p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; user-select: text !important;"Author's note: Hello once again my readers! Sorry this took so long. I've been doing some artwork on DeviantArt./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; user-select: text !important;"My username is THE-Julian-Cabrera/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; user-select: text !important;"This time we're focusing on Fiona. This takes place 1 day after 197 Redone unlike the first prologue (which was 3 days after)./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; text-align: center; user-select: text !important;"span style="font-family: 'Akkurat Std', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; white-space: pre;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongRed Fox Restitution/strong/span strongemIt's at the break of dawn in New Mobotropolis…/em/strong Most citizens of the city are still suspicious of a certain Mobian who was just recently allowed to live among them. That Mobian is known as Fiona Fox, who is sound asleep in her new hut. The vixen had been sleeping uncomfortably for half of the night, knowing that most of the citizens still have bitter feelings towards her. However, as the night went on, she started to feel more comfortable after remembering that the Freedom Fighters are on her side. Today is the day where they'll be announcing her return to the team. It's a bit unnerving for her that all of the citizens will be there watching at the Coliseum, but as long as Sonic and the gang are nearby, she'll be fine. Still, there's something that was continuing to eat at her. She already apologized to all the Freedom Fighters for betraying them, and she's so glad that they forgave her. But there were two more Mobians she had to apologize to before she could move on in life personally; Rosemary and Amadeus Prower. She needed to say sorry for hurting their son. They might tell Tails to stay away from her, and she didn't want that. She had to let them know that she's changed for the better and that she wouldn't hurt him. Soon, the light from outside started to shine on the vixen, "Mmmmm… Is it morning already? It feels like I've only slept for an hour." she muttered while sitting up. "*Yawn* What time is it?" Fiona looked at her watch and saw that it's 9:30 AM. "Oh, good. I have just enough time to get dressed." When Fiona entered the bathroom, she started thinking out loud about visiting Tails' parents. "How should I approach them? They definitely won't be happy to see me, so I need to give off a good vibe." She stared at herself in the mirror and frowned, "I guess I should start with my clothes. This bad girl attire is dated, anyway. I need something that's a bit more... bright." The vixen goes to her closet and starts going through her wardrobe, "Hmmm...should I wear my old Freedom Fighter outfit?" She thought about it and then frowned again, "No, I shouldn't. This full body suit also looks stupid nowadays. I don't know why I used to like wearing it." After looking a bit more, she spots a purple t-shirt and jeans, "Maybe this'll do." She quickly changes into the clothes and examines herself in the mirror. The new appearance made her smile. "Not bad. It's basic, but it works. I think I'm good." Fiona and her eyes widen, "It's 9:55 already?! I need to go now! The Coliseum announcement is at 10:30!" She wasted no time exiting her home and quickly pacing towards Tails' house. There were already some citizens awake, and all of them gave her dirty looks as she passed by. Fiona just tried her best to ignore them for now. At the moment, she was strictly focused on getting to Tails' house. After a bit of walking, she found herself staring at his front door. A hint of nervousness started to overcome her as she stood there. 'This could either go wonderfully right or terribly wrong…' She knocks….. and then hears footsteps. The door swings open, revealing a confused Tails, "Fiona?" The red vixen smiles nervously, "H-hi, Tails." Tails quickly steps outside, closing the door behind him, "What are you doing here so early? The Coliseum announcement isn't until 10:30," he whispered. "...I came to speak to your parents." Fiona replied. This made the young one raise an eyebrow, "Do you really think that's a good idea right now? I'm still trying to convince them that you've changed." Fiona rubbed the back of her head and pouted, "I don't know… I just thought that maybe if I apologized to them in person, they wouldn't be as angry. I want to show your parents that I'm not afraid to admit my mistakes in front of them..." Tails stared at her with his own sad look, "I guess we can give it a shot… Come inside." The yellow fox's smile then changed into a shy one, "By the way, I like your new clothes." Fiona smirked slightly, "Thanks." Both of them step inside and quietly close the door. Fiona sits on the couch while Tails slowly walks into the kitchen. The younger fox peaked out of the kitchen and asked, "Have you had breakfast yet, Fiona?" "Actually, I haven't. I kinda woke up a bit late and rushed over here," she answered. "Do you want some waffles? I made some for my parents, but there is a couple extra. Plus, they're still hot!" Tails offered. Fiona waved her hands nervously and said, "I'm fine, Tails. You don't have to do that for me." The yellow fox smiled, "Well, too bad. I'm already fixing a plate for you." He brought Fiona a plate and a fork, which made her head dip, "Tails…" she said softly. He put a hand on her shoulder, "Fiona, you don't have to be nervous around me. We're friends now, okay?" Hearing this made her smile faintly as her eyes shifted up towards his, "Okay." Tails smiled again and went back into the kitchen to get a drink. While he does this, Fiona starts thinking to herself as she eats. 'He's such a sweetheart. This is only making me feel worse for hurting him. I wish I could go back in time and undo all of it…' Not long after thinking this, Tails' mother (Rosemary) is heard coming down the hallway, "Honey, do we have a guest? I heard someone else tal-" The mother freezes up as soon as she entered the living room and spotted Fiona. "Tails, what's going on here?" she asked. Her son raced out of the kitchen and up to her, "Mom, this is Fiona. She-" The mother quickly interrupted, "Are you insane?! Why on Mobius would you let her inside?! This is the girl that abused you!" Fiona felt her stomach sink and stood up, "Mrs. Prower, please don't be mad at him. I invited myself inside-" Rosemary cut in again, "I don't want to hear another word from you! I'm not letting our son get manipulated again!" Tails' father (Amadeus) hears the commotion and enters the living room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "*Yawn* Why are you screaming, dear? I'm trying to-" The father also froze when he spotted the red vixen, "What is she doing here?" Tails spoke, "She came to talk to you both." "Well, I don't want to hear it. You better leave right now before I force you to." the mother threatened. "Geez, mom! At least hear her out! She isn't evil anymore!" Tails blurted. Rosemary turned to her son, looking worried, "No, Tails! People like her don't change! She only wants to abuse you, and we aren't letting that happen! We won't fail to protect you again!" Amadeus gave his input, "I'm afraid your mother is right, son. You shouldn't be so naive in believing she has changed so quickly. She could be pretending and waiting for the right moment to take advantage of you once more." Tails shook his head, "That's not true! Fiona HAS changed! You'd see that if you'd just give her a chance!" Fiona started to tear up. The harsh words from Tails' parents stung severely… but in her mind, she only had herself to blame. "Tails, it's okay. You don't have to defend me. I'll just go." Fiona ran out of the house in tears. "No, come back!" Tails yelled. He tried to run after her but was held back by his mother. "Tails, stop! Don't fall for her facade! You can't let her take advantage of you!" At that moment Tails anger exploded, "You mean like the way you took advantage of me during that civil war dad almost started?!" His mother jumped, "What?!" Tails pointed at her, "When I first heard that dad got arrested, I was confused! I didn't know who I wanted to side with! After Sonic explained what happened, I wanted to side with him at first, but I gave you both the benefit of the doubt and listened to you because you're my parents! You took advantage of me by convincing me you were right, even though you knew the way dad went about things was wrong!" Amadeus was stunned, "But Tails, she-" Tails cut him off right there, "'She' nothing dad! Don't try to convince me that you're right again, because you're not! I know Fiona hurt me badly, but she's not the same person anymore! Some people CAN change! She's already been abused enough for her past mistakes, and I won't tolerate it anymore! Not when she's trying so hard to redeem herself!" The furious teenager starts to walk towards the door while uttering two more bitter sentences, "I knew I should've gone to Sonic and Sally for help after you started that rebellion. They're the people who ACTUALLY raised me, after all." And with those parting words, he dashed off, leaving his parents emotionally torn. Meanwhile, Fiona continues running with tears blurring her vision. She couldn't see a thing in front of her, but she didn't care… She just kept running… until a rock on some uneven ground messed up her footing, causing her to trip and fall face first. This gave Tails enough time to catch up. "*Gasp* Fiona!" He immediately rushes next to the red vixen and helps her up to her knees. "Are you okay?" Fiona didn't open her eyes and continued to sniffle. Tails kept his arm around her, "Fiona, I'm sorry about what my parents said." Fiona spoke in a low and somber tone, "Tails, all of this is happening because of what I did to you and the others. I deserve all of it. Besides, dealing with this is better than still being with Scourge. So you don't have to feel