"Family Reunion" A work of Sonic the Hedgehog "Fan-faction" by Ian
Patterson A few technicalities... I've read enough fanfic to know what title
17 (the copyright law) does and does not allow; you can't change the text in
any way or charge anyone money to read this without my expressed written
permission. All situations and characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog
Saturday morning cartoon series, as aired on ABC, are copyright SEGA, DiC,
and/or Archie Comics, and are used (or at least referred to here) without
permission, except the characters created by yours truly, which are
copyrighted by me.
FAMILY REUNION
There were many things on Mobius that the Freedom Fighters didn't
get a chance to enjoy. One of them was a nice, peaceful, summer
afternoon. Uncle Chuck hadn't reported on anything out of the ordinary
happening in Robo-Tropolis, so all the Freedom Fighters could do was
sit back and wait for him to report something.
Each of the Freedom Fighters all busied themselves with one thing
or another. Sally was in her hut, trying to find a way to free her
father and Naugus from the Void. Ever since they had found him about
three months earlier, She had been trying to think of a way to let him
escape without him crystalizing. Sally was sure that if she tried hard
enough, that she would think of a way.
Rotor was in his workshop, tinkering with some invention or
another. He never had a chance to sit down and tinker much anymore.
Everytime he thought he had a minute, something went wrong and he had
to leave on a mission or something else.
Bunnie was out in her garden, tilling the soil so that she could
plant more vegetables once that the harvesting in the other section of
the garden was complete. She was so happy with Rotor, who had installed
a tiller in her robotic arm. Even though she hated being this way,
her arm came in handy every now and again.
Tails was hitting his hockey puck around with his hockey stick.
Most of the time, Sally wouldn't let him do that, since one time he almost
whacked Bunnie in the face with his puck. He knew that she was in her hut,
working on something to do with the Void. She wouldn't even notice him
playing for a little bit.
A little ways out of Knothole, Antoine was up in the watch-tower
with Dulcy. He had been up there for the last several hours on patrol
duty. He hated this. No SWATbot had ever gotten this close to Knothole
since the coup started.
"I am hating thees", he said, leaning over on the railing.
"Hate what, Tony?", asked Dulcy, hanging upside down.
"Thees stupid assignment", he said, "Why my princess would put one
as important as moi up here is beyond myself."
Dulcy chuckled. She loved Antoine like a brother, but when he said
things like that, she couldn't help but laugh at him. He thought he was
just invaluable to the Freedom Fighters. Oh well, let him think what he
wants. It wasn't going to hurt anyone to let him.
"Hmmmm", said Antoine, squinting his eyes, "What is that being?"
Dulcy uncoiled her tail, and dropped to the ground. She looked at
what Antoine was looking at. There was someone running through the Great
Forest, and right towards Knothole!
"Uh oh", said Dulcy, "I think that's an intruder."
Antoine looked over at the dragon.
"How are you knowing that it is not being one of us?", he asked.
Dulcy put her mouth right by Antoine's ear, and whipsered,
"Cuz no-one's out today."
Antoine's eyes bugged out, and he stood up straight.
"Come, Ducky", he said, clambering down the ladder, "We must be
stopping this evil fiend!"
"Evil fiend?", said Dulcy, laughing again.
She looked, and saw that Antoine was already on the ground, and
getting ready to suprise the intruder. Dulcy just decided to stay up in
the watch tower and watch from there.
The intruder wasn't very big. Maybe about as big as Tails. They
only wore a black cloack, and what looked like black boots. Whoever it
was, they were running pretty fast. There was no doubt in Antoine's mind
that whoever it was had already seen Knothole.
"Hmph", he said to himself, "Most likely, it is being a spy from
Robotnik."
The intruder just kept running. Antoine waited until the intruder
was mere feet away from him, and jumped out from behind the tree he was
hiding behind.
"HALT!!", he yelled, pointing at the intruder.
The intruder stopped, and looked right at him. Antoine couldn't
see their face, because of the hood on the cloak.
"Please to be identifying yourself", he snapped.
The intruder didn't say anything, only lifted up their leg and
kicked Antoine right between the legs.
"Ohhhhhhhh!!!!", he yelled, falling to his knees, and holding his
injured area.
The intruder pushed him onto his side, and ran right by him. Dulcy
jumped out of the tower, and sailed after Antoine's attacker.
"You aren't getting away from me!", she yelled, soaring right down
after the intruder.
The intruder saw Dulcy coming down after her, and ducked. Dulcy
flew right over her, and into a nearby tree. The intruder stood back up,
and looked at the injured dragon for a moment.
