Later on down the Green Emerald Road, Cosmo, Cream and their new friend, Scare-Fox are walking along, passing a small bundle of large trees. Unknown to them, the Dark-Wizard slinks off in the shadows.
"Oh, apples!" Cream smiled.
"I am getting a little hungry." Cosmo followed Cream and so did Scare-Fox and Cheese, as the young rabbit reached the first tree and began to pluck an apple... until a branch hit her hand.
"Ouch!" Cream squeaked in pain.
"What do you think you're doing?" The tree demanded.
"Please, my friend here was hungry and so..." Cosmo blinked, "Did you just speak?"
"She was hungry!" The tree laughed.
"Hey, how do you think it feels having someone pluck stuff out of you?" A second tree asked, annoyed.
"Oh dear, I keep forgetting we're not in Mobius." Cream said.
Scare-Fox gave the trees a glare, "Let's go, girls. We don't need any of those apples."
"Huh?" Cream and Cosmo stared at him.
"Are you saying my apples aren't what they have to be?" The first tree grumbled.
"Oh no sir..." Scare-Fox then said, "It's just that no one likes little green worms!"
"Why you little-!" The tree grabbed for them, as Cream and Cosmo ran but Scare-Fox fought him off and joined the girls.
"I'll show you how to get apples." He winked and then said, making a face, "Hey, your mother was a fat old wardrobe!"
That did it as the tree plucked an apple and hurled it at Scare-Fox as he stumbled, but he called, "And your dad was a lousy pencil!"
"Shut up!" The trees kept throwing their apples as Cream, Cheese, Cosmo and Scare-Fox picked most of them, still running.
"I guess that did it, help yourselves." Scare-Fox picked a few apples himself.
Cream giggled as Cheese followed her to get more of the thrown apples. Cheese found one nearby something that looked like metal and picked the apple but almost hit the tin.
"Chao." Cheese whimpered.
"Cheese, are you...?" Cream paused, seeing the metal object that Cheese spotted. She moved the bushes, seeing a foot and she moved them completely apart. She paused, seeing a hedgehog made entirely out of metal tin, holding an ax and had a green gaze, which stared into space.
"It's a man..." Cream called to Cosmo and Scare-Fox, "A man made of tin!"
"What?" Cosmo ran up to her.
"It is." Scare-Fox walked over as they examined the metal animal.
"Oy con..."
They stared at the hedgehog, hearing it murmur, "Oy con..."
"Did he say something?" Cosmo asked.
"Oy con!" The stiff hedgehog repeated.
"He said oil can." Cream said.
"Oil can what?" Scare-Fox asked, thinking he made a joke.
"Oil can..." Cosmo then spotted a small cup with a handle and a spout, "Here it is." Cosmo picked it up and asked the hedgehog, "Where should I first...?"
"Mi moth. Mi moth!" The hedgehog murmured.
"He says his mouth." Scare-Fox took the oil can, spraying it onto the hedgehog's metal muzzle. "Here, give him some." Scare-Fox handed to Cosmo, who also sprayed a bit on the mouth of the hedgehog. There was squeaking as the hedgehog blinked and started breathing.
"W-Way... way past cool, I can talk again!" The hedgehog grinned and then asked, "Uh, can you do the arms too please?"
Cosmo sprayed it on and the ax the hedgehog held suddenly swung downward, hitting the ground.
"Ow!" The hedgehog groaned.
"Does it hurt?" Cream asked.
"Nah, I've held that ax up for years." The hedgehog then said, 'The name's Tin-Hog."
"I'm Scare-Fox."
"I'm Cream."
"Chao-Chao."
"And he's Cheese." Cream smiled.
"I am Cosmo." She then asked, "How long have you been like this?"
"I can't remember when but I do know I was just chopping down some old oaks and suddenly, it starts raining, and in the middle of my last chop..." Tin-Hog smiled sheepishly, "I sort of rusted. Been that way for many months."