sorry for me." Tails frowned, "You're right, I don't have to. But I do feel sorry for you. When you hurt me, I had all my friends and family there to help me recover. You, however… you've been abused for most of your life, with no one there to help you." The yellow fox stood in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Not anymore, though. What you did to me in the past, can stay in the past. As of today, I'm not going to let anyone abuse you. I'll make sure the Freedom Fighters protect you, I promise." Fiona was at a loss for words. This boy, who she hurt so badly, is now promising to protect her? It didn't make any sense… All she could do is stare into his innocent and pure blue eyes. After a few more seconds, she wrapped her arms around him and let the tears fall. Tails gently returned the embrace while the group of citizens outside watches in confusion. Only one question occupied their minds' as they gawked at the two foxes: "Were her tears real or fake?" The answer they got was a rush of wind zooming past them. It was Sonic, who stopped right in front of Tails and Fiona. "The heck is going on?" he asked. Tails was thrown off by his sudden arrival, "Sonic? What are you doing here?" The Blue Blur pointed at them both, "I've been looking for you two, dude. The Coliseum announcement is happening in ten minutes." Tails' eyes widened, "Already?!" Sonic simply replied with, "Yep." "So, where's Sally?" Tails asked. The hedgehog pointed a thumb behind him, "She's probably with Nicole and the others, setting up the stage." Sonic then noticed Fiona's roughed up appearance, "Woah! You alright, Fi?" Tails helps Fiona to her feet as she wiped the last of her tears, "Yeah, I just tripped." Sonic scratched his head while Fiona dusted off her clothes and then smiled at her, "Well, uh, I'm digging the new look. I like it way better than the old one." The red fox smiled sheepishly, "Thanks. I do too." Sonic focused back on his "lil bro," "So, Tails, are your parents coming to the coliseum too?" The teenage boy remembered what he said to his folks and looked away, with one hand behind his head, "Probably not…" The hedgehog raised an eyebrow, "Huh? How come?" This question made the yellow fox pout, "They really don't believe that Fiona can change. That, and I may have said some… hurtful things to them…" Both Sonic and Fiona seemed concerned, "What did you say?" Sonic asked. Tails frowned, "I told them that they took advantage of me during that rebellion dad started... And I said that I should've gone to you and Sally for help after he was arrested since you were the ones that raised me." Fiona gasped softly, and Sonic raised both eyebrows in shock. "Oh, man. That's harsh, lil' bro. You do know that they were captured and roboticized by egg-head not long after you were born, right?" Sonic reminded him. Tails' frown turned into a sad pout, "Yeah, that's true… I know it wasn't right to say that, but… I was furious. They were being so close-minded about Fiona changing." The female fox spoke up, "Tails, they're only trying to look after you. I appreciate you defending me, but I think you should go back and talk to them." "Gotta agree with Fi, buddy. Go talk to them and then meet us at the Coliseum afterward. We'll wait for ya." Tails shied away from the two, "Okay." emstrongBack at Tails' House…/strong/em The melancholic Rosemary and Amadeus both sit on the living room couch in silence. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. They were in too much pain to even think straight. It took a bit, but the mother eventually placed a hand on her husband's and spoke. "I feel awful, Amadeus. What are we going to do about our son?" "I honestly don't know, my love. Perhaps we were being a bit too harsh on him and his friend?" "Yes… yes, we were. And maybe he was right about us taking advantage of his innocence. If it weren't for the princess and her compromise, a civil war would have definitely started between the citizens." Amadeus nodded in agreement, "I admit my way of handling things was a bit too direct. I should've been more tactful in my approach." Rosemary stood up slowly, "We need to find him, Amadeus." The husband rose to his feet as well. Tails entered the house right after this, to his parents' delight. Both of them quickly paced towards the teen, anxious to apologize. "Tails, we're so happy that you came back." Rosemary chanted. The father quickly grew a remorseful expression and spoke first, "Listen, son. We apologize for being so harsh on you and that girl." "And we're really sorry for taking advantage of you…" Tails stared at the two in disbelief. His parents' body language was so sad and shameful. "But most of all, we're sorry for not being there for you when you were younger." the mother added. The yellow fox shook his head in response to the last sentence, "You don't need to apologize for that last thing, mom, and dad. That was a really, really unfair and hurtful thing to say. I know you guys were taken from me when I was really young. It's not your fault that you couldn't raise me." Tails softly glared at the ground as he continued, "I'm just mad at the way all of the citizens are treating Fiona. When you guys started saying bad things too, I snapped. I know she was evil before, but that was in the past. I swear, she's changed for good." Rosemary placed a hand on his head, "Honey, we didn't mean to be so hateful. We weren't there to keep you safe. The first time and it made us feel like bad parents. We really only wanted to protect you from getting hurt again." Tails looked back up at her, "I understand, mom. But please, give Fiona a chance. She's been abused for almost her entire life with no one to help her along the way. All she wants to do at this point is become a better person and redeem herself. Can you both try to forgive her? For me?" Amadeus put a hand on Rosemary's shoulder, causing her to stare at him. After a brief pause, both of them nodded at each other and embraced their child. "For you, Tails, of course." Rosemary agreed. A slightly tearful Tails smiled and cuddled between them both, "Also, don't you ever say you're bad parents again. You guys mean the world to me... a-and I love you." "We love you too, son," Amadeus said as a teardrop trickled down his left cheek. emstrongNew Mobotropolis Stadium, 10:20 A.M./strong/em The remaining Freedom Fighters are all setting up the stage for the big announcement. "Put the podium in that spot over there, Bunnie." Sally ordered. The Rabbot places the rather large platform in the middle of the stage. "Right here?" Bunnie verified. Sally gave her best friend a thumbs up, "Perfect." "Yo, Sal!" A voice yelled. Sally, along with the others, turn to the stadium entrance to see Sonic and Fiona walking towards them. Rotor was the only one who didn't notice since he was still busy setting up the last two stage lights. "Hi!" "Howdy, y'all." "Bonjour, mes amies." The others greeted. Sonic and Fiona replied with Sup/Hi respectively. As Fiona started to converse with the others, the princess smiled at the blue hedgehog with half closed eyes and sauntered up to him. Sonic smiled back, "So how's everything-" Right before he could finish his sentence, Sally wrapped her arms around the Blue Blur and pulled him into a kiss. When their lips separated, Sonic was as red as Knuckles. "What was that all about?" he asked. Sonic's expression made his partner giggle sweetly, "I wanted to sneak in a surprise kiss. Your reaction is pretty funny. Now I understand why you like doing it to me." It took Sonic a moment to gather himself, "Heh, I guess that was well-deserved payback." The hedgehog smiled suavely, "'Course, the score is still in my favor." Sally smirked while rolling her eyes, "I didn't think you were keeping score. Glad to know you take pride in 'surprise kissing' me." she muttered sarcastically. The princess quickly ended her banter with Sonic and focused her attention on the red fox behind her, "Alright, Fiona. Are you ready for the big announcement today?" she asked. Fiona smiled timidly, "As ready as I'll ever be." Amy nudges Fiona slightly, "Relax, Fiona. We'll be here to back you up if something goes wrong," she reassured. "But what should I say when it's my turn to speak? Most of the citizens hate me…" Fiona asked in a low tone. Bunnie spoke up, "Just be honest with 'em, hon. The folks here aren't all heartless. They've made mistakes too." Suddenly another voice came from the entrance of the Coliseum, "Hi, everybody!" The voice once again made the others (except Rotor) turn their heads. They all beamed as Tails approached them. Sally quickly hugged him, "Hi, Tails." Tails hugged back with the biggest smile. Despite being older, he still loves getting hugs from his former 'aunt'. He always felt so warm and safe in her arms. When the embrace ended, Amy put her arm around the fox with her own grin. "How's your chest feeling? Is it any better yet?" she asked. Sally nodded, "I was about to ask that myself." "It feels great. In fact, I'm fully healed now!" Tails announced. "C'est magnifique! Well, aren't you ze manly man?" Antoine said with a grin, making Tails blush slightly and Bunnie snicker. The news got Sonic pumped up, "Does that mean we have you back on the team?" he asked. "Yep!" the young fox answered. The two "brothers" bumped fists, "Sweet! Welcome back to the active roster!" Bunnie had a wide grin too until she noticed that Rotor was still focused on the final stage light, making her frown, "Hey, Rotor! Didja hear the good news?!" she yelled to snap him out of it. Rotor flinched, "What? