*Myst*
                         ********
by Freedom Fighter.

 Sonic the Hedgehog,Knuckles The Echidna,Dulcy,Sally and related  
characters(well known or not),belong to Archie Comics and/or SEGA.
  This is my first fan-fic,so if you’re getting mega-bad vibes,then
you CAN leave. No one’s stopping you.
(HEY!Get back here!)  
  Packbell belongs to David Pistone,I hope he doesn’t mind me using 
him(the Android you dolt!:).
  If you want to print this and show it to your friends, sure, go 
ahead.But please,don’t make money out of it(unless I get a fair 
share of the income :), or change any of it.       *;)
  Still reading?Thanks!Okay,enjoy...

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~

Timeline:A few months after Doomsday(I never saw that ep,*sniff*)
  Night.
 A teenage rabbit scampered through the Great Forrest.He knew he was 
late,and he was probably going to get into more trouble than he 
wanted.
  He thought he heard a distant howl and stopped.
Goose bumps rose under his grey pelt.Spooked.
 It was getting too dark.
  “Hunny,hurry up!,”he called behind him.
 The reason for the more trouble than usual,was his ten year old 
sister was with him. “Hunny?!”
 “Just a minute!” He heard her some distance off. “I lost Sooty.”
 “Never mind the bear,we can find it--”His reply was cut off as a 
cold claw grabbed him by his neck and hoisted him into the air.
 “Where are they?”rumbled a gravel voice. “Tell me,NOW!”
“Let go of me!*glurk*”The claw shook him until he was too dizzy to
struggle.
    The rabbit whimpered,staring into a pair of night-sky blue eyes,
embedded in a black shadow face.It breathed on his face...it felt 
like the coldest winter.
  His blood froze as the eyes bore down on him.Such cold,empty eyes 
could only belong to...
“TELL me!”it growled.
  “Wh-wha...are you t-talking...”he stammered.
“I found Sooty!”piped up a voice. “He was HIDING!Naughty teddy...”
 He tried to swivel his head in his sister’s direction. “RUN!Hunny,go
run!”he yelled.
“Why?Eek!”
  He felt a crushing force around his throat,and he let out a pained
gurgle,and all went black.

 A shrill scream split the air. “DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!”
  The stricken girl rabbit stared in horror as a dark creature
released the dead body of her brother.It hit the ground with a dull
*thud*.
 The creature turned it’s head her way,eyes glowing. “Where are they?
You know...” It towered over her.
 “Nuh-uh,don’t know!Dray?Dray!?!”she squealed,backing away.She 
clasped her stuffed toy close to her.
  A claw loomed near her head.
“MOOOOOOOOOOOM-MEEEEEEEEEEE!!”she screamed,sprinting away as fast as
she could.
  The creature let out an annoyed growl,and snorted. “$#*%...”
 It kicked the corpse aside and slinked into the darkness.

***

Floating Island:

  The Ruins were dull and empty.
Sunlight shone down on the remains of the Ancient echidna 
civilization.
 Colour was drawn away,engulfed by the inhospitable memories of the
past.
 As lifeless as it seemed,SOME life did exist there.Straggled weeds
strained up towards the sun,like they were trying to warm themselves.
The walls were covered by them.
  A single INTELLIGENT lifeform,the ONLY colour,trudged through the
unmarked streets,unsure of why he was here.The bright red echidna 
looked around,seeking to understand the purpose of him being where he
was.
 He knew only that he was searching.
“WHAT am I doing here?!”he yelled into thin air.
  He received no answer except the wind shifting the dust.
 The silence was indeed,unbearable.
  A sharp,whispy wail suddenly sliced through the air,like a lost,
suffering soul.The sound sent unpleasant shivers down his spine.
 “whAt’s hAppened...?”it asked.
 Knuckles looked around in bewilderment,trying to figure the source
of the of the voice.
  Another wail swept through the fallen structures,lonely,pleading 
for uncertain hope.
   Sudden gale winds blew him off his feet.
 His face was against something warm and gritty.Whatever it was,it
was also in his mouth.
 ‘Not again...’he groaned inwardly,spitting out sand in disgust.The
last time he’d had a face full of sand,was when Enerjak dumped him
and Archimedes,the fire ant,in the desert.
 Well,he WAS in a desert.But there was no sun,yet there was light.
He could see just fine.
  Stumped,as he stared around,he noticed a figure slowly advancing
towards him.
 It was shrouded in an eerie veil of inky blackness.
  The silhouette’s resemblance to an echidna was uncanny.
“Do...I know you?”He asked. “Dad?”he breathed,squinting.
 A quiet voice replied, “No.”  The silhouette vanished.
  Knuckles turned, searching the plains for any signs of the echidna.
  
  “OOF!” Knuckles opened his eyes.
He was in his hut,in his room,in his bed...sort of.
  His legs were still on the bed,the rest of him was on the floor.
Clearing the sleep from his eyes,he sat up,rubbing his head.
  It was still dark out.
 Frowning in the darkness,he picked himself up and crawled back into
bed.
  He believed in getting up early,but this was too ridiculous.

He remained awake till the dawn.

~~~

The Great Forrest:

“Who th’ hoo-ha could’ve done sumthin’ like THIS?” Bunnie turned her
back on the corpse,shutting her eyes tight.
  Sally looked up at her half robot friend. “I don’t know,”she said
in an expressionless tone. “And I would like to find out.”
  “This guy looks like he must’ve seen a ghost,”mumbled Sonic to
no one in particular.
 “I don’t get it,there aren’t any bruises!It’s like his neck just
snapped at it’s own accord,”exclaimed Sally as Nicole,her hand-held
computer displayed the injury status.
 “Observation:Extremely dead,”bleeped Nicole.
 “There’s such thing as ‘slightly’ dead?”Dulcy’s head bent over
Sally’s shoulder curiously as she peered at the computer.
 Sally gave Dulcy a strange look before snapping Nicole shut,sighing.
  The girl rabbit,Hunny,had run into Knothole screaming at the top of
her lungs,that the shadows had attacked her brother.
   It wasn’t easy to calm her down,and she had been very traumatized
by the incident.From what she could make out,she’d seen the whole 
thing.
  She couldn’t give a clear description either.All she said was that
it was big and black.With bad eyes.
  Before they’d left to take a look at the corpse,the rabbit had 
asked if the bad shadow was going to come back.
 Bad shadow?
Sally shook her head.
 “We better contact the family...Dulcy,what are you doing?”she asked.
 They all stared at the dragon as she sniffed the body.
  A growl emerged from the dragon’s throat.An enraged roar rang out.
Flaring her wings,tail lashing,she picked up the body in her
mouth and shook it violently.
  “Dulcy,stop!”wailed Sally as the rest gaped on in disbelief.
“What’s gotten into you!?”
 “Whoa Dulce,chill!” called Sonic,jumping to avoid getting blood
sprayed on him.
Bunnie, who was standing closer Dulcy got knocked off her feet by
Dulcy’s tail.
  Sally helped Bunnie to her feet.
“Dulcy,I order you,STOP!”she yelled in a fit of desperation.
 Dulcy snarled at the princess.Twisting around,she pounded the limp
rabbit against the ground,then arching her neck,she flung it against
a tree.
  Satisfaction showed in her scaly face.
  “You’re welcome ma...”Dulcy murmured,flopping down on the ground.
In a matter of seconds,she was snoring.
  Bunnie and Sonic looked at Sally with puzzlement written on their
faces.
“Majorly weird...”breathed Sonic.
  There was no logical explanation Sally could think of for Dulcy’s
behavior.
  “What y’all gonna do ‘bout Dulcy,Sally-girl?”
“I don’t know...” Sally shook her head, “I mean,he WAS dead already.”
 “Got that right.”said Sonic.
“Mmm...I guess.We’ll move the body first.”
  Wrinkling his nose,Sonic glanced at the body...or where it should
have been. “What the..?It’s gone!”
  “Gone?”exclaimed the two girls in unison.
 A low howl sounded in the distance.
  Fur raising,they looked at each other,before screaming and running.
 Dulcy,on the other hand,smiled in her sleep,undisturbed by anything.

   The body of an old ginger squirrel lay sprawled next to her home.
Lifeless.
  A dark creature slinked into the darkness,snarling disdainfully.

***

The Floating Island:
  
  Knuckles carefully positioned the bread with some wire over the 
open fire.Not his favorite method of toasting bread,but the toaster
had ‘died’ a few months back,and he hadn’t gotten around to getting 
a new one.
  Glancing out the window,he noted the dark clouds in the distance,
and frowned.
“Great weather,”he muttered sarcastically.
  Sighing inwardly,he removed the kettle from the stove and poured
out some herbal tea.
  As he set himself down in a chair,he couldn’t help thinking about
the dream.
  Did it mean anything?
Sure,every dream had it’s own meaning, not that he ever took notice.
  Still, the Ruins and the echidna confused him slightly.
And the desert?
 The toast burst into flames.
  Knuckles jumped up,looked around the kitchen,then,unable to think
of anything better,doused it with his tea,extinguishing the flames.
  Settling down again,chewing on soggy,herbal flavoured toast,he
resumed pondering over the possible meanings wrapped in with what
he could remember from the ‘dream’.
  There was nothing truly outstanding about it,except for the Ruins,
the desert,and the echidna silhouette.
   Quite obviously, those were the main clues.
  And what could those mean?
 Swallowing the last piece of his breakfast,he decided that the 
clouds were too far away to be a problem.
  The weather wasn’t really a good excuse to NOT patrol the Island
(a bad case of indigestion,maybe,but not a weird dream),and he felt
the walk would help anyway.
   Halfway to the Hidden Palace Zone,he was still trying to work it
out.

