-Chapter 292-
GUN Control, Part 1
Area 99
"There, I think I've proved my point."
Commander Tower grimaced as he looked over the cluster of holo-screens he had been presented with.
One screen showed Kat nearly exploding during her Qi deviation before the Sand Blast City incident. Another showed Chris and Keith fending off Einherjar during the attack on the middle school sports festival; both boys barely hanging on. A third showed Hope being held at scythe-point by Clove the Pronghorn from the Warp Topaz retrieval mission (He was still wondering how they managed to get that one). And another depicted Tangle about to be slashed apart by Razorklaw in the Thunder Plains.
These were but a few of the many photographs and news reports he had been going over during this presentation.
"Well, Commander, anything to add?"
Tower looked at the officer sitting across from him, who had walked him through the presentation, and let out an exasperated sigh.
"I will admit," he began. "You make a valid point, Brigadier General."
The General smiled in satisfaction. "Then, will you agree to the terms?"
"Not so fast." …only to pause when Tower interrupted. "I only said you had a valid point. If you want your terms met, you will need to bring it up directly with them."
The General sputtered in disbelief. "S-Sir, with all due respect, they're children!"
"They are," Tower conceded. "But this 'proposal' of yours affects them, not me, and last I checked, only one of them is in the chain of command."
The Brigadier General grunted in annoyance, preparing to protest…
"Very well, then."
Only to pause as a second, shorter figure stepped forward.
"Colonel!"
"He is willing to let us say our piece," he began. "Which is, honestly, much more than I expected we would get. Besides…"
He looked at the holoscreens intently. "I want to see them myself…the Child Soldiers of the Freedom Fighters."
The Brigadier General let out a displeased rumble and strangled the chair's armrest, but didn't raise a fuss.
"Very well…"
The Colonel nodded. "Excellent. I will inform the others right away."
"And I will inform King Maximillian," Tower volunteered. "I'm the one who started our initial partnership, it's only right. You are dismissed, Brigadier General."
"Yes, sir. Colonel."
The Colonel saluted as well before the two walked out the door. Once they'd left, Tower let out a tired sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Aurora above…" he groaned. "I thought they'd never finish."
He pressed a button on his intercom. "Amanda, call Agent Stewart. The moment we've been dreading has come."
The Great Forest, Just Outside Knothole
"YAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Tangle swung through the treetops, her tail shooting out from branch to branch as she fled from an unseen pursuer.
"Heh! Still got it!" she declared, only to yelp as a small explosion went off behind her.
"Holy…!"
Tangle looked down and saw Chris running along the forest floor in hot pursuit.
"There you are!" he shouted, priming another Nitro Ball.
"Crap!"
Chris threw the ball at Tangle, who narrowly managed to avoid it as she leaned to the side, changing the course of her swing.
"You can't run away forever, Tangle! I'll find you no matter where you go!"
"I'm surprised you found me now!" she replied. "How'd you do it, anyway? Lemur-sensing earbuds? Stripe-detecting contact lens?"
"Ears." He pointed to said body part. "Kinda hard to miss you when you're shouting all over the forest."
Tangle paused. "Ohhhh…doi."
"Yeah…" Chris deadpanned as he prepared another ball. "Doi."
He threw the ball at Tangle, this time, managing to get her in the shoulder, earning a cry of pain.
"Yes, a hit!"
"Don't get cocky, Chris! You have to catch me, remember? And as long as I'm up here in the trees, that's never gonna happen!"
"I remember…" he formed another ball. "And I'll just have to fix that."
Chris spun the Nitro Ball in his hand until it flattened out into a disc.
"Uh oh…" Tangle let out.
"Nitro Slasher!"
Chris threw the disc, which sliced through the branches, causing them to fall to the ground.
"Yipe!"
Tangle hopped onto a larger branch and began booking it as Chris continued throwing Nitro Slashers; cutting away more branches and giving Tangle less cover to hide behind.