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even notice that anyone showed up. This last stage light is being really stubborn." The walrus tried to climb down quickly but slipped and fell, "Ahh!" Antoine attempts to catch him, forgetting how much his purple friend weighed, "I am gotting you!" Suddenly, a mattress materializes under Rotor, breaking his fall. "No need, Antoine. I can handle the situation," said Nicole, who appeared in front of him. Antoine respectfully bowed with a smile, "Merci, beaucoup." Rotor stood up slowly, "Yeah, thanks for that. You really saved my bacon." The holo-lynx smiled cheekily, "My pleasure." Sally made her way to the walrus, asking, "Are you okay, Rotor?" Rotor put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, princess. I'm fine. The fall didn't mess with my back if that's what you're thinking." Sally wiped the small amount of sweat from her head, "Thank goodness. That actually was my next question. Thanks for setting up the stage lights." Rotor saluted, making the princess smile in amusement, "All in a day's work, your highness." Bunnie stood in the middle of her friends, "Alrighty y'all! Ready to get this show on the road?" she asked. "Yep! It's actually 10:27 right now." Amy added. "I'll make the announcement," Nicole said. The lynx disappeared and projected herself across all the monitors in the city, "Citizens of New Mobotropolis! This is your hostess Nicole speaking. Please report to the Coliseum for an urgent announcement from the princess. Thank you!" she requested in a cheery voice. It didn't take long for the stadium to fill up after that. All of the citizens have been hearing rumors and were curious about what their princess had to say. Once the stadium was full, Sally stepped up to the podium and cleared her throat. "Hello, my fellow Mobians. Thank you so much for showing up to this announcement on time. I know everyone is busy, so I'll try to keep this as brief as possible." she started. "Today, I'd like to talk to you all about empathy and forgiveness. Everyone here, including myself, is not perfect. We're all people, and we make mistakes, both big and small every day. The person I'm about to reintroduce has made her fair share of mistakes in the past but now wishes to atone for them. Today, I welcome Fiona Fox back to the Freedom Fighters." Most of the crowd either gasped or frowned in response. Before continuing to talk, Sally raised a hand, signaling the citizens to cease their reactions for a moment. "Now, I'm sure everyone has questions as to why we came to this decision, and I'd be happy to answer them." She stopped once more to let the crowd die down. "As you all know, we were invaded by Scourge the Hedgehog and his Suppression Squad three days ago. They were a high-level threat and could've devastated our planet if given a chance. It was thanks to Fiona that we were able to figure out Scourge's plans and motives. She also convinced his own team to rebel against him, which allowed us to organize a solid counter-attack. This, in turn, prevented him from inflicting harm on anyone else. If it weren't for Fiona's help, we would still be in danger, and I really want to emphasize this. With that being said, Fiona herself would like to explain things from her point of view." The princess stepped away from the podium and motioned the red fox to come over. Bunnie saw Fiona's frightened expression and nudged her, "Go on, sugar. Just remember what ah toldja; Be honest." Fiona's nervous grin grew wider, "R-right." Tails grabbed Fiona's hand gently and smiled softly at her, "Let's go, Fiona. I'll walk you to the podium." The female vixen felt a strange wave of calmness hit her as soon as Tails' grip registered in her mind. Despite this, she kept her nervous smile. "Thanks," she said. Both of them slowly walked up to the stand. While this happens, the crowd stares silently. Some of them looked confused (most likely because of Tails holding her hand), and the others continued glaring. Sally smiled at the two as they passed her. "Do your best," she whispered. When Fiona was finally at the podium, she looked at the crowd and raised an eyebrow in surprise. Instead of glaring at her, the group stared silently with confusion. Nicole appeared right next to her, "Whenever you're ready." Fiona stepped up to the microphone, and spoke, "Hi, everyone…... The very first thing I want to do is thank the Freedom Fighters for all of their help and support. They are the most kind and understanding people I've ever met, and it's because of them that I was able to see how wrong I was about this world… and how wrong my mindset was. What I did in the past was wrong, and I apologize to all of you for betraying your trust." "THEN WHY DID YOU?!" an outraged citizen interrupted. A bunch of others shouted "Yeah!" in agreement. A female dog shouted, "There's no excuse for what you did! Betraying our city and slapping a young boy deserves harsh punishment. You should be jailed!" More citizens jumped on the dog's bandwagon. "Absolutely!" "I agree 100%!" "I say it should be a twenty-five-year sentence!" Opposing views started to erupt from others in the stadium. "What?! That's way too harsh!" "Yeah, we all make mistakes! We should give her a chance!" Another mobian's temper flared. This time it was an elderly male ferret. "Are you defending her actions?! What possible excuse could she have for committing such insidious crimes?!" The arguing was growing in the crowd, making Amy tense up as she summoned her Piko Hammer. Sonic and Sally notice this quickly and address it. Sonic places a hand on her shoulder to ease Amy's nerves, "Chill, Amy. You don't gotta use the hammer. Things haven't gotten too crazy yet." Sally agreed and stated, "Give the citizens a moment to calm down." The pink hedgehog frowned at the princess, "Calm down? Sally, they're arguing. And it's getting louder and louder." Bunnie chimed in, "Ah say we wait as well, hon. Once we start hearin' name callin' and seein' punches is when we'll step in." Amy pouted and made her hammer disappear. The crowd continued to argue with each other, which kept Fiona in a shocked state. "Are you forgetting that Shadow the Hedgehog has done even worse things?! He almost destroyed the planet, and now he works for G.U.N! We forgave him, so why can't we forgive her?!" This point silenced the naysayers for a moment until an adult Koala shouted, "Well, we still deserve to know why! She should explain everything to us and reveal the truth! Do you at least agree with that?!" A lot of the crowd blurted out "Yeah" in agreement. "Go ahead! Explain yourself! What led you to do these despicable acts?!" an adult monkey said to the stunned Fiona. "O-okay… I'll explain everything. After what I did, you all deserve to know. It's a long story though." Fiona said. "Then start talking already, women!" a male cat yelled. "Would you shut up and let her explain, idiot?! Jeez!" A male leopard shouted. The cat stood up out of rage, "What did you say, boy?! Come here and say that to my face!" Arguments started again, prompting Geoffrey St. John to stand up. He was in a separate section with his wife and the Royal Guard. "Enough!" he shouted through his megaphone, silencing the entire stadium. "As commander of the Secret Service, I'm ordering everyone to be silent until Fiona is done speaking! Anyone who talks out of turn again will be escorted out of the stadium!" Geoffrey demanded. He faced Fiona, "You can continue." Fiona nodded, and Geoffrey sat back down. The commander smirked at his wife, "You were right, luv. This megaphone really did come in handy." Hershey the Cat smiled back, "Told you so. I had a feeling the stadium might become a bit rowdy after hearing the news." Sonic chuckled at the whole situation, "Wow. Stinky managed to silence everybody just like that." Fiona started to feel uncomfortable since she's going to talk about her dark past. This time it's to the public though, making it even more unnerving. So before she began telling her story, she took a moment to compose herself. "When I was young, I got kidnapped by Robotnik and taken away from my family. He wanted to use Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel, me, and many other Mobians for experiments. We ended up being trapped at his research facility for three years. Mighty and Ray were able to escape with Sonic's help, but I was left behind and taken to a different lab. After making a robot clone of me, Robotnik left me to rot in a prison cell... It-it scarred me…" Her voice began to quiver as tears started to appear in her eyes, "I was so afraid… I thought I was going to be trapped there forever. I realized after months of waiting that no one was going to save me. I was only able to escape after two years of digging a secret tunnel with little food or water. I tried for a month to find my parents afterward and found that they have left our home. I don't know what happened to them or why they left… I assumed they had moved on without me." The tears were getting worse, so Fiona had to pause and wipe them. While doing so, a curious and sympathetic Mobian in the crowd asked, "Why didn't you join the Freedom Fighters after that?! They would have definitely taken you in!" Geoffrey thought about escorting the mobian out of the stadium for disobeying orders, but his wife stopped him from grabbing the megaphone. "Let her answer their questions. As long as they're civil about it, there's no harm. If anyone becomes disrespectful, then you can do your thing." Hershey whispered. The skunk trusted his wife's judgment and complied, stating, "If you say so, luv." The red vixen answered the citizen's question honestly, "Because during that time I was furious that Sonic left me behind. He and Mighty promised to come back and free me, but they never did. For the longest time, I thought they had left me on purpose... but they didn't. Robotnik knew they would come back to save me, so he sabotaged the rescue. He gassed his whole lab, causing everyone but himself to pass out. I wasn't aware of him taking me to a different prison since they looked exactly the same." Fiona closed her eyes, her expression becoming more dismal in the process, "Back then though, it made me feel that relying on others was pointless… That you couldn't count on anyone... I chose a life of theft instead to get by. To survive. I only decided to join the Freedom Fighters after Sonic sacrificed himself for all of us. But because I was so damaged by all I've been through, I