Sorry for the late update, guys. I've been sick with strep, and updating had been the last thing on my mind. –shrug- Well, I'm slightly better, which means I can write some more.

"You better have some sort of scheme ready, Robotnik. I can't hang around here for long; the police are probably on my case. I'm wanted in six different areas already." The Hunter opened the door to the same familiar laboratory room the trio had been hanging around in the past few days. He let Robotnik pass through, and slammed the door behind the obese man.

"Of course I do boys!" Robotnik snickered, and pointed toward the closed door. "Just watch and wait."

"Huh?" Joshua was bent down near the giant computer fixing a stray wire. He adjusted his pair of specs, and continued to work on his repair.

The faint sound of clanking steel on tile rang through the hallway outside. Clank, clank, clank, clank…its volume increased as it came closer to the room.

"Go on, don't be shy. Come on in, M.F.!" Robotnik crooned in a coaxing tone as if the thing in the hall were one of his children.

There was a long silence before the plexiglass door was shattered into a myriad of pieces by a steel fist. Metal Fang stood in the doorway, scanning the area for potential threats.

The Hunter stood in awe at Robotnik's creation. He only managed to utter one comment. "It's…it's like a mirror of the real thing!"

Robotnik nodded abruptly, and gave a grin of satisfaction. "Gentlemen…meet Metal Fang, or M.F. as I call him. You said over the phone that you wanted some sort of invention to stop a certain weasel, so here it is. He's got the greatest arsenal of weapons you could imagine, 166 different modes…" Robotnik blathered on.

Josh started to back away from his spot on the floor once M.F. spotted him. Those spooky red eyes seemed to imprint themselves in the scientist's mind.

"…and to top it all off, he's even got a built-in MP3 player so you can play your favorite songs while you bring Fang his demise!" Finally, the fat man finished his explanation.

"Enough with the whole explanation, Doc. Cut to the chase, and tell me what your little plan is. You said you would have one by today." The Hunter rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, I've got it handled." Robotnik gave a confident chuckle, and motioned for the other two men to sit down at the table.

"Not again…" The Hunter groaned, and slumped into one of the chairs.

Joshua, afraid of what the robot would do if he did not obey, joined The Hunter.

Robotnik stood alone at the end of the table with M.F. "Here's how this is going to work…at precisely 3 AM tonight, I'll send M.F. out into the streets of Station Square to search for where Fang and his sister might reside…"

---

The glittering lights of the city illuminated the night sky. The absence of stars went by unnoticed, for Station Square relied on the gentle glow of neon signs and lampposts to light up their twilight streets.

Fang was bored out of his wits. He stared out the window of the small apartment, expecting to find something to occupy his time; something other than the black cat that was digging through the dumpster outside. "Nic? I'm going to go try my hand at the slots tonight. There's nothing to do here." The weasel sighed, and started for the door.

"This late? Brother, it's midnight already…how about you watch some TV?" Nic yawned sleepily in the doorway of her bedroom.

"No. I don't want to fucking watch Dr. Phil preach to people." Fang growled.

"Fine. Do what you want. I'm not Mother." His sister shrugged.

"It's not like I'm going to live at Casinopolis! I'll be back in the morning anyway." Before Nic could counter his remark, Fang was out the door and down the stairs.

"Sigh…brothers." Nic shook her head. "I think I should get some rest. There's no telling how long he's going to stay there." She turned to her bed, and flopped onto its surface. "I hope it is soon, though. I don't feel comfortable being alone." Nic curled up deep within her bed sheets, and slowly fell asleep.

---

A dim street lamp was the only thing lighting up the streets at this time of night. Most of Station Square's residents had gone to bed hours ago, save for a select few.

A metallic figure casually stepped out of the veil of darkness the night provided, and walked out into the middle of the road. He stopped and looked up at the small apartment complex in front of him. A flight of stairs spiraled up to the first floor; this would surely lead inside the building.

"Scanning for life forms…" a choppy robotic voice stated. His eyes glowed for a moment as he processed his surroundings. "Primary target #1 found: Nicolette T Weasel…" Hiss speech immediately gave him away as a robot. He started to climb up the stairs at a brisk pace because he was intent on finding what he was looking for, and fast.

As soon as he reached the top of the first floor, the robot started looking for the specific door that led to his objective. The desired door he was looking for was at the end of the row of apartment rooms. He turned the knob, and walked inside.

---

Nic tossed and turned wildly in her sleep, for she was trying to get rid of an awful nightmare. "No, no stop! No……huh?" She bolted upright, and found that she was still in the safe haven of her room.

"Thank God it was only a dream…" Nic gave a sigh of relief, and took a quick glance at the digital clock on her nightstand. It read in big red numbers '3:00 AM'.

Wait. What was that sound…? Footsteps in the hallway? She gasped, and held up the bed sheets over her head in preparation for the worst. She knew she couldn't fight back; Fang owned the only gun they had, and he had taken it to the casino with him.

The knob clicked, and the door to her room flew open.

"I'm warning you! Stay back, or I'll call-" Nic peeked out from under the sheets, and cocked her head in surprise. "Nack…?"

A shady silhouette of her brother stood in the doorway, his eyes gleaming a deep blood red.

"Wow. You're back early. Knowing you, you would have definitely stayed all night." Nic watched as her brother approached her bedside.

"Target acquired." The robotic voice beeped, and locked eyes with Nic.

Nic fumbled for her bedside lamp, and hastily switched it on. The shape of her brother diminished, and the metallic face of his look-alike came into view. Before she could run away or scream out in fright, Metal Fang whipped her in the face with his sharp pointy tail.

Everything turned black.

---

The late morning sun filtered through the window blinds and into Fang's apartment room. All was quiet and peaceful as if nothing had happened all night.

"Hey Nic! I got 500 bucks last night! You should have seen me!"

Nobody responded to Fang. The apartment was deathly silent.

"Nic?" Fang carefully shut the door, and wandered over to his sister's room. "Nic, where the hell are you?" Her bed was messed up, indicating that she had slept there that night. Then where was she?

"Maybe she's out for a walk or something." Fang shrugged, and walked over to the kitchen to fix himself breakfast.

On the refrigerator was a single yellow Post-It note with a message written on it in black ink. The weasel ripped it off, and started to read:

'Fang,

It was foolish of you to leave your sibling home alone like that. I mean, what if something were to, say, have happened to her? Yeah, that's right. I've got your sister in my grasp. I'll let you come and find her…but it's not that simple. If life was simple, there would be no fun in it! You have exactly 48 hours to locate her starting at noon today. If you find her, it's finders-keepers. If you don't…she will be killed on the spot; even if you are a mere second late. Oho, but that's not all! I also have two men out looking for you. Two men that hate you with a bloody passion. Two men, and a machine…you figure it out.

Dr. Robotnik'