All of sudden, and pair of arms snaked around the intruder.
"Hold it right there!", said Sonic, who had just arrived on the
scene.
The intruder started squirming, trying to escape.
"Let go of me!", said a young girl's voice.
Sonic was rather shocked by that, and weakened his grip a bit.
Unfortunately, he released his grip just a little too much. The girl
positioned herself, and brought her foot back, and disabled Sonic the same
way she had Antoine.
"Uuuuggh!", groaned Sonic, letting go of her.
The girl grabbed Sonic's arm, and flipped him over her shoulder. He
slammed into the ground on his back. The girl let go of him, and darted
for Knothole again.
Sonic looked up at Antoine, who was on his feet again.
"Get the alarm, Ant!", groaned Sonic, "Hurry!"
Antoine hobbled over to the alarm, and rang the bells. Everyone in
Knothole dropped what they were doing and ran towards the sound. By now,
the girl was running across the bridge and into Knothole.
"Somebody stop her!", yelled Sonic, on his feet again, but just
barely.
Rotor dove at the girl, but she flipped over him and he ended up
crashing right on the ground. All of sudden, Bunnie leaped out of nowhere
and tackled the girl. Since Bunnie was about twice the size of her, plus
she her robotic hardware, the girl was now helpless. Bunnie stood up,
holding the girl by the back of her cape. Her feet dangled off the ground.
"Put me down!", snapped the girl.
"Ah don't think so, Sugar", said Bunnie, pulling the girl's hood
back.
The girl had long blonde hair, that fell down to the middle of her
back. Bunnie twisted the girl around, so she could she her face. Once
she did, her eyes got as wide as saucers.
"Oh mah stars!", she said.
Her shock was so great, that she let of the girl and she crashed
to the ground. Bunnie just couldn't believe what she'd just seen. That
girl looked identical to Sally when she was about eleven years old, with
the exception of the blonde hair.
The girl was about to use that moment to start running again, but
Sally got ahold of her.
"Hold it right there, young lady!", she snapped.
"Leave me alone!", said the girl, scared to death.
Sally let go of her arm, and looked right into the girl's eyes.
"I'm not going to hurt you", she said, "None of us are."
"What about them?", said the girl, pointing at Sonic and Antoine,
who were still staggering.
"You just startled them is all", said Sally, "They wouldn't have
hurt you. What were you doing running through the Great Forest all alone?"
"My home was destroyed", she said, "I didn't know if they were
chasing me or not, so I just kept running."
"Sonic!", said Sally, "Did you see anyone after this girl?"
"Just me!", yelled Sonic, angrily, "Just give me a minute!"
"Don't worry", said Sally, "You're safe here."
"Where is 'here'?", asked the girl, still keeping her distance from
the huge group of Freedom Fighters that had gathered around them.
"This is Knothole Village", said Sally.
"You're lying!", yelled the girl, backing up, "This place can't be
Knothole!"
Everyone just looked at each other, confused. What did that girl
mean?
"What are you talking about?", said Sally, just as confused as the
others, "Why can't this be Knothole?"
"Because I just came from Knothole Village!", yelled the girl,
"That's were I've lived my whole life!"
Sonic finally managed to push his way to where Sally and the girl
were standing.
"Sal?", he said, "Is that possible? Are there two Knotholes?"
"I don't know", said Sally, "Knothole was supposed to be a royal
retreat in case of war. From what I know, only one was built. This one."
"Hey, kid", said Sonic, "What's your name, anyway?"
"Sasha", said the girl.
"Well, Sasha", said Sally, pulling Nicole out of her boot, "Just
hold on one second and I'll get this entire thing cleared up."
She popped Nicole open.
"Nicole", she said, "Search data base for evidence of two Knothole
Villages."
"Access denied, Sally", said Nicole, "Priority One Security Block."
"Darn it!", said Sally, stomping her foot, "I don't see why my father
gave me this if he was only going to deny me access to everything
important!"
"What did you call that computer?", asked Sasha.
"Her name's Nicole", said Sally, "Why?"
"That's my middle name", said Sasha, "And someone I was told by my
nanny to look out for."
"What do you mean?", asked Sally.
"My nanny, Tabitha", said Sasha, "She always told me that if I ever
met someone named Nicole, to give her a code."
"What code?", asked Rotor.
"Sasha-six-alpha-sigma", chanted Sasha, with her eyes closed.
Nicole started beeping when Sasha said that.
"Priority One Security Block removed", said Nicole, "Welcome to
Knothole Prime, Princess Sasha."
That did it for Sally. She let Nicole slide right out of her hand
and about fainted.
