "We need you down in the training yard! It's a Code Black!"

"Code Black?" Vellum's eyes widened once more as he realized what that meant. "Dammit, Rory!"

Vellum immediately ran for the door, dropping all the files and leaving the cabinet open.

"Agent Vellum!" Sally called out, but the agent either didn't hear her or didn't care, as he ran out the door and down the hall.

"Well, that's…troubling," Sally said.

"On the plus side, we're all alone and Vellum left the file cabinets open," Sonic said, motioning to said cabinets and files, sprinting over to them and searching through them at high speed.

"Alright…ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO…P! PaPePhPiPnPo…aha!"

Sonic reached into the cabinet and pulled out a hefty file marked "Popgun Projects. Highly Classified."

"One highly classified, government project file, hold the onions," he said as he set it down on the table. "Let's make some popcorn and read it."

Sally sighed. "You're lucky we need this information or I would be seriously letting you have it right now, Sonic."

Taking a seat beside him, she opened up the file and began reading.

"Guardians of the United Nations Research Project: Popgun," she read. "Project Date…that's one-hundred-fifty years ago!"

That threw Sonic for a loop. "Hold on, a hundred-fifty!?"

"That's what it says," Sally replied. "GUN has been around as long as the Federation has, so it only makes sense."

"Still…"

"Let's keep going." Sally resumed looking over the file. As she did, her eyes widened. "Oh Aurora… this… this is…"

Sonic raised an eyebrow in concern, preparing to ask what was wrong, when Sally held up the file for him to look at. Upon seeing it, his expression matched hers.

"Whoa…" he whispered. "That's…"

"Yes…" Sally massages her temples. "This…This is…"

"We gotta find the others," Sonic said. "C'mon!"

With that, the two raced off, taking the file with them.


Hallways

Hope and Shard made their way to Dr. Bennett's lab, talking amongst themselves as they did.

"So, I've been thinking..." Shard began. "How many bytes of data does Nicole's soul file take up? Regular AIs are well within the petabyte range, and she's truly sentient."

Hope tapped her chin in thought. "Honestly… The number is unquantifiable. Her handheld is powered by Power Rings, so that should tell you something."

"Incredible…" Shard mused. "Sally's handheld has to be made of Megatal or something for it to not overload...but, it wasn't invented until a few years ago."

"She defies logic and expectations. Though apparently the handheld is based on Ancient technology."

"Given everything you just said, it'd have to be. Though that just raises further..."

"Dammit Sarah, have you lost your mind!?"

Hope and Shard leaped at the sound of General Doberman's screaming.

"What the!?" Shard exclaimed.

Hope shushed him, then they carefully approached Dr. Bennett's lab. They looked through the door crack, spying the Brigadier General standing over the scientist. The former looked utterly enraged while the latter was somewhat cowed.

"General, please, I know this is...highly unorthodox..."

" Unorthodox!? This isn't unorthodox! This is..." Sperry sputtered indignantly. "Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you!? You said you were building a weapon! Instead, I find you using GUN resources to make... this! "

She gestured to the culture tank in the corner of the room. Unfortunately, neither Shard nor Hope were in a good position to see what was in it.

"Project Blade is a weapon, Brigadier General," Sarah replied. "A bioroid. A-"

"An artificial lifeform made of synthetic organic materials and DNA, I read the magazines. And not the point! You create a living being from scratch to be a weapon of war?! And not only that… You made it a fourteen-year old girl!?"

"The intent is that upon completion, Blade gets to know the people she fights with and protects. It's her choice."

"Is it?" Sperry glares at Sarah, who sweated a little. "Because I'm very concerned how you intend to explain to the military brass that the weapon they invested all that money in may decide she doesn't want to fight."

Sarah steeled herself. "It's her choice. Just as it's Hope and her friends' choice to work with the Knothole Freedom Fighters and GUN."

"Hasn't enough of Mobian history been fugged up by the Kintobors as is? Why would you encourage Hope to follow her grandfather's path?!"

