"Then let's get going!" exclaimed Wraith, clenching his fists. Turning, he set off running across the front of the castle where the wall had collapsed, making for part of the structure that was still standing. Jumping at it as he came close, he embedded the claws on his gloves into the stone and immeadeately began, hand over hand, to climb.

(OOC: Sorry for the short post Tired atm)

"Fine. Ill clmib with you." "When we get up there I"ll get snively."

OOC: pardon short post.

Taffy fought valiantly as she covered Sally and Geoffrey, who back up to the stairs that led back into the castle itself, using them for cover. She too was backing up along Mecha and ADAM, their rain of weapon fire the only thing keeping the advanced SWATbots from overrunning them entirely.

Cripes, we can't hold on much longer! Got to stop the source of all this...Snively...but we can't get to him, not with all thos SWATs...Mother of Mobius...

But suddenly there was a nasal shout over the noise of the gunfire. "H-hold your fire! Turn around an-"

The command was instantly followed as the SWATbots lowered their weapons, and Taffy fell to one knee, shaking a little from the stress of battle. She was a trained Royal Guardsman, but the intensity of fighting such unstoppable opponents had given her a run for her money.

But why did they stop?

She looked up, and she could see Snively surrounded by two echidnas and a hedgehog who had appeared out of NOWHERE. How did they get up onto the roof without anyone looking? It didn't matter; Snively was cornered, he couldn't say anything fast enough now to stop anyone from silencing him forever.

"You've got some things to answer for, Snively," growled one of the echidnas as he shook his fist threateningly at Snively, whose eyes had grown to the size of dinner plates (not much bigger than the fist itself). "Now tell us what we want to know..."

Tails continued his way through the castle. He didn't want to leave here just yet.

If his hunch was correct, then just maybe Sally could still be here! He hadn't seen her since he had been thrown in the dungeons below the castle, but he was sure she would be okay!

As soon as he reached the ground floor among a group of fleeing Mobians, he ducked into a side corridor and kept running along that path. Sensing that all the tremors had been coming from above him, there had to be something going down on the roof; he was going to check it out!

---

Kaeda groaned and slowly opened her eyes. As the vixen's sight came into focus, she realized that she was no longer out on the open space on the roof, but inside the castle again.

She looked ahead. Snively was cowering behind Wraith, Switch, and Flaming, and had a very desperate look on his face.

"It's about time you woke up, luv," said Geoffery's voice in a whisper. "Are you okay? Can you stand?"

"Maybe not," Kaeda said hoarsely, "but, when did those three show up?"

***
OOC: I hope this is okay. I think my next few post will be like this, at least I get Tails caught up with the others, all right? ^^;

"Well, well, well. Looks like Snively has taken a fall." He pointed hsi weapon towards him, even thoguh the energy pack was used up. It still created a frighting presence. "Looks like you've been busy."

Tails continued running through the castle, trying to look for any familiar faces.

It was futile, though; the place was practically deserted, aside from the panicked citizens of Knothole running for their lives out and away from the crumbling castle.

His mind was still racing with questions, none of which he knew the answer to. He was becoming frustrated at this.

Tails began to slow to a stop. He was hearing voices up ahead... but who did they belong to?

Flaming walked over to Snively and rasied his hands to take the crown form Snively.
"Get your damn hands off my crown!" Snively yelled, "SWATs help me!"
Flaming elbowed Snively in the face and yanked the crown from him.
"This is the source of your power! It doesn't belong to you!"
Flaming handed it to Wraith.
"Quickly, do something with it! Don't let Snively get it! Without it he's powerless!"
TBC

Wraith jumped when he suddenly found the crown thrust into his hands. He had been looking over the edge of the roof, watching the streams of Knothole civilians running from the front of the castle, and in his daydreams he nearly dropped the crown clean off the edge!

He got a ood grip and turned to Sally. "I think we all know where this belongs." he muttered, handing it to her with a slight smile.

Sally took it, but her face remained downcast. "Yes, we do." she replied, stepping forward and putting her hands on her hips. "Talk, Snivley! Where are my parents?"

"And just what are you and your uncle upto" said Switch.

"Snively sneered at the group. He tried to get his SWATs to attack, but he lost his connection to them. They stood still motionless, lifeless. Snively had used the Source to enhance the nano machines within the bots. After doing so, he could only command them through the Source, and now his conection was lost!
He looked over at Switch, "What makes you think my "UNCLE" has anything to do with this?"
TBC

OOC:
Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I've been quite busy recently. So once again, sorry!