"I'm sorry", she said, "Did Nicole just call you 'Princess'?"
"Yup", said Sasha, "That's me. Princess Sasha Nicole Acorn of the
Royal House of Acorn."
No-one present spoke. None of them knew what to say. Here was a
girl who had invaded Knothole, attacked several Freedom Fighters, and now
claimed to be a member of the House of Acorn?
Sally finally cleared her head enough to pick Nicole off the ground.
She took a deep breath, and looked back at the screen.
"Nicole", said Sally, her voice trembling a bit, "How many children
did my parents have together?"
"Two", said Nicole, "The oldest, Sally Alicia Acorn, which is you.
And Sasha Nicole Acorn, which is your sister."
"You're my......sister?", said Sasha, looking at Sally, studying
her face.
"Sal?", said Sonic, "Is what Nicole's saying true?"
"Sonic", said Sally, "When something like this happens, I always do
the same thing."
"What?", asked Sonic.
"ROSIE!!!!!!!", screamed Sally at the top of her lungs.
A little while later, Sonic, Sally, Sasha, and Rosie were sitting
inside Sally's hut. Rosie had some explaining to do.
"Oh, Princess", said Rosie to Sasha, "You look just like Sally did
when she was your age."
"Excuse me, Rosie", said Sally, "Would you mind telling me how I
have a younger sister. Did you just forget to mention her or what?"
"I'm sorry, Sally", said Rosie, "I didn't even know if Sasha
survived her birth or not."
"Just start from the beginning please", said Sally, trying not to
scream again.
"Alright", said Rosie, "In the year 3219, your parents were blessed
with your birth. In the year 3224, they were blessed again with Sasha's
birth."
"My mother was alive when I was four years old?", asked Sally, "Where
was she?"
"She became a prisoner of the Over-Landers when they captured her
convoy that she was returning to Mobo-Tropolis in", said Rosie, "It took
years of negotiating and threats for them to finally release her. When
she came home, she became pregnant with Sasha. She was on her way back
from a summit meeting in the Southern Lowlands, when she stopped in the
Southern Province because she went into labor. From what we all knew, she
gave birth to Sasha there, and then sent her back to Mobo-Tropolis with
Tabitha. However, the coup occurred, and the convoy was never heard from
again."
"Why did my father never tell me any of this?", asked Sally.
"You were only a child, Sally", said Rosie, "Your father knew that
you wouldn't understand He just told you that she went away for awhile."
"That's horrible", said Sasha, "Mother had two children and didn't
ever get to see either of us."
"What about the other Knothole?", asked Sonic.
"That's all I know", said Rosie, "You'll have to ask Nicole about
that."
"Nicole", said Sally, "Holographic display, please."
"In the year 3221", said Nicole, "King Acorn ordered the consruction
of a secret royal retreat, known as Knothole Village. Upon its completion
in 3223, construction of a second royal retreat began on the outskirts of
Boulder Bay. The village became to be known as Knothole Beta. The first
royal retreat was renamed Knothole Prime. Construction of Knothole Beta
had barely begun when Dr. Robotnik took over. Knothole Beta was assumed
lost. End of file."
"It's beginning to make sense to me now", said Sasha, "Tabitha said
that when she brought me to Knothole Beta, that it was little more than
a tent city with a few look-out towers and some wells."
"She must have escaped with you when Robotnik invaded Mobo-Tropolis",
said Rosie, "But why on Mobius would she take you there?"
"Perhaps in case one village was destroyed, then both heirs to the
throne would not be lost at once", said Rosie, "That does make sense."
"Why wouldn't she have tried to contact us?", asked Sally.
"No one at Knothole Beta knew that there was another Knothole",
said Sasha, "I'm guessing that Tabitha didn't either."
"She probably thought the same thing you guys thought", said Sally,
"That we were all captured or killed in the coup."
"Are you alright, Sally?", asked Rosie, "You look a little pale."
"I'm just in shock, really", she said, "I just found out that I
have a younger sister. How do you expect me to feel?"
"Can I ask a question now?", asked Sonic, finally speaking up, "Who
wasted your village?"
"I don't remember much of what happened that night", she said.
"That's convenient", said Sonic, folding his arms.
"Shut up, Sonic!", snapped Sally, sounding more angry with him than
he had ever heard her, "Go ahead, Sasha."
"I was sleeping", she continued, "There was a huge explosion that
woke me up. I looked out my window, and saw robots running everywhere,
setting all the huts on fire, and rounding up the villagers. All of a
sudden, Tabitha fell into my room. She had been shot in the back. I tried
to pull her out of the doorway, but she just told me to run away. Then,
she died right there on my bedroom floor."
