******************************************
Julian walked into Maria's room, and watched her sleep. She looked so familiar to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He walked up to her bed, and took a closer look at her. She was beautiful, and he wanted to kiss her, but something stopped him. As he gazed at her porcelain face, Julian had a flash:
"Julian, aren't you gonna come to ARK with me?"
"Nah, Maria, I'm gonna stay here. I don't wanna live on some old space-station. Not my style"
Maria hung her head.
"Grampa and I are gonna miss you"
"Well, I don't trust his experiments. He wants to play around with DNA, to basically play God. I just don't wanna be around when the millitary storms the place!"
"Aw, Julian, did you have to bring that up? People are already jumpy! They don't need to know about this! What they don't know won't hurt them!"
"Maria, you should stay down here. The doctor said the fresh air would do you good-"
Maria glared at him. This wasn't the first time her health had been brought up.
"Listen, Julian, I'm just fine, and I will be just fine! He also said that my condition cannot be cured, and my grampa's trying to cure it. If that means 'playing God', then so be it!"
With that, she turned and hobbled away on her crutch, and didn't look back.
**************************************************
But what were they doing on this planet now? Julian wondered. What had happened?
The girls stirred, and opened her eyes.
"Wha-Julian? What are you doing here?"
"Maria... I-I don't know..." the man stammered.
"Well, you sure put on some weight," Maria laughed.
"Come on," Julian said, "I gotta get you back home"
"No, Julian, I have to get back to ARK! Shadow needs me! I gotta find out if he's still alive!"
"Maria, please don't try to exert yourself too much-"
"Oh, Julian, you're always over-protecting me. I don't need that. Stop being my father! I'm an adult now!"
She got up and hung onto her brother for support, and together they looked around, trying to get a bearing of where on this strange planet they were. There had to be some way off...
Julian was still hazy, but he finally got back some of his memory. What had happened? Where was Gerald? And who was Shadow?
**************************************************
"I've ran a genetic scan on both of them," one of the doctors, a canary, said, "Their D.N.A. is very simmilar, suggesting that they could be related in some way"
"Related?" Porker asked, "But how?"
"I don't know. The funny thing is, they have variances in their genetic structure that Latifah doesn't have. It may be because she was 'bansheeized', but that doesn't explain the presence of two hearts in Julian, and only one in Maria. There's something weird about them, and I'll need to look further into it"
"Go ahead, Tekno," Porker said, "Rotor, notify me once she finds something"
The walrus nodded.
**************************************************
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Latifah laughed, "Snively, what say we have a nice little talk?"
"Who are you?" the midget asked.
The bansh-echidna's smile widened. She and Knuckles held all the cards.
"Never mind who I am, Snively. You will tell us where the Master Emerald that you stole is, and maybe we won't hurt you"
"What Master Emerald? I never stole an emerald. You got the wrong guy!"
Latifah chuckled. Her plan was working.
"I didn't ask you whether or not you stole the emerald. I'm asking you where it is, and why you stole it!"
"I'M TELLING YOU, I DIDN'T DO IT!!! NOW CAN YOU PLEASE LET ME GO???"
"I don't think I made myself clear," the female guardian said, "I'm asking you where the emerald is, and if you don't talk, you can forget about ever leaving this cage"
"LIKE I TOLD YOU BEFORE, I DON'T-"
"Fine," Knuckles said, "If you want to stay in this smelly cage-"
"GET ME OUT!!!!!! A FRIKKIN' HEDGEHOG LOCKED ME IN HERE!!!!!!"
"Oh, he did?" Latifah asked, making clear that she didn't know, or care about what happened.
"Yeah, and he crapped under the blanket just so he could gloat at me!"
"Well isn't that too bad?" Knuckles said, "Now tell us where the pieces of the Master Emerald are-"
He opened the cage-door, took off his gloves, and scraped his knuclaws.
"-Or do you like getting an infection?"
Snively's eyes widened.
"It'll only take a scratch, and in a few days, you'll swell up, stop breathing, and make a fairly amusing corpse. I know what a filthy cage can do to a wound, so you better tell us where the emerald is, or else..."
"I TOLD YOU!!!! I DON'T KNOW!!!!!!! JULIAN NEVER TELLS ME THESE THINGS!!!!!!!!!"
"Well, that's your problem, not mine," Knuckles said, as he held his claws to the midget's face.
"Look, I can help you find the stupid emerald pieces; maybe there's some equipment that can detect them or something. Just please don't hurt me! Please! I don't care what you do just-"
"Ok, we'll let you out, as soon as we find something to tie you up with," Latifah said, flirtingly hugging Knuckles.
{I love it when you think that way, dear,} she thought to him.
The echidna nodded, and grinned. This was going to be fun.
**************************************************
"AMY!!! AMY!!!"
No answer.