(OOC: sorry for the delay, and for the shortness of this post. Past few days have been murder.)

IC:

Sally grabbed the diminutive man's long nose tightly, looking him straight in the eye. "Stop stalling!" she hissed angrily. "We asked you questions and we want answers...right away!"

Wraith had suddenly noticed M standing a little way away, and was watching her closely, but at the moment the robot didn't seem to be doing anything...just watching. The echidna reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out his communicator again. "I gotta call my brother." he muttered to Flaming. "Tell me what I miss." With that he took a step away from the others, holding the comm up to his ear...

M knew that Snively no onger controlled the bots. She also knew her chance of getting the crown was gone. She knew that Robotnik would be happy that Snively has been beaten.
She turned and motioned for ADAM to follow as they left.

Sweat rolled from Snively's face. He looked at the massive group staring at them. He said nothing. He wasn't going to listen to them!
TBC

OOC: I'm gonig to have my chracter take a back seat here as you work out the plot with Snively if ya don't mind.

IC: Switch noticed Wraith walk away. Whast he doing with that communicator... He too was recording this all, but whats he up to. He approached Wraith, but still kept his eyes (and gun) toward Snively.

OOC: Sorry that I haven't posted here in a while. I've been busy, plus I'm waiting for the right time to actually post. Keep in mind that Tails is listening in on the conversation, so I'll wait until more of this is plot is worked out! ^^;

OOC: I'm getting the feeling that we're all kind of waiting on Eggpire to reveal what Snively's plot was, as we don't want to go ahead and reveal where Sally's parents are and what he was doing with the crown in case we mess up a major plot point.

IC:
Taffy felt a deep, burning anger inside of her as she looked at Snively. This pompous big-nosed freak is behind everything that's happened here, forced us to work for him, killed and murdered people...and even when he's cornered, he's still this stubborn! Only one way I know how to cure that...

"Sorry Princess, but there's only one sort of language that this creep is going to listen to now," growled Taffy as she raised her rifle and pressed the barrel against Snively's forehead. "Now are you going to talk, or am I going to have to shoot?"

"You wouldn't dare!" piped up Snively, though sweat was beading on his face. "If you ever want to know the location of the Royal Family, you can't afford to kill me!"

"You're right," Taffy said, almost resignedly as she pulled back the rifle...and poked it into his stomach. "Do you know how long it would take you to die if I shot you here? Be a lot longer and more painful, and you'd still be alive long enough to tell us what we need to know. Now start squawking, or I'll make you talk."

OOC: How about that brutality, eh? XP and of course other chars may choose to respond as they will

Snively swallowed. He knew he had been beaten.

"Fine," he finally said, "I'll talk."

Snively shifted in his frozen position. He had no choice but to tell everyone about his genius plan that had backfired upon him!

"It has been my plan from the begining," he statrted, "Ever since I joined Brain Trust. I got everyone to help me study the nanoites that ADAM had deloyed beforehand. Using the knowledge of the smalll robots I managed to enhance their stregth. With that I soon learned that I could combine the nano-machines using the powers of chaos."

Snively paused as he felt uncomfortable. Everyone was satring at him. But the orange echidna's gaze seemed to burn a hole in Snively's flesh.

"I manged to retrieve a Chaos Emerald," he continued, "Using the emerald, I enhanced the nano-machines once more. I now had enough power to take the crown from the king. I went into his room in the dead of night. My new nano-machines took care of the guard. That was when I seized the crown form the old monarch. With the crown I tapped into the Source of All, and seized its power. I then took control over Knothole and claimed myself as king!"

"I had more power than I could possibly imagine, but I wanted more," an evil grin spread accross Snively's face, "I the took the nano-machines, and powered them up again with the Source. That was when I applied them to outdated SWAT-bots. The first bots were the ones responsible for Sonic's death. He didn't begin to realize that he was fighting super powered bots when he tried to destroy them. As you already know my bots don't fall easily. It was only a matter of time before the SWATs got the best of Sonic! Robotnik had nothing to do with this. He was just jealous of my newfound power!"

