Chapter 3

Sonic looks around. He shook his head. How in the world did he miss this place? He had been up and down The Great Forest many times over, but he had never even seen this village, yet here it was, as plain as the nose on his Hedgehog face. He looks back at Sally.

"Well everyone is wrong every now and then."

"Cute," Sally smiles, her hands resting on her hips, not buying his bluff at all, "Now do you want me to give you the Royal Tour?"

"Royla Tour?" Sonic's stomach growls rather loudly, "Meh, how about we grab a bite first?"

"Alright. We do have a few different eateries here in Knothole. What are you hungry for?"

"Chili Dogs," Sonic replies rather quickly. He shows

"Sure follow me."

Sally didn't know if she should be impressed or sick to the stomach. How can anyone eat that many chili dogs?

"You gonna eat that?" Sonic asks pointing to the Chili Dog on Sally's plate. Actually, after watching the Hedgehog devour 10 Chili Dogs that fast, she wasn't sure she was ever going to eat Chili Dogs again.

"Uh...no, help yourself."

"Thanks," Sonic grabs and swallows the Dog before Sally can even blink. He then lets out a rather loud, foul smelling, belch, "Ah, I sure was hungry."

"Ugh. That is so gross!"

"Nuh-uh," Sonic shakes his head, "it's cool."

"No it's disgusting!" Sally corrects, but the Hedgehog won't buy it.

"In your opinion. Some places believe it to be a compiment."

"Is that so? Where in all of Mobius is it a compliment?"

"Well..." Sonic thinks for a moment, "I really don't know."

"I rest my case."

"Whatever. You were paying for this right?"

"I never said that!"

"Yeah, but I never said I had any money either"

After convincing the elderly store owner that she would pay him back later, Sally finally steps back outside the large wooden hut that is used as a resturaunt, noting to herself that she would never go to lunch with the Hedgehog again, "Ready for the tour?"

"I think it'll be faster if I go about it on my own," Sonic explains, as he stretches his legs for a run. "No offence."

"On your own?"

"Yeah. At my own pace, which is literally quite fast," the Hedgehog boasts.

"Well," Sally worries for a minute on what kind of chaos he could unleash on his own, "alright. Just one thing. We're having a meeting in the large red hut in the center of Knothole. Meet us there at 7."

"7, got it," Sonic nods, "Catch you later. GOTTA JUICE!"

The blue hedgehog dashes off. From 0 to scootin' and routin' in no time flat.

The meeting was scheduled to start exactly at seven. However the blue hedgehog had five minutes left and he was no where to be seen. Sally considers delaying the meeting briefly for him, but decides against it. The Freedom Fighters have more important worries then if their guest showed up or not. Rotor comes in to check on her.

"Everyone is here except Sonic, Sal." Rotor points out. Sally just shrugs.

"We'll just have to start without him," Sally declares.

"Alright," Rotor sighs, "if that's the way you want it."

"Not how I want it," Sally corrects, "how we'll have to do it." Rotor nods and heads to his wooden chair around the large meeting table. Sally opens a small computer and looks over the meeting one last time, "Ready NICOLE?"

"Ready Sally," the computer assures her.

She then takes a deep breath and heads on out to the table.

Sally knocks on the wooden table to attract the attention of her fellow Freedom Fighters, "I call this meet-"

Suddenly there is a large gust of wind and the paper packets containing the meeting infomration on the Table go flying everywhere as Sonic makes a mad dash into the seat reserved for him. The Freedom Fighters all turn and look at him.

"What?" Sonic shrughs looking back at the others, "You said at seven. So here I am"

"Cutting it kind of close don't you think?" Sally asks him picking up some of the papers.

"Hey, if you wanted me here earlier say so" Sonic shrugs again, "Well let's start, you're a minute late now."

"Yes of course," Sally exclaims as she hands off the packets to the Rabbit who takes one and passes it along. "Fellow Freedom Fighters, I'd like to introduce you all to Sonic-"

"Sonic Hedgehog is the name and speed is my game!" Sonic interupts, never missing a chance to show off.

"Yes," Sally tries not to frown at the interuption and returns to her chair, standing behind it resting her hands on its back, "and-"

"I was the one who saved the team that went out to Robotropolis today," Sonic butts in again, putting his feet up on the table, "and then we trashed the factory."

"Yes thank you Soni-"

"It was quite the explosion. You should have seen the fi-"

"Would you be so kind as to stop interupting the Princess so we can get on the meeting!?" the uniformed Coyote growls at Sonic.

Sonic's chair falls over backwards. The Princess?!

"Thank you Antoine," Sally sighs sitting back down in her chair, "but I can handle it."

"It is my duty to assist you my princess," Antoine assures her, "even if you do not wish it."

"Antoine, please stop calling me that," Sally rubs her hand over her face finally sitting back down. It was going to be a very long meeting, "And it is not your job to assist me in everything I do."

"Technically that's Bunnie's job," Rotor adds.

"Rotor, you're not helping," Sally turns to look at him.

"Sorry."

