And now (so you don't forget, and I HOPE you don't) is our favorite theme song! Blue streak speeds by, Sonic the Hedgehog. Too Fast for the Naked Eye, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic! He can really move! Sonic! He's got an attitude! Sonic! He's the fastest thing alive! Look out, when he storms through, Sonic the Hedgehog. Don't doubt what he can do, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic! He can really move! Sonic! He's got an attitude! Sonic! He's the fastest thing alive! He's the fastest thing alive! He's the fastest thing alive!!! "A Nack for Anything" "YouÕre not going to get a whole lot for this, Nack." said the mouse. "Hey, at least itÕs worth SOMETHING!" the weasel snickered. The mouse dug around inside his pocket for the right amount of gold, "Here ya go, and have a nice day, eh?" he said. Nack smiled as he started to walk out the door, "I will, Thomas." The weasel walked down the town street counting his money. "This oughta pay off that debt!" he grinned contentedly. Nack was ready to turn off a side street to pay his debtor when suddenly he overheard a group of his friends chatting about something in Knothole Village. Jogging over, he said 'hello'. "G'day, Nack!" said a tall kangaroo. "Oi, 'ow ye be doin, me sly pal?" said an otter. "The usual, payin' off my debts." the weasel grumbled. "Sucks, that does." said the otter. "You got that right!...So, what's the deal with Knothole?" Nack inquired. "Well," said a lioness with a south islander accent, "the word is out dat dey got da preencess dere!" she smiled. "You mean...Sally Acorn? THE princess?" Nack said, lighting up. "Right-o mate, an' if we COULD snag 'er we could ransom the lil' lass off!" the kangaroo replied. "Wow! That'd pay off ALL my debts!" said Nack, suddenly losing himself to his imagination. "You'd be havin some fun, mon. We ain't goin' anywhere near dere! She got Sonic and dat two-tailed fox to protect huh." the lioness smiled. Nack snapped out of his fantasy. "Oi, and me own kids 'ave been tellin me about a orphaned vixen, a dragoness, and three bloody mages they 'ave there too. I 'eard they's mighty powerful, too." the otter said. "For heaven's sake, Canty, they're all kiddie tales they've been hearin' from that traveling storyteller, the horse with the bloomin' memory problem." the roo laughed. "He's tellin' the truth, mon. I seen that vixen! Used to be a-livin' in me old hometown. I heard it was destroyed from dat nasty no-good Robotnik." the lioness said. "Neeka, do you know where Knothole is?" Nack said. "Very few do, mon. But, if ya want, go ask da storyteller ta take ya back. He goes dere all da time." the girl replied. "Thanks, I will!" Nack said running off. He had other business besides nabbing the princess to attend to in Knothole Village. Suddenly he turned around, "after I pay off my debt!" he said with an embarrassed grin, then he started running towards his destination. "By Joe, take you back to Knothole with me? I don't think they'd like me bringing in strangers like yourself, my good man." "I just wanna visit the Princess, kind sir. I need to know if she knows the whereabouts of my lost uncle, Manny, who used to work at her palace." Nack lied. "All right, but that's it!" Cedric gave in. "Thank you." the weasel said back with a genuine fake smile. "Hello Knothole!" the stallion called out. Suddenly Dulcy landed on her stomach with Vixie on her back. "Hiya, Cedric! Who's this guy?" Dulcy smiled, as she cleared her head. "The name's Nack, Nack the Weasel." Nack said, shocked to see the large dragon. Vixie Lamenta jumped off of Dulcy's back. "Greetings Nack, I'm Vixie!" the little fox smiled, putting out her left arm to shake. "The pleasure is mine." the weasel said, taking note of the laser bracelet on her arm. "I'm Dulcy!" the dragoness said happily, and put out her hand. "Great Grammy! Are you the protector dragon?" exclaimed Nack, as he shook her hand. "Sure am!" "I've heard a lot about the both of you!" Nack smiled as only a weasel could. Both girls blushed sweetly at Cedric. "Well, we only just happen to be the sweetest Freedom Fighters! Of course you've heard a lot about us." Dulcy batted her lashes. "Um...well...I've gotta take up some business with the princess." Nack said faintly. "Hop on, all aboard for Knothole." the dragoness said, pointing to her back. After flying into Knothole (literally), Nack gave his thanks and walked towards the center of the village. Cedric also took off to distribute the mail. When Cedric was out of hearing distance, Vixie giggled. "He was cute!" she said. "Cedric?!" exclaimed Dulcy. "No! Nack." Vixie said, and ran off to catch up with the weasel. Dulcy sat for a moment. "Oh." "Oh, Mr. Nack! Wait up!" Vixie hollered. "Huh? Oh, it's you." Nack said, watching the little vixen jog up beside him. "I...um, you know, thought you'd like a tour.Ó Vixie blushed feverishly. Nack thought for a moment. 'If this little rug-rat shows me around, I could loot the place clean!' the thief thought to himself. "Why, sure, Vixie!" the weasel laughed. "First, I have to get my mail! C'mon." Vixie said, pulling Nack by the wrist. "Lamenta, Vixie. This package is from the Foxgloves, this is from Mr. Depardieux, and this is from Miss Neeka Manetamer!" "The Foxgloves?" Vixie sighed, remembering her suitor. "Something wrong, m'lady?" asked Nack. "My boyfriendÕs parents sent me something." the vixen whispered, taking her packages back to her hut. "What's so bad about that?" the weasel questioned. "My boyfriend was Roboticized, and it's all my fault." the fox said, wiping away a stray tear. "I'm sorry." Nack said. He couldnÕt help but feel sorry for her. 'Darn conscience!' he thought to himself. As the two entered the vixen's hut, she invited him to take a seat on her mound of pillows. Sitting down herself, Vixie carefully began to open the package from the Foxgloves. Nack was curious to what it was as well, and watched with eager anticipation as she removed the lid off of the red box. As soon as the little vixen saw what was inside, she began to cry. Inside, in a beautiful frame, was Vixie's picture. Beside the photo was a note Drem had planned on giving to her...but never had the chance to. Slowly, she broke the family's wax seal and read the beautifully scripted note. 'My dearest vixen, 'In all my short life, I have never known a girl as beautiful as you are. You may have no family, but you will always, always have me. 'I hope there comes a time when we can restore your mother and father to their natural state, but until that day comes, you are a part of my family. In fact, you always will be. 'Enclosed is a ring my grandmother wore when she was your age. It has the ability to let you clear your mind so you can meditate. (I know you love to do that so!) Put it to your forehead, and you will instantly be at one with yourself. 