-Sorry for the little hiatus! I'm currently trying to establish a Twitter presence to get more eyes on these stories of mine. Go ahead and post feedback there as well, maybe even retweet if you're feeling especially daring! Thanks in advance!-

Chapter 3

"Papa...! Where are you?" Antoine cried, anxiously looking about the Depardieu estate for any sign of his father. His friends had warned him against leaving off on his own as the legions of Swat-Bots scoured the area, but the coyote had other plans. Was it courage or foolishness? To the little guard-in-training, it was beginning to feel like the latter.

"It's no use. He is missing. Oh...Papa...!" He curled up on the floor and sobbed, staining the hardwood with his tears.

"Yo Ant! We gotta vamoose!" That voice belonged to Sonic, one of Princess Sally's friends. He would tease him constantly, always getting a rise out of Antoine without fail. Impossible. That hedgehog came back for me!?

–

Now inside the decrepit ruins, Antoine immediately regretted his decision and kept peering over his shoulder at the fading light of the entrance. While he trusted the lynx walking ahead of him, a part of the coyote had a deep mistrust of the automaton, not helped by her now illuminated eyes which cast the area in a deep green glow.

"Are you all right back there, Antoine?" Nicole asked tersely and the young guard now realized that his teeth were chattering loudly. He brought a hand up to his stuttering chin and managed to calm himself before another noise caused Antoine to jump skyward with a yelp! The AI swiftly turned on her heel and caught the man as he held on for dear life. As she held him in her arms, a familiar feeling of deja vu swept over the young man, replaced by unease as her glowing eyes met his!

"Clearly not."

Leaping out of her arms, he stroked his hair nervously and thrust out his chest with forced confidence. "N-n-nonsense, mademoiselle! I'm merely getting..." He raked his mind for any possible answer that would satisfy her. "How you say...on a ledge for any approaching enemies we may encounter!"

"The words you are looking for are 'on edge', Antoine. Also, I believe you but please be quiet. My cursory scans picked up something strange..." This news did not please the high-strung coyote, but he steeled himself all the same. I will prove to you I'm not the scaredy-dog here...

–

Landing the Freedom Stormer safely on a nearby hill overlooking Robotropolis, the two veteran Freedom Fighters each pulled out red lensed binoculars. It didn't take long for Sally to pick up tell-tale boot-prints just outside the west entrance into the city.

"Okay Bunnie, we have our little guard spotted out..." The chipmunk took off her eye-wear and furrowed her brow in a mixture of relief and worry. "Nicole is going to be harder to track down since her steps are so light, but we can assume they are traveling together." She paused for a moment as she glared outward toward the guilty party. "At least, they'd better be!"

"Oh Sally-girl, I think they'll be fine. Maybe we oughta..." Out of the corner of her eye, the rabbot caught the young leader incredulously staring at her. Shaking the thought out of her head, the eternal optimist let out a soft sigh in defeat. "Nevermind. This is Antoine -and- Nicole we're talkin' about!

–

Darkness soon gave away to a flickering red light that dully illuminated the derelict hallway they traveled down. Exposed wires bereft of power were scattered across the ground. A curious form of plant life had poked its way through the grates, threatening to uproot them.

"Wow. This place has seen better days..." Nicole continued to run her sensors over the area as the coyote took the lead at long last. "Luckily it appears that Robotnik has all but forgotten about this area!" Ahead of them, a open elevator pulsed with the remaining electricity still powering the building.

"Curious. What could be remaining down here in this horri-ble place...?" Antoine squinted at the platform with suspicion as the AI brought light to the area once more. Dust caked the buttons which were illegible except for the floor B12. The coyote blew on the controls which sent a cloud of dust directly back at the poor lad. Hacking and coughing, he splayed his hands across the whole board as Nicole leaped into the now closing doors!

"ANTOINE!" Her patience was reaching its breaking point, but as the elevator entryway opened once more, she was almost speechless at the sight. A massive greenhouse remained deep under the surface, and artificial sunlight bathed the forest before them in a golden light. "...Oh! It's beautiful!"

"Oui, I was just about to say the same!" The young man leaped out of the doors with new conviction as his feet met the metal grated floor with a pronounced clattering. Moving forward at a brisk pace, he almost tripped over a stray vine that wrapped around the raised platform. "Whoops!" A high pitched chuckle passed his lips as he resumed a confident strut.

"Careful Antoine..." Nicole warned as she peered over the edge at the expanse of vegetation below them. She swore that there was movement among the bushes there, but a scan brought up no indicators of Swat-Bot activity... "This was left behind for who knows how long. We don't know what remained behind in the interim..."

"Inter-what...? Come on, be speaking Mobian please, as Sonic would say!" Really!? I'm getting teased by Antoine of all people! The lynx closed her eyes and pinched her muzzle, looking up to see that the coyote was now missing. Wrenching her head back and forth, she barely caught the overhanging vine creeping downward with a blue coat showing through a slowly diminishing gap in the now curled up end of the plant!

The muffled screams of the guard allowed the AI to track his movements as she leapt onto a nearby branch, dropping down to further natural platforms as she kept out of sight of the strange flora. A horizontal beam of light brought up numerous entries throughout her memory logs. As the lynx finally reached the dirt covered ground of the greenhouse, a single entry was narrowed down under the less than academic title of "Krudzu Plant".

"A mutation caused by the rampant pollution stemming from an incident originating from the base of the river in the Great Forest." So this used to be a "Kudzu" plant...? I have to remind Sonic -not- to be the first to name such creatures in the near future! Nicole thought to herself as she tried to keep up with the continued agitated exhalations of the panicked coyote!

Cupping hands around her mouth she shouted, "Hold on, Antoine...! I'll think of something...!"