Flaming nodded at Snively's response. He now knew every thing that he was sent to find out. All Flaming had to do now was take him back to the Chaos Force haven!
TBC

OOC:
Finally everyone knows how Sonic died. More plotholes closed! This part of the story seems to be coming to a close. As you know I've been working up something new in the background that I plan on unleashing soon!

Suddenly Taffy's gun was wrenched from her hands, and the barrel once again pointed squarely between Snivley's eyes! Sally had her teeth gritted, and her eyes were watery as her finger tightened on the trigger!

"You..." she choked, shaking her head slightly. "You...evil..."

Instantly the others jumped forward, grabbing the gun and trying to point it towards the floor, away from the small man's head! "Drop it!" shouted Flaming, trying to pull the weapon away forcefully. "I need him alive!"

"It isn't worth it luv!" muttered Geoffrey, one hand on the gun and one hand on Sally's shoulder. "Don't do this! It won't bring Sonic back!"

"He's right." agreed Wraith, who had jumped forward at the action and now was stood behind the Princess with his arm around her neck, although not tightly.

Sally struggled for a moment, then collapsed in a flood of tears, turning away from Snivley and staggering across the roof, falling to her knees a short way away. Geoffrey came away with the gun, and he quickly handed it back to Taffy and turned to face her, but Wraith had already started towards her. "Keep an eye on him." he muttered over his shoulder, jerking a thumb at Snivley. "And find out where her parents are." Geoffrey seemed reluctant for a moment, but then he relented and turned back to their prisoner.

Wraith stepped forward and knelt down beside Sally, placing a hand on her shoulder gently. "Hey..."

For a moment she was silent, unable to speak from grief, but eventually she found her voice. "I...I can...see him, Wraith!" she moaned between sobs, her hands covering her eyes and muffling her voice. "I can see him...fighting...all alone, and...they...they just keep coming...!"

Wraith narrowed his eyes and looked at the floor. He had no idea what to say...he was hopless in situations like these...but he felt he had to do something!

"So hopeless...!" Sally continued with a sniff. "So...alone...!" Her shoulders shook as she once again descended into uncontrolable fits of crying, strands of her long hair blowing over her face in the wind and dripping with her tears.

Maybe saying something wasn't such a good idea right now after all. At a loss for anything else to do, Wraith slowly leaned forward and put his arms round her shoulders, drawing her close to show his support. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he felt her tears seeping down through his armour and soaking his fur. The question crossed his mind as to wether this was right for him to be so close to her, her being the Princess and all, but no matter her title, everyone needed a shoulder to cry on at one point or another, didn't they?

He couldn't help but admit it, as he finally allowed himself the time to think about Sonic and what had happened to him, he felt tears welling up in his own eyes too...

Tails couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"No... it can't be true... Sonic..."

He sank to the steps, trembling violently, trying to keep himself from crying.

"My best friend... is gone..." He banged his fist on the stone stairs, filled with rage and sadness. "That bastard Snively..."

The young fox finally got a hold of himself and stood up. Before he knew it, he found himself running forward, in the direction of where the voices he heard came from.

He wasn't thinking about who would be there, or what would happen to him. He didn't care...

The only one who stood without emotion was Switch. In fact, he seemed to be smiling in glee. "Well then Snively, now that that's out of your mouth, you have to options. Lay down and die or come with us."

Kaeda was standing shakily next to Geoffery when she heard a voice shout in the hallway, followed by running footsteps.

"STOP!!"

The vixen turned her head towards the sound. "Huh?"

As everyone else looked behind them to see a small orange fox run right by them, fists clenched and pushing aside anyone in his way, and deliver a hard punch to Snively's jaw, knocking the human to the ground!

Seeing this, Switch, now in an angry mood, grabbed the fox kit by his arm, restraining him.

"You MURDERER!!" the fox spat at Snively, squirming in Switch's grip. "YOU KILLED HIM!! YOU KILLED MY BEST FRIEND!!"

***
OOC: I hope that was all right. I wanted to bring Tails into the main action... ^^;

"Everyone calm down!" Flaming yelled, "I know this news is hard to take in. It however doesn't change anything! Sonic is dead. He is never coming back!"

Flaming looked over at Tails who wasn't paying attention to Flaming at all. The echidna kneeled down beside the fox.

"I know he was your best freind. Let me take Snively and I promise to you that he will get a punishment that will serve eual to Sonic's death"

Tails' arm broke free from Switch, and the child slugged Flaming across the face.

