- Chapter 12 -

Freedom Fighters Assemble!

Mobotropolis, Royal Hills Zone

After freeing the encapsulated Mobians in the Scrap Brain Zone, Sonic and Longclaw made the trek back through each Zone they had passed through. As they went through, virtually everyone waved happily while cheering Sonic on. When they finally got back to Mobotropolis, a sizable crowd was waiting, all of them waving blue banners and cheering Sonic's name. He looked around, more than a little surprised by all of the adoration he was receiving.

'What's all this for?" he asked.

Sally approached with a smile. "For you, of course. People all over South Island have been talking about how much you helped them. You're a hero, Sonic!"

"A hero?" Sonic repeated. "Me?" A flash of the dark monster flickered through his mind for a brief moment, making him flinch. "I'm no hero, Sally."

Longclaw placed a wing on his shoulder.

"I know what you're thinking," she told him. "But you freed all the captive Mobians, liberated Mobotropolis, thwarted Robotnik's evil plot. All these people owe their safety and prosperity to your actions."

"I was just trying to stop him," Sonic insisted. "I was doing what anyone else would've done."

"Oh, Sonic…" Sally took his hand. "Come on. Follow me."

Sonic looked at Longclaw, who just nodded.

"Go with her, Sonic," she assured. "We'll have plenty of time to talk later."

Sally pulled Sonic along, glancing back at him. She could see the pain in his eyes, which made her heart sink. She brought him into a secluded area, where she gave his hand a squeeze.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"No, not really,"

Sitting down, Sonic outlined what had happened at the Scrap Brain Zone. By the end, Sally was left gaping in shock.

"Now you see why I'm no hero?" Sonic questioned. "A hero wouldn't try to kill someone, even a bad guy like Robotnik, in a psychotic rage. And I just keep thinking: did the Chaos Emeralds influence me on their own... or bring out something that was already there?"

Sally pulled him forward, hugging him.

"Listen to me, Sonic. When all this started, your first thought was to help people. You didn't even hesitate to put yourself in harm's way to protect the innocent. Would a monster do that?"

"No…" Sonic let out.

"Exactly." Sally held him out at arm's length. "You're not a monster, Sonic. What happened in the Scrap Brain Zone wasn't you, and even if it was, you still stopped. And the fact that you're disgusted by your actions is proof enough that you're not a bad person. Evil doesn't second-guess itself. It does what it wants and thinks nothing of the consequences."

Sonic let that sink in, then put his hands on top of hers.

"Thanks, Sal," he said gratefully. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."

"Anytime," Sally stood up. "Now c'mon. You have a victory party to attend."

With a smile, Sonic let her lead him back out into the crowd.

"Alright, party people," he declared. " Let's do it to it!"

Cheers sounded, and the citizens of Mobotropolis all began celebrating, partying and dancing into the night.

-X-

Once things died down, Sonic went home and talked to his parents, explaining everything.

"So Robotnik did revive Chuck's old project…" Jules mused.

"Yeah…" Sonic confirmed. "And he…"

His fists clench, and he couldn't finish. Bernie took her son's hands.

"Oh Sonic…" she managed.

After a minute, Sonic managed to compose himself, looking up.

"What happened to Uncle Chuck sucks. I won't deny that," he began. "But one way or another, I'm gonna get him back."

"We know you will," Jules told him. "And we'll be with you every step of the way."

Sonic nodded, standing up and looking out the window.

"I've seen enough movies and read enough comics to know one setback won't stop Robotnik for good," he mused. "He'll be back sooner or later. And when he does… I'm gonna need some backup."

Bernie smiled. "Well then, maybe you should ask Sally what she's been working on since you left."

Sonic raised an eyebrow in confusion.

-X-

At Castle Acorn, Sally slapped a folder down on the table before Sonic, bearing the crest of the Acorn family and the words "Freedom Fighters".

"I came up with this idea after the Mobotropolis attack," she explained. "The Freedom Fighters Initiative. Bring together a group of remarkable people to defend the planet against Robotnik and the like."

"I'm liking the sound of that," Sonic admitted, flipping through the file. "Anyone of interest so far?"

"Yeah," Sally confirmed. "Some of whom you may even recognize."

At that moment, Sonic turned the page, stopping short at the picture of a yellow-furred Mobian fox.

"Tails?" he let out, looking up at her.

"He was the first to sign on," Sally replied. "You want a way to save your uncle Chuck, right? With Tails' brain, we have a good chance of finding a way to cure him."