~~~   

Knothole Village:

 A miserable day after a miserable event.It was raining heavily over
the Great Forrest.
 Bunnie reached the hut and stepped inside,slamming the door behind
her.
  “She’s not back yet?”asked Sally,pouring some coffee.
“Nope,”replied Bunnie,shaking water off her ears.She thanked the
princess for the warm drink and sat down on a chair. “Dulce is still
where we left her,and twice as asleep.”
 Bunnie stared into the mug for a moment, then looked up at Sally.
“Theah was another death. An old squirrel.Her family’s gonna bury
her as soon as th’ weather improves.”
  Sally sighed,shaking her head.“And this rain will wash away any
clues...”

 *BOOM* *SKREEeeeeeee...*

“Hey,Sal!Oh,hey,Bunnie.”Sonic greeted them with a smirk.
  “Morning,Sonic.”
 “Mornin’ Shugah-hog.”
 “Ummm,hi,”said a small voice behind Sonic’s back.The little girl
rabbit from the other night poked her head around and looked at them.
“You’re fast,”she told Sonic.
  “Yep,the fastest thing alive!”
 “And so modest,”mumbled Sally under her breath. “Good Morning,Hunny,
how are you?”
 “Okay,I think.Dray’s not coming back.I miss him.”she said sadly.”Is
there going to be a funnel?”
  The three freedom fighters looked at her blankly for a moment.
“Shugah,Ah think y’all meant,‘funeral’.”
  Hunny made a face. “That’s what I said.”
Sally grinned in spite of the situation. “I’m not sure...we might...”
Under her breath she added,“As soon as we recover the body.”
  “Dray don’t like the rain...”mumbled Hunny.
“Hmmm...y’all had breakfast yet,shugah?”
  “Yeah,Mister Sonic made chili dogs!”Hunny’s face brightened.
 Sally cocked an eyebrow and looked critically at the hedgehog.
“Chili dogs,Sonic,for breakfast?”
  “Hey,she was hungry.Besides,that’s what I eat.”
 Sally rolled her eyes,sighing with minor exasperation. “Alright,
there are some things that need to be discussed.Sonic,could you take
Hunny to Tails’ hut?I think it’d only be appropriate if the children
are together.”
  “Who’s Tails?”asked Hunny curiously.
“He’s a li’l ol’ shugah-fox,shugah,”explained Bunnie.
 “‘He’s’ a BOY?Ewwwwww!”She screwed up her face in disgust.
 “And Sonic,come straight back.No playing in the rain.”
“Yes, ‘Mommy’,”teased Sonic in a babyish voice.
 “Oh,you!”She playfully took a swing at him,but he and Hunny 
shot out the door like greased lighting,Sonic,laughing all the time.
 “He’ll probably never grow up.”
“Like anythin’ that evah impressed you about him was evah above his
neck...”grinned Bunnie.
 “OH,now don’t YOU start!”snapped Sally.

“WHAT???I don’t want to share my room with a GIRL!”
 “I don’t want to be in a BOY’S room!”
“I’m gone,”muttered Sonic,speeding away from the protesting kits.

  Tails sighed and turned towards Hunny. “Hi,I’m Tails.”He extended
a hand to her.
She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t wanna touch you.You might have slimy
cooties.”
“I do NOT!”yelled Tails,offended.
 “Do to!”she yelled back.
“Do not!”
 “Do to!”
“Not,not NOT!”
 “To,to,to!”
“Then you got cooties too!”
 “Nuh-uh!Only boys have cooties!”
“You got ‘girl’-cooties!”
 “Nah-uh!”

Any passerby’s that came across that hut,paused to listen to the two 
arguing voices,shrugged,then moved on.Kits’d be kits after all.

***

Elsewhere:

“How could you do something like THAT?”exclaimed a livid voice.
  “Didn’t mean to,”muttered another voice.
“That’s it,we’re switching places,YOU take the highland,I’ll take the
Mainland.”
 “Yeah,yeah,yeah,whatever.”
“And I’m restricting your powers.”
 “What?!No way!”
“Yes way.”
 “No!You can’t do that!”
Silence.
  “Hello?Hey,you haven’t left yet,have you?HEY!HEL-LOOO???”
Silence.
  “Gah!Siblings...”
There was a soft *pop*,and total silence once again filled the empty
mists.

Apart for a bemused snicker a few moments later.
But that,too,passed with a similarly soft *pop*.

~~~

The Floating Island:

  Curse the weather,and curse bad judgment.
Knuckles ran through the jungle,swearing at every puddle he stepped
in.
 The rain had come sooner and harder than he had expected.
  A shrill scream split the air.
 Knuckles snapped his head around towards the direction of the
scream.
  The landscape jerked out from under his feet,throwing him back into
the desert.
   A giant fist slammed into the ground,barely missing him.He gaped
up at the monstrous glowing form of Enerjak.
 “No way,you’re in space!”he yelled,waving a fist,“An’ I’ll send you
back myself,if I have to!”
  Laughing at his great-nephew’s threat,he turned his back and
began to fire fire bolts at the ground.
  Another scream rang out through the maniacal laughter.
 Knuckles,finding himself unable to move,could see something...some-
ONE stumbling hurriedly away from Enerjak.
   An echidna.

“Knux,why are you, like, on the ground,in the rain?”asked a voice.
 “Eh?”Knuckles blinked and found himself staring up at a puzzled
green face. “Vector?Aw,geez....”he stood up,wiping mud off himself.
      “Admiring rainclouds or something?Tripped over you y’know.Hey,
I thought you didn’t like being in the rain.” Vector said, puzzled.
   “I don’t.What are YOU doing in the rain?”Knuckles asked.
“How can I stay inside on a great day like this?” 
  After a brief pause,Knuckles shook his head.“Did...you see anything
...strange?”
“Besides you gettin’ a moist tan?Nope.”
  “You didn’t hear anything?”
 “Uh...The Ice Cold Snow Cones.”Vector tapped his headphones,grinning
sheepishly.
  Knuckles glared at the crocodile for a moment.
“Thanks,”said Knuckles,walking away. “Thanks for nuthin’.”he muttered
a short distance away.
 “Hey,you’re welcome.See ya,Knux!”Vector waved,switching his head-
phones back on.He started walking in the opposite direction,and
promptly walked into a tree in the process.

***

“Okay,I’m on the Island,now what?”
  “What do you think?Resume search!”
“Where?!”
  “Hey,it’s not that big a place.”
“Oh yeah,that’s a LOT of help.”
  “Don’t ye go sarcy on me.Now go.”
“Trrrr...okay,okay,Sister,I go now...”