Now Tails was having second thoughts about making Amy search for the two guardians on her own. What if they killed her?
"AMY!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!"
The kitsune sat down and started crying.
"Oh, Amy, where are you?"
"I don't know, but you're in alotaa trouble, little buddy!"
Tails turned around. Uh, oh...
Sonic glared at him.
"I-uh..." the fox began.
"Where did you last see her?" Sonic demanded.
"Over there"
Tails pointed to one of the factories.
"AND YOU JUST LEFT HER?????"
"I-I-I... we split up, like you and the other freedom fighters do when we raid this place. I wanted to get Knuckles and Latifah-"
"D***IT, TAILS! YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO GO OFF LIKE THAT WITHOUT AT LEAST ASKING US!!! WE WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!!! AND WHAT ABOUT AMY??? SHE COULD BE HURT!!!!"
Tails started crying, and Sonic couldn't stay mad at the little guy. He just didn't have the heart to.
"Aw, Tails, I was just worried about you. Sal and I both were," he said, hugging the kitsune.
"But Aunt Sally's gonna be mad at me !"
"We'll just have to see if we can find Amy, and then get back to Knothole and hope that Sal's in a forgiving mood"
"Ok. I'm scared, Uncle Sonic. What if Knuckles-"
"He didn't do anything to her, and neither did Latifah," Sonic said, "They aren't bad, even though the others probably think it. They just don't want us interfering with what they're doing. Understand?"
Tails nodded.
"I guess so. But what did they mean by our 'own worst enemies'? That's just weird"
"Well, they mean, if we don't let them look for the Master Emerald, then it could land somewhere, probably right on Knothole, and kill a lot of people. I know these things, Little-buddy; and I know Red. He's doing this for a reason, and he doesn't care how others feel as long as everyone is safe"
"Kinda like when Sally wouldn't let me go on those missions?" the kitsune asked.
Sonic nodded.
Tails hung his head.
"Well, we're probably gonna both be in big trouble when we get home," he said.
Sonic patted the fox's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Little-buddy. I'll try to work things out, but you did pick a bad time, what with Sal expecting. She's not feeling like herself, and you running off with Amy really got her worried, and mad-at me. We gotta find Amy, before Sal decides to look for us herself"
The kitsune nodded.
"Ok"
************************************************
"We gotta find Knuckles and Latifah, before they try to take over Knothole," Amy said.
"Knothole? What's that?" Rouge asked.
"Knothole's where I live, and where Robotnik can't get us"
"Wow," the bat said, "I never heard about that place. Where is it?"
"We're gettin' close. You're gonna love it there! Aunt Sally's so nice. She's a princess, and she gets to lead all the missions and stuff, but she and sonic wet their pants together and now she's gonna have a baby, so she has to stay home so it won't get hurt or something"
"Does she know anything about some kind of emerald?"
"Emerald? I think she was arguing with Knuckles about some kinda master-emerald or something. He was mad because she wouldn't let him go on a mission with Latifah. She wouldn't let him out of Knothole because he was paralyzed by Dr. Robotnik"
"He's crippled?"
Amy nodded.
"Tails told me. Then he told me Knuckles hit Sonic. I think he wants to get the emerald so he can hurt Sonic some more. I think he was just pretending to be sick, though. He was walking when Tails and Sonic were in Robotropolis, and then Tails said that Knuckles fell down and Sonic helped him, and then Knuckles hit Sonic really hard so he went to sleep"
"They tried to hurt me too," Rouge said, "They wanted the Master Emerald, but I didn't have it. Then there was this big explosion-"
The bat broke off, as if the memory was too painful.
"There, there, I won't let them hurt you. I'm a Freedom Fighter, so you're safe with me!"
The bat nodded, and continued following Amy to Knothole.
*******************************************
No... thought Ebony. This can't be!
She saw the bat and the hedgehog heading straight towards Knothole. This was not good.
Ebony had mind-linked with Pyjamas a few days ago, and knew what that meant for the Freedom Fighters, not to mention Mobius.
Knothole... I must go to Knothole...
She levitated off from where she was standing, and flew in the direction of the village.
Orin... please don't fail me...
*******************************************
"We can't just go back to Knothole empty-handed," Sonic said, "We're gonna have to find Amy... and then face Sally's wrath, of course"
Tails shuddered.
"Can't we look for her tomorrow?" he whined, "I'm hungry!"
"Look, we both know how Sally will react if we go back without Amy. She isn't herself right now, and we won't get a wink of sleep if she has anything to do with it"
"Ok," Tails said, "Then let's look in that building over there"
He pointed to a tall building a few meters away from them.
******************************************
"Boy, it's creepy in here," the kitsune said, as he and Sonic walked through the corridors.
"You get used to it," Sonic replied.
