"Hey, just a thought, but we might want to do something about this sooner than later. Just putting it out there."

Shortfuse was trying to get the ball rolling as the vibrations continued to make their presence known. It stayed at the same level it had been and, if their luck held out, would continue to do so for some time yet, but lady luck was always a fickle mistress.

"Maybe we should've tried to evacuate everyone first," said Amy. "Actually, there still might be time to get everyone out. Maybe if we send Shortfuse over, have him talk with Manic—"

"I appreciate the thought," said Tekno, "but according to my calculations, if this vibration continues, there will be no place to hide in the entire northwestern section of the Acorn Kingdom. Shortfuse and Manic may be able to save a few villagers, but by the time they return for more, it will be too late for any of them. It is of my opinion that the only way to ensure their safety is to stop the vibrations in their tracks. Doing anything else only takes precious time and effort away from where our true focus should be."

"We can't just sit back and do nothing!"

"That's enough!" Johnny thumped his weapon on the ground. It made a deafening and very dense sound that ensured everyone was paying attention, like banging a very heavy gavel. "Look. We could talk about this till the cows get home, but there might not be a lot of cows left if we don't start getting our act together. The both of you are right. Our priority needs to be stopping the vibrations, but we can't take the risk that we won't be able to do that in time. There's got to be somethin' we can do."

Suddenly, Tekno slapped her forehead out of nowhere, as though lightning just struck her brain. "Tekno, you are an imbecile! Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

"You mean think of how you can stand around even longer and get us all killed?" said Shortfuse. "I'm pretty sure you could find a way!"

"Manic still has that ring, doesn't he? Of course, I might have been able to do something as well, but this is much more efficient!"

"What are you getting at, Tek'?" said Johnny.

"Don't you see? Manic's ring lets him create virtually anything he imagines! Within reason of course, but still. So if he could create some sort of rudimentary aircraft…"

Johnny pounded his fist on top of an open palm, as though all the synapses in his brain had finally started firing on all cylinders. "We can get them all to safety in one go!"

"Of course, this will be Manic's first time attempting something this complex, nevermind carrying who knows how many people. But it is better than doing nothing."

"Agreed," said Johnny. "Shortfuse, see if you can fly back over towards town and locate Manic. Maybe—"

"Looking for somebody?"

Soaring overhead surrounded by a green light was none other than Manic. His ring was glowing bright as an emerald, and Sticks was hovering along in tow. "I don't believe it! It's the reckoning! 'He shall appear in a green light and have amorous relationships with a giant marshmallow blowup doll'—"

"That's a porn flick, you sicko!"

"Oh! My bad! Maybe I was thinking more about the giant green kangaroo and the sex toy—"

"Sticks? For the love of God, please. Shut. UP!"

"YOU AND WHAT ARMY?! BRING IT ON, YOU CORPORATE MONEY-GRUBBING HELLSPAWN!"

"ENOUGH!" yelled Johnny. "You two, knock it off! Don't make me come over there!"

Knock it off they did. Being adequately intimidated like a couple of children, they promptly got themselves together and started acting like sane, responsible Mobians. Or at least as much as they could. Manic brought them down to the ground, though he didn't fail to notice the lave pit starting to bubble. Or the vibrations when he and Sticks finally reached the surface.

"Oh, that can't be good!"

"Course it isn't good!" said Sticks. "It's like I told you, it's the darn troglodytes! Always getting their filthy, grubby mitts up on everything! And I literally mean 'mitts!' It's the only piece of clothing they've got! You don't want to see them when—"

"Hey, TMI!" said Amy. "Time and a place!"

"Agreed," said Johnny. "Now look, Manic. We need to evacuate the village. And as far as we can see, you're the best person to be doin' that."

Manic wasn't quite sure what Johnny was getting at first, but as soon as Johnny lowered his eyes at Manic's ring, he knew what was up. "Oh! Got it. Well, maybe. I think I might be able to whip up something, but I still haven't used this thing all that often. Still, we can't just leave them there, can we?"

"Not while we've got a shot at saving them," said Johnny. "And we do. Or at least you do. Now, do you think you can get a move on?"