~~~

 *SLAM*
*Stomp* *Stomp* *squelch* *Stomp* *shwelp* *shewlp*

“Ewwwwww...”Knuckles tossed his shoes aside,not caring that they left
a muddy patch on the wall...or the fact that one of them actually 
STUCK to the wall!
  Squeezing the water from his draedlocks,he wandered over to a 
cupboard and pulled out a towel.
  The wind rattled the windows of the hut as he dried himself.
‘Gotta fix that hinge,’he thought to himself.

      “All gone...”

 He whipped his head around at the sound of a soft,whispy voice.
Noone,was in the hut...he was still IN his hut,not a desert or the
Ruins,much to his relief.
  Something scuffled outside.
 Walking slowly to the door,he reached a hand out and threw the door
open.
“I’VE GOT YOU...you...you stoat?Huh?”
  A surprised stoat(of the lower-in-the-evolutionary-chart-variety)
looked up at him.Chattering comically,it skittered away into the
bushes.
  He stared after the stoat for a long while,baffled.

 The door of the hut shut again.

   Cocking it’s head to one side,the stoat observed the hut for a few
moments,a small knowing glitter in it’s eye.Then with a slight nod,
disappeared into the undergrowth.

***

Knothole:

“Awwww...but Aunt Sally,the rain’s almost stopped now,”complained 
Tails,leaning out of the window.
 “Sit,”instructed Sally firmly,pointing to a seat.
 Grumbling,the kit sank into the chair and stared sullenly at the
floor.
 Hunny snickered at him.
  Tails stuck his tongue out at her.
 “You two knock it off...”said Sally in a warning tone.
 They settled down in their chairs again.
 “How about a story,”suggested Sally brightly.
 “Yay!”squealed Hunny happily.
  Tails rolled his eyes,“Goody,and when we’re done,I can floss
Packbell’s teeth.”
 “Don’t get cheeky,young man,”scolded Sally.
 Hunny snickered again.
  Sally picked up a book and started reading.Hunny’s long ears were
up at attention,soaking in every word of the Faerie Tale.
 Tails,slumped in his seat,bored out of his mind, stared wistfully
out the window, willing the rain to end.
  “What’s with Dulcy anyway?”he interrupted,kicking the legs of his
chair.
Sally looked up from the book,frowning.“Tails...that is what I’d like 
to know.”
  She carried on with the story.
  
~~~

The Floating Island:  

  The downpour was easing over the Great Forrest,unfortunately,it
was increasing on the Island.
   Lightening flashed,and thunder crashed,in a stormy harmony with
the empty,howling winds.
  Knuckles paced impatiently in his hut,troubled by the fact that he
was waiting for nothing.
    Or perhaps,there was SOMETHING.But it was beyond him what it
could be.
 If the storm got any worse,it’d mean that patrolling the island 
would have to wait another day.
  His thoughts drifted back to the ‘vision’ of Enerjak,and the other
echidna.
   He knew he’d seen the echidna clearly,but now,trying to think 
about it,he couldn’t recall what it had looked like,or if it’d been
a He or a She.
  He spotted a sudden movement from the corner of his eye.
 Swivelling his head,he saw a shadowy figure crouched in the corner.
“Hey!Who are you?How’d you get in here without me noticing,”he 
demanded with a snarl.
  The silhouette just disappeared,melting into the darkness.
Darkness,which spread spread around Knuckles.

   The desert.

 In the distance,a figure was running...‘stumbling’,for dear life,
from something he couldn’t quite make out.
 Then it became clear to him.Enerjak.
  The ancient echidna flew after the figure,laughing uncontrollably.
 Green fire bolts struck the ground near the figures feet.
  Enerjak swooped down and knocked the figure to the ground,firing 
more fire bolts at point blank range.  
   Knuckles feet felt as though they’d been melted into the ground.
He wasn’t him,he was just part of the landscape.
  The figure’s screams filled the air as blinding flashes of energy
burned it’s flesh.
   All Knuckles could imagine was the smell of scorched fur,bleeding
and peeling skin. 
  His stomach did a triple flip at the mental image forming in his 
mind’s eye.
   Shutting his eyes was no help,the laughter and screams rang too
loudy in his ears.

 “STOP!!!!!!”Knuckles bellowed,unable to stand anymore.
    Thunder roared as if in reply to him.
 He opened his eyes and saw ceiling.
  Outside the hut,the storm hadn’t lifted.
   The scarlett Guardian lay there for several minutes before getting
to his feet.
  Whoever the mystery echidna was,Enerjak hosted no fondness towards
it.
   Shaking his head,he decided to skip dinner and go straight to bed.
 It was too early,really,but he didn’t particullarly care about the
time.
  He had a feeling it could to be a looooong night...

***

Elsewhere:

“I think the Island may be more interesting than I thought...”
  “Oh,so what’s come up?”
A chuckle bubbled out. “Something of a nightmare.”
  “Not your domain,why are you interested?”
“Hey,my powers are restricted,I need something to keep me amused.”
  “You’re not going to...”
“Fft,THAT’S your department,I’m not like that.”
  “Hmm,well,if you say so,though I do recall...”
“Shut up or I’ll pound you,sister!”
  “Heh,heh,oh,my big sis is threatening me now.”
“Rrrr...I think I have work to do.”
  “As do I,*giggle*,you WILL keep me updated,won’t you?”
“Not on your life.”
  *pop*
  “Party pooper...”
  *pop*

~~~

 “Dulcy,why don’t y’all come home now?”
   The dragon tapped her tail lightly against the ground,oblivious to
Bunnie’s words.
  The half robot rabbit sighed and shifted her weight for foot to
foot.
  How could she get her friend to move?
 It was getting dark.Too dark...
   “C’mon Dulce,yah can’t just stay out here all night.”
 Dulcy bobbed her head up and down a few times,slowly sizing up a
tree.
  “Yah gotta eat.”
  The dragon tapped the trunk of the tree  twice with her tail,and
pressed an ear against the bark,listening intently.
  Bunnie flicked an ear back,feeling an uncomfortable prickling heat
crawl over her skin.
  A twig snapped a short distance away.
   Or had she just imagined it?
  “Someone theah?”she called.
 Mobian crickets chirped their answer.
  “Ah must be hearin’ things...”
 *snap*
  She froze,ears at full attention,and her fur bristling slightly.
 *snap*
  Swat-bots?Shadow monster?Her mind reeled with possibilities of what
could be out there.
  “Anyone there?”called a voice.
 “I’m tired,”complained another voice.
  “You wait,we’ll find someone.”
 A face peered out of the bush at Bunnie.A light,honey brown wolf
with pale green eyes and her hair tied back smiled nervously at her.
 “Uh,hi.I don’t suppose you know anything about a Knothole Village
in the area,do you?”
  Dulcy roared and sank her teeth into the tree trunk.
   The wolf yelped and fell back into the bushes.
“What was that?!”exclaimed the other voice. “I gotta see this!”
  “Sammie,wait!”
  A golden lion cub wearing a pair of dark tan pants,a light brown
vest,and a black and red head band with a feather in it hopped out of
the bush,eagerly looking around for the source of the roar.
  “Wow!”he exclaimed,staring at Dulcy with awe written all over his
young face.
  The dragon pulled her head back and glared at the tree,her teeth
marks clearly visible in the trunk.
 “I’m tryin’ ma!”she snorted,swaying her head from side to side,
annoyed.
  “Who’s she talkin’ to?”inquired the cub.
“Her ma.”
  “The tree’s her mom?”asked the wolf,brushing leaves off her fur,
confused.
“No,she thinks...ah,nevahmind!Who are you?”
   “My name’s Kath--SAMMIE!YOU stay AWAY from that dragon!”
“Aww,just wanna get a closer look!”he sulked,stepping away from
Dulcy.
   Dulcy snorted again,glaring at the tree tops. 
“An’ he’s Sammie.”said Bunnie,an ear flopping down over one eye.
  “Yep!”The cub grinned broadly.
::I like her!::
 ::Sammie,not now.::
“So,why y’all want tah know about Knothole?”
  “Well,we’re looking for,uh,anyone.We need help.We’re kind of...lost
you see...”
  “Huh?”
 Kath grinned nervously. “Our city disappeared...we heard,that maybe
someone there could help us find it again.”
  ::That’s not the truth!::
::Hush Sammie,I’ll get on to the truth later!::
  ::But...::
::Shhh...::
  The cub suddenly took on a quiet,thoughtful expression.
::You will take us to Knothole?::
  Bunnie blinked.She could’ve sworn she heard something.
“Uh,well,sure,Ah guess.This way,”said Bunnie,motioning for them to 
follow her.
 ::Thank you.::

