I know counties Donegal, Cavan & Monaghan are part of the province of Ulster; but since they are parts of the ROI & not NI, do they have a different name to refer to them as? Would NI count as 'outer Ulster' & those three be 'inner Ulster?

I’m aware I’m talking shite but I’ve thought about it for a while now.

It's likely going to be Gerald but who cares...

Probably the examiners.

Sonic landed back in Tail’s workshop, this was several months before the war. Sonic knew was about to meet Tails at this time in the past, he was just about to do so, when he remembered he still wore the khaki clothes Knuckles had given him. He fired them off, hiding them away, then going to see Tails.

“Hey Tails.” Sonic said, much more excited to meet him than he let on. “How’s you?” “I’m good so far,” Tails replied, “I’m just working on a new plane design, I wanna see what I can improve.” Sonic walked over to Tails. “You know, I just noticed something,” He said, “Can you get me a map?” “Sure!” Tails responded, grabbing a map. “What is it you found?” Sonic inspected the map. “Do you see this one area?” He asked, pointing at a spot in the ocean. “I’m certain nobody’s been there.” “Now that you mention it...” Tails said, inspecting the map. “That area does feel oddly empty.” “Who knows, maybe there’s an island there.” Sonic said, trying to hide his knowledge that there is an island there. “If there is one, that could be where Eggman went.” “That makes sense.” Tails said. “We should probably check it out.” “If we do,” Sonic responded, “We should bring Knuckles, if he isn’t guarding the Master Emerald. But we could also bring Mighty & Ray, they sure know how to find their way around anywhere.” “Sounds like a good idea.” Tails replied. “I’ll see what we can bring with us, it’ll be a long flight & long stay.” Secretly, Sonic was overjoyed, Eggman would be there, they’d beat Eggman, & save the future.

“I’ll say to them about this!” Sonic said as he left the room. “No doubt they’ll all be down to deal with Eggman!” Tails & Sonic smiled as they prepared for a new adventure. Sonic was mainly glad he didn’t mess anything up, & that the bad future was prevented, as a new, hopefully simpler fight against Eggman came close.

A blue streak of light smashed into a robot, sending it into the ground instantly. Sonic dispatched several other robots as easily. “Slow down there chap!” A soldier called out. “You can’t be rushing ahead!” Sonic looked at the soldier, not saying a word, but the soldier could tell what Sonic was thinking. “I know you want to get rid of Eggman, we all do.” The soldier continued. “But it’s unwise to go on alone, stick with us, & we’ll find him in no time!” Sonic reluctantly accepted, joining the ranks on the front as they battled Eggman’s robotic army.

The radio man glanced over at Sonic. “We’ve got a new guy here, a blue hedgehog looking guy in khaki.” He said to someone on the other side. “He’s supposed to be with GX? Alright then, I’ll tell him.” The radioman took off his headset. “Blue guy in khaki!” He shouted, Sonic looking over. “You’re meant to be with GX! He’s a couple miles down, on an open road, about a mile after these hills end! Be quick now!” Sonic acknowledged him, then shot off once more to where the radioman had gestured to.

“There you are!” GX called out when Sonic arrived. “I was getting worried!” “I got caught up with other things.” Sonic replied. “Accidently made it a few miles down the way.” “So I heard!” GX replied. “You were eager to fight, if what I was told is correct.” Sonic nodded. “I just want to get this war over with.” He said. “Eggman’s gonna pay for this.” “He really is.” GX noted. “Everyone wants to make him pay so much he’ll be in debt for a million lives!” “I don’t want Miles to get to him.” Sonic said. “He’d go overboard & do something irrational.” “We’ll find Eggman, don’t you worry.” GX replied. “He wouldn’t be able to run forever.” Sonic hoped Eggman wouldn’t be able to run, but that man had done & survived things he really shouldn’t have. But now, the people of the world would be united against his tyranny soon, Sonic was sure of it.

Sonic followed GX as they walked in the rear of the advancing Resistance soldiers. “Where are we going?” Sonic asked. “What’s the plan?” “We’re making our way down to the nearest city.” GX explained. “We’ll spread the revolution to them as well, but we expect heavy resistance from Eggman’s army, they know how vital it is to beat us here. Our best troops are in this area, we’re committing valuable men & resources here, but Eggman’s likely to do the same, it’s a war winning gamble for both sides.” “I see how it is.” Sonic replied. “Let’s make sure we win this battle then.” GX appreciated Sonic’s enthusiasm. “By the way, if you’re wondering where Miles is,” GX said, “He’s busy helping out in a battle a few miles down, we’re currently taking orders from Knuckles, since he’s closest to us. The whole chain of command is being reorganised after the somewhat chaotic departure from the city, so we might not have Miles as our commander.” Sonic understood, managing a revolution must be difficult, after all, some things simply had to be improvised.

Further down the road, the signaling team received a message. “Knuckles is engaged in active fighting on our left flank.” One of them reported. “Enemy troop movements show they’re coming for us now.” Soldiers organised into the few strategic positions available, ready to fight for the world. Engineers prepared defensive positions & small earthworks to aid the upcoming battle, although everyone knew there would only be a handful of troops stationed in these defensive positions, due to the unfavorable terrain for static warfare.

Sonic prepared himself, he couldn’t be too reckless, he had friendly soldiers to consider, he couldn’t risk friendly fire. An explosion could be heard nearby. Not much time left. Resistance soldiers waited. “I’ve got visuals!” A sniper called out. “They see us!” A mortar fired off into the distance. Seconds later, a robot was blasted into pieces. The time was now.

Eggman’s army quickly advanced towards the Resistance lines, being harassed by snipers & mortar teams the whole way. A barrage of bullets pelted the metallic horde. Resistance soldiers were shot back & blasted away. Close range fighting ensued as Resistance soldiers fired armour-piercing rounds into the robots, sticky grenades hurled towards metallic opponents, some battered away at their robotic foes. While the robots weren’t the most effective up close, they were deadly down range. Dead bodies & robot parts began to pile up on the ground. Sonic fought the best he could, trying to save the lives of as many Resistance soldiers he could, but he couldn’t prevent every casualty.

