Fallen Angel

by Nick "frwl" Byrd

Hello again. This is the sequel to my earlier work, Nack's Golden Mistake. Nack,

Robotnic, and Knuckles are all copyright to Service and Games, AKA SEGA. Nic is copyright to Archie.

Turn Back Time's lyrics are copyright to Freedom Call (look them up on google, you'll thank me

later.). Anything else in here was made up by me. This chapter was somewhat inspired by

Virgil's Aeneid: Book 9. Go read it. Feel free to distribute this document to anywhere as

long as you don't change the content in any way and you don't gain/loose money for it!

Yada yada yada, OK, let's start.

Nack stared though the mist. The place looked eerie, but not in a bad way. He

could describe it as almost... peaceful. There was a lot of light, but he couldn't tell where

it was coming from, and neither did he really care. He was looking for something, he

knew that much even though he didn't know exactly what it was. He continued walking

and looking through the haze, eyes slowly searching. Then he saw something... someone.

He walked towards her, trying to get her attention. He found himself waving his arms in

the air and called out. "Mama."

She turned and looked at him, smiling. "Nack!" She walked foreword to meet

him.

"I missed you Mama." He said to her.

She placed her arm around her child. "I know. I missed you to. But..." She paused

for a few seconds, then started back up again, sounding depressed. "It isn't your time to

come home yet."

"I know," Nack said. His mother's words saddened him, although he knew that she

spoke the truth.

"I'm sorry child. But don't worry. You'll see me again soon enough." She looked

him in the eyes with a small smile. "It's time... Goodbye Nack."

Nack watched as his mother's body slowly disappeared into the mist. He sighed,

turned around, and began walking again. The light then turned to darkness, and Nack

found himself lost in it.

Nack's eyes suddenly shot open. He slowly raised himself on his arm and looked

around. Nothing out of the ordinary could be seen around him... His messy room was

dimly lit by the dawn's sunlight coming through his small window. He put his palms to

his face and let himself fall back onto his pillow. He lay there in his bed for a few more

minutes. A dream. Nothing but a dream, though it felt so real. Then threw the covers off

himself and slowly got out of bed.

It was October now. To be precise, it had been exactly ten weeks since he had had

his fall down the mineshaft. To this day he could not see how he survived. But here

he was again, knee deep in life.

Over the past several months, Nack and Nic had found themselves growing

together more. In the past, things were never this way between them. They were usually

rivals, but as of now, they were partners in crime. This was partially due to their

relationship as family, but mostly because their "employers" had lately wanted the two of

them to work as a team to get jobs done. As a result, the two found themselves traveling

together and living in small, low-value places such as the one they were in now. This

caused some troubles between the two, but it was their only option if they wanted the

pay.

Speaking of pay, the two weasels had already found themselves their next bounty

hunt. Well, they didn't really know what the hunt would be yet. But today they would find

out. Ivo Robotnic had planned for Nack to meet him today at a given address. There he

would receive equipment and a briefing. Why he didn't want Nic to come along, Nack

didn't know. Probably just a precautionary thing. One Weasel is more trust-worthy than

two.

Nack walked out of his room and entered the kitchen. He slowly put some bread

in the toaster, put an egg on the grill, and poured himself some juice. After everything

was finished cooking, he set the meal down on the table, pulled up a chair, and sat down.

He sipped on his drink, then turned around when he heard a door open behind him. Nic

walked into the kitchen and looked at Nack. He returned a glance, looked down at his

food, and sighed.

"What's eat'n you?" She asked.

"Nothing. Just a dream..." Nack started, but Nic interrupted.

"Aw... Nackie had a lil nightmare?" she said mockingly.

"No, it wasn't a nightmare. It was about... Mama."

"Oh." Nic quickly hushed her rudeness at that. She knew how much Nack missed

her. Nic missed her too. "What happened?"

"I don't know really. We were talking in some metaphysical state... Ya know,

something like.. heaven maybe?"

"Heaven..." Nic seemed to draw something from that. "Ya really think Mama's

there?"

"I hope so." The two remained silent for several seconds with nothing but the

ticking of a wall mounted clock letting out any noise. This drew Nack's eyes to it. 8:30.

Robotnic hadn't set any given time on the meeting, so he figured that he might as well

leave soon. The earlier the better he supposed. He finished his breakfast, picked up the

phone, and called the taxi service. He gave the address and his name. "15 minutes? Sure,

that'll be fine. Thank you." With that, he hung up the phone.

