Missing

Snively swallowed hard. He knew what ever followed was not going to go well.

"You filthy little big nosed liar!" Naugus roared. "I gave you a chance, I would have left you alone, but you lied to me!"

"What's he talkn' bout man," Decker whispered to Snively.

"What do you mean what am I 'talkn' bout'? Oh…" Naugus paused before smiling. "This is rich, so very rich. You didn't tell them. Well now it makes more sense. You knew it was your ass one way or the other, but I don't understand how you thought you had a better chance of hiding him from me!"

Decker looked back at Snively confused, "What didn't you tell us?"

Snively loosened a button on his collar, he was sweating profusely now, "I… I…"

"Robotnik isn't dead Lieutenant Decker. In fact he is in this room."

Decker turned back toward Snively, "He isn't joking is he?"

Snively tried to respond but words just wouldn't come out.

"Show me, now!" Naugus said firmly.

Snively shook his head, "Even if I have him, he is as good as dead."

"Perhaps to you," Naugus replied.

Snively remembered his abstract security protocol. Naugus wouldn't even be talking with him if he had cracked it. Both he and Nicole were too smart for their own good.

Snively started laughing, "You can't crack it can you? I bet that has to be eating at you right now. And the fact that Nicole can't either really has to hurt."

Naugus went white with rage, "Do not test me Colin!"

"If I were, you would have failed," Snively laughed even harder.

Naugus walked up to Snively and placed the stun gun squarely on his forhead. "Laugh just one more time."

"I don't know if I would do that if I were you," Snively said coolly. "Who knows what that could do to my memory? I wouldn't want to forget that password now would I."

Naugus lowered the gun. "What do you want for him?"

"My city back," Snively said sharply.

"It's a little late for that don't you think."

"Not while I have him."

"Naugus raised the gun again." You don't have a lot to bargain with you know that"

"Then consider this a bluff."

Naugus lowered the gun again. "Fine have it your way. You give me Kintobor, I will let you have your city back for the day. I'll even throw in your life for added incentive. But that's as good as it's going to get."

Snively knew well enough to take the deal, "Fine, Ellie show Naugus what he wants to see."

"I want the pass code!" Naugus replied hastily.

"That wasn't part of the deal."

Naugus face turned white with anger again, but before he said anything he turned his focus to the side panel of the room opening up where Robotnik's lifeless body was suspended in green fluid.

Naugus was near speechless as he approached the glass, "I… I have waited for so long."

Snively motioned to Decker that they should be leaving. While Naugus was distracted the two silently made for the exit.

As they ran down the hallway Snively managed to spit out, "I hope you don't have an issue with heights," in-between his breathes.

"Kind of, why?"

"Because you are not going to like this next part very much," Snively said as grabbed Decker and dragged him into an open elevator shaft.

Snively just closed his eyes, but Decker screamed so hard he nearly passed out. The two of them landed softly at the bottom in a pool of a strange ooze like liquid that rolled right off of them when they stood up.

"What the hell is this stuff?" Decker yelled frantically.

"Kinetic fluid," Snively said as he pried open the doors to the basement floor. "It cancels out inertia, great for runaway elevators."

"You don't say," Decker said still clearly having a hard time believing he was alive.

"Don't just stand there, give me a hand with this! We need to find Simmons and Sonic."


Elias wondered around the bustling city as the sun faded behind buildings and over the horizon. He wasn't sure why he tagged along on Sonic and Sally's trip to Phoenix, but it was remarkable to behold a different life style. He was used to the simplistic almost nomadic principles of the overlanders who lived high up in the mountains. Even with the relatively small population of Overlanders, neighborhoods had already begun to form. Walking from one to the other a change in accent was as easy to hear as night and day was to see.

As Elias walked through downtown he stumbled across the cities hub. Snively ran the entire city from within. He peered inside its glass doors and noticed and elderly man approaching the doors. Elias reached for the door and held it open for him.

The man smiled, "It to see that some people still have manors, a mobian no less. You would think a few years on a space ship made everyone forget about common courtesy."

"Perhaps it did," Elias remarked.

That made the man chuckle, "Yes it would certainly help explain a lot."

The man paused a moment before asking, " I don't suppose you have a minute or two?"

Elias seemed shocked that an overlander had taken such an interest in him. "I don't have any pressing matters, how can I help?"

