A Fissure Among the Factions Part 1

by MistressAli

The 3rd story in my New Season series. Yay! Robotnik is tiring of being under Nagus's control, and trouble is brewing for Snively in Knothole.

1. Chapter 1

A Fissure Among the Factions (c) 01-02 by me, MistressAli
All "Sonic the Hedgehog" characters and related indicia (c) and TM Sega/Archie/and DIC.
Used without permission.

This document may be freely distributed, as long as it's not altered in any way.
Ok, peoples, this story contains: violence, swearing, and a lil bit of sexual things. I love comments so like... email me already. Cu_

This story is the third in the New Season series, therefore it takes place after the New Season and For Whom the Gavel Pounds. This is split into two parts. The funny thing is, I split it so I wouldn't be writing so much; both parts were supposed to be pretty short and quick to write, but *sigh* I ended up getting long-winded as usual, so this first part here is rather *long*.

Since it is so lengthy, I split Part 1 into 3 chapters.

(To VahnRPG: I may post a revised version of this, if we ever get around to talking, that is! And to Kris: Love ya, you're always an inspiration :P)

A Fissure Among the Factions
Part One : The Theft

~I've been meaning to tell you
I've got a feeling that won't subside
I look at you and fantasize
You're mine tonight~
- Eric Carmen "Hungry Eyes"

~Chapter 1~

"You failed."

He turned to see the looming form of his uncle, shadowed, only those red pupils glowing.

"You failed."

He spun on tiny booted feet to see the owner of this second voice. He saw sharp teeth, a misshapen form... the wizard, Nagus.

A snarl touched the little man's face. "You..." he hissed at both of them.

They stepped forward, matching each other's footsteps to advance on him.

"Shall we... crush the worm?" Nagus asked with a mad giggle.

"Yes, crush the worm," said Robotnik in a hollow tone, both fists clenching.

"You crush him," came a third voice, and the small man felt hot breath on the back of his neck, "And I'll hang him." He didn't have to turn. He recognized the cultured voice instantly. King Acorn...

"Leave me be!" he cried, but surrounded by these three threats, he had nowhere to go...

Hands grabbed his arms from behind, pulling them sharply behind his back. He struggled in King Acorn's grip, eyes widened as Robotnik and Nagus moved closer, malicious smiles splayed across their faces.

"Crush the worm, crush the worm..." mad chanting rose to a fever pitch, just barely drowning out the screams as bones broke and blood spilt under their onslaught...

"Crush the..."

***

"NO!"

A tiny body flailed its arms, falling with a thud onto the wooden floor.

He blinked, tangled in the blanket, blinked again, clearing the cobwebs of sleep away.

He was in Bunnie's hut; had been dreaming from his bed on the couch. He wrapped arms around himself, mummering reassurances... he was safe... he was safe...

"Are ya'll alright, sugah?" came Bunnie's pleasant voice; she was sitting at her little kitchen table, drinking...what else, he mused, but carrot tea...

"I'm fine," he replied.

She blinked mossy green eyes and smiled; so dazzling it made the sunlight filtering through the window look weak.

"That's good sugah...what do ya'll want for breakfast?"

He shook his head, knowing he ought to be used to it by now. For the two months he'd been here she'd pampered him like a brand new pet. He had a feeling it would last too, it was just her nature to be overly kind.

"The usual, I suppose," he shrugged and proceeded to disengage himself from the blanket. After doing so, he folded it neatly and draped it over the back of the couch.

There was a knock on the door. Bunnie opened it and smiled at the skunk who stood there.

"Well good mornin', Geoffrey, what a surprise..."

The tiny one scowled from his place by the couch as Geoff's murky blue eyes locked with his; he oughta be used to this too...the big brute checked up on him every morning.

"Is everything all right, Ms. Bunnie?" Geoffrey sat at the table after Bunnie beckoned him to enter. "Ya know if ole Snively ever gets bothersome, I'll take 'im off your hands."

"Oh no, Snively's no problem at all!" Bunnie cheerily mixed some ingredients into a bowl, and slapped the mixture into a pan.

"Whatcha making?" asked Geoff, then turned to give Snively a sneer as the small human seated himself at the table.

The expression was returned accordingly. "Why don't you get out of here?" It shot out in a nasty tone.

"Why don't you go *hang* around somewhere else?" Out came a black finger, poking Snively soundly in the chest.

"Boys, boys," chided Bunnie, "Stop all ya'lls bickerin' an' grab some cakes while they're hot."

"They look mighty good, Ms. Bunnie," Geoff was all charm and smiles this morning as he took three pancakes from the pile.

"Yes, very," said Snively, giving Geoff a sour look, taking his usual two and adding a bit of syrup. The skunk had smothered his in the sweet liquid and it dripped off his fork as he began to eat.

Bunnie took two for herself, smoothing butter over, but no syrup. She'd just barely settled herself into the chair when knocking came again from the door.

"Come in!" she called, rising from the seat.

"Goooood morning, mon ami!" came a crooning accented voice and in bounded the French fox, pouncing upon Bunnie and scooping her in a hug. She laughed and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

Geoffrey, munching pancakes, couldn't help but notice the scowl that touched Snively's face as he watched the display of affection.

"Awwww," he taunted, leaning forward. "Whatsa matter, ya want a piece of that bunny tail?"

Cold blue eyes settled on him, scowl deepening, Snively pulled back his fork and let a sticky hunk of pancake splatter the skunk's face. "Keep your sick fantasies to yourself."

Geoff growled and was on his feet in seconds. Antoine turned and smirked; both to Geoffrey's sticky face and Snively, whose shirt was now in the skunk's grip.

Snively sighed and tried to squirm away, but it was a chiding glare from Bunnie that made Geoff release his grip.

The tiny human sighed again... these three were the ones he knew best in Knothole. Him and Bunnie, well, they got along, she liked him. He looked down at his plate...yes, his feelings stretched past liking, and he looked towards Antoine.

They shared a mutual distrust of each other, Antoine held him in contempt, for the fox knew of the small human's feelings towards Bunnie, and he didn't care for it at all.

"Aw, sorry Ms Bunnie, but Snively's bein' an ass as usual," said Geoffrey sweetly, smiling as Bunnie and Antoine took seats at the table.

"Oh shore, shore," Bunnie rolled her eyes and took a bite of her pancake. Antoine whimpered and Bunnie fed him the next bite with a wide smile.

Snively couldn't bear to look at that much longer; he felt jealous and didn't care for the sensation...he'd never been one for being competitive over women. But he couldn't help it, teeth clenching as her sweet fingers stroked the fox's cheek...

He forced himself to look away, gaze locking on the skunk. Now there was an emotion he was familiar with, dislike, hate rather. Geoff glared back; the feeling was mutual.

They eyed each other coldly for a few moments, then both resumed eating.

"So what's all goin' down in the village today?"

Geoffrey took a bite. "Rope-makin'," he said, eyes resting on Snively.

"Your weak attempt at humor fails to impress." A heavy scowl touched Snively's face and he was strongly tempted to hurl the plate at Geoff; he'd had his share of lynching jokes, and even worse, the thin ice he treaded on whenever near the ornery Acorn King... the monarch wanted him swinging from a rope, more than anything else in the world.

Geoffrey stuck out his tongue. Bunnie sighed, but a nudge from Antoine distracted her and she fed him another bite. "Ya'll are eatin' all of mine, getcher own!" she said amidst giggles.

"Now really, what's happenin'?" she asked Geoff.

The skunk rolled his eyes. "Oh, the usual. The pincushion is running round like a moron. And everyone thinks it's really somethin' special." Eyes rolled again. "And I think Sally," there was a very noticeable lick of the lips given, "is talkin' about some new mission or another."

Antoine shivered a little. "Oh I am hating missions!"

Geoffrey smiled around a mouthful of pancake. "You're sucha chickenshit, Antoine."

The fox sniffed. "I am not being a poultry poop!"

Snively stifled a laugh and shook his head, setting his fork carefully down onto his empty plate. Bunnie giggled and ruffled the fox's golden hair. He sniffled and smoothed it back into place. The small human stared down at the puddle of syrup that remained on his plate, then picked it up and carried it over to the sink, washing it off and replacing it back in the cupboard.

Geoffrey sighed and stood up, rubbing his white belly. "That sure hit the spot, thanks ta ya, Ms Rabbot."

"Oh, it was nothin'," She smiled sweetly, "glad ya liked it."

Geoffrey eyed Snively as he took Bunnie's empty plate away, and shoved his own towards the Overlander. "Here."

Sniv gave him his typical sour look and took the plate. While the water ran, and dishes became clean, Geoffrey leaned back in his chair and turned his eyes onto the two lovebirds. "So, ya'll up for the mission?"

"Depends on what it is." Bunnie sighed a little. "Seems whateva we do, it just ain't doin' nothin' ta help."

"Hey now," Geoffrey shook his finger. "At least we're showing him we ain't gonna take his shit."

"Maybe. But we need ta hurt him. Not just annoy him."

Geoffrey snorted. "We do hurt 'im. Just not bad. Maybe if a certain someone gave us some tips about him."

Snively crossed his arms over his chest. "Like what, stinko? He's magical, and mean...that's all I can say."

Geoffrey stood up. "Call me another name, needlenose, and I'll have ta hurt ya... an' don't gimme that crap, ya could tell us things about the city, ways to get inta secret files an' crap."

"I would," Snively retorted, "but that bast..." he cut himself off before completing the insult, "...King Acorn doesn't like me going on missions. Thanks to you lying to him about me."

"Cruiky! I thought you gave away Knothole, what the hell else could I do?"

"Piss on that!... you knew very well I hadn't... you just... just have some vendetta against me."

Geoffrey was steadily moving closer to the small human. "And why shouldn't I? After what your kind have done. After what YOU'VE done."

Bunnie made an 'ahem' noise in her throat, but both men were seemingly ignoring her, practically in each other face's now; Geoff's flat black nose pressed to the human's pointed one.

"Oh, but that's all in the past now..." Snively acknowledged her by a roll of his blue eyes in her direction. "Right, Ms. Rabbot? I'm a good boy now..."

She twitched an eyebrow... she didn't believe he was evil... no, but 'good boy' was perhaps a step too far. "Ya'll are alright, but ya shouldn't be startin' fights."

"Me?" Snively looked innocent. "It wasn't me. Commander Stinko here is just a bigot."

"BIGOT?" Geoffrey's teeth shone in a snarl and he gave Snively a hard shove, knocking him to the floor. A magenta boot descended and pinned him down hard with the heel in his stomach. The human gagged and tried to wiggle away. "YOUR KIND DESERVE TO DIE!!"

"Fuck you." It was spat out.

Geoffrey snarled further, and his boot lifted, only to slam down again. Snively's eyes went wide as air rushed out, lost, and he could only gasp and squirm under the skunk's boot, now pressing down hard onto his delicate ribcage.

"HEY NOW!!" Bunnie's metal feet were loud as they stomped across the floor towards the two. "YA'LL KNOCK IT OFF OR GIT OUTTA MY HOUSE! I WON'T HAVE ANY OF THIS ROUGHNESS IN HERE!"

