The group were in the now enlarged lab working on the tunnel "Alexander Pell was a traitor. He stole my plans". He then spoke to two ants "Now, bring it down. Alright, lock it in. No, no, no. The bot is on the other side. Tighten that one down, then bring it down one notch". He walked over to Mina and Manic "Chuck, he could have fried the entire system" "Look, we'll adjust the relays while you go reprogram the settings, alright. It's going to be fine". Arthur goes and Mina inserts the component she got from Prank. Manic leaned against the console "So this is it" "Yeah. You'd think with all this time to prepare I'd be more ready" she laughed nervously. Manic nodded "Oh, going subatomic isn't something you can prepare for. It kind of melts your mind" "I meant seeing my mum again. What if she's a completely different person?". Manic nodded "Yeah, what if she's Solid Snake". Mina smiled "I'm serious, Manic" "Earthworm Jim" What if she's forgotten about me?". Manic tried to think of what to say "When I was in prison the only thing that got me through was Tania. I could have been locked up for 100 years I never would have forgotten her. I know your mum is counting the minutes until she can see you again". Mina stares at him touched "Thank you". Manic's phone rings and apologetically nods to Mina before answering "Hey, Max" "We got big problem. You forgot the motion sensor lights on the back of the building". Manic sighed "Oh, no" "And they're on the proposal, and Karapetyan asked for them specifically". He tried to think "Uh, yeah, look, it's been a little crazy. Look, maybe I could stop by tomorrow, take a look at it" "No. No, no, no. The meeting is first thing in the morning. You gotta come right now and fix it". Manic whispered "I can't. I wish I could, but I can't leave" "Then I'll come to you. I'll just bring the plans. They're on the laptop. And you can fix them there. Just tell me where you are, okay?". Manic sighed "It's complicated" "What do you mean it's complicated". Manic wondered if he should tell Max the lab was in the middle of a forest.
Allegra and Clifton were practicing a presentation "As you can see, sir, this system is state of the art" "Security of tomorrow, today". Max grinned "Oh, that's so good! And I love the lean-in, bro. Keep practicing. Hey, I just gotta drive up to Manny's so we can fix the plans". Max took a bag and a large blueprint "But don't worry, I'll be back in plenty of time. Oh, tell me you got the van washed for tomorrow morning" "Down to the undercarriage, baby". Max glared at them "You sprung for the undercharge wash" "You said get the works" "That's a scam." "He's right". They all turn to see Prank enter "The undercarriage wash, that's for cleaning off road salt laid down in our more snow-laden sister states". Max stared at him suspiciously "Who are you and why do you know so much about car wash protocol?" "Well, my name is Prank. And I do my research, Max. To wit, I have learned from a friend of mine at the FBI that you are a know associate of Manic the Hedgehog. A known associate of Arthur Mongoose, who I've also learned has a portable shrinking laboratory filled with all kinds of juicy tech". He leaned uncomfortably close "And you're gonna tell me where it is" "Well, I hate to break it to you, but I don't know what you're talking about". Prank tilted his head "Well, I sense a resistance in you, Max. And I have promised results to some dangerous people. So, I'm gonna introduce you to my good friend, Uzman". He pointed to a beetle who opened a small case "Now, Uzman is a master at extracting information from the unwilling through psychoactive means". Max sees a syringe inside "Oh, is that truth serum?" "There's no such thing as truth serum. That's juts nonsense from TV". Allegra scoffed "Well, what is it then" "It's a little concoction that he's perfecting since his days with Restoration. It makes you suggestible and highly responsive". Max smirked "Well, dude, that's truth serum" "No, it's not". Clifton shrugged "No offense, but they sound like truth serum to me". A human raised his gun "It's not a truth serum" "Okay, hey, I believe you" "It's not". Clifton again shrugged "I mean, if it walk like Chao and talk like Chao". Max stared at the syringe "Well, I have a lot of allergies so you might wanna think about that".