"So, what did you talk about?" Nic asked suddenly.

It took Nack a second to realize that she wasn't talking about the taxi service, but

was back on the topic of his dream. "I'm not really sure," he started. "She said that it

wasn't my time... that I had to go back. As if I had..." A strange thought arose in his mind.

"As if I had died..." Nic was silent at this. "Ya know, maybe it wasn't really a dream."

"Very... Interesting." Those were the only words that she could say after that. She

then began to make her own breakfast.

Nack then walked back to his room. He took his hat off the wall-mounted hook

and placed it on his head. Then he wrapped his holster around his waist, slung his leather

bag over his shoulder. He then left his room. As he was leaving the building, he turned to

Nic. "I'll be back soon."

A few minutes later, a taxi pulled up in front of the small house. He got in back

and handed the driver a small piece of paper. "Can you take me to that address?"

The driver looked at it, then at Nack, and once more at the piece of paper. "I

guess, but what would ya have to do in tat area?"

"I have a bit of business there." He paused for a second. "Is there something

wrong with that place?"

"Heh, business. Nah, there ain't really anything wrong with the place." The driver

said with a small chuckle. Then the driver sped off.

About 45 minutes later, the driver stopped in front of an old rundown warehouse.

"Dis is it." Nack hadn't expected anything better than this as a meeting place.

"Ya, I guess." Nack gave the driver a few dollars and stepped out of the car. He

watched as the taxi sped away.

Nack walked to the small door that lead to the interior of the warehouse and drew

his laser pistol. He had some bad experiences in places like this before, and he didn't

especially like it that Robotnic said that he wouldn't need a taxi to get home, although he

wouldn't say why. It was some kind of surprise. Great, that made him feel even more

secure. He slowly opened the door and entered the building. Except for a few small spots

where the sunlight shown through the window, it was pitch black in there. "Hello?" he

called out into the darkness.

"Ah, Nack. Welcome." A few dozen lights suddenly flickered on above. The

interior of the warehouse was empty except for a desk about 20 feet in front of him.

Behind that desk sat Robotnic.

Nack looked at Ivo and then searched the rest of the room quickly with his eyes.

Totally empty, until he looked behind him. He saw two bots with laser rifles standing

stock still on either side of the door he had entered. Yep, Robotnic would never let

himself go anywhere without the proper protection. "Well, shall we get to business?"

Nack turned to Ivo. "You said that you had a new mission for me."

"And I do. It will probably take both you and Nic to pull it off." Ivo waved with

his hand to tell the weasel to come to the desk. "Some equipment you might need."

Nack looked at the desk, and was somewhat supprised. He picked up one item of

intrest, a very nice looking pistol. "It is a P99," Robotnic started.

"Why this?" Nack inquired. "What is wrong with my laser?"

"Your mission will have to be a stealth one. Your laser isn't quiet enough to do

this." With that he pulled out a silencer for the gun. "It will be very quiet this way."

Nack screwed the silencer on. "Very nice." He put it in his bag and looked at

some of the other items laid out. Rope, a pair of long knives, some blast caps, and two

dark full-body suits. Robotnic pointed out that the knives would be for Nic. The rope and

blast caps would be used only in order to get around, and the suits would be used because

it was ment to be a night-time mission.

All of these things Nack put in his bag. But one thing was bothering him, what

was the mission?

"You will be infiltrating Angel Island in order to capture the Master Emerald."

Nack seemed somewhat confused by this.

"So, how will we get there?" Robotnic laughed at this.

"Come with me." Ivo stood up and began walking to a door on the other side of

the room, closely followed by his two bodyguards and Nack. They walked through the door

and appeared outside in back of the warehouse. Nack noticed a sheet draped over

something in the clearing. "Go ahead, take a look."

Nack whipped the sheet off of the object and gasped at what he saw. He couldn't

believe it, this was not like Robotnic. There in front of him floated the Marvelous Queen,

Nack's ion powered jetbike. He thought it was trashed, but here it was, better than ever.

"Did... Did you do this?" Nack asked, still in disbelief.

"No, I just said 'Hocus Pocus' and it appeared in midair," Ivo said sarcastically.