Geoffrey smirked just slightly, then bowed. "My apologies, Ms. Rabbot. I'll be leavin' now." Then he straightened up and strode out the door. Antoine's eyes followed him as he went and he shook his head.

"He eez a brute."

"Yeah," said Bunnie, helping Snively up. He sank down into the couch, one hand resting on his stomach, and gave her a little nod, coupled with an apologetic smile.

She shook her finger sternly at him. "You antagonize him, sugah, and then act surprised when he bites."

"He's an asshole..."

She shook her head. "Ya'll better watch yer mouth too, I ain't likin' that kind of language."

His eyes narrowed, but the look on her face made him look down at the floor, mumbling, "yes, Ms. Rabbot, sorry..." He didn't want her mad at him.

A sigh came from her and she turned away, and went to Ant's side, taking his hand. "We're gonna go see what that mission is about. Ya'll might want to check it out too." They were out the door, with Antoine flipping a snide "Bonjour Snipley," over his shoulder.

Shoulders heaved as he too sighed, watching them leave, then his head flopped wearily against the couch back. He closed his eyes for a long moment.

Knothole. Living here. It seemed to be such a treacherous affair. Yes, he was mostly safe under the thatch roofing of Bunnie's hut, but outside? The people still gazed at him with suspicion, some with malice. He'd been caught while out walking about the village one night and they'd thrown him into the dirt, kicked him in the ribs. Spitting their curses and flinging out the word 'Overlander' as if it were the very epitome of evil.

And King Acorn! He was the worst by far. His sharp eyes seemed to follow Snively's every movement, waiting silently like a patient cat for the mouse. He was waiting for a slip-up, anything, anything to get his noose around the human's slender neck.

'A noose of all things.' A dry laugh echoed in his head. 'How primitive, you think they'd have something more... futuristic.'

But what was so futuristic about an execution anyhow? Whether it be death by noose, or sword, or laser pistol or fists or gas or whatever the hell other ways there could be to kill something... it all boiled down to the same thing... the taking of a life.

So what the hell did it matter? King Acorn just seemed to prefer using the rope.

He twitched a little and rubbed his neck, almost feeling the cruel tightness of the rope there again, cutting off his air, chafing his skin so hard it left rope burns that had stayed for days.

He opened his eyes and gazed around the hut, taking in the wooden walls, the paintings and decorations on the wall, then down to the flowered print of the couch he sat on. He just wanted to stay in here. It was safe.

But he couldn't. He'd tried and he'd always get dragged out eventually. 'Oh, we need you for a mission'. 'Oh, you should try to blend in and mingle'. 'Oh, you won't ever be trusted if people don't get to know you'.

He growled to himself and slid from the sofa, booted feet hitting the floor. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed he was looking alright. Today he was wearing a green vest that didn't quite reach his waist, opened over a light gray shirt, and dusty brown cargo pants. So it didn't exactly coordinate color wise, but he had to make due with whatever Bunnie found for him.

His hand found the doorknob and twisted it. He drew in a deep breath and then stepped out.

He blinked as the bright sunlight hit his face, and his feet moved softly along the dirt and grass ground, past the main gardens and towards the meeting hall.

Outside, there was a small group consisting of Sally, Sonic, Bunnie, Antoine and Geoffrey. Lounging against one of the trees was the large dragon Dulcy. He skirted around her carefully; she had a cute childlike personality around most; around him she wasn't exactly nice.

"...get the backup. Group B... the main," Sally was saying, and Snively rolled his eyes, taking a position near one of the trees, leaning his shoulder against it. They were going after the generators again, it seemed. Couldn't they ever think up anything new?

"You hit the generators, he has them back up in hours, a day at the most. It's useless."

Sally and Sonic turned their heads in unison, both gazing at him in annoyance.

"You have a better plan, Snobley?" Sonic demanded.

He lifted an eyebrow. "All you do is overload the generators. Why not destroy them completely...?"

Sally snorted. "Oh, sure, like we have the power to do that. We don't have enough explosives!"

"Then get enough."

"Like how?"

He smiled; an annoying quirk of his lips. "That's your problem."

"Look." Sally's tone was stern. "We don't have time for your bullshit, Snively, now either help us or go away."

"I'd rather not." He remained leaning there. Sally glared at him and turned her attention back to the others. "Ok, Group A... Bunnie and Antoine. Group B, me and Sonic, of course."

Geoffrey was making a hmmmmm noise and then spoke aloud. "Could you like... put a virus or somethin' into the generators to screw it up?"

"Possibly," said Sally.

"What for?" asked Sonic.

"To screw it up, duh," the skunk poked the hedgehog, who poked back. It seemed a fight would break out, but Sally stepped between them.

"Knock it off. Putting a virus in, overloading, either way, he'll be crippled for a while."

"Big deal," Snively threw in. "Crippled? So what... you never move in for the kill..."

"And how," Sally turned to him once more, "exactly are we supposed to do that? HUH? We can't destroy the entire city! We move in when the generators are down, we wreck some factories, we do what we can."

"And he rebuilds, and then you wreck, and he rebuilds, honestly... this is what drove me mad when I was a Robotroplian... the same old thing, over and over. Except you people don't get beaten for it."

"Oh can the poor mistreated lackey shtick," the Princess growled. "I'm tired of hearing your sob stories."

Snively scowled... he rarely complained about how harsh his life had been in Robotropolis. A comment slipped out here and there but that was it, and his eyes narrowed. "I'll can it if you stop your pathetic whining about how Nagus always has the upper hand. He has it because you don't know how to lead your group..."

Her blue boots moved quickly towards him, till she was only a few feet away, and then she stood with hands on hips. "I've led this group since I was 7 years old, and I don't need any skinny punk telling me what to do. Especially since you're one of the ones I had to fight against." She shook a finger at him. "And we brought Robotnik down, and we brought you down, and we got my father back, so don't you DARE say we haven't done anything, YOU BASTARD!!" Her voice rose to a fever pitch, and her eyes blazed, teeth snarled in fury.

He couldn't resist. "You just got lucky."

Sally wasn't usually crude. She usually could control herself. But her temper fled at that moment and she tackled him, fists flying out to pommel him. Sonic rushed over and pulled her off, clasping his arms around her.

"Yo Yo, Sal! Calm down!"

Snively gazed up at her with a demure smile, sprawled on the ground. "My, my Princess... is that the kind of control you exhibit over your group as well?"

She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, then clutched Sonic's arms. "I'm alright now, Sonic."

He released her.

She looked coolly at the small human. "I would appreciate it if you kept your comments to yourself, but it's just your nature to be a complete ass, so I'll just ignore you from now on."

He smirked, standing up. "Whatever you say, Princess... just don't expect to drag me on any more missions..."

"We don't need YOUR help. So stop flattering yourself."

Bunnie excused herself from Ant's grasp, and took ahold of Snively's arm, leading him out of earshot. They stopped by the power ring pool and she sat on the log there and just stared at him. He looked out over the water.

"An' what was that all about, huh?"

"Just doing what I do best."

"Ya'll really need ta drop this bad attitude."

"Why should I?" he demanded, glaring over at her. "And why the fuck do you care?"

She stood and her hand drew back, but his own darted out and clamped upon it. "What are you going to do, Ms Rabbot? Hit me? You're just like all the others..."

She looked down at the ground. "No. Ya jest... ya jest..." She sighed. "Ya taunt, sugah, like Ah said before, ya antagonize people ta the point where all they wanna do is strike out."

He sat down on the log, but not next to her, rather, right on the end and stared down at the dirt. She was right, wasn't she? He knew he made people angry with him, and he knew they usually resorted with violence.

But dammit, he'd never been able to talk around Julian. If he spoke his mind, if he even dared argue, it was a slap in the face, a punch to the belly, a screaming barrage of insults on how wrong he was and how right Julian ALWAYS was.

And that was it. He mumbled as he looked down at a patch of moss. "I can't help it. It just comes out. I guess... I guess I'm just frustrated."

He felt something soft enclose his hand; Bunnie's fingers. "Ah know it's hard, sugah... but they'll come ta accept ya'll. It'll jest take some time."

"How much time?" He looked up at her with a wrinkled brow.

"Ah don't know."

"King Acorn will never let it go..."

"He will, sugah, ya jest have ta prove ta him that ya'll are good now, ya have to show him ya'll are really a Freedom Fighta now." She winked. "An' a good start would be not ta insult his daughta!"

"The Princess," he mumbled again. "She's prissy... I can't stand her."

"Hey now, that's mah friend, an' I know she can be pushy, but she's got a lot on her shoulders, hon, she has a lot of responsibility, a lot of worries, an' its hard for her. An' you stood there an' basically told her all her work was pointless and flawed. That ain't nice, or fair, now, ya'll know that."

Her hand was loosening from his and he almost whimpered. He didn't want her to let go. He wanted her closer, and gazing up, staring into those light green orbs, he felt a strange tightening in his stomach. God, she was beautiful.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'll try harder. But just for you, Ms. Rabbot." He managed a smile.

"Thank ya'll sugah." She beamed, and patted his hand before releasing it. He stood up, much too quickly, and his arms acted on their own accord, wrapping around her in an embrace.

"No, thank you," it was whispered against the silken fur of her graceful neck, and he fought back the vicious urge to kiss and nibble there. "You're the only one who's kind to me, and I'm grateful for that, I really am..."

She laughed a little and shifted her shoulders. "Alright sugah, no need to get all mushy on me!"

He let go and blushed furiously, eyes traveling out over the water again. There was an awkward silence, then her voice crept out.

"Ah better get back ta the meeting. See ya later at dinner, alright?"

"Yes." He nodded, but didn't look at her, not until she was walking away. His eyes wandered over the sway of her hips, the exposed portion of her back from her purple bodysuit, the glint of light off her roboticized limbs. So uniquely beautiful.

Then he shook his head.

'Stop thinking about her like that. For God's sakes. She's an animal.'

But he couldn't deny it, the ache in his body, the way his breath quickened.

He had a bad case of bunny-love.

**

He supposed the mission had gone well. They were all out there, celebrating.

But for what? Nagus would only have things up and running again in a few days. And it would be like they'd done nothing.

He watched from the shadows of the forest, sitting cross-legged under a tree on a bed of moss. The Freedom Fighters were gathered around a fire, talking, laughing, eating.

Snively wasn't hungry. Bunnie hadn't been able to fulfill her promise of dinner, but he'd found enough leftovers in her fridge to satisfy his hunger. She always cooked way too much. And Antoine was constantly bringing over his French dishes, which were always quite tasty.

Nobody noticed he was gone. He could do anything he pleased, and right now, his thoughts turned to the still waters of the power ring pool. They would be in turmoil in a few moments, as the golden ring of pure energy arose from them, and his hand would be there to catch it.

He already had two of them. He gathered them discreetly, one time when no one was guarding, and one time when Antoine was there on duty, but asleep. He snickered, some guard the French Fox was, falling asleep while on watch.