closed myself off from the Freedom Fighters. When Scourge came along, I made the huge mistake of opening up to him and falling in love." Another mobian yelled out another question, "That doesn't make any sense! Why would you be endeared by such a corrupt individual?!" Fiona's expression remained the same as if she knew that inquiry was coming, "Because I was corrupt too. I really thought we were similar in a lot of ways. He used his bad boy mentality to lure me in, and I took the bait like a fool." The fox's face changed into one of irritation, "My mind was not in the right place, and I let him take advantage of that. He manipulated me so easily that it makes feel absolutely ashamed of myself. I never should've let him convince me that being a villain is more fun than being a hero. It was WRONG! So wrong... I realized my horrible decision too late when I saw how merciless he was when taking over Moebius." The topic of Scourge's conquest of Moebius caused Fiona to break down in tears, "S-so many people were killed, and I just stood there and watched Scourge do it. I-I w-wanted to help them, I really did… b-but I was so scared of him. He was too powerful… Me and the other m-members of the Suppression Squad had to stand-by and play along, or else he would've k-killed us too. The Freedom Fighters may have saved our lives by stopping him, but that doesn't change the fact that so many people suffered." The Freedom Fighters stood behind Fiona with their own sad stares. They were going to ask her if she was able to finish explaining but she continued. "All I want to do is move forward and focus on improving myself as a person. As much as I want to go back and undo all the crimes I've committed, I understand that I have to live with them. I'm not asking for you all to forgive me. You have every right not to. What I am asking for is a chance to rejoin a good cause. That's all I want… Thank you all for hearing me out." Fiona finally opened her eyes and studied the crowd. What she witnessed surprised her. There were still a good amount of people with conflicted faces, but most of the group consisted of soft smiles and sympathetic expressions. Small talk between some of the more unsure citizens filled the air as they contemplate how they feel. Two adult bears discuss among themselves and the others around them. "Do you buy her story? I'm not sure if I do." "Her explanation was way too detailed to be fake. I say we give her a shot. Not everyone is irredeemable. There've been plenty of previously bad individuals who have become good." A female goose agreed, saying, "That's true. Shadow the Hedgehog is a prime example, right?" An echidna two rows below her shouted, "You're darn-tootin' he is! It wouldn't be fair to oust this young lady considerin' that the black hedgehog almost destroyed our planet." The support for giving Fiona another chance seemed to grow throughout most of the crowd, drowning out the small number of mobians who still opposed the idea. Fiona continued watching the stands until she felt Tails' warm grip on her hand again, shifting her eyes towards his. The next words that came out of Tails' mouth accidentally picked up on the mic, "You did great, Fiona. You should be proud." He and the rest of the Freedom Fighters gave her encouraging smiles, and Sally stepped up to the mic. "She certainly should be. It took a lot of courage to admit your mistakes in front of everyone here. And because of that courage, I'm willing to welcome you back as both an official citizen of New Mobotropolis and as a Freedom Fighter." The regal chipmunk then faced her subjects, "And to all my citizens, do you welcome Fiona back? Are you willing to give her another opportunity to fight for our planet?" she asked. The amount of cheering in response heavily outweighed the small number of boos. Fiona cried tears of joy, "Th-thank you, everybody. I'll do my best. For Mobius." The princess was overjoyed to see such a positive response. She loved how accepting most of her people were being. "Thank you for your time, everyone! You're all free to leave!" she yelled out. In a mere two minutes after this was said, the stadium was cleared out, leaving only the Freedom Fighters. Bunnie lightly punch Fiona's arm, "Y'see? I toldja they'd accept you. Ya just gotta be honest with us." The fox had a small smile as she faced her new friends, "I will be. I know I've said this multiple times, but thank you for being so forgiving… And I'm sorry for ever betraying you guys in the first place." Sonic placed both of his hands on Fiona's shoulders, "Ease up, Fi. You don't gotta apologize anymore. We're all cool with you. It's like I tell Tails all the time, "You gotta live and learn." Don't think about the past, just focus on what's in front of you now." The others raised their eyebrows in surprise, not expecting such wisdom from the Blue Blur. The hedgehog backed up and grinned at something behind his friends. Two familiar mobians were approaching the stage. "That was quite the speech, I must say." Amadeus said. "I concur." Rosemary agreed. Fiona flinched at the sight of them, "Mr. and Mrs. Prower, I-I-" she stuttered. Rosemary raised a hand, "It's okay, Fiona. We're not here to scold you." The red fox raised both eyebrows in bewilderment, "You're not?" Amadeus replies, "Quite the contrary. We actually wanted to apologize." Fiona sadly pouts, "Please don't. What I did to your son was awful." Rosemary replied, "Yes, it was. But if our son can forgive you after what happened, then we can too." The husband quickly added, "As long as you don't do it again, of course." Fiona shook her head, "I won't. Not after everything he and the others have done for me." Fiona then ruffled Tails' bangs, "Your son is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. There's no way I could ever hurt him like that again." The shy smile from the teenage boy made the parents beam as well, "If you really mean that… then I see no problem with you being around him. We should trust our son to make his own decisions. He's not a child anymore." Amadeus declared. Said son grew a big smile after his parents' feedback, "Thanks, mom and dad." Both parents started to walk away, with Rosemary looking back and stating, "We'll see you back at home later, sweetie." "Okay, see ya!" the yellow fox blurted. Silence occurred between the Freedom Fighters for a moment. That is until Amy asked Sally, "So what do we now, Sally? Are we focusing on that egg-shaped creep next?" Sally answered, "Mmhmm. We have to prepare for our final push against Robotnik. We need a couple of days to gather supplies and come up with a plan. The Chaotix are currently undercover though, so we'll need to wait until they return." Amy put one finger on her chin, "Ah, so that's why I haven't seen them this morning. I got pretty angry when I thought they were late. I was going to give them a piece of my mind." Rotor smirked, "And by 'giving them a piece of your mind' you mean smacking them with your hammer, right?" A couple of the others snickered, but the rosy hedgehog didn't seem offended, "No, no. My temper isn't that bad anymore." she said, waving one of her hands with a shooing motion. Antoine was still curious about the Chaotix, "Ma princesse, are ze Chaotix lookink for somethink specific?" he inquired. The chipmunk nodded, "They're gathering intel on Robotnik's main base and the state of his forces. The Eggdome is heavily fortified and getting inside will be difficult. If they spot any weaknesses, we're going to exploit them to the fullest." The explanation the princess gave made her blue partner a bit bitter, "Why couldn't I go with them? I wanted to get in on the action!" Sally's knowing smile appeared, "Do I even need to answer that? Stealth isn't exactly your strong suit, Mr. Reckless." Sonic rolled his eyes, "Oh, c'mon. I'm at least more stealthy than Vector. I mean, the dude is a giant green croc!" A sigh escaped Sally's lips, "Sonic, I don't want to argue about this. The decision has already been made. Plus, I really need you here." The stubborn hedgehog crossed his arms, "Do you really?" It was subtle, but when Sally looked directly at him, he saw a small amount of concern in her eyes, "Yes, I do. We all do. Just in case." Sonic stared right back into her eyes. Those gleaming sapphires of hers were almost hypnotic sometimes. Eventually, he gave in and with his own sigh, stating, "Alright, if you say so." "Thank you." she answered, lightly grabbing his hand. Rotor felt a small pain in his stomach due to hunger. It was close to noon after all. "Do you guys wanna get something to eat? It's almost lunchtime." he asked. Bunnie quickly agreed, "Ah'm pretty famished mahself. Why don't we all head on over to Chuck's?" Antoine groaned, "Again? Zis is ze fourth time zis week?" Sonic let out a heh, "Where else are gonna go, Twan? Creme de la creme? The coyote folded his arms, "I say we should." Amy laughed, "Antoine, that place is for romantic dates. Besides, Sir Charles recently hired some French chef's to make croissants and escargot." Antoine raised an eyebrow, "Ees zis true?" Tails excitedly answered, "Yep! They're both permanent menu choices!" The coyote grinned at Sonic, "If zat's ze case I am… how you say- being cold with eet?" This time everyone laughed at the butchered phrase. "The saying is 'I'm cool with it', 'Twan." the blue hedgehog chortled. Antoine, with a scowl, blushed, "Whatever." Bunnie put her arm around her husband while still giggling, "Don't be embarrassed, Sugar-Twan. Ah think it's cute when try ta talk like Sonic." "Stop eet…" he muttered. "We're just busting your chops, Antoine. Now let's go get some lunch." Rotor said. As they started walking together, Fiona watched the Freedom Fighters continue chatting with each other about different things. Their comradery with one another kept her smiling the entire way. It was like they were a family. A family that she's a part of now. It's true that she must live with the wrongs she has committed in the past. But right now, at this moment… things