Investigations started immediately after the feast, which had been quite spectacular. Silver's stomach was sticking out, which was an improvement in Pump's opinion. It meant that now he wouldn't have the option of running away from an argument, which was unlikely in any case.

Wave had hardly had anything, mainly only a salad, some of the meat they offered her, and some of the strange dessert they offered. And then, to the delight of the villagers, Silver and Wave had another argument, mainly because Silver had accidentally knocked over her cup and the juice had got all over her clothes. In fact... they were still arguing when they left to go back to their makeshift house.

As soon as they were out of earshot though, they immediately stopped arguing and exchanged a look. "What do you think is wrong with this place? There aren't any old people anywhere, all of them are around twenty, Pump is forty, but that's not surprising, I don't think he'd let himself disappear." Silver nodded.

"And who were those two who were on the other side of the fire? They looked like dingoes."

"Dingoes?" Asked Wave, bristling slightly. She had had a very..... unpleasant encounter with a dingo once, she'd hated them since that day. "We are so going to find out what's going on back there," she said, turning to go back. Silver caught her wrist.

"Wait!" He hissed, "We're going to show up easily, your clothes are white, and my fur is silver. We'll be like a patch of white on a black shirt, one of the first things noticed." Wave, grumbled, but acknowledged the sense in that.

"So what do you suggest?" Silver looked at one of the streams. "Oh no.... not that..."

Silver and Wave snuck back into the now sleeping village, and before they were halfway through, they saw two figures outside Pump's house. One climbed silently through the window, they heard a tiny gasp, and then Didi was passed out to the other figure. The first one climbed out of the house and they swept away into the night, while Silver and Wave followed them at a safe distance.

A couple minutes later, they heard a yell. "NO!" The dingoes ahead of them chuckled and sped up slightly, Silver lifted himself and Wave into the air so that they'd be out of the way. This would also prevent them from leaving tracks. Looking back, they could see Pump searching frantically for Didi. The dingoes slowed down after awhile, then pressed a knot in the wood on one tree and a secret door opened. They went inside and it slid shut behind them.

"This seems a little too weird, it's like a scene from a movie I saw.... with the tree I mean."

"Are you thinking of The Princess Bride?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Do you reckon that there will be any crazy princesses who drown people on dry land?"

"Thanks a lot Wave! Now I'm getting really creepy mental images."

"Always glad to help." They went to the tree. "Should we wait until later and capture a dingo?"

"We have no idea how long it will be until they come out."

"And they might have more than one exit."

"True." They puzzled over this for awhile. "I really miss picking a fight with you," sighed Wave all of a sudden. Silver blinked.

"What?"

"It's fun picking a fight with you, Storm fights back a bit, then he starts stuttering so much that it's pointless. And Jet just ignores the fight after a bit. You, on the other hand, just keep going." Silver blinked.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not," he finally replied.

"I'm not sure if it is either," said Wave. "Now put me down! We're floating in the air looking like idiots, not that you don't do it well, but I still have a bit of digni..." She was cut off as she abruptly fell down and landed on a pile of leaves. Silver floated down and hovered above her.

"It seems that I lost concentration for a minute," he said, not looking sorry. Wave spat out leaves.

"Then explain why you didn't fall as well."

"Reflex," he said unconvincingly.

"I hate you, you know that?"

"It's mutual." By 'I hate you', they meant 'You're okay'.

Entering the dingo-tree, as they had dubbed it (Silver called it that actually, Wave called it the rip off-tree), was not as easy as it had looked. You had to count to ten then press, and only then would it open (Wave's sarcastic comments distracted Silver a few times, which is why it didn't open as soon as they discovered this). Inside was an elevator, which didn't really give them many stealth options. So they let the door slide shut, and went to figure out another way to get inside.

The elevator might be monitored by security cameras after all, "I wish Espio was here, or some other chameleon," said Silver, sighing. Wave got a slow grin on her face, then she raised a hand and pointed to the sky.

"There are chameleons here."

"Oh? And you know this how....?"

"I bumped into one yesterday." A few minutes later, a dark green chameleon stood before them, looking slightly nervous.

"You want me to spy on the dingoes?"

"Yes Robert," said Wave with false patience. "We need to find out what they're doing with the porcupines."