"Such a well spoken and polite lad. Come, come have a cup of coffee with me. I am a bit of a sucker for history and I think I am missing thirty years or so. Perhaps you could fill me in?"

"I would be happy to help you fill in what I know, but I am afraid I was missing myself for quite some time."

The two walked along the busy sidewalk in search of a cafe, basking in the evening's warm muggy air.

"Tell me exactly, how does one go missing?" The man asked as he took a seat at a small round table in front of coffee bar.

"In my case, I ran away," Elias responded with a touch of emotion present in his voice.

"Ahh, I am sorry to hear that. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Excuse me? Elias asked, "I don't understand."

"You didn't run away because you didn't like what was here, you don't strike me as that type of person. My guess is you ran away because something was missing in your life and you wanted to find it."

Elias had never looked at his action that way. He always assumed he ran away in fear his father's shadow. Elias contemplated the revalation while the gentleman ordered the two of them drinks.

"I have never thought of it like that," Elias remarked. "I believe I was missing a level of meaning in my life that I knew I wasn't going to find where I was at the time."

"And where were you at this time?"

Elias grinned ever so slightly because the man had no idea who he was.

"In the middle of a war with Julian Kintobar with my father breathing down my neck."

The man's eyes widened slightly, "Ah, an Acorn. Well this certainly explains your manners and you ability to carry yourself in a conversation. This is a most welcome circumstance for me. It's very nice to meet you…?"

"Elias."

"Elias, I am afraid you came into this world after I went missing, but I did know your father when he was your age. He was a very respectful ma… or well being. I am sorry for your loss."

"That's kind of you to say."

"So tell me of this war, what did that mad man do in our absence?"

"I am afraid this is what I know relatively little about. But even before I left he began to turn us into robots and used us as mindless slaves to build his empire.

"How cruel, the entire premise of roboticization was to help people. It was a targeted procedure for restoring limbs and helping the elderly. Julian always found a way to twist even the best inventions into something evil."

The man's knowledge caught Elias off guard, "Who exactly are you?"

"My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Dr. Ixis Naugus. I am sad to say I used to work with Julian. But do go on," Naugus said before sipping at his espresso.

The rest is, well, uneventful aside from the freedom fighters. My sister led a small but effective resistance and was able to re-take much of what we lost. She would know the most, or even better would be Nicole.

Naugus ears perked up at the mention of that name, something Elias did not fail to notice.

The man finished what was left of the tiny drink he ordered and prodded his wrist computer, "I am sorry to leave on such short notice, but I almost forgot I am expecting a delivery. It's… perishable you see, I wouldn't want to be late. Thank you for your time, I hope we run into each other again.

Elias smiled and nodded his head.

"You know my sister has a PDA just like that," Elias said as the man stood up.

A small look of worry briefly flashed across Naugus' face but the man was quick to suppress it.

"Does she? They were quite common back in my day, no doubt she found one. Quite handy little devices they are. I don't think I would ever know where I am or what I was doing without it.

Elias eyed the stranger cautiously as he turned to leave. He knew something was off despite his immaculate outward appearance. Had he not been in such a public place, Elias would have immediately retreated to his dreamscape to in search of the stranger's secrets. If only they had met before, Elias would have already known, but it was impossible to search for someone or something that one does not know exists.

The squirrel lapsed into further though as he sipped the dark bitter liquid from a tiny porcelain cup. The beverage was unique and left him feeling energized. His mind raced for answers in an unfathomably focused state. The strong flavor was reminiscent to the spices he had become accustomed to on his travels.

The streets were a noisy place and Elias found himself lost in the commotion. This was not a place for him, but it intrigued him all the same. He had become so used to living in solace that the constant motion of life had developed a slightly newer appear that he couldn't explain. Despite the artificiality that sounded him, there was some sanctity in the steal forest. Wind flowed between buildings, but instead of leaves rustling there was thunderous parade of footsteps. Long shadows and sharp reflection distorted the landscape. Nothing was the same, but yet the similarities between this place and what he called home remained, drawing him further into an industrialized world he thought he had left behind.

Across the street, Elias spotted Snively and another overlander ducking out of an alley was as if trying to remain unseen. After a brief exchange of words, the two split up and Snively headed in his direction.

"Colin," Elias called out.