"Holy hot fuzz!" Tangle exclaimed. "I thought Kat was supposed to be the only superpowered human here!"
Unfortunately, Tangle was so caught up in keeping an eye on Chris' skills with his weapon, that she completely forgot about said weapon, keeping her from noticing the Nitro Slicer cutting off the edge of the branch she was running on, causing her to walk right off.
"Uh-oh!"
Tangle screamed as she fell. Fortunately, she retained enough wits to stretch her tail onto another branch, allowing her to bungee jump to safety. Unfortunately, she over-extended just a bit; so, while her fall wasn't too bad, she had a rough landing.
"Oof…" she let out as she rubbed her head. "Gotta work on that."
"Yeah."
Tangle slowly turned around to see Chris approaching.
"Well Tangle, it's been fun, but it looks like our little game has come to an end," he said dramatically, raising his hand. "Any last words?"
Tangle grinned. "Yeah, your shoe's untied."
Chris gave Tangle a flat look. "Seriously? Tangle, I may be one of the younger Freedom Fighters, but I'm not a…"
Suddenly, Chris felt something tighten around his ankle. Looking down, he saw that he'd been caught in a rope snare that had been buried in the leaves and branches.…a stripey, gray rope snare.
"Uh-oh…"
Tangle spun around as she shifted her hips, flipping Chris off his feet. He spun in the air for a bit before hitting the ground with a thud.
"Ow…"
"Haha!" Tangle laughed as she ran off. "So long, Chrissy! See ya in…in…" she scrunched her face, struggling to think of a rhyming city. "Eat my shorts!"
Chris watched as Tangle blew a raspberry and bolted off, knowing he'd never be able to catch her in time.
"Well, that was embarrassing," he let out as he got up and pressed a button on his glove. "Keith, she's heading your way, move to intercept."
"Roger. Commencing Plan B."
-X-
"Come on, come on, where is it!?" Tangle said as she looked around, frantically. "It's gotta be here somewhere!"
Then, something caught her eye. She looked ahead and saw a tree with a big sign that read "HOME BASE" with some cute pictures of butterflies, flowers, and a happy sun drawn on it in crayon.
"Yay! There it is!"
She launched her tail and grabbed the tree…
"AAAAAAAAnd…Zipline!"
She hopped into the air, allowing her tail to pull her in at speeds much faster than she was going on foot, laughing in jubilation.
"I did it!" she cheered. "I'm home free! Hoooooomefrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…!"
Only to slam into, then slowly peel off of an invisible wall, landing flat on her back, mere feet from home base.
"Graaaaaaaannnndaaaaad?" she let out in a daze.
"Huh, so that's what it does," Keith said as he walked over, examining his Nitro Glove. "I'll note that down for Mom."
He pulled out a notepad to begin writing, only to pause, pursing his lips as if he were trying to remember something.
"Oh yeah!" He leaned down and tapped Tangle on the forehead. "Tag! You're it."
"Ah man!" Tangle cried out in frustration. "I was soooo cloooooooose!"
"I take it that means we won?" Chris called out as he joined his cousin.
"Yep!" Keith replied, holding up his hand, revealing a pair of Power Rings around his wrist, each with a colored, crystal charm set into them. One, a gray shield and the other a blue-green pinwheel. "Mom's Barrier Power Ring worked like a charm!"
"And the Wind Ring mod?"
"See for yourself."
Keith made a fist and focused for a moment, then opened his hand, revealing a miniature cyclone swirling in his palm.
"Awesome."
"Whoa…" Tangle let out in awe as she got up. "That is seriously cool."
She stuck her head in the cyclone, sagging in relief. "And refreshing…"
"Yeah." Keith dispelled the cyclone, to Tangle's disappointment. "With these, even humans like us can have Mo-Bilities!"
"Speaking of…" Chris cut in. "How's Hope's shield test going?"
Suddenly, the ground shook as an explosion echoed through the woods.
