Chapter 4
The fuse was lit. There were people scattering, in panic, most ran as quickly as they could. Yet others stayed. They were curious. So curious that they couldn't help but stick around to see what was going to happen next. Bean the Dynamite, a mad bomber with no definite motive other than his own insanity, had lit a rather large bomb. This bomb was so large that it could easily cause a vast explosion capable of leveling a few blocks. Sonic gulped, but only slightly as a huge grin crossed his face. He was obviously pretty excited. Nic, the weasel behind him seemed more nervous than he was. Her gun was trembling in her hand thus making it difficult for her to save face. She didn't want to come off as scared. Bean clenched the bomb as Sonic came at him, lunging at him with a kick. Bean tried to dodge it, but failed as the bomb was weighing him down.

I need to get rid of that bomb, Sonic thought as he began to throw his punches. The green duck seemed to be rather attached to it since it wouldn't budge from his hands at all, and Sonic knew it was too heavy for him to carry on his own. Let alone dispose of the thing. Time was drawing near though. The fuse was dwindling more and more by the moment.

Just then a hand snagged the bomb. A metal hand with a firm grip, tugging on it with great ease. Sonic blinked and stopped his attack. He thought it was a robot, like one of Eggman's. He noticed the hand was long so he started looking to his left to see where it was coming from. Much to his surprise, Bunnie was on the other side. People seemed to have stepped to the side to let her hand pass through the small crowd that still remained. The reporters started to drive up in a desire to get the scoop. Within a moment, the metallic rabbit managed to get the bomb out of Bean's hand. Sonic grinned and waved a bit crying out to the rabbit. "Hey! That's a great arm ya got there!"

The southern belle giggled and waved her normal arm at him, blushing a bit. "Aw shucks, ah flattered! Y'all would think this darned thing would make it harder to move around..."

"Ah," Sonic tried to interject as the fuse was getting smaller, but the rabbit continued on.

"But this lil ole thang sure does come in handy sometimes!" She smiled and rubbed the back of her head.

"Ah darling," Antione started. He seemed to have come out of nowhere, but he was behind Bunnie from the start. This was probably because a half robotic rabbit was a less common sight to behold. "I tink zee bomb..."

"Whut was that sugah?" Bunnie asked, turning to him.

"Zee bomb! Zee bomb!" He cried out and flailed his arms, pointing to the bomb.

Bunnie blinked, and looked to it, blushing a bit out of embarrassment as the nearly fuse less bomb fas still flickering. "Oops!" She shouted, tossing the bomb high up into the air. "Sorreh, ah kinda forgot."

An explosion was heard as sparks began to flicker from the sky. They fell down like a meteor shower. People looked up excitedly, appearing to be rather interested in the spectacle. Bean fell to his knees. He clenched his fists and reached out to the sky. "No! My bomb! My greatest bomb!"

The police ran to the scene. In front was a skunk who took a set of cuffs and snapped them around the duck's wrists. "Alright mate, that's enough from you. Ya have the right to remain silent..." He went on as they walked, but his voice was soon vented out by the group of cheering people and the voices of various reporters.

Acorn came to Sonic and eagerly shook his hand. He had a wide smile on his face as he let go. "Thank you! All three of you! How can I ever repay you for saving my fine city?"

Sonic shook his head, lifting a hand up to him. "Heh, there's no need to-"

"Ah! I know!" He nodded, standing proudly. "I'd like to cordially invite you to my children's 15th birthday."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, folding his arms. "Er..."

"The ceremony will take place at my estate tomorrow starting at four PM, and you can invite whoever you like. There will be food, refreshments, and dancing." He smiled proudly, his arms behind his back. "I even got the famous Mina Mongoose to entertain! It wasn't an easy task mind you."

"Ah, I don't know." Sonic said, glancing off and rubbing his head.

"Forget it." Nic said as she turned around. "You can just give me the reward money mate." She walked off, apparently going to the police station. Sonic watched her with an odd expression across his face. She looks like Fang... only more feminine of course. He briefly cringed. Augh, if there were ever an uglier dame, I haven't met her.

Fang flew down to his sister. He clenched his fists and looked to her, putting his gun away. "Dammit. Looks like it'll have ta wait. Too many damned witnesses now."

Nic turned to him and sighed. "That was rather unfulfilling." She looked to the Marvelous Queen. "Mind giving me a lift to the station?"

Fang lowered his eyelids. "Get your own ride." He charged it back up, driving off across the air. His sister sighed and began to walk in the other direction.

"Frooooggyyyyyy!" Big shouted out, looking around frantically still. He had walked back to the block where Team Chaotix had set up in an effort to retrace his steps. "Dis is hopeless." He said as a somewhat sad expression crossed his dopey face. He looked up at the brick building near him, reading the sign. "Missing Persons Bureau?" He began to walk in. "Maybe dey can help me find Froggy!"