***

  The Ruins towered over Knuckles.
He tramped through the streets,gazing at the ancient foundations.
 So far,nothing had happened.
  A ghostly figure watched him approach.
 “Dad!”
 The wind suddenly blew the figure away like glowing dust.
  “Wait!”Knuckles called out,chasing after the fading entity.
  His footfalls sounded loud in the silent ruins.Pebbles bounced and
scattered as he skidded around a corner,trying desperately to keep up
with it.
  The next thing he knew,he was skidding to an abrupt halt,in a dead-
end.
“Wha..?”He gaped at the blank wall. 

  “Hey,what are you doing here?You’re not--”
“Hush,idiot!”snapped a voice.

  “Who the--?”exclaimed Knuckles.

“Great,now he knows we’re here.”groaned an exasperated voice.
  “Go back kid,you’re not dead yet.”another voice said.

“Dead?What’s going on?!”Knuckles looked around in bewilderment for
the speakers.

  “You tell us,we’ve been stuck like this for almost a week...your
time.”

“We?”he asked,cocking an eye ridge.

  “Almost all your ancestors...”

“You’re my ancestors?Yeah,right,”he snorted.

  “Watch your tongue young Guardian.”

“If I don’t?”Knuckles inquired haughtily.

  “We can assure you a hard time in the after life.”

He considered this. “How come I can’t see you?”
 
 “Are you sure you want to see someone who has been dead as long as
us?”

  “Uhhh...no.Is dad...?”

“HEY YOU,GET AWAY FROM HERE!”yelled an enraged voice.
  “You’re not the only ones with problems...I have a Grandchild you
know...that’s why I’m here.”said a new,quieter voice. 
  “So this is your fault?!Hey,I was having a very nice conversation
with this Elvis fellow before I got yanked back to the Island!”
  “It is not my fault,or my grandchild’s fault.Surely,you must be
able to feel the imbalance.”

  Knuckles sat down on the ground, unable to work out what the Deads
were arguing about.Dead matters evidently.

  “Intruder,”spat a disgusted voice.
 A soft wispy sigh fluttered near his ear. “Life is never easy,even
when you’re dead.I can leave as soon as...”
 “We knock you off the spiritual plains!”
  There was another soft sigh,then silence.

“Hello?”he called out curiously.
  Receiving no reply,he stood and started to walk slowly away.
   Just then,a wall crashed down in front of him.
“WHY is it so hard to get rid of you!?!”bellowed Enerjak,“You’re not
even immortal!!!” 
  Quiet whimpers rolled out from beneath the fallen wall.
 The bricks rose from the ground,revealing a sobbing,bloodied body,
mangled beyond recognition.
 “I don’t understAnd,”it whimpered weakly.
  Enerjak snarled,raising a hand.Green energy surrounded the body.It
flew up and hit the wall opposite Knuckles with great impact.Blood
sprayed everywhere.
  Knuckles found that he was unable to take his eyes off the horrific
display as the body fell to the ground with a barely audible groan.
He felt his stomach lurch.It had sounded like every bone in it’s body 
had been smashed at contact with the wall.
    He could’ve sworn it was looking pleadingly at him through it’s
damaged eyes.The head lolled limply to one side,showing him a single
intact,midnight blue eye.
  And he felt a intense chill rush straight through is mind.
   Bolts of green fire flew at the suffering creature,scorching what
was left of it’s flesh.
  It jerked wildly,the smell of burning meat filled his nostrils.
   The eye fluttered shut,freeing his mind from it’s lost gaze,as it
was reduced to charred dust.
  Knuckles stood,numb with disbelief from what he’d just seen.
  The dust shimmered with gentle light.
 Slowly,the ashes began reforming into a vague shape of an echidna,
a small,frail one.
   It was crying,from pain,or fear,or both,he wasn’t sure.
 Large innocent, midnight blue eyes stared at him helplessly.
     Like a child’s.
   Emerald lightening struck it before it could fully reform.
“NOOOO!!!”Screamed Knuckles,aghast,unsuccessfully forcing himself to
move.
  Laughter filled the air...

“NOOO!!”Knuckles’ eyes snapped open as he sat bolt upright in bed.
 He was still in his room,in bed,covered in sweat.
     “That was...too real,”he breathed,shuddering.
  The wind howled outside the window,adding to the emptiness of the
night.
“That’s it,I’ve had enough...”he muttered,“..Rain or shine,I’m 
headin’ for the ruins...”
   “You do that kid.”
“Huh?”He glanced around,but found that he was the only one in the
room.
 “...And maybe I’ll stop hearing and seeing things,”he added tiredly.

~~~

Elsewhere:

“ZZZzzzz...”
  “You awake?”
“ZZZ..*snort*...nnh,I am now...”
  “Oh,just checking.You have any luck?”
“No,now let me sleep.”
  “Me neither...perhaps we’re looking in the wrong place.”
“We had better not be.We don’t have that much time left.”
   “Don’t growl at me,YOU chose the item.”
“Item_S_.And I suppose you could think about something that was 
equally as valuable?”
  “Well there’s always...”
“No,I told you,that’s lost for good.If’n that buffoon hadn’t screwed
up,we wouldn’t be here.”
   “Not that he would’ve shared it.”
“I would’ve made him share it.I know my way around that Trickster.”
   “Not much of one now,is he.”
“He’s in his place I suppose.But it’s temporary.And an act.He’s got
something in mind.I know how he thinks.”
    “Now there’s a worry.”
“Go to sleep.”
    “G’night.”
“Night.”

***

   Dulcy hummed quietly in the light of the crescent moon.
 “I’m waiting ma,I am.”she murmured quietly. “I know something’s
comin’...”
     No one heard the dragon’s ramblings,no one heard her quiet 
songs.The forrest was more peaceful tonight than it had ever been.
  Perhaps it too,knew what the dragon was expecting.

~~

::Kath.Kath!::
  The wolf rolled over in bed,frowning.
::What?::
  ::It’s dark outside.::
::Of course it’s dark,it’s the middle of the night.What are you doing
up?::
  ::I can’t sleep.It’s scary.::
::Is that why you woke me up?::she snapped in her head.
  ::Sorry::
  She sighed and rolled onto her back. ::What is it Sammie?::
  ::I wanna go home.::
::We’re going to get Whatserface...Princess Sally,to help us in the
morning,okay?::
  ::But I think they’re busy.::
::Doing what?::
  ::There’s sumthin’ big out there...::
::It’s a big world out there...::She grinned softly.
  ::It’s not nice,out there,Kath::Sammie’s voice whimpered,::It’s
gonna get me...gonna get Harmony...::
::Shhh...Nothing’s going to get you...or Harmony.:: She yawned.
  ::You sure?::
::And none of the other Enchants either,okay?It’s late Sammie.::
  ::Naw,it’s early.::
::Sammie...::she growled warningly.
  ::Night-night Kath.::
 The wolf didn’t answer,she was already sound asleep.

***

“Knux!Knux!!KNU-UX!!!”
  The red echidna jolted awake,stumbled out of bed,and staggered,
annoyed,to the window.
“WHAT?”
  Charmy’s face appeared before his. “Knux!You gotta come see this!”
he panted excitably, “Mighty was out doing his early morning weight 
lifting,and he found something!C’mon,get your shoes on!Let’s go,let’s
go!”
 “I had plans for today,”Knuckles grumbled,ready to swat the bee.
“C’mon,c’mon!This won’t take long!You gotta see it!”
  “_It_ what?”
“A surprise!”
  “This is waay too childish,”he muttered,starting to consider moving
hut. “Just tell me what it is,and I’ll check it out later.”
“You’ll be really interested,trust me!”
  ‘You’ll need an orthodontist,trust me,’Knuckles grimaced,looking 
for his sneakers.
“Okay,okay,just let me get my shoes on,and I’ll take a look.”
  Besides,Mighty’s home was on the way to the Ruins anyway.A quick
stop couldn’t hurt,and maybe he’d be able to catch a bite to eat
there.
   He found one of his sneakers was still stuck to the wall.
Once he had both of them on,he trailed slowly behind Charmy,reflect-
the possibilities of what he might find in the Ruins.
  Of all things,he was expecting something dangerous and threatening.
After all,was there such thing as a friendly source of ‘nightmares’?