"Will do!" Manic was about to head off when suddenly, something seemed to click in his brain like a light switch. Or rather a flash drive having its' memory restored. "Oh, yeah. Uh, I hate to say it, but Clarence told us about, well, you know…" He gestured towards the lava pit as what he had been about to say need not have been said. And Johnny couldn't agree more.

"Yeah. I'll bet he did."

"Look, I know we're short on time and this probably isn't gonna fix anything, but I really am sorry, Johnny. No-one should have to lose someone they're close to. Or at least want to be close to. Trust me here."

"I do. And I appreciate it. But I've gotta handle this in my own way. Just trust me on this."

Manic almost wanted to say something, anything more, but it was evident from the way Johnny was glaring at him smackdab in the face that he didn't want Manic to say so much as an iota. Other than the obvious. "Okay. But if you ever want to talk, you know where to find me."

Johnny didn't say a word.

"Right. Be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, I've got some folks to evacuate. Here's hoping they'll let me." Manic then surrounded himself in that green light once more and soared into the air, leaving a wide-eyed Sticks to watch in mystified wonder.

"Woza. That was a green mean jellybean of the lost world! Taking off and bright green without a second thought! IT MUST BE THE RAPTURE."

Johhny started to wonder if taking along Sticks hadn't been a Bad Idea. (TM) "In any case, we need to get over to wherever or whatever those vibrations are coming from. The pits are gonna get more active and the terrain's never easy climbing, but we'll just have to deal. Tekno, care to lead the way?"

"If you insist." Tekno took to the air, her wings flapping in the wind like a glorious ringed cape. Her device was hanging from her neck by a strap that had been woven into it. She looked into the distance. No-one else would have been able to spot it, but with a literal bird's eye view, she was able to see it. "I think I've found it! It should not take us long to get ourselves over there."

"Sounds good," said Johnny.

"What isn't good is that it may be something of a hike, as I mentioned."

"Not a problem," said Johnny. "If things really get tough, Shortfuse can carry us the rest of the way."

"HEY!" yelled Shortfuse. "I resemble that remark!"

"I'm sure you do. Now, everyone follow Uncle Johnny, because otherwise, let's just say things are gonna heat up REAL quick. Savvy?"


"I believe we have made it."

Tekno landed at the foot of the cliffside. At first glance, it didn't seem like much. In fact, one might believe there wasn't anything there at all aside from the sleek blue and black rocks and the roaring, crashing waves. But if one were attentive, they would see there was more to it then that.

"Come on!" said Shortfuse. "You don't mean to tell me it's literally over a frigging cliff?"

"Hey, it may well be," said Amy. "If I wanted to build some sort of secret doomsday machine (assuming that's what it is,) in a secret base (assuming there is one), a cliffside wouldn't be half bad. Assuming you wanted to risk your life building the thing and spend more money than you have. But the point is, that's where they might be."

"Indeed," said Tekno. "Of course, we must still be sure there is actually such a base here."

"Course there is!" said Sticks. "Where there's a cliff, you can always be sure there's a dirty rotten EVIL FORTRESS (TM) sitting right underneath! And you know what they're doing in that EVIL FORTRESS (TM)? Thinking up ways to turn us into fast food critters and sell us on the black market, that's what!"

Shortfuse was not amused. Then again, when was he ever? "Urge. To kill. Rising."

"In that case, why don't you take that 'urge to kill' and use it motivate yourself to see where if there's a base under the cliff?" said Johnny.

Without saying a word, Johnny flew precisely where Johnny told him to go, though with his eyes burning more brightly and intense than ever, it was clear he wasn't happy about it. It wasn't long before he came back up, apparently having found what they were looking for. "Yeah, it's there alright. It's not exactly an evil fortress, but it is a base of some kind."

"Let me take a look." Tekno fluttered down the cliff and promptly flew back up to the surface, not taking long at all to confirm Shortfuse's findings. "He is correct. There IS something down there, and it is large and complex enough that it would have taken months to build it. Eggman must have planned this well in advance. Though seeing as there were not any scanners to detect us, it's apparent that he was still working on security."