'Vixie, I love you more than anything in the world. I hope you will always love me too. In your heart forever, Drem Adaman Foxglove' Vixie was sobbing by the time she read the last words, ring on hand, and Nack tried to comfort her. He didn't care what his mind said, he was truly sorry for the girl. He didn't have the heart to use her. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nack... I really should have waited to open this." Vixie sniffled. "Think nothing of it. I know what the loss of a loved one feels like. My mother and sister were killed in The Great War many years ago. My father was lost at sea." Nack said softly, welling up the memories, only to put them back where they belonged seconds later. "That's...that's awful!" Vixie gasped. "Why don't we open your other gifts?" Nack said, trying to avoid a discussion about his parents. "Okay." Vixie said, reaching for the one from Neeka. "Hey," Nack said, looking at the package, "I know Neeka. She told me she used to live in your village!" the weasel said. "She used to baby-sit me." Vixie said, opening the box. "Oh, I do remember her telling me about you. She told me you're an orphan." Nack said softly. "Yeah, she's right. Both my parents got Roboticized." Inside the nicely wrapped box was a pretty light pink skirt. "I'm glad you escaped. I've known Robotnik for many a year." replied the weasel. Vixie sat up, her attention grasped,"You did?" "Yep. Used to work for him. That guy is the biggest (and I mean that literally) weirdo I've ever met. For Mobius' sake, when the guy went to the movies, he sat next to EVERYBODY! He's so fat, that when he sat around the house, he literally SAT around the house!" Nack grinned mischievously, lifting an eyebrow. Vixie fell back and began to laugh happily. "Tell me more!" Vixie giggled. "Well, okay. Robotnik is so ugly that when he looks in the mirror, his reflection runs the other way, screaming." continued Nack. By now, Vixie was chortling on the pile of pillows, spread-eagle. By the time Nack the Weasel was done insulting Dr. Robotnik, Vixie's stomach hurt so much from laughing, she coughed. "Nack, you are SO awesome! I haven't heard such vivid, ingenious, and hilariously funny derogatory statements about ol' moon-head since I first met Sonic the Hedgehog! Where do you come UP with these things?" Vixie giggled. "My, for a little girl such as yourself, you've quite an impressive vocabulary." Nack said. "Some people think that just because I'm only nine-and-a-half, I'm a pushover, stupid, and childish. Boy have they got another thing coming!" Vixie smiled. The little foxette took one of the pillows she had made, the one with a picture of her playing with Tails, and leaped up to the rafters. Upon her landing, she placed the pillow in a corner and laid back upon it. Being that the rafters were a good six feet up, and that Vixie was about two-and-a-half feet tall, Nack's eyes grew large. "Great Grammy! How'd you learn to jump like that?" he exclaimed. "Like what? Oh, you mean this high? Well, it's not hard. Ya just gotta have the right leaps. Gymnastics in Northbreeze helped me with that. The height just comes naturally." she said, looking down. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The fist that had created the knock belonged to none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. "Pardon, if you will," Vixie said, leaping off her perch and running to the door. When she opened it, she was happy to see the face that greeted her. "Sonic!" she said, and hugged the hedgehog. Returning the warm welcome, Sonic spoke. "Cedric told me you were toting along a stranger, so I got worried." "Why, what for?" the vixen said. "Remember what I taught you?" Sonic said firmly. "Oh yeah, never let a stranger in the house...oops." she slumped, ears drawing back a bit. Sonic noticed the weasel on the pillows and walked over, holding Vixie's hand. "Hey pal, the name's Sonic. Have you been intimidating this little lady?" the blue blur said sharply. "Sonic?! As in The Hero Of Mobius?!" the weasel said, pretending to be impressed. 'This'll keep him off my case!' , he thought. "Enough with the flattery, buddy. What're you doing here?" 'Whoop! Scratch that plan!' thought Nack. "I'm here to find out something from the princess. This charming little girl was just planning on giving me the tour de grande!" "I was just going to give Nack a tour, Sonic. Honest!" said Vixie, looking up at her friend. "Nack, eh? Aren't you the guy whoÕs main goal in life is to steal the Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic said, lifting a suspicious brow. 'Cover's blown! Gotta hightail it!' he thought to himself. Spotting an open window, Nack shot out. "Hey! He's getting away!" Sonic said, jamming towards the window. When he got there, nothing could be seen but the greenery around Vixie's hut. "Dude, the man's a spy!" Sonic said in shock. "No he isn't Sonic! You just scared him! Nack is a nice guy! I know! He was insulting Robotnik almost as good as you!" said the vixen. Vixie wasn't one to lie, and Sonic knew she was an excellent judge of character, so he trusted her. But why did he run away when he mentioned the Chaos Emeralds? "Okay, Vixie. I trust you. But that still doesn't mean I'll trust him." Sonic said, drawing his brows together. As soon as Nack was sure Sonic was gone, he jumped down from off of the roof and back into the hut. "Vixie?" he whispered. From a far off distance he thought he heard the vixen call his name, but the voice wasn't coming from anywhere in the house. 'They must be searching for me' he thought, 'Best not keep my hosts waiting!' Nack smiled, and headed out toward the center of the village. "...And when I mentioned the Chaos Emeralds, he bolted out the window, and next thing I knew, he was gone! Too weird!" sighed Sonic. "Well, you do have a tendency to come on to new people a little strong, Sonic Hedgehog." said Sally Acorn. "That's besides the point! The dude could be a spy! Didn't you feel kinda suspicious when you met Geoffrey St.John?" Sonic retorted. "Of course I did! I never heard of any Rebel Fighters! But this is different. I'm sure this Nack character is just like Vixie said. She's not a liar. I'd even trust her with the royal secrets, if I had to." Princess Sally continued. "I know Vix don't lie, but this guy could be a complete con! I don't trust him in the slightest." growled Sonic. "Fine! Be a child! YouÕve always acted without thinking first." Sally said, throwing her hands in the air despairedly. "Is that so? Okay, if ya wanna play hardball, we play hardball. Sometimes I think this royalty pizzazz goes to your head. You're just too prissy!" snapped Sonic. "Sonic, on the count of three, I want to see you out my front door. If you're not out on the count of three, I'll get Bunnie to take you out." Sally snarled. "Don't bother! I'm outta here!" Sonic said finally, and in a second he was gone. Sally flopped down on her bed. "Why must he act like a juvenile? Even more, why did I have to have a crush on him?" she thought. It was two hours later when Nack appeared at Vixie's house again. Knocking on the door, he fixed his hat and utility belt. Surprisingly, the