One would think the man had just committed murder the way he jumped out of his skin upon hearing his name.

Snively cautiously looked around before approaching the squirrel. He pulled up the seat that Naugus had been sitting in and leaned in close.

"Is everything alright Colin?"

"Not really. We have a bit of an issue and I really need Sonic.

Elias was taken aback when he saw the true level of fear in Snively's eyes. "What's wrong?"

It's, it's nothing. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I tagged along with Sonic and my sister. Thought I would check this place out for myself. Oh and while you are here, do you ever remember working with a Dr. Naugus?"

Snively's face drained of color, "Yes… why do you ask?"

"I was just talking with him. He is an odd man, polite to say the least, but there is something off about him."

"You were just talking with him? Right now? What did he say?"

"He just wanted to know what happened while he was gone. I told him as much as I knew, which wasn't much."

"And where did he go?"

"Not really sure, just said he was expecting some kind of delivery. One that was perishable?"

"Oh no, he is moving him," Snively whispered to himself, but the squirrel still heard. It was common for Overlander's to underestimate the Mobian's superior hearing. Suddenly things began to click into place.

Elias snickered a little at Colin's misfortune, "How did you of all people let him steal Julian?"

Snively nearly jumped out of his seat, "How, how do you know about that?"

"I have always known. I don't think you ever took my gift as seriously as you should have."

"Then why didn'y you say anything or tell anyone?"

"That secret was yours and not mine to share. My ability requires that I respect the secrets I find, otherwise it would not be long before I found myself extorting people. More than that, I respect you. You found the prospect of being a leader more appealing that an tyrant and I commend that. Lesser men with your gifts would have abused them as many already have. A life of helping others may not be glamorous, Colin, but it makes me happy to see that you have found the value in it."

Elias could see that Snively was moved by his words, but the concern was still there.

"That man didn't just steal Julian Kintobor," Snively said in a serious tone. "He stole Nicole too, and together they are in the process of stealing my city."

"How did he steal Nicole?"

"He created her; he must have had a back door. That's not the issue right now. What we need to do is find Sonic and Simmons. I am in over my head and I don't know what to do."

Elias couldn't help but agree.


Having just nearly soiled himself after being thrown down an elevator shaft, Decker was excited to find daylight again. The two had spent what felt like an hour prying open an elevator door only to be lost in a basement. The back alley had yet to become a shady area, but the both checked either direction, perhaps out of habit from when they were younger.

"See if you can find Tails," Snively said. "He might be the only other one who can help slow them down. My bet is you can find him in his penthouse. I will head over to Simmons to see if I can't find him or Sonic."

"Right, and what do I tell them?" Decker asked.

"What do you mean what do you tell them? Do I need to tell you what just happened? What is still happening?"

Decker shook his head in response.

"Good then get going, time is not on our side."

Snively bolted across the street with little regard for traffic leaving Decker alone on the side walk.

Decker stood still gathering his bearings before he also set off. The building he needed towered above everything else, making finding his destination easy.

By the time he reached the door, Decker was out of breath. Just moving the massive glass doors seemed to be a daunting task. With a swipe of his card the elevator opened and he stepped inside. With a simple command he overrode the code and was on his way to the top.

When the doors opened a minute later, Decker still found himself out of breath. He nearly collapsed into Tails apartment.

"Lieutenant, you look like you have had better days," Simmons said as Decker stumbled into Tails pent house. "What's wrong?"

"Better days," Decker laughed. "This has got to be the worst day ever! I was knocked unconscious with a stun gun, had to type non-stop for hours disabling all of our ships, nearly had my face melted off by an exploding computer, found out Colin has been keeping Kintobor alive, and to top things off I was thrown down an elevator shaft. How were all of your days?" Decker said as he took a seat at the table and hastily tipped Vince's glass of whisky into his mouth.

Everyone one looked blankly at Decker unsure what to believe. Decker stared back waiting for one of them to say something.

"So," Sonic said, "You mentioned something about butnik in there."

"Yeah sure lets gloss over the part where I almost died three times and go right to the only thing anyone cares about. What is it with that guy? Naugus stopped at nothing to get his hands on him."

"I thought he was locked up?" Simmons suggested.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that Naugus escaped, took some Nicole AI thing hostage, captured Kintobor and is taking over the city."

"Yeah," Sonic said, "You kind of skipped right over that part."