Sonic the Hedgehog - "Tides of War" - By Aaron Lye ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ E-mail: vicl@pacific.net.sg ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE LEGAL STUFF Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles Tails Prower and other related characters are based on the characters created by SEGA, Archie Comic Publications, and the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning series created by DIC and Sega of America. Other characters that appear or are mentioned in this story are original creations of their respective authors. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Cast" of characters used in this story (in random order) ----------------------------------------------------------- Sally Sonic Tails Bunnie Rotor Antoine Tayla - Aaron Lye Tasha ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Governments ----------- Union of Allied Worlds - Joseph De LaCroix Federated Races of Mobius - Aaron Lye Alliance of Races - Aaron Lye The Ghrakel Empire - Aaron Lye ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1996 Aaron Lye ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIMELINE: One month since the declaration of the Race Wars ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS ONE REFERENCE TO AN ADULT THEME. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REMEMBER: READ ON TILL YOU REACH THE WORDS "THE END"!! IF YOU DON'T SEE THEM, THE STORY'S NOT COMPLETE. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "You sure about this, Sal?" Sonic asked his wife for the third time today. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea, what with the war and all that..." he trailed off. "Sonic, stop worrying... It's just a community tour! I have to keep relations with the general populace on good terms, show that we're still in control, assure them. And what better way than for me to go on a walkabout around Mobotropolis?" Sally assured Sonic. "Besides, Antoine's arranged adequate security precautions, and the defensive shield around Mobotropolis is up 24 hours a day..." She added. With a bit more persuasion, Sonic reluctantly agreed. "Promise me you'll be alert to your surroundings." "Ok, you big worrier!" Sally teased him. "See you tonight!" kissing him as she left. As she went out the door, she called out to her daugther. "Bye, Jess!" A muffled "Bye, Mommy." came through Jessica's door. Not having any meetings scheduled for that day, Sonic spent it at home with his daughter. Lately, because of the Race War, he hadn't been able to spend as much time as he wanted to with his daugther. ***** The blue hedgehog had just finished feeding Jessica and had tucked her into bed. Looking at the wall chronometer, he noted that Sally should be on the final lap of her walkabout. He turned on the visual display and switched to the news network. He then walked over to the wall replicator and scrolled through the list of wines available. as he looked down the list, he overheard the reporter on the screen. "...of the Mobian News Network, reporting live from Eastern Central Park, where Queen Sally Alicia Acorn, president of the Federated Races of Mobius, is conducting the last leg of her day-long Mobotropolis walkabout." The reporter paused, presumably to let the camera switch views. Sonic look a quick glance at the screen, and saw Sally talking to a few squirrels and their kids, surrounded by civilians and reporters only held back by police officers who were cordoning off the area. He was pleased to note that in addition to the police, Antoine had arranged for a number of Council Guard officers, who were flanking Sally, to watch over his wife. The reporter droned on, "Queen Sally's public appearance is intended to allay the general public's fears on the first civil war in Mobius's history." The reporter droned on for a while describing the war. Sonic's attention drifted back to the wine list, scrolling through to select a wine he thought Sally would enjoy. Just as he found the right one, he heard some phased energy shots from the screen. Alarmed, he focussed on the display. The reporter was frantic. "We have just been informed that the shield generator has malfunctioned, and several sections of Mobotropolis is now unshielded." The view panned to Sally, or actually, a view of Sally being surrounded by Council Guard Officers. The CGOs were shooting at targets beyond the scope of the camera. The reporter continued off-camera, sounding like she was lying on the ground. "The minute the shield collapsed, several people in the crowd started firing at the Queen, taking out three guards." Sonic could hear people screaming and the sound of running was also very prominent. Without any notice, Sally was enveloped in a sparkling beam, and she dissapeared. The reporter seemed relieved. "Queen Sally has been transported out of the danger zone. With the Queen's escape, the shots from the crowd has diminished, and the police and CGOs are apprehending the assailants." Sonic tapped his communication device. "Transporter room, do you have her?" The reply he recieved sent a chill down his spine. "Who, sir?" Sonic snapped, "Sally! Do you have her?!" "No, sir. The Queen is on a walkabout and we did not recieve any orders to transport her." It was then that Sonic realized the truth. The tide of war had just turned against them. Queen Sally Alicia Acorn, ruler of the Federated Races, his wife, had just been abducted by the Alliance of Races.... ***** Sally felt the stinging blow lance across her cheek, the latest in a series of injuries that her captor had deemed necessary to inflict on her. "Not feeling cooperative are we now?" her captor, a large-sized tiger spoke in a gruff voice. "You will tell us the defense preparations of Mobotropolis!!" Sally gave the standard