Hope recoiled at that, fists clenching. But what Sarah said next caught her attention.

"Now you listen to me, Sperry! Hope is nothing like Ivo Kintobor, alright?! Never compare her to that psychopath again!"

"Then why is everybody so intent on letting her end up like him? She shouldn't be here! She's a child! The battlefield is no place for children! Something everyone but Scrape and I seem to have forgotten! Hope should be out having fun! Being like other girls her age and having a normal life! The scariest thing she should be dealing with are her college exams!"

"You and I both know that kind of life was never in the cards for her!" There was a moment of silence as Sarah worked to get herself under control. "She already has friends who value and support her, not to mention the fact that she's helped save the world on countless occasions. This is by far the best life she could ask for."

"She deserves a normal life," Sperry argued, sounding like a broken record.

"Normal life? Never mind her intelligence, the stigma of being a Kintobor means not one place on Mobius will let that happen! At least with the Freedom Fighters, she can do something productive with people who love and care for her the way she is!"

"She doesn't need to fight to do that. Doesn't GUN have enough young blood on its hands?"

That grabbed Hope and Shard's attention, especially with how Sarah replied.

"That's low, Sperry."

"But no less true."

"Maybe, but Hope is different. All of them are different. Stop lingering on the past."

Sperry shook her head, not swayed in the slightest.

"You can preach about freedom of choice and individual ability all you want, Sarah, but as long as I'm a Brigadier General, no child is going to spend one second on the battlefield." Sperry grimaced. "I owe it to them."

The doberman took a breath, clearly exhausted physically and mentally.

"I have to go. We'll discuss the future of your...project later."

Sperry made her way to the door, prompting Hope and Shard to hide behind a corner. Thankfully, she passed by, not even noticing them. Once she was gone, the duo peeked into Sarah's lab.

"Dr. Bennett?" Shard called out.

Sarah sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Hey Shard. Come on in. You too, Hope." They did so. "I take it you overheard my little chat with the Brigadier General?"

"Yeah," Hope confirmed.

"She sounded really upset," Shard remarked.

"That's putting it mildly. She came in for a status update on one of my projects and was...very displeased with what I was making."

"What are you making?" Shard questioned.

"Let me show you." Sarah motioned them toward the culture tank. They walked over and gasped at the sight of what appeared to be a fourteen-year-old girl floating in the fluid. She had long blonde hair with red highlights and was wearing a white tube top and shorts.

"Aurora..." Hope let out in shock.

"Hope, Shard," Dr. Bennett addressed. "Meet Project Blade. GUN's first fully autonomous Anti-Eggtech weapon."

"Holy…"

Hope perked in realization. "This… this is what you needed the Project Shadow files for, isn't it?"

Dr. Bennet nodded. "Yes. I had to find a sufficient substitute for Black Arm DNA, but I managed to find one with Chao. Their adaptability is on par with the Black Arms, if not better."

"Where did you get Chao DNA?" Shard questioned.

As if to answer, Umbra came flying into the room, holding out a small hairbrush while chirping expectantly. With a laugh, Sarah reached out and took the Chao in her lap, beginning to brush its spine-like head.

"Quite easily."

Hope blinked. "You got it from Umbra?"

"Now, now, it was nothing invasive or harmful. I just took a few quills here and there." She held up the brush, which had a few such quills sticking out of it. "See? No harm at all."

"Alright, then." It was then that Hope remembered why they were there. "Oh right! I almost forgot the file!"

Hope reached into the pocket of her overalls and pulled out the data-card Shears gave her.

"Here, Agent Shears asked us to give this to you."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Sarah took the data-card. "I've needed this for a while now, I…oh come on!"

She scowled as she looked over the card, which had a note attached to it that said the following:

"To Saraben, Here's the shit you needed. You owe me big. Love, Rory."

"Dammit, Rory," she muttered under her breath. "He knows I hate that nickname."

