Embedded Files
One thing Sonic had learned from this escapade was that Star Posts were heavy. They had to be, really, to withstand the different kinds of weather Mobius might throw at them. Sonic made a mental note that if he ever went back in time and met the person responsible for their design, he’d be sure to congratulate them on creating something so sturdy. None of this, of course, helped him lug the heavy pole any easier, particularly since it was so dark it was difficult to see where he was going to begin with.
Had Rotor not been present to lend his strength, Sonic suspected he’d have never moved the thing at all. But it needed moving, one way or another. It was a minor victory that Robotnik hadn’t already found and secured it. Sonic couldn’t be sure whether or not Robotnik had retained Kintobor’s knowledge of how Star Posts work, or if Robotnik had any method of activating one, but he did know he couldn’t risk it. If something like this fell into Robotnik’s hands, the doctor could annex the planet inside a week. It didn’t bare thinking about.
“Almost there, Sonic,” Rotor offered, trying to cheer up his sweating friend.
“Thank goodness,” Sonic replied between pants, “I could do with a sit down.”
“Don’t take too long. The sooner we put your plan into motion the better.”
“Yeah…” Sonic suddenly found himself nervous. What if the plan failed? Would they get another shot?
Rotor sensed his friend’s concerns, “Hey. This is going to work.”
Sonic nodded, “It’s going to have to.”
Back in the centre of the Great Forest, the rest of the Freedom Fighters had been hard at work following N.I.C.O.L.E.’s instructions and Sally’s leadership. They’d been working all through the day and with the strength of Bunnie and Dulcy on the job, things were coming together nicely as the first several huts began to take form. Each of the Freedom Fighters had somewhere to call their own, with more houses for refugees to claim. They were sparse dwellings but they would serve their intended purpose.
In the centre of the clearing, a larger building had been constructed. This would serve as the Freedom Fighters’ base of operations, from which the group would hold meetings and plan where to strike at Robotnik next.
“Alright, Antoine, steady now, nearly there… and… perfect!” Sally was happy to see another building completed.
Johnny wiped the sweat from his brow, “We’re making pretty good progress, if I do say so myself.”
Sally tried to remain pragmatic, “We have no idea how many people Sonic is going to bring from the Green Hill Zone. We have to make sure we have enough lodgings for them.”
Bunnie placed a hand on Sally’s shoulder, “Sally-girl, don’t work yourself to exhaustion. You don’t have the super strength that Ah do!”
“Thanks, Bunnie,” Sally smiled gently, “but I have to keep going. This is a big undertaking and we have to be ready.”
“I think Bunnie’s right,” Sonic’s voice interjected as he and Rotor slowly came into sight, “But I know you won’t listen anyway.”
Sally’s eyes lit up, “You found the Star Post!”
“Yeah, and it was a real pain to bring here. Couldn’t have done it without Rotor.”
The two friends placed the Star Post as close to the central building as they could manage before Sonic raised his hands to beg ‘no more.’ He took a seat on a nearby tree stump to get his breath back.
“Take five, but no longer,” Sally instructed him, “We need to get underway while we still have darkness on our side.”
Sonic nodded.
Four minutes later, Sonic was back to his feet, “Okay, I think I’m ready. It’s now or never. And ‘never’ isn’t an option.”
In a flash, Sonic zoomed at the Star Post and charged it up with enough energy to open the portal above its bulb. Concentrating, Sonic thought as hard as he could of the Green Hill Zone. Sure enough, the portal brought into focus an image of Sonic’s home Zone.
Sonic addressed everyone, “Okay, guys, no telling how many people are left in the Green Hill Zone. I know you all think I’m reckless- and maybe that’s fair- but not where innocent people are concerned. For once I’m going to try the stealthy approach. I don’t know how long it’ll take to scout the Zone but I’ll be back as soon as I can. Be ready.”
The others were silent, breath held. Sonic flung himself upwards and into the portal, which vanished with a flash. Then… nothing.
The next four hours were absolute agony for the Freedom Fighters. They had no idea whether or not Sonic was okay, with his Kintobor watch far out of range of N.I.C.O.L.E.’s sensors. Some of the friends drifted in and out of sleep. But not Sally. She was far too nervous to get even a minute’s rest. Not while Sonic’s fate was so uncertain.
The Star Post made a dinging noise and Sally’s heart almost burst through her mouth with surprise. A twinkling ring of stars began to form above the bulb. The ring spread wider and, sure enough, the portal to Green Hill Zone was re-established.
A few seconds of silence followed.
Until Sonic leapt through once more, “Room for a few more?”
“You’re alright!” Sally gasped.
“I never had any doubt,” Tails added.
“Well, good to see someone still believes in me,” Sonic grinned.
“How did it go, Sonic?” Porker asked.