response. "I am Sally Alicia Acorn, of the Federated Races of Mobius." She had said that to every single question she had been asked. Her jailer gave her another slap. She winced, but still refused to give in. She would have hit back, but being tied to a chair usually hinders such actions. The tiger walked away from her and looked outside the interrogation room. When he turned back to face her, a lustful look seemed to appear in the eyes of the tiger. "If physical injury doesn't make you talk, I can think up ... better ways to get the job done..." He started walking menacingly towards her, at the same time unbuttoning his shirt. Sally was too horrified at the thought of what this tiger wanted, and she was rooted to the spot. The tiger towered over her as he got close, untied her, grabbed her by her cloak and picked the comparitively small squirrel off her chair. "Last chance, squirrel. You gonna talk?" Sally promptly kicked the tiger hard in a *sensitive* spot, causing the afore-mentioned mammal to double over in pain and drop her. She scrambled up and raced to the other side of the room. With the immediate danger gone, her thought processes returned to normal, and she knew that the tiger now posed not much of a threat. If he tried something again after he recovered, she could easily outrun the silly creature. "Why you...." The tiger had a glazed look in his eyes, indicating pain. Not enough pain, however, for him to not try to catch the squirrel. The tiger was faster than Sally expected. Before she could react, the tiger had her by the scruff of her neck. He raised a paw, as if to strike her. Sally braced herself for yet another blow. "Leave her alone." came a voice from the door. The tiger turned, as did Sally, to see Ari standing there. The tiger growled a bit, but obeyed Ari. The ram continued, "How nice of you to pay us a visit Sal. I trust the .... accomodations meet your approval?" Sally spoke vehemently, "If you think you can get away with this, you're sadly mistaken." Ari rebutted with, "Is that so? We'll see... in the meantime, Sal, sit tight. We're not finished with you yet...." The ram shut the door, leaving her in the dark room. Sally Alicia Acorn never felt this alone before. ***** Things in the Great Hall of the Council was chaotic, to say the least. Sonic was literally yelling at the rest of the Council. "How did this happen?? WE HAVE TO GET HER BACK!" Knuckles, Sonic's long time "opponent" countered, "I suppose you have a plan, Mr. Hero?" Sonic glared at echidna, but said nothing. He looked around the Council Chambers. "Where's Rotor? He was supposed to give a report on the shield generator." David Prower spoke up. "He's still looking into it. It's not that easy, you know." Bunnie added, "Where do ya think she could be? And how do we get ta her?" Sonic was at a loss. "Mr. Z'bar, can the Union ships detect anything from orbit?" The reply came. "We've already tried that, Sonic. During the transport, they scrambled her combadge, and redirected it to the southern region. Without that device, we can't really locate her." The blue hedgehog was stumped, when Tails spoke up. "I will attempt to locate her, and if possible, retrieve her from the Alliance." Sonic agreed. "No harm done. Give it a shot, bro." The two-tailed fox disappeared in a haze of yellow. In his absence, the remaining Council members attempted to ascertain a plan of action. One hour later, Tails reappeared in the chambers. To the surprise of the rest, he seemed injured in some fashion. Tails paused a moment to catch his breath, then updated the rest on what had happened. "Ari has more supporters than we thought. He has somehow managed to rope in a society of mages into his Alliance, as well as a few rogue telepaths... I managed to locate Sal, but the mages detected me before I could help her. I had to fight my way out of there... but Sally seems fine, other than several bruises and such." He continued, "There's no way I can take on the mages and the telepaths by myself... and while they're on the loose, any rescue attempt you make could be severely jeopardized." A voice at the Chamber's entrance interrupted Tails. "Well then, Tails- sugar,it appears that we've come at just the right time..." The group turned to see Tasha and Tayla, once apprehensive of each other, now standing at the entrance. Tails greeted the pair, as did Bunnie. Sonic smiled. Things were turning out better than he thought.... ***** Sally paced around the interrogation room. She had to escape... but how? She didn't even know where she was... let alone what kind of security had been *provided* for her. The only clue she had was that every so often, a cloaked figure would look through the glass section of the door. She could only assume that that creature was some sort of mage. Her meals were provided for her via a transporter beam... she had limited contact with other people... she was about to give up hope when she suddenly saw a blaze of yellow outside her door and saw Tails standing there. She had cried out, warning him of the mages, but he could not hear her. He could see her, though. She saw him get struck by a magic green bolt, saw him get injured, saw him retaliate with his signature magical wave. But, she knew that Tails was easily outnumbered.... She tried to help him, picking up speed recieved from using the Deep Power Stones all those years ago, she leaped in a Sonic-esque fashion and smashed through the glass. Before she could even raise a paw to help her friend, she felt immense pain searing through her mind. She screamed in agony, remembering the last time she witnessed this first-hand. She managed to turn, and saw a raccoon staring directly at her. She knew instantly that the raccon was a telepath, and that it was doing to her what Tayla did to Angela all