Nack laughed at this. For once Robotnic had done something for Nack that he could

really appreciate. "You will notice many new things with your bike. The body of it is now

longer and has two seats, perfect for getting both of you up there. Also..." Ivo hit a button

on the handlebars. A tinted window rose from the sides of the bike. "Bullet-proof. It will

restrict your movement while it is up, but it should be useful to you nonetheless. I also

made it's engine more efficient, quieter, and faster." Nack walked around it slowly,

feasting his eyes on the bike while feeling it's smoothness. "Is it all to your liking?"

"Oh yes... It is truly... Marvelous!" This was not something that Robotnic did

often, never for Nack atleast. Now... "What's the catch?"

"The catch?" Robotnic acted supprised by this. "Well, the 'catch' is that you get

me that Chaos Emerald. The Master Emerald is very powerful... It would have endless

uses in my possession."

"Very well. We will do our best on this mission. And... Thank you."

"It was nothing really. But don't get used to it. As for the mission, it would be

wisest for you to go tomorrow night. It is a new moon then, so it will be very dark. I don't

know where on the Island the Emerald might be, but the innermost sanctum at the center

of the place is your best bet." Robotnic then walked back to the door and entered the

building. "I have nothing else to give in this briefing. Good luck." With that, Ivo

disappeared into the darkness.

Nack mounted the bike. 'Man does it feel good to be back with ya baby!' He hit

the throttle and sped off into the sky.

It only took him 10 or 15 minutes to get back to the house this way. He parked the

bike in front and walked in the door. It really was quieter than before, as when he entered

the house Nic didn't know it. He heard her small boombox playing. Freedom Call, the

same CD that she had bought the day Nack tried invading the gold mine. While he was

recovering from his injuries, Nic played this quite a bit, and he had to admit, for a band

that was so old, their music kinda grew on him, and he liked it. The end of the disk was

playing. "If I could Turn Back Time, ease my desire... It hurts me forever that I lost the

love of my life." It was a good song Nack decided. He then opened her room's door. She

looked at him, suppised by his presence.

"I didn't hear you pull up!"

"Ya know, I hate to admit it, but Robotnic ain't such a screwup after all." He told

her what had happened at the ware house, and gave her the combat knives.

"A stealth mission, huh?" She looked at the knives closely. "These are pretty

nice."

Then he showed her the gun he got. "That looks nice too. Keep it, those are hard

to come around nowadays I hear."

"Tomorrow night. Remember, this is our best shot at this." With that he left the

room.

Night came and went, then morning. The weasels spent the rest of the day getting

ready. Nack went to a firing range and got the feel of the vintage pistol. It took some

doing, but he quickly got used to the recoil from the gun that wasn't there with his laser.

Nic stayed at home, perfecting her close combat skills with the knives, proving that she

could be deadly against a target at close range. Then she practiced her throwing skills.

Those also were fair, but not as sharp as her close quarters battling.

Night came. 9:30, it was dark enough. The two weasels slipped on their stealth

suits. It was an aquard feeling to be in them, but they figured that they could get around

in them.

They mounted the bike and rode off into the sky. He had figured the current locus

of the Island on an electronic map, and found it to be due north of their house. They sped

in the island's direction at an incredible speed that the Marvelous Queen wouldn't have

been able to do before Ivo repaired it. Within a few minutes, Nack could see Angel Island

on the horizon. He was glad that it was a clear dark night, as many small lights dotted the

island giving it's location away. He dropped altitude and continued at his speed. As he

approached, he slowed down. Within a few minutes, he was able to land on a

somewhat secluded part of the Island. He covered the bike with some tree branches so no

one would find it. "Let's go," he whispered to Nic.

The two weasels found themselves slipping from shadow to shadow, keeping

totally invisible to the few islanders that were still out at this late hour at night. Many

torches cast several sharp shadows on many parts of the streets, so getting around was

simply a waiting game for the weasels.

Within an hour, the two of them found the entrance to the temple at the center of

the island. The inside was lit much more than the outside areas of the echidna

civilization, but this was their only way through. They ran as quickly and quietly as

possible through the hallways, often having to hide around sharp corners from some of

the echidnas walking the halls. This operation went well at first, but then their mission

came to it's first major hitch.

The two rounded a corner without checking around it, and their eyes met with a

smaller echidna at the very middle of the hall. All three stood still, each caught off guard.

The weasels knew that they had to do something. Nack pulled out his silenced P99 but

kept it aimed low. The child stood statue, paralyzed with fear. "Don't worry," Nic said to

the echidna as the two of them slowly walked towards him, keeping her voice ironically

in the most calm, motherly voice she could muster. "We don't want to hurt you."