But he'd done that too, back in Robotropolis. 'At least Frenchie didn't get put in the infirmary for it,' a whiny voice in his mind squealed, but he shoved it away and stood, heading down for the power ring pool.

A dark smile twisted his lips then. Ole Julian was now on the receiving end of the torment. Nagus was not a forgiving master, and Snively had seen him dish out the punishment generously upon his fat uncle. Oh, how Robotnik had writhed and begged under the onslaught of magical power. Oh, how Snively had smirked and snickered at that...God, it felt good to see Robotnik get a taste of his own bitter medicine.

'He must be getting it tonight. Hmmmm, I wonder what Nagus is doing this time? Electric magic?'

That was the wizard's favorite. Crackling static energy around that crab-claw of his, cruel lighting bolts, zapping charges of pure white light, and he engulfed his victim in sizzling pain.

Snively twitched a little, blinking, and suddenly shivered. He saw flashes of light. Bad memories. Robotnik had sometimes tortured him with electro-shock... and it hurt so bad and... NO!

'Stop it... that's over now... he can't get you anymore... he can't...'

"GAH!" His vision was assaulted by a flare of golden light, so bright it made his eyes hurt. He heard the bubbling of water and then realized it was the power ring!

He charged forward, booted feet splashing into the water, and his hand shot out, clamping around the ringlet of energy before it could drop down into the pool. He held it in both hands, gazing at it. It was a beautiful thing, shimmering gold, and he tucked it inside his opened vest. Then he zipped it up, hiding the ring from sight.

He didn't know why he wanted them, exactly. But they were powerful, and if he could tap into that power somehow... well it would help him when it came time to bring these Freedom Fighters down and assume his rightful position of leading Robotropolis.

So he headed off to Bunnie's hut to hide the ring in the bottom drawer of Bunnie's wardrobe, where he kept his clothes. She never touched them. It would be safe there...

**

'This is hardly my idea of a good time.'

Robotnik was not a happy camper.

For one, he was losing weight. That was not a good thing. The weight loss was caused by the fact he had much less time to eat, and the rumble in his belly had become more painful than irritating as of late.

For two, he didn't care for his new title, which consisted of 'slave.'

For three, he didn't care for the words he had to speak to the wizard... "Master."

Living under Ixis Nagus was no party for the ex-tyrant.

And days like this were the worst. For the 'accursed beasties' as Nagus so hatefully referred to them as... had destroyed pieces of Robotropolis yet again. They preyed upon the factories and power stations like a disease intent on killing its host, no matter how hard that body tried to fight back.

"How do they do it?" the wizard rasped. He was perched atop Robotnik's old green throne; had long ago claimed it as his. Robotnik could not sit. There was no chair for him, and his feet ached, and no amount of shifting his weight could make the pain go away.

"I don't know, master," the fat man answered wearily. The wizard's brow twisted into a frown, as Robotnik knew it would... Nagus didn't like that response. Robotnik scowled slightly, but what the hell else could he say? He *didn't* know. He had never understood how the beasties had managed to destroy so much, and lose so little.

Nagus's claw clanked as it came to rest upon one of the metal armrests of the chair. Robotnik shifted nervously, for his eyes caught a faint glow beginning to emanate from that claw.

A slight tremor struck his body, and he felt that sickening sense of fear spread over him; a feeling he had grown to hate. The way it made his stomach quiver, the way it made his throat taste acidic, like he was going to vomit, the way his breathing quickened and his heart began to pound so violently he swore it would break through his ribs. But oh... he couldn't stop it. He knew what that glow meant; it was magic... and not just magic, but sorcery of the most punishing fashion.

"Is that your answer *every* time, Slave?! I believe you need to extend your vocabulary and your thinking!!" The wizard snarled, voice going mocking. "If you even have a brain in that fat head of yours!"

Robotnik just gave him a meek look, an apologizing pout on his lips, but inside he seethed. But the anger soon fled, replaced by severe trembling and stuttering words as the glow around that claw intensified.... Nagus was angry... oh no...

"Now give me a proper answer, or..." Nagus half-rose from the chair.

"Master... the beasties... they... they..." he struggled for words... "have luck on their side..." He offered lamely.

"That is quite a long lucky streak!" the wizard's rasping voice rose to a shriek, and Robotnik cringed. "DON'T YOU AGREE?!"

"Y-y-yess, Master... but we...we...will get them soon, Master... they have to fall sometime..." He was starting to sweat, and his flabby backside was pressed up agasint the computer console.

"You say that so much I would almost begin to believe it..." the wizard's clawed arm was extending outwards, its aim at the large ex-tyrant. "But I know it is NOT LUCK!! IT IS YOUR STUPIDITY THAT ALLOWS THEM TO ESCAPE!!!"

Robotnik shut his eyes. He didn't want to see it coming. But he could hear it, electricity sizzling the air as it blazed towards him, and then there was no more hearing, no more seeing, just feeling...

Pure pain... Writhing... barely aware of screams. That's how it always was.

But one thought did manage to weave through the stark red of agony... just one...

'NAGUS MUST DIE... THIS CANNOT CONTINUE!!....'

**

Bunnie's door had leaves carved in the upper corners. They caught the moonlight and gleamed momentarily as the door was pushed open by Snively's hand. He wiped his feet on the mat inside; if Bunnie caught anyone walking in without doing so, she gave them hell. So boots were wiped, and then removed and placed near the door. He padded towards Bunnie's bedroom in quiet sock-clad feet, but then paused.

He heard whispering, then a soft giggle. He put a hand to the bedroom door; it was ajar, and so curious eyes peeked through the opening.

But what had he expected? It was Bunnie, and Antoine, of course, and they were seated upon her pink-blanketed bed with the lamp turned down on its lowest setting, casting only a dim circle of light.

Bunnie's back was to him, he could see the strong muscles under the plush fur, and he blinked and gulped slightly... she was not wearing her jumpsuit. Antoine's hands were upon those strong shoulders, he was whispering into her ear, eyes closed and a smile upon his face.

Another gulp... Ant's hands had slid off the shoulders and onto more tender areas... well Snively could only assume that was so... but from Bunnie's soft gasp... he had the feeling he was right. A jolt went through him... jealousy so strong it made him shudder.

He turned away, teeth grinding. The sound seemed so loud in his head, but they couldn't hear it apparently. There was more giggling and gasping and the soft smack of lips sloppily connecting.

Oh God.. he couldn't stand it.

The small human moved towards the door of the hut... he was going to leave, dammit. How dare they... How dare they do this when they knew he could enter the hut.. how dare that fox touch...

'How dare Antoine?! He's her boyfriend... you are NOT! Get a goddamn grip on yourself...'

'FUCK YOU!' That other mindvoice... the jealous one... snapped back, and the two voices waged battle in his head for brief seconds, before their words were shattered as he let out a low growl and booted the front door soundly with his socked foot.

It was not a loud noise, but from the sounds in the bedroom, they had heard it this time.

Bunnie came into the living room only a few seconds later; jumpsuit on, albeit a bit rumpled. Her hair was mussed. "Oh, Snively, I didn't hear ya'll come in!" Her voice was slightly breathless, and he sneered.

Antoine emerged, looking similarly disarrayed, and made a grunting noise upon seeing the tiny Overlander. "Oh oui, Monsieur Snipley always pick thee best times to be falling in!"

"That's 'droppin' in', sugah..." Bunnie corrected softly, while Snively returned Antoine's annoyed frown with one of his own.

"Well, it's your house, Bunnie, I imagine you can do whatever you like in it..."

"And just what do ya'll reckon we were doing?" Bunnie's cheeks flushed a little, and one golden hand smoothed back her tousled headfur.

"I highly doubt you were playing Scrabble..." he answered with another sneer, and then to the couch he went, flopping down on it. "But don't mind me..."

Bunnie sighed. "Sugah, it was rude of us... Ah'm sorry..."

He looked down at the floor, silently cursing himself... 'FUCK!' He didn't want to make her embarrassed, or uncomfortable, and now he certainly had. 'Stupid bastard, Snively, when the fuck are you going to...' And then he chided himself yet again. 'NO! I will NOT feel guilty for making her feel bad! She is an animal, a stupid goddamn animal...'

"No, I should've knocked first," he muttered.

Antoine made another guttural sound and threw up his hands. "Bonne-et-belle... I am sorry, but I must be going to guard zee power ring pool now... I will see you another time, oui?"

"But Antoine... Ah thought Geoffrey was guardin' tonight..."

"Non, non... eet ees being my watch."

"Well ok then..." She sighed.

Another wave of guilt hit him, and Snively tried to fight it back. 'Probably ought to get my own hut soon. So I won't be interrupting their...' And then he remembered just what he had interrupted... Antoine's hands moving down her beautiful body... touching those places the little human's eyes had so lovingly wandered over, imagining.... 'STOP IT! Don't think of her like that...' But yes... a wicked sensation of glee was replacing the guilt... Antoine wouldn't be able to touch her now... not tonight.

'But neither will you...'

The door slammed shut as Antoine departed and he lifted his eyes to Bunnie. The rabbit stood looking at the door for a moment, then turned back to Snively with a cheerful smile on her muzzle. But he saw her ears drooping, and the disappointment in her eyes. She was sad to see him go.

"Well, looks like it's jest you an' me, tonight."

"Yes," he said quietly, and then leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. He jolted, remembering.. the power ring! Still concealed within his vest. "I... I believe I will change into sleeping garb now," he said, and she nodded.

"All rait, sugah."

He stood and made his way into her bedroom, shutting the door behind him. After a brief sneer towards the bed and its slightly rumpled covers, he opened the bottom drawer of the wardrobe. He withdrew an oversize t-shirt and dropped it onto the wooden floor beside him.

He cast a glance towards the door. Still shut. But Bunnie would never barge in on him.

He dug through the folded heap of his clothing to the bottom, where his pilfered power ring was placed, along with the other two already there. Then he closed the drawer and proceeded to change into the shirt.

Bunnie was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking her usual carrot tea. He flopped down on the couch once more, curling his bare legs up agasint his chest, a book in one hand. This was their usual nightly ritual; she drank silently and usually read or doodled ideas for mission plans, and he read.

The silence settled in. Usually this was welcomed; it was a warm silence, the feeling of unspoken kinship and comfort between two creatures content in their space. But tonight... the air was heavy, and tainted. He shifted more than once, unable to get comfortable.

The kitchen chair grinded on the floor as she too squirmed and then let out a loud sigh.

He raised his eyes from the page and eyed her. She was staring glumly at the kitchen sink. His gaze wandered the soft beauty of her face... the way that headfur swept softly onto her forehead, the way that one ear drooped and lay gently agasint her cheek, the pink button of her nose, the long elegant sweep of thick eyelashes.

'She's so beautiful....'

And no opposing thoughts came to counter. They couldn't. It was true.

'I love her...'

His eyes widened and he gasped. Those green orbs turned in his direction.

"Is somethin' wrong, sugah?"

'NO! No... yes.. she is beautiful... yes... but NO! I...I don't l-l-lo...' he couldn't even think the word again.... 'I DON'T!!'