They wandered around for awhile, before finding a glowing green object in the distance.
"Whoa!" Sonic cried, "A chaos emerald-no, waitaminute! It must be a piece of the Master Emerald! That must be why we couldn't find it!"
He ran to pick up the piece, but ran smack into-
"Latifah!"
"Whadja do to Amy!" Tails demanded, making fists and trying to look threatening.
"Nothing," Knuckles said.
Then, the two Freedom Fighters noticed a familiar person standing next to the guardians, his hands cuffed and his legs shackled with rather weird looking leather handcuffs.
Snively!
"Don't ask where we got those, or how we got this little loser," Latifah said, "Just tell us why you're here, again! If you keep interfering, we will have no choice but to-"
"No," Sonic said, "We aren't trying to stop you from protecting us or your island. We're just looking for Amy!"
"Why?" Knuckles asked, "Why would she be here?"
Sonic looked at Tails, who looked away and started acting rather guilty.
Knuckles nodded, realizing what had happened.
"So you tried to capture us?"
Tails nodded.
Knuckles had Latifah let him down again, and once down, gestured for Tails to come closer. Tails, of course, hesitated at first, thinking the guardian would hit him.
"Don't worry," Knuckles said, "I won't hurt you. I was just giving Sonic an excuse to let me and Latifah be"
Tails shrugged, and walked over to the guardian and sat down. Knuckles put a hand on the kitsune's shoulder, and smiled.
"All we're doing is trying to reassemble the Master Emerald. Do you want Floating Island to fall somewhere and kill people?"
Tails shook his head.
"Good. Now, if you really want to help your friends, either go back home, or help us find the rest of the pieces. And we will help you find Amy"
"Enough!" Snively demanded, "Let's get the emerald-pieces so I can finally be rid of you guys!"
Both guardians quirked a smile, then broke into an amused laugh.
"Oh, we didn't say anything about letting you go," Latifah said, with an evil grin.
Knuckles shook his head, "Indeed. We only said we would let you out of the cage. Once you've outlived your usefulness, what we do depends on what kind of mood we're in. And right now, you are in no position to argue"
"Well, can I at least go to the bathroom?" Snively pleaded.
Knuckles laughed, his grin getting more evil.
"No," he said.
******************************************
"Who are you, and what the hell are you doing here?" Sally demanded, glaring at the tall black cat who had just appeared at Knothole.
"I'm Ebony," the cat said, "And I'm here because Knothole, as well as all of Mobius, is in danger. Someone is planning to steal the Master Emerald, and she's heading this way with one of your own"
Ebony looked around frantically, as if she was being followed.
"And now I must go. The guardians are in danger, and must all be rescued before it's too late"
With that, Ebony took off and levitated away.
When the cat was gone, Sally walked back into Bunnie's hut.
"Who was thait, Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked.
"No one I know. Probably a messenger from another resistance-cell. Please inform me if you see her again, and while you're at it, stand watch in case Amy or Tails has returned"
Bunnie raised an eyebrow, but nodded.
"Fahn, Sally-girl, just as lawng as you stay-put!"
******************************************
Meanwhile, in a ship deep in space...
"Obsideon, time for your nap"
"Yes, Sera... Will you sleep with me? I don't like to sleep in the dark alone"
The woman nodded, since she had no superiors to bother with, and another officer could easily fill in for her. She followed the creature to a drab, but richly-furnished bed, and got under the covers with him.
The being's coarse hair poked at her skin as he snuggled up to her. Sera wrapped an arm around him, and held him close.
Absentmindedly, she kissed Obsideon, and stroked his black fur.
"When two people like each other alot... they kiss..." Obsideon mumbled, half asleep.
Sera nodded, raising her eyebrow a little, as well as her ears.
Sera's ears weren't like other peoples' ears. They were on top of her head, a result of genetic manipulation and artificial physiological enhancement. Her father had been involved in some unsavory business, been in a few places where one would not want to be recognized, and had a special little slush-fund, as most politicians did. But of course, the slush-fund was not enough.
The leader wanted something else, namely, a night with Sera. And since her father would not have it, he would have to be taught a little lesson...
"Daddy! Don't let them do this to me! Help! I'm scared!"
But he couldn't help her. All he could do was wait, until his little daughter was dropped off on his door-step, bedraggled, shivering, and with a couple new appendages: cat-ears and a tail.
Sera was never the same after that, and would often flip-out or act like a baby until she ran off and joined the same seedy underground as her father had. She started off as a prostitute, catering to both genders with tastes for weird mutants, hoping to find and kill the people who did this to her.
Especially one certain person, the one who had called all the shots. She would never forget that person's name. Never.
With that thought, Sera closed her eyes and nuzzled closer to Obsideon. Soon, she would have her revenge, and the nightmares that plagued her every night would finally go away.
****************************************************