vixen he saw was a good foot-and-a-half taller than usual. "Vixie?!" the weasel said, bewilderedly. "Sasha." the vixen said softly. "Oh, I must have gotten the wrong hut. My apologies." Nack said, turning to leave. "You got the right place pal. I figured you'd show yer hide here sometime or another." said a blue hedgehog with a furrowed brow. "Where's Vixie? What have you done to her?" Nack said. "In bed. She's asleep. Where little girls are usually at this time of night." said Sasha, smoothly. "Well, I wanted to give her something. This was her father's I believe." said Nack, and took out a yellow tattered scarf. Handing it to Sonic, he turned and left. "Later...PAL..." said Nack, with a tinge of sarcasm. "This was my daddy's!" exclaimed Vixie. "He just dropped it and left, Vix. Are ya sure ya don't know him?" Sonic said. "I've never met him in my entire life," she said, welling up hot tears, "Oh daddy...I miss him so much." she softly cried, rubbing the scarf on her cheek and savoring the scent she longed to smell for so long. Surprisingly, it was very strong. "I know it hurts, sweetie. I promise you we'll find out where they are, and when we do, weÕll bring em here!" Sasha said. "Yeah! Rotor's workin' on the De-Roboticizer with Sally, and it's gonna work better than before! With this, we'll get Uncle Chuck, Bunnie, and many others turned back into what they really are..." Sonic said, kneeling and wiping away her tears. "Promise?" she whispered. "Serious. It'll be way cool." promised the blue blur. "Thank you, Sonic." Vixie said, wrapping her arms around the hedgehog. Nack walked around Knothole Village, nonchalantly. It was then when he met up with Dulcy. "Hiya, Nack. Lookin' for something?" "Oh, hello, Dulcy. Actually, I'm looking for someONE. Do you know where Princess Sally lives?" "Sally? Of course, but what do you need her for?" Dulcy questioned. "The whereabouts of my lost uncle, Manny. He used to work in her palace." lied Nack. "C'mon, I'll take ya." Dulcy said, walking towards the princess's hut. Deep in study of a hologram, Sally heard a knock on her door. "C'min." she said aloud. The door opened to reveal Dulcy and an unfamiliar weasel." "Are you the princess?" said the weasel. "I'm Sally Alicia Acorn. Who are you?" the princess asked politely. "Nack the Weasel. I've come to seek your knowledge." the weasel said. "About what?" Sally asked, remembering Sonic's warning. "My uncle used to work at your palace, and he left just before the coup. His name was Manny Withertonin. I was wondering if you know where he headed off to when he quit. Sally settled down a minute, for this time, she was positive he was telling the truth, "Let me ask Nicole." she said. "Who's Nicole?" "Actually, Nicole is a 'what'. Nicole is an Artificial Intelligence Unit. She knows much of the royal family history," said Sally, and shifted her attention to Nicole, "Display any known information on a Manny Withertonin, please, Nicole." "Searching databases, Sally" droned Nicole. "Great Grammy, that is quite an interesting machine." said an awestruck Nack. "No matching profiles found, Sally." responded Nicole. "Are you sure it was the House of Acorn your Uncle was at? It could have been the Palace of the Wilting Star." Sally said, not at all worried that the name had not come up. "My mum told me about it before she and my sister were murdered. I distinctly remember her saying 'King Acorn's Palace'." lied Nack. He was telling the truth about his uncle, but he knew he had never worked for King Acorn. "Well, if he did, in fact, work at my father's palace, Nicole has lost all traces of his existence. Either that, or she wasn't installed with the latest palace census when she was made." "Well, I'd like to thank you for trying. You don't know how much this meant to me." Nack said with a look of sincerity. "I only wish I could have helped you." Sally said back. "I'll find him someday." Nack said. "Well, I wish you luck...If you'll excuse me, Nicole and I have a very important hologram to discuss." said Sally. "Bless you, your majesty..." bowed the sneaky weasel, and left with Dulcy. "Rotor?...Rotor, are y'all home?" called Bunnie. "In the storeroom Bunnie!" called a distant Rotor. Bunnie walked over to the stairwell and slowly went down it. Her fiancee was filtering through the stocks of sabotaged cruisers and Swat-bots intent on finding the right part. Bunnie walked up and put her hands behind her back. "Whatcha doin', sugar?" she asked. "The De-Roboticizer needs power converters, and the only place I'll find them is in here, unless someone wants to go to Robotropolis and find some." smiled Rotor. "Don't look at me, hon', cuz Ah ain't goin' near there unless Ah have to." laughed the cy-bunny. Rotor smiled, and went back to rummaging through the scraps. "Nuts!" he cried, "There isn't any left!" "Where can we get s'moah?" Bunnie asked. "The Great Swamp. There's tons of scrapped cruisers there." Bunnie tilted her head, "Then we'd better pack th' bug spray, huh honey?" "We?" Rotor lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah. Y'all can't go alone. Besides, it'll be more fun for th' both of us." she smiled. Rotor's eyes closed slightly, and a pleased grin spread upon his countenance. "Ah knew youÕd agree." Bunnie chuckled. As soon as Nack left, Sally went back to Nicole. "Nicole, please search the databases of the Palace of the Wilting Star in regards to Manny Withertonin. Please display all information you can find on this individual." "Processing Sally..." Nicole complied. Within a few minutes Nicole had searched her data banks. Sally's eyes fled over the display that followed. One particular thing caught her attention. "Oh my gosh!" Vixie let go of Sonic, and smiled. "What is it, Vix?" Sonic said, quizzically. "I know where my mama and papa are!" she grinned. Sasha and Sonic exchanged confused glances. "Last night, I had a dream about my mom and dad. In my dream, they told me 'Southwhisper Mines' and turned into robots. That's where they are, I know it!" Vixie said excitedly. "It was just a dream, sweetie. You've been dreaming about your parents for months. In fact, just about every night, I have to wake you up to keep you from hurting yourself." Sasha said. "Hurting herself? How?" Sonic said to the side. "Vixie's dreams are so real to her, she actually thinks she running in her sleep. She almost needed stitches from a bump she got on the headboard of her bed!" Sasha whispered. "But Sasha, this wasn't a nightmare! It was a dream! I woke up right after feeling totally at one with myself." continued Vixie. "Still, I wouldn't trust it." the older vixen sighed. "But you said that if we found them, we'd bring them here and make them better." Vixie's eyes pleaded. "If we FOUND them. We still have no solid proof your folks are there!" Sonic said. "How are we ever GONNA know if we don't check?" Vixie insisted. "Sonic, she may be young, but she does have a good point there." Sasha said. Sonic put his hand to his chin and started to tap