"I DON'T!"

"Don't what?" She frowned.

He gazed at her with widened eyes, blinking... damn, hadn't meant to speak aloud. It had just burst forth; this phrase of denial. 'No... denial means it's really true... but that isn't true. I don't... I don't care for this animal. AT ALL.'

"I uh... I don't know what's uh..." he fumbled, his eyes almost wild as they looked for an answer. Then lighting upon the text of his book, he grasped one word there. "What's wrong with my head... I uh... I have a really bad headache...it's kind of driving me crazy..." He gave her a weak smile.

She looked genuinely sympathetic. "That's terrible, sugah! I'll make ya'll a cup of nice herbal tea.. .this stuff works wonders..."

He nodded, and mummered thanks, then gazed down at his book again. The words blurred; no, he was not reading now. It was so insane... the way that word... that horrid 'l' word had crept into his thoughts. It was just...

'Just what?' part of him jeered, 'just something you ate? The power ring affecting you from touching it for too long? Or maybe it's true. IDIOT! YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE!'

He threw down the book, and snarled. 'IT ISN'T TRUE!!'

Bunnie cast a startled look at him.

'MORON! STUPID BASTARD! You can lie to the world, you can lie to her, you can lie to your uncle, but DUMB IDIOT! You can't lie to YOURSELF!! YOU LOVE HER!'

Bunnie shook her head and tended to the whistling teakettle.

"Thanks..." he mummered, as she handed him the teacup on a flowered saucer... and shivered hard as one of her fingers brushed his...

It wasn't true... but...

He knew it was.

**

"Uncle Chuck says Nagus is coming up with another sort of plan. The details are kinda sketchy right now... but...Uncle Chuck's gonna stay right on and update us often, he says." The Princess was munching an apple as she delivered this news in the mess hall the following morning.

Snively sat alone at one of the long tables. It was usually so. He didn't visit the mess hall often for breakfast. But Bunnie had run out of pancake mix, so she, and Antoine, and their normal morning visitor, Geoffrey, were here too.

The skunk, fox, and rabbit were seated around the princess and their other entourage of friends. Snively sneered a little; he disliked most of them.

The Princess... so prissy, so bossy. Geoffrey... well it was a given; the guy was a complete asshole. The two-tailed child... he was annoying, and a brat. The dragon... irritating, and usually quick to trip him with her tail and then declare 'oops!' The fat walrus... well... he wasn't actually so bad. But the hedgehog! That accursed beast, with his pathetic jokes and his air of stupid smugness... which everyone else considered 'too cool'.

Right now he was complaining... ooooh, they didn't have chilidogs for breakfast. 'Oh... isn't that toooo bad....' Snively mentally gagged. Chili dogs for breakfast? The very thought was nauseating.

And the other freedom fighters... he didn't know their names, and didn't give a shit either. They were hated in his eyes. Enemies. And they felt the same of him. He could still feel the brutal hands of those Mobians who had attacked him that one night. He had only been out for a stroll. An innocent walk. And yet they had decided he needed just a little more violence in his already much abused life.

"Hey, Stinko."

Geoffrey's eyebrows raised at the hedgehog's voice. "Yeah, what, spineball?"

"Didja get the power ring last night? I might need it today."

Geoffrey took a minute to eat a bite of scrambled egg before answering the hedgehog. "No. Antoine took over my shift."

"Oh." The hedgehog shrugged. "Well Ant, did you get it?"

"Non."

"Whatdya mean 'non'?"

"Non. As in non I did not get eet."

"Well, isn't that great," the blue one rolled his eyes. "You didn't get it the night earlier either, Ant! Cause you were sleeping again!"

"And nobody got it yesterday evening either." Sally sighed. Uncle Chuck had built another power stone... to replace the portion they had given to Griff and the underground Freedom Fighters. Rings rose every 7 hours.

"No," Sonic shook his head.

"How 'bout we build a net or something to catch 'em?" suggested Tails.

"Good idea!" Sally patted the young fox's shoulder. "That is very smart, Tails, we should do just that."

"I'm on it," the walrus said. "I'll have it done today."

"Good, good..." said Sally, smiling.

Snively gazed down at his plate, frowning a bit. A net? They would surely notice missing rings now. And the idea of letting all that untapped power slip by... that power that could help him...

"Hey Sally..." the dragon's childish voice butted in. "I was going to sleep yesterday at my tree while you all were celebrating. Cause I was so tired and stuff... whew, that mission wore me out!"

"Yeah, so?" The hedgehog scrapped at his nearly empty plate.

"Well, I saw the power ring pool light up, ya know? Through the trees."

Snively raised his eyes again, focusing on the dragon's face. His fork stopped about halfway to his mouth, scrambled egg quivered and tumbled back onto his plate.

"Well I went over to see if I could catch the ring in time... and the waters were all bubbly and stuff. I was too late to get the ring by then, but you can see it float all the way down to the bottom, ya know. Cause it's all glow-y."

"Yeah, so?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I didn't see it at all!" The dragon blinked in her typical ditzy fashion. "It was like it came up, and someone took it. But no one did, cause Sally said no one turned one in yesterday night!"

"Hmmmm..." the hedgehog mused. "That's kinda weird. But maybe it was already at the bottom, Dulce."

"Naw, I don't think so. I wasn't that slow... it would've still been floatin' down, I'm pretty sure!"

Snively sighed and chewed a biteful of egg. So... she hadn't seen him. That was good. All he needed was that retarded reptile tossing him around. Not like she didn't do that already.... But if she had seen and reported him to King Acorn... he shuddered at the thought.

"Did anyone get a ring last evening during the celebration?" Sally demanded in a loud voice. The patrons of the mess hall acknowledged her words, but shrugged, their silence declaring an unanimous 'no'.

"Well. That's odd." The squirrel adjusted her blue vest with a slight frown. "Just get that net built ok, Rotor, please? Then we won't miss any of them."

The walrus nodded and Snively let his fork drop onto his empty plate. For a moment, the dragon's green eyes turned upon him and he almost cringed.

'She dosen't know. Don't make her suspicious'.

But it was only a second, and then she was chatting away again, this time a childish conversation with the young Tails. They both left rather quickly, with the hurried goodbye of 'It's too nice to stay in here! We're going for a swim!'

**

His breakfast was gone, and Geoffrey was bored. He idly twiddled his fork, listening to Sally drone on about something well...boring. And the hedgehog's voice constantly interjected, causing the others to laugh, usually. The skunk rolled his eyes.

He noticed then his quarry, his tag, his little furless 'charge' was gone. That little punk. He scowled and rose up, but had a feeling he knew where to find him. Down by the lake. The human spent many hours there, just staring out over the water as if he was just building himself up to finally plunge in, and drown...

Sure enough, when Geoffrey neared the water, he saw the tiny human standing by the shore. It was hard to spot him at first, for he was hidden from the path's view behind a stand of trees. Tails and Dulcy's playful screams and yells rang out from the water.

Geoffrey came up behind him.

"You're out here *again*?" he demanded. "You sure are a quick eater."

Snively turned, locking Geoff with a baleful gaze. The skunk didn't flinch; he'd grown accustomed to such murderous looks by now. He was only glad that the ole 'if looks could kill thing' was just a phrase.

"Now now, Sniv, don't look at me like that, that's kinda uh rude, don'tcha think."

"Fuck you." And the human's gaze returned out over the waters, searching, although from Geoff's standpoint, there was nothing there. Just a bunch of trees and water, and the kids, but the human didn't even glance their way.

"What's your obsession with this place?"

Snively remained silent.

"Well answer me."

There was more silence.

A snarl and a cuss of 'faggot' and an annoyed Geoff gave Snively a hard shove, knocking the human into the water.

He yelped and skittered out as if the water burned, then looked down at his soaked pants and shirt. Blue eyes widened in fury. "You fucking bastard!" Snively clenched a fist and actually took a threatening step towards the skunk, but seemed to rethink his actions as Geoff clenched his as well and answered the step with a few of his own.

Geoff was much bigger than he. So Snively scowled, and backed off. He had attacked the skunk before. A while ago. And Geoff had gleefully answered his challenge by beating the shit out of him. Snively sighed. If only he was bigger. At least for a day. How they would pay...all of them here who chose to torment him... His eyes narrowed and he turned away from his watcher, eyeing the water again.

Geoffrey scoffed and looked out over the pond. "I wouldn't be surprised if you had something to do with those missin' rings." It was just an idle comment, but the skunk's eyes widened a little, and he realized he could very well be right. He studied the human intently, but Snively gave no indications of guilt. He seemed to be ignoring Geoffrey now, sitting down upon a large rock with a little wet squelch of his boots.

Geoffrey snorted. "Jus' remember, mate, I'm keepin' my eye on you."

"Oh Geoffrey..." The human looked back at him, a small smile upon his lips. "I feel so honored..."

**

The living mind was a mystery to him. An intriguing paradox that he felt the urge, so strong it was nearly a lust, to explore. To shine light into the darkness where most would not dare to venture, and to illuminate those ancient places long forgotten.

Oh, and he wanted to do so much more than divulge secrets, he wanted to test. He was like that in everything. He wanted to push limits, so to speak, to see how much a mind could hold, could do, could create, before it broke. And the opposite too...see just how empty a mind could become. How barren and unproductive. Although the former interested him more; he liked power the best, especially the unsubtle, overblown kind.

But that's why he was dubbed crazy.

Nagus chuckled. "What little those fools know..."

'Crazy...unlike I...' Robotnik thought contemptfully. No, he'd never considered himself crazy. In fact, it was the opposite. He was sane, he was beyond sane, he possessed a kind of stableness and enlightenment no others could ever reach.

At this moment, the fat ex-tyrant had one arm extended behind him, dragging a chair along.

'Enough is enough with this standing all day...' His feet were so sore. Continuously. His ankles ached from supporting that heavy weight for so many long hours on end. Robotnik hated to stand. He hated even more Nagus's theft of his throne.

Many murderous thoughts came to his head, and lately he'd been seriously considering carrying them out.

He paused before the double doors to the command center. Getting the chair had seemed a good idea. But now came that familiar and hated little beast of anxiety, gnawing upon his nerves. What would Nagus think of the chair? What would he accuse Robotnik of this time?

The fat man pondered. And then steeled himself, opening the double doors and trudging through, gripping the chair in a white-knuckled fist.

Nagus watched Robotnik bring in the chair without a word. One hand scratched and then smoothed out the long hairs of his beard. The strange wizard wore an outfit similar to the garb he'd had in the Void, but black had replaced the violet, and silver threading adorned the sleeves and cape. Even his boots were trimmed with silver.

Robotnik set the chair down by one of the computer monitors and then raised an apprehensive gaze to Nagus. His mustache quivered, expecting a screaming fit. But the wizard's rust-colored eyes seemed calm, and the dreaded crab-claw remained resting idly on the arm of the throne. "What a good idea, slave. I imagine your feet have been sore lately."

Robotnik shifted. They were indeed sore, and he longed to sit. He looked back and forth between wizard and chair. Bringing it in was one thing, but actually taking a seat was another; he was so afraid of what Nagus would do.