“Managed to snag a roster from a Trooper outpost within the first twenty minutes of arriving in the Zone. Lucky break. It had the list of everyone left in the Zone, what work duty they were assigned to, all that business. It’s not as many as we might have hoped, Sal. Only twenty-three.”
“And how many…?” Sally couldn’t finish the sentence.
Sonic looked at her. He grinned, “Twenty-three.”
He turned back to the Star Post portal and called out, “It’s okay, guys, you can come on through now! The coast is clear!”
One by one, Mobians of all species, shapes and sizes came through the portal from the Green Hill Zone to the Great Forest clearing. The Freedom Fighter looked on with delight as, true to his word, twenty-three Mobians joined them.
“Everyone, welcome to the Great Forest!” Sonic announced.
Before an applause could rise up, Sally hopped onto the tree stump from before, “Yes, welcome. I don’t know how much Sonic has told you on the way here but you’re in the Great Forest of Knothole on West Side Island. I expect some of you may recognise me, but for those of you who don’t, my name is Sally Acorn. Technically, I’m the princess of West Side Island, but I don’t think that counts for a great deal at the moment. As things stand, I’m far more interested in seeing everyone here get housed. We’re going to have to ask you to be patient in the early going. None of us are architects so we didn’t have chance to make the most perfect of abodes. But since Robotnik had some of you down for work detail, I’m hoping I can count on some of you to have the right skills necessary to help us all build a new home.”
A few hands waved and their owners nodded, identifying who among the group could lend their services. Sally smiled.
“I hate to sound like I’m the boss,” Sally continued, “Which I appreciate is a weird thing for a princess to say. But I do want to lay a few ground rules. First things first, you’ll note it is dark here. The tree covering keeps us hidden from Robotnik. And at night time, fires are to be kept at a minimum. We can’t risk detection. We’re not likely to run out of fire any time soon, considering we have a dragon among our number. But I hope you can all understand why we have to stay in the dark. For the same reason, at least for the time being, we need to keep things as quiet as possible at night time. We might be able to relax these rules a little as we go on but, for now, we need to try and maintain a low profile and stay undetected. Now, members of the Freedom Fighters team, could you please raise a hand into the air? All the way up, if you will.”
The Freedom Fighters did as instructed.
“These are the people you need to come to with any problems you may have,” Sally explained to the refugees, “These are my most trusted friends and our best shot at pushing Robotnik back. We will do everything in our power to assist you. Most of them are from the Green Hill Zone too, so you have that in common.” She sensed a few uneasy murmurs at the sight of Bunnie’s mechanical limbs, “I want to remind everyone that all members of our community are to be treated equally, no matter their age, gender, species or appearance. We are all united against Robotnik. No exceptions.”
The murmurs stopped.
“We’ll begin assigning homes to you all now. Some of you may have to sleep on the floor tonight. I would suggest you allow the children and elderly to take any soft surfaces- we don’t have any mattresses at present, I’m afraid, so we had to improvise. In the morning, we need to work out who’s going to be able to help us with construction. The sooner we can create more living spaces the better. Admittedly, tomorrow we’ll have the fastest thing alive to help us procure materials so if we all work together, we can have a home for everyone sooner than—”
Sally was cut off by a rustling coming from behind a tree. Everyone turned to face the direction the sound had come from. Sonic and Tails instinctively moved to the front of the group, with Antoine equally instinctively moving to protect his princess.
“Who’s there?” an unknown voice called out from the darkness.
Sally held her breath. Had they blown it already? Had she got everyone captured mere minutes after their arrival?
Figures began to form in the shadows. They grew closer, then stepped into the light.
Mobians.
Sally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Princess Sally?” one of the Mobians asked, jaw agape in shock.
“The princess?!” another voice called out.
“Sure! And, look, her friends! That’s—Sonic the Hedgeghog!”
Suddenly, dozens more figures came through the darkness, their faces brightened by the good news and joyous site. And, coming from behind, a small figure familiar to Sonic.
“Sally!” prince Tufftee cried out as he ran towards his big sister before collapsing into her arms in a hug, “I thought you—I thought you were—!”
Sally comforted her young brother, “Sshh, it’s alright. I know what you thought. But, as you can see, I’m not! None of us are!”
An adult Mobian spoke up, “Some of us rushed here to the forest months ago when Robotnik first made his move on the planet. Our hideaway is around a mile and a half away from here. We have homes and beds free for any of your group if you need it. Food and water, too.”
Sally was relieved, “Is there anything we can do for you?”
“There is one thing we need,” the Mobian responded.
“Anything.”
“Leadership. We’ve been directionless since Colonel Stripe and his men went missing. We need someone to help guide us.”
Sally looked determined, “Let’s all get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow we work on getting everyone settled. And we figure out what our first plan to get back at Robotnik is going to be!”
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse