2011
Jason sat on the roof of the empty office building as Blaze approached him. "General Hanson called," she said as she sat beside him. "He's found us a building we can use as a base in Central Park." Jason said nothing. "It's big."
Jason sighed and eyed her. "I just..."
"I know..." Blaze muttered. "We're all... Well, it's quiet down there. But, Lightning's out there. And so are other Mobians. Our work isn't done."
"I know," Jason said before he exhaled deeply. "Alright. Let's go check out that building."
13 Years Later...
Jason bolted upright in his bed, sweat running down his face and his breathing escalated. He looked over at the clock. Three in the morning. He let out a sigh and slid out of bed. Muttering to himself, he made his way out of his room, down the hall, down a spiral metal staircase, and into the large room where the tan usually hangs out. He went into the kitchen off to the side and opened the fridge. After taking out a can of soda, he closed the door. Standing there, on the other side, was Blaze.
"Still having the nightmares?" She asked. She was wearing a purple velvet robe that she had tied at the waist.
Jason chuckled and popped the can. "Yeah, you'd think after all this time... I mean, I'm not beating myself up over it anymore, but..."
"You still miss her," Blaze finished.
Jason nodded and sipped some of his drink. "And Lightning hasn't been spotted, either. It's like the past just... stopped."
Blaze shook her head. "No. We're still here, after all. Because of you, and the Rogues, the Mobians have been able to finally come out of hiding. The world's a better place now."
"Nah, it's the same. Just different."
Blaze tilted her head in confusion. "Elaborate, please?"
The human chuckled. "The Mobians make it different. But there's still crime from both humans and Mobians."
Blaze shrugged and crossed her arms. "Some Mobians were less forgiving. Can you blame them, though?"
Jason took a sip and then paused. He then sighed and set his can down on the counter. "I understand their resentment. Their hatred is expected. But that doesn't excuse their actions."
"Agreed. Just make sure, when the time comes, that you understand their side, too."
Jason nodded. "I will."
Blaze crossed her arms and took a step back. "Come back to bed," she said, before she left.
The human grabbed his soda and took another sip as he followed.
**********
A black female hedgehog wearing cargo pants and a gray tank top sat at a desk in the dark. The only source of light was her desk lamp. In her hand was a pencil and on the table were blueprints of a train and a map of the city. As she looked over the scribbles, she leaned back with a sigh as a purple echidna walked up next to her. The purple Mobian wore black shorts and a black t-shirt.
"It's all ready, Myst," the hedgehog said with a smile. "Tomorrow, we begin."
The echidna eyed the plans. "Looks good, Viper. Seems well thought out."
"Down... to the last... detail," Viper sighed, before she pushed her chair back and stood up. "I'm off to bed," she yawned as she stretched. "You're welcome to join me."
Myst watched her leave before she looked at the map of New York. After looking it over, she left to join the hedgehog.
**********
Freedom Fighters HQ
8:00 am
The next morning, Jason opened his eyes with a yawn. Blaze was still asleep up against him with her left hand on his chest. He reached over to gently rub her hand as he looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling fan spun and hummed softly as the sun was just starting to shine through the window. He let out another yawn as he felt Blaze start to stir.
The cat's eyes opened as they met with the human's. "Morning," she said softly.
"Morning," Jason replied.
The two leaned in and kissed before the cat princess got up. Jason sat up and stretched as Blaze headed over towards the bathroom. Jason watched her remove her robe and enter the bathroom naked, leaving the door open. Jason chuckled and got up.
After the shower, Jason and Blaze headed downstairs to the large room where all the others were hanging out. Sally Acorn, a brown female chipmunk, was sitting with Bunnie Rabbot, a sandy brown bunny female whose left arm and both legs were metallic, at the kitchen table and drinking coffee. Blaze patted Jason's back before she went to go find Silver.
Jason headed over to the kitchen to grab another soda from the fridge. "Morning, you two."
Sally smiled and looked over at him. "Morning, Jason."
"Howdy, partner," Bunnie greeted.
"Quiet morning?" Jason asked as he turned to face them.
"No word of anything out of the ordinary yet," Sally replied. "Our scouts are keeping their eye out."
"Good..." Jason muttered as he took a sip.
"So, you and Blaze, huh?"
Jason smiled and went to sit down at the table with them. "Yeah, who would've thought? Flaming cat princess from another dimension. I suppose purple bird was, uh... equally..."
"Well, you certainly changed things. I've been noticing more human-Mobian relationships."