those years ago. Suddenly, she felt herself get up and walk back into the room, without her control. It felt strange to be moving without wanting to. There was no need to question why this occurred. The telepath was mind-controlling her. As she walked back into the room, she saw out of the corner of her eye, another blaze of yellow. Tails had managed to escape. In front of her eyes, the broken glass of the door seemed to reform, this time reinforced with steel, courtesy of the mages. A blue energy field suddenly enveloped the room, and she felt out of breath. She tried to move, but each step was agonizingly slow and required a lot of effort. The field brightened, and she haplessly fell to the ground, unable to move. She was alarmed at first, but soon realized what they had done. they had artificially increased the gravity in the room.... ***** The Council Chambers was abuzz with action. Sonic spoke, "Since we cannot reveal the fact that Sally was captured, we cannot use the military to retrieve her. Besides, I think a small force would have better chances than a large scale military strike. So, you all ready for some action again, or have you forgotten how to?" "Ready and willing, sugar!" came from Bunnie. "What do you think?" This from Tails. Tasha and Tayla just nodded. Knuckles replied, "Always ready, willing and most certainly ABLE." waving a spiked fist in the air. David Prower answered, "I don't forget." Antoine said the expected, "I is never ready." Finally, the ex-Freedom Fighters had something to do other than sit behind desks and give orders.... Sonic asked a few questions. "Tasha, you sure you can handle the mages by yourself?" Tasha replied, "No prob, Sonic. Being promoted to Guardian of the First Emerald of Control also gives enhanced abilities. The mages will prove to be no more than a minor nuisance." Sonic turned to Tayla, "What about you? Tails said there were at least two telepaths." Tayla replied, "The rogues usually have less abilities than normal telepaths. I can handle them." Sonic continued, "OK, I'll run through the plan. Tayla will hold the telepaths, Tasha, the mages, Bunnie, Tails and Antoine will take out the normal guards while David, Knuckles and I rescue Sal." Since Alliance Central, the Mobotropolis of the Alliance of Races, was protected by a similar forcefield to the one around Mobotropolis, they had to rely on Tails' and Tasha's teleportation capability. The yellow blazes dropped the ex-Freedom Fighters down in an alley just next to the Chambers of Rehabiliation (the Alliance's main prison ), where Sally was kept prisoner. Sonic gave the final command, and with a raise of their paws, Tails and Tasha teleported the group to their respective destinations. As predicted, the mages of the Alliance were of a low caliber, and could not stand up to the Control Guardian. Fighting a short battle, all the mages had either subdued or fled. Tayla, however had more trouble with the rogues than she originally expected. They were better than she had thought. They bore down on her, intent on destroying her mind. They would have succeeded, if Tasha had not appeared in time to send them flying. Tayla gave the other rabbit a look that said thanks. Bunnie and Antoine were shooting the guards from behind a magic forcefield provided by Tails. The field absorbed all incoming fire, yet allowed the phased energy beams from Antoine and Bunnie to stun the guards with pin-point precision...from Bunnie that is. More than one smouldering hole in the surrounding walls belonged to Antoine. The fox in question never had much training with directed energy weapons. Meanwhile, Sonic, Knuckles and David had taken care of the guards outside Sally's interrogation room cum holding cell. The echidna smashed the door and they entered the room. Immediately, Sonic and Knuckles both collapsed to the ground, unable to withstand the higher gravity that the room had been set too. Noticing the dilemma, David looked around for the gravity generator. After a few seconds of scanning, he detected it embedded in one of the walls. Bringing his phased energy emitters to bear, the cyberfox melted the required sections of the wall and deactivated the generator, not wanting to destroy it for fear of bringing even more attention to themselves. The three stood up, glad to be free of the restraining gravity. Sally had some difficulty at first, since she was the one who had been in it the longest, but she soon recovered. Sonic gave her a big hug, and she reciprocated likewise. Sonic spoke, "C'mon, let's go home before Ari finds out that you've given him the slip." ***** The next day, all was once again normal in the Great Hall of the Council. The Council of the Federated Races once again gathered for it's daily meeting. Z'bar was just running through the status of the Union fleet orbiting Mobius when Rotor entered hurriedly. Sonic seemed annoyed. "Where have you been? We didn't see you at all since the generator malfunctioned." Rotor spoke, "It was no malfunction. The generator was sabotaged." Sally gasped, "Sabotaged?" The walrus nodded, "What's worse, access to the generator is restricted to only Council members and key military staff. I've check up on the military staff, they were all out on missions at the time. That leaves us with only one other possibility...." Rotor didn't have to say anything else. It was obvious what had transpired. Someone in the Council of the Federated Races... the highest lawing making body in their government... was the saboteur, a traitor... There was a traitor in their midst.... TO BE CONTINUED... THE END ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enjoyed the story? Write to me at vicl@pacific.net.sg and let me know! Thanx for reading! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aaron Lye