his foot nervously. "Okay. I'll check it out. One catch though." Sonic said. "What?" Vixie said, ready to comply. "You stay here. If I did find them with you, I couldn't take the chance of you rushing up to them. So, I'll only go if you stay here." Sonic said. Vixie stared at nothing for a moment before looking down. "Okay..." she said mutely. "That's my lil' pepster!" Sonic said, tousling up the tuft of fur on Vixie's head, causing her to giggle. "What about Nack, Sonic?" Sasha queried. "IÕll take care-a-him later. This little girl is more important than a suspicion." the blue blur said with a grin. "When are you leaving?" Vixie asked quietly. "When do ya want me to?" asked the hedgehog. "With all due respect, Sonic, A-S-A-P." she said. "Then it's up, over, and OUTTA here!" Sonic said, and shot out of the hut. Sasha put a paw on the little girl's shoulder. "You should feel very special Vixie. Sonic adores you." "He...he does?" stuttered the nine-year-old. "Very much so. I know of no one else willing to go to such lengths for a child." Sasha whispered, watching the leaves blow by the door from Sonic's departure. Sally ran over to Bunnie's hut, intent on finding Missy. When she got to the door, Miss Starflight was brushing her hair and day-dreaming about Camden Coon. "Missy! I need your help!" Sally cried, rushing into the room. "Huh? What's wrong, Sal?" Mischief exclaimed. "You know that weasel named 'Nack' that Cedric brought to Knothole?" "Yeah, the one with the funky hat?" "That's him. I just found out something very disturbing." "What is it, Sally?" "He and his Uncle used to work for Robotnik!" she blurted. "No way! Where'd you get this?" Mischief said, getting up from her vanity mirror. "I had Nicole run some files on his Uncle Manny, who he supposedly said he was looking for. We had already checked the Palace Archives and nothing was there on him. After he left, I took Sonic's warning into consideration, and looked up Nack's uncle in the Archives from my father's other estate. That's when I found it." "So what you're saying is, is that this Nack-dude is a con-artist?" Missy said with horror. "That's what it looks like," Sally sighed, then stamped her foot, "Sonic told me I was too cautious when I met Ari, and now, when I try to simmer down, I lose my guard completely! What is wrong with me?" "Sal, you didn't know! Lighten up, willya? Sheesh-a-mundo!" Mischief looked thoughtful for a moment then snapped her fingers. "Get ready for a sting operation, your majesty!" Sally gave her a puzzled look and watched as the mage swirled out of sparkling sight. Sonic the Hedgehog was running through the marshes near the end of the Great Swamp. He had covered a lot of ground already, and was already making short time of the rest of the journey. Thoughts about Vixie's dream flooded through Sonic's head as he raced forwards. What happened if her parents really were in Southwhisper Mines? Could he talk them out of their preprogrammed tasks? What if he couldn't? What would Vixie say? Worst of all, what if he had raised the child's hopes up and nothing were to return with him? Sonic tossed aside those notions and concentrated on his destination. "Well, Rotor, looks like we gonna be busy for a while, don't it, sugar?" sighed Bunnie Rabbot. "It would have been, but since you're so strong, it could only take ten minutes." Rotor said, examining an engine. "Really now?" Bunnie said, glancing at the surroundings. "We have to be careful, though. Relay stations are all over this place!" the walrus said, looking at his hunnie-Bunnie. "As long as Ah'm on lookout, nuthin's gonna get us." Bunnie said assuredly. Rotor had found what he was looking for, and was delighted to notice there was a whole cargo of them on board the dilapidated cruiser, not to mention the one on the craft itself. "We can head back now, Bunnie." Rotor said, taking a handkerchief and wiping his brow. "Good, cuz this place, no matta how brave Ah am, gives me th' Hee-Bee Jee-Bees!" Bunnie said. Rotor laughed. "Tails! Tails, guess what!" shouted Vixie as she ran towards her best friend. "What?" "Sonic's gone to look for my mama and papa!" the vixen said, eyes aglow. "Cool! Are they Roboticized?" Tails asked. "I'm not sure yet, but I know I SAW them Roboticized!" Vixie said, unsteadily. "Well, I hope Sonic can find them, one way or another." Tails smiled. Far away, in a mine shaft, Worker-bots were shuffling about. Two foxes, about thirty-years-old each, shifted from robots to flesh. "Do you think Vixie got the message?" said the first fox, a vixen. "I'm not sure," said the male, "but she did wake up exactly after I projected it to her." A Swat-bot patrol was coming, and slowly the two foxes shifted back into robots. "We can only pray," said the vixen to her mate. Nack was walking near an alleyway created by some huts when he was jumped by a mysterious and mischievous mage. "Okay, Nack. The jig is up! What's your purpose here?" said Mischief, ready to blast Nack with her magic, "And you better not lie, mostly since I know on whether or not youÕre telling the truth!" "I only came here on financial business!" cried the shuddering Nack. "Financial?" said Missy, puzzled. "Fine..." sighed the weasel, "I was originally planning on kidnapping the princess to alleviate my debts." "By kidnapping her?!" "Yes. I was gonna ransom her off, but I decided against this." Nack said quietly. "Why did you plan to do otherwise?" "Cause it's not very hospitable to kidnap a ruler on the first visit!" Nack said sarcastically. "Tell it to the Princess, punk." Missy said, floating Nack the Weasel in the air. Sonic arrived in Southwhisper to find that it was no longer. What once had been a beautiful town, was now a scrap-pile memory. Swat-bots were teeming about, and Sonic crept quietly about to avoid detection. It was then when he noticed a line of Worker-bots pushing giant mine cars along a iron track. Sonic was creeping slowly behind the bots when he thought he heard someone whisper the words 'over here!' near the brush. The Hero walked slowly over to the bushes to find two foxes. "Who are you?" asked Sonic. "I'm Maxwell Lamenta the third, and this is my wife, Mary-Anne." "Okay, Nack, then what ARE you doing here, now I'm off the agenda?" said Sally Acorn. "I came to give Vixie her father's scarf. He gave it to me in Southwhisper." "You've got to be kidding me! Vixie's an orphan," said Sally, not noticing the little vixen standing in the doorway, "and her parents haven't been found! It's highly likely that they won't be found either!" "NO! That's not true! Take it back, take it back, take it back!" Vixie cried, revealing her hiding spot. "Vixie?!..." stammered the princess. "You don't know that! Sonic's gone to find them!" Vixie whimpered. "Vixie, your father told me something to tell you," Nack said, kneeling next to Vixie, "He said you would know for sure that he is alive and well if you heard this:" Nack cleared his throat and began to sing. "Sleep, my little angel, let dreams take you away, The