seemed so much brighter. In her opinion, things can only go up from here. strongEnd/strong/span/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; user-select: text !important;"My username is THE-Julian-Cabrera/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; user-select: text !important;"This time we're focusing on Fiona. This takes place 1 day after 197 Redone unlike the first prologue (which was 3 days after)./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; text-align: center; user-select: text !important;"span style="font-family: 'Akkurat Std', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; white-space: pre;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongRed Fox Restitution/strong/span strongemIt's at the break of dawn in New Mobotropolis…/em/strong Most citizens of the city are still suspicious of a certain Mobian who was just recently allowed to live among them. That Mobian is known as Fiona Fox, who is sound asleep in her new hut. The vixen had been sleeping uncomfortably for half of the night, knowing that most of the citizens still have bitter feelings towards her. However, as the night went on, she started to feel more comfortable after remembering that the Freedom Fighters are on her side. Today is the day where they'll be announcing her return to the team. It's a bit unnerving for her that all of the citizens will be there watching at the Coliseum, but as long as Sonic and the gang are nearby, she'll be fine. Still, there's something that was continuing to eat at her. She already apologized to all the Freedom Fighters for betraying them, and she's so glad that they forgave her. But there were two more Mobians she had to apologize to before she could move on in life personally; Rosemary and Amadeus Prower. She needed to say sorry for hurting their son. They might tell Tails to stay away from her, and she didn't want that. She had to let them know that she's changed for the better and that she wouldn't hurt him. Soon, the light from outside started to shine on the vixen, "Mmmmm… Is it morning already? It feels like I've only slept for an hour." she muttered while sitting up. "*Yawn* What time is it?" Fiona looked at her watch and saw that it's 9:30 AM. "Oh, good. I have just enough time to get dressed." When Fiona entered the bathroom, she started thinking out loud about visiting Tails' parents. "How should I approach them? They definitely won't be happy to see me, so I need to give off a good vibe." She stared at herself in the mirror and frowned, "I guess I should start with my clothes. This bad girl attire is dated, anyway. I need something that's a bit more... bright." The vixen goes to her closet and starts going through her wardrobe, "Hmmm...should I wear my old Freedom Fighter outfit?" She thought about it and then frowned again, "No, I shouldn't. This full body suit also looks stupid nowadays. I don't know why I used to like wearing it." After looking a bit more, she spots a purple t-shirt and jeans, "Maybe this'll do." She quickly changes into the clothes and examines herself in the mirror. The new appearance made her smile. "Not bad. It's basic, but it works. I think I'm good." Fiona and her eyes widen, "It's 9:55 already?! I need to go now! The Coliseum announcement is at 10:30!" She wasted no time exiting her home and quickly pacing towards Tails' house. There were already some citizens awake, and all of them gave her dirty looks as she passed by. Fiona just tried her best to ignore them for now. At the moment, she was strictly focused on getting to Tails' house. After a bit of walking, she found herself staring at his front door. A hint of nervousness started to overcome her as she stood there. 'This could either go wonderfully right or terribly wrong…' She knocks….. and then hears footsteps. The door swings open, revealing a confused Tails, "Fiona?" The red vixen smiles nervously, "H-hi, Tails." Tails quickly steps outside, closing the door behind him, "What are you doing here so early? The Coliseum announcement isn't until 10:30," he whispered. "...I came to speak to your parents." Fiona replied. This made the young one raise an eyebrow, "Do you really think that's a good idea right now? I'm still trying to convince them that you've changed." Fiona rubbed the back of her head and pouted, "I don't know… I just thought that maybe if I apologized to them in person, they wouldn't be as angry. I want to show your parents that I'm not afraid to admit my mistakes in front of them..." Tails stared at her with his own sad look, "I guess we can give it a shot… Come inside." The yellow fox's smile then changed into a shy one, "By the way, I like your new clothes." Fiona smirked slightly, "Thanks." Both of them step inside and quietly close the door. Fiona sits on the couch while Tails slowly walks into the kitchen. The younger fox peaked out of the kitchen and asked, "Have you had breakfast yet, Fiona?" "Actually, I haven't. I kinda woke up a bit late and rushed over here," she answered. "Do you want some waffles? I made some for my parents, but there is a couple extra. Plus, they're still hot!" Tails offered. Fiona waved her hands nervously and said, "I'm fine, Tails. You don't have to do that for me." The yellow fox smiled, "Well, too bad. I'm already fixing a plate for you." He brought Fiona a plate and a fork, which made her head dip, "Tails…" she said softly. He put a hand on her shoulder, "Fiona, you don't have to be nervous around me. We're friends now, okay?" Hearing this made her smile faintly as her eyes shifted up towards his, "Okay." Tails smiled again and went back into the kitchen to get a drink. While he does this, Fiona starts thinking to herself as she eats. 'He's such a sweetheart. This is only making me feel worse for hurting him. I wish I could go back in time and undo all of it…' Not long after thinking this, Tails' mother (Rosemary) is heard coming down the hallway, "Honey, do we have a guest? I heard someone else tal-" The mother freezes up as soon as she entered the living room and spotted Fiona. "Tails, what's going on here?" she asked. Her son raced out of the kitchen and up to her, "Mom, this is Fiona. She-" The mother quickly interrupted, "Are you insane?! Why on Mobius would you let her inside?! This is the girl that abused you!" Fiona felt her stomach sink and stood up, "Mrs. Prower, please don't be mad at him. I invited myself inside-" Rosemary cut in again, "I don't want to hear another word from you! I'm not letting our son get manipulated again!" Tails' father (Amadeus) hears the commotion and enters the living room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "*Yawn* Why are you screaming, dear? I'm trying to-" The father also froze when he spotted the red vixen, "What is she doing here?" Tails spoke, "She came to talk to you both." "Well, I don't want to hear it. You better leave right now before I force you to." the mother threatened. "Geez, mom! At least hear her out! She isn't evil anymore!" Tails blurted. Rosemary turned to her son, looking worried, "No, Tails! People like her don't change! She only wants to abuse you, and we aren't letting that happen! We won't fail to protect you again!" Amadeus gave his input, "I'm afraid your mother is right, son. You shouldn't be so naive in believing she has changed so quickly. She could be pretending and waiting for the right moment to take advantage of you once more." Tails shook his head, "That's not true! Fiona HAS changed! You'd see that if you'd just give her a chance!" Fiona started to tear up. The harsh words from Tails' parents stung severely… but in her mind, she only had herself to blame. "Tails, it's okay. You don't have to defend me. I'll just go." Fiona ran out of the house in tears. "No, come back!" Tails yelled. He tried to run after her but was held back by his mother. "Tails, stop! Don't fall for her facade! You can't let her take advantage of you!" At that moment Tails anger exploded, "You mean like the way you took advantage of me during that civil war dad almost started?!" His mother jumped, "What?!" Tails pointed at her, "When I first heard that dad got arrested, I was confused! I didn't know who I wanted to side with! After Sonic explained what happened, I wanted to side with him at first, but I gave you both the benefit of the doubt and listened to you because you're my parents! You took advantage of me by convincing me you were right, even though you knew the way dad went about things was wrong!" Amadeus was stunned, "But Tails, she-" Tails cut him off right there, "'She' nothing dad! Don't try to convince me that you're right again, because you're not! I know Fiona hurt me badly, but she's not the same person anymore! Some people CAN change! She's already been abused enough for her past mistakes, and I won't tolerate it anymore! Not when she's trying so hard to redeem herself!" The furious teenager starts to walk towards the door while uttering two more bitter sentences, "I knew I should've gone to Sonic and Sally for help after you started that rebellion. They're the people who ACTUALLY raised me, after all." And with those parting words, he dashed off, leaving his parents emotionally torn. Meanwhile, Fiona continues running with tears blurring her vision. She couldn't see a thing in front of her, but she didn't care… She just kept running… until a rock on some uneven ground messed up her footing, causing her to trip and fall face first. This gave Tails enough time to catch up. "*Gasp* Fiona!" He immediately rushes next to the red vixen and helps her up to her knees. "Are you okay?" Fiona didn't open her eyes and continued to sniffle. Tails kept his arm around her, "Fiona, I'm sorry about what my parents said." Fiona spoke in a low and somber tone, "Tails, all of this is happening because of what I did to you and the others. I deserve all of it. Besides, dealing with this is better than still being with Scourge. So you don't have to feel sorry for me." Tails frowned, "You're right, I don't have to. But I do feel sorry for you. When you hurt