"Yeah," Bunnie sighed. "Shame there's Mobians ready to go to war against it."
**********
High St. Subway Station
9:00 am
Viper, Myst, and Sam, a male brown fox with a gray vest and black shorts, stood in the High St subway station, awaiting the train. Viper and Myst had both put on a long black jacket to conceal their weapons.
"It's almost here," Viper cooed.
"And you're sure this one travels past their headquarters?" Sam asked, sounding unsure.
"I looked over the maps a hundred times. If we stay on this one, it will eventually bring us past Central Park."
"I can not believe we are finally doing this," Myst sighed as she closed her eyes.
"Nervous?"
The echidna exhaled slowly. "Excited."
Just then they heard a loud crunch to their right. When they looked, they saw a red female Mobian wolf holding an apple. She wore a white tube top and purple shorts with a long, unbuttoned orange jacket. She took another bite before she looked over at the trio.
(art by: CrimsonRose97)
"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt," she giggled in a playful tone. "After all, you three need your game faces on. For... what you're about to do, of course." She took another bite.
Viper narrowed her eyes and slid her hand in her jacket, ready to stab the wolf. The red Mobian chuckled and swallowed.
"I don't think you're gonna wanna do that," the wolf cooed eerily. "Risk ruining what you have planned? Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk. That'd be a shame, for sure."
"What do you want?"
"Whoa whoa whoa!" The wolf exclaimed. "Manners? You're gonna ask me what I want before you ask me who I am? Rude."
Viper sighed and crossed her arms. "Apologies. I am Viper. What's your name?"
"Thrax," the red wolf said with a smile. "First name, Anne."
Viper smirked. "Cute. So, what's your deal?"
Thrax chuckled. "Well, you know the Freedom Fighters, I'm sure?"
"Of course."
"Well... think of us as the... anti-Freedom Fighters. And I've been watching you closely. You and Sam and Myst."
Viper went slightly wide-eyed. She and her crew had always been careful not to ever be seen. To know that someone's been able to spy on them without their knowledge was extremely unsettling for her. Thrax watched the hedgehog's frozen expression and chuckled before she took another bite of her apple.
"Nice talk, V," Thrax said as she turned and started to walk away.
"H-Hey!" Viper started as she started to run after.
Thrax turned slightly and raised her left hand towards her. Viper was suddenly gently pushed backwards as Sam and Myst caught her. Thrax shook her finger at them before she took another bite of her apple. Viper stared at her as the wolf walked away.
"What?" Viper muttered. "She... She has some kind of... power." She stood upright and turned to the others.
"We continue, right?" Sam asked.
Viper nodded. "Absolutely." Her ear twitched when she heard the train coming. "Ride's coming." She then sighed. "She was cute, though."
**********
MTA Control Room
9:30 am
A man in a tucked-in buttoned-up shirt and jeans paced back and forth as he watched the screen that showed the subway map. "Sara? How we lookin'?"
A pink Mobian fox with long white hair turned in her chair. "Green across the board, sir."
"Good. Let's hope for a quiet morning."
**********
9:45 am
Viper watched passengers leave and board the train. "Fulton Street," she said aloud. "That leaves Chambers Street Station, Canal Street, Spring Street, West 4th Street, 14th Street, 42nd Street, 50th Street, aaaaaand 59th Street."
"You remembered all that?" Sam asked, surprised.
"I looked at the maps a lot to make sure I didn't miss anything."
"When are we gonna speed things up?" Sam asked. "You don't plan on us riding it all the way there peacefully?"
"Fourteenth Street," Viper replied. "That'll give us enough time to do our thing."
**********
10:00 am
Jason dropped down on the couch next to Honey, a light amber cat with black hair and wearing a red and black dress with white laces. The cat was watching a fashion show as she crossed her legs, her bare toes wiggling as she stared at the screen.
"Getting ideas?" Jason asked as he leaned back.
"Ideas?" Honey scoffed. "Please. They could learn a thing or two from me."
**********
11:00 am
"Now arriving at West 4th Street Station."
Viper looked at her crew and nodded. "Get ready," she said as she stood up. "Once it starts, it's on."
Sam smiled. "Can't wait, V."
The black hedgehog gave them a nod before she made her way through the crowd of passengers towards the front. When she made it to the front, she took out a dome-like device and stuck it on the door where the lock was. She waited for it to melt through before she slid the door open. Before the conductor could react, Viper pulled her gun on him, being sure no one else could see it.