"What is it anyhow?" Shard asked.

Remembering who was here, Sarah calmed down.

"The final piece I need to complete Project Blade," she explained, peeling the note off and tossing it in her wastebasket. "Specifically, her combat and mind data."

"Mind...data?" Shard asked, raising an electronic eyebrow.

"It's a series of psychological profiles and brain scans." the doctor motioned toward the culture tank's computers. "The machine basically feeds her an education and helps her psychological development. Without it, she'd be a blank slate."

"So, why did Agent Shears have it?" Hope asked.

Bennett paused. "Well...I...may have needed him to get it from the Brigadier General's office before she...Had it destroyed."

The two Freedom Fighters went bug-eyed at what they'd just heard.

"Wait, what?" Hope asked.

"You had Shears steal them for you!?"

"Shhh! Not so loud!" Sarah whispered. She headed for the door, making sure nobody was around to hear that. Once she was certain, she closed it. "Yes… I asked Shears to swipe the file from Sperry, along with several other cards and files she'd marked for destruction."

"You're kidding," Hope let out.

Shard blinked, trying to make sense of what he had just heard. "Doc, why would you do that?"

"As I told you, Brigadier General Doberman was going to destroy them, and I needed this file to complete Project Blade."

"What about the other files?"

"The other files contain valuable data that could help us battle the Empire. Unfortunately, the general doesn't see it that way. Says that it needs to be destroyed for 'the good of the organization and the Federation as a whole'."

"What kind of data are you talking about?" Hope asked.

Sarah paused, looking uncertain about if she should speak. Seeing her hesitance, Shard spoke up.

"Does it have anything to do with the Popgun Projects?"

Sarah froze, the color draining from her face. "H-How do you know...?"

"Agent Shears told us about them," Hope replied.

Sarah sighed in exasperation. "Of course he did. Dammit, Rory..."

"Doc, what are the Popgun Projects?" Shard asked. "They sound pretty important if they make you this uncomfortable."

Hope's brow furrowed. "Would it... have something to do with...child soldiers?"

Sarah froze again as the little color she had left washed away completely. Realizing she'd been found out, she slumped over in her chair and sighed.

"Listen to me very carefully you two..." she began, her voice completely serious. "What I'm about to tell you is one of GUN's darkest and most disturbing secrets."

"I thought that was Shadow?" Shard asked.

"I thought so too," Hope added.

"Shadow and the ARK Purge was horrific, yes...But this..." Sarah massaged her temples. "Take a seat, you two. You're not going to be able to stand up after this."

Hope and Shard looked at each other worriedly, but did as they were told. Once they were seated, Dr. Bennett took a deep breath, steeling her nerves.

"Alright...To start off, yes, Hope, you're right. The Popgun Projects were all about child soldiers. It's how they got their name. From little kids playing soldier with popguns."

Sarah's response shocked Hope and Shard.

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of," Hope said.

"Tell us everything," Shard requested.

Bennett nodded, beginning her tale.

"GUN first began the Projects one-hundred-fifty years ago. Their goal was to create powerful soldiers who were completely and utterly loyal to the United Federation, as well as weapons and countermeasures against the 'Beastmen Hordes'."

Hope grimaced at the reminder.

"Anti-Mobian plans..."

Sarah nodded again.

"The Projects consisted of three divisions..." she held up three fingers to emphasize her point. "The first was Project Wunderkind, a scouting initiative meant to find children who displayed above average athletic and intellectual abilities and put them to work. In fact, the 'Gifted Program' that lets you get out of school to go on missions? That's a remnant of the old Wunderkind System."

"Wait, seriously?" Hope rubbed her face, shocked at the revelation. "I never realized…"

"It's also how your Uncle Colin became a general at the tender age of nineteen, and how Julian got his job with Dr. Morgan."

Hope was at a loss for words. "Aurora…"

"What about the other two projects?" Shard cut in.