Nagus chuckled, a painfully dry, cracked sound. His voice was the same, like two sheets of sandpaper rubbing together. Stung right to the nerve, irritating. Robotnik hated to hear it. "If you wanted a chair, why didn't you just ask?" Another chuckle. "I most certainly would've obliged my slave's wishes."

"I'm s-sorry, Master." Robotnik stammered. He shifted again. "May I sit, please?"

Nagus let loose another chuckle. "Indeed slave."

Robotnik moved towards his chair, but Nagus's voice halted him. "Not there." The crab claw lifted, and Robotnik winced. It waved once, and another chair materialized next to his. "There."

The ex-tyrant eyed the chair suspiciously. It appeared to be just that, though, a chair, made of black metal with silver legs. He refrained from rolling his eyes. Nagus liked to color-coordinate. Of course, he did too, so really, there was no room to ridicule. He took a step towards the chair, and stared at it a moment longer before cautiously seating himself upon it.

Nagus watched as Robotnik settled himself into the seat. Even after the ex-tyrant had stopped shifting, Nagus was amused to see his fat still droop and ooze into place. He wrinkled his hook nose. It was amusing, but it was also gross. Oh well. He didn't keep Robotnik around for his looks.

Robotnik's deep voice rumbled out. "What do you wish me to do now, Master?" Such a voice had struck terror into the souls of so many Mobians, but now it was marred by a constant tremor of question and trepidation.

"You're fat," Nagus's voice lashed out. "You are lazy, slave! How dare you believe you can sit? You have been sitting for years, and it has brought you nothing. Some standing would do you good."

Robotnik's face went stricken, and he moved to rise, even with his feet begging him to stay. But they needn't beg too hard; he found he could not budge. "M-M-Master...?"

Nagus's flesh hand rose and aimed a finger at the slave. "Your fat sickens me. You waddle like an overfed pig. Aren't you disgusted by yourself?"

The orange mustache quivered. Robotnik was not disgusted. He was the perfect shape! Round, a sphere, unending perfection. "No, Master," he finally said, though he feared his vanity would earn him pain now.

"Oh, that's right," Nagus sneered, his flesh hand gone from pointing to toy with his beard, twisting the long strands about thick fingers. "You think a circle is the perfect shape. You're wrong. A LINE is perfection. Like a circle, it goes on forever, but unlike your inferior shape, it does not forever chase itself in a useless path. It can evolve. Into different shapes, including your precious circle. It can curve, bend, break, but it always endures. And that is perfection."

"But...but...Master," Robotnik couldn't stop the words from tumbling out, "A line isn't a shape..."

"That is IRRELEVANT!" The wizard suddenly screamed. "As is this whole side discussion of shapes! The real issue is you...your being lazy, fat, and in general, a disgust to me, and the audacity of you believing you may sit!"

"I...I'll stand then, Master." Robotnik rasped meekly, once again trying to raise his hefty form from the seat, and once again finding himself stuck.

"Oh no," crooned Nagus, gone from enraged to sickly sweet in record time. "You wished to sit, so you will sit."

Robotnik was confused. He never could understand Nagus's strange shifts in moods. First he wanted him to sit, then stand, then sit again. Light glinted off the wizard's attempt at a friendly smile, and made Robotnik shiver. He didn't like that look. Overshadowing his confusion now came fear, and he sat anxiously, orange hair beneath his nose quivered again.

He sat there for long moments. Silence dominated the air, only submitting occasionally to a dry chuckle. Nagus's rust-colored eyes stared unnervingly at the large one, making Robotnik squirm and the itch of perspiration bead up on his forehead.

A shock of realization came to Robotnik that this was not just nervous sweat. He was getting warm. Or rather, the chair was. He shifted again. Ordinarily such gentle heat might've been relaxing, but all he felt was apprehension. His red-on-black orbs flittered to Nagus in question, but a shark-toothed smile was Nagus's only response.

And the chair grew warmer still...

**

"Oh yeah, I'm sure it's a big moral dilemma."

"I will not do eet." Antoine's arms were crossed firmly across his blue-cladded chest.

The tailless fox and skunk were a blur of wheat and black colors on the edge of a small gathering of Freedom Fighters. They were discussing mission plans to disable a hoverunit factory, but Geoffrey was not interested. His murky blues were fastened to the turquoise gaze of the younger fox. "Awwww, c'mon, Ant. Jus' go through her stuff and see if there's any there."

"Bunnie would not be hiding any power rings!" Antoine's eyes narrowed. "She ees not helping dat fuel!"

"I never said she was helpin' him." Geoff shrugged. "He's probably sneakin' 'em in without her knowin'."

The fox remained stubborn. One hand toyed with the tassel on the end of his sword sheath, and then rose to brush imaginary dust off the perfectly pressed uniform. "She would too see! Bunnie ees not being stupid!" The fox's gaze wavered. "Besides, I do not believe Snipley would do eet..."

"Whaaaaat?" Geoff's voice rose, causing Sonic to look over and flick out his tongue. Amazingly, the skunk refrained from responding. "Awww, Ant, Twan, mate, ya can't be serious. That little prick, he'd do anythin' to git us back." His face wrinkled into a leer. "Don't know if ya noticed, but I sure have... the way he eyeballs Bunnie, eh? I think he's fixin' to take your little rabbit snatch away from ya."

"NON!" Antoine barked loudly. "He ees not going to be taking her away! FUEL!" His grip tightened on the handle of his sword.

"Hehehhe, Ant...don't be surprised if you find Snively dickin' your girl." He laughed, but it trailed off abruptly when Sonic's face suddenly jutted into his.

"What the heck are you talkin' about, St. Jerk?"

"Puh." The skunk took a step back. "Ever brush yer teeth, spineball?" He waved a hand around. "We were just talkin' about Snively."

"What about him?" Sonic's interest in the Overlander was practically non-existent. He focused on bigger game.

"He's tryin' to get into Bunnie's...errr...pants."

The hedgehog stared at Geoffrey, green eyes calm, then suddenly erupted into laughter. "HAHAHHAHAHAHAA!" He doubled over. "Oh Geoff...HAHHAAA! You're so dumb!"

Geoff snorted. "Laugh all you want, spineball, but it's true!"

"Hahahha...idiot..."

"Eet ees NOT true, fuel!"

The skunk scowled. "Whatever...but Ant, I'm tellin' ya mate, keep on eye on him...he's hotter than an ole oven for her..."

Antoine's eyes narrowed. It wasn't true. But it could be. He knew Snively liked her. But did it go beyond like? Did it go into dangerous territories? His grip on that beloved sword tightened further. If so, Bunnie would need defending.

Sonic finally straightened..."Sniv havin' the hots for Bunnie, ahahhaa... that's too funny..."

**

Warm.

Warmer.

Warmest.

HOT!

Robotnik shifted and squirmed, the chair beneath him was so warm now, getting into painful temperatures. He struggled to rise, but like the times before, it proved to be futile. He bit back a whimper, but as the chair grew hotter, he couldn't hold them back.

"Master...master please...stop!"

The wizard merely laughed. "Stop what, slave? I'm only allowing you to sit." He shook a finger. "You should be grateful."

Robotnik closed his mouth and sat still, trying to ignore the rising temperature. Maybe if he didn't beg, Nagus would stop. Maybe just a silent apology would do. But it wasn't helping... the chair grew hotter.

But what could appease such anger and cruelty? The fat man pondered. Oh, it was glorious to be evil, but it was another thing to be on the receiving end. He didn't pity the Mobians for what he'd put them through. They'd deserved it. No, his thoughts suddenly flashed to another's whimpers and pleads, someone much closer to him, even as the chair burned, and his own voice cried out. Such cruel things he'd done to his nephew!

But that was over now. Everyone's roles had changed. Nagus was Overlord. Robotnik was lackey, thus retiring his nephew of that position, and shifting him into something horrendous...joining the Freedom Fighters! The very ones Robotnik hated. It was as if the little fiend was mocking him by helping them, fighting against him. And when they succeeded, Robotnik failed, and Nagus was quick and eager to punish that failure.

Thoughts of his nephew, of past failures, of present failures, thoughts of the shifting of positions, all these things could've plagued Robotnik's mind for hours. But thoughts couldn't stay now, not with such pain coursing through him. They fled, leaving him to focus, suffering, on how hot the chair was beneath him. It was like sitting on fire. He struggled to rise, making noises of pain, not trying to hold them back. It was too hard. He was burning. His skin was bubbling.

He could smell it. And he could hear Nagus laughing. Because this was all such a big fun game. "STOPPPP!"

"Oh, slave, you wanted to sit, you wanted to... be grateful..." Taunts rang out mocking, over and over. They drove the ex-tyrant even further into madness, his vision going white, then black, and then he passed out. Or something like that. He felt himself go limp and sounds muted. But he could still smell the scorched flesh, and he could still feel the burning. It was in his hands now. In his chest. Now his orange mustache was blackening and blowing away into bits of ash.

Then nothing.

**

"Yeah, yeah, Sal. Let's just go." Sonic shifted on his feet.

Sally was sitting on a tree stump. Her eyes swept the small group that would be going on this current mission to disable hoverunit factories. It was a familiar mission. They'd destroyed factories so many times.

She frowned. It helped. It really did. Even if Robotnik, or Nagus built them back up again. It robbed him of time and resources. So it was important, wasn't it? That they do this? That they risk themselves again to bring down another factory?

"Do you have a power ring, Sonic?"

"Yeah." The hedgehog was pouting, tapping his foot impatiently. "C'moooon already."

"Not everyone is here yet. We have to wait for..."

"Awwwww...forget him, Sal! He's useless! And I don't want to smell his stink!"

"Sonic." The ground squirrel's tone was stern, and she rose from the stomp. "You and Geoffrey have to quit fighting. It's silly."

"Yeah yeah..." The hedgehog snorted and then moved away to join the group, bolstering them up with encouraging words about 'kicking some wizard butt'.

Sally sighed, then smiled. She watched the hedgehog with an affectionate gaze for a moment. Yes, he was loud, reckless, and sometimes outright foolish. But he was much smarter than he appeared, and much more tender than his behavior about town showed. She knew how strong and protective his arms felt.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she caught the motion of someone emerging from the pathway to the power ring pool. She turned, wrinkling her nose to see the small Overlander. She watched him for a moment, musing. He was clad in a short vest paired with a gray tanktop and pinstriped pants. He came closer, meeting her gaze for a moment, but then averting his eyes to the ground.

The Overlander was so tiny, so frail. It was hard to believe he'd been one of their major enemies.

She leaned forward to get his attention as he closed the gap between them. He slowed his steps a little, casting a glance with those large child-like eyes, then away again, assuming she only meant to gaze at him. Maybe he'd expected a dirty look.

"Snively," she said, and now his attention was fully caught.

He gave her a look that nearly made her cringe, such seething accusation, as if she was about to commit some atrocity to him, and it was the only thing he'd ever expect from her.