Sonic nodded. "I'd have Tails watching my back any day. Who else we got?"

He turned the page once more, seeing a purple-skinned walrus.

"Rotor Walrus," Sally explained. "Another mechanics expert. He's part of the Walrus Herd up in Artika."

"Can never have too much genius, can you?" Sonic deadpanned.

"The key to a successful team is brains and brawn," Sally defended. "The full package."

Sonic nodded at that, turning the page a second time to reveal a blond-haired coyote. He almost immediately dropped the file.

"Antoine?" he asked. "That pompous windbag? Kinda scraping the bottom of the barrel, aren't you, Sal?"

"For your information, Antoine's matured quite a bit since we were kids," Sally informed him. "General Armand made sure to teach him discipline and courage."

Sonic recognized the name, letting out a whistle.

"Say no more," he decided.

The next two pages were the last ones: Johnny Lightfoot and Porker Lewis.

"Okay, I get Johnny," he remarked. "He's a good fighter. But why Porker?"

"Your uncle Chuck and Dr. Kintobor made the Roboticizer," Sally pointed out. "They were some of the greatest minds on Mobius. So we need some more great minds to go over their research and hopefully whip up a De-Roboticizer."

Sonic blinked, looking up. "De-Roboticizer… then… we can reverse the process?"

"Not yet," Sally placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "But we will."

Unknown Location

Meanwhile, in a secret compound, Robotnik was sitting in a makeshift throne, his broken hand in a cast while Uncle Chuck stood off to the side.

"My most powerful machine yet... and he brushed it aside like a fly," he mused. "That hedgehog will definitely prove to be a thorn in my side."

Uncle Chuck remained silent and still, not giving any input.

"No matter," Robotnik went on. "He may have won the battle, but the war has just begun."

"Dr. Robotnik," Uncle Chuck said at last, getting his attention. "May I offer a suggestion?"

"Oh, so you can talk," Robotnik remarked. "Very well. I may as well hear you out."

"To achieve your ambitions, you will require some help," Chuck insisted. "Especially if Princess Sally intends to inform Sonic of her plan."

"Plan?" Robotnik asked. "What plan?"

"The Freedom Fighters Initiative," Chuck replied. "The formation of a group of talented individuals to combat you. She informed me of such an intent before I came to you."

At that news, Robotnik stood up, pacing.

"I had enough trouble with one superpowered creature," he mused. "Maybe you're on to something."

"Thank you, Doctor," Chuck said politely.

"I can easily make my own minions," Robotnik went on. "But as much as I loathe to admit it, I'll need more. Diabolical masterminds almost as smart as me." He smirked. "And I think I know just who to call on."

With that, Robotnik went over to a vid-phone, pressing a button…

Mobotropolis, Royal Hills Zone

Within a tall wooden barn, behind a modest brick house, a fox kit worked diligently on a red biplane. This was Miles "Tails" Prower, Sonic's best friend and surrogate younger brother.

Tails was a ten-year-old Mobian fox who had yellow-orange fur with white fur around his muzzle and torso, blue eyes, and wore a dark orange B3 bomber jacket over a blue dress shirt, matching pants, and a pair of aviator goggles on his forehead, along with white gloves and shoes that were red from the heel to the middle, and white from the middle to the toe with gray soles. His most distinguishing feature, however, was his unique mutation; he had two tails instead of one, hence his nickname. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"It's open!" he called out.

The door opened, and in walked Sonic.

"Yo, Tails," he greeted. "Long time no see."

Tails popped out from under the plane, brightening considerably.

"Sonic!" he cheered. "You're back!"

Sonic went over, giving the fox a fist bump.

"Good to see you too, squirt," he said before looking over the plane. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Tails waved a hand, dismissing it. "Nah. Just putting the finishing touches on the Tornado."

"Looking good," Sonic complimented.

"It's been our pet project for the past three years," Tails recalled. "I'd hope so."

After a minute, he sighed, turning to Sonic. "I... heard about what happened. I'm so sorry about your uncle Chuck. He was a good man."

Sonic nodded solemnly. "One of the best. But we're gonna get him back, buddy. One day."

"If there's anything I can do to help, you just say the word," Tails promised.

Sonic grinned. "Funny you mentioned that. I'm here to talk to you about Sally's Freedom Fighters Initiative."

Tails perked, his twin tails standing up straight. "You mean... my application got accepted?"

"You bet it did," Sonic confirmed.

Tails cheered, jumping into the air.

"I won't let you down, Sonic!" he vowed. "I promise!"