"The second was Project Sophia," Sarah continued. "Nearly all the documents, researchers, and test subjects…vanished, so details of it are sketchy. All we know is that it was dedicated to studying the brain and unlocking its full potential. However, what little we have on it suggests it to be somewhat similar to how Nicole was created."

She grimaced in disgust.

"Albeit with much... cruder methods. Perhaps such information is better lost."

"And the third?" Hope asked uneasily.

Sarah sighed loudly, as if simply mustering the answer was a Herculean feat.

"Project Menagerie," she let out. "The final and easily the most twisted and horrible of them all..."

Shard grimaced. "What could be worse than the first two?"


In Another Part of Area 99…

Tails, Knuckles, Tangle, and the rest of Team Thorndyke looked on in horror as Sonic and Sally showed them the file they found.

"Mo…Mo…Mobian slave soldiers...!?" Tails screamed in disbelief and horror.

"I'm gonna be sick…" Kat let out as she covered her mouth.

"This..." Chris paused, barely able to breathe. "This explains everything..."

"I-It can't be…" Tangle let out. "Sally...please tell me you're joking..."

Sally shook her head. "I wish, Tangle, but that's what it says, plain as ink. For over a century, GUN had been abducting Mobian children as young as newborns from their families and training them to be living weapons as soon as they were old enough to walk."

"Treated like animals," Keith whispered. "Trained to hunt their own kind…"

Kat fell to her knees and threw up.

"Just...just like what we do with...Mobini..." she let out.

"Wait…" Knuckles cut in. "If they'd been doing that for over a century, how the hell did nobody notice!? Even with all of GUN's spy-stuff, all those kidnappings would've had to get some kind of attention."

"Not all of them were abducted..." Sonic spoke up. "Every few years, whenever a generation of these soldiers came of age, they would take the strongest, toughest, and most obedient, and..." He gagged a little before continuing. "Breed them."

Everyone in the room looked ready to pass out from pure terror.

Tangle cleared her throat nervously. "When…you say 'breed'..."

"Exactly as it sounds, Tangle. They'd pair them off with the best partners, shoot them up with drug cocktails, and make'em…" Sonic shuddered in disgust, "…make babies together…"

"And those children would go through the same process their parents did," Sally continued. "And so on, and so on for one-and-a-half centuries. Until after the Great War."

"What happened to those soldiers after the war?" Chris asked, dreading the answer.

"Well, they were given their freedom," Sally replied. "At least... those that could be found."

Kat threw up again, doubled over on the floor as she panted and coughed.

"Kat…" Keith asked worriedly. Do you need to...?"

"No." She just held up her hand, shaking her head. "Keep going."

"Kat, are you sure?" Knuckles asked. "This is..."

"Just… Get it over with…"

The others paused, wondering if they even should keep going. Finally, Sally took a breath and said, "Alright...let's go…"

She turned the page.

"The surviving 'Beast Troopers' as they called them were given their freedom, but it was little consolation. Most of them couldn't function in the outside world, having been isolated and treated like Mobini. And even then, many were regarded with suspicion and mistrust by their fellow Mobians for their actions in the war. Many of them either went wild or...disappeared."

"Call it like it is, Sally," Keith said, grimacing as he did. "They were killed."

Sally nodded. "By their old handlers or themselves."

That time, Knuckles managed to get Kat a trash can.

"There is some good news though..." Sonic piped up, smiling weakly. "A few of them chose to stay with GUN and went on to become highly respected soldiers."

"I think I know where this is going," Tangle cut in. "One of them was Brigadier General Sperry."

"Good girl, Lemur."

Everyone perked and turned toward the entrance to see Sperry standing in the doorway, looking grim. She approached the group.

"You alright, Winters?" she asked, handing Kat a handkerchief and a bottle of water. "Obvious question, but…"

"No…" the girl replied, taking a moment to wipe her mouth. "Not really…Gaia…"

"Good…" Sperry put a hand on her shoulder. "That means you're still sane."