Then she felt indignant. She wasn't a horrid person. And certainly not to him, no, she was far more lenient then she should've been. It was she who should be throwing the accusing looks, knowing what he'd done.

"Come here."

He continued the look, then obeyed. She felt like smacking him. Such a little bastard.

"What do you wish of me, *princess*?" A fully mockery was made of her title, and her hand ached to clench, swing, and knock that head right off his shoulders. But she merely forced a smile.

"I don't wish it, per say, but you're to come on our mission today."

"What." It was said so flatly it was hard to call it a question. He arched a brow, pursing his lips as if he'd just seen something disgusting.

"Yeah. That's right."

"Oh, but princess...I thought I was useless. Just a whiny little baby." A smile suddenly quirked one corner of his mouth. "But now all the sudden you neeeeeeed me."

"We don't need you." Her expression was sour. "I don't even want you to come. But Geoffrey is coming and he wants to keep his eye on you. And I don't blame him!"

He made a scoffing sound. He'd managed to escape the big lug earlier, earning him a few hours of alone time, something he'd grown to cherish, both in the city, and here. "Why doesn't he just put a fucking leash on..."

"Watch your mouth!" Sally interrupted loudly, scowling angrily. Like Bunnie, she didn't care for swearing. "Don't start your..."

And she was interrupted in turn by a brash accent and clomping footsteps. "The last thing we want to hear is your bitchin', faggot!"

Sally turned around, sighing to see Geoffrey there. "Please, you two, can't you tone down the language! There could be a child around."

"Who cares," said Snively, evoking a fierce glare from Sally. He sniffed, settling his gaze on Geoffrey. They snarled at each other.

Sally shook her head, sending auburn strands flying. "Just don't start fighting in the city. That's the last thing we need."

"Don't worry, Ms. Sally, I'll be good...and I'll make sure he is too." Geoffrey laid a large hand on Snively's shoulder, squeezing. The human cringed.

"Why don't you just propose already, Geoffrey?" He wiggled away, brushing his shoulder as if trying to fling that touch away.

"I'm not a faggot like you!" The skunk gave the human a hard shove. He went sprawling onto his tiny rear with a yelp, then glared up at Geoffrey.

"Cut it out!" Sally stepped between the two. "Dear Mobius, I can't see how Bunnie can stand having you two around all the time!"

"She's sweeter than you, that's why." For a moment, the tip of Snively's tongue stuck out at Sally, then he smiled. Just the thought of Bunnie...sweet sweet Bunnie... brought that about.

"HA!" A broad finger of the skunk's was firmly planted into Snively's chest. "I knew you were tryin' to get into her pants!"

Snively's eyes went startedly wide and he gasped, while Sally shook her head, muttering. She'd already heard of Geoff's accusation from Sonic, and thought it pretty ridiculous.

"I most certainly am not!"

Geoff poked again. "You are! I've seen the way you look at her. Practically droolin'!"

Sally shook her head again.

"I do not...shut up..." Frowning, Snively took a step away from Geoff's finger. He trembled and drew in a shuddering breath, clearly upset.

Sally wondered for a moment if he was angry at Geoff's taunt, or pissed at being found out. She laughed aloud and both men looked at her with raised brows. 'Found out! Silly Sal...there's no way he likes...'

She didn't have much more time to ponder, even at the glint of something in Snively's eye...fear? desperation, denial, or what?... but no time, for Sonic came up, running as he always did.

"We're ready, Sal." He sneered at Geoff. "And you finally got here stinkbomb. So LET'S GO!"

"Yeah." Geoff's hand clamped down onto Snively's bony shoulder once more. "I'm ready, so let's go."

"You're bringing him?" Sonic looked displeased.

"Hafta keep an eye on him."

"Oh fine..." Sonic sighed, then suddenly smiled, looking at Snively squarely. For a moment he giggled. "Just don't make any moves on Bunnie, Needlenose!" He laughed uproarisly.

Sally rolled her eyes. Snively looked murderous.

"Good advice." Geoffrey's hand squeezed harder. Snively squirmed uncomfortably.

"Come on." Sally grabbed Sonic's arm. "Let's get out of here."

The group was gathered, quickly re-briefed, and then they set out towards the dark city and all its evils.

**

Outside the plate glass windows, reinforced in their heavy metal frames, smog clouds swirled. Through them, the sky was a rare sight, but when seen, dazzled the eyes with beauty. Red, gold, deep rich violets and pinks, brought about by a slow lazy sunset.

At the window, the Round One stood, hands clasped behind his back. The command room was dimly lit; the way he liked it. And empty as well, for the wizard had left, gone to do whatever it was he did. Robotnik didn't know. Nagus did not always talk freely of his ideas, and he rarely entered information into the computer system.

So, he was alone. And he liked it. He turned, his eyes wandering the room. They rested for a moment on the throne, gone from green to ebony, gleaming dully under the low lighting. He sighed. Even if he wanted to sit now, he couldn't. It hurt too much.

He turned back to the window. The streets below were shrouded in darkness, cut through by the occasional patrol light of a hoverunit. But the piercing light showed nothing but empty streets.

Security was his main focus tonight, or rather, it was supposed to be. It was unlikely the freedom fighters would attack at such an hour. Their missions seemed to usually take place in the day. Although day and night in Robotropolis were hardly different. Both were dark, dreary, and long.

No, the well-being of the city was not his concern. His thoughts were focused instead, on the well being of *himself*, and how to obtain it. HOW was the big question.

He shifted on his aching feet.

How? He could overthrow Nagus. It sounded the most tempting. But again, how? He'd tried poison early on, but it had no effect.

Flee the city? Oh, *how* he did not want to do that, and once more, how how how?? Would he go about doing it. Nagus would never let his slave slip away easily.

He scowled out at the dark skies for a moment, then blinked, catching a glimpse of brilliant scarlet and gold through the shifting smog clouds. His favorite colors. A brief flash of them...a sign? That he would succeed in freeing himself from Nagus?

He snorted. Not likely. He didn't usually believe in signs, omens, prophecy or any other of that nonsense so many Mobians seemed to take as seriously as breathing.

No, he would succeed by his own power alone.

He gazed out at the clouds again, hoping in some primitive way to see those colors again. Somehow they would boost his moral, help him, with their shades of blood and fine gold, help him solve that eternal question of how.

He smirked suddenly.

There was one place, at least, he knew he could go...

**

Most people would shiver at hearing the piercing screams that spiraled down the lone and dusty streets of west Robotropolis.

But not he. Nagus had chosen a building that stood solidly near the shores of Robotropolian Bay. It was an ideal spot for him. He had windows to gaze upon the rolling black waters, hissing as they crashed upon the shore. It was hardly pure water. In the deep tidepools among the rocks, nothing lived.

Inside the small building, Nagus tended to his pet project. Testing the limitations of the living mind.

Right now, his crab claw sparkled with electrical energy, and before him, a recently deroboticized fox writhed. He stopped and smirked. The fox was still very much alive.

He whimpered a bit, widened and scared eyes staring up at the wizard. "Stop....why are you doing this?" He coughed, his body twitching. "You're no better than Robotnik!"

"Oooh, but I am better...much better. Which is why I now lead. And you, why you are just a gauge to test the limitations of my punishments."

Nagus smirked again. He was just having fun right now, saving the serious testing for later. For now, he wanted to see how much punishment this fox could take. He needed to know just when to stop, for when he was punishing Robotnik, he didn't want to kill the fat old fool.

So of course, he would have to account for the fox's health and size, and compare them to Robotnik's. This was easy enough. He would later enter data into his computer, for unknown to Robotnik, he had one, and used it often. The small machine was crystalline purple, Nagus's favorite color. It was hidden away in the folds of his robe, away from the incompetent and prying eyes of his lackey.

The fox had begun to cry on the floor, and Nagus leered down at him.

"What is the matter, you furred fool?"

"My...my family..." gulped the vulpine. "I just remembered them... my wife..."

The wizard ran his fingers through his beard, unconcerned. Although, unlike Robotnik, he had no real hatred of the Mobians. But there was no love there, either. Just a sort of uncaring apathy. They were good for testing, good for study. Sometimes even good for conversation. But not now, and not this one.

"Well...you won't have to worry about them..." he chuckled in that rasping voice. The fox's widened eyes reflected the crab claw as it lifted.

The punishment began again, and this time, it would not stop until the fox was dead.

The wizard smirked, and chuckled again. Testing was so much fun.

**

The gray ground was cracked under their feet like some kind of hellish desert. But it wasn't a desert, only that unfortunate strip of land between the Great Forest and Robotropolis. Even deserts had life; this had none.

Snively eyed the distant city with a sneer. He wasn't eager to enter that place again. He and the others were standing here, waiting while Sally recapped her plan. He wondered if she thought her fighters were stupid. She'd already stopped to recap twice. He yawned; whatever, he wasn't interested.

And neither apparently was his 'keeper', Geoffrey. The entire way, his wrist had been firmly enclosed in the skunk's grip. He snorted and tried to pull away for the thousandth time; he was starting to lose circulation in his hand!

"Dammit...let me go."

Geoffrey had been eyeing the horizon, and he turned his murky eyes upon his captive. "Hell no! I ain't gonna chance anything with you, mate."

"Oh, please...where am I going to go?"

"I dunno." Geoffrey smiled; he knew Snively wasn't going to run, but oh, how fun it was to irritate the small Overlander.

"Why don't you just put me on a fucking leash? Goddamit!" He struggled harder, trying to wrest his arm away, but to no avail.

"Welllll...ain't that a good idea, mate. Why didn't you mention that before?" Geoffrey's free hand descended to his shoulder belt, unbuttoning one of the pouches there, and out he pulled a rope. He'd brought them along 'just in case'.

'Hey!" The human yelped and struggled as Geoffrey started to loop the rope around his neck. "STOP IT!"

Geoffrey snickered and pulled the rope taut. It tightened, yanking Snively forward towards the skunk. He gasped, trying to loosen it with his hands, but Geoffrey slackened it. Glaring, the human thrust his hands between the loops in attempt to loosen them further, pull them off.

The skunk laughed, and pulled the rope taut again, and now the Overlander's hands were caught too, trapped right underneath his chin. He was none too happy; azure eyes blazed with anger, and that little mouth screamed. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!"

Everyone turned to look. Including Sally, and Sonic, who was just arriving in a cloud of dust. He was their scout, seeing if the way ahead was clear, but right now he was whining. "Ahhhh, Sal...I told ya not to bring these two! They're fighting again?"

"Again!?" snorted one of the fighters. "They've been bickerin' the entire way 'ere! My ear's about to fall off!"

There were mutters and then Sally was pushing her way to the back of the group. She eyed the scene with a sour expression; Snively still struggling and letting out most foul curses, and Geoffrey just laughing it off, keeping the rope pulled tight.

"What is going on back here?!"

Geoffrey snickered. "He told me to leash him, so I did."

"You stinky fucking ASSHOLE! LET ME GO! LET ME GOOOOO!" Dust was kicked up under the struggling Overlander's feet.