"That suits me fine," said Johnny. "I was hoping Manic would be here to help us sneak in, but with any luck, that's not gonna be necessary."

"Maybe," said Amy, "but it'd still be nice to have someone who's used to breaking into places. But it's not like we can wait."

"Agreed," said Tekno. "The vibrations have actually died down and are somewhat more manageable, but if my readings are correct, this is just a prelude."

"Then we'd better get down there. Can you and Shortfuse carry us down?"

"Possibly. Shortfuse should not have a problem, but unlike him, I require my arms to fly. Still, I suppose someone could piggyback if they were so inclined."

"Then it's settled. Amy, you and Sticks grab on to Tekno or Shortfuse. Then someone can come back up for me. Think you can manage that?"

"Long as I'm not carrying the schizo," said Shortfuse. "Seriously, she's a frigging maniac!"

Sticks promptly began waving her arms around like a frigging manic. "Hey! Who you calling a frigging manic?! And what's 'frigging'?!"

"Not a problem," said Johnny to Shortfuse. It was settled. Tekno took down Sticks down to the base while Shortfuse carried down Amy. That just left Johnny, and as Shortfuse took him down, he was finally able to get a good look at the thing for himself.

It had been built upon an extensive scaffolding branching out from the cliff and into a portion of the mountain that had been hollowed out. As Shortfuse said, it was less of an EVIL FORTRESS (TM) and more of a base. It was large and imposing with giant retractable metal doors acting as the bases' entrance, though it didn't exactly spell EVIL. Presumably, there had to have been a backdoor somewhere. How else would everyone in there get in and out? But that was neither here nor there.

"Here's our stop." Shortfuse landed Johnny on the scaffolding in front of the entrance, where everyone was waiting.

"No guards," said Amy. "They must be pretty confident that no-one could break into this place. Either that or they thought no-one could."

"Guess they haven't met me," said Shortfuse. He started to walk up to the doors, intent on busting them a new one. "First time for everything."

"Hold on a minute," said Tekno.

"What now?!"

"If we just bash in the front door, wouldn't they know we were here? Would not sneaking in be more prudent?"

"Not unless you know how to sneak in. You got an answer to that?"

"Possibly." Tekno walked over to the side of the door. Located right next to it was a keypad, presumably for opening the thing. "I would've preferred Manic to handle this, but I think I may still be able to crack it." She reached into her satchel and pulled out a tiny metal dot. "This will have to do." She placed it on the pad where, like a Christmas tree, it lit up with all the colours of the rainbow. It then let out a low hum like a vibrator and turned itself off just as quickly. When it was finished, its colour had been drained, and the door opened with all the grace of someone's mouth being forced open.

"Okay. I'm impressed."

Stick was also impressed, though for entirely different reasons. "Oh Gaea, old man metal is yawning! Watch out!"

"Wow, Tek'!" said Amy. "That was awesome!"

Tekno placed the dot back in her satchel, even as smoke began to fume from its' inners. "We developed this device a week back. As you just saw, they're useful for cracking passwords and keycodes in a pinch without setting off any alarms. Unfortunately, they don't last beyond a single use."

"Then why'd you just put that thing back in your purse?" said Shortfuse.

Tekno started to get peeved. "Firstly, it is not a purse, it's a satchel! And secondly, so that they can't collect it and replicate it for themselves. The good news is that we are also working on a device that can be used infinitely, but it is going to take much more time and effort to create these little wonders. But in any case, I believe we should be moving."

"Quite," said Johnny. "Okay, everyone. You know all those books and plays where everyone splits up and is then killed off one by one because they're easy pickings and dumb young idjits? We're not doing that. Everyone sticks together, and anyone who actually tries to split up gets a blast of energy in the ass. We understand each other?"

"I think so," said Sticks, "but I just wanna to be sure. You did say you want everyone to dump themselves in pig grease and do the hula, right?"

Johnny pointed his weapon towards the entrance and told her in no uncertain terms, "Move it."