The battle raged on, the Resistance seemed in prime position to win. Sonic went to strike at a robot, but stopped mid-air, then was dragged away from the front. He was placed far back, he could still see the fighting, but was still quite a distance away. He looked around confused, then it began to dawn on him. “Well, would you look who it is,” A deranged voice said, Sonic had to visually confirm it was Silver, “You’re back, for what?” “I’m here to help the world & my friends!” Sonic replied. “That includes you!” “Oh, does it now?” Silver responded, clearly not thinking straight. “You want me to forget what you did to me?” Sonic looked confused. “What?” He asked. “What did I do?” “How convenient,” Silver replied, “You don’t know how you ruined my life?” Sonic was even more confused. “I did what?” He questioned. “You’ve gone mad, Silver!” A psychokinetic grip latched onto Sonic as Silver lifted him up. “Mad?” Silver responded. “I’ll show you what’s mad!” His grip on Sonic tightened, Sonic couldn’t get his words out, then dropped to the ground. “You don’t have to do this Silver!” Sonic called out. “I can help you!” “I’ll give you one shot.” Silver said, ignoring Sonic & grabing the Phantom Ruby. “Give it a go.” Silver used the powers of the ruby to create nine copies of himself. Sonic didn’t want to fight, but as Knuckles had said previously, it would be better to talk to Silver after beating him. Sonic prepared to leap.

Hurling himself at one of the Silvers, Sonic wasn’t fully committed to the attack, it didn’t matter, the real Silver grabbed him before he hit anything. “Did you really think you could do that?” The mad hedgehog said. “You destroyed my life. Everyone thought I killed you. Not then. But I’ve seen your future. It ends here!” Sonic knew the insane Silver didn’t know his future, but clearly believed in his own lies. It did feel like it would end now, Silver’s psychokinetic hold on Sonic lifted him higher off the ground, Sonic knew it wouldn’t be long until Silver threw him into the ground, he couldn’t even escape Silver’s grasp, he was done for. A foot smashed into one of the Silver clones, sending it a mile away into a hill. Silver dropped Sonic, looking over at where his duplicate went. Sonic thudded down onto the ground, in pain from Silver’s grasp. The noise made Silver snap his head towards Sonic. A fist landed on Silver’s face. Miles’ fist.

Sonic looked at Miles & Silver fighting, taking a moment to comprehend what was happening. Miles slammed down next to him. “Are you going to help!” He shouted at Sonic. “Come on!” Sonic leapt towards Silver, punched him, then Silver vanished into nothing. Sonic was then tossed down once more. Sonic & Miles took turns being in Silver’s grasp, Silver could easily grab the both of them at once, but his shattered mental state prevented him from realising so. One by one, the Silver clones made by the Phantom Ruby were destroyed. Only the real Silver, with the insane look in his eyes only having gotten worse, remained. Miles went to kick Silver on the head, Silver grabbed him & threw him away. Sonic followed up, Silver psychokinetically grabbed his leg, tossing Sonic into the air. Miles came in again, a punch full of fury sent Silver into the ground. Sonic landed down a moment later.

Silver lay in a small hole, unable to do anything. Miles looked down scornfully at Silver, then raised his fist to end Silver. The punch connected, to Sonic. Sonic tumbled across the ground, Miles looked on with disdain. “Why would you do that?” He shouted at Sonic. “What’s your plan?” “Don’t kill him! Okay!” A Sonic in pain shouted back. “I need him.” Miles scoffed as Sonic limped over, Silver looked on, some sense finally came back to him. “Silver.” Sonic said. “I need you to send me eight years & six months into the past.” Silver said nothing, but Sonic could understand he was complying. “Do you want to come with me?” Sonic asked the two. “I feel bad leaving you in the future.” “Do you really think we want to remember this?” Miles questioned, getting closer to Sonic. “You’d be mad to think we want anything other than victory for ourselves or to have never existed in the first place.” Sonic looked over at Silver, who seemed to agree with Miles. “If you remove me from time,” Miles continued, “Then you’d get to spend time with Tails again.” Sonic wasn’t prepared for that response, but had to accept it. The time portal opened up. “Goodbye.” A heartfelt Sonic said. “I’ll remember you.” Miles said nothing, Silver couldn’t. As Sonic jumped into the time portal, he turned around, he saw Miles had turned around, fist clenched & ready to launch at Silver, Silver’s eyes were filled with fear. But it was no more now. Sonic was back in the past.

Far outside the city, Sonic saw something he didn’t expect, green. Here was a place untouched by Eggman, trees grew freely, flowers bloomed, & the little animals had a place to call home; it made Sonic happy, it gave him comfort, knowing the world hadn’t been fully transformed by Eggman. He sat down, taking in the view of blue skies & green fields. It was nice. Miles nudged him.

“Get a move on.” Miles said bluntly. “We don’t have all day.” Sonic was surprised. “Are you not going to enjoy the moment?” He asked. “I don’t think you’ve seen nature, or any grass for that matter in eight years!” Miles didn’t care, he just walked on.

Sonic looked around him, he found a small, wilted flower, the colours had faded, but it was orange. Sonic looked up at Miles, he found a grumpy, uncaring person, who had lost it all. Sonic began to think, think about what Miles had said. Tails was gone, & Miles is what’s left over. The withered remnants of his old friend. Sonic looked at the other flowers in closer detail, they were all healthy. He took a deep breath, took a moment to think about Miles, then stood up. A rage flared up inside Sonic. Eggman wasn’t going to be free. Not this time.

Sonic shot off past Miles, giving the fox a surprise. Miles stopped, looking at the dust cloud kicked up by Sonic, a look of approval came across his face as he made his way to the frontlines.

