Well, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Cast now includes:

Vector: Miracle Max

Rouge: Valerie(Miracle Max's wife(Don't get the wrong idea tho, I'd never pair Vector with Rouge. Rouge just got this part cause there was no-one else she could play, and no-one else could play Valerie.))

Big put his ear to Shadow's chest. He stood up and gave Knuckles a sad look. "…He's dead."

"…It's just not fair…" Knuckles said, looking mournfully at Shadow's lifeless body.

"Wait." Charmy interrupted yet again.

Back with Sonic and the kids, Sonic put the book down and sighed. "What now Charmy?"

"What did Big mean… 'dead?'" Charmy asked.

"Not… dead dead, right Sonic?" Tails asked worriedly.

"Shadow just can't be dead…" Said Cream, close to tears. "He just can't be."

"Sorry guys," Said Sonic. "He is. Sad as it may be."

"Oh no!" Cream sobbed.

"Who gets Antoine!" Charmy demanded.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"At the end. Who kills him at the end? Is it Knuckles, Big, who?"

"Nobody. Antoine lives."

"You mean he wins! Geez Sonic! What did you read us this for?"

"You know, you kids have been pretty sick, and you're taking this awfully seriously, maybe we should just stop now." Sonic closed the book and stood up.

"No!" Charmy protested. "We'll be good."

"Yeah, no more interruptions." Said Tails.

"We'll be quiet." Said Cream, choking back tears. "Please continue?"

Sonic smiled at them and sat back down. Okay then, I'll continue." He opened the book and searched for his place. "Now where were we? Oh yeah. In the pit of despair…

Back in the story Knuckles had recovered from the shock and turned away to think.

"Well, we echidnas have never accepted defeat easily." He walked towards the door. "Come on Big, bring the body."

"The body?" Big asked.

"Do you have any money?" Knuckles asked, ignoring Big's question.

"A little, why?"

"I just hope it's enough to buy a miracle, that's all."

Knuckles walked out, followed by Big, who carried Shadow.

They soon came to a hut, and Knuckles knocked on the door.

A window in the door opened to reveal the face of a crocodile with headphones on… which was odd considering they hadn't been invented yet.

"What!" Vector demanded.

"Are you Miracle Vector who worked for the king all those years?" Knuckles asked.

"The king's stinking son fired me! And thank you so much for bringing up such a painful memory. While you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it! We're closed!" Vector shut the window but Knuckles just pounded on the door. Vector opened the window again and glared at Knuckles. "Beat it, or I'll call the brute squad!"

"I'm on the brute squad." Said Big.

"You are the brute squad!" Vector exclaimed, looking at Big.

"We need a miracle." Said Knuckles. "It's very important!"

"Look, I'm retired." Vector replied. "And besides, why would you want someone the king's stinking son fired? I might kill whoever you want me to miracle!"

"He's already dead." Knuckles said, gesturing to the body Big carried.

"He is huh?" Said Vector, sounding interested for the first time. "I'll take a look. Bring him in."

Vector opened the door and Knuckles and Big walked in.

Big set Shadow down on a table and Vector looked him over.

He checked his pulse. None. Listened for a heartbeat. Silent. He picked Shadow's arm up and let it go. It fell limply to the table with a thud.

"I've seen worse." He said with a nod.

Vector continued examining the body.

"Sir?" Knuckles asked, but got no reply. "Sir?" This time Vector looked up. "We're kinda in a hurry."

"Don't rush me sonny." Vector replied. "You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles. You got money?"

"Sixty-five."

"Sheesh! I've never worked for so little! Except once, and that was a very noble cause."

"This is noble Sir!" Knuckles proclaimed, then continued in a dramatic, mournful tone. "His wife is crippled… his children on the brink of starvation!"

Big, forgetting that Knuckles was lying started to cry but Vector just looked at the two with a raised eyebrow. "Boy, are you a rotten liar!" He said.

Knuckles dropped his phony air of mournfulness and gave Vector a serious look. "I need him to help avenge my father, murdered these ten years." He said seriously.

"Your first story was better." Vector replied and began looking around. "Now where is that bellows?" He soon found it and picked it up. "So, he probably owes ya money, huh? Well, I'll ask him."

"You can't ask him." Said Knuckles, puzzled by Vector's attitude.

"Yeah, he's dead." Big added. "He can't talk."

"Oh, look who knows so much!" Vector replied. "Well, it just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There's a big difference between all dead and mostly dead. Open his mouth." Knuckles did as he was told and Vector put the bellows in Shadow's mouth and started pumping. "Now, mostly dead… is slightly alive. As for all dead… well, with all dead there's only one thing you can do."

"What's that?" Knuckles asked.

Vector stopped pumping for a moment and smirked at Knuckles. "Ya go through his clothes and look for loose change!"

As soon as Vector felt Shadow was full enough of air, he put away the bellows and turned to the hedgehog. "Hello in there!" He shouted. "Hey, what's so important? What you got here worth living for?"

Vector pushed down on Shadow's chest, and as the air was pushed out, so were two words. "…Truuuue looooove…"

Vector looked surprised, but Knuckles just smiled.

"True love!" He said triumphantly. "You heard him. You can't ask for a more noble cause than that!"

"Sonny," Vector replied. "True love is the greatest thing in the world… except a good MLT, mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, when the mutton is nice and lean, and the tomato is ripe… Mmm, they're so perky. I love that! But that's not what your friend said. He clearly said, 'To blaaaave.' And as everyone knows, to blave means to bluff. So my guess is, you were playing cards, he cheated-"

Suddenly, a female bat ran in and shouted "Liar! Liaaaaar!"

"AAH! Get back witch!" Vector shouted, as Rouge stormed up to him.

"I'm not a witch, I'm your wife!" Rouge shouted. "But after what you just said, I'm not sure I even want to be that anymore!"