Nack could sense it. Flight or flight, epinephrine and norepinephrine pumped

through the child's body, and Nack could tell, the boy was thinking of flight. He suddenly

lunged at the child and clapped his hand over the boy's mouth not a spit second to soon to

catch his scream. But the scuffle did cause some noise, and he heard someone coming.

The weasels looked around them, beginning to panic themselves. They then carried the

child around the corner which was small and dark luckily. They sat there for several

seconds, heard some footsteps pass by their hiding place. They had gone undetected. But

the boy.... What to do!

They both thought for several seconds. It would be wrong to kill him. They

couldn't, it wasn't fair. But they couldn't just let them go, or they were over. Then Nack

turned to Nic. "I have an idea." He looked at her for a few seconds, as if still thinking of

something. Then he took the butt of the pistol and whipped the child in the lower neck.

The boy fell limp on the floor. "He will awake within a few minutes, don't worry, he'll be

fine."

The two left the knocked out boy in the darkness and continued their run. They

had to be fast, the had to find that Emerald before they were found out.

A few minutes later, the two emerged from the halls to a large room with no

ceiling. Many pillars lined the outside of the area. The walls were wonderfully decorated.

This had to be the shrine of the Master Emerald, but where was it? The two searched for

a minute or so, and then Nic caught a sight that pushed her hopes as low as she was from

the Emerald. "Nack... Look." She pointed up.

Nack also felt despair. At the center of the temple was a tall pillar, and on that

pillar, about 30 or 40 feet off the ground, sat the Master Emerald. How were they

supposed to get it? Then it dawned on Nack. The rope. He pulled it out and looked at it.

It looked pretty long, hopefully long enough to loop around the Emerald. He made a large

loop out of the rope and gave it to Nic. "Ya think you can get it?"

Then utter despair reared it's ugly head. A loud horn blazed through the silent

night. They had been found out. "Durn it!" Nack ran for the exit. He didn't know how he

would be able to escape without being caught, but he had to try. Where there was life,

there was hope, right? He cocked the pistol and turned around, but instead of seeing Nic

close behind him it appeared that she had other ideas. She threw the rope up and missed,

recovered it, and was about to throw it again. "Don't leave!" she pleaded. Nack knew she

was ambitious, but this seemed extreme.

"We can't!"

"Cover me!" She wasn't going to leave the mission. He quickly ran behind a pillar

and hid in the shadow. Then he heard a masculine yell down the hall. The voice of an

angered echidna that Nack had delt with before. Knuckles, the Master Emerald's

Guardian. Then, he entered the room at the entrance at the opposite side of which the

weasels had come through.

"Stop!" Knuckles yelled at Nic. She pulled one of her knives out and pulled back

for the throw, but her nervous hands slipped and dropped the knife several feet from her

grasp. The group of echidnas with Knuckles began coming towards her. Then to

everyone's surprise, a female echidna near the front of the formation collapsed to the

ground, limp. A pool of blood formed on the ground by her head. Everyone was

confused, even Nic slightly. Nack took aim again. The bullet pierced the ribcage of

another echidna standing next to Knuckles. She fell to the ground, clutching her side and

gasping out in pain.

"Enough!" No one knew where the shots were coming from. Knuckles ran

foreword to Nic. She pulled out her other knife and took a swing at his head, but he

slammed her arm in midswing and sent the knife flying. He grabbed the weasel by the

collar of her suit and drew his fist back...

Nack saw this and dropped his weapon in the view of every one. "No! don't hurt

her! It isn't her fault! Stop!"

Some say actions speak louder than words. Knuckles heard his fellow echidnas

hit the ground when shot, he heard them trying to steal the Emerald. But Nack's words

went unheard. His spiked knuckle slammed into Nic's midsection. She let out a small cry

of pain, then bent over. Knuckles looked at her as she fell to the ground. Then he looked

to Nack. "She will pay the penalty for your sins." With that he left the room. The

remaining echidnas split up, one half taking the corpse out of the area, the other half

helping the wounded one. Nack ran to his sister. He saw the point where the spikes had

pierced her.

"Don't worry Nic, I'll save you. We can fix this... If we are fast." He picked up the

wounded weasel's body and ran for the exit. But before he got there, a series of bars

blocked the threshold. "Hey! Open up!" He cried. But nothing happened.

"N... Nack..." Nic raised her head, with a bit of difficulty.