Sonic tries setting his chair back up only to find one of the wooden legs has become loose and won't hold. While nobody is paying attention, he swaps the chair out for the uniformed coyote's. When the coyote sits back down the leg breaks off and the coyote falls over backward. Everyone busts out laughing except the coyote and the Princess who only barely manages to cover her smile. She then clears her throat.

"Now that our 'enterteinment' is out of the way, let's get down to business," She rises back up, "As pointed out before, Sonic here is new, so I'd like to start off by introducing ourselves. I'm am Princess Sally Acorn of the Kingdom of Acorn. And I lead the Knothole Freedom Fighters agains Doctor Robotnik."

Sally then holds up her small computer, "And this is NICOLE. Our Artificial Intellegence. She helps design our plans and allows us to hack into Robotnik's computers when we're given the opportunity to do so."

After the Princess sits herself back down, Rotor, the Walrus rises. He takes of the yellow baseball cap he and runs a hand over the top of his head nervously, "I'm Rotor, I'm the tech guy around here. I sometimes also help Sally with the stratedgies. I make most of the equipment we take into the field." He sits back down and the next one rises.

"Ya'll can call me Bunnie. I'm am Sally's lady in waiting and bodyguard. I also have a personal score to settle with that snake Ro-butt-nik," she holds up her cybernetic arm to emphasize the point. Sonic briefly catches Sally look away at that exact moment.

The next to rise is uniformed coyote, "I am Antoine Depardieu D'Coolette, Captain of the Princess's Royal Guard!" He raises his sword up in the air to add dramatic effect. A wolf sporting a black mowhawk across the table smirks at Antoine's comment.

"Acting Captain of the Guard, CADET D'Coolette."

"How dare you dirtify my honor!" Acting-Captain-of-the-Guard Antoine snaps back, shaking his fist to emphasize his point at the wolf.

"You mean soiled your honor, Antoine," Rotor corrects, not doing a very good job of hiding his smile.

"Oui, putting the soil on my honor!" Antoine amends nodding. Both the wolf and Rotor let out a sigh. The wolf then stands.

"My name is Ben, I'm a scout," he proudly explains, "I also help out with whatever tasks I can." He Returns to his chair and another Rabbit rises from his seat.

"I'm called Johnny Lightfoot, I'm the fastest member of the team," he smiles proudly, "well, used to be."

Sonic looks up, "Used to be?" They couldn't mean...

As the next, a rather nice dressed Penguin, rises to introduce himself, Sonic looks at the faces of the worn and torn group of freedom figthers. Even the uniformed Acting-Captain-of-the-Guard's proudly pressed and polished uniform looks a bit worn and patched. He could tell they've been at it for a while, and they'd be at it a while longer. Willing to die for their cause. Which many of them would...

Or worse.

"My name is Tux Dresswell of the Dresswell family. When the reasorces are available, I design the uniforms and clothing articles for the team," the penguin beams. By the looks of him he doesn't look like he sees a lot of the action, but Sonic knows that is one of the reason he worries the most. Any mistakes he makse could be the end of one of his tired commrads. It's the same worry he saw on the face of the walrus who claimed to be the tech behind the team.

The same look the Princess made when Bunnie talked about her robotic parts.

The next one to rise is an older gentleman, "You can call me Cat. I'm not as young as the rest fo the team, but sometimes that is also my greatest strength." By now they've gone around the entire wooden table, which Sonic notices looks just as worn and beat up as the people seated around it. Sonic removes his feet from it.

Princess Acorn rises again, "There are more members that aren't here because of their jobs or their rank, but there are enough here to approve." Oh no...they were... "Sonic Hedgehog, we would like you to join us, the Knothole Freedom Fighters. You'll be given a home here a Knothole and be entitled to all our reasources."

Sonic decides it's his turn to stand. He takes one look at his final long look at the smiling and expecting faces of the freedom fighters. He sighs.

"I want to thank you all for considering me for this," he watches the smile fade from the Princess's face. She know what he's getting at, "However I will not be joining you."

Silence fills the room. None of the mobians speak. None can think of what to say.

Finally Sally breaks the Silence, her voice carries a bit of sorry but also a large bit of irritation, "Why not? It would be smarter to pool our reasources!"

"Look, you're a great bunch of guys but all you're gonna do is get yourselves killed," the Hedgehog shakes his head.

"Look just because you saved-"

"That's exactly my point! You got lucky today," Sonic interupts correcting Sally, "You won't get luck every time."

"Sonic Hedgehog, I'll have you know we've been fighting Robotnik long before we met you!"

"Look Princess, I know you mean well but look at your freedom fighters!" Sonic gestures to them letting Sally take a good long look, "They're a bunch of children and a few old men and women. They're tired, and beaten already!"

"You're not any older!"

"But I have my Speed. I have powers none of these guys have. I've been my own longer then I've met you and actually hindered Robotnik's forces a few times. What have you done?" Sonic awaits and answer but knows Sally can't give one. "You have Safe Haven here, stay here and build your defenses. Let me take care of Robotnik."

"You?! Are you really that stuck up that you think you can take him alone?!"

"I don't think I can," Sonic rests his hands on the Table looking Sally directly in the eyes, "I know I can. And I know I don't need your help."