"You never had it so good!"

Knuckles and Big traded confused looks as the couple continued their argument.

"True love!" Rouge continued. "He said true love Vector!"

"Don't say another word Rouge!" Vector shot back, walking away.

"He's afraid." Rouge said to Knuckles and Big. "Ever since Prince Antoine fired him his confidence is shattered."

"Why'd you say that name?" Vector asked. "You promised you'd never say that name!"

"What? Antoine?"

"AARG!"

"Antoine! ANTOINE, ANTOINE ANTOINE!"

Vector covered his ears… or his headphones anyway. "I'm not listening!"

Now Rouge was chasing Vector around the room. "True love, life expiring, and you don't even have the decency to say why you won't help!"

"Nobody's hearing anything!"

"ANTOINE! ANOTINE! ANTOINE!"

Finally, Knuckles had had enough.

"Hey!" He shouted, getting their attention. "This is Princess Amy's true love. If you heal him he will stop Antoine's wedding."

"You mean," Said Vector. "I cure him the prince will suffer?"

"Humiliations galore."

"HAHA!" Vector shouted gleefully. "Now that is a worthy cause! Give me the sixty-five, I'm on the job!"

Later, after a lot of work that would have bored most of you to hear about, Vector was putting the final touches on a little pill.

He held the pill with a pair of tongs while Rouge coated it in what looked like… chocolate?

"That's a miracle pill?" Knuckles asked.

"Chocolate coating makes it go down easier." Rouge explained. "But, you have to wait fifteen minutes for full potency. And he shouldn't go swimming for, what?"

"An hour." Said Vector, as he held the drying miracle pill up.

"Yeah, an hour."

Vector gave Knuckles the pill. "Thank you for everything." He said, as he left the hut.

Big followed, carrying Shadow, and Vector and Rouge went to the doorway to see them off.

"Bye-bye boys!" Rouge called.

"Have fun storming the castle!" Said Vector.

"Ya think it'll work?" Rouge whispered.

"It'd take a miracle." Vector replied. "Buh-bye!"

After a little more walking, Big and Knuckles made their way to the top of the outer wall of the castle, as yet undetected.

"Hey," Said Big, putting Shadow down and leaning him against the wall. "There's more than thirty men down there."

"What does it matter?" Knuckles asked, lifting Shadow's head. "We have him!" He let go and the hedgehog's head slumped. "Help me, we'll have to force feed him."

"Has it been fifteen minutes?"

"We can't wait. The wedding is in half an hour."

Knuckles tilted Shadow's head back, opened his mouth, and put the pill down his throat.

"How long till the miracle works?" Big asked.

"You're guess is a good as mine." Knuckles replied.

Suddenly, Shadow's eyes popped open. "I'll beat you both apart!" He shouted aggressively. "I'll take you both together!"

"Guess not long." Said Big.

Shadow calmed down and found he couldn't move. "Why won't my arms move?" He asked.

"You've been mostly dead all day." Big replied.

"We had Miracle Vector make a pill to bring you back." Knuckles explained.

"Who are you?" Shadow asked. "Are we enemies? Why am I on this wall? Where's Amy?"

"Let me explain…" Knuckles decided against this. "No, that'd take too long. Let me sum it up. Amy is marrying Antoine in a little less than half an hour, so all we have to do is get in, break up the wedding, steal the princess, and make our escape. After I kill count Metal, that is."

"That doesn't leave much time for dilly dallying." Shadow's fingers twitched.

"You just wiggled your finger!" Big pointed out. "That's wonderful!"

"I've always been a fast healer." Shadow replied. "What are our liabilities?"

"There's only one working castle gate." Knuckles replied. He and Big lifted Shadow so he could see for himself. "And it's guarded by sixty men."

They sat back down again. "And what are our assets?" Shadow asked.

"Your brains, Big's strength, and my steel." Knuckles replied.

"That's it? Impossible. If I had a month to plan, maybe. But this…" Shadow shook his head.

"You just shook your head!" Big announced. "Doesn't that make you happy?"

Having used up most of his neck strength, Shadow simply shifted his weight as much as he could, causing his head to limply shift towards Big. "My brains, your strength, and his steel against sixty men, and you think a little head jiggle is going to make me happy? Hmm?" Big just smiled stupidly. "(sigh) If only we had a wheelbarrow, that would be something!"

Knuckles pondered a moment. "Where did we put the wheelbarrow that little robot had?" He asked Big.

"Over the little robot." Big replied.

"Why didn't you list that with our assets in the first place?" Shadow asked with gritted teeth. "What I wouldn't give for a holocaust cloak."

"There we cannot help you." Said Knuckles.

Big pulled a large black cloak out of his pocket. "Will this do?" He asked.

"Where did you get that?" Knuckles asked, quite surprised.

"From Miracle Vector's. It fit so nice he said I could keep it."

"Alright, alright," Said Shadow. "Help me up." Knuckles and Big did as Shadow asked and lifted him up onto Knuckles' back. "Now, I'll need a sword eventually."

"Why?" Knuckles asked. "You can't even lift one."

"True, but that's hardly common knowledge, is it?" Shadow's head fell back and Big set it right again. "Thank you. Now, there may be problems once I'm inside."

"I'll say." Said Knuckles. "How do I find the count? Once I do, how do I find you again? Once I find you again, how do we escape?"

"Don't pester him." Said Big. "He's had a hard day."

"Right." Knuckles replied. "Sorry." Big helped Shadow nod his head in understanding.

Big and Knuckles, carrying Shadow, made their way off the wall.

"Hey Knuckles," Said Big. "I hope we win."

Well, that's that.

Next chapter will be the final chapter of the story! It's already written, but I thought I'd wait awhile before putting it up.