"I want to see him die! I want to see him dead! I want to see him die in front of my eyes!"

Flaming looked at the child. The hit didn't hurt him as much as it suprised him! Flaming shook his head. Dealing with this fox was going to harder than it first seemed!
TBC

"Aren't we forgetting something?" called Wraith from behind them all. "Snivley can't be punished yet...he still hasn't told us where the King and Queen are."

(OOC: short post. Sorry.)

Snively shot an evil look toward Wraith. He had been intentionally dodging that question.

"The royals?" Snively said, "I exiled them to the ruins of old megopolis. However uppon transfer the king became ill. He didn't make the journy. If the queen is still alive she has no doubt been found by Eggman!"

Everyone seemed shocked to hear of this. A long silence fell upon the group.
TBC

"You know." Said Switch quietly. He contiued to glare at Snively. "How can we belive you? I mean give me on good reason why. How do we know your not saying that as a scare tactic?"

OOC: Sorry I haven't been around. I haven't quite thought of what to put here. ^^; When I do think of something, I'll be back with an IC. Once again, my apologies!

Taffy slipped behind Tails and threw her arms around him, in a body-locking grapple to keep him from throwing himself at Snively. "Hero or not, you can't go killing Snively yet," said Taffy calmly as she held onto the struggling fox.

"Taffy's right, we've got to confirm if what Snively just said is true or not," agreed Geoffrey. "If it is, then we need to recover her Majesty the Queen immediately. There might still be time to reach her before Eggman does, and every second will count!"

"He killed Sonic! Are you going to let him get away with that?!" yelled Tails, rage unfettered in his eyes as he tried to spin his tails, but found that Taffy had purposefully placed her legs to interfere with their propeller-like action.

"We won't - we'll lock him up here in the castle, and he'll stand trial for what he's done," said Taffy, her words bitter. Duty comes first, she reminded herself. Saving the Queen is more important than Snively's life right now.

"Now that Snively's out of power, I can get us a plane...we just need the word, luv," said Geoffrey, looking pointedly toward Sally, who was now getting a hold of herself.

"So, what do we do with Needle-nose here, then?" Kaeda asked.

"I want him dead!" Tails shouted, still trying to get loose from Taffy's grip. "He killed Sonic! He... he..." Tears started to stream down his face as he started to sob.

Somehow, contrary to what some might have thought, hearing the news about her father's death and her mother's capture seemed to have a claming influence on Sally. She had stopped crying, and her eyes were open, her body tense.

Slowly, deliberately, she pulled away from Wraith. The echidna looked her in the eye, but she seemed to be looking past him, through him somehow. There was something in her eyes now, something Wraith had never seen before...wait, maybe he had, that one time many, many years ago, just before he had been put into stasis by his and Knuckles' ancestors...

A chill ran down his spine. Oh no, that can't be good!

Slowly Sally stood up, turning and stepping forward, towards Snivley, still moving slowly and deliberately. Geoffrey was talking to her as she wondered past, but she showed no sign of hearing him.

Slowly she stepped forward until she was nose to nose with Snivley, staring directly into his eyes. "If all you say is true..." she murmured in a quiet, soft voice, "...you're going to wish you had never been born!" There was a moment's pause as the two of them stared each other down, then she turned her back on him, stepping away across the roof, back towards the stairs they had come up. "Take him away." she ordered over her shoulder, her voice still calm and collected...somehow sinister... "Let's get moving."

Wraith stepped up to the others as he watched the Princess slowly descending the stairs back into the castle. His mind was in a quandry...should he tall the others with him? Should he wait until he had had the chance to talk to Sally himself? Why did almost everything in his life seem to somehow relate to his past??? He'd been trying to forget it all this time, and yet now, yet again, he couldn't!

That look, that dark, cold, sinister lack of emotion that he had seen in her eyes...he had seen it only once, and still the nightmares came back to haunt him.

He had seen it in a mirror in the lab, in the eyes of his own reflection, right before the night he had killed all the scientists working on his case...

(OOC: Remember, for details on Wraith's past, look at the Character Profiles Thread^^)

The group began to move towards the castle, with Switch in the lead, holding Snively at gunpoint. Taffy, a still-mourning Tails, and Geoffery followed next, while Flaming and Kaeda, whose footsteps were still a bit shaky from her injury, held up the rear.