"Sounds like 'pretty dang good', good buddy," Tangle added.
-X-
In a clearing in another part of the forest woods, Hope stood firmly, surrounded by a massive shield. She gritted her teeth as she kept an eye on its percentage on a wristwatch-like device.
"42%," she read off. "Not bad."
She was pulled back to reality by a furious scream and a fiery smash against the shield, perpetrated by Kat's fire-covered bat, reducing the shield's power to 37%.
"Don't think this shield can protect you forever!" she shouted. "I will get what is owed to me!"
Hope flinched as she smashed it even harder, bringing it down to 21%. Thinking quickly, she reached into the pocket of her overalls.
"The only thing I owe you…" she pulled out a Power Ring with a blue, droplet-shaped crystal and slotted it into her Omochao Gun. "Is this!"
She pulled the trigger, unleashing a large stream of water that was headed straight for Kat. The pyrokinetic screamed in Chun-ese, bringing her arms in a defensive position as a fiery phoenix formed a shield around her. The two energies clashed, and the resulting steam exploded violently enough to shatter Hope's shield and send both girls flying in opposite directions. Hope ended up landing in a bush, which broke her fall. Kat plowed through a tree, leaving a human-shaped impression in the wood. Hope coughed loudly, waving her arm to dispel the vapors.
"Oh man…that was dumb…"
"No shit…" Kat groaned as she stood up. "You okay?"
"I should be asking you that."
"I think I did more damage to the tree than it did to me." As if to prove her right, the tree slowly creaked backward, crumbling to the ground. "Seriously? Water Ring?"
"Yeah…I forgot the intense heat would make the water expand…violently."
"Honestly, I think I win the cookies by default for that."
"Fair enough…" Hope coughed again.
"Woof!"
The girls turned to see Sonic and Sally walking over.
"Feels a sauna out here."
"Kat, are you trying to build a hot spring again?" Sally asked.
"You are never gonna let me live that down, are you?" Kat sighed. "For your information, this one's all Hope."
"You just got a violent, impromptu lesson in thermodynamics," Hope explained as she shook her head. "Shoulda used the Ice Ring instead of Water."
"I thought it was humid over here."
The group turned to see Chris, Keith, and Tangle approaching.
"Heya guys!" Tangle waved. "What'd we miss? Did Kat win the sacred cookie?"
"Yep," Kat nodded. "What about you?"
"Well…" Tangle began, chest puffed out confidently. "It wasn't easy, but after a long, hard, arduous, and drawn-out battle, Chris and Keith finally managed to vanquish…!"
"She lost five feet from the base," Keith cut in, deflating Tangle's mood and posture.
"It was…more like…six…."
Chris patted her on the back.
"Hey, it was still better than last time."
Last Time…
"Good luck, boys!" Tangle laughed as she swung through the trees. "But you'll never catch the unstoppable Tang…GAH!"
Tangle slammed into a tree, then slowly peeled off, landing right in front of a surprised Chris and Keith.
"That doesn't…count…" Tangle groused, her voice muffled by the grass.
Now…
Tangle sighed miserably. "I can't believe I got tagged out in the first ten seconds."
Just then, the tinkling chime echoed through the woods. Everyone looked up to find Umbra floating above them, ringing a little bell as he chanted "Dit-diiiit!" (1) repeatedly.
"The lunch bell!" Chris declared, grinning.
"Isn't it Cream's turn?" Keith recalled.
"Sweet! Her sandwiches are the best!" Kat cheered.
"Last one there's a rotten egg!" Hope challenged, running toward Knothole.
There was a chorus of laughter as all the teens took off. Sonic chuckled as he shook his head fondly.
"Y'know, sometimes I forget they're still kids."
"Indeed," Sally concurred. "Though, they are fourteen now. If they were Mobians, they would almost be of age."