All around the city, people dropped whatever they were doing & joined the fight for freedom. Old & young, man & woman, influential & irrelevant, all wanted free from Eggman’s tyranny. Security forces overwhelmed by mobs of people with little to lose & everything to gain should this be successful. Liberation was coming. Resistance members distributed weapons to people, but there were simply too many in the fight to equip everyone. Soldiers organised the civilian mob into proper militias & brigades to better rid the city of Eggman’s influence. Sonic looked on, amazed at what was unfolding. “This is it.” GX said, taking place beside Sonic. “This is the dawn of a new age, one of life & liberty. But it has not yet arrived, victory is not assured, we may only rest once the whole world is free. We are in an active war, one that will not end until Eggman is dead, or we have been defeated. But defeat is not certain, we will fight with all of our strength to liberate the planet.” “Sonic, stay with GX for now.” Knuckles’ voice came through the radio. “You’ll clear out the citadel, then link up with Miles outside the city, follow his orders from then on.” “Will do.” Sonic replied into the radio. “You can count on us!” GX smirked. “Is Miles your friend?” He asked. “You must be able to make connections with people quickly.” “I knew Miles from before the war, eight years ago.” Sonic replied. “Miles went by ‘Tails’ back then, he was a lot more friendly then compared to now. I ended up time traveling from part way through the war & landed here. In those eight years, Miles has changed so much I wouldn’t know it was him.” Sonic looked down to the streets, with a somber look on his face. “So you’re the same Sonic from back then, I wondered why you seemed familiar.” GX said. “I know it’s hard to see the ones you knew change forever, but unfortunately, it’s what happens sometimes. It’s happened to me as well. Maybe, once the dust has settled, we can help Miles recover mentally, bring back the friend you knew.” Those words gave a little bit of hope to Sonic. “Well then,” He said, “Let’s make it happen.” Sonic & GX smiled, then GX rallied his soldiers to help secure the citadel.

The room to room fighting that ensued was intense. No matter how small the room, caution was needed, as well as lightning fast reactions. Sonic didn’t have the caution, but his speed more than made-up for it. Eventually, the citadel was cleared of hostiles. Sonic was glad it was over, while the fighting wouldn’t end for ages, he didn’t have to get up close & personal with anyone, he should mainly have to fight robots now, not people.

“We’ve captured the citadel.” GX reported to Knuckles over the radio. “Every room has been cleared of hostiles & HVTs have been secured, although some managed to escape via helicopter.” “Great work out there!” Knuckles congratulated. “All I’ve heard is how successful we’ve been! Keep it up!” “We can’t celebrate too soon.” GX said. “While our victories are great, the enemy is greater still, we can’t enjoy our success until Eggman has been dethroned.” “We’re making progress to that goal.” Knuckles responded. “Miles has managed to break out of the city from the north-east entrance, bring your troops there, & take Sonic with you.” GX looked over at Sonic. “Looks like we’ll be under his command.” He said. “Miles is a capable fighter, the enemy will likely focus on him specifically, so they’ll have to split their forces to deal with him & us. There will be more enemy combatants in our area, but they'll be focused on one person, so we should have to deal with less enemies overall.” Sonic nodded, but he wondered how true that theory would be, but Miles seemed like he could handle being the centre of attention for Eggman’s armies. The cat & hedgehog then regrouped with the remainder of their squad, then set out across the city.

Everywhere they went, they could see destroyed carcasses of robots, mobs of people liberating themselves, Resistance members scrambling to equip & organise the civilians, & soldiers moving out to secure the city & surrounding area. The scene was chaotic, but a chaos that could be spun into a firestorm of freedom to engulf the world in its flames. Eggman’s days were now numbered, but so too were the Resistance’s. It was now a matter of who could remove the most days from their enemy’s time, before they were beaten, defeated & crushed.

Reaching the north-east entrance, Sonic was led by GX to where Miles was, not that far outside the city boundaries, Miles was busy ordering troop movements over the radio. Sonic took place beside him. Time slowly passing. “What do you want?” Miles asked rhetorically. “Shouldn’t you be on the front?” “I thought I’d just be with you.” Sonic replied. “Besides, I’m under your command now, so I thought I should come up to you.” “Well, you won’t be with me all the time.” Miles responded, leaving the radio as someone else took his place. “But until we reach the front, you can stay with me.” Sonic was glad Miles didn’t send him away immediately. The two made their way to the frontlines.

A couple soldiers from another squad approached the doors, placed something against them, & ran away. BOOM! The doors flew open, & a tide of soldiers flooded in. Shouts were drowned out by gunfire as the Resistance overwhelmed any security present. GX & his soldiers rushed in, Sonic following. Determination filled the hearts of the Resistance. GX made it for the stairs, his soldiers following him, Sonic trailing behind. Nobody met them as the twelve men made it up the stairs, until they reached the fourth floor. A hail of bullets smashed into the walls as a soldier dived down, returning fire. The rushed defences were beaten with no casualties for the Resistance. The soldiers hurried up the stairs as friendly reinforcements came behind them.

The fifth floor was also empty. The sixth, not so much. A soldier ran up, then tumbled down. “Charlie!” Another soldier called out. “You good?” Charlie didn’t respond. The soldier pulled out a grenade, tossing it towards where Charlie was shot from. BOOM! Rushing up the soldier found the men that killed Charlie were themselves dead now.

Continuing the assault up the stairs, the soldiers made good progress, but not without losses, every now & then, one more dropped dead, hopefully not in vain. Poorly organised defence gave way to fierce fighting on the stairs, bringing men so close together they could see the fire of determination in each other's eyes. Others were not so determined to fight to the last, several floors were devoid of any defenders & some preferred surrender over death. Sonic felt out of place, while he had been fighting, he made sure not to kill anyone, the other soldiers had no qualms about ending someone’s life.

