It had been a week since the powers of the king had been bestowed upon Ixis Naugus. As the new king had dethroned Elias Acorn, the people seemed to have forgotten about or were not longer bothered by it. They had gone on with their days, seemingly unaffected.
However, things quickly began to change not long after.
The kingdom had become silent.
No children out in the parks.
No street vendors selling their assorted fruits.
No Mobians dining on the cafe patios.
No blue blur running amuck.
Nobody was leaving their homes. They didn't fear the new king, it's what the new king owned that they feared.
His Iron Dominion roamed the streets every single day in organized fashion, looking more of a tyrant's army that it did a force for the Acorn Kingdom. Though they were promised these ninja were their new protective service, they couldn't help but avoid them as much as possible. They had a dark, vile aura to them, and the citizens of the Acorn Kingdom had grown afraid to go near them.
Mina Mongoose, legendary rockstar, was one of those citizens. She often traveled Mobius for tours and concerts, but she had cancelled the rest of her tour after Naugus had taken over. She felt... scared to go anywhere. As if they would keep her within the kingdom if she tried to move on, or worse.. try to flee.
She had kept her shades closed for days, still somehow feeling as if she was being watched. With the way some of these ninja were, she wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. She didn't like to think about it, but she could always feel the cold eyes on her coming from somewhere.
"Hey you!" She heard an aggressive voice outside her home, causing her ears to perk up. She had just been minding her own business meddling with her guitar when the same voice sounded like it was getting more angry.
"Come here, we want to talk to you." She heard him again. It had occurred to her they probably weren't addressing her, as she'd kept her blinds shut. But due to how serious the situation sounded, she decided to peak through her blinds.
She leaned up on her couch that sat against the front wall, and used two of her fingers to create a small opening in the blinds to see through. She looked ahead at the small shop in front of her rental home, seeing a small group of Iron Dominion ninja. It was comprised of one Raiju Lynx and two bats from the Yagyu Clan. One of the Yagyu ninja was the one shouting, but at what?
Mina looked to her right and saw a simple citizen of New Mobotropolis. His hands were full of minor groceries, shaking them due to his scared nature of the ninja.
"I—I'm sorry did I do something wrong?" The scared old man asked. The three ninja approached him, all with slight smirks on their faces.
"What's in the bag, gramps?" The Lynx asked with his arms crossed on his chest.
"They're j—just my groceries! My wife is ill so I went out to get her some—
"I believe we need to inspect that bag before we can let you go." The bat snickered with the other ninja.
"But.. but why? I haven't done anything wrong! Please, just let me get home to my wife!" The old man now shook like a sick dog.
The bat didn't hesitate as the man began to question him. He reached down to the old man's bag and forcefully ripped it from his grasp. He tried to keep the evil bat from grabbing it, but the strength of the ninja was too much for him to handle. He'd been knocked down with an easy shove from the bat, watching as they ransacked everything he'd just bought.
There wasn't much in his groceries bags, but that didn't stop the ninja from looking through them.
"Well look what we've got here fellas," he smiled, as he reached deeper into the bag. He pulled out two baguette sandwiches from the bottom of the bag, tossing one to the Raiju Lynx. He also pulled out a small vial of painkiller pills, likely for his ailing wife.
"These sure look like unverified drugs to me." He briefly shook the vial.
"That's gonna cost ya, old man." The other bat ninja spoke.
Mina couldn't believe what she was watching. They were threatening this guy when he was just barely crossing the street. She couldn't take her eyes off the crime in progress, terrified of what they were going to do to the frail man.
"I.. I don't have anymore money! Please just let me go, I beg you!" The poor old man pleaded. The bat dropped his bag to the ground, shattering the glass of one of his purchased items inside.
"You hear that guys? He's beggin' us!" The Lynx ninja mocked him as the three of them laughed.
The cynical bat picked up the old man's damaged groceries, and shoved them against his chest.
"I guess we're just gonna take these as compensation then," the bat said, unwrapping the Mobian's sandwich and eating it in front of him. "Now run on home, pops." He spoke as the old man stood up, shaking vigorously.
"You can take the rest! Just please give me those pills! They're for my wife! If she doesn't take them soon, I fear the worst will happen!" He almost sounded as if he was going to cry.
"I think we'll hold on to these until you go get us the payment you owe us." He grabbed the old man by his arm.
Mina couldn't watch anymore. She just couldn't live with herself if she let this go on any further without at least trying to do something.
She quickly sprang up from her couch, bursting through her front door with her anger fueled speed. She knocked the front door open so fast the knob had smacked against the wall next to her tv, slighting damaging it.
"Hey!" She screamed at the three ninja. Immediately following, their eyes left the old man, dropping their bright evil grins in the process.
"That's enough you vile marauders! Leave this poor man alone!" She stomped over to them, stopping only feet in front of them.
"Aw, look what we've got here," the bat's smirk returned, as he leaned over to get in Mina's face. "The little rockstar thinks she can tell us what to do." He laughed with his arms crossed.
She didn't want to admit it, but her anger was slowly being beaten away with intimidation. Up close, they were taller than she'd anticipated.