"Seriously, it's so weird," Tangle said. "Humans have to wait so long to do…pretty much anything. Sixteen to drive. Eighteen to get a real job. Twenty-one to do everything else. Honestly, I'm surprised their folks are even okay with them fighting with us."
Sonic sagged a little. "Well, only two of them have folks to worry about them."
Tangle winced at that. "Right…damn…"
"Plus, the Thorndykes and the Kents have been incredibly helpful, both as financial backers and research partners."
"Still…" Tangle said, her mind clearly elsewhere.
"Tangle, everything alright?" Sonic asked.
"Hm?" the lemur perked. "Oh yeah, totally! Just hungry. I'm hungry. You guys hungry? I'm hungry. Let's go not be hungry!"
At that, she ran after the others. Sonic and Sally exchanged glances, both of them concerned.
Knothole Cafeteria
Cream carefully cut the crusts off a pair of bread slices. Once she was done, she gingerly laid them out on a plate, which she took over to a small station of assorted meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments Ella and her mother had picked up from the market.
"Alright, just one more," she said as she got to work. "Take one slice of cheese, then one slice of ham - folded over so it doesn't stick out of the bread. Add the tomato, then the lettuce. And then, another piece of cheese to keep the bread from getting soggy."
Grabbed a jar of mustard and a butter knife.
"Add a little dollop of mustard and spread evenly…" she recited as she carefully spread the sauce. "Add finally…"
She placed the piece of bread, then sliced the sandwich in half right down the middle.
"Perfect!" she declared, taking a moment to admire her handiwork. "Now don't you just look tasty?"
She picked up the plate, and set it on a rotating, metal tree used in fancy dinners, along with several other plates of food.
"There, doesn't it look wonderful, Cheese?"
The Chao chirped in agreement, doing a little flip in the air.
"Now then, do you have the sliced vegetables and ranch dip?"
Cheese gestured to the side, where Chronic and Chails were diligently mixing the dip and slicing cucumbers and carrots.
"Good, and the drinks?"
Cheese pointed to another part of the table, where Chuckles and Chocola were lifting assorted bottles of fruit juice into neat lines.
"Very good! This is going to be the best lunch we've ever prepared!"
The little rabbit perked at the sound of the bell, signaling Umbra's return.
"Ooh, here they come now!"
One by one, Chris and the others filed into the mess hall.
"Yes!" Kat cheered. "First place! Victory is mine!"
"You only won cuz of your Chaos stamina…" Chris said, catching his breath. "And Keith and I have been running around all day. It was tainted!"
"Oh come on, can't you let me be a winner without bringing up my Chaos? Why didn't you just use your rings to even the odds?"
"Hello, everyone!" Cream greeted, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Hey there, Cream!" Chris greeted back before noticing the spread. "Whoa, you guys really went out this time."
"Ella's lessons are paying off," Keith added. "This looks just like one of Uncle Nelson's business lunches."
"Thank you!" the rabbit said with a curtsy. "Well, help yourselves! I made sure to make them exactly as you like."
"Did you remember no condiments on mine?" Kat asked.
"Uh-huh, I used soy sauce instead."
Kat grinned. "Cream, you are a saint."
As everyone went to fill their plate and take their seats, a strange noise echoed through the building.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..."
Everyone perked.
"What is that?" Cream asked, just as Tangle charged inside and slid to a stop."
"AAAAAAAAAnd GOOOOOOOOOAL!"
"Hey Tangle, you're just in time," Hope said as she sat down. "Cream just finished making lunch."
"I saw," the lemur said as she walked over to the tree. "Oooooh, fancy! What's the occasion?"
"There isn't." Cream shook her head. "I just wanted to make lunch look extra nice today after you all worked so hard fixing the city."
"Awwww, that's so sweet!" Tangle grabbed one of the sandwiches and took a bite, and immediately started gagging.
"Oh gawd…"
"Miss Tangle!" Cream cried out.
"Whoa!" Keith shouted. "She looks like she's been poisoned!"