"General Doberman..."

Sperry turned to Sally, who was giving her a sympathetic look.

"Princess..." Sperry looked down, seeing the file in her hands. "I see you decided to check out a book. How was it?"

"Enlightening..." Sally replied.

"Yeah...I imagine." Sperry reached for the file. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just be taking that and…"

Sally pulled away, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't let you do that."

"Princess…"

Sally turned the front of the file toward her, revealing a large stamp marked "DESTROY".

"You sent Vellum to the archives to gather these files. To destroy them."

Sperry said nothing, but her scowl spoke volumes.

"I figured."

"General…how could you?" Tangle asked.

"It has to be done, Lemur," Sperry said. "I'm doing this for the sake of my fellow Beast Troopers."

"But why? They deserve to be remembered."

"As what?" the General demanded. "Slaves? Monsters?"

"Victims," Sally said.

"Princess… I don't think you understand what you're holding." Sperry glared at the papers in the squirrel's hands. "That file is an abomination. An account of some of the most horrific actions committed against humanity and Mobiankind. What happened on the ARK is child's play compared to that."

Sperry held out her hand.

"Now, give it to me. This part of GUN's history that needs to be wiped from memory."

"There's a saying that I think you need to keep in mind," Chris chimed in. "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it."

Sperry turned to Chris, scowling at him. "So what do you propose we do with this information, Thorndyke? Reveal it? Do you think Commander Tower would've done that sooner if he could?"

"Some things can't be broadcast…" Kat cut in, slowly pulling herself off the floor. "It's why the massacre of my village isn't covered on big news reports or History Channel documentaries. These projects…"

"In the wrong hands, they could easily start a second Great War," Tails finished.

"All the more reason to erase them!" Sperry shouted. "The Popgun Projects are some of the worst atrocities to ever be committed! They could undo everything we've worked to build! Every last trace of them must be wiped off the face of Mobius!"

"Even you?"

Sperry paused, turning to Keith. While she had been ranting, the boy had walked over to Sally and pulled a few scraps of paper from the file and began reading them.

"Sperry Doberman. Cadet No. 21924. Ninety-fifth percentile for speed and tracking. Eightieth for strength. Seventy-four confirmed kills, fifty-three successful missions, Eligible for the Adam Initiative."

Sperry's eyes widened. "No…"

He pulled out another page and began reading it. "Gordon Doberman. Cadet No. 89186. Ninety-seventh percentile for speed, ninety-second for strength, eighty-fourth for tracking, eighty-two confirmed kills, fifty-six successful missions…Eligible for the Adam Initiative."

"Stop…" Sperry whispered, becoming visibly distraught.

But Keith didn't. He pulled out a third page and once again read.

"Adam Initiative Log 503. Subjects Sperry and Gordon Doberman have been deemed ideal partners. Both have been administered with serum ER05 and sealed in the breeding chamber."

"Please…stop…" Sperry begged, her voice sounding less authoritative and more desperate.

"Breeding Attempt: Success," Keith grimaced, starting to look a little uncomfortable himself. "Subject Sperry has conceived. Estimated litter size…" He swallowed nervously. "Five to seven pups…"

Sperry looked ready to have a heart attack, as did the others. Still, Keith kept going.

"Subject Gordon will be returned to duty, while Subject Sperry will be sent to Dr. Llorona for-"

"Goddamn you, STOP IT!"

Suddenly, Sperry lashed out, her claws catching Keith across the face, knocking him down and sending his glasses flying. As soon as he hit the ground, she snapped back to reality and saw what she had done.

"Aurora…" she whispered in horror.

Despite his injuries, Keith didn't even so much as flinch. He simply pulled a Power Ring from his jacket, easily healing the scratches.

"General," he began. "If everything about this project needs to be erased, does that include your family?"

"I…" Sperry sputtered in horror as she fell to her knees. "I…I...don't..."

"Sperry," Chris said, walking over to her. "We're not you and we're not like any of the people in this file."