~~~

Knothole:

“Uh...Hi...umm...Your Highness...”Kath curtsied politely before the
princess.
  ::I don’t think she likes that...she’s not thinking happy::
 Kath glanced at the lion cub,scowling,and stood up straight.
  “You didn’t have to curtsey,”Sally said,brushing her hair away
from her eyes. “...Or call me,‘Your Highness’.”
  ::She likes just being called Sally more::
“I prefer just Sally.”
  Kath nodded and grinned,and tapped the cub upside the head when 
the princess wasn’t looking.
  ::Hey!::Sammie scowled,rubbing his head.
::Smart aleck!::
  “Bunnie told me...your city disappeared...”
“That’s right...well...actually...”the wolf paused, “We kind of...
lost it.”
  Sally frowned. “ _Lost_ it?”
“It’s near...the Great Unknown...we went for a walk,and,ah...we 
couldn’t get back to it.We were locked out,in a way.”
 “Locked out?”
 “Security is very strict...we stayed out just a tiiny bit too long..
now we can’t get home.”
  “They’re scared of bad people.”added Sammie matter-of-factly.
  Sally raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“THAT’S MINE!!GIVE IT BACK!”
  “Nuh-uh!!I saw it first!!”

  The door of Sally’s hut burst open and two blurs,one brown,one
orange,shot in.
  “Aunt Sally!Make her give back my--”
“S’not yours!Mine!Nyah!!”the rabbit stuck out her tongue.
  Tails leapt at Hunny and the rabbit and fox wrestled to get hold
of a shiny gold and blue object.

 “Ow,ow,OW,my ear,my EAR!Let go of my ear!”
“Let go of one of my tails!”
 “No way!”
“No how!Oof!”
 “Serves you right!”

  Sally rubbed her temples,sighing.She didn’t need a migraine,but she
was getting one.

 ::STOP!::

   The two kits suddenly jumped away from each other,fur bristling.
 Sammie trotted over happily and picked up the object of argument.
  “Mine now,”he announced triumphantly,holding it above his head.
“Can I go out and play now?”
 The two older girls looked at each other and shrugged.
“Play nice,”they said in unison.
  Tails and Hunny glared at each other as Sammie walked thoughtfully
out of the hut,before following him.
  “Kits,”sighed Sally. “Now where were we?”
“Can’t get home...bad people...”
  “Oh,yes...”

  Sammie trotted around Knothole until he came to a hut that he was 
sure felt familiar.He gazed at it,head cocked to one side,making 
sure.
  A creamy brown and pink aura moved around inside.
Grinning,he walked up and knocked on the door.
  A pair of smiling green eyes greeted him. “Why,mornin’...uh,Sammie
isn’t it?What y’all doin’ round my place?”
  “Got a present,”he grinned,holding up the prize he’d scored from 
the two older kits.
  Bunnie smiled kindly and accepted the cub's gift. ‘Kits...’she 
thought,bemused. 'Must be some sort o’ purty rock or...'
  “What th’hoo-ha?!”she exclaimed,looking closely at the sapphire
set in gold.
 “Do ya like it,”asked Sammie worriedly.
“It’s...it’s...It sure looks expensive!”She turned it over in her
hands,running her fingers over the gold pattern of what,to her,
looked like a dragon. “Oh mah stars...”she breathed in awe.
“Where’d y’all get this,shugah?”
‘Whee!She called me ‘shugah’!’thought Sammie,grinning from ear to 
ear.
 “Tails an’ Hunny found it,but they gave it to me.And I give it to
you.”
 “What is it?”
 Sammie frowned,thinking. “It’s...pretty!Like you!”
  Bunnie blushed.
“Thank you...Why don’t y’all come inside,Ah’m still makin’ breakfast.
Want some?”
  “Yeah!I mean...yes please.”
“Right this way shugah.”
  ::Pancakes,with maple syrup?Please o pretty please?::
“An’ maybe Ah’ll toss up some pancakes...”said Bunnie thoughtfully,
placing Sammie’s gift on the table.

  “Sooty doesn’t like you,too.”scowled Hunny,holding up her stuffed
toy as to ward off the fox.
  “‘Sooty’,is just a toy bear!”Tails snapped irritated. “It can’t do
anything.”
  “Can so!Keeps away monsters under the bed!”
“Yeah,right.There’s no such thing!”
  “Is so.”
 Tails sighed in exasperation. ‘Girls!Yeesh...’
   Something tugged on one of his tails.
“Hey!”
  “Just checking.”said Hunny,giving his other tail a tug. “They’re 
both real.”
“I know that...”he growled. 
  “It’s a shame about the pretty brooch,huh?”
“The wha’?Oh,you mean that blue and gold thing.It’s too big for a
brooch!”
   “What was it then?”she asked testily,putting her hands on her 
hips.
“It was a...”he waved a hand absently in the air,trying to think of
something to call it,“...Uhhh...it wasn’t a brooch.”
   Tails spotted a glimmer of sandy gold fur from the corner of his 
eye.
 “Hey you,Sammie,”he called out.
  “Yes?”asked the cub through a mouthful of waffle.He licked the
sticky honey off his fingers,eyeing the kit lightly.
  “You remember in Sally’s hut,me and Hunny were fighting over 
something,where is it?”Tails grinned, crossing his fingers behind his
back.
  “Whay should I tell you?”he pulled something out of his pocket.
“Cookie?”he offered.
  “Cooties,”muttered Hunny,wrinkling her nose.
“No thanks.C’mon...I’ll give you a...”Tails glanced around,looking 
for something he could offer to the lion cub.He took a step towards
Hunny and snatched up her bear. “..this!”
“Hey!”Hunny screeched.
  ::Your powers of compromise REALLY need work.::
 Tails fingers abruptly slackened,causing him to drop the toy.
  “What...?” He stared at his hand, puzzled.
“Aw!You got Sooty dirty!”squealed the rabbit,picking it up off the
ground.
  “The smelly thing was already a mess!”
“Was not!”
  “Was too...”
  Sammie watched the two older kits argue with a small smile on his
face.Maybe he’d tell them later,maybe he wouldn’t.

 “Could you go over that again?”asked Sally,leaning back in her 
chair.
 Kath nodded. “Okay.The city gives limited amount of time for us to
go outside.We have special cards to ensure that we can get back in...
however,those things do have the tendency to run out.”The wolf sighed
and shook her head sadly. 
  “I lost track of time.It IS possible to get back in.But getting
fried is not a fun way to get home.A few years ago,traps and lasers
were mounted so that intruders wouldn’t get in,unfortunately,the 
council _supposedly_ keeps forgetting to disarm them.And, the city
keeps changing it’s location every fortnight.So it’s not too easy to
find again.It’s due to relocate in 3 days.”
   “How...does that work,and why?”
  The wolf looked at the ceiling, frowning. “I’m not really sure, how
it works.Magic,I think.Why, I think, it has something to do with 
safety.For the citys protection.”
   Kath shrugged. “Echidnas,oy.”
 Sally’s ears perked. “Echidnas?”
“Yeah.Think they’re hot shots ‘cause they’ve been there longer.”
  Sally leaned closer in interest. “What can you tell me about them?”
“Who?The echidnas?Not much.Just that they’re the ones that built the
place a few hundred years ago.Not sure why though...”
‘Knuckles ought to be interested in this...’Sally thought.