"No…" she let out as she looked up at the others with a sickly, pitiful expression. "Mayonaaaaaaissssse…"
"Yeeeah…" Chris said awkwardly. "That one was mine."
He pointed to a little sign in front of the plate bearing his initials, C.T. "Yours are over here."
He gestured to another plate, this one with a sign reading "T.t.L."
"Ohhhh…whoops," Tangle said as she set the sandwich down on his plate. "I'll just…leave this here."
She then grabbed her own plate, using her tail to snag a bottle of strawberry lemonade, and began eating. As she did though, the others couldn't help but notice that she seemed…distracted.
"Miss Tangle, are you okay?" Cream asked, cocking her head in a cute, concerned manner.
"Who me?" Tangle asked through a mouthful of bologna and ketchup, swallowing before she continued. "Sure am! Yepper-doodles, everything's goin' great!"
"Tangle..."
"Yeah, whuzzup Kaaaaaaa…"
Tangle sat still, unable to speak as Kat gave her the most serious look she had ever seen. She could almost see her sus meter rising like a thermostat next to her.
"You should know better to try and hide things when I'm around, Tangle," she continued. "Especially if they're serious."
She took a bite of her sandwich, Cream's rendition of ro jia mo or "meat stuffed bread".
"So, what's going on?" Chris pressed. "You know you can talk to us."
Tangle let out a long groan.
"It's…. It's my dad. I sent him an email about what happened during the whole Artika fiasco, but he still hasn't replied back."
Kat stared at her, practically glaring daggers into the lemur. The thermostat sus meter visibly rose.
"Okay! I wrote the email but never actually sent it! It's in the draft folder."
"There it is." Kat took another bite.
"Tangle, you can't keep blowing off telling your dad about this," Hope told her. "He's gonna find out eventually."
"I know..." Tangle moaned, sliding backward in her chair a bit. "But every time I get ready to tell him, I think about how much he'll freak out and I choke..."
"Is he that bad?" Keith asked.
Tangle sighed. "Well..."
Before she could continue, Hope's phone went off.
"Uh-oh, it's Commander Tower," she said as she put him on speaker. "Hello sir, I put you on speaker. Is that alright?"
"That's perfectly fine, Agent Kintobor," Tower said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Just a little lunch, sir," Hope replied. "Is there anything we can help you with?"
"Yes, actually, is Princess Sally with you? I must speak with her."
"I'm right here, Commander."
"What's up?"
Everyone turned to see Sally and Sonic entering the room.
"Ah, good day, Your Majesty," Tower greeted. "And Sonic as well. Perfect. I apologize for not calling you sooner. When I tried contacting your father, I ended up going to voicemail."
"He is preparing my brother Elias to take the throne," Sally explained. "Not to mention preparing relief efforts for areas still affected by the blizzard."
"I see..."
"Now, you said you had something to tell me?"
"Yes. I need to speak with you, Sonic, and your highest-ranking allies, as well as Team Thorndyke and Miss Lemur."
Team Thorndyke perked.
"Us?" Chris asked, confused.
"Me?" Tangle asked, nervously.
"That's correct," Tower continued. "How soon can you come to Area 99?"
Sally pulled out a Warp Ring. "We can be there right now."
"Alright," Tower said. "Finish eating and we'll see you in about an hour. I apologize for the inconvenience…and in advance."
Hope raised an eyebrow. "Advance?"
"That's all I can say right now. This is something that can only be discussed in person. We will explain once you arrive."
With that, he hung up.
"Okaaaay...That was...cryptic," Sonic said.
"What was that all about?" Keith asked.
"Not sure," Hope replied. "The Commander's never acted like this before."
"I don't like it…" Kat chimed in worriedly. "It's like when we first met Mr. Teacher-Spy."
"I'm sure it's not too bad," Chris reassured. "I mean, it's Tower . Maybe he just has a mission for us." He paused. "Oh crap! What if it's a new Egg Boss!?"