Seeing Sally's demeanor drastically change like that made her feel uneasy... all the information that spilled out of Snively's mouth answered some of the questions she had, but raised many more still.

The pain in her side was starting to bother her again... despite the fact Geoffery patched it up, she needed to find someplace to rest. It didn't help that she was walking around, either...

Still, she couldn't help but feel sorry for that little fox ahead of her. It reminded her of what had happened to her 10 years ago, when her mother was killed, and her older sister went missing soon after... all the pain slowly came back to her...

No! Kaeda thought, shaking her head and biting her lower lip to fight back tears. This is no time to get emotional!

Soon the group had silently reached the outside of the castle. "Well Snively We will test your claim. After all I hope you know I, ah, have more information than meets your beady eyes." Switch smiled a slightly disturbing semi-evil smile at that, and waited for the shock to set in.

OOC:
Sorry if I hadn't posted lately. I've been a little busy, but I'm back now.

IC:
Silently SWAT-bots landed on the rooftop of a towering appartment building. The shuttle that dropped them off hovered out of sight. They have been sent on a mission from their leader. Their mission must nver be found out or else. Dr. Robotnik has special plans he has been schemeing up, he can't risk them falling into civillian hands. The bots readied their weapons, and got ready to enter the building.

Flaming looked on at the ruins of Knothole. Flaming once remembered when it was young and bursting full of life. Now it was all different. Snively had ruined this once happy place.
"One down one to go," Flaming said refering to Robotnik, "I doubt he knows that the queen has been exiled to his cities outer limits. Whatever the case one thing remains, Eggman must be stopped!"
TBC
OOC:
Sorry I was having trouble pieceing things together in this IC which is why it sounds wacky.

OOC: Here I come to revive this RP from the briny deep! WITH AN IC!!

IC:

Kaeda looked around at her surroundings. This place looked so desolate now, despite the fact that, to her surprise, citizens were running around, hurrying to their homes and slamming doors.

Where did these people come from?

Ahead of her, Taffy let go of Tails, who promptly sank to the ground on his knees and began sobbing.

He must miss his friend so much...

The vixen was about to walk over to him and ask him a question, but decided against it. He seemed to have been through enough for one day...
***
continued

OOC: IT'S SHORT!!

(OOC: Sorry for not posting recently...I kept wanting to do the same as Kaze and IC to keep this going, but my mind seems to have turned to mush these past few weeks. Maybe that fact that my bedtime has been about 5 AM for almost seven days on the run has something to do with it...

Anyway, IC soon^^)

EDIT IC:

Wraith had been largely quiet as he followed the others down the stairs. As they reached the ground floor, he pulled out his com and quickly updated his brother on the situation. After a short conversation, he put the device away and stepped forward. "Yo all, Knux says he's ready to help if we need him...just give him the call."

Flaming glanced over his shoulder. "At the moment I think his job of guarding the Chaos Emeralds is more important..."

"I agree, but it's good to know he's there if we need him." Wraith's eyes came to rest on Sally, who was stood out in front of the rest, her eyes slowly panning across the shattered village. "She said anything?" he grunted, quietly enough to avoid her hearing.

"Nope."

Wraith sighed. He was worried for her. Losing Sonic and possibly her father in one day, and her mother being captured...that would freak anyone out!

His thoughts were interrupted by a sobbing noise over to one side, and he glanced across to see Tails knelt on the floor, his eyes streaming with tears! Wraith narrowed his own eyes and stepped forward slowly. He and Tails had got on well ever since they first met, probably because Wraith treated him as an equal rather than a child, and the two were good friends.

He knelt by the kitsune, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey man...you okay?"

"It isn't fair!" Tails cried. "Why did he die?!"

He looked up at the maroon echidna with red eyes filled with tears. "Why, Wraith? Sonic wasn't supposed to..." The fox trailed off, and looked at the ground.

***

Kaeda watched all this from some distance away. It only succeeded in making her worry for her own aunt, who was probably in a hospital back in Station Square. Was she all right?

(OOC: Short post...)

The explosion echoed throughout Station Square. The appartment complex began to crumble to the ground. The SWATs ran out of the building chasing after mysterious purple haired man. The bots blasters were going off rapidly. A spy cam hovered overhead watching the battle. On the other end of the broadcast was Dr. Eggman.