  Bunnie ran her fingers over the design of Sammie’s gift.It was 
some sort of ornament,if she guessed right.
  Turning it over,she peered closely at the blank back.Etched
carefully in it was writing she could barely make out.
“D..Des...Desle...hmmmm...”she frowned,squinting.Whatever was 
written,it didn’t look Mobian.
 “Ah’ll show Sally-girl later,right now,Ah guess Ah better clean up.”

***

  Dark. Empty.
A small voice groaned quietly.
  Where am I? What going on?
Pain.
  Aah!$#*%...
“...wakin’ up...”
 “Finally...Hey there,can you hear...?”
Black.

“Knux,c’mon!Hurry up!”
  Knuckles fought the urge to ram a tree stump down the bee’s throat.
He’d had a bad night.And he was in a bad mood.
  So what else was new?
“I’m hurryin’,I’m hurryin’,”he grumbled.
   He leapt off a boulder and climbed steadily into the air after
Charmy.
    A sharp sting suddenly ripped through his shoulder.
He yelped in surprise and swore,skimming two feet above the ground.
 “You okay Knux?”Charmy called out,flying around Knuckles before
shooting back to where he had been.
  “I’m fine...”he said,gritting his teeth.
“You sure?”Charmy flew around the echidna twice in curiosity.
  “YES!Now go away!”
 Charmy grimaced and speed ahead,glancing back over his shoulder
every once in a while to make sure he was still there.
  Knuckles frowned,carefully rolling his shoulder.The pain was gone.
Feeling undeniably uneasy,he maneuvered closer to the ground.In case
it happened again,worse.

  A stoat skittered out from under a bush,an animal glitter in it’s
eye.
‘Heh,that was fun...’it thought,shaking it’s fur. ‘Now to keep 
looking.’

~~~

Elsewhere:

“This,is getting boring.”
  “So you’re not having any luck either?”
“Nope...but,the strangest thing...”
  “Yeah?”
“I could’ve sworn I felt a familiar... ‘tingle’.”
  “*snort*Tingle?Aeana....”
“No,I mean...hrrr...the word is...I sensed home.”
  “Have you been smoking something?”
“Si-iiis!I haven’t had a smoke in 4 months.”
  “Good on you.Told ya the program would work.”
“Grrr...”
  “Hah.Home then?Are you sure?”
“I KNOW home.We grew up there...”
   “No,duh sister.”
Silence.  
   “Ae?”
“I don’t want to go home.”
   “That’s why we have to find them.”
“I’m going to try again.Maybe I’ll make myself known.”
   “Anh,careful with those mortals,there is definitely a smart one
in the group.”
“Aye,the Princess.”
   “Princess is she?Hmmm...”
“Uh,you’re not going to...”
   “Make her sleep for a hundred years?No!I already did that.”
“Well,what form should I choose to confront them?”
   “I don’t know.Take your pick.”
“Maybe something with...wings?”
   “The last time you had wings...you were poisoned.Imagine,kids 
clapping brought you back.”
“I thought it was sweet.”
   “I need to get back.Sayonara!”
*pop*
“Sayonara?Oh well,let’s see...ah,got it!”
*pop*

***

Knothole:

  Sammie sat bolt upright,eyes wide with shock.
   Kath glanced over at him,growling softly when she noticed his fur
standing up on end.
 “Sammie,what is it?”
    The cub wordlessly moved his mouth a few times.
::Go away!::
  “Excuse me?” The wolf cocked a questioning eyebrow.
“Unnhhh,”Sammie groaned quietly,falling off his seat.
  “What’s going on?”Kath asked patiently.
::Somebody got hurted.::
  The cub picked himself up off the ground and trotted behind her.
Pointing a finger towards where the horizon was,his blinked,
concentrating. “There.”
  ‘I could’ve been on shelving duty,but nooo,I like kits,I said. I’ll
watch them,I said.’
Kath sighed and patted Sammie on the shoulder. “C’mon,I think it’s 
time for your nap.”
  The cub opened his mouth to complain when a bloodcurdling howl
split the air.

 “What the-?”Sonic and Sally looked at each other,bewildered,before
speeding off in the direction of the howl.
 
   “Sammie,don’t you go anywhere!”Kath yelled,running after the 
enthusiastic cub.
   “I’ll be _right_ back!”
“It’s whether you’re in one piece or not I’m worried about!”

  “Sacre bleu cheeze...”Antoine fainted.
“Oh,innocent bystander has conveniently passed out,”rumbled an airy
voice.  
   An auburn flash of fur leapt into the air to avoid the whip sweep
of Dulcy’s tail.
  “Where’s a dragon slayer when yah need one?”It landed lightly on a
nearby log and eyed the dragon warily.
   Dulcy roared angrily,snapping her head around.
 “EEAh!Sharp teeth!”
 
  “Sonic,look!” Sally called,pointing at a wheat ginger furred skunk
warding off Dulcy’s attacks.
  “Whoa...”
  At that point,Sally wasn’t sure whether Sonic was awed by the 
skunk’s skill and agility,or the skunk’s other features.
  “Who is that?”Sonic asked.
   “More importantly,why doesn’t Dulcy like her?”

*SNAP*
  “When was the last time you brushed your teeth?”
*CRUNCH*
   “Hoooo,that was close.Y’all a Protector,ain’t ya?”
*WHAP* *CRACK*
   “Heeey,very good tail whip!Oops,”The skunk slipped and fell 
heavily on her tail.
    Dulcy raised a foot above the skunk’s head.
*THOMP*
   The skunk rolled out of the away just a split second before 
Dulcy’s foot came down. Luckily. Dulcy’s foot left a deep imprint in
the soil.
   “Agh!Ah’m gonna need a bath tonight!”She glared up at the dragon
disdainfully.
   Dulcy glared back.
  The dragon’s tail came around again.
   The skunk back flipped away from it, landing in a neat crouch.
 A blue streak suddenly blasted out of nowhere, and the skunk 
disappeared with it’s passing. 
   Dulcy blinked,finding herself staring at bare ground.
“She’s gone ma...”she mumbled in confusion. “Maybe she won’t come
back.”
  Another blur sped by and picked up the unconscious Antoine.

  “Did I miss anything?Did I miss anything?”Sammie ran up to the
dragon looking around eagerly.
  Noticing that there was nothing happening,he scowled and turned to
face Dulcy.
  “I missed everything,huh?”

 “Y’all saved mah life!Thank you,Sweet-thang,”the skunk gave Sonic
a quick kiss, her intense green eyes sparkled gratefully.
  “Du-uuhhh...”He nodded vigorously,blissfully unaware that the words
‘You’re welcome’,didn’t come out quite right.
   Sally cleared her throat,irritated. “You’re lucky Dulcy didn’t 
take your head off,miss...?”
  “Uhh..”The skunk rolled her head back,thoughtfully. “Matahari.”
“Matahari?Err,pleased to meet you.I’m Pr...Sally,and that is Sonic.”
   “Pleased tah meet yah.Heh,you’ll buy anythin’.No,my name’s
actually Sunami.”
  “Uh,right.”she glanced at the hedgehog. ‘If he starts drooling,he 
will be very sorry.’
  Sunami was wearing nothing but a silver bracelet and a pair of 
green,black-laced boots, with a tattered green vest, in a similar
manner to Sally's.
 “Sonic,why don’t you check on the kits?”She suggested sharply.
  He blinked and grinned blankly at her. “Sure thing Sal.”
The smell of burning rubber filled the room.
“Y’all have kits?Mah,mah,an’ y’all still have your figure.How’d yah
do it?”
  “They’re not MY kits.”Sally snapped.
“Oh,mah mistake,sorry.” Sunami didn’t really look like she meant it.
  “How’d you come by Dulcy,”asked Sally,changing the subject.
“Ah’m just passin’ through.Tah see relatives.”
  “Where?”
“Where?Uh,umm...Ah’m not sure,uhh,Ah’m hopin’ tah run inta them.”
  Sunami smiled sweetly. “Ah mean,they moved out n’all,an’ Ah cain’t
exactly find them.”
  “And I suppose you expect to run into them _here_?”She folded her 
arms across her chest. “Why?”
 The smile never left Sunami’s face. “Because...” She glanced out the
window at Sonic as he made his way back to the hut. “...Ah like th’
view round heah.And mah family an’ Ah, have about th’same taste in
scenery.”
   Sally felt a low growl rise in her throat.Stifling it,she returned
the skunk’s smile. “I’m glad you like Knothole.”
  Sonic reentered the hut a second later. 
“Ah’m so glad y’all invited me to stay in yoah hut!Thank yah,Sally!”
  The skunk waltzed out of the hut with a purposeful added swing in
her step,making sure the hedgehog saw it.
  Sally’s gaze shot daggers in Sunami’s direction.
“That was sure nice of ya Sal.”said Sonic absently.
   Sally noted that his eyes were following each swing.
  “Oh,you have know idea,”muttered Sally,gathering a mental picture
of Sunami with a black eye,and no teeth.Or hips.
  “You have no idea.”