He stomped through the halls as the ground below him shook, his weight not boding well with the squeaky floorboards. He climbed up the staircase which was covered in a red fabric. The cat grabbed the wooden railing with his gloved hand. Even the stairs each squeaked as he stepped. The building was indeed old, and even Big could tell. The walls were bland; they were painted an off yellow which was rather unappealing and didn't seem to go well with the red rug at all.

He stopped once he reached the third floor, as he noticed the same label from outside. Missing Persons Bureau. "Dah, dis must be the place!" Big said happily as he walked in. He noticed immediately the armadillo sitting at the desk, a wide grin seemed to cross his face. Big was a little confused by this but he still continued to look around. Looking out the window was Ray. He hadn't noticed Big had arrived since he was lost in thought while looking out the window. Mighty leaned forward happily.

"Hello!" He started. "Welcome to the Missing Persons Beauro! My name is Mighty, and this is Ray! How can we help you today?"

"Froggy!" Big cried as he stomped over to the desk, the ground shaking below him. This snapped Ray out of his daze. Big continued on. "I need to find my friend Froggy!"

Mighty smiled nervously, rubbing his head. "Ah, certainly. We'll help you find him." He handed Ray a piece of paper and a pencil. "Just give us a description and Ray will draw a reference picture to go by."

Big rubbed his chin, then placed his hand down above that table. "He's about dis big, green with a lot of pretty markings. Uh, he's got yellow eyes and he liked to jump around a lot!"

Ray stopped a few minutes later and smiled proudly. "Got it!"

Mighty smiled. He leaned up to shake Big's hand. "Don't you worry. We'll find your Froggy for you in no time. You keep looking though, just in case."

Big nodded and turned, running away happily. "Yay! Thanks you guys!" He slammed the door with an expression of joy upon his face.

"So, let's see that portrait!" Mighty said as he turned to Ray. The squirrel turned the image towards him with a smile. It was a rather crudely drawn frog. It almost looked like a blob really, hopping up and down with a butterfly and a smiling sun in the background. Mighty stared at it for a while, an awkward silence filling the room. He eventually sighed, leaning back in his chair and putting a palm to his forehead. "Well, I think I remember the description. We might still be able to find him anyways."

Sonic opened the door to his apartment, noticing Tails wasn't there. He shrugged it off and sat down on the bed to watch the television. Sure enough the reports were still covering the earlier incident. He shut off the TV immediately. He wasn't all that interested in it. He thought about the mayor's offer. He wasn't that interested in going, but maybe Tails would be. There wasn't a lot of time to think about it.

The door opened, Tails on the other side. He smiled as he walked inside a little. "Ah, Sonic! You're back."

"Hey Tails." He started. "How are-"

"Sonic!" Amy shouted as she pushed Tails out of the way, running to the bed to hug Sonic, nuzzling his cheek as she tends to do. "Oh Sonic! I saw you on the news. You did great!"

"Amy!" Sonic shouted. A somewhat odd smile crossed his face, though it was pretty obvious that he wasn't very happy about it. He gently pushed Amy away. The pink hedgehog sat on the bed next to him.

Tails looked around for a minute before speaking. "So ah, I saw you talking with the mayor. What was that about?"

Sonic shrugged. "Ehgh, wanted me to go to his kid's birthday at his estate. Not sure if I'll take it up on his offer."

"A party?" Amy asked, her eyes gleaming. "This is wonderful! I can take Cream and Rob. Oh we'll have such a good time!"

"Amy I didn't... Rob?" He paused, then shook his head. "Anyways, I didn't say I was going to go."

Amy ignored him. She was already too caught up in the idea of a party. She got up and opened the door. "I'm gonna go and tell the others right away!" She shut the door right away, causing Tails to blink.

"Oh great." Sonic lowered his eyelids, flopping back on the bed. He shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. "Ah well. What harm is there in going? I mean it's just a party."

"Sonic if you don't wanna go, then you don't have to." Tails said to him, walking over to sit on the bed.

Sonic shook his head, smiling a little. "Nah, it's no big deal. We can go to the party, for a little while at least."

Tails nodded as he turned on the TV. He changed it to another news report, laying back. "I guess so."

They arrived at the estate right on the mark, with the exception of Sonic who made it a couple of minutes early due to his speed. The estate itself was very large. Lovely decorated floors, chandeliers hanging on the walls in a rather linear fashion. The walls were a beautifully pale white and there were large windows on either side of the room. The elegant staircase with marble stairs stood in front of them. On both sides were tables with food as far as the eye could see. Another table alone carried gifts, and a lovely white cake trimmed with candy flowers. To the left was a stage set up just for the performance. The stage crew and band were getting arriving; Mina was putting on her makeup. Amy was rather excited to hear Mina would be performing. She had her album though she rarely listened to it. It would be more interesting to see her live instead.

