Unaware of the chaos at the agency, Mighty, Cynder and Charmy slowly walked towards the home of William Simmons, Miranda's father.
"This is pointless. He won't even care if she's missing. Heck, he'd find the guy and thank him," Cynder ranted, apprehensive about having to do this.
"Still, it needs to be done. We know the address, you can wait here if you like," Mighty said, only then realising Cynder had stopped. He shrugged and kept going.
"Think she's right about this guy?" Charmy asked, hovering beside the armadillo.
"Who knows? Parents act in strange ways sometimes. Oh the stories I could tell you about that," Mighty sighed, looking up at the front door.
"Mr Simmons! Do you have a minute?" Mighty shouted, knocking on the door. He stood back when a grey echidna opened it.
"What do you two want?" he said, obviously agitated.
"We just wanted to inform you that your daughter, Miranda, was abducted last night," Mighty said, trying to sound professional.
"Good. That mistake needed to be gotten rid off," William said, about to shut the door. He snarled when Mighty held it open.
"We just wanted to know if..." Charmy started. He shut up the second the echidna glared at him.
"Listen. I don't care about what happened to her. She could be dead and lying in a pool of her own blood for all I care, now stay the heck away from my house!" he barked, slamming the door shut. While Charmy sniffled, Mighty fought the urge to punch the door open and hit the guy.
"I told you, he doesn't care about her," Cynder said, now standing right beside Mighty. Before he could say anything, the door flew open as William stormed out, hitting Cynder in the face.
"Keep away from my house you freak! Come here again and I'll kill you!" he yelled, face red with anger.
"You had no right to do that, sir, so I'm going to have to arrest you on grounds of assault," Mighty said as Cynder held back tears.
"No one cares about them! Her and her emo dragon hog friend are freaks of nature!" William yelled, his words sending Cynder into tears.
"You evil man! How could you do such a thing?" Charmy shouted, buzzing angrily while Mighty tried to keep calm, his hands clenched into tight fists. Before William could reply, a gloved hand punched him in the mouth, the strength knocking him flying back.
"You're wrong. We care about them," Mighty growled, slamming the door with a force that nearly broke it.
A few wispy clouds moved across the orange sky, the setting sun's light setting the lake ablaze. A light autumn wind blew, blowing leaves around the almost bare trees. It was a place Mighty always loved to visit. As Charmy played in the trees, Mighty and Cynder sat by the lake edge, the wind slightly stinging the red mark on Cynder's cheek.
"I can't believe he said that about you. Since when did people do things like that?" Mighty sighed, his dark grey eyes gazing over the shimmering surface of the lake.
"I guess if something is too different, people treat it like it's a freak of nature. I'm used to the name calling, but getting hit....now I know why Miranda has those scars on her....you know...." Cynder stuttered, gesturing to her wrists.
"And yet you seem to always come through unchanged. I don't think I've met a girl like you who stays cheerful even when people try to bring you down," Mighty said, noticing the smile on Cynder's face grow.
"I heard about you being a traveller. You're bound to have met someone else like that," Cynder said, a light pink blush on her face.
"I've met people who come out of things like that unchanged, but that usually means they were either emotionless or doom and gloom afterwards. You always keep a smile close, and I like that about people," Mighty admitted, blushing lightly as he said the last sentence.
"You're sweet Mighty. A girl could really like you. I hope you find her someday," Cynder said, jumping when she felt a hand on hers.
"I feel as though I already have. You're kind, caring and cheerful no matter what you're put through, you help keep your friends together, and you're perhaps the nicest girl I've ever met on my travels," Mighty exclaimed, not noticing Charmy had stopped playing and was watching.
"Aw, Mighty, under that shell you really are a big softy," Cynder cried, throwing her arms around the armadillo. Mighty did the same, still unaware the little bee was watching.
"Go ahead and...kiss the girl!" Charmy sang, making the two Mobians blush madly. The sun had set by now, the full moon casting a white reflection over the lake, the stars shining like sparks in the sky.
"Thanks Mighty, you really know how to...." Cynder started, stopped when Mighty gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Cynder looked into his dark grey eyes, seeing the moon's light glinting. She kissed him back, the two of them relaxing in each other's arms. After a few minutes, they broke apart, looking back up at the bee.
"Come on Charmy, time for home," Mighty called up, the young bee saluting before buzzing down to his side. As they started walking, Cynder wrapped her arms around Mighty's waist, her head resting against his shoulder.
"Thank you," Cynder said, a light yawn following. Before she said anything else, she was scooped up in the armadillo's strong arms, her arms around his neck as they walked.
"The Agency's just around the corner Charmy. You go on ahead," Mighty said, seeing the old building. Charmy nodded, flying there as fast as his little wings would carry him.
"Up for a little run?" Mighty asked, his legs already moving. Cynder simply watched as buildings and people disappeared in a blur, clinging tightly to the armadillo's neck as he moved faster. She always loved the thrill of moving insanely fast, but she always loved it more when she was with someone.
As Charmy flew in the door, he realised immediately that it was too quiet. He peeked into the living room, seeing Espio meditating, Vector looking over a file and Skyfire lying on the sofa, sky blue eyes focused on a map.
"This guy has no previous offences, unless you count his internet blog as one," Vector mumbled, not noticing the young bee's entrance.
"Let me guess. All about him and Miranda being destined to be together because they're both half-vamps," Skyfire sighed, still staring at the map.
"Is it that obvious? How's your research going?" Vector asked, looking up at the hedgehog.
"Narrowed it down to a few warehouses. I guess his house would be a good place too, but his parents would have probably reported. If it's in a warehouse, it'd be a process of elimination among these few," Skyfire said, moving to the desk, grabbing a pencil and circling the warehouses.
"You must be in to CSI shows. You sound like a seasoned investigator," Vector said, looking over the map.
"NCIS. Heck, this reminds me of an episode, somewhat. The only problem is that he'd be on to us too quickly, considering their close proximity to each other. But I do have an idea," Skyfire said, a fanged smirk on his face.
"What are you guys talking about? Are we going to catch this guy?" Charmy asked, startling the two of them. Espio opened his eyes as Cynder and Mighty burst in.
"Alright, here's my plan," Skyfire said when everyone was huddled around the desk.