"That's easy enough," said a dark blue chameleon who appeared on a nearby tree. "They get the porcupines they've taken to power the machines that hold this island together. Of course, they could build robots to do it, but they're all pro-male, so they take the females and force them to work. This is supposedly to teach them a lesson, but what that lesson is, we don't know." Wave frowned.

"Pro-male? Oh I shall enjoy giving them what for...."

"Not now Wave."

"Don't you tell me what t...."

"Do you know about any entrances other than this one?" The chameleons nodded, and the two discovered that there was a secret entrance not far from here.... it was secret, because it was an air vent, concealed by a bush. Wave smirked.

"It would be uncomfortable for them if someone used that bush for their business wouldn't it?"

"Wave!"

"What? It would be!"

Vulgar jokes aside, they were soon at the bush, and the chameleons had agreed to send the two who had first appeared with them. Robert protested, Elgar was perfectly happy with the idea. "I've always wanted to have a bit of adventure." So saying he managed to lever up the vent, silvery veins standing out on his arms. Silver drew attention to them. "What? These? Oh, they're just mementos of a sort.... from when the dingoes experimented on me. They're the only sign that the bones in my arms are made of steel now. It's quite useful sometimes, especially when you've gotta defend yourself. Now hush," he jumped into the vent and shimmered, disappearing from sight, in all senses of the word.

Robert went next, then Wave and Silver. The vent cover was moved back into place by invisible hands. "Good luck," called down a feminine voice, before the bush rustled and they were gone. The faint blue glow of Silver's telekinesis was the only light other than the one from the grate.

"Turn off the light, friend. We have to be unseen, and your light might give Robert and me away." Silver nodded, and his boots touched the metal. Wave was clinging tightly to his arm, her breathing rapid. The chameleons went ahead to scout while Silver and Wave followed at a slower pace.

"What's wrong Wave?"

"Cl... claustrophobia," she muttered.

"You've got claustrophobia? But how about all those times you're in a plane or something?"

"I only feel claustrophobia when I'm underground, or in an elevator. It's not as bad in an elevator, because I know I can get out." Silver nodded. "How about you? You got a phobia?" This was a surprising moment of friendship and trust here, and Silver decided not to let it go to waste.

"I've got two phobias, achluphobia, which is a fear of darkness, and brontophobia, which is a fear of thunder and lightning." He heard Wave laugh slightly.

"I know what they are, idiot." In a quieter voice she added, "Is your achluphobia why you kept using your telekinesis while in here?" Silver sighed and nodded. "Why aren't you freaking out?"

"Oh I am Wave, I am."

Robert and Elgar reported back soon after that, saying that no one was looking at the vents, but they'd still have to time their passing openings carefully. Elgar stood in front of one, and extended his arm towards them, making just that visible. It beckoned when they were able to quickly dart through.

Robert told Silver to use his telekinesis so that footsteps wouldn't make someone look up. Silver did so, with Wave still holding his arm, but not as tightly now. Now there was a guaranteed way out. "The vent we're going to use is in one of the abandoned rooms," whispered Robert. "It's only a few more vents ahead." Silver nodded, his heart hammering as they passed into darkness once again. Not complete, but still black enough to let his achluphobia kick in.

He'd learned to control his breathing during these times so that no one would notice, he'd heard about what happened to kids who were afraid of the dark. They got locked in closets by bullies, and if those bullies happened to be feeling particularly mean that day, they'd push the closet down from the top of a building into the lava. The poor victim would either be saved if Silver happened to be around, or they'd be burned alive.

Wave was managing to cope as well, her breathing back to normal because she now knew that Silver was afraid too. Plus, one of his fears was utterly ridiculous. She liked the sound of thunder and lightning, whereas it made Silver freak out, she supposed. The question of the innocent little porcupine popped into her head again, "How long have you been married?" What would it be like to be married to Silver? Interesting to be sure, with all the fights they'd have. But would they trust each other enough to tell each other things that no one else knew of, unless they'd been with them at the wrong time?

Robert quietly pulled them to the vent, and Elgar pushed it outwards, while still holding onto it. He dropped to the floor with it and set it down gently. Next, he went to the security camera. After disabling it, he turned back to them. "It looked like it was broken, but we needed to be sure." Silver nodded.