Sally shook her head. "I don't think so. Tower is normally serious when he's giving missions like this. This time, he sounded...worried."
"Well, the longer we spend agonizing over it. the longer until we know the truth," Sonic cut in. "Let's finish eating, grab the others, and bounce over to Area 99."
"Right."
As the others resumed eating, Tangle just sat in her chair, scared.
"Oh man..." she whispered. "This is bad..."
Later… Outside Area 99
Mr. Stewart stood outside the GUN base, anxious looking at his watch as he waited for the Freedom Fighters to arrive.
"Just standing around out here is driving me crazy!" he whispered in frustration. "What's taking them so long?"
Just then, a Warp Ring portal opened up, depositing his guests. Those in attendance were Sally, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shard, along with the kids and Tangle.
"Ahh, there you are!" Stewart greeted. "I was starting to think you weren't going to show."
"Mr. Teacher-Spy?" Kat let out in surprise. "Why are you here?"
"I work here, Kathryn. Teacher-Spy," he replied. "Hey there, kids. Sonic. Your Majesty."
"Good day, Agent Stewart," Sally greeted.
"Sorry we're late," Sonic said, giving a two-fingered salute. "Hope we didn't keep you guys too long."
"Not too long, thankfully."
It was then that Stewart noticed Tangle.
"Ahhh, Tangle, it's been a while."
"H-Hey..." she greeted nervously, surprising everyone.
"You know Mr. Stewart?" Hope asked.
"I served alongside her father before taking on this assignment," he replied. "Her and her mom would stay on the base with the other soldiers' families before they finally got their own place."
"Whoa, seriously?" Chris said.
Stewart nodded. "Yup. I'd give you the details, but Commander Tower's expecting us, and the guests he has over...aren't known for their patience."
He motioned them to follow. "C'mon, let's go."
-X-
Meanwhile…
Shears and Vellum stood outside Tower's office pressing his ear to the door, a look of frustration on his face.
"C'mon, what the hell are they talking about in there? I can't hear a thing!"
"That's because they aren't saying anything, Rory," Vellum pointed out before taking a sip from his coffee cup.
"Bullshit! Those two bigshot, beetle-butt asshats have Abe whipped like a damn dog! There's no way they're not talking about something!"
Vellum sighed. "Conceding their argument has merit hardly counts as being 'whipped'."
"Yeah…Well… They didn't have to act so high and mighty about it!"
"Rory, calm down and mind your language. The Children will be joining us soon."
"Fugg my language!" he shouted. "I'm pissed off!"
"Agent Shears?" Hope asked.
"Gah!"
Shears spun around to see Stewart had arrived with the others.
"Oh! Hey there, Hopios!" he greeted with a grin. "What brings you here?"
"We're here for the meeting," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
Stewart sighed. "Rory, are you eavesdropping on the Commander's meetings again?"
Shears scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Pssh! Of course I'm not…Nobody's said anything yet."
"Who's this guy?" Kat asked, eyeing the redhead suspiciously.
"He looks kinda…seedy," Knuckles added.
"Rory!" Tangle shouted happily as she sprinted toward Shears, startling him as she hugged him.
"Hey, look who's back!" Shears greeted as he returned the embrace. "Heya Stripes, haven't seen you in forever! You still being a pain in the butt?"
"Does Shamus still shine and wax his dome?" the lemur asked cheekily, causing the two to break out laughing as Vellum turned away in embarrassment.
"I had almost forgotten you were coming, Tangle," the bald agent said, mildly annoyed.
"C'mon Shay, y'know she's messing with you cuz she likes you," Shears reassured. He then noticed the Freedom Fighters.
"Ahh, and here's the rest of Hopium's funny, forest friends. Glad to finally see you in person."
"Uhhhh…Same," Sonic greeted uneasily. "And you are…?"
"Right!" Shears released Tangle before flashing a peace sign. "Special Agent Rory Shears. Knife specialist of Team Roshambo of Chamber-3! What up?"