~~~

The Floating Island:

  “Yo,Mighty,we’re here!”called Charmy,flying into Mighty’s home.
“Shhh!Not so loud.”The armadillo hissed,waving his hands for quiet.
   “This had better be worth it.”Knuckles muttered,landing outside
the door. “I don’t have time for this.”
  “All depends how you look at it,”Mighty shrugged,letting him in.
 The armadillo lead him to a room.Vector and Espio greeted him as
he entered.They were standing in front of a bed.
 “I hope you’re not planning anything outrageous,”Knuckles said,eyes 
narrowed,“What’s this about?If certain a part of your orientation is
whacked out...”
  “Shhh...”hushed Espio,moving to one side.
 Knuckles’ eyes widened.
  Sleeping peacefully,dreadlocks covered in an assortment of beads,
was a delicate, rose coloured, echidna.
  Knuckles gaped,not believing his own eyes. “Holy...S-she..?Who is
she?”
  Mighty shrugged. “Dunno.But we went through the stuff she had with
her,and she might be called...ummm..?”
   Espio picked up an almost empty backpack. “Thayna.Unless it’s a 
brand name.”
  Knuckles walked over to the bed,managing to keep his mouth shut.
He looked down at her and frowned.
  “Ummm...G-guys...uh...why does...she have wings?”

***

Elsewhere:

Laughter filled the emptiness.
“What’s so funny Ae?”
  “*Giggle*I’m having the most fun!”
“Okay,so now what are you doing?”
  “The princess,hah,will be quite green...or red...by the end of the
week.Whichever comes first!”
“Aeana!*sigh*You’ll be you.How’s the search?”
  “No luck,but I think they’re close.But I might be wrong.What about 
you?”
“Just a shiny green rock with a lot of power.But it’s too raw.There’s
no way I could figure it out for what we need.”
  “Hmmm...”
“By the way,can I be bipedal again?”
  “Huh?Oh,okay.”
*zakt*
“Oh veeery fun-ny!A CHIMP???”
  “Hey,you’ll be able to eat bananas with your feet.”
“RRrr,I don’t eat bananas.Let alone with my feet!”
  “Heh,heh,sorry.”
*zzakt*
  “How’s that?”
“Much better...Oh,you gave me retractable claws,thank you.”
  “Yer welcome.”
Pause.
  “Ah need tah make an appearence,bye!”
*pop*
“Whatever...*sigh*Busy,busy.”
*pop*

***

Knothole:

    Sonic raced to the Ring Pool to get ready to collect the next
Power ring.
  Splashing water caught his attention.
 The sight of a bathing skunk greeted him as he stepped through the
bushes.
 Sunami glanced up a looked at him. “Why, hello, Sweet-hog.Ah hope 
yah don’t mind me usin’ this pond, but Ah just LOVE natural water
holes.And Ah just _had_ tah get tha dirt offa mah fur."
 He blinked. And blinked again. “Okay.”
“Yo’ah lookin’ a might pale Sweet-hog...”She waded towards him and
stepped out of the water.
 Her fur matted in a very interesting manner.
“Sonic?Sweet-hog?”She waved a hand in front of his face.
  She looked into his eyes, a mischievous grin playing across her 
face.  “Y’all feelin’ ,okay?”
 “Ummm....I think I hear...Sal...calling...Ummm....bye.”
 She grabbed his arm before he could leave.
  “Goin’ so soon?Ah don’t think so.” She batted her eyelashes.
She brought her face close to his,smiling sweetly.
“Duuuuhhh...”His mind went blank of anything sensible to say.
  She tickled him under the chin. “Now...”She purred, “What can y’all
tell me about...the Time Stones..?”

“Okaaay,”mumbled Sally,looking at Nicole’s screen.“Let’s see; one
murderer:Two deaths, one relative of victim:Must find Hunny’s 
parents,Unusual behavior from Dulcy:Uncertain solution, Two lost
Travellers:Search for city, and one annoying skunk:Searching for 
family.Suspicions on that one.”
   She sighed and sat back. “Which one do we tackle first?”
 “Excuse me,Sally,”said Sunami,leaning against the doorframe. She was
a great deal cleaner than before. “But if Ah may ask..?”
  “What?”Sally growled, glaring at her.
 “Ah _just_ heard sumthin’ about these...Time Stones,an’ Ah’m 
interested,do yah know where they are?”
  “Why do you want to know,and who told you?”she inquired coldly.
“Why,yoah Sweet-hog,Sonic.Told me all about them.About yoah little
adventure.”
  “Did he?” Sally started grinding her teeth. “We disposed of them,
in the Great Unknown.For safety reasons.”
 “Oh.” A glint of disappointment showed in the skunk’s eye. “Ah 
don’t suppose y’all’d know where _exactly_ in the Great Unknown?”
  “_Why_ would you want to know?” She eyed the skunk warily.
“Ah’m a curious critter.” Sunami grinned,swishing her tail, emerald
eyes dancing.
   “Well I’m afraid they’re quiet good and lost.” Sally returned her
attention to Nicole’s screen.
“Well then,Ah guess Ah’ll just crash heah a coupla days longah.If mah
family don’t show up,Ah’ll leave.” She smiled,and with a fancy twirl,
walked away from the hut.
‘AAgh!So where’s the Great Unknown???’thought Sunami,frustrated. ‘I
thought I was so close!’
   
   Sammie peeked out from behind a tree,staring curiously at the
departing skunk.He grimaced uneasily.
  ::Not good,can’t see inside _her_ head...Maybe nothing in there.::
He saw numerous males staring after Sunami. ::Nothing in their heads
either.::