"I tell them to do one thing," he sighed, "They do the exact opposite!"

Robotnik turned at the sound of a door opening. He saw Mecha walk into the room.

"So how was things?" he asked her.

"We managed to stop Snively." M reported.
"Good now that he's out of the way I can focus more on my latest project!"
He waved his hand at his noble android, "Come allow me to show you!"
TBC

OOC:
Sorry if I'm late, and sorry if it's short. I can now post regurally. So no more delays for me!

Sounds of explosions rang in Terisa Fox's ears, bringing her back to consciousness.

As her sight came back into focus, the pain from her head injury came back to her as she slowly realized where she was...

"Station Square Hospital," she murmured softly.

This must have reached the ears of someone nearby, for a nurse now stood over her, seemingly worried.

"Are you all right, miss?" she asked.

"I think so," said the middle-aged fox. "How long... was I unconscious?"

"A few hours."

"Oh..." Terisa looked towards the window. "By the way..."

"Yes, what is it, miss?"

"Do you know where my niece is?"

***
OOC: Just wanted to check on Kae's aunt, while Station Square is in focus for the moment.

Wraith shook his head in agreement as Tails' voice trailed off. "This world is cruel, man." he murmured quietly. "It shouldn't have happened...it's unfair. I agree completely!" Slowly he reached forward with his other hand, sliding it under Tails' chin and raising the kitsune's head to look him in the eye. "But I do know one thing." he continued. "I know what Sonic would want us to do if he were here. He'd want us to carry on. He'd want us to stand up, hold our heads high and keep going!"

Tails swallowed slightly. "How?" he moaned in responce.

"Because we're strong." replied Wraith, almost in a whisper. "Sonic fought for what he believed in. He believed it was right, and he was willing to face whatever consequences came with that. We owe it to his memory to do the same! He showed us the way...now we need to be strong and complete what he started! We have to make sure his death wasn't in vain!"

"Oh it won't be." murmured a voice over Wraith's shoulder. The echidna turned, looking round, to where ally was still standing, back to the rest of the group, still staring out at the wrecked village. "I'll make sure of that, Wraith." she continued, her voice emotionless, somehow cold. "Geoffrey...how's that transport coming?"

"It should be here soon, Princess," Geoffery reported, sounding a bit uneasy.

"It's horrible... seeing all this destruction," Kaeda said softly.

"This village was once very prosperous, Kae." Geoff turned to her. "It's probably going to be a while 'fore it returns to the way it once was... It's something you never get used to seeing..."

---

Tails wiped the tears away from his eyes and looked up at Sally. He was, at least, happy that she was alive... but her demeanor... it had completely changed, he just noticed.

Hearing about all what that bastard Snively had done... it was enough to make anyone's blood boil.

"Wraith," Tails said, his voice almost in a whisper. "I... I wanna get stronger..."

Flaming's attention trailed off as he saw smoke rising in the air over the tree tops.
He heard Tails speak, "I..I wanna get stronger..."
"Don't worry I think your chance will come soon." Flaming said pointing at the rising smoke, "I don't know what, but it seems something is going down at Station Square!"
* * * * * *

The purple haired man ran down the alleyway trying to lose the Swats. It always seemed that they were faster.
"No doubt about it," he said to himself, "Eggman knows what I done. I've already pissed G.U.N. off, and now Eggman!"

He paniced when he came to a dead end. He yturned and looked at the bots closing in on him not knowing what to do next.
TBC

OOC:
I know I said I would post frequently, but something has come up and my online time has been limited. Sorry.

Wraith shot the other echidna a glance. "I thought we were going to the old metropolis...whatever's going on in Station Square I'm sure GUN can handle it..."

"Hehe something is going down at Station Square alright," Switch said, who hadn't said a word the whole time. "In fact, why don't we go there though?" He smiled at his idea. "Could be more to the situation than meets the eye." He finished smoothly.

"This time I believe Switch is right," Flaming said, "It probally isn't nothing big, it really can't hurt to stop by Station Square on the way. For all we know Dr. Eggman could be involved."
Flaming once again glanced up at he rising smoke. He scratched his head in amazement. It seemed somehting bad happened one after another!
TBC

That smoke is from Station Square?!

"Oh, no," Kaeda gasped, taking off away from the group. "My aunt!!"