"Okay, okay! I just wanna know where I'm supposed to find a tub of pig grease, that's all." She mosied on over to the entrance, though not without trying to get in some last words. "I don't even have to follow your crummy orders you know! I could be doing better things! Like glueing dead squirrels onto houses to ward of the dirty stinking aliens who are gonna kill us all! I know you're out there—"

"MOVE. IT."

"Yeesh, okay okay, fine. Someone needs to chill." After much protesting, she started walking into the base. And with exasperated sighs as though they weren't sure how much more they could take, everyone else followed suit.


"Yeesh. We must be in the thing's stomach by now! I don't wanna get digested!"

Sticks was gawking at the sheer ludicrousy of the place. The walls were alternating between rusty plates of metal and sheer rock, though the floor was pure metal plates. Lightbulbs were sparse, and only barely lit up what was a poor excuse for a base. Spinning metal dicks whirred and rotated on the walls, presumably serving the place's batteries, and conveyor belts occasionally served as makeshift walkways. It was almost as this base was nothing but an afterthought.

"Come on, Sticks!" said Amy. "You aren't going to get digested. How could you, anyway?"

Shortfuse slowly slid his metal-covered palm over his helmet. "You had to ask."

"Are you serious?!" said Sticks. "We're smackdab in the middle of a mountain, and as everyone knows, mountains are really giant soul-sucking rock giants that are trying to lull us all into a false sense of security! Well, you ain't fooling me! YOU HEAR ME MOUNTAIN?"

"Quiet, Sticks!" whispered Johnny. "You're lucky they haven't found us already."

"Speaking of which, that is odd," said Tekno. "You would have thought there would have been some form of security by now."

"Maybe Eggman or whoever's running this place didn't think they'd need it," said Amy. "If we didn't have Tekno or Shortfuse or someone who could fly with us, we certainly wouldn't have found it."

"Possibly," said Johnny. "But just because we haven't run into any yet doesn't mean we won't. Better keep your eyes peeled."

"Will do," said Amy. "That said, has anyone else noticed something odd?"

"Like what?" said Shortfuse.

"Well, I guess it's actually not noticing something. Like a vibration. Anyone notice that we're NOT noticing it?"

It was then that it dawned on them like a revelation. For whatever reason, the vibration had stopped. Either that or they simply couldn't feel it.

Tekno checked her readings, determined to sort this matter out to the best of her ability. "Hm. According to this, the vibrations are still going. And yet we cannot feel them. I would guess that this place was built to absorb vibrations. After, it this is where the vibrations originate from, it would make sense that whoever is responsible for them would want to make sure their base was left standing."

"In any case," said Johnny, "we've got to get moving. Let's do it to it, people."

And so they did. They continued walking down the corridors and moving down the belts, occasionally looking up at the dim lights and wondering if this wasn't all some sort of trap. That said, there was one upside. It gave them plenty of time to think. And as Amy rubbed her brain cells together, she couldn't help but think about something she wasn't sure she wanted to think about. Or should have. But it wouldn't be long before she had to know.

"Johnny?"

"Yeah, Amy?"

"I hate to ask but, well, we didn't see your parents back in the village. Did we?"

Like a rolling mine cart suddenly coming to a halt, Johnny stopped dead in his tracks. But also like a mine cart, it didn't last long. "No. We didn't. Why do you ya ask?"

"Just curious."

Johnny wasn't sure at first where he should have gone from there. He could have shut up about it. Kept on walking, continue to focus solely on getting to their destination wherever it might have been. And yet, like with his sister, he couldn't help but feel that perhaps it was time to tell someone the truth.

"Mom died about a year after Lily. She tried to carry on. She really did. But Lily meant the world to her. With Lily gone, she didn't see much of a reason to keep on living. And Dad? Lily was bad enough, but Mom's death drove him over the edge. He was always a booze-hound, but loosing Lily and Mom just made it worse. Bout three years ago, he died from liver failure. So that makes me and Clarence the only ones left."

Silence. Or at least there was for a while. No-one was quite sure just what to say. How could they? But if nothing else, it did settle one thing. Any doubts on whether they shouldn't have felt sorry for him were dashed. And as soon as they were, they all finally found the words. Or at least one of them did.