  Dulcy howled in frustration.She was hungry, lonely, and she didn’t
know where the skunk had gone.
   She swivelled her head and spotted an unevolved ferret.
She stared at it,one message registering in the back of her mind:
  Lunch.

~~~

Robotropolis:

  A large gun shaped device was placed in a heavily armoured observa-
tion room by two worker-bots.
  “The Machine is ready to be tested,sir,”annouced Snively as the
two bots left.
“Good,”rumbled Packbell, “Begin.”
  “Yes,sir.” Snively typed in the necessary codes and a monotone
voice started counting down.

   ...3...2...1

   *SHWA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*!!!!!!!

  An explosion of brilliant light blinded the short human.
The android’s eyes adjusted almost instantly to the glare,making
out a dark shape appear out of, apparently, nowhere.
  “Uhhh...Did it work, sir?”Snively groaned, blinking.
 Packbell moved closer the thick glass window, an, if he could’ve 
really felt it, almost pleased smile on his metallic face.
  “What is the meaning of this!?!”demanded an enraged grey panther.
She glared around the room.
   Snively peered into the room, wondering who the room’s occupant 
was.Whoever she was, she wasn’t happy.
  Jet black hair came down to her waist.She was far too tall to be a
Mobian, and Packbell noticed, that each hand had five fingers.And
_sharp_ claws.
  He could place the description of her clothing as Egyptian, of 
Earth.Though, not exactly. Her gold head piece, perhaps, gave the
most indication for that.Gold bands on each upper arm, short sleeves.
Her red shirt stopped halfway down,revealing most of her midsection. 
 Her long crimson skirt, which was much too tight around the hips, 
flapped loosely around her feet... which were two feet above the 
floor.
  “Who are you to have the power to wretch me away from my home!?!”
 Her green eyes glowed with hatred.(Blue eyeshadow?)
  Packbell’s scanners registered her hostility, which he ignored,
closing in on the rich power source that was radiating from her.
  “Commander Packbell,my dear,”he said, with a mock bow, smiling
coldly. “And who may you be?”
   “A _machine_?”She started laughing.A bitterness in her voice.
“Of all the pathetic excuses,”she hissed,seriousness returning. “I
will crush you like an insect,Machine.You’re mortal, and nothing but
metal.”
   “And how...”he inquired, “...do you intend to do that.”
 She yowled angrily.Her arms suddenly aglow with green light.
“I will show you!”She hurled the light at him.
  Packbell and Snively dived for cover. 
   It struck the window, and bounced straight back, into the enraged
panther.The force of it flung her back against a wall,where she sat,
stunned.
  Snively breathed a sigh of relief, Packbell’s sensors told him 
that he too,was relieved.
  “Impressive display of fireworks, thank you.” He clapped, smiling.
 She hissed at him, magical wind whipping her hair. “How have you
captured me?!”
  “This was just an experiment..._you_ just happened to be the 
outcome.Interdimentional travel...a useful thing.”
  “Experiment?”she said slowly. She floated closer to the window.
“Interdimentional Travel?How am I part of it?_Why_ am I part of it?”
“A simple matter of fate I suppose.”
  She growled, turning her back to him and looking at the ‘gun’ that
shared the room with her. “This _thing_ brought me here?”
  No tail.
“Yes.And others like you, maybe.” ‘If I can tap into such power as
yours, nothing will stand in my way.’Packbell thought, rubbing his 
palms together.
 “You are fortunate that I am unable to do any harm here.” She ran
her claws over the metal framework of the device. A sly grin spread
across her face when she saw her claws left slight scratches. 
“But perhaps, I can destroy it!”
 “NO!”The human and Android yelled in unison.
   She chuckled coldly. “Give me one good reason.”
“B-because...It can send you home!”said Snively.
  “Then do it.Now.”She glared at him.
 Snively nervously backed away from the glass.
“I’m afraid Miss...you never mentioned your name, that that may not
be possible.”said Packbell, in his equivalent of a ‘smug’ voice.
   Her eyes narrowed.
 “Why?”she asked in a dark tone.
“We simply haven’t figured out how.”
  She screamed in rage, firing blasts of glowing blades at him. They
reacted the same way as her lightening.
 This time, she managed to avoid being struck by her own attack.
 “YOU _WILL_ BE SORRY!!!”
“Yes,yes, I’m sure I will,”he said, annoyed. “Snively, see to her.I
have some bugs to work out.Then do what you want for the rest of the
day,just don’t bother me.” 
  “Very good,sir.”Snively nodded.
 Snively added a rude remark once the Android had left.
  “I require neither food, nor sleep.”She announced coldly.
“Well, that’ll be easily taken care of,”mumbled Snively.
  “He is evil, isn’t he?” She inquired thoughtfully.
 Snively blinked. “I suppose he is.”
   She smiled slowly, showing off her sharp set of teeth. “Perhaps,
we may be able to...make a deal.”
   Snively shuddered at the thoughtful darkness in her voice.
  “You.”
“Huh?”Snively looked up at her.
  “A deal with you.”
“M-m-me?”
  “That’s what I said.”She folded her arms. “There is much I can 
offer.”
“Like what?”Snively asked suspiciously.
  “Oh,Power, Respect...Great Armies perhaps? Release me,and I can rid
you of that,”She paused,snarling,“_Machine_.”
“If you’re so powerful, would you care to explain why you can’t get
out yourself?”
   She tapped her fingers impatiently against her arms. “It seems,
that there IS a way to ward off my magic. Such has not happened in a
long while.”
 Snively moved away from the computers, glancing at her with careful
consideration.
 “I know there is much on your mind, little man.” She said in a slow,
purring voice. “If I am to aid you in your dream of the conquering of
this planet...Release me.”
  “What’s the catch?”
 “You expect there to be one? Very clever. You must return me to my 
home. Mourbia.”
  “Mourbia?Hmmm...What happens if I don’t,”he asked testily.
 Her dark expression got darker.
 “You, will die, a slow, and painful, DEATH, if I escape."
 Horrors flickered around her.Fire-cats, Demon-snakes, and other 
monsters.
  Snively gulped.
He chuckled nervously, telling himself that she couldn’t do anything
while she was in there.
  “I shall think about,”he said,as diplomatically as he could.
“See that you do,”She growled, 
  “Err..”
“What?”She snapped.
  “Madam, if you could just tell me your name first...”
“Mirage.”
  The light suddenly disappeared in the observation room.
 Snively curiously tapped the glass.
  A pair of green eyes stared out at him through the darkness. “Yes?”
  “Err..uh..Just checking. I’ve got other things to do right now,”he 
announced haughtily.
  He turned heel, and marched smartly out of the room.Her eyes 
followed every step until he was gone.
   A low growl rolled out of the darkness. “He will be back,”Mirage
told herself. “And once my seemingly weakened power is returned to
it’s full strength, I will destroy him and his planet.”
   Claws tapped against metal. “No, there is much good here.”
She chuckled coldly. “I will destroy him, and torment the Good, as
I did all those Centuries ago!”
  Laughter rang out through the halls and rooms of the building,
and if anyone could hear it, they would have run for their lives.

  Packbell glared at his blueprints.
 The device, 'lovingly' code named, The Rip, was funtioning 
beautifully, though, not as controlled as he hoped.
  Until now, all it had fished in were inanimate objects.
The panther was powerful, but somehow her powers were useless here.
 It was quite possible that it had something to do with the fact that
she wasn't in her dimension. 
  He’d have to see into that.
   The android glanced at a small group of captured Mobians huddled
together in a small cage in the corner.
   Then he glanced at the dead prisoner lying on the table.
 And the average-Mobian sized, Exo-frame next to it.
The Rip was just ONE of his projects, this, was another.
  “Who’s next then?”He asked them, smiling in a friendly manner.
  They all screamed as he approached the cage.

To be Continued...

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Wait,don’t go yet!Hi!How ya doin’?
   You finished reading this?Thank you!

Okay,I better say this,because I forgot to Earlier:

  Mirage belongs Buena Vista/Disney. (Sorry to any Anti-Disneys)

Kath,Sammie,The Two voices(stay tuned to find out who they are!),
Hunny, Dray, Thayna, Sunami and the Stoat(it’s a she if you 
missed it),are Copyright to me, Freedom Fighter.

And yes,I do know that Sunami is actually spelt Tsunami.

Happy Birthday to my kewl,c-bro Sunfire, who is 15 this year!
Way to go, Sun!(And Suzuki;) The kewlest!

And to the real Kath, and a bunch of other friends for being so 
honest after reading this(gee,there is such thing as TOO honest,
Scarlett).  :)

Oh yeah, The ghosties, the prisoners, Dulcy’s lunch and a whole
buncha other stuff belong to me too. ;)

Okay,if you want,you can send mail to me at: mobiusx@hotmail.com
  Oh yeah,and send Flames to: madsheep@hotmail.com
 I got a friend who can handle those things.(Thanks Purple).

No, Freedom Fighter is not my real name(duh!). I made it up because,
both Mars and Mobius have freedom Fighters. And I’m a fan of both!

What else?
  Got it!If you’re new to Sonic fan-fics, check out Derek Barbees 
stories.
Some of them are Way Cool!
(I suggest The Robotic Jungle, and the two Liquid Metal stories)
Now if only he’d stop calling the Biker Mice, ‘Biker Squeekies’...


 I’ve babbled enough now,Have a Nice Day!

March 1997