Mercia - Bonus Round

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Sonic asked with a smirk. "What's the fastest way? I wanna show these guys what the elite beat of the Freedom Fighters can do!"

"Maybe, but I didn't ask for the wisest route, did I?" Sonic asked, putting his free hand on his hip and beginning to tap his foot impatiently.

"Unless..." Sonic began, holding up a finger, "You wanted that to happen to make sure that security wasn't paying attention elsewhere, like say another group of freedom fighters?"

"See? The hedgehog DOES know what he's doing," Sonic said, smirking, "We rush in, blow our target, and keep the SWATs busy until the others can do theirs. Then we all split," he added, putting Nicole away before he sped off in the direction she had indicated.

Crouched next to Rob, a smaller squirrel was keeping an ear perked for the sound of the patrol to move on past.

"At least it hasn't gone wrong."

The ear piecrcing siren of a HoverSWAT sounded out of nowhere as it passed right over Rob's head. However it didn't notice the two freedom fighters and instead continued on at full speed...heading in the direction of Sonic's target area.

*KABOOM!*

...Which was suddenly lit up with the light from an explosion.

AND THE ARCHER WAS KNOCKED ON HIS ASS As the patrol unit passed inched over his head Rob felt his heart bid to escape through his throat. Scrambling for the same alley as Vic, the ground fell out from beneath him as the explosion's shockwave roared through.

The archer stared off in the direction Sonic was sent as he struggled for air. "That bleeding twat! It's too soon!"

Meanwhile...

The secondary explosions were still occuring as Sonic streaked away from the site, a host of SWATbots on his tail.


"Come on losers! Catch me if you can!" he taunted. He made a sudden quick turn into a narrow alley, causing a small mid air pile up as several Hoverunits attempted to follow but instead slammed into each other. Laughing, Sonic zipped through the alley....only to nearly run smack dab into a squad of SWATbot waiting for him there.


"Surrender, Freedom Fighter!"


"Aw, come on guys! You should know I hate surprise parties!" Sonic quipped, before quickly ducking into a spindash and blasting through the line of robots right before they filled the area he'd been standing with laserfire.

"Gotta keep 'em busy just a little bit longer..." Sonic said to himself as he took a quick glance at his watch...

With a nod, the squirrel darted off, leading Rob towards a narrow alleyway, where the risk became apparrent. the alley was a rather long one, which was wh it made such a good shortcut.

But there was -no- cover.

Splashes of murky water sprayed into the air, disturbed by the well-worn boots of the archer trailing along swiftly behind Vic. The squirrel was right about one thing; the alleyway had not so much as a trash can to provide them cover. Merely the tall buildings that loomed around them ominously and the soft gritty soil with its occasional stagnant puddles. Should a patrol unit enter either end... they were screwed.

So of course when the shadows of a few hover units passed by overhead, briefly obscuring the already dark passage, it caused the hedgehog, whose senses were already on high alert, to snatch his companion by the arm and slam both of them against the wall. Breathing heavily, Rob stared intently at the sky, ears twisting as he waited for any signs they may have spotted them and return.

Nothing.

Exhaling a long breath, he released Vic. "Come on," he urged, sprinting the rest of the alley's length with little more trouble. As they reached the end, the archer peered out. Partially to get his bearings on where they now were, and partially to check for signs of trouble. His eyes flared, and once again the two pressed against the wall, Rob's teeth grit with determination as a group of SWATbots passed by. As their backs came to face them Rob looked out again, the factory visible a few blocks away. Their shortcut had done its job beautifully, but just as the archer had feared, security was already beginning to ramp up from Sonic's ill timing. Biting his lip, he glanced back at Vic.

"Alright," he with an exhale, "We need to find a way in there before things get too dodgy."

((Just gonna get this over with))

Getting into the factory alone had been rough enough. The security in Mercia may not have been used to multi-point hits, as the Meadowood Freedom Fighters tended to focus on single maximum damage strikes.

None the less the security had steadily risen as realization of Sonic's ill timed attack sunk in and proper protocols were calculated and carried out. As the two freedom fighters stalked their way through the facility, planting explosives at key points, on more than one occasion they only barely managed to avoid detection. This left a mixed feeling within Rob - while he continued to fret over his depleted resources and how much differently this mission could have been organized, by the same token, less bodies running around meant less chance of detection in this dangerous state.

Soon the timed explosives were laid and precariously set, and Rob and Vic were left moving full tilt, keeping stealth in mind, toward the building's exit.

Rob's chest felt like it was going to burst as they reached a safe enough distance, just in time for the building's explosion to tremble across the ground and light up the sky like fireworks. He steadied himself against a wall as the earth rumbled beneath him and panted; the amount of adrenaline in his body making him twitchy and tingly. But they were out. The job was done. Now all that was left was to meet up with Sonic and return to the safety of the forest.

"... Tha wah..." Rob barely managed to wheeze out, gesturing off in a direction as he slid down to supporting himself on his knees, his rump pressed against the wall to keep him stable. Sweat dripped from his face as his exhaustion over the last few days finally crashed down on top of him all at once. It was done, it was over, he kept telling himself. Also, his still sore head was pounding with the same ferocity as when Rouge had dropped that bucket on his head.

...

Rouge.

With a strained groan the archer fought to reclaim his breath, placing his hands into the small of his back and straightening up with an overextending stretch. It wasn't over yet. Not until they figured out treatment for the sick villagers. With a long exhale to steel his resolve, Rob glanced over at Vic to be sure he was ready before taking off into the back alley, his pace noticeably slower than it had been before.

Rob panted lightly, coming to a halt and propping himself against a turned over stove buried amid the junk. He shot a disapproving glare at Sonic. "Bloody brilliant."

Quirking a brow at the other hedgehog with a look that clearly read 'you have got to be kidding me', Rob took to massaging his eyes. "Aye. But we still need to help the ones under its effects somehow."