"Look, Johnny," said Amy. "I can't say I know what you're going through. I've still got both of my parents, and they still love me more than anything. I've never had a sister either. But I can tell you one thing. You're not alone. Sally's lost her dad and even her mom from what I understand. Manic apparently lost his mom. Tails lost both of his parents. And I don't know what happened to Cream's dad. Everyone's lost loved ones, and sometimes they feel like they're responsible somehow. I'm not going to say whether you are or not, though personally, I don't think you are. But I will say even if you are, half of the people here might feel the same way."

Shortfuse didn't say a word. Not that he wanted to. But one long, narrow look from those red peepers into Johnny's eyes still said so much more than a thousand words could.

Sticks started to rub her eyes as though a dam was beginning to break. "It's true ya know. My dad might have been a dirty rotten deadbeat who deserved to be locked up in the pits of bananaramma hell for all eternity, but my mom was… she was somethin' else. And sometimes, I wonder if there somethin' I could've done. Anything. Even wishing to the lucky-ducky Gods for good lucky-ducky luck. But what happened, happened! There's nothing you can do to change it, so don't beat yourself up like a punching bag about it! Because most of us here are goin' through the same thing."

Johhny scratched his head as though he had a nasty itch, doing his best to sort out what seemed to be a personal conundrum. "Look, guys. I get what you're saying, and I appreciate it. I really do. But none of that's gonna change the fact that if I hadn't gone up there and yelled at my sister, she might still be alive."

"Or she might still be dead," said Shortfuse. "For all you know, she could've just fallen anyway and gone up to Gaea in a blast of ash even if you hadn't been there."

"Shortfuse!" said Amy, as though he had just slapped Johnny in the face.

"Actually, he might be right," said Tekno. "Regardless, the past is the past. Whether or not you were or were not responsible is irrelevant. What you need to do now is to figure out where you go from here."

"I know that!" said Johnny. "But it's a lot harder than it looks. Cause movin' on means letting go. And I'm not sure that's somethin' I can do."

"Hold it!" whispered Sticks. Like a bunch of skittish animals, everyone stopped in their tracks. "I hear somethin'. Stick to the walls like paint and don't move so much as a muscle till I say so. Got it?"

"Who died and made you boss?" said Shortfuse.

"Just do what she says!" whispered Johnny. The lot of them sidled to the wall as flat as they could make themselves. Sticks peeped around the corner like a cat, and it was then that she saw them. Two troopers were standing on opposite sides of a rectangular metallic door. Another two were busy patrolling the corridor all the way to just shy of the corners, as though they were somehow forbidden from going further.

"Two guards standing next to the door, two more walkin' up and down like they own the place," whispered Sticks. "Which they do. Yay capitalism!"

"Don't like this," whispered Tekno. If the sudden lack of words on her part was any indication, she was starting to get just slightly antsy. Again. "Feels like trap. Take word for it."

"Uh, hey, you okay, Tekno?" whispered Amy. "What happened to using full sentences?"

"Don't worry about it, people," whispered Johnny. "Tekno already told me about this. For now, just focus on figuring out whether or not it's a trap."

Shortfuse wasn't having any of it. "Are you serious? We can take 'em! Let's go in there and kick some badnik tail!"

"Oh no, you don't! I am not having you goin' in there and messing things up just because you want to have a throwdown! Especially since there may or may not be a trap."

"You and what army?" whispered Shortfuse.

"This one!" Johnny held up his weapon and pointed it towards Shortfuse, letting him know he had better know what he was bargaining with. "A few weeks ago, you might have had an argument purely on force of arms, but with this little puppy and everyone's else talents, the odds are a lot more balanced. Nevermind that Tek's got somethin' special up her sleeve."

Amy was taken aback. "She does? This is the first I've heard of it."

"That's cause we figured something like THIS might happen. We wanted to be ready. And now, I think we are. Face it, Shortfuse. You're outnumbered. Now, you wanna go back to playing by the rules? Or do you want a war on two fronts? You might be able to win, sure, but the question is, who would ya win against? And which side would you have to beat up next? Are they gonna be so forgiving after what you've done? You ready to answer all that?"