"Oh, you poor dear", said Rosie, "I can't imagine how horrible that
must have been for you."
"Rosie", said Sally, "Why don't you take Sasha and get her some clean
clothes and something to eat? I have to talk to Sonic for a little bit."
"Come along, Princess", said Rosie.
Rosie took Sasha out of Sally's hut. After they were gone, Sally
glared at Sonic so hard he could swear she was burning a hole in his
forhead.
"What?", he said at last.
"What was that all about?", she snapped, "She's only ten years old,
Sonic, "I seriously doubt that she's a spy for Robotnik. Besides, he'd
already have been on top of us if she was."
"I'm just a little suspicious, that's all", said Sonic, "I didn't
mean for it to come out like that."
"Look", said Sally, "I'm a little suspicious as well. What say we
take an hour to go out and look at what's left of Knothole Beta. If it's
still there and untouched, then we'll know she's not who she says she is.
However, if it IS burned to the ground, then we'll know she's telling the
truth. How's that?"
"Cool", said Sonic, "I'm gonna jam down to the Power Ring Pool and
get a power ring. I'll be back in a sonic second!"
With that, he shot off with a burst of wind. Sally tucked Nicole
back into her boot, and headed off to find Rosie. She stopped dead in her
tracks when she got out her door.
"I don't believe it", she said to herself.
There, in the middle of the street, was Sasha and Tails, both playing
hockey. For the first time since she'd met Sasha did she see her smiling.
She was acting like any other eleven year old in Knothole. Sally looked over,
and saw Rosie watching the two cubs.
"How long have they been out there?", asked Sally.
"We didn't even get to the street when Tails came up and asked her if
she wanted to play with him", said Rosie, "She asked us if she could and
off she went."
"Well good", said Sally, "Listen. Sonic and I are going over to
where Nicole said Knothole Beta was supposed to be. He just wants to make
sure Sasha's story is straight."
"I won't tell her where you went", said Rosie, "I was going to
go feed Tails in a little bit anyway."
Just that moment, Sonic shot back over there with a power ring.
"Ready to juice, Sal?", he asked.
"Yeah", she said, letting him scoop her up, "We'll be back as soon as
possible."
"Juice and jam time", said Sonic, "Knothole Beta, here we come!"
He revved up his feet, and shot out of Knothole. Sasha watched Sonic
shoot off out of Knothole.
"Wow", she said, "I've never seen anything that fast."
"You probably won't again", said Tails, "Sonic's the fastest thing
alive. He told me so."
Little did any of them know, that on the other side of Sally's hut,
right below a window, sat a mole, who had listened to everything that had
transpired in there.
"Ratcliff is not gonna like this one bit", he said, getting up and
running to one of the other huts.
He opened the door, and walked in. There were about eight other
animals in there. There was a large rat who stood up when he arrived.
"Well?", asked Ratcliff, "What did you hear?"
"Apparently", said Rahatan, "That girl is Princess Sally's younger
sister."
"What?!", said Ratcliff, infuriated, "Do these stupid members of the
monarchy just keep coming out of the walls or what? This is just going to
make the Sedition's job harder then."
"Excuse me", said Leydon, a young girl fawn that was among the crowd,
"But, what is our job, anyway?"
"Ah, Leydon", said Ratcliff, "You are new to the Sedition, so I shall
explain it to you. You see, we are not the only members of the Sedition.
Our organization is a secret sub-versive group that has members in just
about every Freedom Fighter group across Mobius. Like the Freedom Fighters,
we encourage the fall of Robotnik. However, unlike them, we also seek the
destruction of the House of Acorn. The founders of the Sedition, myself
included, belive that the monarchy is soley responsible for breeding
tyrants like Robotnik in the first place."
"I see", said Leydon, "That's why I came here in the first place.
I'm not happy with the direction that Princess Sally has been steering the
Freedom Fighters in."
"That is why we are all gathered here", said Ratcliff, "We all agree
that the monarchy is wrong and must be abolished. We, Sedition members here
at Knothole, have the most important job of all. Our mission is to
discredit Princess Sally's leader-ship abilities. After that, we destroy
her."
"Ratcliff", said Sovar, who was a vulture with a sinister-looking
gaze, and another high ranking member of the Sedition, "I believe we can
use this girl to our advantage."
"What do you mean?", asked Ratcliff.
"They think she's a spy for Robotnik", said Sovar, "We must make that
true."
"What do you propose?", asked Ratcliff.
"I'll think of something", said Sovar, "Just give me time."