"Special Agent Shamus Vellum. Hand-to-hand and intelligence. Team Roshambo. Chamber-3," the bald agent greeted dutifully.
"A pleasure to meet you, agents," Sally greeted politely. "Will you be joining us in the meeting?"
"Well…" Shears began.
"No," Vellum interrupted. "We were just leaving.
Vellum grabbed Shears by his shirt before dragging him off.
"H-Hey! Shay!" Shears protested.
"Come on, Rory, we have work to do."
Shears sagged in disappointment. "Sorry, Stripes, we'll talk later!"
And with that, they were gone.
"Good, ol' Rory," Tangle said fondly.
"Was he a friend of yours, Tangle?" Tails asked.
She nodded. "We used to hang out when my mom and I still lived on the base. He'd look after me while my folks were busy with work."
That got Hope's attention. "Wait…Agent Shears was your babysitter !?"
"Ehhh…kinda?" Tangle said warily. "He was more like a…'live-in uncle that gets paid to kill people'. His words, not mine."
Shard sputtered for a moment. "B-But, he's one of the biggest wackos in GUN!"
"Hey! He's not a wacko!" Tangle snapped, only to falter a little bit. "Though…Dad would always tell me to keep away from him…and he liked to perform little tricks with his daggers…like stabbing the spots between his fingers…a lot."
The others gave Tangle a strange look before Sonic clapped his hands.
"Okaaaaay!" Sonic said, trying to get things back on track. "Fun as this is, we should probably get moving."
"Yes." Stewart nodded. "The commander is waiting."
He walked over to the door and knocked.
"Commander tower, the Freedom Fighters have arrived."
"Excellent, send them in."
Stewart opened the door, motioning for everyone to enter. Sally and Team Sonic entered first, followed by Shard and the kids.
"Tangle?" Stewart called to the lemur, who lingered outside, nervously. "Tangle!"
"Ah! C-Coming!"
Tangle ran in, joining the others as they stood across from Commander Tower and several other GUN personnel, including Amanda, Dr. Bennet, and Topaz, all sitting at a large meeting table.
"Greetings, Freedom Fighters," Tower said. "Thank you for agreeing to see us on such short notice."
Sally bowed. "Commander Tower."
"What's all this about?" Knuckles inquired.
"Please, have a seat," Tower instructed, motioning to the empty chairs at the table.
Tower watched as each of them took their seats; Stewart joining his fellow agents and soldiers.
"Now then," Tower began. "I'll spare you the ceremony and get to the point. We've summoned you all here to address a very serious concern."
"What kind of concern?" Hope asked.
"The Einherjar."
Everyone grimaced at the mention of the name.
"Right, them ," Sonic uttered with a grimace.
Amanda nodded. "The invasion of Station Square and the disaster that followed gave us a bit of a reality check. While our current alliance has been beneficial, it isn't going to be enough to take on the Empire's growing influence."
"Especially when they have power like that at their disposal," Dr. Bennet chimed in, massaging her temples. "Seriously...a Ragnium-powered weather machine?"
"The point is, it's made us realize that we need to take a more active role in the fight against the Empire," Tower continued. "Specifically, when it comes to aiding you."
"Yeah, that's why we set up our little partnership after the fight with Kodos," Sonic replied.
"Yes," Tower nodded. "And while that partnership has been beneficial, it's really only surface level. Exchanging information and occasionally teaming up to take on more cataclysmic threats. But now, we believe it's time we make made this partnership into a true alliance."
Sonic perks an eyebrow at that. "Hold up…"
"Commander, are you saying...?" Sally asked, eyes wide.
Tower nodded. "I am. Princess Sally, the Guardians of United Nations request to officially join the Global Freedom Fighters."
The room went silent as everyone on the Knothole side stared at Tower and his gathered subordinates, mouths agape and eyes wide open.