Sally coughed, then scowled. "THAT'S QUITE ENOUGH!" she bellowed sharply to the tiny human. He blinked, then was quiet, shooting her an icy look, little hands still struggling against the ropes.

"Boy, you have a way with Overlanders, luv."

"Geoffrey. Don't even get cheeky. I'm just a tad fed up with your behavior as well! It's bad enough you have to bring him along, at least quit provoking him. For Gods' sakes! Now let him go. We have a mission here."

Sonic snickered. Geoffrey scoffed, but relented, unwinding the rope from Snively's neck, and putting it away.

"Now let's go, and don't start any more fights!" Sally's glare was solely directed to Geoff, who suddenly looked indignant.

"Hey, darlin'...no need to get so snappy. It's like you're stickin' up for this sod! Stickin' up for Overlander trash!"

"I am not sticking up for anyone! I just don't want this mission botched, and with people fighting and not paying attention it will be. Not to mention putting us in danger! You as a commander should know that, Geoffrey."

The skunk snorted then looked away, his features stony. "Alright luv, I'll quit, alright...so..." his voice rose to its usual confident volume. "Let's git in there and do some damage!"

**

Two miles later, the group stood by one of the junkpiles that marked the outskirts of the city. Over them, a discarded metal sheet lay on top of the pile, casting a shadow over them.

Many of the factories were on the outskirts, but before his Doomsday accident, Robotnik had grown wiser and started relocating them deeper in the more secure areas of the city. But not all of them; many along the edges were still in operation, and it was these they were targeting today.

"How dumb," Sonic had commented, which had made Snively smirk. The hedgehog was actually making a valid comment. It -was- dumb. The inner factories were more important; hence their relocation.

'But what do I care anyway...'

"Ok, guys. Group up...let's get going! We don't want to be here any longer than necessary."

'Oh...groups...' Snively's heart fluttered and he felt his cheeks flush. Not because his group included Geoffrey...but because it also included one gorgeous southern-bred girl...

He leaned against one of the steel walls, just waiting. 'Oh stop it.' He was rather indignant of his trembling hands and pulsing heart. It was just Bunnie, after all...he saw her every day.

And there she was again, heading towards them. He drew in a breath. She smiled, dazzling, and he couldn't fathom where that air had gone, for suddenly he couldn't breathe.

Geoffrey eyed him critically. "You're blushing..." he snickered as Bunnie reached them.

"Your official door-opener has arrived!"

Bunnie seemed cheerful, but Snively knew she sometimes resented her status as 'tool' for the freedom fighters. She was a wall-basher, a door-smasher, a robot-crusher, but oft times not seen as a girl; half-robot so many times mistaken as whole.

He sighed and rubbed his cheek, which did seem hotter than usual. 'Damn...knock it off...don't let her see that...' He cradled his hand there, trying to hide the redness he knew was there, but then figured that would draw more attention to it. So he dropped his hand, clasping it in the other, then pulled them up to his chest.

"Well good...ya never know when we need some doors opened, luv."

She noticed Snively fidgeting and smiled. "So, how ya'll holdin' up? Nervous, huh?"

"Yes...a little..." He gulped. His jittering hands and weak legs were not all caused by the menacing surroundings.

"Yah, he's nervous..." Geoffrey smirked meanly.

Snively's head lifted, lips curled back in a snarl. He didn't like the way Geoff was pausing.

"...he's just tryin' to think of a nice way to ask ya to screw him."

Bunnie's eyes went a little wide, then she laughed, brushing the comment away with a sweep of her golden hand. "Awww, Geoff, ya'll come on now..."

Snively wasn't as nonchalant. "You -prick-. Don't you ever say -anything- like that again..." Once again, Geoff would've been slain by that gaze.

"Oh why not, Needlenose, it's true." He laughed, turning to Bunnie. "He looooooves you, ya know."

Cheeks flared red, and Snively didn't think of the statistics; of how a four-foot skinny man was quite outclassed by a 5'5 muscular one.

No, he just lunged.

Both fists were furious, punching madly at the skunk. Geoff stumbled backwards, gaping in surprise. For a moment, he was unresponsive, taking several shots to the chest.

"SHUT UP! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" The human's voice was growling, yet high, like a snarling puppy.

"Awww, mate..." Geoffrey blocked one blow with his forearm, chuckling. "Ya may hate me, but you LOVE Bunnie!"

"NO...FUCK YOU...I DON'T!" One of those fists shot low, clobbering Geoff near the groin; and it was close enough to tick the skunk off.

"Oh no you don't, mate! You ain't touchin' there!" And now Geoffrey was returning punches, beating Snively to the ground. An easy task. The human fell quickly and though he tried to defend, he still earned a bloody lip.

"HEY! Don't ya'll hurt him, Geoffrey!"

Further damage was prevented as Bunnie roughly pushed the skunk away.

"Now ya'll settle down!" An angry Bunnie was not one to mess with, and even the macho Geoff quieted at her tone. "Ah don't want any more roughhousin' from ya'll! We're here to beat on ole Nagus, not each other!"

Geoffrey looked annoyed.

"An' you!" Bunnie's leaf-green eyes turned to Snively. He was pulling himself to a sitting position. Blood leaked from his lip, but he didn't bother to wipe it, much less even touch it.

"What were ya'll thinkin'? Ya'll can't attack people bigger than ya! Look at ya...yer hurt..." She put her finger to his lip, but pulled back when he shivered.

"Shucks...for such a li'l thang, ya shore are brave."

He looked away. Inside he screamed. Not sure what he was screaming, but it was probably laughter. She thought he was brave?

Brave? Oh my.

Brave yes...so brave that he had flown at Geoffrey, desperate to silence him. Because he was so afraid what she would think. What the others would think, what Julian (even though he would never know) would think, but mostly what he thought, or was hating to admit, that such a thing was possible, that he could love a Mobian.

Or even love at all.

"Snively." Bunnie's voice shocked him. She nudged him with her foot. It felt ice-cold even through the fabric of his pants. He jumped, looking up at her. He hadn't realized he'd been sitting there, staring aimlessly for at least a minute...so caught up in his thoughts.

'Oh yes.'

'You love her.'

**

An eyelid twitched, and slowly a black eye was revealed. A red pupil rolled around, focusing on a security monitor. Then flitting to another. There was movement on both.

One should've seemed unimportant. It was merely a techbot moving swiftly through an empty corridor of the building.

The other was a SpyEye feed. The floating camera was thus far undetected as it followed a small group of Freedom Fighters.

He could see the rabbot; his old unfinished project. Her metallic arm was facing the camera. It was the side of her he preferred.

There was also a bulky skunk with a dumb-looking beret. He was gesturing towards the factory they stood in front of. One of the hoverunit factories on the eastern outskirt of the city. Robotnik sighed. He supposed they were going to break in and cause havoc, as usual.

He scowled. Normally such a sight would drive him into a rage, but he was finding it hard to care. But why? Nagus would punish him if they succeeded. His city, his beautiful city, would be damaged. But it wasn't his city anymore. The wizard held it in his grip, and maybe that was why Robotnik could not summon up any passion, because maybe he sort of wanted something of Nagus's to be wrecked.

But it was his city before, and would be again, and so he should not let it be wounded. A large sigh escaped him and he moved his finger over an intercom button, finding a link to a SWAT unit in that city sector.

Then his gaze focused back on that lone techbot, racing down that corridor, turning corners so urgently. He wondered what the rush was. The garbage-can shaped techbots were not usually known for being so speedy.

He shrugged. Whatever. It was just a robot, so why all the interest? His interest should really be on the surveillance feed, on the freedom fighters heading towards that factory. But no, he didn't take his eyes off that lil techbot, all alone, moving so persistently down the hallways, towards...someplace...

**

"Look..." Snively's eyes flitted to the side. "A SpyEye."

Geoffrey turned to face the floating camera. "These damn things are always sneakin' up..."

Snively sighed. "I wish I had my gun." He knew trying to catch a SpyEye on foot was no easy task.

"Oh yeah, so you could kill us all, eh?"

"Oh I would definitely kill *you*." The human smiled viciously. That was a nice visual, Geoff's annoying mouth, along with the rest of his head, exploding in a shower of brains and blood.

"Now ya two stop it, or I might hafta get real ugly and mean!"

Snively turned away to hide a smile. 'Oh Bunnie...you could never be mean...too sweet...and ugly well..." His cheeks felt hot again. 'Shut up...'

A suddenly clatter and whirl of dying machinery made him look over to where the SpyEye had been. It now lay on the ground in shattered pieces. A magenta arrow protruded from the pile. He glanced to Geoff, whose gloved arm was outstretched.

Snively blinked. He'd forgotten about the miniature crossbow mounted on the skunk's glove. He was surprised Geoff hadn't done some 'target practice' on him yet.

Then his eyes returned to that small pile of scrap. 'So, Uncle might've seen me.' He wondered what Julian was doing. Or what he looked like. Surely he was flinging curses at his traitorous nephew.

'But Uncle, you left me to die... you should've expected...the way you treated me...the way...I..." He looked over at Bunnie suddenly. Why were his eyes burning?

It was the foul air, of course.

"Snively!"

He turned. Bunnie and Geoff were leaving him behind.

Well, that wouldn't do. 'Not when there's so many 'fun' things to do'. He rolled his eyes. Oh well. As long as they were going to cause Nagus...and Julian pain...

So onward they went, forcing their way into not one, but two unwilling factories. Bunnie did indeed prove to be a door-opener; one kick sent them crashing down. SWATs were dispatched by both Geoff's crossbow and Bunnie's martial art skills. Snively felt a bit useless, just standing with his arms crossed about his chest, cringing a bit at the sound of laser fire and dying bots.

When they reached the 'brains' of the factory, a large computer terminal, he was finally put to work, hacking in and overloading the system. And then they ran away. Fast.

**

A pair of black eyes dotted with red moved over the surveillance monitor. He'd seen the flash of light and billowing smoke clouds even before the alarms began to clang. The distant rumble of explosions trembled through the air.

He sighed. Why now? But he'd known the Freedom Fighters had been up to something. It was probably time to send out more bots, though grudgingly he knew he should've done so earlier. Oh well. Time could never be pulled back.

So he called up a few troops of SWATs and sent them off running to what probably would be their doom. Especially if Sonic was there, although Robotnik hadn't seen the accursed beast yet. His lip lifted, revealing block-like teeth in a snarl. No, he'd only seen skunk, rabbot, and the shivering whelp that was his nephew.

He growled. Oh, it still angered him to think of it, one of his own minions turned Fighter. And Snively, one who had worked so diligently to help Robotnik's dream become reality, even if he had been incompetent, and in the end, conniving... he still had been Robotnik's biggest supporter.

He sighed again. Attention was turned entirely away from the scene of destruction and back to that Techbot who was still moving swiftly downward...down, down through the city...but to where?

It became obvious to Robotnik that the Techbot was not going about any normal task. Maybe it was on a special errand for Nagus?

But why send a Tech? 'They're not outdoor robots', Robotnik thought, with a mustache twitch, watching the robot bumble along the dark streets of the city.