day is through, you need to sleep, tomorrow's another day." Vixie's eyes widened. "My darling little daughter, how I love you so. My heart is filled with your smiles, everywhere I go." Vixie smiled, "My daddy sang that to me before I went to sleep! You ARE telling the truth!" "Vixie, he could have gotten that song anywhere! For all we know, thousands of people know it." Sally said. "No, Sally. My daddy wrote it himself." whispered Vixie. Sally was shocked. Could it actually be that Vixie's parents are still alive? If alive, who were the bots they saw in Dr. Robotnik's labyrinth? Vixie went up to Nack the Weasel hugged him tightly. "No way! You've got to be kidding me!" "Yes, Sonic, we're Vixie's parents." said Mary-Anne. "If you're Vixie's parents, then who the heck did we see in-" "The labyrinth?" Maxwell cut him off, "It was us." "But how--?" Sonic stammered. "Sonic, my husband and I are wizards. We have a very rare form of magic that will repel the Roboticization beam. WE don't even know how it works." said Mrs. Lamenta. "All we DO know is that when Robotnik took us out of the chamber, we weren't transformed. He put us through again and that time, so as not to let on, we cloaked ourselves with our magic." finished Maxwell. "But if you knew Vixie was at Knothole all this time, why didn't you get her?" Sonic said, puzzled. "We didn't know she was in Knothole. In fact, we don't even know where Knothole is!" said Mary-Anne. "That's our fault," Sonic grinned, "No one but a select few know where Knothole is, thanks to us." "We knew she was in the Great Forest, but we couldn't have left even if we wanted to. Guards were posted everywhere, and the diamonds we were mining left glints on our clothing. We would've been spotted in no time." Mr. Lamenta sighed. "Well, it's been over four months since you've seen your daughter. I can only wonder what you're going to do when you see how mature she's grown." Sonic said with an almost fatherly gleam in his eye. "With you as her trainers, I'm sure she's beyond our expectations." the vixen smiled. "Well, pack your bags! We're outta here! Grab a shoulder." Sonic grinned. As soon as the hedgehog was sure they had a tight grip, he shot off, faster than ever. Bunnie and Rotor were walking through the Swamplands when Sonic skidded to a halt in front of them. "Hiya sugar-hog! Who are they?" Bunnie said. "Bunnie? Rotor? I'd like you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Lamenta." Bunnie gasped, "Oh my stars!.....Vixie's parents!..." Bunnie said, ready to faint. Rotor caught her in the nick of time. "Let's get out of this swamp and make the introductory statements in Knothole!" Sonic said, tapping his foot, "There's a little girl who needs her parents!" Bunnie and Rotor held onto Sonic and shot off, parents in tow. Vixie was in her hut, primping up her hair. She was preparing for what she knew was going to happen. She had on the pink skirt Neeka Manetamer had given her, plus the tiara Antoine had given her. She looked adorable. Nina knocked on the door and Vixie Lamenta let her in. "Tails told me about the good news!" Nina said. "Oh, Nina," Vixie said, pirouetting, "My mama and papa are just like Uncle Chuck! They've snapped out of their programming, just like he did!" the vixen laughed. "They might not even be robots, Vixie." said Nina, trying to hold back a giggle. "I saw them get turned into to robots, Nina! How could they not be?" Vixie said. "See for yourself..." said a familiar voice. Vixie whipped around to see her father and mother standing behind her. "MAMA!? PAPA!?" the child began to sob happily, running into their awaiting arms. Bunnie was outside, looking in the window. She turned away, crumpled slowly to the ground, and started to cry. Sasha and Lyric sat next to her. "My little sugar-fox..." she cried. "Why are you crying, Bunnie?" Lyric said with concern. "My little Vixie-girl is going away..." Bunnie said in between sobs. "What in the world? Vixie's not going to move away, Bunnie! Sonic talked with her folks and they've decided to live here with us. Where'd you get an idea like that?" Sasha said, sitting Bunnie up. "Ah'm not suh-sure...Ah thought they'd wanna start over agin'!" cried the cyber-rabbit. "But they are! They're starting a new life in Knothole. I'm sure Vixie would never want to leave you behind! Remember how you took care of her when she got that case of poison oak? Or the times when you went for nature hikes? Vixie would never forget that." Lyric said, putting his hand on her metallic shoulder. "Ah really should've thought bout that..." Bunnie said. The door to VixieÕs hut opened, only to show the vixen pulling her parents over to Bunnie. "Mama? Daddy? This is Bunnie. She's my heroine..." blushed Vixie. Bunnie was shocked, and abruptly proceeded to blush as well. "My daughter told me you've done a real lot for her. She likes to think of you as a sister." said Maxwell. "Well, Ah have taken a certain fondness to huh." said Bunnie. Vixie cocked her head to one side, "Were you crying, Bunnie?" Bunnie touched her face and felt the now cool tears that had streaked the brown fur under her eyes. "We'll discuss that later, sugar. Ah've gotta go help Rotor an' Sally with the De-Roboticizer." Bunnie said, leaving the family and the two mages to go into her hut. Nina walked out of the hut after she had gotten her hat from Vixie's room. The vixen had borrowed it. Vixie's parents walked over to the skunk and smiled. "Thank you for helping us with this little surprise, Nina. Here's a gift of thanks." said the unorphaned vixen's mother, placing her hands above Nina's brow. Vixie gasped. What was her mother doing? The vixen took her hands away from Nina's head. "What'd you give me, Mrs. Lamenta?" Nina said, not knowing what the mother had bestowed upon her. "Try to jump, Nina." Vixie's mom said. Nina shrugged and took a little hop. Instead of landing right away, she went to the height of a regular jump. When she tried the regular jump, she was surprised to see that she jumped as high as Vixie. Vixie gasped again. "How'd you do that, mom?" she said. "The same way I did it to you. Magic." "You're a wizard?!" the fox said in disbelief. "Your father is too. Unfortunately, you are not. I guess you didn't inherit the genes." Mrs. Lamenta complied. "Wow..." Vixie whispered. "So, pumpkin, tell me what you've done while we were in Southwhisper." Maxwell said to his daughter. "Oh, daddy, I've never had a more exciting time in all my life..." Nack was walking down past Sonic's hut when the hedgehog stopped him. "Nack, I'd like to apologize for snapping at you like that." he said sheepishly. "No offense taken, Sonic. It was part of my original plan. I was looking for some reasons to travel here." "So you were in Southwhisper? How did you avoid getting caught?" Sonic said, trying to start a now, friendly, conversation. "Weren't easy, Sonic Hedgehog, it weren't easy..." laughed Nack. Later that day, when Vixie's parents had went for a nap, the little fox walked over to Bunnie's