"Holy…" Tangle uttered, her brain lagging as she processed what she had just heard.
"My gosh..." Hope uttered, her face and Sally's faces lighting up with excitement. "This is..."
"Hope?" Shard asked.
"Guys, do you have any idea what this means!?"
"Uhhh… the start of a really bad time for the Eggman?" Kat asked.
"We'll have ready access to more advanced human technology?" Tails inquired.
"That those giant trucks are gonna help us instead of chasing us?" Sonic guessed.
"Sonic," Sally cut in. "GUN is offering to join the Freedom Fighters! The United Federation is offering to directly cooperate with Acorn!"
Sonic blinked. "Yeah, so?"
"So!?" Sally sputtered a few seconds before regaining her wits. "Sonic, think about this! If we accept this alliance, the two sides of the Great War will be working together! It's Dr. Kintobor's dream come true! Our parents' dream come true!"
"Sally's right!" Hope cut in. "This could be the biggest step forward in human-mobian relations since Uncle Julian and Dr. Morgan became citizens of Mobotropolis!"
It was then that everything clicked for Sonic, causing him to let out a fond chuckle. "Whoa…Well, ain't that a kick in the head?"
"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't just do this in the first place," Knuckles added.
"We've wanted to for a while," Topaz replied. "Unfortunately, several obstacles were keeping us from doing so."
Tower nodded. "The Freedom Fighters are well-trusted and highly-regarded the world over. Your diversity, openness to admit your wrong, and uncompromising commitment to upholding the values of truth, justice, and freedom have led you to become ideal role models and symbols of heroism."
He faltered slightly.
"Whereas GUN, despite its vast resources, technology, and military might, still carries the stigma from the Great War.
"Hey, you guys aren't that bad," Keith pointed out. "It's thanks to you guys we were able to stop Shadow and reveal what really happened on the ARK."
"Yes," Tower conceded. "But while I have taken great strides to clear up much of the detritus left by my predecessors, a few heroic deeds aren't going to magically undo centuries of corruption, military brutality, and conspiracy."
"That's where this alliance comes in," Amanda continued.
"Well, with all that, how could we possibly say no?" Sonic said.
"We would gladly welcome you into our ranks, Commander," Sally added.
"I'm glad to hear you approve, Princess," Tower said. "Unfortunately, there's one major obstacle standing in our way…or rather, two."
"Obstacles?" Chris asked. "Lemme guess, more creeps like Wise and Johnson looking to shut us down?"
"Not quite," Tower replied. "I'll let them explain."
Tower pressed a button on his comm.
"Brigadier General, Colonel, you're up."
"Thank you, sir," a female voice replied. "We will be there shortly."
About a minute later, the door opened again. Everyone turned to see a pair of GUN soldiers walk in, high-ranked from the pins and bars on their uniforms.
The first was a female Mobian doberman. She was tall, well-built, and well-kempt; not a single one of her black and brown fur out of place. Her face was stern and austere, a look only enhanced by her piercing brown-maroon eyes, a look undercut only slightly by her red lipstick and the curly, upturned cowlick on her forehead. From the way she carried herself, she appeared to be the higher-ranked of the two.
Her companion was a Mobian lemur with grey fur and purple eyes, and a blue beret bearing GUN's logo.
The Freedom Fighters regarded these figures in awe, still not used to seeing Mobians in uniform…all but one, who regarded the shorter with a mix of surprise and fear.
"Oh Aurora…" Tangle whispered as she shrunk into her chair.
"Tangle, what's wrong?" Sonic asked.
"That's…That's Scrape the Lemur," she replied, shakily pointing to said lemur. "That's my dad!"
Author's Note:
(1) The sound the Dark Chao Walker makes when selected in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
Scrape the Lemur is owned by WindstarOsprey.
GUN joins the Freedom Fighters and Tangle is reunited with her father. What could possibly go wrong?
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Scrape: Liam Neeson
Please R&R. Until next time!