"Alright", said Ratcliff, "I declare this meeting of the Knothole
Sedition Sect closed. Oh, one more thing. I want all of you to find out
what really happened at this Knothole Beta village. For some reason, I
just don't believe this girl."
Everyone in the room, including Leydon, honored the Sedition by
balling their right hand into a fist and putting it to their chest, and
pledged the fall of the House of Acorn. After that, they all left,
becoming loyal Freedom Fighters again.
Miles away, Sonic and Sally arrived at the coordinates that Nicole
had stored in her memory. They could do nothing but let their mouths hang
open when they saw what remained of Knothole Beta.
"This is unreal", said Sally, looking around.
"I hear ya, Sal", Sonic replied.
The place was totally decimated. There were still huts that were
smoldering. Blast marks were everywhere. There were huge marks where
hover-units must have landed. Sally knelt down beside them.
"These are odd", she said, feeling the mark with her hand.
"What?", asked Sonic, walking up behind her.
"These looked like SWATbot hover-unit landing marks", said Sally,
"But the shape of it is all wrong. Plus, from looking around at the type
of devistation here, I don't think it was Robotnik."
"Huh?", said Sonic, perplexed, "But who else would do something like
this?"
"I don't know", said Sally, tapping Nicole against the palm of her
free hand, "But from what I can tell, Sasha's story checks out perfectly.
Look, there's where she said her hut was."
The two walked over to a half-burnt straw hut. By looking at the
possesions in there that weren't burned, Sonic guessed it could have been
a eleven year old girl's room.
"Look here!", said Sally, kneeling on the ground.
Sonic looked, and saw a huge blood stain right by the door. There
was a small trail that ran about a foot away from the door and right into
the middle of the room.
"This must be Tabitha's blood", said Sally, "The smear must be where
Sasha tried to drag her out of the doorway."
Sonic was starting to feel much better about Sasha now. Everything
she had told them was totally true so far. The only thing that was
worrying him was what Sally thought did this.
"Hey", said Sonic, suddenly thinking of something, "If that is
Tabitha's blood, where is she? Sasha said that she was dead. I know
Robuttnik doesn't have any use for dead Mobians."
"I don't know", said Sally, standing up, "Look, we've seen all we
need to see here."
She closed Nicole up and put her back in the holder on her boot. She
then grabbed Sonic's hand and yanked him out of the hut.
"What's up, Sal?", asked Sonic, following behind.
"Let's get out of here, Sonic", she said, "This place is giving me
the creeps."
"For real", said Sonic, scooping Sally up, "Let's jam."
He revved up, and shot off into the woods. Hopefully, they could
make it home before nightfall.
It was a good thing that Sonic and Sally left when they did. A pair
of red eyes watched them from the bushes.
"Gives you the creeps, eh?", said the voice, "You ain't seen nothing
yet, Princess."
It was about eight in the evening when Sonic and Sally shot through
the sliding tree. Waiting for them was Sasha and Tails.
"Hey, guys", said Sonic, shaking the hay off of his quills, "What's
up?"
"Sasha wants to ask Sally a question", said Tails.
"What is it, Sasha", said Sally, brushing hay out of her hair.
"Um", said Sasha, as if unsure how to ask, "Where am I supposed to
sleep tonight?"
Sally slapped her forhead.
"Shoot!", she said, "I am so stupid! I'm sorry, Sasha. I didn't
even think about that. Well, I'll tell you what. Since your story
checked out perfectly, there's no doubt in my mind that you are my baby
sister. So, you'll be staying with us from now on. We don't have enough
material to build a hut for you, so what do you say you and I become
room-mates?"
Sasha smiled, jumped up, and wrapped her arms around Sally's neck.
"That would be great!", she said, "Thanks, Sis!"
Sally smiled when Sasha called her 'Sis'. She never thought she'd
be called that by anyone. She hugged Sasha back, and set her down. She
then took her by the hand, and led her back to her hut.
Across Knothole, Sovar and Ratcliff were sitting at a table. Sovar
had something to show to Ratcliff.
"Well?", asked Ratcliff, "What have you come up with?"
"This", said Sovar, handing Ratcliff a piece of paper.
Ratcliff studied the paper for a few moments, and grinned a toothy
grin.
"A map to Knothole from Robo-Tropolis", he chuckled, "I love it!
Once they find this, there'll be no doubt that the little princess is a
spy for Robotnik. Then, we'll be in the clear to eliminate her. After
that, we'll move on to Sally."
"The other Sedition Founders will be pleased with our actions", said
Sovar.
The next couple of days went by very smoothly for Sasha. Everyone
in Knothole got to know her, and most of them liked her. She passed off
as very friendly and out-going, a lot like her older sister.