hut. "Bunnie? Are ya in there?" she said, knocking on the door. The door opened a short while later, showing a red-eyed rabbit. "Bunnie! YouÕre crying!" Vixie gasped. "C'mon in, sugar. Thisun'll be a long story." Bunnie said. Vixie followed her mentor towards the sofa placed in the living room. Sitting down, Bunnie began. "Well, honey, this ain't easy t' say, since I know y'all wouldn't do this on ya own free will." "What is it?" Vixie said, hugging her friend. "Well, t'day I thought it would be th' last tahm I saw y'all." Vixie sat up. "What!?" "Ya heard me right, sugar-fox. With yer parents back an' all, I thought that y'all were gonna move away." "Bunnie, I would never leave you! Never! You guys have been so good to me. Do you know how many times you saved my life? I could NEVER forget that, no matter how hard I tried, and believe me, I wouldn't try to. You're my hero, my sister, and fill-in mom, rolled all into one person." Vixie said, placing a kiss on Bunnie's cheek, then giving her a bear hug. Bunnie cried anew, only this time, it was out of happiness. "Sally told me you worked for Robotnik." Sonic said to Nack, as they walked down the beaten forest path. "Yep, he used me. I was only four, too! I was his errands boy." Nack said, looking down. "Whoa, that musta been WAY uncool!" Sonic said, sticking his tongue out and pretending to gag. Nack laughed. The two walked down to the Great Meadow. "Man, look at that..." sighed the weasel, looking at the smoke filled heaven of Robotnik, "It's been a long time since I've been this way..." "I bet you've missed it." Sonic said, nudging Nack with his elbow. "In your hyperactive dreams!" Nack laughed. "Hyperactive?! Moi?! I'm insulted!" Sonic said, although Nack knew he hadn't taken offense. That wasn't the weasel's intention anyway. "Good, now let's get back to Knothole before I hurl!" Nack said, holding his nose. Dulcy was flying over Robotropolis for a routine check of the events that were occurring there. She spotted an unusual dig site in which Robotnik was monitoring himself. With Dulcy's extra-perceptive hearing, she could hear every word. "This is excellent! With these diamonds, I can make the ultimate weapon against those blasted Freedom Fighters. Then, with them out of the way, Doomsday will have nothing to stand up against!" said the low-pitched voice that belonged to a certain bald, ugly, and fat man. "If we get the next shipment in within the next day, suh, your diamond glass will be ready for the blowing process. We already have the mold for the dome." wheezed a short man in green garb. "Excellent, Snively!" laughed Robotnik. "Thank you, suh." the lackey said. "Oh no! I gotta tell Sally!" Dulcy said, flying off. "Oh my gosh! Dulcy, how did you find this out?" Sally exclaimed. "Us dragons have super-sharp hearing! He said something about a glass dome. Maybe he's gonna dome the Great Forest!" Dulcy said. "Did you see the size of the mold?" Tails asked. "No mold. They must be hiding it somewhere." the dragoness said, spreading her hands wide in a state of helplessness. "This innint very good, is it, Sally-girl?" Bunnie said. "If they dome the forest, we'd recycle our own air. Then we'd die from carbon dioxide poisoning." Rotor said. "You're right, Rotor. Instead of wiping just us out, Robotnik could destroy everything! We've got to go and stop his plans, whatever they are." Sally sighed. "I think we'll need mages for this job, Sally. The guard was really beefed up." "Get Lyric, Missy, and Sasha together, tell them we head out in one hour." the princess said. The door burst open. "We're going as well, your majesty." said the fox in the doorway. "Maxwell, you can't!" "You're going to need all the help you can get. If I remember hearing Snively correctly, he said it was 'Diamond Glass'. I'm positive Sonic wouldn't be able to break it, even if he tried. Fire can't melt it either, so that leaves Dulcy out. The only way we can destroy it is with magic." said Maxwell. There was an uncomfortable pause for a minute. "I'd rather you spend time with your daughter, but if you know what works, you can go." Sally caved in. "Bless you, your highness." Mary-Anne said, lifting her skirt to curtsy. "I want everyone packed up and ready to go in an hour. Let's do it to it!" the princess smiled. "I wanna go!" cried the vixen. "I'm sorry, pumpkin, but this time you can't do a thing. Robotnik's troops are out there and are growing quickly." said Vixie's mother. "That's why I've been training, mama. I've taken out fifteen bots in one standing, before! Surely I can do this! I wanna show how good I am now!" Vixie persisted. "Sweetie, if you want to come along, you're just going to have to ask Sally. Sally's the one who's leading this mission, not us." said Max. "Then I will!" Vixie said, running out the door. As Vixie ran, she saw many of the residents packing up gas masks and air tanks. The fox wasn't really sure why, but she was going to find out, Sally's permission or not. Sally was just walking out of Dulcy's hut when Vixie reached her. "Hi Vixie, what's wrong?" "Sally, you have to let me go with you and Sonic! I've got laser power! I'll fry more bots than ever before! It's been about a month since I've gone out, and I've been practicing my shooting for weeks! I'm an incredibly clean shot!" the vixen said hurriedly. "Now hold it one minute, Vixie. If you're to go, you have to promise me one thing." "Anything, Sally." "You've gotta make sure you stay away from Robotnik! If he catches you, you're dead." the princess said, calmly. "Can I still degrade the fat tub-ster?" Vixie pleaded. Sally grinned, "As much as you'd like!", Sally paused for a moment, "You know, you're awesome when you get riled! Robotnik really needs to cut down on picking on you. If he keeps this up, he's gonna get smoked." "He needs ta watch his back." Vixie grinned, "Anyway, why is everyone breakin' out the gas masks?" the little defender asked. Sally proceeded to explain the whole plan. "That's AWFUL!" cried the young lady. "Is there anything you can do to help, chemical-wise?" Sally asked. "Well," thought Vixie, "There is...SOMEthing...but I'm not sure..." "We have to try. Can you mix it in twenty minutes?" the princess panicked. "I'm afraid it would take about forty minutes Sal...why don't we get Bookshire to mix it?" suggested Vixie. Sally snapped her fingers, "Good job, Vix! You get all the supplies to his house and then pack for the mission. Make sure you bring the energy uploaders for your bracelet, as well." "Will do, Sally!" said Vixie, running off. Nack had overheard the conversation and went up to the Princess of Mobius and tapped her on the shoulder. "Anything I can do?" the thief said. "I wish there was Nack. We need a lot of magic to crush this threat!" "I understand...but, I DO hope you kick the pants off that beached whale!" Nack said. Sally thought for a moment, "Maybe there is something you can do, Nack. Have you got a barrage of insults ready?" "Wouldn't be without them! It the one thing, next to