"Step on it," she cooed. "Or I kill every passenger while you watch."
The driver stared at her and then the gun. "We'll all be dead anyways. End of the line's coming up."
"We have plenty of time for the Freedom Fighters to stop the train. Just blow through all the stations and don't... stop."
The driver took a deep breath and nodded before he sped up the train. "Good. Keep going." She then holstered her gun and slid the door closed.
**********
Sara squinted her eyes before she pushed the intercom button. "Problem," she announced. "We have a runner."
Her boss walked over to the screen. "The one going by Central Park?"
Sara nodded. "Track ends shortly after."
"Try to get ahold of them."
Sara nodded and flipped a switch before she held the talk button. "Hello, uh... Mike? Mike Hopps?"
The motorman picked up the radio and shakily held the button. "Y-Yeah... We got a situation."
"Situation?" Sara asked. "What's wrong?"
"A hedgehog's taken over the train. She said she wants the Freedom Fighters to try and save us."
Sara's eyes went wide before she looked at her boss. "Sir? You need to get a hold of the Freedom Fighters. Now."
**********
Jason was still watching TV with Honey before Blaze came over and sat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her as all three watched the TV. Suddenly, the phone on the wall nearby rang. Sonic quickly rushed over and answered it.
"Freedom Fighters. How may we help y..." He stopped. "Oh, okay. We're on it!" He quickly hung up and rushed over to Jason. "A Mobian hijacked a subway train. It's about to roll by Central Park and then hit a dead end."
Blaze quickly leapt away and ran to grab their E-Gears.
**********
Viper leaned against the motorman's door and watched another station zip on by. "Hello, Central Park," she cooed. She opened the door and stepped in. "Are we at top speed?"
"Y-Yes," Mike replied. "But..."
"Good," Viper said as she cut him off by whacking him on the back of the head. As he fell unconscious, the hedgehog left.
Moving away from the front, she moved past a bunch of scared humans as she made her way to the next car. Myst and Sam were separating humans and Mobians, moving the Mobians to the back and humans to the front.
"They cooperating?" Viper asked.
"For now," Myst replied.
"This is insane!" A human yelled.
"You'll never get away with this!" Another yelled.
Viper turned and started walking backwards towards the next car. "Well maybe your precious Freedom Fighters will save you!"
In the next car, there seemed to be only frightened Mobians. Viper took a seat next to a bunny mom with her daughter. She sighed and glanced over at the parent rabbit. "Hey, bunny momma," she cooed.
"What do you want?" The mother asked, seemingly irritated.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Can the hostility. I just want those foolish Freedom Fighters to know that what they're doing is pointless."
"Saving others is pointless?"
"Promoting human-Mobian relationships."
"What's so bad about that?"
Viper tilted her head and looked at the little bunny. "Where's dad?" She asked, her eyes locking onto the mother's. The older bunny gasped softly. "Did a human take him from you?" The bunny mom was about to say something when they both heard something drop onto the roof of the train. Viper looked up and drew her gun. "They're here."
She stood up as Myst and Sam stood in the doorway to the next car. "All humans separated," Myst announced. "Humans in the first three. Mobians in the back."
"Outstanding," Viper said as she moved past the echidna and fox. "Let's uncouple the cars. Our fight isn't with our own, after all."
Sam and Myst followed her into the next car where Viper knelt down and opened the latch connecting the two cars. As the three cars containing the Mobians began to slowly slow down and gain distance, Viper stood up and blew them a kiss good-bye. She then closed the door and turned her attention on the frightened humans. Her smile immediately faded.
"Scum," she muttered.
"You do realize if they don't stop this train," Myst began. "we die, too, right?"
Viper chuckled. "You honestly think they'd let all these humans die?" They then heard thumping on the roof again. "Come on," she cooed playfully.
She then saw a circle being burned into the roof of the subway. She took a step back as the metal melted and formed a hole. Suddenly, a purple cat dropped down and landed in the aisle, her fists covered in flames.
"You must be Blaze," Viper said with her gun aimed at one of the humans.
"What gave it away?" The cat asked, eyeing Myst and Sam, who were keeping their distance. Myst had magic surrounding her own fists while Sam held a dagger in each hand.
"You're the cause of all this," Viper practically growled. "You and that human, Jason. And that bird before you."
Blaze's eyes narrowed. "Don't speak ill of Wave. That would be unwise."
Viper smirked. "Struck a nerve, did I?"
"Just stop this," Blaze said, almost sounding irritated. "This is stupid and it won't solve anything."