In a new place Chuck watched Lah inside her chamber "We've got to get that lab back. This chamber is barely helping anymore". Lah stared through the glass "How long have I got?". Chuck sighed "A couple of weeks, maybe". Lah began to wince in pain and fell to her knees covering her face. She eventually stopped and slowly stood back up now gritting her teeth "Well, then we'll make them bring it back. Manic. He has a daughter, right?" "You can't mean that". Lah doesn't say anything, "I tolerate a lot of the things you do out there, but I won't be a part of anything like that" "You're not the one who is about to fade away into nothing. You said you could fix me". She started to look scared "You promised" "I know. I will. But not like that. You lay one finger on that little girl, and I won't help you. And we're done". She lowers her head "I'm sorry. It just-" her hand trembles, "I know. We'll fix it. I promise".
Max was sitting in a chair and was injected "You know what? You're right. This isn't truth serum. Because I don't feel anything. That was a lie. I do feel something". His eyes opened wide "This is truth serum" "There's no such thing!". Prank stepped forward "Okay, okay. Now, I'm gonna make this real easy for you, Max". He sat in front of him "Where is Manic?" "Well, see, that's complicated. Because when I first met Manny, he was in a bad place. And I'm not talking about cell block D. His wife had just filed for divorce, and I was like 'Damn, homie. She dumped you when you're on lockup?' And he was, like, 'Yeah, I know. I thought I was gonna be with her forever but now I'm all alone'. And I was, like, 'Damn, homie. You know what? You gotta chin up, because you'll find a new partner. But you know what? I'm Max'. And he says, 'You know what? I'm Manny and we're gonna be best friends". Prank held up his hands stopping Max "Okay, hold on, hold on. I like a good story as much a the next person but what in the hell does this have to do with where Manic is?". Max smiled as he gazed into thin air "I'm getting there". Allegra sighed "You put a ring in him, you gotta let the whole song play out" "He like a Mobian jukebox" Clifton added. Max looked over to them "Oh, my abuelita had a jukebox in the restaurant! It only played one song but if anybody ever complained, she'd be like-" "Manic!" Prank yelled. Max nodded "Right, right, right. So, anyway, Manny gets out of jail, and he starts working for Arthur. That when we met Mina. And she's all, like 'I want nothing to do with you. Look at me, I'm all business'. And then Manny's, like, 'You know what, girl? My heart is all broken. And I'll probably never find love again, but damn I want to kiss you'. But then they all fast forward and they're all like into each other, right?".
Max starts kissing the air "And then Manny's, like, 'You know what? I can't tell' you this but I'm gonna go trash on airport with Shadow the hedgehog'. And then she said, 'I can't believe you split like that! Smell you later, dummy'. So, Manny goes on house arrest. And he won't admit it, but his heart is all, like 'Damn! I thought Mina coulda been my one true partner, but I blew it!'. But fate brought them back together. And then Mina's heart is all 'I'm worried that I can't trust him and he's gonna screw up again, and ruin everything! And then my heart is all, like 'That fancy raspberry filling represents the company's red and we're days away from going out of business'. Oh!". This got Allegra and Clifton's attention "Out of business?" "Days away?" "Damn truth serum!". He turned to them guiltily "I was trying to protect you guys. I swear to Gaia. I was trying to be a good boss, but we're broke! And the Karapetyan's our last hope. And if we don't show up, we're done!". Clifton looked betrayed "That's terrible bossing!". Allegra kicked the floor "Damn it, man!" "That's on me!" "HEY!". Prank took a breath venting his frustration "Enough. I'm gonna ask you one more time. Where is Manic?" "I've been trying to tell you, he's in a tricky spot, emotionally speaking" "Emotionally speaking. Well, where is Manic, LITERALLY SPEAKING!". Max nodded "Oh! The woods" "The woods?". Lah appeared in the middle of the room. Everyone screamed and jumped back "Boom Boo!" Clifton yelled in fear. Lah got in front of Max "What do you mean, the woods?" "The Muir Woods, second fire road off the Panoramic Highway!" "For Gaia's sake!" she left. Clifton rocked in his chair "Boom Boos, come at night. Little children, sleepy tight".