In a moment, Shortfuse seemed to become engulfed in a flash of rage, his genuine anger leaking through those red glowing eyes like a monster-sized sieve. And yet, just as quickly, it diminished like the calming waves of the sea. As though something in the back of his mind was telling him that this was a very, VERY stupid idea.

"Oy. Fine. We'll do it your way. But second we start busting some heads, I get first dibs."

"Whatever." Johnny had bigger fish to fry. In any case, Sticks might have had a point. They hadn't encountered any security up until then even though they well should have, and there were only four troopers outside the door to what was presumably the base's inner sanctum. Something was up. But what to do about it?

Suddenly, Johnny heard Sticks playing with SOMETHING right next to his bad self. Because of course she was. When he turned to face her, he noticed she was tossing around, of all things, a Boomerang.

Because of course she was.

"Sticks?" Johnny whispered.

"Yeah?" whispered Sticks. "Make it quick. Me and are having some quality time!"

"Well, I guess you already answered what you're doin'. The next question is, why?"

"Well, seeing as we aren't just rushin' in with wild abandon, I figured I needed somethin' to keep me busy. And no-one's better at keeping me busy than !"

"So you've had that thing with you the whole time?"

"Yeah."

"Where exactly?"

"Trust me, you don't wanna know. Now can me and get back to having some quality time?"

"In a minute. I think 's gonna come in handy."

Like an act of divine inspiration, it suddenly all clicked in Tekno's head like clockwork. "Johnny, if do what think you do…"

Shortfuse and Amy were a bit puzzled by Tekno's contracted speech, but Johnny understood perfectly. "You got it. Sticks, I got a favour to ask."

"GASP! So your true colours are revealed! Well, let me tell you somethin', buster! I'm only gonna marry the man or woman or intimate objects I love, and—"

Johnny cut to the quick. "Sticks, I wanna borrow ."

That did the trick. The wind was knocked straight out of her sails like being sucker-punched. "Come again?"

"Actually, to be a bit more specific, I want you to throw straight around the corner and right in front of those Troopers. Think you can do that for me?"

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, I'm gonna give Shortfuse permission to bash 's lights out and use that laser blaster of his to turn him into kindle. We understand each other?"

Shortfuse readied his blaster, just in case Johnny wasn't lying to his face. "Now this I like!"

"Hey!" whispered Sticks. "That's blackmail!"

"Yup," whispered Johnny. "So, you gonna throw or is Shortfuse gonna burn to ash? Your choice."

Sticks grumbled under her breath, muttering something about one day sacrificing Johnny to the taco Gods if this went south. She sidled closer to the wall and poked her out just enough so she could see where she was aiming.

"Remember, don't aim at anyone in particular. Just throw it."

And throw it she did.

As the boomerang whizzed through the corridor, a low, steady rumbling could suddenly be heard. Like a dozen small drills drilling through the Earth, it quickly started to grow in volume and intensity. Almost like a volcano. Until it stopped. And when it did, the entire floor caved in, sending the four oblivious and unsuspecting robots to their graves.

"Brilliant," said Tekno. "Motion detector explosives. Planned to go off when something other than troopers go past. save day."

"Wow!" said Amy. "Good thinking, Johnny!"

" had better get back in one piece!"

"Hold it," said Johnny. "I don't think we're done. Those guards should have noticed the boomerang for one thing. But they didn't. So that means they were either brain dead or…"

Just as Sticks caught her boomerang with a clutched hand (" !"), a low rumble could be heard from down below in the deep, dark chasms. An equally low whirring soon followed. And in short order, both the rumbling and whirring became louder. And louder. And louder. Until it was apparent that something down there was coming up after them.

"…a bunch of pawns."

"Out of the way." Shortfuse stepped forward near the chasm and looked down below, his red pupils allowing him to see things no-one else could. And while what he saw may not have beggared description, it still wasn't something you saw every day.

"Guys," he said, "normally I wouldn't say this, but we'd better find some way to get through that door and lock it down. Fast."

"What down there?" said Tekno?"