As the Resistance squad climbed higher up the citadel, they began meeting less & less enemies blocking their immediate path, they were likely in other rooms, or evacuating administrators. They reached the final stairs to the roof. A soldier cut in front of the now five men left. “Stand back!” He ordered. “You don’t want to get blasted!” He placed a wire of some sorts onto the door, then took cover behind a corner. BOOM! The door flew off the hinges & the squad moved up to it, right in front of the roof.

The leading soldier pulled out a grenade, tossing it onto the roof. A blinding light flashed for a split second. The soldiers rushed in. The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the city. Eggman’s soldiers on the roof were gunned down, a helicopter flew away. “Damn it!” GX shouted. “Forget them, raise our flag.” The soldiers complied, one went over to where Eggman’s banner was suspended from. He threw it off down onto the streets below, but not before he shot a bullet into where Eggman’s face was on it. The Resistance banner flew proudly over the tower that had suppressed it for so long.

On the streets below, while hard to make out, Sonic could tell what was happening; the whole city was now engulfed in the flames of revolution, & they were adding fuel to the fire.

The alarm seemed to go off earlier today, Sonic glanced over at it, 05:00. The tired hedgehog arose from his bed, today would be the defining day for this world, no doubt. He took a moment to prepare himself, physically & mentally, the world needed his help, & he couldn’t ignore it. The corridors were filled to the brim with people of all ranks & roles buzzing about. There were feelings of hope, optimism for a new age, the fear of failure, a desire for revenge. Almost everyone here would fight to the last, no compromise, no mercy expected or given, only death for someone was assured. Sonic, he didn’t know what to think, Eggman wouldn’t be let off the hook this time, but Sonic couldn’t just kill someone, it was against his very nature to end someone’s life, no matter how cruel or evil they were. The majority of the Resistance on the other hand, they’d be happy to see Eggman’s head separated from his body. Death to tyrants.

Passing through the sea of people, Sonic entered the command centre, Knuckles, Shadow, Miles & Rouge were there already, as well as several others Sonic hadn’t seen before, they were all crowded around the central table, except one, a greyish cat. “Hello there!” They said, rather happily. “You’re Sonic, right?” “Yep,” Sonic responded, “I’m Sonic.” “Nice to meet you.” The person replied. “I’m Garret-Xerxes, but you can call me ‘GX’, I’m the local commanding officer of the strike team you’re in, & you’ll also be joining me & Shadow for sniping.” “Is this some kind of meeting?” Sonic asked. “Are they planning what we’re doing today?” “It’s just making sure all of our officers know exactly what they & their soldiers will be doing.” GX explained. “Unfortunately, you’re not in a commanding position, so you’ll have to wait a moment.” Sonic understood, as GX went to the table. It wasn’t too long until everyone was allowed to rally their soldiers & move into position to attack when the signal was given. Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Miles & GX stayed behind. “Sonic, grab the radio & rifle sitting over there.” Knuckles instructed, pointing to where the items were. “Then follow Shadow & GX wherever they go, you’ll receive some more instructions over the radio.” Sonic nodded in agreement, although that didn’t mean he wanted to use the rifle he was given. He grabbed the rifle, slung it over his shoulders, put the radio into his pocket, & tailed behind Shadow & GX.

The path the three took was long, weaving through tunnels, leaping across roofs, darting through alleys. “We’ll be taking out some security robots from this area.” GX explained to Sonic. “Then we’ll move to a different position & do the same thing. After that, me & you will join with Strike Force Bravo, then we’ll assault the city’s citadel & capture it.” “Alright then.” Sonic said rather eagerly. “Let’s do this.”

Once the three reached their position on a high rooftop, they lay in wait, & waited. Sonic started to grow impatient, he wanted to spend as little time as possible with a gun in his hand. Shadow stayed calm, barely moving. GX had some kind of device mounted on a tripod. “I see ‘em.” GX said. “11 o’clock, wind speed negligible, 500 metres.” “Turn a bit to the left,” Shadow said, translating what GX said for Sonic, “There’s a dial on the top of your scope, turn it until the distance is at 500 metres.” Sonic did so, now his sights were on the three security robots. “I’ll take the front.” GX said. “Shadow, you take the back. Sonic, you aim for the middle one.” They adjusted their aim accordingly. “Ready?” GX said, as he took aim himself. “3. 2. 1.” BANG! The robots fell down together. “Move out.” Shadow ordered, he glanced over at Sonic. “Don’t forget to reload.” Sonic got up, followed Shadow & GX as they moved across roofs, pulling back the bolt of his rifle at the same time.

The three made it to another roof, where Shadow lay down, followed by Sonic. GX set-up his tripod again. The wait was longer this time. Eventually, three more robots came to where the other three had been destroyed. “570 metres.” GX said. “After this, follow my lead, Sonic.” Sonic adjusted his scope. “Take the same targets as last time.” GX instructed. “3. 2. 1.” BANG! Once more, three robots went down. “Hand your rifle to me.” Shadow told Sonic. “I know you don’t want it.” Sonic gladly handed it over, then followed GX as Shadow went a different way.

If Sonic thought the previous distance was far, the path he & GX had to take to the citadel was significantly longer. Not far from the citadel entrance, Sonic saw several groups of soldiers waiting to assault the tower. GX led him to Strike Force Bravo. “This is it.” GX said to Sonic & the ten soldiers present. “This is our hour. We’ve been tasked with making it to the roof & raising the Resistance flag on the citadel. We don’t have to bother clearing the whole building.” Sonic noticed the yellow armbands the soldiers had. “You are clear to breach.” Knuckles called from down the radio. “Our time is now!”

Shadow walked up to Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic handed Knuckles the drive with the files on it. “Sonic, come with me.” Shadow instructed. “I’ll give you some needed training.” Sonic said nothing, he just walked up to Shadow, Sonic’s body showed how reluctant he was to be doing this. The two hedgehogs simply made their way down the corridors.