Prank gets outside and sees that his van's tires have been slashes "Damn it! If that freak gets that tech, I'm never gonna see it. It's easier to steal from the Feds than from the bogeyman". He makes a call "Hey, it's me. How'd you like to get a promotion? I got the location on Arthur, Mina and Manic. But you gonna have to take them down now because they ain't gonna be there for long. And when you do, you gonna get me that lab" "Understood". He hung up and turns to his men "Good news, gentlemen. Feds are gonna do the hard work for us".
A human agent entered Larry's office "Sir". Larry was practicing close up magic, and he dropped a few cards "Can you knock?" "Sorry, sir. Uh, but I got a lead" "Ooh. I love leads".
Mina and Arthur started to activate the machine "System's in the green" "Priming the coils" "Full charge. As soon as the tunnel's is open let us know if you get anything" she said to Manic. He nodded "Yeah, I will". Arthur and Mina both took an anxious breath before fully starting the machine "Here we go". The tunnel lights up, Mina grins and puts her hands on Arthur's shoulder "We did it!" "You got anything?". Manic waited a moment "Nothing" "Well, just give it a minute, because it could-". The machine suddenly stopped, Mina's face dropped "No. No, no, no! It's shutting down. Maybe our vectors are off" "We've gone over them a million times, I know they're right!". Manic slowly tilted his head and then stares down at his own hands. He touches them together and looks close to tears at feeling them. He then runs over to the laptop. The two see him "Manic, what're you doing?" "Manic, get away with that!". Manic shakes his hand "I'm sorry, I don't know how much time I have. I need to fix the algorithm" he was speaking differently. They noticed his movement were more feminine than usual. Manic nodded reassuringly "Trust me, after 30 years down here I've thought about it a lot". Arthur stared at Manic "Bella?". Manic smiles warmly and caresses Arthur's face "Hi, honey". Bella then turns to Mina and caresses her cheek "Jellybean". Mina stared at her in disbelief "Mum?". Bella's face slowly drops as she feels her daughter's face. She got back to the laptop trying to snap herself out of it "It's not the reunion I'd imagined. It's all so rushed. You two have done such great work. You just need a little nudge". She enters a code, and the tunnel starts up again.
Bella affectionately rubs their shoulders before running out to a console next to the tunnel. Arthur and Mina run after her "Bella, how is this possible?" "It wasn't a message you put in Manic's head. It was an antenna". Bella smiles "Clever girl. I'm so proud of you". Arthur grinned "Honey, tell us where you are. Tell us how to find you" "No, the probability fields are too complex. That's why I needed to talk to you. You have to follow my voice". Arthur understood what she meant "Of course". He got on the other laptop "I'm tracking your signal using subatomic frequencies between point two and point nine" "I'd narrow it to four and six" "That's too tight. We could miss you". Bella giggled "Look at us squabbling again" "Fine. Between three and seven". Bella took Arthur's hand "Our first fight in decades, and it's over just like that". The panels around the tunnel move and then the computer found the position "Bullseye" "We got it". Bella gulped and looked to Mina "You have to meet me at these exact coordinates. In the wasteland, beyond the quantum void. It's very dangerous, especially on the mind, so be careful. You have two hours, after that the probability fields will shift and it'll be another century before they align like this again". Mina nodded "We'll find you". Bella kissed Mina's head and she suddenly looked afraid "When you do, you need to be ready. You need to know I-". She suddenly stopped talking and she looked around bewildered. She sighed and shook her head "Nope. Nothing. No sign of Bella. Perfect" he was back to normal. Manic then noticed where he was "How did we get up here?" he then notices he was holding Arthur's hand and quickly let go.