"So, what next?"

"Next, we locate the pin cushions," said Robert, quickly slipping outside before they could stop him. Elgar sighed.

"I'll be back soon, you two stay hidden." He closed the door behind him, and darkness fell. The security camera shook, and Silver could hear it repairing itself. He pushed Wave down behind a crate.

"Keep quiet!" He hissed, turning to dart behind another crate when the security camera locked onto him.

"Intruder alert!" Said a robotic voice as a laser hit Silver. Seconds later, two dingoes came in and lifted the paralyzed Silver.

"Wonder how he got so far," said one of the dingoes. The other shrugged.

"Who knows? Come on, we've got to go feed the boss's pet." The first dingo wrinkled his nose.

"I hate that thing."

"Me too. Come on, let's get him to a cell." Wave watched, horrified, as they left the room with Silver, leaving her alone. The weight of the earth seemed to press down on her.

Jet threw up his hands. "The only thing around the area we lost them is that island!"

"Then why don't we check it?" Asked Blaze, smiling at him slightly. He looked at her.

"But there isn't any way they could have...."

"We don't know which way the sea threw them Jet, the island is as likely as any other place." Jet thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright, we'll check it." Storm grinned and jerked on the steering wheel. Jet was thrown into the window and Blaze was thrown into him. "Storm!"

"Sorry Boss!" Said Storm, though he didn't look sorry at all as he looked away from their blushing faces.

Elgar came back invisibly just in time to find that Wave had broken the security camera completely. How? She'd tossed her wrench at it, then run out and completely dismantled it, smashing every little piece under her heel. "Wow, you took to that task with a vengeance didn't you?"

"They took Silver," she said.

"What? How did they...?"

"The camera fixed itself. Where's Robert?"

"Keeping an eye on the porcupines. All the ones who went missing are there. They're in these weird machines.... and apparently once they're unable to work anymore, they're going to be thrown to the pet. Whatever that is."

"The dingoes who took Silver mentioned having to go feed it."

"Well then let's go find out what it is."

"But I can't turn invisible!" Elgar chuckled.

"You certainly can't, but guess what I found!" He held up a suit.

"And what good is that? It will make me stand out even more!"

"No it won't, they designed these during the time they had some chameleons for experiments. They'll help you go invisible. Of course, the dingoes haven't tried them out yet, they still think the suits might hurt them or something, which is absolutely ridiculous."

"Why do they think that?"

"Because some chameleons snuck in and injured them while they were wearing them," said Elgar cheerfully. "Now put it on, I promise I won't do you an injury." Once she wore it, Elgar instructed her to stroke the neck of the suit. She went completely invisible. "The beauty of these things is that they don't have any headgear, but the suit somehow manages to generate the invisibility. Let's go, I'll hold your hand so you don't lose me." And out into the hallway they went.

Silver had been left in one of the cells, standing like a statue, a grimace on his face from where the laser had hit him. He was furiously smashing things with his mind in the hallway outside, and was only able to do this because enough of the paralysis had worn off for him to do so. He hoped that Wave and the chameleons would find a way to get him out. They had to.

The dingoes were catching an owl from the next cell in a net, once they had it, they headed off down the corridor. "Lunch time," they called, sounding nervous. Silver heard something give an eager sounding wail, and the fur at the base of his neck rose. Whatever the thing was, it was scary.

Wave and Elgar heard the wail too, and froze. "That has to be the direction the cells are in," muttered Elgar before dashing forward. Wave almost tripped because of the suddenness, but she managed to catch herself.

"Hold on Silver, don't do anything idiotic," she muttered.

I didn't originally plan the chapter like this, but I think it's awesome. :D Question, do you think Team Chaotix should appear in this? Lured to the island by the dingoes so that they could be imprisoned or something? R&R and tell me what you think! :D Sorry that it has taken so long to update this. .

Disclaimer: CrazyNutSquirrel doesn't own Silver, Blaze, the Chaotix, or the Babylon Rogues. She also doesn't own The Princess Bride. However, she does own everything else. ^_^

Though I wish I owned ALL OF IT. I'd make Espio my personal bodyguard, and I'd force Vector to drive me places. :D