-X-

Sonic's next stop was Castle Acorn. As he headed to the training yard, he heard the sound of a sword clashing, and entered to see a figure using a sabre on multiple training dummies. This was Antoine D'Coolette, son of General Armand D'Coolette.

Antoine was a Mobian coyote with mainly brown fur with beige fur on his face, around his eyes, and around his belly, with blue eyes and combed blonde hair. For attire, he wore the usual Royal Army uniform, a blue jacket with red trim, gold pads on the shoulders, matching pants, and red boots. Overtop his coat were two sword straps that connected on his chest, forming a "X"-shape, and a red-and-white belt. After a minute, he turned, seeing Sonic casually leaning against the wall watching.

"Ze Princess told me you would be zis way," he remarked, his voice thick with a French accent. "But how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see Sal was telling the truth about you taking a level or two in badass," Sonic replied.

"Ah, your compliment warms my heart," Antoine said, sheathing his sword. "I couldn't just stand by and let Robotnik ruin our home. Not vhen I could be doing something about it!" He looked at Sonic sympathetically. "Especially after the horrible fate that befell Sir Charles at his hands."

"Well, we finally agree on something, Ant," Sonic mused.

"So, my speedy friend, what brings you to my humble training session?" Antoine questioned.

"The Freedom Fighters Initiative," Sonic answered. "Are you in or out?"

"In," Antoine confirmed. "Absolutely in. I have devoted much time to perfecting my sword techniques. To this end, I have been observing your fighting style, Sonic."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Trying to copy my moves, eh?"

Antoine gasped, putting a hand to his chest.

"Copy?" he repeated. "You wound me, Sonic. No, no, no, I am improving on your moves. See for yourself."

After a minute, Sonic shrugged. "Okay, you got my attention. Let's see what you got."

Antoine took a step back, crouching down before leaping up and curling into a ball like Sonic, except he kept his sword outstretched, essentially turning himself into a buzzsaw. He easily slashed through a training dummy before landing badly, his sword flying out of his hands and across the room; Sonic threw himself to the ground, narrowly avoiding getting impaled through the skull. Antoine got up, chuckling nervously as Sonic also got up, unamused.

"That's what you call improving on my moves?" he demanded. "You almost killed me, dude!"

Antoine blushed hard, letting out an awkward cough. "It's still, how you say, a work in progress."

"Quite a bit of work in progress," Sonic deadpanned before softening. "Still, not bad."

"I will continue my training until the technique is perfect," Antoine vowed. "Mark my words, I will have Robotnik running in terror in no time."

Sonic nodded. "I'll take your word for it."

-X-

Sonic's next stop was the town center, where he came across Porker and Johnny. The two looked up at his arrival.

"Sonic!" Johnny high-fived him. "Good to see you, man."

"I take it you're here 'cause of Princess Sally's Freedom Fighter plan?" Porker asked.

"Yep," Sonic nodded. "We could really use both of you. Especially you, Porker. I'm personally counting on you."

"Sally told me about the Roboticizer," Porker recalled. "You have my word I'll do what I can to find a way to reverse it."

Sonic smiled. "I know you will. Now, just one more for a full set."

-X-

At Sally's direction, Sonic headed for a mechanic shop. There, he found a walrus looking over the different gadgets and equipment.

"Rotor Walrus, I presume?" he called.

The walrus turned around. "That's me. And you must be Sonic. Nice to finally meet you."

Sonic took in Rotor's appearance. He was a tall, chubby Mobian walrus with violet fur with darker toes and fingers, peach skin on his front torso and muzzle, large tusks, and green eyes. For attire, he wore a set of black mechanic coveralls under a black leather jacket with black and white shoes, yellow socks; yellow fingerless gloves, a backwards yellow cap, and a green bandolier-like tool belt. He held out a hand, which Sonic shook.

"Got good news for ya," Sonic told him. "You've been accepted into the Freedom Fighters Initiative."

"Really?" Rotor asked. "That's great!"

"Princess Sally thinks your brains will be a big help in fighting Robotnik," Sonic explained. "That's good enough for me."

"You can count on me," Rotor vowed. "I'll do everything I can to help the Freedom Fighters."

Knothole Village

Later, the assembled Freedom Fighters were led deep within the Great Forest, to an above ground village built into harmony with nature. Nearby was a lake, from which a small Power Ring emerged. Sonic quickly grabbed it, looking it over.

"Everyone, welcome to Knothole Village," Sally told them. " It's been used as a nature retreat for the Kingdom of Acorn for years. My father also used it as a sanctuary for refugees and the like during the Great War. Now, it's the base of operations for the Freedom Fighters."