"I'm not intimidated by sick monsters like you! Your Iron Dominion is nothing but a useless scare tactic!" She too got in his face, trying her very best to match his chaotic energy.
"Oh yeah?" Was all he replied with. Before Mina could retaliate back with a harsh response, she was met with his backhand to her cheek, throwing her to the street.
The old man gasped as he watched her drop to the ground.
"Know your place, citizen," The bat sarcastically spoke. "Next time you cross me like that, I'll have you locked away forever." He said, almost sounded mad that he was being hustled by a petite little celebrity like her.
He and the rest of his gang look at one another, before finally beginning to walk off. As they passed the old man, they gave him a light shove as an intimidation tactic.
Once they finally got further down the street, the old man raced over to help Mina from the ground. He could see the small red print left on her fuzzy cheek from the bat's knuckle.
"My dear, are you alright?" He was quick to make sure she was uninjured.
"I'm fine." She instantly replied, ignoring the new mark on her face.
She'd finally had it. Those Iron Dominion bullies finally broke the last straw of patience she had.
"Thank you, but you'll have to excuse me." She harshly said, stomping passed the old man.
"But— Miss! Where are you going?" He asked in terror, afraid she was going to do something stupid. Well, he was half right.
Mina could see the brick road of the town square, where she'd performed her show at the festival over a week ago. Around the corner of a nearby cafe at the end of the street she could see the edge of the stage where she and the band had been. Not only did that give her an idea, but it gave her a strong desire to do something dangerous. But the one thing people knew about Mina by simply listening to her music, is that dangerous was what she did best.
She knew it was time to take back what belonged to them. Time to void their kingdom of the fear that drove them into their homes. To remove these cruel and unjust outsiders from their precious land. So, she decided to do the one thing she and her music was so known widely known for..
Rebel.
After storming up to the stage, she turned on the surround sound and massive speakers in an instant. She clenched the microphone with determination and grit, causing the speakers to shake and echo the violent sound through the neighboring citizens of New Mobotropolis.
"Citizens of New Mobotropolis, great people of the Acorn Kingdom, I call to you!" She loudly shouted into the mic with her rebellious message.
It didn't take long for her to notice the people begin to peek out the windows and look out their doors in curiosity.
"Aren't you sick and tired of fearing these outsiders that roam your streets everyday? Tired of the lies and deception that is spread by our new king?" She continued, putting everything she had into her speech. She could see more and more Mobian begin to walk towards town square, their attention now locked directly on the famous singer.
"Don't you think it's time to rid this nation of these traitors and manipulators?" She yelled in fury with her fist high in the air. Again, more doors began to open, with more citizens gathering around her stage.
"Well I sure as hell do! This is our land! Our home! We shouldn't have to be afraid to walk home every night! To stroll down to street to grab a cup of coffee! To take our children to their favorite park!" Her message grew louder as the crowd began to grow even bigger.
"We are citizens of the Kingdom of Acorn! Of the family of Acorn!" She continued. "We let these criminal marauders into our land! We may have given up on our king—on our true ruler! A man who truly cares about us.." Her voice dropped for only a second. She could see the faces of the people she was getting to, as they looked down to the ground in shame with lowered brows.
"But, he never gave up on us!" Her voice again rose, causing their ears to perk up.
Mina could finally see it on their faces. They no longer looked fearful, but they looked... almost hopeful. They began to nod in agreement, looking around at one another. Their volume began to rise as they agreed and spoke amongst one another. Her strong message was getting across to them, driving her to hit her speech with a home run.
"It's time we take back what's ours!" Her rebellious voice rose in triumph as she punched high into the air. The ever growing crowd cheered in agreement, some beginning to raise their voices to match her own.
"It's time to drive Naugus and his evil Iron Dominion from our city!" She again screamed.
"YEAH!" The crowd cheered her on even louder. It was almost as if the color in their faces had returned, returning the light of the land she stood on.
"It's time to stand up for those who fought for us! For the family of Acorn!"
"YEAH!"
"—For the Freedom Fighters!"
"YEAAHHH!"
"—For King Elias!"
"YEEAAHHH!"
"Great people of Mobius—it's time to bring this tyranny to an end! ONCE—AND—FOR—ALL!" She screamed to the top of her lungs with her fist tightly clenched in the air.
"YEEAAHHH!" The crowd roared in a deep echo throughout the entirety of the neighboring streets of New Mobotropolis.
It was at this moment, the people were no longer afraid to take their children to the parks.
To sell their assorted merchandise with their street carts.
To take a cruise to their local cafe.
To stand up for what's right.
"ARE YOU WITH ME NEW MOBOTROPOLIS!" She screamed as loud as her chest would allow. The city had filled with a sound it hadn't heard in too long. The sound of hope.
This was what the good people needed. Just even a small beacon, that could drive them to what they needed to do. They were the strongest kingdom of all of Mobius, and now the believed it more than ever. The Freedom Fighters no longer had to save the people on their own. They no longer had to rely on Sonic—The Hero of Mobius—to keep them safe.
But what the finally needed had been brought upon them:
The first spark of a Rebellion.