"Maybe not. But this is just the beginning."
"But... why?"
"Did you honestly forget what they did to us?!"
Blaze paused. "I... heard."
"You heard?"
"I'm from another dimension. I came here 14 years ago."
Viper chuckled. "I see. That explains a lot."
"But Wave was here when it all went down. And she trusted humans."
"Did humans kill her parents, too?"
"Something like that. But she understood that not all humans are bad. Take us for example. You're a Mobian threatening these humans. I'm a Mobian trying to save them. If you don't wanna be seen as a threat, and targeted... don't be a threat!"
"Too late. They must pay for what they did."
"Then, I guess talking is over. SILVER!"
The train was suddenly glowing white as it jerked suddenly, slowing to a stop. This made Viper, Sam, and Myst stumble, as did Blaze. The train stopped a few feet from the last station. As the doors to the previous car slid open and Jason ran in, the side doors of the train opened to let the hostages off.
"Oh, shit," Jason said when he saw Myst, Sam, and then Viper.
The black hedgehog growled and raised her gun to shoot just as the humans all got up and ran off the train. She, Myst, and Sam were knocked to the side into the seats as Jason dove to the side to get out of the way.
"Don't lose sight of them!" He called as Blaze had also ducked off to the side.
"Our friends above will see them if they leave!" The kitty called.
Silver watched the people run by and kept his eye on the exit. "I don't see them."
After the hostages had left, Jason, Silver, and Blaze all stood up. There was no sign of the Mobians. "Shit," Jason muttered as he ran off the subway and looked around. "Anybody see where they went?!" He yelled.
A human who was running towards the stairs stopped and turned. "They went that way!" He called, motioning towards the tunnel.
Jason gave a thankful nod and then ran towards the tunnel, jumping off the platform. Blaze and Silver followed closely as they ran down the tunnel. They soon came upon a door whose doorknob had been shot off. Jason opened the door and saw a staircase leading up.
"Damn, they could be anywhere now," he said, before he looked down the tunnel and could see the other half of the subway sitting motionless. "The other Mobians," he said as he ran over.
Silver used his powers to force the doors open as they climbed up. Inside were all the captive Mobians, all frozen with fear and uncertainty of what to do. Jason sighed with relief before he and the other two began to help them off the train.
**********
Jason, Blaze, and Silver joined up with Sonic, Jet, and Sally up above. "Did any of you see a black hedgehog, purple echidna, and a brown fox escaping?"
Sonic shook his head. "No. And I was waiting for someone to chase down, too."
"Nothing," Jet confirmed.
"Anyone hurt?" Sally asked.
Jason shook his head. "Thankfully, no. But the hijackers got away."
"What'd they want?"
Blaze stepped up and crossed her arms. "Human-haters. Specifically, Mobian-human relationship-haters. The leader's parents were killed by humans."
**********
Viper, Sam, and Myst escaped down an alley and made their way over to an abandoned building's back door. Viper flung it open angrily and the three entered, Sam closing the door behind them. They made their way down into an abandoned bar that they had made into their base. They came to a stop when they saw a familiar red wolf sitting at the bar, eating an apple.
"You're back," she said, taking a bite.
"Anne?" Viper asked. "How'd you..."
"I've been watching you three for a while now, remember. Finding out where you hang out what easy." She took another bite of her apple. "You did good. So good, in fact, I wanna introduce you to my team."
"The Anti-Freedom Fighters?" Viper asked. Anne nodded in response. "When do we leave?"
**********
John F. Kennedy International Airport
A brown, Mobian wolf female stepped up to the window. She had brown fur on her mouth and body while her head and tail had biscotti fur. She also had cloudy white fur around her eyes and cadet blue eyes.
She wore a cream colored tube top, light gray leggings with dark gray knee sleeves, black knee and elbow pads, dark gray arm sleeves, and a black and dark gray cloak. In her long biscotti hair, she wore a black hair tie.
"Well, ain't you a cutie?" The woman behind the counter said as she saw the wolf approach. "And what's your name?" As she asked, the wolf handed over her passport.
"Whisper."
"Duration of stay?" The woman asked as she took the passport.
"Unknown," the wolf replied.
"Reason for visit? Is it business or pleasure?"
The wolf hesitated before she sighed deeply. "Neither."
The woman blinked a few times before handing the passport back. "Alright. Enjoy your stay, Whisper."
Whisper picked up the suitcase she brought with her left hand and a long briefcase with her right hand. She gave a single nod and left.