The person she got to know very well was Tails. After that first
day when they played hockey together, the two were inseparable. If Tails
was there, then Sasha was usually by his side. The same went if Sasha
was doing something. Tails was around somewhere. Sally thought is was
good for both of them. She knew that Sasha needed someone to latch onto,
while Tails needed a friend, since there weren't all that many kids in
Knothole his age. Most of them were old enough to go on missions or were
still toddlers.
Sally didn't mind sharing her hut with Sasha. One of Sasha's
favorite things was wildflowers. She had about six vases filled with fresh
ones that she picked each day. The only thing Sally wasn't thrilled with
was that Sasha was not the neatest person alive. She had a habit of just
throwing her clothes over chairs or just on the floor when she went to bed
at night.
Despite all the good things that were happening, several Freedom
Fighters had taken a dislike to Sasha. There were a few that didn't
trust her, and some even said that she was a spy for Robotnik. Sally
didn't believe a word of it, and found herself at times getting defensive
of her baby sister.
Since Sasha was only eleven years old, she was not allowed to go on
missions with the rest of the Freedom Fighters. So, she usually just stayed
behind with Tails.
It was a warm summer night, about three weeks after Sasha's dramatic
appearance in Knothole. Robotnik had began construction on something huge
out in the Great Unknown, and several Freedom Fighters had gone to check it
out for possible danger.
Sasha and Tails were sitting by the Power Ring Pool, holding hands.
The two had become very attached to each other lately. Everyone thought
that it was so cute.
"Gee", said Sasha, looking up at the sky, "It's so pretty out here."
"Yeah", said Tails, looking up as well, "Once the moon comes out,
the reflextion off the pool is really neat."
"You know something, Tails?", said Sasha, "I'm so glad I found
this place. I think I'll be really happy here."
With that, she laid her head down on Tails' shoulder. Tails then
put his arm around her, and they just sat there, enjoying the warm breeze.
Unknownst to either of them, they were far from alone. Two
Sedition members were watching them from the bushes. Rahatan glared in
disgust at the two children.
"It must happen tonight", he said to Leydon, "We'll have no better
opportunity."
"What kind of excuse can we make for her disappearance?", asked
Leydon, "Sally might notice if her sister just up and disappears."
"Don't worry about it", said Rahatan, "Ratcliff planned it all out.
We'll kill them both, and say that Sasha murdered Tails because he found
out who she really was, and then she ran away. We'll just plant the map
in her room to juice it up a little."
"Good plan", said Leydon, glaring at the two children, "Do we do it
now?"
"Wait for Ratcliff's signal", said Rahatan, "The rest of the Sedition
must position themselves."
Sasha and Tails just continued to sit and enjoy their moment alone,
when they heard a rustle in the bushes.
"What was that?", said Sasha, looking back.
She saw a rat walk out of the bushes, smiling.
"Why hello, Princess, Miles", said Ratcliff, "Sorry if I startled
you."
"What are you doing here, Ratcliff?", asked Tails, standing up.
"Oh", he said, putting his hands behind his back, "Just taking a
little nightly stroll. It is a wonderful night, isn't it?"
"Yeah", said Tails, getting a little worried.
Tails had heard about Ratcliff. He was a shadey character. He never
really left Knothole much. In all reality, Tails was rather scared of
Ratcliff.
"Uh, Mr. Ratcliff?", said Sasha, "We kind of wanted to be alone.
Could you, like, go away?"
"Oh, Princess", said Ratcliff, smiling even more, "Only here a week
and you're already giving orders. You're becoming more and more like your
sister with each passing day."
Ratcliff turned, and looked back at them.
"Unfortunately", he said, snapping his fingers, "My friends and I
don't want to leave. Just yet."
Sasha and Tails looked, and saw about eight other Freedom Fighters
emerging from the foliage. Each and every one of them looked rather nasty.
"In fact", said Ratcliff, turning back around, "We'd like you to stay
as well."
The Freedom Fighters all started making a circle around the two
children.
"What's going on?", said Tails, pushing Sasha behind him.
Ratcliff pulled a huge knife out from his vest. The blade gleamed
in the moonlight. The rest of the Freedom Fighters pulled out weapons of
their own.
"Just hold still", said Ratcliff, moving closer to the two cubs, "And
it won't hurt."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?", said Tails, scared to
death.
"Ridding Mobius of all members of the House of Acorn", said Sovar,
moving in as well, "Starting with HER!!!"