me, I had all my friends and family there to help me recover. You, however… you've been abused for most of your life, with no one there to help you." The yellow fox stood in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Not anymore, though. What you did to me in the past, can stay in the past. As of today, I'm not going to let anyone abuse you. I'll make sure the Freedom Fighters protect you, I promise." Fiona was at a loss for words. This boy, who she hurt so badly, is now promising to protect her? It didn't make any sense… All she could do is stare into his innocent and pure blue eyes. After a few more seconds, she wrapped her arms around him and let the tears fall. Tails gently returned the embrace while the group of citizens outside watches in confusion. Only one question occupied their minds' as they gawked at the two foxes: "Were her tears real or fake?" The answer they got was a rush of wind zooming past them. It was Sonic, who stopped right in front of Tails and Fiona. "The heck is going on?" he asked. Tails was thrown off by his sudden arrival, "Sonic? What are you doing here?" The Blue Blur pointed at them both, "I've been looking for you two, dude. The Coliseum announcement is happening in ten minutes." Tails' eyes widened, "Already?!" Sonic simply replied with, "Yep." "So, where's Sally?" Tails asked. The hedgehog pointed a thumb behind him, "She's probably with Nicole and the others, setting up the stage." Sonic then noticed Fiona's roughed up appearance, "Woah! You alright, Fi?" Tails helps Fiona to her feet as she wiped the last of her tears, "Yeah, I just tripped." Sonic scratched his head while Fiona dusted off her clothes and then smiled at her, "Well, uh, I'm digging the new look. I like it way better than the old one." The red fox smiled sheepishly, "Thanks. I do too." Sonic focused back on his "lil bro," "So, Tails, are your parents coming to the coliseum too?" The teenage boy remembered what he said to his folks and looked away, with one hand behind his head, "Probably not…" The hedgehog raised an eyebrow, "Huh? How come?" This question made the yellow fox pout, "They really don't believe that Fiona can change. That, and I may have said some… hurtful things to them…" Both Sonic and Fiona seemed concerned, "What did you say?" Sonic asked. Tails frowned, "I told them that they took advantage of me during that rebellion dad started... And I said that I should've gone to you and Sally for help after he was arrested since you were the ones that raised me." Fiona gasped softly, and Sonic raised both eyebrows in shock. "Oh, man. That's harsh, lil' bro. You do know that they were captured and roboticized by egg-head not long after you were born, right?" Sonic reminded him. Tails' frown turned into a sad pout, "Yeah, that's true… I know it wasn't right to say that, but… I was furious. They were being so close-minded about Fiona changing." The female fox spoke up, "Tails, they're only trying to look after you. I appreciate you defending me, but I think you should go back and talk to them." "Gotta agree with Fi, buddy. Go talk to them and then meet us at the Coliseum afterward. We'll wait for ya." Tails shied away from the two, "Okay." emstrongBack at Tails' House…/strong/em The melancholic Rosemary and Amadeus both sit on the living room couch in silence. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. They were in too much pain to even think straight. It took a bit, but the mother eventually placed a hand on her husband's and spoke. "I feel awful, Amadeus. What are we going to do about our son?" "I honestly don't know, my love. Perhaps we were being a bit too harsh on him and his friend?" "Yes… yes, we were. And maybe he was right about us taking advantage of his innocence. If it weren't for the princess and her compromise, a civil war would have definitely started between the citizens." Amadeus nodded in agreement, "I admit my way of handling things was a bit too direct. I should've been more tactful in my approach." Rosemary stood up slowly, "We need to find him, Amadeus." The husband rose to his feet as well. Tails entered the house right after this, to his parents' delight. Both of them quickly paced towards the teen, anxious to apologize. "Tails, we're so happy that you came back." Rosemary chanted. The father quickly grew a remorseful expression and spoke first, "Listen, son. We apologize for being so harsh on you and that girl." "And we're really sorry for taking advantage of you…" Tails stared at the two in disbelief. His parents' body language was so sad and shameful. "But most of all, we're sorry for not being there for you when you were younger." the mother added. The yellow fox shook his head in response to the last sentence, "You don't need to apologize for that last thing, mom, and dad. That was a really, really unfair and hurtful thing to say. I know you guys were taken from me when I was really young. It's not your fault that you couldn't raise me." Tails softly glared at the ground as he continued, "I'm just mad at the way all of the citizens are treating Fiona. When you guys started saying bad things too, I snapped. I know she was evil before, but that was in the past. I swear, she's changed for good." Rosemary placed a hand on his head, "Honey, we didn't mean to be so hateful. We weren't there to keep you safe. The first time and it made us feel like bad parents. We really only wanted to protect you from getting hurt again." Tails looked back up at her, "I understand, mom. But please, give Fiona a chance. She's been abused for almost her entire life with no one to help her along the way. All she wants to do at this point is become a better person and redeem herself. Can you both try to forgive her? For me?" Amadeus put a hand on Rosemary's shoulder, causing her to stare at him. After a brief pause, both of them nodded at each other and embraced their child. "For you, Tails, of course." Rosemary agreed. A slightly tearful Tails smiled and cuddled between them both, "Also, don't you ever say you're bad parents again. You guys mean the world to me... a-and I love you." "We love you too, son," Amadeus said as a teardrop trickled down his left cheek. emstrongNew Mobotropolis Stadium, 10:20 A.M./strong/em The remaining Freedom Fighters are all setting up the stage for the big announcement. "Put the podium in that spot over there, Bunnie." Sally ordered. The Rabbot places the rather large platform in the middle of the stage. "Right here?" Bunnie verified. Sally gave her best friend a thumbs up, "Perfect." "Yo, Sal!" A voice yelled. Sally, along with the others, turn to the stadium entrance to see Sonic and Fiona walking towards them. Rotor was the only one who didn't notice since he was still busy setting up the last two stage lights. "Hi!" "Howdy, y'all." "Bonjour, mes amies." The others greeted. Sonic and Fiona replied with Sup/Hi respectively. As Fiona started to converse with the others, the princess smiled at the blue hedgehog with half closed eyes and sauntered up to him. Sonic smiled back, "So how's everything-" Right before he could finish his sentence, Sally wrapped her arms around the Blue Blur and pulled him into a kiss. When their lips separated, Sonic was as red as Knuckles. "What was that all about?" he asked. Sonic's expression made his partner giggle sweetly, "I wanted to sneak in a surprise kiss. Your reaction is pretty funny. Now I understand why you like doing it to me." It took Sonic a moment to gather himself, "Heh, I guess that was well-deserved payback." The hedgehog smiled suavely, "'Course, the score is still in my favor." Sally smirked while rolling her eyes, "I didn't think you were keeping score. Glad to know you take pride in 'surprise kissing' me." she muttered sarcastically. The princess quickly ended her banter with Sonic and focused her attention on the red fox behind her, "Alright, Fiona. Are you ready for the big announcement today?" she asked. Fiona smiled timidly, "As ready as I'll ever be." Amy nudges Fiona slightly, "Relax, Fiona. We'll be here to back you up if something goes wrong," she reassured. "But what should I say when it's my turn to speak? Most of the citizens hate me…" Fiona asked in a low tone. Bunnie spoke up, "Just be honest with 'em, hon. The folks here aren't all heartless. They've made mistakes too." Suddenly another voice came from the entrance of the Coliseum, "Hi, everybody!" The voice once again made the others (except Rotor) turn their heads. They all beamed as Tails approached them. Sally quickly hugged him, "Hi, Tails." Tails hugged back with the biggest smile. Despite being older, he still loves getting hugs from his former 'aunt'. He always felt so warm and safe in her arms. When the embrace ended, Amy put her arm around the fox with her own grin. "How's your chest feeling? Is it any better yet?" she asked. Sally nodded, "I was about to ask that myself." "It feels great. In fact, I'm fully healed now!" Tails announced. "C'est magnifique! Well, aren't you ze manly man?" Antoine said with a grin, making Tails blush slightly and Bunnie snicker. The news got Sonic pumped up, "Does that mean we have you back on the team?" he asked. "Yep!" the young fox answered. The two "brothers" bumped fists, "Sweet! Welcome back to the active roster!" Bunnie had a wide grin too until she noticed that Rotor was still focused on the final stage light, making her frown, "Hey, Rotor! Didja hear the good news?!" she yelled to snap him out of it. Rotor flinched, "What? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even notice that anyone showed up. This last stage light is being really stubborn." The walrus tried to climb down quickly but slipped and fell, "Ahh!" Antoine attempts to catch him, forgetting how much his purple friend weighed, "I am gotting you!" Suddenly, a mattress materializes under Rotor, breaking his fall. "No need, Antoine. I can handle the situation," said Nicole, who appeared in front of him. Antoine respectfully bowed with a smile, "Merci, beaucoup." Rotor stood up slowly, "Yeah, thanks for that. You really saved my bacon." The holo-lynx smiled cheekily, "My pleasure." Sally made her way to the walrus, asking, "Are you okay, Rotor?" Rotor put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, princess. I'm fine. The fall didn't mess with my back if that's what you're thinking." Sally wiped the small amount of sweat from her head, "Thank goodness. That actually was my next question. Thanks for setting up the stage lights." Rotor saluted, making the princess smile in amusement, "All in a day's work, your highness." Bunnie stood in the middle of her friends, "Alrighty y'all! Ready to get this show on the road?" she asked. "Yep! It's actually 10:27 right now." Amy added. "I'll make the announcement," Nicole said. The lynx disappeared and projected herself across all the monitors in the city, "Citizens of New Mobotropolis! This is your hostess Nicole speaking. Please report to the Coliseum for an urgent announcement from the princess. Thank you!" she requested in a cheery voice. It didn't take long for the stadium to fill up after that. All of the citizens have been hearing rumors and were curious about what their princess had to say. Once the stadium was full, Sally stepped up to the podium and cleared her throat. "Hello, my fellow Mobians. Thank you so much for showing up to this announcement on time. I know everyone is busy, so I'll try to keep this as brief as possible." she started. "Today, I'd like to talk to you all about empathy and forgiveness. Everyone here, including myself, is not perfect. We're all people, and we make mistakes, both big and small every day. The person I'm about to reintroduce has made her fair share of mistakes in the past but now wishes to atone for them. Today, I welcome Fiona Fox back to the Freedom Fighters." Most of the crowd either gasped or frowned in response. Before continuing to talk, Sally raised a hand, signaling the citizens to cease their reactions for a moment. "Now, I'm sure everyone has questions as to why we came to this decision, and I'd be happy to answer them." She stopped once more to let the crowd die down. "As you all know, we were invaded by Scourge the Hedgehog and his Suppression Squad three days ago. They were a high-level threat and could've devastated our planet if given a chance. It was thanks to Fiona that we were able to figure out Scourge's plans and motives. She also convinced his own team to rebel against him, which allowed us to organize a solid counter-attack. This, in turn, prevented him from inflicting harm on anyone else. If it weren't for Fiona's help, we would still be in danger, and I really want to emphasize this. With that being said, Fiona herself would like to explain things from her point of view." The princess stepped away from the podium and motioned the red fox to come over. Bunnie saw Fiona's frightened expression and nudged her, "Go on, sugar. Just remember what ah toldja; Be honest." Fiona's nervous grin grew wider, "R-right." Tails grabbed Fiona's hand gently and smiled softly at her, "Let's go, Fiona. I'll walk you to the podium." The female vixen felt a strange wave of calmness hit her as soon as Tails' grip registered in her mind. Despite this, she kept her nervous smile. "Thanks," she said. Both of them slowly walked up to the stand. While this happens, the crowd stares silently. Some of them looked confused (most likely because of Tails holding her hand), and the others continued glaring. Sally smiled at the two as they passed her. "Do your best," she whispered. When Fiona was finally at the podium, she looked at the crowd and raised an eyebrow in surprise. Instead of glaring at her, the group stared silently with confusion. Nicole appeared right next to her, "Whenever you're ready." Fiona stepped up to the microphone, and spoke, "Hi, everyone…... The very first thing I want to do is thank the Freedom Fighters for all of their help and support. They are the most kind and understanding people I've ever met, and it's because of them that I was able to see how wrong I was about this world… and how wrong my mindset was. What I did in the past was wrong, and I apologize to all of you for betraying your trust." "THEN WHY DID YOU?!" an outraged citizen interrupted. A bunch of others shouted "Yeah!" in agreement. A female dog shouted, "There's no excuse for what you did! Betraying our city and slapping a young boy deserves harsh punishment. You should be jailed!" More citizens jumped on the dog's bandwagon. "Absolutely!" "I agree 100%!" "I say it should be a twenty-five-year sentence!" Opposing views started to erupt from others in the stadium. "What?! That's way too harsh!" "Yeah, we all make mistakes! We should give her a chance!" Another mobian's temper flared. This time it was an elderly male ferret. "Are you defending her actions?! What possible excuse could she have for committing such insidious crimes?!" The arguing was growing in the crowd, making Amy tense up as she summoned her Piko Hammer. Sonic and Sally notice this quickly and address it. Sonic places a hand on her shoulder to ease Amy's nerves, "Chill, Amy. You don't gotta use the hammer. Things haven't gotten too crazy yet." Sally agreed and stated, "Give the citizens a moment to calm down." The pink hedgehog frowned at the princess, "Calm down? Sally, they're arguing. And it's getting louder and louder." Bunnie chimed in, "Ah say we wait as well, hon. Once we start hearin' name callin' and seein' punches is when we'll step in." Amy pouted and made her hammer disappear. The crowd continued to argue with each other, which kept Fiona in a shocked state. "Are you forgetting that Shadow the Hedgehog has done even worse things?! He almost destroyed the planet, and now he works for G.U.N! We forgave him, so why can't we forgive her?!" This point silenced the naysayers for a moment until an adult Koala shouted, "Well, we still deserve to know why! She should explain everything to us and reveal the truth! Do you at least agree with that?!" A lot of the crowd blurted out "Yeah" in agreement. "Go ahead! Explain yourself! What led you to do these despicable acts?!" an adult monkey said to the stunned Fiona. "O-okay… I'll explain everything. After what I did, you all deserve to know. It's a long story though." Fiona said. "Then start talking already, women!" a male cat yelled. "Would you shut up and let her explain, idiot?! Jeez!" A male leopard shouted. The cat stood up out of rage, "What did you say, boy?! Come here and say that to my face!" Arguments started again, prompting Geoffrey St. John to stand up. He was in a separate section with his wife and the Royal Guard. "Enough!" he shouted through his megaphone, silencing the entire stadium. "As commander of the Secret Service, I'm ordering everyone to be silent until Fiona is done speaking! Anyone who talks out of turn again will be escorted out of the stadium!" Geoffrey demanded. He faced Fiona, "You can continue." Fiona nodded, and Geoffrey sat back down. The commander smirked at his wife, "You were right, luv. This megaphone really did come in handy." Hershey the Cat smiled back, "Told you so. I had a feeling the stadium might become a bit rowdy after hearing the news." Sonic chuckled at the whole situation, "Wow. Stinky managed to silence everybody just like that." Fiona started to feel uncomfortable since she's going to talk about her dark past. This time it's to the public though, making it even more unnerving. So before she began telling her story, she took a moment to compose herself. "When I was young, I got kidnapped by Robotnik and taken away from my family. He wanted to use Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel, me, and many other Mobians for experiments. We ended up being trapped at his research facility for three years. Mighty and Ray were able to escape with Sonic's help, but I was left behind and taken to a different lab. After making a robot clone of me, Robotnik left me to rot in a prison cell... It-it scarred me…" Her voice began to quiver as tears started to appear in her eyes, "I was so afraid… I thought I was going to be trapped there forever. I realized after months of waiting that no one was going to save me. I was only able to escape after two years of digging a secret tunnel with little food or water. I tried for a month to find my parents afterward and found that they have left our home. I don't know what happened to them or why they left… I assumed they had moved on without me." The tears were getting worse, so Fiona had to pause and wipe them. While doing so, a curious and sympathetic Mobian in the crowd asked, "Why didn't you join the Freedom Fighters after that?! They would have definitely taken you in!" Geoffrey thought about escorting the mobian out of the stadium for disobeying orders, but his wife stopped him from grabbing the megaphone. "Let her answer their questions. As long as they're civil about it, there's no harm. If anyone becomes disrespectful, then you can do your thing." Hershey whispered. The skunk trusted his wife's judgment and complied, stating, "If you say so, luv." The red vixen answered the citizen's question honestly, "Because during that time I was furious that Sonic left me behind. He and Mighty promised to come back and free me, but they never did. For the longest time, I thought they had left me on purpose... but they didn't. Robotnik knew they would come back to save me, so he sabotaged the rescue. He gassed his whole lab, causing everyone but himself to pass out. I wasn't aware of him taking me to a different prison since they looked exactly the same." Fiona closed her eyes, her expression becoming more dismal in the process, "Back then though, it made me feel that relying on others was pointless… That you couldn't count on anyone... I chose a life of theft instead to get by. To survive. I only decided to join the Freedom Fighters after Sonic sacrificed himself for all of us. But because I was so damaged by all I've been through, I closed myself off from the Freedom Fighters. When Scourge came along, I made the huge mistake of