"No! don't move, you need to keep your energy..."

"There is no way out."

No! This couldn't happen, his sister couldn't die. He couldn't let it be... but they

were trapped.

"Sis..." He looked at her. She was breathing heavily. Her wound slowly bleed, but

he couldn't stop it. He tried for a few minutes, then he looked through the bars to see a

few echidna's standing there, one silently crying, tears wetting the floor. "Please! open the

gates! I can save her, she doesn't deserve this! You don't know what this is like!"

"I do." The one crying echidna stepped foreword. "My sister was with Knuckles

when he came to get you..."

Nack didn't know what to say. "Please! I will sacrifice myself if I have to! This

isn't fair! She didn't hurt noone!" But they just shook their heads. "Please! If it weren't for

her, I would be dead! I died once, but her quickness brought me back to life, I owe it to

her."

Then one of the other echidnas passed a small cup through the bars. "Have her

drink this. It will ease her pain." Nack looked at the drink. He slowly took the cup and

looked at Nic. She was in pain. He put the cup to her lips. Then he wept. He wanted to

comfort her somehow. Why had he gone on this mission? Why had he chosen such a

violent path? If he could undo it, turn back time...

He looked in to her eyes. "I...If I could turn back time... ease my desire..." He

stopped. "I'm sorry sis..."

Suddenly he heard a guitar being slowly plucked from behind him. He turned to

see one of the echidnas strumming the guitar to a familiar beat. "You may want to go on,"

a somewhat elderly echidna said to Nack. "Song may be even more comforting to her

than the drink." Nack slowly nodded to the suggestion.

He listened as the guitar finished the intro.

"This is a song of sadness

Rhymes of pain,

The sounds of my tragedy

Out in the rain"

There was no wind in the temple, but Nack's tears fell as great raindrops.

"I made my way, and left you alone

I had denied you to be on my own."

Nack thought about that. Most of their lives had they been rivals, hardly ever crossing

paths...

"While the years are passing by

The flame's still burning inside.

I'll still remember when you and I,

Our love, it will never die."

It was true. Nic was the only one that Nack truly was able to love in life, she was his only

family. Sure, there was Crystal and Calia, but his sister currently had more of an

influence in his life than anyone else.

"If I could Turn Back Time,

Ease my desires

I'll always remember the sadness

I've seen in your eyes."

He looked at her eyes. She too was crying. But it didn't seem like those eyes of hers were

in pain... A few of the echidnas then joined in, forming a small chorus.

"I call for the master,

I'm calling his name.

Mysterious laughter

tortures my brain."

There was no laughter, and what master could help them anyways? Nack didn't

understand this line yet.

"Stories of sadness,

Stories of pain,

I'm tellin' my tales

to the wind and the rain."

This truly was a sad and painful thing for everyone around.

"All the dreams I have in my mind

I was doin' whatever I liked.

I still remember when you and I

Our love, it will never die."

Would that be all he had left of his sister now? Only memories? He took off his gloves

and felt her head, her nice braids, her soft fur... It wasn't fair that she was dying like this

He hadn't spen enough time with her... she was so young... too young to die. Why had they

fought?

"Turn Back Time,

Ease my desire

I'll always remember

The sadness I've seen

in your eyes.

If I could Turn Back the Time,

Relieve my desire,

It hurts me forever

That I lost the love of my life."

He paused as the guitarist played the beautiful bridge of the song. If Nack could turn back

time. He would have never brought her along, would have never accepted the mission,

not for any amount of money, this was a bounty hunt in which he was loosing more than

success.

"Turn Back Time

Ease my desire.

I always remember

The sadness I've

seen in your eyes.

If I could Turn Back the Time

Relieve my desire.

It hurts me forever

that I lost the love of my life.

If I could Turn Back the Time

Relieve my desire.

It hurts me forever

that I lost the love of my life."

With that, the only sound in the temple was the sound of the guitarist playing the last bit

of the song. Then it ended. Silence.

"I'm sorry sis. This is my fault."

"I...It's like you said." Nic looked up into Nack's wet eyes and managed to smile.

"Dying... It isn't that bad..."

Nack tried to smile back at her. "I would give anything to undo this."

Nic coughed, choking on her tears. Nack looked at her bloody wound. Why this

way? Why did she have to be the one bleeding here on the ground? "I... I think it's time to

go Nack." She became somewhat limp, but continued talking. "Would ya like it... if I told

mama 'Hi' from you?"