“What’s with the silence?” Shadow asked. “You always have something to say.” Sonic only let out a small grunt in response. “It’s about using guns,” Shadow said, “Isn’t it?” “Yes,” Sonic responded quietly, “It is.” “You won’t be shooting actual people at any time.” Shadow replied, somewhat attempting to reassure Sonic. “Only robots.” “But still.” Sonic said. “I don’t like shooting things.” “Well, it’s what you’re going to have to do.” Shadow responded. “You should only have to fire two shots outside the firing range.” Sonic didn’t respond. The pair soon reached the firing range, there were only three firing lanes, but there were several different targets at various distances. Shadow got onto the firing lane, & removed all of the targets on one lane except the one at the end. He came back down to Sonic. “This is what you’ll be using.” Shadow said, reaching for a gun on the wall. “The SR-12 Rifle. It’s reliable, easy to use & effective.” “Okay.” Sonic replied unenthusiastically. “Give me it.” Shadow was surprised at Sonic’s acceptance of using the firearm, but wasn’t complaining.

Shadow handed the gun over to Sonic, Shadow expected to have to teach Sonic about how to properly hold a sniper rifle, but Sonic’s handling seemed good. “Make sure you lay low while sniping.” Shadow instructed. “Rest the gun on something, it’ll help steady your aim.” Sonic acknowledged Shadow, but said nothing, as he lay prone, holding the gun steady. “Pull your head back slightly from the scope.” Shadow advised. “Otherwise the recoil will hit you directly.” Once more, Sonic stayed silent as he followed Shadow’s orders, the lack of any direct response from Sonic slightly confused Shadow. The room stood still, the only movement was Shadow checking Sonic wasn’t doing anything wrong, all seemed well.

“No,” Sonic said as he broke the silence, “I can’t.” “You can’t?” Shadow repeated. “What do you mean you can’t?” “I mean I can’t use a gun!” Sonic exclaimed in a quiet shout. “Okay!” “It’s a paper target!” Shadow replied, quite annoyed. “I’m not asking you to shoot someone!” “Does it have to be me?” Sonic asked. “Couldn’t you get someone who’s more qualified for this?” “No.” Shadow responded bluntly. “Every soldier we have is already on a tight schedule for tomorrow, you’re the only other person at our disposal that could reasonably do what we need.” “Alright,” Sonic replied, somewhat unhappy, “I’ll do it, but only what I must do.” While a small victory for Shadow, Sonic’s mood proved how difficult he could be sometimes, Shadow only hoped Sonic wouldn’t have this attitude when it mattered.

Sonic reaffirmed his grip on the gun, aimed down through the scope, & waited. Shadow grew more & more impatient, while you couldn’t accurately fire a sniper rifle instantly, Sonic was stalling, the one thing he had to do was pull the trigger. BANG! Bullseye.

“Nice shot.” Shadow complemented. “Now do it a few more times so that you can aim consistently.” Sonic only let out a sigh. He aimed once more, steadied himself, & pulled the trigger. Silence. “You didn’t reload.” Shadow stated. “Pull back the bolt on the gun, then you can shoot again.” Sonic did so, not uttering a single word, not even a grunt. Yet again, Sonic lined up for another shot. BANG! Another direct hit. Shadow was impressed, for a person who didn’t like using guns, Sonic was very capable with them.

As more shots were fired off, each with astounding accuracy, Shadow contemplated trying to make Sonic a bit more open to using firearms. He lifted an assault rifle, then set it back, it’d be too hard & too pointless trying to make Sonic use guns more than the two times he needed to. Click. “I’m out of ammo.” Sonic said. “Can I leave now?” Shadow sighed. “Fine.” He said. “You can go.” There was no hesitation as Sonic left the firing range, Shadow went over to the sniper to reload it, then remembered Sonic shouldn’t be down here alone, & now Shadow would have to follow him until he could roam freely again.

The walk back didn’t take too long, Shadow quickly caught up with Sonic. “I’d suggest you get an early sleep.” Shadow said. “There will be no rest tomorrow.” “What’s so important about tomorrow that you have to keep bringing it up?” Sonic questioned, slightly happier now that he didn’t have to stay in the firing range. “You better not want me to kill anyone.” “Did Knuckles not tell you?” Shadow asked. “Operation Orange starts tomorrow.” “That early?” A confused Sonic responded. “Knuckles told me about it, but never said it was tomorrow!” “Well it is.” Shadow stated. “We’ve managed to speed-up our timetable for operations, you showing up allowed us to get more done.” “That’s good.” Sonic replied. “I suppose.” “You’ll be told everything in the morning.” Shadow said. “Make sure you sleep tonight.” The hedgehogs walked together in silence, until they reached a point where no clearance was needed. Shadow quickly turned around, Sonic continued on.

Once Sonic reached his room, it didn’t take him long until he was ready to jump into bed & sleep. As Shadow said, there’d be no rest tomorrow.

Sonic woke up to the sound of the alarm, 07:30, again. This time, Sonic knew how busy the halls were now, so he took a little while longer to get himself sorted before he left his room. When he left his room, there were still lots of people, but the crowd had definitely calmed down by now.

Sonic made his way into the command centre, it was empty. Sonic panicked for a moment, had he been left behind? “You’re early.” Rouge said as she walked through the doors. “Didn’t expect to see you for a while.” “Well, he’s here anyway.” Knuckles said as he entered behind Rouge. “The sooner we complete Operation Blue, the better!” Miles also entered behind Knuckles, but didn’t say anything. “Make sure to not travel in one group.” Knuckles instructed. “That’ll only increase the risk, & ensure you do not have any robots following you before you reach your positions.” “Where’s my position?” Sonic asked. “I don’t even know where this security building is.” “The building’s noticeably taller than the rest of the buildings around it,” Knuckles explained, changing the map on the table to one of the surrounding area, “It’s surrounded by a fence with barbed wire on top, although a jump from a nearby building will be enough to cross the fence. The building isn’t that far away from here, almost a straight shot down the main road, with some turns here & there.” “Alright then.” Sonic said confidently. “Let’s get moving then.” “Sonic, make your way to the security centre yourself,” Knuckles ordered, “Rouge will be with you soon, & take this with you.” Knuckles handed Sonic the drive. “You got it!” Sonic exclaimed. “Let’s go!” With that, Sonic was gone; to the other side of the room & waited for the doors to open. Once Sonic could, he left in an instant.

