Smoke...
Burning...
Heat...
Fire...

A weak groan escapes dry, cracked lips prior to dark blue eyelids slowly fluttering open- revealing dark brown eyes. At a squint, trembling arms prop up the dizzy hedgehog.

However what the chocolate brown eyes land on forces them wide open. Surrounding him lays nothing but broken homes, thick layers of dust, charred grass and burned trees. Not a leaf in sight. Metal scrap scatters the ground in piles, spray painted symbols of a grinning face and well established moustache stare back at the hedgehog- almost mockingly.

His eyes only tear away from the eerie remains of Knothole when he hears a whine from behind him. He turns, perhaps too quickly, and grips his head whilst squinting to see a lavender hedgehog pushing herself up by the lower arms.

He manages to wheeze out, "Bernie?" before coughing into his palm.

The mother turns to him to show glassy eyes and ash smothered face. Her arms wrapped around two shaking hoglets who clung to her tight, looking around with wide eyes.

"Jules." The lavender hedgehog breathes in advance to her husband crawling to her side.

The father strokes his youngest child's forehead. "Are you all okay?"

"Ye-." Bernadette begins before her eyes widen as if in realisation. "W-where's Olgilvie?"

Her eyes scan their desolate surroundings in a panic, only letting out a sigh of relief when she sees a small cobalt blue hoglet laying next to where her husband once was.

The green eyed son only has time to groan and hold his head with a grimace prior to arms wrapping around him- holding him close.

"Are you okay buddy?" Jules asks with worried eyes.

Olgilvie musters up enough energy to give a shaky thumbs up. "F-fine. Where's-?"

"Right here honey." Bernadette interrupts as she scurries over on her knees.

"What happened?" The fuchsia pink hoglet asks whilst taking in her barren surroundings.

"Robotnik." Jules snarled, his whole demeanour changing, and he glared at nothing in particular.

"W-where Uncle Charles?" The green hoglet's bottom lip quivered.

"He-." Bernadette began only for her husband to gradually rise. "Jules?"

The father set his oldest son down and started hobbling towards the black circles imprinted on the ground. He crouched and swept a hand over one for further inspection.

"Those rays...." He turned to his family. "They took them. All of them." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Robotnik took Charles."

"W-we can get them back right? Uncle Charles too?" Olgilvie fiddled with his ear as nerves began to set in.

Jules blinked a few times prior to shooting up, smacking the side of his fist against his other palm. "You know it."

Manic tilted his head quizzically. "How?"

The father approached and ruffled his youngest child's quills. "We pay Mobotropilis a visit sooner than expected."

———————

Making flower crowns and listening to the sound of the fountain always found a way to calm her down. Even in a time of war. The word itself made her pause in creating the floral accessory. Her mind wandered back to the news of her husband receiving a letter to join this...GUN. A supposed resistance to put an end to Robotnik's reign once and for all.

A small elbow bumping her denim sleeved arm brought her attention away from the thought and she turned to see a young chipmunk looking up at her quizzically.

"Is everything okay, Vanilla?" She asked.

The rabbit smiled and stroked the child's head. "Yes dear." She pointed to the blue eyed chipmunks crown. "It's coming on very well."

The child beamed and held it up. The accessory was decorated in sunflowers, daisies and white tulips. "Thank you!"

Vanilla stroked the younger ones head again prior to going back to her own crown. "Say, S-."

A sudden cry stopped the rabbit and she turned to her left to see five hedgehogs hunched over at the entrance of the city.

"Oh my!"

A dark blue, presumably the father, had an arm wrapped around a lavender hedgehog, possibly the mother, who held two hoglets in her own arms. The father's other carried a small cobalt blue hoglet. They were smothered in ash, dust and what looked like oil. Their quills were a complete mess and so were their clothes. The parents' legs shook as the father called out again.

Vanilla set down her crown swiftly and attempted to get up only for the chipmunk to grip her wrist. Without a word the child pointed to the rabbits belly, reminding the older one she needed to take it easy.

"You're pregnant. Let me." The child then continues when the adult mobian opens her mouth to protest.

She doesn't give Vanilla a further opportunity to complain and hops down from the edge of the fountain. She waves to the hedgehogs to let them know they've been seen and hurries over to them.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes." The dark blue hedgehog smiles to put the worried chipmunk at ease- but her raised brow shows she doesn't believe him.

"Is this Mobotropilis?" The lavender mother questions.

"The one and only!" The chipmunk beams with arms wide.

"Thank Chaos." The parents breathe simultaneously.

"Do you-?" The child starts only to get disrupted by a voice behind her.

"You need somewhere to stay." Vanilla ignores the child's pout from her appearance and rubs her belly that holds a small bump.

"We could do with a shower, yeah." The father chuckled hoarsely.

"And a couch." The mother added as her blue son freed himself from his father's hold.

"Chilli dogs would be great too." The green eyed hoglet grinned with a wink, earning him a giggle from the chipmunk.

Vanilla smiled. "We can get you all that. But first...may I ask for your names?"

"Jules." The dark blue hedgehog gestured to himself with his thumb prior to pointing to his wife. "And here's Bernadette-."

"But you can call me Bernie." The mother smiled.

"And here's Manic." Jules continued as his youngest child waved. "Sonia-."

"Hello!" The pink hoglet greeted, the rabbit responded by waving.

Jules ruffled his blue sons quills. "This here is Olgilvie."

"Pleasures mine." The green eyed hoglet smirked with a salute.

"And your names?" Bernadette asked.

"Vanilla." The rabbit replied.

The blue eyed chipmunk puts a hand to her chest. "And I'm Sally! Sally Acorn!"