stealing, that I do best!" the weasel complied, wearing a huge grin. "Then you and Vixie have got a very important job to do," the princess smiled, then looked at Nack's utility belt, "Hey, is that a Mega Muck blaster?" she said, pointing to the weapon. "Yeah! I stole it a long time ago from that melon-head. There's a guy back in Eastbane who gave me the formula to make Muck refills!" "Well, we could use that too! C'mon, and get ready to get out of here in fifteen minutes!" Nack saluted, took the princess's hand and kissed it. "As you wish, your majesty." Sally just blushed. "Next stop, Robo-town!" said Dulcy going in for a landing. "Try not to crash, Dulcy!" Sonic shouted. "Trust me," assured the dragoness, "This landing's rating is gonna be an eleven!" Dulcy said, putting up her feet to land. Well, Dulcy was right. The landing did rate as an eleven, but the only problem was, was that it was a negative eleven point landing. The dragon spun around in utter chaos, smashing into junkpiles and causing her passengers to scream like banshees. The whole time, crashes and all, the dragon was surprised that no Swat-bots of any kind had heard it. "OoooOOooOoOOoh.....I'll have a carrot cake, ma..." Dulcy said, even more out of it than usual. Sonic was the only one who wasn't nauseous, being that he spun all the time. Nack was in Dulcy's pouch and he slowly came out, "Will someone please stop the world? I'm gonna be sick..." Inside the Death Egg, Robotnik gathered his thoughts. Abruptly, Snively ran in with a report paper in his hand. "The hedgehog and his allies have arrived, your worship..." said the tiny man. "I KNEW they'd find out about the diamond glass sooner or later!" laughed Dr. Ivo J. Robotnik, "The plan is going according to schedule, I assume?" he smiled. "To the tee, suh." "Excellent...heh-heh-heh.....EX-cellent!" As soon as everyone was recovered, and after Antoine lost his lunch, the troupe moved on. "Your Majesty, if I may?" said Mary-Anne. "Sally, please. Go on." "Sally, there's an entrance on the southside of the Egg. When Vixie was younger, we used to break into the Egg to steal modules for our Peace- bot machines." said the vixen. "You made Peace-bots?" Sonic said, bewildered. "Why, yes. That's why Robotnik hated the residents of Northbreeze so much." said Max. "We used 'em ta fight Robodork! They were retrofitted with plasma bombers, and were programmed to take down any Swat-bots, never mind destroy Robotnik on sight." added Vixie. "Well, y'all can discuss this AFTER we get insahde." interrupted Bunnie Rabbot. The Lamentas walked with their daughter to the entrance along with the Freedom Fighters. Antoine was having a nervous breakdown, as usual, and Bunnie had to muzzle him to keep him from giving their location away. Sally held everyone back for a moment as they walked down a dimly lit corridor. "Something is terribly wrong..." she said. "What is it, Princess Sally?" said Vixie. "It's too...quiet..." said the princess in a hush whisper. And 'quiet' means 'trap' in Robotnik-latin..." Sonic said. The party trudged onward. "It looks fine, Sally." said Vixie. "Honey," said Mary-Anne, "looks can be deceiving." They meandered along, looking for any signs of danger, and surprisingly, they found none. That's when Sally called upon Missy. "Mischief, can you scan for anything that might cause us any trouble?" whispered Sally, glad that she had magic on her side. "Onto it, Your Majesty." bowed Missy, grinning because she called Sally something she didn't like. Missy put her hands to her brow and began to close her eyes. For a minute, everything was silent, that was until Sonic began to tap his foot violently. "Sonic, be quiet!" said the princess. A few more moments of silence were broken by a whining voice. "I'm waiiiit-iiiiiing..." said the hedgehog. Before Sally could scold Sonic, Missy broke out of her trance. "What did you see, enchanted one?" asked Nack. "Nothing. I saw nothing..." Missy said, bewildered." "Odd..." said Maxwell. "How can this be?" asked his wife. "I can assure everyone that Robotnik has something planned for us, and he wants to see us uncover it." said Sally. "I agree. He likes seeing people in shock." said Maxwell, remembering the raid upon his village. Vixie looked up for a second and put an inquisitive finger to her lips. "Maybe we're doing the wrong search..." she said. Everyone turned to face her. "Instead of trying to find new ways, let's use our better developed senses!" she smiled. "Tails, my mama, my daddy, Sasha, Antoine and I can use our noses to sniff the air, while Nack and Sonic can sneak around corners." Sally looked left out. "Sal, we could really use your holomap of the Egg." Vixie said. The princess brightened a bit and took out Nicole. "Nicole, please access file 'rotten.egg.hmp' along with this, show our present location on the map." "Processing, Sally." said the AI unit. Within moments, the hologram appeared. Sally studied it. "Hmm...," she said, rubbing her chin a little, "If weÕre here," she said, pointing to a light pink dot, "we'll need to go through the access tunnels. The only problem is getting there unnoticed." "With Nack the Weasel and Sonic the Hedgehog on the job, your Majesty, you can rest assured that that problem is as good as solved." said Nack, bowing. Nack took the front while Sonic covered him. No Swat-bots. "Tip-toe!" whispered Nack. "Be kwy-eet mes amis!" Antoine said, fluffing up his military prowess. They had just made it to the air duct when Nack began breathing shallowly. The troupe heard his irregular breathing and turned to face him. "Nack? Are you okay?" Vixie said with a worried look. "Tell-you...inside...the-vent..." he gasped. When everyone was safely inside, Nack explained his breathing. "Asthma...gets bad...when I'm nervous..." he sighed. "I can cure that...temporarily." Sasha said. "Please, do..I forgot my inhaler!" Nack coughed. Sasha placed her hand to Nack's chest and her hand began to glow. "Ahh..." sighed the contented weasel. "That better?" smiled Sasha. "Much, thanks!" sighed the weasel. "Let's get moving." said the princess, pointing her flashlight down the duct. Robotnik stood facing the screen, hands behind his back, with an evil smile spreading across his ugly countenance. "Is it just me, Snively," said Robotnik, still facing the screens, "or do these Freedom Fighters always try to infiltrate us by using my ventilation system?" The lackey ran up to his uncle's side, "It never fails, suh..." he whined. "Well, who says we can't have any more fun? When they descry my latest evil creation, they'll never be the same." laughed Robotnik. "How DOES the Mecha-Fox work, suh?" asked Snively. "The same way ALL my bots do, Snively! Perfectly!" "With all due respect, suh, then how come none of your OTHER robots defeated Sonic?" Snively wheezed. Realizing what he had just said, Snively clapped his hand over his mouth. "No need to worry Snively. This time, I have picked out EVERY 'Hedgehog Possibility', so now I KNOW Sonic cannot defeat it. Especially