Everyone spread out nearly right away. Tails was the first. He saw some people who seemed rather interesting to him. They were a large yellow polar bear and a purple walrus dressed in lab coats. It was obvious they were scientists. Though Tails was a mechanic he did enjoy the thought of science every now and then. He immediately began to converse with them.

Cream and Cheese headed to the snack bar. Cream could tell Cheese was hungry and she wanted to get get him full as soon as she could. She was upset that her mother had decided not to come; she wanted to take a little rest from all the walking they had done the previous day. Cream picked up some grapes and gave them to Cheese who happily started scarfing them down.

Rob followed Amy, who was going to the stage. She wanted to see Mina as soon as possible. She wasn't alone. There was a small crowd around the stage all seemingly excited. When Mina did walk onto the stage everyone was cheering. Sh was dressed in a tight suit, somewhat of a modern pop diva outfit. She started to sing one of her songs, causing people to cheer frantically.

Sonic stood by the door. He was rather uninterested in the party. He nearly contemplated leaving; he was never really one to stay in one place for too long. "Hey sugah!" He heard a voice call to him. It was the rabbit from earlier, the one with the mechanical arm and legs.

Sonic waved with a grin on his face. "Ah hey. You're the girl that helped save the city from that bomb."

Bunnie nodded, giggling a little again. It was apparent now that she was easily pleased by flattery. "Ah, yes. Mah name is Bunnie. Bunnie Rabbot." She took her normal hand and shook his. "It's a pleasure ta meet ya." She rubbed her chin. "Say, haven't ah seen ya on the news a few months ago?"

Sonic folded his arms after shaking her hand. "Maybe. I sorta get that a lot. My name is Sonic The Hedgehog, but you can just call me Sonic."

Bunnie clasped her hands together, gasping a little. "Ah, now ah remember ya! You stopped that ARK incident a while back didn't cha?"

Sonic nodded as he put his hands behind his head. "Yeah yeah. I had a part in that." He blinked as a young man came towards him. He looked much like the mayor, though he was obviously younger. He was a thin ground squirrel with reddish hair. His eyes were blue and he wore rather professionally tailored clothing. It was obvious to Sonic that he must have been Acorn's son.

"Excuse me," he started. "My name is Elias Acorn, and I take it your the one who saved my father?"

Sonic nodded, waving a hand. "Eh, it was nothing really."

Elias kneeled down and bowed, causing Sonic to raise an eyebrow. "I thank you very much. When my sister and I saw the report we were filled with worry. If you and those other valiant warriors hadn't come we don't know what would have happened to our father."

Sonic sighed and rubbed his head. "I'm not a warrior. It's just what I do."

The young man nodded and stood to face him. "My father would like to have a word with you. I apologize, but I'm not sure why."

Sonic thanked him and began to walk over. The mayor was already engaging in a conversation with another man. He was an elderly hedgehog with swirly glasses. He had hardly any hair left, or rather all of it had went to his chin instead. He was wearing a lab coat that looked rather clean. Whatever work he did it obviously wasn't that strenuous. He was very eccentric; he seemed rather animated whenever he spoke. "I'm so sorry Tiara couldn't make it to the party," he started. "but her bus doesn't arrive back until tomorrow. I'm certain she would have wanted to be here."

Acorn waved his hand calmly with a smile. "It's quite alright. Plenty of people have already arrived. Elias seems happy, and I'm certain my daughter will be too. That is whenever she's finished getting dressed."

"Ah mayor." Sonic said. The mayor turned to face him. "Your son said you wanted to talk about something?"

He nodded, turning to the hedgehog. The old hedgehog went off to join his colleagues. "Ah yes. I need to ask another favor of you blue hero."

"It's Sonic." He replied. "And what kind of favor?"

"You see," he started, "When my daughter comes down we'll be playing her favorite song. And, well... I was wondering if you would be willing to have a dance with her."

Sonic blinked. "...Excuse me?"

"What I mean to say is, I think it would be rather sweet to see my daughter dance across the floor with a young man, and it'd be a little embarrassing for her to be dancing with her old man in front of so many people you see."

Sonic calmly shook his head. "Sorry mayor, but you're going to have to find someone else. I'm not really the kind who does that sorta..."

"I'm ready!" A voice called from up the stairs. The spotlights aimed towards the top of the stairs, illuminating the area quite nicely.

"Oh oh! Here she comes!" Acorn said, a vivid expression across his face.

Mina smiled and picked up a card to read off of. "Presenting, for her fifteenth birthday, Miss Sally Acorn!" Everyone clapped as a figure came out from the upstairs hallway on the left. She slowly walked into the spotlight, revealing herself.