Sorry it has been so long since an update. I don't have much time on my hands with the family and all. Right now, I am on the night shift, so I have time during my night off to update and publish a few more chapters.
Excerpt from the next chapter:
King Max recovered slowly over the next few weeks. Having been in the Void so long, his body had to get used to supporting itself again. Things all Mobians took for granted like eating, sleeping, and doing one's business as they say - all had to be slowly reintroduced to Max's body. But recovered he did, progressing through a bland liquid diet of broths and diluted dairy, to gruel, and finally to solid foods, though rich foods still gave his reactivated bowels some trouble. After nearly a month of doting by his daughter, Rosie, and Bunnie, King Max was well enough to take short strolls through Knothole. It was late summer - the leaves were no longer vibrant green nor was the brush as verdant as the rains began to wane this time of year and the nights grew a bit cooler. Soon would come harvest and the chills of autumn, but Max enjoyed this time of year. The air was warm and dry, very comfortable for a recovering Mobian to be out and about in the Great Forest. Being in Knothole for the first time in so long flooded him with memories of happy times. It had been a Royal Family retreat, and he remembered Knothole not only from when he was a child, but also when he had brought Sally here, back when his wife had been alive.
Knothole had changed somewhat, though, from the images he had in his heart. It was much more rustic than before, and spartan. Following the Coup, of course, times had been tough, and many of the niceties of Knothole had fallen into disrepair or were dismantled and scavenged for supplies. Wood and thatch huts replaced the humble but aesthetically pleasing stucco cottages that had been here. A bit of his heart ached at the changes, but he found comfort in that his people and his child had found refuge here and made it their own. As he wandered around, he also marveled at what they had been able to accomplish in such a rough setting. Rotor's laboratory with its derobotacizer and the hydroelectric plant impressed him greatly. They had found ways to adapt to their harsh life of refuge and then improve it, both for their comfort and for the good of those who remained in robotic slavery.
What King Max found most difficult during this recovery was being among other Mobians again. He was once a king, with courtly protocols and etiquette that needed to be observed. Then he had been banished suddenly to the Void, his only other companion being Naugus. Naugus - his mind wandered when he thought about the wizard. How could he do this treacherous deed to side with Snively? For the short time that Naugus had been helping Snively but remained tied to the Void, Max never knew of the wizard's new alliance, for the King had no magic to see outside the confines of that jail. But now that he did know how Naugus had sided with the traitor's nephew, left him to die in the Void, and sought to enslave the remainder of his people, Max seethed. Curses for the wizard darkened his mind, until he was pulled out of it by a Mobian he had nearly collided with coming around the corner of the granary. And once again, King Max was faced with that challenge he found most difficult in his new life - how to behave as a deposed monarch around subjects would had long lived without one. And he could tell that they, despite their joy at his return, were finding it awkward around him as well. The Mobian, a woodpecker with fiery plumage, stumbled all over himself, "I - I - I, er, your Majesty, or, I mean, your H-highness - what I mean is, I'm sorry, very sorry, my apologies, King, er Sire."
Max quickly waved with his hand and replied, "No, no, my good Mobian. No need for apologies. Honest mistake." He reached out to put a reassuring hand on the nervous bird's shoulder, but found himself unsure. Would it be appropriate? Should he still act regal, or were such things trivial even absurd in their current state of refuge? In the end, he dropped his hand back to his side, gave the Mobian a polite nod, and went his way - straight back to his new home, with his daughter, one of the few he felt somewhat comfortable around.
I love my God, my wife, my 5 kids, and I like my guns, my beer, my whiskey, and my pickup.
I dislike politicians, policemen, diet foods, no-smoking signs, and mowing the lawn.
I like Sonic games from the Genesis days, tolerate the Sonic Adventure series, can stomach Sonic Heroes, and can't stand the rest.
And there is only one true story of Sonic, SatAM.