The Sedition members were about to attack, when the Power Ring Pool
suddenly came to life. A power ring was emerging from the water. All
of the animals there paused, and looked at the ring. Tails used that
moment to wind his Tails up, and grabbed Sasha's arms. He managed to get
enough altitude to lift them both over the circle the Sedition members had
formed around them. He landed a few feet away from them. Ratcliff was
the first to look back over at them.
"Hey!!", he yelled, "They're getting away!"
"Run, Sasha!", yelled Tails, "Run!"
The two cubs started running into the Great Forest. All nine of the
Sedition members started running after them.
"Oh, crap!", said Tails, staying right behind Sasha, "We're in
trouble!"
"This way!", yelled Sovar, pointing his knife after the cubs.
They all started running, with a bird and chipmunk bringing up the
rear.
"Hurry up, Paldul!", said the bird, "I wanna piece o' that girl too!"
Paldul was running as fast as he could, but he just couldn't keep
up with the rest of them. Eventually, he stopped to catch his breath.
Mollic stopped to wait for his friend.
"Come on, man!", yelled Mollic.
"Just a minute", said Paldul, trying to breathe.
All of a sudden, a silver hand shot through the foliage and grabbed
Paldul by his leg.
"Ahhhhh!!!!", screamed the chipmunk, falling onto his chest.
"Holy!", said Mollic, stepping back.
"Help me!!", screamed Paldul, and he was pulled back into the forest.
Mollic didn't even waste time to mourn his friend. He simply took
off and ran as fast as he could after Ratcliff, to warn him.
Back at the Power Ring Pool, Sonic and Sally arrived, after just
having returned from the Great Unknown.
"Well, this doesn't make sense", said Sally, looking around, "Rosie
said that Tails and Sasha were coming down here."
"Hey, Tails!!!!", yelled Sonic, "Where ya at!!!!?"
Across the clearing, Tails heard Sonic.
"Sonic!!!!", he screamed, "HELP US!!!"
Sonic quickly revved up, and Sally grabbed onto his back. He then
shot off with a sonic boom.
Meanwhile, Mollic had managed to catch up to Sovar and Ratcliff.
"Hey, Ratcliff!", he said, panting.
"What?", said the rat, still running after the two cubs.
"There's something out there in the woods!", he said, "It got
Paldul!"
"What are you...", started Ratcliff.
Before he could finish the sentance, two silver hands shot out and
grabbed Sovar and Mollic.
"Ahhhh!!", they both screamed.
Ratcliff stopped, and looked back. He saw that the only Sedition
members left were him and Leydon. Everyone else had been picked off.
"What's going on?", he said to Leydon, "What's out there?"
"I don't know", she said, "But let's finish our business before they
get us!"
The two started running again. Meanwhile, Tails and Sasha kept
running. Unfortunately, they ran right up to the edge of a huge cliff.
Tails peeked over, and saw several jagged rocks at the bottom.
"Maybe we can double-back", said Sasha.
"I don't think so, children", said Ratcliff, coming out of the
darkness, "This little marathon you've had us all running is at an end.
However, before I kill you both, you're going to tell me what's out in the
woods!"
"What are you talking about?", asked Tails.
"Playing dumb won't save you", said Ratcliff, "Looks like I'm going
to have to find whoever it is myself."
Ratcliff held the knife over his head, and aimed it right for Sasha's
chest. All of a sudden, Leydon screamed. Ratcliff looked, and saw her
being dragged into the woods just like the rest. He pulled a blaster out
of his vest, and began firing wildly into the darkness.
"Who the hell are you!!!?", he screamed, still shooting.
Right before him, a pair of red eyes lit up in the darkness. Shocked
by this, he jumped backwards, and tripped over Sasha. They both fell over
the side of the cliff.
"SASHA!!", yelled Tails, grabbing Sasha's arm.
"Tails!", she cried, "Help me!"
Just then, Sonic and Sally showed up. Sonic quickly dove onto his
chest and grabbed the arm that Tails was clinging to.
"Hold on, Sash!", he said.
Sonic looked, and saw Ratcliff holding onto Sasha's black boot. His
weight was making Sasha too heavy to pull back up. Sally even got down,
and tried to pull her sister back off the cliff.
"Aahhhhh!", screamed Sasha.
"Careful!", said Sally, "Or you'll pull her arm out of the socket!"
"Tails!", said Sonic, "Can you fly over?"
"No", said Tails, trying to keep his hold on Sasha, "I ran too much."
Sasha was hanging on for dear life. She felt her hand slipping out
of Sonic, Tails, and Sally's grip. She looked down at Ratcliff, still
holding onto her leg. She stopped crying, and squinted her eyes at him.