opening up to him and falling in love." Another mobian yelled out another question, "That doesn't make any sense! Why would you be endeared by such a corrupt individual?!" Fiona's expression remained the same as if she knew that inquiry was coming, "Because I was corrupt too. I really thought we were similar in a lot of ways. He used his bad boy mentality to lure me in, and I took the bait like a fool." The fox's face changed into one of irritation, "My mind was not in the right place, and I let him take advantage of that. He manipulated me so easily that it makes feel absolutely ashamed of myself. I never should've let him convince me that being a villain is more fun than being a hero. It was WRONG! So wrong... I realized my horrible decision too late when I saw how merciless he was when taking over Moebius." The topic of Scourge's conquest of Moebius caused Fiona to break down in tears, "S-so many people were killed, and I just stood there and watched Scourge do it. I-I w-wanted to help them, I really did… b-but I was so scared of him. He was too powerful… Me and the other m-members of the Suppression Squad had to stand-by and play along, or else he would've k-killed us too. The Freedom Fighters may have saved our lives by stopping him, but that doesn't change the fact that so many people suffered." The Freedom Fighters stood behind Fiona with their own sad stares. They were going to ask her if she was able to finish explaining but she continued. "All I want to do is move forward and focus on improving myself as a person. As much as I want to go back and undo all the crimes I've committed, I understand that I have to live with them. I'm not asking for you all to forgive me. You have every right not to. What I am asking for is a chance to rejoin a good cause. That's all I want… Thank you all for hearing me out." Fiona finally opened her eyes and studied the crowd. What she witnessed surprised her. There were still a good amount of people with conflicted faces, but most of the group consisted of soft smiles and sympathetic expressions. Small talk between some of the more unsure citizens filled the air as they contemplate how they feel. Two adult bears discuss among themselves and the others around them. "Do you buy her story? I'm not sure if I do." "Her explanation was way too detailed to be fake. I say we give her a shot. Not everyone is irredeemable. There've been plenty of previously bad individuals who have become good." A female goose agreed, saying, "That's true. Shadow the Hedgehog is a prime example, right?" An echidna two rows below her shouted, "You're darn-tootin' he is! It wouldn't be fair to oust this young lady considerin' that the black hedgehog almost destroyed our planet." The support for giving Fiona another chance seemed to grow throughout most of the crowd, drowning out the small number of mobians who still opposed the idea. Fiona continued watching the stands until she felt Tails' warm grip on her hand again, shifting her eyes towards his. The next words that came out of Tails' mouth accidentally picked up on the mic, "You did great, Fiona. You should be proud." He and the rest of the Freedom Fighters gave her encouraging smiles, and Sally stepped up to the mic. "She certainly should be. It took a lot of courage to admit your mistakes in front of everyone here. And because of that courage, I'm willing to welcome you back as both an official citizen of New Mobotropolis and as a Freedom Fighter." The regal chipmunk then faced her subjects, "And to all my citizens, do you welcome Fiona back? Are you willing to give her another opportunity to fight for our planet?" she asked. The amount of cheering in response heavily outweighed the small number of boos. Fiona cried tears of joy, "Th-thank you, everybody. I'll do my best. For Mobius." The princess was overjoyed to see such a positive response. She loved how accepting most of her people were being. "Thank you for your time, everyone! You're all free to leave!" she yelled out. In a mere two minutes after this was said, the stadium was cleared out, leaving only the Freedom Fighters. Bunnie lightly punch Fiona's arm, "Y'see? I toldja they'd accept you. Ya just gotta be honest with us." The fox had a small smile as she faced her new friends, "I will be. I know I've said this multiple times, but thank you for being so forgiving… And I'm sorry for ever betraying you guys in the first place." Sonic placed both of his hands on Fiona's shoulders, "Ease up, Fi. You don't gotta apologize anymore. We're all cool with you. It's like I tell Tails all the time, "You gotta live and learn." Don't think about the past, just focus on what's in front of you now." The others raised their eyebrows in surprise, not expecting such wisdom from the Blue Blur. The hedgehog backed up and grinned at something behind his friends. Two familiar mobians were approaching the stage. "That was quite the speech, I must say." Amadeus said. "I concur." Rosemary agreed. Fiona flinched at the sight of them, "Mr. and Mrs. Prower, I-I-" she stuttered. Rosemary raised a hand, "It's okay, Fiona. We're not here to scold you." The red fox raised both eyebrows in bewilderment, "You're not?" Amadeus replies, "Quite the contrary. We actually wanted to apologize." Fiona sadly pouts, "Please don't. What I did to your son was awful." Rosemary replied, "Yes, it was. But if our son can forgive you after what happened, then we can too." The husband quickly added, "As long as you don't do it again, of course." Fiona shook her head, "I won't. Not after everything he and the others have done for me." Fiona then ruffled Tails' bangs, "Your son is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. There's no way I could ever hurt him like that again." The shy smile from the teenage boy made the parents beam as well, "If you really mean that… then I see no problem with you being around him. We should trust our son to make his own decisions. He's not a child anymore." Amadeus declared. Said son grew a big smile after his parents' feedback, "Thanks, mom and dad." Both parents started to walk away, with Rosemary looking back and stating, "We'll see you back at home later, sweetie." "Okay, see ya!" the yellow fox blurted. Silence occurred between the Freedom Fighters for a moment. That is until Amy asked Sally, "So what do we now, Sally? Are we focusing on that egg-shaped creep next?" Sally answered, "Mmhmm. We have to prepare for our final push against Robotnik. We need a couple of days to gather supplies and come up with a plan. The Chaotix are currently undercover though, so we'll need to wait until they return." Amy put one finger on her chin, "Ah, so that's why I haven't seen them this morning. I got pretty angry when I thought they were late. I was going to give them a piece of my mind." Rotor smirked, "And by 'giving them a piece of your mind' you mean smacking them with your hammer, right?" A couple of the others snickered, but the rosy hedgehog didn't seem offended, "No, no. My temper isn't that bad anymore." she said, waving one of her hands with a shooing motion. Antoine was still curious about the Chaotix, "Ma princesse, are ze Chaotix lookink for somethink specific?" he inquired. The chipmunk nodded, "They're gathering intel on Robotnik's main base and the state of his forces. The Eggdome is heavily fortified and getting inside will be difficult. If they spot any weaknesses, we're going to exploit them to the fullest." The explanation the princess gave made her blue partner a bit bitter, "Why couldn't I go with them? I wanted to get in on the action!" Sally's knowing smile appeared, "Do I even need to answer that? Stealth isn't exactly your strong suit, Mr. Reckless." Sonic rolled his eyes, "Oh, c'mon. I'm at least more stealthy than Vector. I mean, the dude is a giant green croc!" A sigh escaped Sally's lips, "Sonic, I don't want to argue about this. The decision has already been made. Plus, I really need you here." The stubborn hedgehog crossed his arms, "Do you really?" It was subtle, but when Sally looked directly at him, he saw a small amount of concern in her eyes, "Yes, I do. We all do. Just in case." Sonic stared right back into her eyes. Those gleaming sapphires of hers were almost hypnotic sometimes. Eventually, he gave in and with his own sigh, stating, "Alright, if you say so." "Thank you." she answered, lightly grabbing his hand. Rotor felt a small pain in his stomach due to hunger. It was close to noon after all. "Do you guys wanna get something to eat? It's almost lunchtime." he asked. Bunnie quickly agreed, "Ah'm pretty famished mahself. Why don't we all head on over to Chuck's?" Antoine groaned, "Again? Zis is ze fourth time zis week?" Sonic let out a heh, "Where else are gonna go, Twan? Creme de la creme? The coyote folded his arms, "I say we should." Amy laughed, "Antoine, that place is for romantic dates. Besides, Sir Charles recently hired some French chef's to make croissants and escargot." Antoine raised an eyebrow, "Ees zis true?" Tails excitedly answered, "Yep! They're both permanent menu choices!" The coyote grinned at Sonic, "If zat's ze case I am… how you say- being cold with eet?" This time everyone laughed at the butchered phrase. "The saying is 'I'm cool with it', 'Twan." the blue hedgehog chortled. Antoine, with a scowl, blushed, "Whatever." Bunnie put her arm around her husband while still giggling, "Don't be embarrassed, Sugar-Twan. Ah think it's cute when try ta talk like Sonic." "Stop eet…" he muttered. "We're just busting your chops, Antoine. Now let's go get some lunch." Rotor said. As they started walking together, Fiona watched the Freedom Fighters continue chatting with each other about different things. Their comradery with one another kept her smiling the entire way. It was like they were a family. A family that she's a part of now. It's true that she must live with the wrongs she has committed in the past. But right now, at this moment… things seemed so much brighter. In her opinion, things can only go up from here. strongEnd/strong/span/p