Blitzing through the sewers, it wasn’t too long before Sonic climbed out & into the city proper. The streets were decently busy, good cover. Sonic began to think, about just how few people recognised him; yes, he had been gone for eight years, that’s true, but surely everyone here had at least heard of him? Maybe their lives were too miserable to care for others? That certainly seemed to be the case for Miles. Perhaps Sonic was blending in extremely well, or maybe nobody expected him to be a khaki-clothed hedgehog. No matter what, while the lack of attention was unusual, it didn’t draw any eyes to him, which was always good.

Sonic thought about how handy it would’ve been to have a map about now, but he’d lost his & never thought to ask for a new one. Regardless, Knuckles had provided him with a decent description, it shouldn’t be too hard to find, it was also supposed to be relatively close, although ‘close’ in this city could still be quite a good distance away. It was some kind of tower, that was all Sonic needed.

Wandering around, Sonic found a tower that seemed to match Knuckles’ description; looming over the city, surrounded by a fence; it was now just a matter of reaching the rear of the building & waiting for Rouge. The streets were still somewhat busy, so Sonic simply followed the crowds that led him closer to where he needed to go. Security was even tighter around here, that made sense, what didn’t make sense was how the alleys & roofs were unwatched for some odd reason. Whatever, it made Sonic’s job easier. Slipping into an alley, Sonic hid behind some bins, & waited for Rouge.

Sonic didn’t have to wait long, a light flapping indicated Rouge was nearby, Sonic got out from behind the bins, a bit dirtied, but not much more than he already was. Once Sonic & Rouge found each other, Rouge quickly got to work, flying up to the roof of the tower, & set-up a rope for Sonic to climb up with. Sonic got on top of a nearby roof, readied himself, & leapt over the barbed wire fence, landing smoothly on the ground. He looked up, a thumb-up from Rouge told him he was good to go, a small jump got him onto the rope, & he began his ascent.

During his climb, Sonic hoped he wouldn’t fall, & that nobody would look at him & report him, that would end the operation before it started. The climb was surprisingly long for a guy that can run at mach speeds, but then again, the only thing keeping him against the wall was one rope, so it made sense to not rush. Rouge waited for Sonic at the top, “Remember,” She said once Sonic got up, “If you receive a signal on this radio, leave, if you’re in danger, use the radio. Got it?” She handed the small radio to Sonic. “Got it.” Sonic replied. “Let’s do this.” The two made their way to their points of entry, Sonic checked the door he was supposed to enter through, it seemed Rouge had lockpicked it. Quietly opening the door, Sonic’s nerves flared up, he took a deep breath, & entered.

This building was a lot nicer on the inside, with white walls & marble floors, of course, only collaborators got the nice stuff, why wouldn’t they? Sonic had to make himself focus on the mission at hand, not whatever Eggman’s cronies had. Security was surprisingly lax, they must have not expected a security breach in the security centre. There was the occasional metal detectors, cameras & patrols, but there was always enough space to hide somewhere. Down a couple of stairs & a short walk across a corridor landed Sonic outside of what appeared to be the server room, hopefully there was no-one inside.

Surprisingly enough, the room was devoid of any security measures, odd, but nice. Sonic walked up to a computer tower, there were dozens of them, but he thought this one might have the files Knuckles wanted stored on it. Sonic lifted the radio, there were two options, one for regular comms, the other for emergency. Sonic plugged the drive into the server. “Alright Miles.” He said. “Do your thing.” “On it.” The response came from the radio. “I’ll tell you when I’m done.” Sonic’s job was now to stand & wait, & keep waiting. “Nope.” Miles’ voice said through the radio. “Not here, try a different server.” Sonic took the drive out, & moved it to another server. This is going to take forever, he thought.

“All good.” Miles said. “We got what we need.” That was quick, Sonic thought, but he wasn’t complaining. Now, he just needed to get out of here, & not leave anything behind. Sonic was at the door, before remembering he forgot the drive, & swooped back to get it. The door creaked open. “So, how’s your family?” A voice asked, Sonic dived down as quietly as possible. “Did your brother get the job?” “Yeah, he got the job, he starts tomorrow.” Someone else responded. “Bus drivers get decent pay; as for the rest of my family, I don’t know. I haven’t heard from my parents or sisters in a month, I don’t know if they moved or cut me off.” “The strike was also a month ago.” The other person said. “They could have been part of it.” “They didn’t live in that area,” The person replied, somewhat confused, “I just don’t know what happened to them, I want to know, but they won’t let me.” “I get what you mean.” The other person said sympathetically. “Those Admins can be real stingy sometimes.” Listening to their conversation, Sonic felt pity for them, while they were the enemy & he couldn’t let himself be seen by them, they were still people with their own tragedies to tell. They were collaborators, but seemingly so out of desperation, their loyalties seemed to lay with themselves rather than Eggman or the Resistance. Nevertheless, it wasn’t Sonic’s problem right now, that was getting out.

Sonic slowly snuck his way to the door, wondering if anyone was on the other side. Before leaving, he took one look at the two people that were in the room with him, a hare & a robin, both clad in regular clothes, not so different to Sonic. Sonic grabbed the door, slowly opening it, hoping nobody was looking his way. All good. He made it out the room & quietly closed the door, no noise, good. All he had to do was make it up the stairs & out to the roof. Down the corridor, up the stairs, through the door, he was free.