"S... sure." Nack looked back at her. He couldn't say much more, his voice was

choked.

"OK," she softly said, now closing her eyes. "I love you... Goodbye, brother." She

went limp then, gripped by death.

"Bye." With that, Nack lifted his head to the heavens, along with her name in

agony.

The night was endless. Silence, save a few sobs from Nack, dominated the entire

island. Morning finally came. Then he came to see Nack. He looked at the poor weasel.

His hand was on Nic's lifeless forehead, and his head was held downcast. The bars

blocking the doors were lowered, and Nack felt a hand gently rest itself on his shoulder.

Nack looked up to see who it was who had come in. Knuckles looked him in the eyes.

Bloodshot, the weasel hadn't slept, but rather wept the night away. He was a pitiful sight,

his hand had dried blood on it, his facial hair was matted down with the tears that had

dried up. "You killed them both..." He finaly managed to say.

"Why?" That was the only word that left Nack's lips as he looked back to his sister.

"It was a split second decision," Knuckles started. "You were acting so wrong.

You broke so many of our laws... You killed two people I cared for..."

"There," Nack spoke out suddenly. "It was MY fault, Nic... she was so innocent..."

"She paid your price-"

"No! She paid my price too many times before! She brought me back from the

dead even, and now she is there because of something I did!"

"Calm down!" The echidna grabbed Nack firmly by the sleeve of his suit which

he still had on. "Come now, you need to get some sleep." With that Knuckles handed

Nack his gloves and slowly lead him off to a small hut just outside of the temple where

Nack was able to get some very restless sleep.

Two days passed. Nack stood alone in the Angel Island cemetery. Three graves sat

infront of him. He just wanted to die, to be reunited with his family. He sighed and let a

tear drop from his face to the grave which the echidnas had given to her. He gave one last

look to the Master Emerald's temple, then walked to the edge of the island and recovered

the Marvelous Queen. It didn't seem so "Marvelous" anymore. He sighed, mounted the

bike, and soared back down to Mobius.

A week passed. Then a month. Nack had fallen apart, everyone could see it. Nack

turned to drinking. He felt that somehow this would help things, but it only made things

worse. When he wasn't drinking, he was at home, reclused. While he was there, he didn't

have the will to even open the door to Nic's room.

Nack had few missions after this, and each one he failed. It wasn't that they were

hard missions, but he simply didn't have the will to give his all like he had earlier. Then

Robotnic told him that he had a new mission.

He found himself back in the same warehouse that he had been in just a few

weeks earlier. Robotnic looked at him. His facial hair had grown out wildly,

uncontrolled. His hat was torn and dirty from the times when he had failed his recent

missions and was beaten by those who caught him. His fang was just about the only thing

about him that hadn't changed.

"I'm glad you could make it." Then the door that he came through slammed shut,

sending a loud echo through the building. Nack turned to see 4 or 5 bots standing there

with laser rifles pointed at him. A metal barrier shot up around the desk which Ivo sat

behind. "You see Nack, lately you have cost me more than I have been getting from you.

You have become worthless to me, and that makes you highly disposable."

Nack slowly turned to where Robotnic sat. "So, this is what this meeting is about?

My death..." A familiar fire lit in the weasel's eyes. His voice was restrengthened. "Well,

then I will stick with my family's custom, I won't go down without a fight..."

With that, Nack, in one swift fluid motion turned to the bots, pulled the laser from

his holster, and fired, shredding the thick metallic head of the center bot. But before he

could shoot again, the warehouse rang with the sound of the bots firing. This continued

for several seconds, then suddenly stopped.

Nack stood there for several more seconds, then dropped the laser to the ground

with an audible clang. With a gasp he fell to his knees. Then he drew a hard breath into

his blasted body. "May you forever know... One less shot..." He fell on his belly to the

ground. "And I would have won..." He lay there in a large pool of his own blood. In a

final whisper... "Nic... Mama... I'm coming..."

Robotnic stood up from his desk and walked out the back door, followed by his

bots, with no intention of ever having to deal with the body again.

The end.

OK... Now I know what you all are thinking... didn't I say that this will have at least

THREE parts? Then what am I doing killing off poor old Nackie like this? Oh... Just

wait. I still have big plans for him...

Send all flowers, e-candy, viri, and criticism to nbyrd@almaheights.org or to my AIM

address, WLBYRD.

Next chapter:

I Call for the Master