"Why not make it back in Mobotropolis?" Tails asked.

"Because Dr. Robotnik knows where that is," Sally replied. "It'd make it an even bigger target. Knothole is a secluded area, hidden in the forest and by a network of caves. Even we had trouble finding this place."

"This makes it the ideal location, especially since neither Julian nor Robotnik knew about it." Porker realized.

"Exactly," Sally confirmed.

Sonic took the opportunity to step forward.

"I'm not too good at these kinda things, but I just wanna say, I'm happy you guys are on board with this," he told them. "As hard as I tried, I still needed Longclaw to bail me out during the fight with Robotnik, and wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for that. Which is part of the reason I agreed to Sally's initiative; I can't keep going it alone. I'm strong, but that's not gonna be enough. I need something more than me. Someone to help push me to victory. So, let's see what we Freedom Fighters can do."

He held out a hand. "So, you game?"

Everyone placed their hands on top of his, grinning ear to ear.

"All for one…" Sonic began.

"And one for all," Sally concluded.

They threw their hands into the air. "Freedom Fighters forever!"

Back at his secret compound, Robotnik had finished making his calls and was setting out multiple blueprints. After a few minutes, the door opened, and two figures entered. These were the associates he had called, Grimer Wormtongue and Robotnik's nephew, Colin Kintobor Jr., aka Snively.

Grimer was one of the many monsters that dwelled in the Misery Zone of Mobius, a goblin-like creature with green skin, red eyes, and a balding head with what hair he had fashioned into green spikes, donned in a purple dress suit and pants with a black bow tie and white lab coat on top. Snively, meanwhile, was a short fair-skinned human with grayish blue eyes and a mere six hairs on his head, dressed in a green sweatshirt with a light green collar, light green pants, a brown belt, and brown shoes. The minute Grimer saw Robotnik, he walked over to him, shaking his good hand.

"Julian!" he greeted him happily. "So good to see you. How have you been?"

"Julian is dead, my friend," Robotnik reminded him. "You can call me Ivo Robotnik... and as you can see, I'm a lot happier."

"Oh, my apologies," Grimer replied. "It won't happen again, I promise."

"So…" Snively mused, "the rumors were true. You were transformed. I thought something was fishy when you called me, Uncle. Especially after you said I had burned all my bridges and you were done trying to help me."

"The old Julian was a soft-hearted wimp," Robotnik said. "He didn't see you for what you really were, Snively. You're mean. You're malicious. You're a trickster and a user." He grinned. "You're my kind of rotten."

Snively grinned himself. "Happy to be of service. How can I help, uncle?"

"I am building a mighty empire to conquer Mobius," Robotnik explained. "Help me, and you both will get positions of power in the new world."

"I'm in," Snively told him.

"I will happily aid you in your endeavors," Grimer agreed.

"Excellent," Robotnik declared. "Then let's cut to the chase."

He led them to the blueprints he had hung up on the wall, depicting a massive spherical space station that resembled a moon, except with Robotnik's face.

"What you see before you is my latest weapon of mass destruction, capable of cowing all of Mobius into submission," Robotnik bragged. "I call it… the Death Egg."

Author's Note:

The Freedom Fighters have been assembled, but Robotnik is gathering his own big band of baddies as well. Are they up to the challenge? Can they handle the impending threat of the mighty Death Egg?

Grimer is from the British Sonic the Comic; he was essentially that continuity's Snively. Of course, here I expanded upon his backstory, and will continue to do so. And for those of you wondering, "Where's Bunnie Rabbot?", it's simple; going with the pre-Super Genesis Wave Archie comic, she didn't officially join the Freedom Fighters until they saved her from being completely roboticized. She'll be along in a chapter or two.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Antoine - Nolan North (Deadpool in numerous Marvel games and productions, Nathan Drake from Uncharted, Cyrille Le Paradox from Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time; Antoine speaks in the third one's voice.)

* Rotor - Eric Bauza (Amadeus Cho from Ultimate Spider-Man, Splinter in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Atom/Ryan Choi in Justice League: Gods and Monsters)

* Snively - Peter MacNicol (Janosz Poha from Ghostbusters II, Sidney Poindexter from Danny Phantom, Mad Hatter from Batman: Arkham)

* Grimer - D.C. Douglas (Albert Wesker from Resident Evil, Gharnef from Fire Emblem, X Drake from One Piece)

Please R&R. Until next time!