"Maybe things would have been different if Eggman never showed up," Kat continued. "But he did, and we have our reasons for wanting to fight. Just like you have yours for staying with GUN."

Sperry shook her head. "It...It doesn't matter. I was literally born and raised to fight. Just like my parents, and their parents, and their parents before them. Nobody should have to go through what I or any of the other Beast Troopers have been through. Children shouldn't have to fight. That's our job."

"You're not wrong," Tangle said. "But…if you try to tell us what we can or can't do, how does that make you any different from them?"

She gestured to the files, prompting Sperry to look at them, her eyes turning toward her and Gordon's pages.

"Even so…" she let out, trying to fight back tears. "I can't… I can't let this happen. I can't let you end up like my babies. Our babies..."

"General..." Tails let out.

"I couldn't save them…" Sperry said, her breath hitching. "I didn't get to see them…didn't even get to hold them. I don't even know if they're alive...they don't even have files."

Kat looked like she might throw up again.

"I couldn't save them, but I can save others. So, please..."

She looked right at the Freedom Fighters, her decorum hanging by a thread and tears in her eyes.

"I am begging you. Leave the Freedom Fighters. Leave GUN. Live whatever normal lives you can. This isn't your war..."

Before the argument could continue, there was a loud bang, followed by a violent shaking and the blare of sirens.

"The hell!? What's going on!?" Sonic shouted.

Just then, the intercom went off.

"ATTENTION! CODE BLACK! ALL HANDS TO THE TRAINING YARD! REPEAT! CODE BLACK! ALL HANDS TO THE TRAINING YARD!"

"Code Black?" Knuckles asked.

"Wait, Rory told us to go to the training yard when he laid out his plan!" Tangle said.

"Wait, Shears!? Plan!?" Sperry demanded.

"Oops!" Tangle yelped, covering her mouth.

"What did he tell you!?" she screeched. "Was he the one who put you up to all this?!"

"Whoa, easy there!" Sonic said, holding up his hands defensively.

"Answer me, Hedgehog!"

Sperry spun on Sonic, causing him to nearly fall over.

"W-Well, he sent Hope and Shard to Doc Bennet, then me and Sal to the file room."

"And he told us to bring all our gear to the training hall," Chris recalled.

"What else!?" Sperry asked. "Did he say anything else!?"

"Well…" Kat said, trying to remember everything he told them. "He said something about seeing a man about a cappuccino?"

Sperry's eyes widened in horror.

"Fugg!" she shouted as she bolted for the exit.

"General, wait!" Tangle called out, going after her.

"We'd better go too," Sally said.

"Good idea," Sonic concurred. "C'mon guys!"

And with that, they ran to join them.


Author's Note:

Word from WindstarOsprey: Yeesh...Sperry's backstory is pretty dark. I apologize for any nightmares, dear readers.

Next time, Sonic and the others deal with the Code Black!

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Alexis - Laura Bailey (Lucina in Fire Emblem Awakening, Wonder Woman in Justice League × RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen Part Two, Abby in The Last of Us Part II, Kid Trunks in Dragon Ball Z, Emily/Glitter Lucky in Glitter Force, Tohru Honda in Fruits Basket, Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist, Maka Albarn in Soul Eater, Rayne in BloodRayne, Kira Carsen in Star Wars: The Old Republic, Kainé in Nier, Jaina Proudmoore in World of Warcraft, Rise Kujikawa in Persona 4, Chun-Li in Street Fighter, Serah Farron in Final Fantasy XIII, Serana in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dawnguard, Oriana Lawson in Mass Effect 3, Abigail "Fetch" Walker in Infamous Second Son, Fiona in Tales from the Borderlands, Nadine Ross in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Kait Diaz in Gears of War, Catwoman in Batman: The Telltale Series, Supergirl in Injustice 2, Mary Jane Watson in Insomniac Games' Spider-Man series)

Please R&R. Until next time!