with that buzz-saw thing he does." Robotnik said, as if he was trying to get a bad taste out of his mouth. "Well, suh, next to Doomsday, this has to be the pinnacle of your career." "Tell me something I DONÕT know Snively!" Robotnik said, hefting up his graceful three-hundred and fifty pound frame. The group sniffed their way through the vents towards the control room. Unexpectedly, Sasha stopped everyone. "New smell..." she whispered, inhaling another whiff of cool air. "What is it?" Sally asked. "Metallic...but it's not the metal around us..." Sasha said quietly. "It's probably just Swat-bot stench." said Sonic. "Turn right at this intersection, Sasha." Sally said, looking at Nicole. Sasha wasn't the one giving orders, so she did what she was told. Looking to the left side of the pipe, she turned the corner. What she didn't expect to see when she turned to the right was a pair of slanted yellow- glowing eyes looking right at her. Sasha screamed. Back at Knothole, Bookshire was finishing up the potion. "Right horrible smell." he said, holding his nose. "It's the pure oxygen, Bookshire!" said Rotor. "It's pure disgusting!" said the middle-aged raccoon. "Well, we're gonna need it if Robotnik domes us," said the walrus, "Okay Bookster, put the lid on!" "Gladly," said Bookshire, "who's idea was it to get me to mix this?" "Back it out! NOW!" Sally shouted. Everybody ran. "HELP!" screamed Sasha, in the arms of a strong metallic fox. "Sasha!" screamed Missy, "You leave her alone!" cried the mage, blasting the machine. Mischief was surprised to see that her magic had no effect on it. "Laser Power'll do the trick!" said Vixie. Vixie aimed and shot at the metallic monster's head. She carefully ducked the ricocheting laser beam. "That contraption is indestructible!" said Lyric, scratching his head. "A Sonic-Spin will have to do!" Sonic said, revving up. Buzzing around the Fox-bot, Sonic's quills began to heat up. Yelping the whole way, Sonic landed. "What the HECK?" exclaimed the hedgehog, "Well, y'all can't beat a Bunnie-bop!" Bunnie said. "If Bunnie can't take this thing down, we're dead-meat!" Tails said, looking on anxiously. Bunnie ran towards the mechanical menace and proceeded to punch it. Soon, small dents formed all around the Mecha-Fox. "Mind if Ah give ya a check-up from the neck-up?" Bunnie said, uppercutting the bot. Sparks were flying around the air duct when Bunnie finished. "Looks lahke yer bark is worse than yer bite!" laughed the rabbit. "How did they--?! AHHH! That deformed rabbit destroyed the Mecha-Fox! I just KNEW I should've made a plan to catch that southern rodent and finish what I left undone!" the Doctor screamed violently. "Uh, suh...?" stuttered Snively. "WHAT IS IT, Snively?" growled Robotnik. "We can still stop them with an ambush." Snively said. "Ambush?! Snively, by far, that has to be the stupidest plan you've ever come up with!" "Thank you, suh." the lackey replied, flatly. "It might work though..." grinned the anarchist. "What did I tell you? I told you we were goners!" Sonic said huffily. "Yeah, Sonic. Sure you did." said the Princess with a dry grin. "What?" Sonic said, spreading his palms. The group trudged on. "By golly, it's cold in here!" said Vixie. "You got that. Whaddya say we get out of this vent?" Tails said. "All right, then we'll have to find the next vent." Princess Sally said. "Sacre' bleu cheez! I am freezing my loaves off!" exclaimed Antoine. "You mean 'buns', Ant'" Missy said, giggling. Finding the vent, Nack unhinged it. "Who says being a thief doesn't pay?" grinned the weasel. After everyone had jumped down, Nack refastened the vent cover. "Okay, now we go to the--" Sally was cut off by a metallic voice. "FREEZE OR YOU WILL BE TERMINATED." said the cold, Swat-bot. The room was suddenly flanked with Swat-bots and hover units, surrounding the Freedom Fighters. "Oh great..." muttered Lyric. "Get 'em Vixie!" whispered Tails. Vixie winked. "GET DOWN EVERYONE!" she shouted. After everyone was down, Vixie turned around in a whirlwind spin, firing laser beams every which way. The whole scene left about three Swat- bots standing. "Later Swat-butts!" said Sonic, and trashed the bots to bits. Sally and the rest of the Freedom Fighters made it into the glass room and were surprised at what they saw. "The mold isn't even as big as Dulcy is tall!" exclaimed Sasha. "Well, we don't hafta worry about Rot-nik doming th ol' forest!" Sonic said sarcastically. "This probably won't do much harm. He's probably trying weather-proof a contraption." Sally said. "I'm gonna destroy the mold anyway. At least it'll put him behind schedule!" Lyric said, rolling up imaginary sleeves. "Atika atikanso wontyer AMARGA!" shouted the mage. The Freedom Fighters watched the mold cave in on itself. With a horrible noise, the mold 'popped' out of thin air. "The old implosion spell...works EVERY time!" Lyric said, cracking his knuckles. "Show off..." Missy said, grumbling. "ARGH!" Robotnik said, slamming his fist on the consoles, "Cursed brats! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! When I get my hands on..." Robotnik sighed and calmed down, "You may have gotten away this time you puny Freedom Fighters, but mark my words...one day, you won't get off so easily..." "All right! We did it!" laughed Vixie. "Yet another flawless execution on our behalf." Sally smiled. "Hey...where's Nack?" said Sonic, scratching his head. Nack the Weasel was no where to be seen. All the Freedom Fighters found was a scrap of paper attached to the lookout post. Tails flew up and grabbed it. "Well, what's it say little bro?" Sonic asked the two-tailed fox. " 'Dear Freedom Fighters, I know I have outworn my welcome, so it's time for me to move on. By the time you read this, I'll be in Eastbane, maybe further. I'd like to thank each and every one of you for turning this weasel around. Vixie, I'm glad you found your family! A vixen as cute as yourself needs a family. Well, thank you again. Sincerely, Nack' " finished Tails, handing Sally the note. Vixie twirled around. "He thinks I'm CUTE!" swooned the vixen. Everyone began to laugh, but Vixie didn't notice. After all, love DOES do strange things, wot? "C'mon Vixie. We're going home." THE END...or something... "Do you have any...oleo?", "Are you threatening me?" "You are not ready to face the wrath of my bumhole!" --The Great Cornholio (otherwise known as Beavis) "Beverly Hills 90235-f-781234567898265--->>>smack<<--later on, after the computer was turned off--< "Whisper, end file." "Right away, Vixie." droned the AI unit. "I wish this really happened... I miss my parents..." sighed Vixie. "Vixie, do not lose hope. Losing hope does not compute." Whisper said. "I hope yer right," the vixen sighed, "I hope yer right..." End--- If anyone would like to write the instance on how I REALLY did find my parents, feel free. Make sure Nack the Weasel is in it!! ; , He rules (almost as much as Mighty does!) PS...could someone get me a copy of the triple trouble special???? I WANT IT!