"That's what I wanna know," said Johnny. "What in Gaea's name is coming up after us?"

"You ain't gonna believe this, but…"

"But what?!"

"Take a looksie." As Shortfuse extended his light, Johnny could finally see what lay below in the chasm. And what he saw wasn't exactly thrilling.

Rolling up the walls on gravity-defying tractor wheels were a small army of blue and yellow Grounder lookalikes, only with no mouths and wearing small blue caps on their heads. They still had those drills and were pointing them up like spikes. If Johnny and the others had kept on walking into that corridor and fallen into the chasm below, they might have been done for. If the height of the fall wasn't enough to do some of them in.

In any case, unlike Grounder, these copycats had no discernible personality to speak of. As they inched up the walls of the chasm like a legion of the damned, Johnny wasn't sure if they could get out of this one. Well, okay, they COULD, because they were if nothing else as slow as molasses. But as is, they weren't going to be able to make much headway. Not with that many of them coming at them. Unless…

"Tekno! You're on!" Normally, Johnny felt he would have had to give some sort of order or another, something with actual detail and direction, but he also felt he knew Tekno well enough that she'd already figured it all out from day one.

"Gladly." Tekno was standing straight, her confidence and full powers of speech restored, and it was apparent that she knew exactly what to do. She stepped toward the edge of the chasm before pulling out an engraved wristband and slipping it around her wrist. She raised her arms into the air and held out her hand, her fingers twitching like a pianist at their keyboard. She held two fingers together on each hand and slid them forward in the air like knives. And that was when the magic started.

A green gem in the armlet glowed in an instant. As soon as it did, a sharp wave of sheer wind launched forth from the first two fingers and sliced through the first swarm of robots like butter, just as they were about to reach the top. The same happened to the other one. Diced like sushi. She sliced and diced and sliced like a fine chef, making sure not to stop for an instant until the coast was clear.

Not that it took long. Within a minute, all of the Grounder copies had been shredded to ribbons. Seeing as they weren't very durable in the first place, it wasn't an especially hard task, but she did it all the same. And as Tekno breathed on two of her fingers like blowing the smoke away from a gun, Shortfuse and Amy couldn't help but stand there in awe.

"Wow," said Amy.

"When the hell did that happen?!" said Shortfuse.

Tekno raised up her armlet, both glowing and nervous at finally getting a chance to be in the spotlight. Like someone who won the Peace prize only to wonder if they really deserved it. "It's quite simple. Both Porker and Manic's primary weapons were created by copying Cream's energy signature and altering it for a different effect. In my case, I used it to grant myself the power of wind. And I must admit, it has proven itself quite useful. Though I hope I did not harm the animals inside."

As if to answer Tekno's question, green protective bubbles of hard light briefly floated up into the air from the Badniks, each containing a cute, cuddly critter within. After a moment, the bubbles dissipated, leaving the animals unharmed and free to do as they pleased.

"That answers that question," said Johnny. "Probably the same thing that happened back at Green Hill. Not that I was paying enough attention to notice."

Sticks meanwhile was busy kneeling profusely as though she were a humble plebian begging for forgiveness. "Oh please, servant of the wing! Spare me! I didn't mean to stick that exploding eggplant in 's pants! Even though all clowns should be burned and cleansed with fire! DON'T TURN ME INTO SUSHI!"

Shortfuse swore he was starting to lose his mind. Then again, so did nearly everyone else. "Okay, what is your problem?! I hate to— no, I DON'T hate to break it to you, that is NOT NORMAl!"

"Hey, you try living in the woods by yourself for ten yours and see if you can keep yourself off the deep end. See how long you last." And after this brief moment of sanity, she went right back to her now daily prayer. "Spare me! No sushi! NO SUSHI!"

Johnny wasn't sure what was worse; Stick's rambling or the fact that he was starting to get used it. "In any case, with that out of the way, that just leaves one more incredibly pressing question."

"And what's that?" asked Amy.

As if to answer her question, Johnny simply pointed at the door. A door that now had no obvious way to reach it.

"Oh." And as Amy started racking her brain for an obvious solution, she wasn't sure if there was an obvious answer.