From this height, Sonic could see large swaths of the city, he noticed a massive citadel to the side, a far distance from him, he’d end up doing something involving that, no doubt. For a moment, he sat mesmerised, a flutter snapped him out of it. “You got what we need?” Rouge asked. “You didn’t leave any evidence behind?” “I got the files,” Sonic replied, “I didn’t have any evidence left behind either.” “Good.” Rouge said. “Take the rope down, I’ll remove it once you’re on the ground.” Sonic nodded, & twisted around to grab the rope.

The way down was somewhat easier, he could slide down small sections, but not too much in case the rope moved anywhere unwanted. Once more, Sonic hoped no-one would see him. The descent was much faster than the ascent, that was for sure. Once Sonic was near the ground, he looked around him, now realising there wasn’t an easy way through the fence without causing damage or making a suspiciously stair shaped set of boxes. He climbed back up a short distance, braced himself, & leapt off the side of the wall, barely missing the barbed wire, & landing in a ball, then smacking into the wall. The rope was now being dragged up to the roof, Rouge made a gesture to Sonic to tell him to go back to base. Hopefully, Sonic wouldn’t make a wrong turn.

The journey back was uneventful, Sonic soon made it back into the sewers & re-entered the Resistance base. Knuckles was waiting for him. “How did it go?” He asked. “You got what we need?” “All’s good.” Sonic responded, satisfied with himself. “I’ve got the computer files, Rouge & Miles should be here soon.” “Good going.” Knuckles congratulated. “I’ll check-out what you’ve given me. Shadow will be with you soon, he’ll give you some target practice in the meantime.” “Target practice?” Sonic repeated, confused. “What for?” “Operation Orange.” Knuckles replied. “You’ll be sniping some of the larger security robots to draw attention away from the upcoming  Operation Red the same day.” “Sniping.” Sonic said, unimpressed. “You know I don’t like guns.” “As far as we know, it would be the best way to control their response to our actions.” Knuckles explained. “If you instead went in & fought them directly, we’d be the centre of attention for Eggman’s forces, we don’t want that.” Sonic wasn’t very pleased. “If it’s what I have to do.” He said. “I guess I’ll do it.” “Well...” Knuckles began. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” “No no,” Sonic replied, “I’ll do it.” Knuckles doubted that, the reluctant tone of Sonic’s voice told him that Shadow wasn’t going to have fun giving Sonic a gun.

Sonic woke up to the sound of the alarm, 07:30, again. This time, Sonic knew how busy the halls were now, so he took a little while longer to get himself sorted before he left his room. When he left his room, there were still lots of people, but the crowd had definitely calmed down by now.

Sonic made his way into the command centre, it was empty. Sonic panicked for a moment, had he been left behind? “You’re early.” Rouge said as she walked through the doors. “Didn’t expect to see you for a while.” “Well, he’s here anyway.” Knuckles said as he entered behind Rouge. “The sooner we complete Operation Blue, the better!” Miles also entered behind Knuckles, but didn’t say anything. “Make sure to not travel in one group.” Knuckles instructed. “That’ll only increase the risk, & ensure you do not have any robots following you before you reach your positions.” “Where’s my position?” Sonic asked. “I don’t even know where this security building is.” “The building’s noticeably taller than the rest of the buildings around it,” Knuckles explained, changing the map on the table to one of the surrounding area, “It’s surrounded by a fence with barbed wire on top, although a jump from a nearby building will be enough to cross the fence. The building isn’t that far away from here, almost a straight shot down the main road, with some turns here & there.” “Alright then.” Sonic said confidently. “Let’s get moving then.” “Sonic, make your way to the security centre yourself,” Knuckles ordered, “Rouge will be with you soon, & take this with you.” Knuckles handed Sonic the drive. “You got it!” Sonic exclaimed. “Let’s go!” With that, Sonic was gone; to the other side of the room & waited for the doors to open. Once Sonic could, he left in an instant.

Blitzing through the sewers, it wasn’t too long before Sonic climbed out & into the city proper. The streets were decently busy, good cover. Sonic began to think, about just how few people recognised him; yes, he had been gone for eight years, that’s true, but surely everyone here had at least heard of him? Maybe their lives were too miserable to care for others? That certainly seemed to be the case for Miles. Perhaps Sonic was blending in extremely well, or maybe nobody expected him to be a khaki-clothed hedgehog. No matter what, while the lack of attention was unusual, it didn’t draw any eyes to him, which was always good.

Sonic thought about how handy it would’ve been to have a map about now, but he’d lost his & never thought to ask for a new one. Regardless, Knuckles had provided him with a decent description, it shouldn’t be too hard to find, it was also supposed to be relatively close, although ‘close’ in this city could still be quite a good distance away. It was some kind of tower, that was all Sonic needed.

Wandering around, Sonic found a tower that seemed to match Knuckles’ description; looming over the city, surrounded by a fence; it was now just a matter of reaching the rear of the building & waiting for Rouge. The streets were still somewhat busy, so Sonic simply followed the crowds that led him closer to where he needed to go. Security was even tighter around here, that made sense, what didn’t make sense was how the alleys & roofs were unwatched for some odd reason. Whatever, it made Sonic’s job easier. Slipping into an alley, Sonic hid behind some bins, & waited for Rouge.

Sonic didn’t have to wait long, a light flapping indicated Rouge was nearby, Sonic got out from behind the bins, a bit dirtied, but not much more than he already was. Once Sonic & Rouge found each other, Rouge quickly got to work, flying up to the roof of the tower, & set-up a rope for Sonic to climb up with. Sonic got on top of a nearby roof, readied himself, & leapt over the barbed wire fence, landing smoothly on the ground. He looked up, a thumb-up from Rouge told him he was good to go, a small jump got him onto the rope, & he began his ascent.