At once, the pain from her injury stabbed her like a knife. She was in no shape to go rushing off into potential danger like this... She had to stop...

Kaeda paused in her tracks, clenching her fists. "Damn," she said under her breath.

(OOC: Sorry for my dissapearence. All being well I hope to be around more often from now on ><

Just wondering, are we waiting for someone in particular to intro the transport the team are waiting for, or can anybody do it? I can't really think of anything else to make Wraith or Sally do right now...may be a good time to set them off on their journey.

Won't be able to post tomorrow, but hopefully over the weekend I will.)

OOC: I apologize for my general lack of activity here. Also hope my little plot twist here is appropriate.

IC:
Geoffrey St. John put himself immediately at Kaeda's side, his shoulder bandaged from his own injury from the battle. "Your aunt's still in Station Square, luv?"

Kaeda nodded, her emotions too strong at that moment to reply verbally.

"Don't worry, I'll go and make sure she's safe."

Kaeda and Geoffrey turned to look at Taffy, who had taken off her soiled Royal Guard uniform and replaced it with a green button-up shirt and blue slacks, though she kept the boots with her pant legs tucked into them. A fresh laser rifle was slung over her shoulder, and her bright blue eyes looked back at the fox and skunk.

"But you can't just go by yourself, Taffy," protested Geoffrey as the raccoon stepped up closer to them. Then he whispered, "Even if you go with those other blokes, it's dangerous. And we've still got to help Sally and the rest of the Royal Family, remember?"

"I know," said Taffy with a nod. "And I regret that, but neither you or Kaeda are in good enough condition to go to Station Square if there's fighting, and the princess is going to need all the help she can get to recover Their Majesties. Besides...I've got a debt to repay to your family, Kaeda."

This surprised Kaeda. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"A year ago, I'd been on an operation with other Freedom Fighters to bomb one of Robotnik's facilities in Old Megapolis. But he got wind of our plan, and we would have been all killed if someone hadn't come and saved our tails at the last moment. I didn't realize until now why the girl who helped us escape then looked so much like you."

"What was...her name?"

"Tiuren. I knew your sister, Kaeda."

Kaeda's hands flew to Taffy's shoulders. "You've seen her?! Do you know where she is now?"

"No, but last I saw her, she was still in Megapolis...the same place where the princess is going. So you go with her, and find your sister; I'll go to Station Square to find your aunt."

It was then that two different hover-transports flew up to the assembled group as they stood in Knothole.

Kaeda nodded, watching as the transports landed on the ground. "Taffy," she said, her voice breaking, "I... I don't know how I can thank you..."

"There's no need to," Taffy told her. "Go on ahead, now."

Kaeda nodded again, and began to walk away from the raccoon, towards the transports.

Megapolis... I hope you're there, Tiuren... she thought.

---

Now was not the time to mourn anyone, Tails decided; he was going to move on as best he can, and keep his best friend's memory alive... it was the least he could do, seeing as how he was now gone forever...

***
OOC: Sorry 'bout the short post. I had actually held off from posting 'cause nobody was posting... I guess this'll start going again... ^^;

Wraith looked thoughtful for a moment...this he hadn't expected! They were planning to split up then?

He still didn't really understand the need to go to Station Square, and whatever the case, in his eyes, rescuing the monarchs was far more important in his book, but it seemed many of the ohers had already made up their minds.

"So just who's going where then?" he asked, looking around a little uncertainly. "I'd feel more comfortable going with the Princess, but if that team has enough people already I guess I could join the others."

"I'll will go" said Switch. "I know the arae much more well (OOC: Lets hope i got the grammar there right, now back to IC:)than you do.

OOC: sorry for really shrot post, kinda low on inspiration right now.

"I'm going to help Sally," Tails said, sure of himself. "I wasn't able to do anything to make a difference while Snively had me imprisoned in the castle dungeon... that's why I want to start now."

The fox looked over at the Princess, who still had her back towards the rest of the group. "No one is going to tell me otherwise," he concluded.

Kaeda wished she could be as sure as that child. Part of her wanted to go to Station Square to make sure her aunt was okay, but she also needed to travel to Megapolis... maybe Tiuren was there...

But Aunt T's always been a fighter... she taught me nearly everything I know when I trained to be a Freedom Fighter... I'm sure she'll be okay...

"I'm going, too," she finally said.

For my own reasons...