"I!!", she screamed, kicking him in the face with her other foot,
"Have had!! Enough!! Of YOU!!!"
She kicked Ratcliff so many times, that his hand slipped, and he
fell into the darkness below, screaming all the way. With his weight gone,
the others had no problem pulling Sasha back up.
Once she was back on solid ground, Sally took her younger sister in
her arms and hugged her. Tears ran down Sally's face as she held her
sister.
"Oh Sasha!", she cried, "I thought I almost lost you!"
Sasha hugged Sally back, crying as well.
"Sally!", she sobbed, "He was gonna kill us!"
"Shhhh", said Sally, rocking back and forth, "It's okay. He can't
hurt you anymore. He can't hurt anyone anymore."
"Sonic", said Tails, trying to keep from crying as well, "There's
something out in the woods! It grabbed Leydon and the rest of the ones
who were with Ratcliff."
"We better get out of here, then", said Sonic, "C'mon, Sal."
Sally got back to her feet, still holding Sasha. She carried her
sister all the way back to Knothole. After putting her to bed, with Rosie
sitting with her, she went to deliver a little speech.
Sally had all the citizens of Knothole gathered around her hut.
She looked at all of them, and spoke.
"A group of Freedom Fighters that I thought we could all trust just
tried to murder my sister and Tails", she said.
There were many gasps of disbelief from the crowd. Sally continued.
"I don't know what this 'Sedition' group is", she said, "Or if any of
them are still among us, but I do know this. Their presence here will not
be tolerated. Tomorrow, I'm going to inform all of the other Freedom
Fighter sects of their presence. They will not be able to hide amongst
us for long. They will learn that this kind of terrorism will not be
accepted as long as I live."
Everyone started cheering Sally. She saw no Freedom Fighters not
applauding her dramatic speech, so she realized that all of the Sedition
members that were in Knothole were probably gone.
Later, after the commotion had died down, Sally and Sonic were
standing outside Tails' hut, after finally getting him to sleep.
"Sal", said Sonic, "What do you think was picking off the Sedition
members out there? Tails said that it looked like some kind of bots."
"I don't know", said Sally, looking off into the woods, "I've had
several people go out and see if they can find any of the Sedition members'
bodies, but they didn't find anything. Not even any foot-prints. But,
to tell you the truth, Sonic. I'm a little scared."
"Why?", asked Sonic, "From what I can tell, whatever it was out there
was only after the Sedition members."
"That's not it", said Sally, "The way it was carried out. No bodies,
no foot-prints, no evidence of whatever it was even being there. It's just
like what happened at Knothole Beta. I know it's not Robotnik, because
this happened way too close to Knothole for it to be."
"So what are you getting at?", asked Sonic.
"Something's out there, Sonic", said Sally, "Something smart, and
something deadly. Plus, I'll bet anything that Knothole Beta wasn't the
only place to suffer this fate."
Sonic just put his arm around Sally, and held her close to him.
Together, they watched the stars in the night sky, and wondering, what
was out there?
At the foot of the cliff, Ratcliff opened his eyes. He looked up,
and saw the stars in front of his face. He was still alive.
"Heh", he said, "This rat isn't so easy to get rid of, Princess."
He tried to get up, but felt a horrible pain in his leg and chest
when he did. Must be a couple of broken bones. He was laying there,
trying to figure out how to move himself, when he heard a crunching sound
on the gravel.
"Wha?", he said, looking forwards.
There, in front of him, stood a creature. It didn't move, it just
stared at him. Since it was so dark, Ratcliff couldn't make out any
features that could identify the creature.
"Who", he stammered, "Who are you?"
A pair of red eyes lit up on the creature. Ratcliff recognized them
as the eyes he had seen atop the cliff, right before he had fallen. The
creature started walking towards him.
"No!", he yelled, "Get away from me!!"
The creature was obviously a robot of some kind. Perhaps a
worker-bot? No, worker-bots wouldn't get this far out into the Great
Forest by themselves. It was too short to be a SWATbot. Plus, SWATbots
moved stiffly, like machines. This thing walked more smoothly, like a
living creature. So what was it?
The thing grabbed Ratcliff's unbroken leg, and started to drag him
back into the woods. Ratcliff started clawing at the ground, trying to
get away, but to no avail. Whatever this thing was, it was strong.
"No!!", he screamed, "Let go of me!! HELP MEEEE!!!!"
Then, Ratcliff disappeared into the darkness of the woods, his
calls for help going unheard.
The mysterious creatures had no interest in Knothole at this
point in time. However, when and if they did, they knew right where it
was. The ones that they had taken this night would do nicely for now.
THE END
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