And if it was headed towards that group of Fighters liked it appeared to be, it would be defenseless. Techs didn't have weapons.

**

"Hey Bunnie!" Sonic's gleeful voice crackled over the earpiece in the rabbit's ear. She jumped a little.

"What is it, sugah-hog?"

"Better cover your ears, there's gonna be a real big *KABOOM*!"

Bunnie eyed the wreckage from their recent endeavors. "Can't be any louder than the ones we made, honey!"

Sonic laughed. "Yeah, we've been hearing those...heheheh...good job."

"Ya betcha it is!"

Geoffrey glanced over. "What's he sayin'?"

"Told us ta listen." Bunnie laughed along with Sonic in her ear. "There's gonna be some fireworks."

Snively didn't look so jubilant as the first of several explosions rumbled through the air. It was like thunder, growling and ominous, thrumming through the ground under his feet. He cringed back against the dirty wall of a building, a stark contrast to his companions, who were cheering and laughing.

They were blowing up far many more factories than Snively had realized. He didn't like it. Surely Robotnik and Nagus would retaliate. Maybe Sally had been so angered at his comment of the Fighter's ineffectiveness that she had stepped up attacks. He shivered as the ground shuddered again. There went another building. Another boom. Another factory, gone. That was at least 5 destroyed now.

He frowned a little as he followed the two furries to yet another factory, where they were all startled by a robotic voice intoning, "Halt, Freedom Fighters."

**

Robotnik's mustache twitched.

He remembered the very first time one of his buildings had been destroyed. He had gone out to gaze upon the wreckage. His mouth had stretched in awe, his eyes widened. It was such a mess. Sheer devastation. A once mighty factory, stretching over a full city block, and now, torn into pieces, pieces that scattered over five blocks now. Fire and robot parts littered the ground, sparking wires threatened to singe his hands.

But now the sight was so commonplace that he didn't even feel a pang of disbelief.

Something other than the decimated factories made him sit up. The TechBot had stopped before the group with his nephew. He watched as they turned, clearly alarmed. He ordered the SpyEye that had tailed the 'bot to position itself high. Freedom Fighters looked around constantly, but not always up.

He smirked. How dumb...when many of his threats were sky-borne. Oh well. It made it easier for him, he supposed.

**

"OH NO YOU DON'T, MATE!"

Snively had to smirk. Why Geoffrey insisted on addressing everyone as his 'mate' was beyond him. This robot certainly was no friend. But still, he knew it posed virtually no threat, and Geoffrey's crossbow trained on the small aqua bot was quite unnecessary.

The bot made a series of beeps and then one of its arms raised.

"It's only a Techbot," Snively lifted a brow at Geoff. "They're harmless."

"Harmless my ass! This is one of Robotnik's-"

The Techbot's head flew off. Geoffrey's bow came dangerously close to firing, but Bunnie roughly grabbed his arm.

"Stop it, ya'll! That's no robot!"

And it wasn't...well it was in a way. A hedgehog's face, albeit a robotic one, peeked from the interior of the 'bot, and then clambered out.

"My goodness, Geoffrey, another moment and I would've had quite a nasty headache!"

Geoffrey lowered his arm. "Aw man, sorry about that, Sir Charles. You and them damn robot disguises."

"They are necessary." Chuck laughed a little. Bunnie smiled, while Snively merely eyed the Robian distastefully. He had never cared for the honorable Sir Charles.

"I see you guys are having a good time." Chuck gestured absently at the rubble strewn about. The two furries nodded. Snively kept back against the building, his expression rather sour. "Well, maybe not everyone..." Chuck's red eyes settled on him. "You even have him going on missions now, eh?"

"Yeah," Geoffrey snorted. "I can't take my eyes off him, ya never know what he'll do..."

Bunnie sighed. "Enough of this, honey-Chuck, ya'll must have something important ta say...this is too dangerous for small talk! Ya'll could be seen!"

The robotic hedgehog's face grew somber. It was strange that they could tell emotions from his face, since his features were far less mobile than an organic's. But they could tell, nevertheless.

"It's Nagus." He sighed. "But when is it not Nagus. I found out where he spends most of his time."

"Yah, where?" Geoffrey seemed disinterested, constantly glancing about them.

Snively looked around too, trembling. He was always a little jumpy, but here his nerves were on end. He knew Robotnik would never let them stand still this long. 'Bots had to be on the way, guns in hand. He wondered if they still used 'stun', or if they just switched over to kill-mode now. Nagus didn't care for roboticization.

"By the bay, in one of the buildings there. He's turned it into some sort of freak show."

"Shit." Geoffrey messed with his crossbow, making sure the bolt was properly aligned. "What sorta crap is he doin' now?!"

"I'm not quite sure. You see, Nagus enters info into a computer, but not the main system. It's a handheld one he carries with him."

"Can you get it?"

"No way, no how."

"Don't even think of it, hon!" Bunnie cast a scolding look at Geoffrey for even suggesting it. "That's way too dangerous!"

"Yes." The robotic hedgehog nodded. "Even I know my limitations. But still, I managed to plant a bug in his building, in the main room where he does the testing."

"Testing?" Bunnie echoed.

"Yes...on deroboticized people..."

Geoffrey looked shrewdly over at Snively. Bunnie was gasping, her hand to her mouth. "Do you know about this?"

Snively shrugged, then shook his head.

"He doesn't know," Chuck said. "Nagus only started using this building recently."

"So...what kinds of things did you hear then? On the bug?"

"Well...Nagus doesn't quite always make sense. Or should I say, he rarely does. He seems smart, yet his ideas are nonsensical."

Snively let out a little snort from his spot near the wall. Bunnie and Chuck seemingly ignored him but Geoffrey turned to give him an evil glare. Upon seeing the skunk's murky gaze, Snively let out another scoffing sound, something evil in the smile curving his lips. He focused blue eyes on Chuck. "Oh, I'm sure it's not any more nonsensical than an entire kingdom being taken over in say...40 minutes?"

A frown was Chuck's only response. Geoffrey, as usual, chose violence, grabbing the tiny human by the collar and pulling him up to tiptoes, his black nose shoved against that pointed one. "Oh, you think that's funny, faggot!?" He shook the human roughly and then threw him down. "Any more comments like that and I'll have to punish you."

"Oh..." A very untypical grin was on the human's face, but Snively liked to do his share of taunting every now and then. "Don't tempt me Geoffrey...you know how much I looooove your punishments..."

"Hey now..." Bunnie slid her body smoothly between skunk and human, her metallic hand reaching out and clasping upon Geoffrey's clenched fist. He sighed and stepped away, his fist turning back to a hand. She looked back at the human, and Snively was shocked to see her glaring.

"Now ya'll knock it off, sugah! Ah don't like them nasty comments of yers, we don't need ta be reminded of what Robotnik did all them years ago! We gotta focus on NOW, an' gettin' what's ours."

He gulped a little, his gaze skitterish; darting from building to building to the ground, and even the sky, anywhere but her. "I-I'm sorry, Bunnie..."

The irritated look faded from that pretty face. "Good...now sugah-Chuck, hon, tell us more about Nagus..."

"Of course." Chuck sighed a little. "From what I gather from Nagus talking to his prisoners, or to himself, he... I don't know. Wants to test the limitations of his magic, I suppose. He even..." Chuck tried to sound calm, like it didn't affect him, but the pain was still apparent, even in that metal-cloaked voice. "...killed a man just to see how much electrical magic he could take. He said he needed to know so he could know how far he could punish Robotnik..."

There was a snicker from the wall, but this time the small human was ignored.

"So...all he's doin' is kooky experiments?" Geoffrey was fiddling with his crossbow again. His headfur fell into one eye and he brushed it aside, glancing up at Chuck again.

"Basically...yes." Chuck nodded gravely. "They don't seem to be for real purpose, other than to just amuse him or as he oft says 'heighten his powers'."

Geoffrey scowled, giving his crossbow a pat with his ungloved hand. "What a bastard. So there ain't no real plans towards us?"

"No. Seems to be leaving that to Robotnik..."

"Oh...you can be assured there'll be plans then," came the human's accented voice. "Julian had two obsessions in his life; dominating this planet, and killing you freedom fighters. There'll be plans..."

"I don't know about that." Chuck locked his red gaze firmly with the human's. "He hates Nagus with a passion. From what I've seen, he's been lax in his work. I think he wants to get rid of Nagus more than us at the moment..."

"My..." Snively didn't tear his eyes away from the hedgehog, rather he returned the stare more intently. "That sounds rather familiar..." A smirk lifted one corner of his mouth. "That sounds so tragically familiar..."

**

Familiar indeed. One who had been infatuated with dominiating all he surveyed, Robotnik was now subject to that domination, and he would do anything to regain the status he once had. Tyrant. Overlord. Feared, hated, but always held in utter awe. How he wanted it back. How he craved it.

He was seething as he watched the conversation unfold. The SpyEye's transmission was a bit static-ridden, but he could make out most of the words, and these words infuriated him.

He'd already been annoyed by the sight of Sir Charles. 'That damn hedgehog!' He was not aware the old fool was still working as a spy here! He thought he'd gone to frolic in the forest with the rest of the accursed animals, but no.

Then his annoyance had turned to interest, to see just how Charles had managed to stay in Robotropolis. Hiding inside and controlling a techbot, he blended in perfectly. Just like that rabbot...Robotnik gritted his teeth...the freedom fighters were using his genius against him! But still...it was an interesting idea. A way he could get out of the city, maybe? A way he could sneak up on an unsuspecting Nagus, in some sort of disguise?

There was not much of an idea, if it was even an idea, but it was a small snippet that Robotnik would keep pasted in the back of his mind. It could prove to be something useful indeed...

His sagging features had lifted in a snarl at Charles's mention of the electrical experiment. Nagus was testing Mobians to see what new punishments he could inflict on Robotnik?! The fat man had cursed, denting the computer console with his mighty fist.

'Oh Nagus, you've gone much too far now...'

**

"Well this doesn't seem so important that ya'd hafta come out here..." Geoff gave Chuck an annoyed scowl. "We don't need our only spy gettin caught." As if on cue, he noticed the SpyEye and sent a bolt flying into it. It was a quick precise move and the camera had no chance. It clattered to the ground. There was ample cursing from Geoffrey.

"Oh dear, Ah shore hope Robotnik didn't see that!" Bunnie gazed worriedly at the scraped camera. Even now its red 'eye' sensor was darting back and forth. Geoffrey finished it off with a few violent stamps of his boot.

"Ya'll better git back now, sugah-Chuck...an' be careful!"

"I'll keep working and send you a note tonight. If we can intercept those deroboticized people on their way to Nagus, then maybe there's a chance to rescue them. And destroying Nagus's building would be nice too."

Bunnie's eyes brightened. It was like sun shining through leaves, and Chuck smiled to see it. "That'd shore be great!"

The robotic one nodded, then donned his disguise. They stood watching him amble off, then turned back to the factory.

"This is the last one for today...so let's git in there..." Bunnie shivered a little. "Ah hate bein' in this city any longer than Ah have to!