"Well, you're perfect now." Cream said.
"Uh, perfect?" Tin-Hog groaned, "If you think I'm perfect, hit my chest."
Cream, Cosmo, and Scare-Fox stared at him.
"No go ahead, hit it." Tin-Hog insisted.
Cosmo gave a little hit and they heard echoing. It went silent.
"Cool, do 'Shave and a haircut'!" Scare-Fox grinned.
Tin-Hog gave him a look, "You dummy, it's empty." He sighed, "My tin-smith forgot to give me a heart..."
"No heart?!" Cream, Cosmo and Scare-Fox gasped.
"Chao-chao?!" Cheese gasped.
"Mm-hmm, no heart...I'm all hollow..." Tin-Hog hit his chest again and suddenly went stumbling backwards but he collapsed as Cosmo, Cream and Scare-Fox came up to him.
"You alright?" Cosmo asked.
"Yeah, just a little dent but no biggie." Tin-Hog spoke.
"Well, Mr. Tin-Hog..." Cream helped him up as she said, "Maybe you should come with us to see if the Wizard of OZ can give you a heart."
"Hey, it's not like he'll give me one by the time we get there." Tin-Hog sighed sadly.
"But he must." Cosmo sighed, "We came such a long way already."
"Actually..." Tin-Hog was cut off as evil laughter was heard and he, Scare-Fox, Cream and Cosmo saw on top of a roof of a little house, was the Dark Wizard!
"You call THAT long? You wimps have just begun!" D-W noticed Scare-Fox and Tin-Hog, "Helping the little bratlings along, are you, boys?"
"Yeah, that a problem?" Scare-Fox yelled, angrily.
"You bet it is, so STAY AWAY FROM THEM or I can stuff your puny fox fur into my fireplace!" D-W growled.
Scare-Fox gulped as Tin-Hog sighed, "Is that the best warning you can make?"
"And you? I can use you for a good beehive." D-W smirked evilly.
Tin-Hog sweat dropped, "Okay then..."
"Well then, scare-fox, how about a little ball?" D-W's hand glowed with a fireball and he hurled it at the group, as they yelled in panic. Scare-Fox screamed as he fell over, Cosmo went to him to calm him down, Cream and Cheese just stood there frightened and Tin-Hog used one of his quills to put the fire out quickly. Dark Wizard just laughed and disappeared from out of their sight.
"He's still scary." Cream said.
"We have to get to the Silver Palace as soon as we can." Cosmo said, holding Scare-Fox's hand tightly as the fox relaxed.
"You guys okay?" Tin-Hog asked.
"Yeah, I'll be good. I still will help you girls get to the Silver Palace, even if I don't get a brain." Scare-Fox glared at the spot where Dark Wizard was, "Use me in a fireplace, as if!"
"I'll do the same for you, even if I don't get a heart. Yeah right, beehive." Tin-Hog muttered, "Let him try to make a beehive out of me!" He clunked his head a bit, "Ouch."
"Aw, you boys are the best friends anyone could have, but yet..." Cosmo paused.
"What is it, Cosmo?" Cream asked.
"It feels like, like we've known Scare-Fox and Tin-Hog this whole time before..." She stared at the two boys, "But we couldn't have, could we?"
"Chao?" Cheese wondered too.
"Well, you girls weren't around when I had been sewn together, right?" Scare-Fox asked.
"No we weren't." Cream shook her head.
"And I was standing over there rusting for the longest time." Tin-Hog pointed where he had been before.
"I just wish I knew, but... I guess it doesn't matter so much..." Cosmo then smiled, "But at least we know each other now, don't we?"
"Yes, we do." Cream nodded.
"We sure do." Scare-Fox took Cosmo's hand, both of them blushing for some odd reason, "To Oz?"
"To Oz!" Tin-Hog took Cream's hand too.
Finally the four were on their way down the road, with Scare-Fox stumbling but Cosmo held him up.