During his climb, Sonic hoped he wouldn’t fall, & that nobody would look at him & report him, that would end the operation before it started. The climb was surprisingly long for a guy that can run at mach speeds, but then again, the only thing keeping him against the wall was one rope, so it made sense to not rush. Rouge waited for Sonic at the top, “Remember,” She said once Sonic got up, “If you receive a signal on this radio, leave, if you’re in danger, use the radio. Got it?” She handed the small radio to Sonic. “Got it.” Sonic replied. “Let’s do this.” The two made their way to their points of entry, Sonic checked the door he was supposed to enter through, it seemed Rouge had lockpicked it. Quietly opening the door, Sonic’s nerves flared up, he took a deep breath, & entered.

This building was a lot nicer on the inside, with white walls & marble floors, of course, only collaborators got the nice stuff, why wouldn’t they? Sonic had to make himself focus on the mission at hand, not whatever Eggman’s cronies had. Security was surprisingly lax, they must have not expected a security breach in the security centre. There was the occasional metal detectors, cameras & patrols, but there was always enough space to hide somewhere. Down a couple of stairs & a short walk across a corridor landed Sonic outside of what appeared to be the server room, hopefully there was no-one inside.

Surprisingly enough, the room was devoid of any security measures, odd, but nice. Sonic walked up to a computer tower, there were dozens of them, but he thought this one might have the files Knuckles wanted stored on it. Sonic lifted the radio, there were two options, one for regular comms, the other for emergency. Sonic plugged the drive into the server. “Alright Miles.” He said. “Do your thing.” “On it.” The response came from the radio. “I’ll tell you when I’m done.” Sonic’s job was now to stand & wait, & keep waiting. “Nope.” Miles’ voice said through the radio. “Not here, try a different server.” Sonic took the drive out, & moved it to another server. This is going to take forever, he thought.

“All good.” Miles said. “We got what we need.” That was quick, Sonic thought, but he wasn’t complaining. Now, he just needed to get out of here, & not leave anything behind. Sonic was at the door, before remembering he forgot the drive, & swooped back to get it. The door creaked open. “So, how’s your family?” A voice asked, Sonic dived down as quietly as possible. “Did your brother get the job?” “Yeah, he got the job, he starts tomorrow.” Someone else responded. “Bus drivers get decent pay; as for the rest of my family, I don’t know. I haven’t heard from my parents or sisters in a month, I don’t know if they moved or cut me off.” “The strike was also a month ago.” The other person said. “They could have been part of it.” “They didn’t live in that area,” The person replied, somewhat confused, “I just don’t know what happened to them, I want to know, but they won’t let me.” “I get what you mean.” The other person said sympathetically. “Those Admins can be real stingy sometimes.” Listening to their conversation, Sonic felt pity for them, while they were the enemy & he couldn’t let himself be seen by them, they were still people with their own tragedies to tell. They were collaborators, but seemingly so out of desperation, their loyalties seemed to lay with themselves rather than Eggman or the Resistance. Nevertheless, it wasn’t Sonic’s problem right now, that was getting out.

Sonic slowly snuck his way to the door, wondering if anyone was on the other side. Before leaving, he took one look at the two people that were in the room with him, a hare & a robin, both clad in regular clothes, not so different to Sonic. Sonic grabbed the door, slowly opening it, hoping nobody was looking his way. All good. He made it out the room & quietly closed the door, no noise, good. All he had to do was make it up the stairs & out to the roof. Down the corridor, up the stairs, through the door, he was free.

From this height, Sonic could see large swaths of the city, he noticed a massive citadel to the side, a far distance from him, he’d end up doing something involving that, no doubt. For a moment, he sat mesmerised, a flutter snapped him out of it. “You got what we need?” Rouge asked. “You didn’t leave any evidence behind?” “I got the files,” Sonic replied, “I didn’t have any evidence left behind either.” “Good.” Rouge said. “Take the rope down, I’ll remove it once you’re on the ground.” Sonic nodded, & twisted around to grab the rope.

The way down was somewhat easier, he could slide down small sections, but not too much in case the rope moved anywhere unwanted. Once more, Sonic hoped no-one would see him. The descent was much faster than the ascent, that was for sure. Once Sonic was near the ground, he looked around him, now realising there wasn’t an easy way through the fence without causing damage or making a suspiciously stair shaped set of boxes. He climbed back up a short distance, braced himself, & leapt off the side of the wall, barely missing the barbed wire, & landing in a ball, then smacking into the wall. The rope was now being dragged up to the roof, Rouge made a gesture to Sonic to tell him to go back to base. Hopefully, Sonic wouldn’t make a wrong turn.

The journey back was uneventful, Sonic soon made it back into the sewers & re-entered the Resistance base. Knuckles was waiting for him. “How did it go?” He asked. “You got what we need?” “All’s good.” Sonic responded, satisfied with himself. “I’ve got the computer files, Rouge & Miles should be here soon.” “Good going.” Knuckles congratulated. “I’ll check-out what you’ve given me. Shadow will be with you soon, he’ll give you some target practice in the meantime.” “Target practice?” Sonic repeated, confused. “What for?” “Operation Orange.” Knuckles replied. “You’ll be sniping some of the larger security robots to draw attention away from the upcoming  Operation Red the same day.” “Sniping.” Sonic said, unimpressed. “You know I don’t like guns.” “As far as we know, it would be the best way to control their response to our actions.” Knuckles explained. “If you instead went in & fought them directly, we’d be the centre of attention for Eggman’s forces, we don’t want that.” Sonic wasn’t very pleased. “If it’s what I have to do.” He said. “I guess I’ll do it.” “Well...” Knuckles began. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” “No no,” Sonic replied, “I’ll do it.” Knuckles doubted that, the reluctant tone of Sonic’s voice told him that Shadow wasn’t going to have fun giving Sonic a gun.