Sally and the group has prepared to fight the Scorpo Brothers for their freedom as well as the freedom of the children.
Sally: We better stay alert, we don't know what these two are capable of. Fiona, You better get the kids to a safe spot, it's too dangerous for them to get involved.
Fiona: I'm not a babysitter Sally! Where am I going to find a spot where they'll be safe, in case you haven't noticed, the windows and the doors are locked!
Herman: There's an upstairs room, we can go there.
Stan: Good Idea!
Emily: But I was hoping to see my Aunty Erma in action...
Herman: Maybe some other time, but right now we need to get to safety.
Fiona: I guess it's worth a shot!
Stan: We better be careful! There's no telling what those two will do.
Macros: I'm afraid you're not going anywhere.*Macros takes out a shuriken and throws it at Fiona who manages to dodge it in time*
Fiona: You think throwing your little toys is going to intimidate me?
Larry: Boy, these guys aren't fooling around!
Santros: Prepare yourself for this! *Santros takes out a pair of nunchucks and begins to charge at Larry only for Erma to kick them out of his hands.*Hey! No Fair!
Larry: Thanks, Erma! I appreciate it!
Erma: It's no problem at all!
Macros: Hold Still you little Vixen! *Macros continues to throw Shurikens at Fiona who dodges it with ease.* You think you've won? Well We have not even begun to fight!
Santros: How right you are, dear brother! *Takes out a Katana and begins to charge at Fiona* Time for a little slice and dice!
Just as he was about to strike, Sally was able to kick Santros down, dropping his Katana in the process.
Sally: You should be ashamed! Using a dangerous weapon in the presence of small children.
Hershey: Especially if the target is happens to be unarmed! Have you no sense of honor?
Macros: We don't need the lecture!
Misty: I'm scared...
Herman: It's okay, Misty! Those two creeps are distracted so we should be able to sneak away and head upstairs.
Fiona: Right, now follow my lead. *Thinking* I can do this, if I want to prove that I can change my ways, the least I can do is help get these kids to safety.
Fiona led the kids as they began to walk slowly to the stairs, while sally and the group continued to keep the Scorpos occupied.
Erma: Had enough?
Macros: Not by a longshot, weasel!
Erma: I'm an Ermine, you Creep! *Proceeds to slap Macros across the face* And don't you forget it!
Fiona: *Thinking* Boy...that really seems familiar...no! I can't lose focus!
Stan: Are you feeling okay?
Fiona: Yeah...just nerves I guess...come on! Let's keep going!
Just as Fiona and the kids were about to make it to the stairs, Misty accidently tripped and fell!
Santros: YOU THERE! There's no escaping from us!
Emily: Oh No! Misty!
Macros: You handle the twerps, I'll handle these clowns! *Macros takes out a Bo Staff and begins to swing at Sally, and the group*
Santros: I'm way ahead of you! *Santros takes out a big sized Shuriken and aims it right at Misty!
Sally: MISTY! NO!
Emily: Oh No! That guy is going to get Misty!
Fiona Witnesses this and begins to run towards her!
Misty: I'm too scared...to move...
Santros: That's right! I got you now!
Santros proceeds to throw the Shuriken at Misty, and just as it was about to hit, Fiona jumps in and grabs Misty and jumps out of the way just in the nick of time!
Misty: You...saved me? Oh Thank you so much! I was so scared! Thank you, Thank you! *Hugs Fiona*
This brings a shock to Fiona. She has never received much gratitude from anyone, let alone a child. She hugs back Misty with a warm feeling inside.
Fiona: *sheds tear* You're...You're welcome, Misty! You're welcome!
Emily: You saved, Misty! That was awesome!
Herman: Your agility was quite impressive!
Stan: That was so cool!
Fiona: Well, Thank you...that means a lot!
Sally who was witnessing this gives a smile to Fiona, but she had to focus on dealing with Macros with his bo Staff!
Santros: That Fox may have succeeded in saving that Mutt, but I don't give up that easily! *Santros takes out his own Bo Staff and begins charging at Fiona and the kids*
Emily: These guys are no joke!
Stan: You're telling me!
Emily: I saw this in a cartoon once. *Emily sticks out her foot only for Santros to trip over it dropping his bo staff in the process* Take that!
Herman: Smart thinking Emily!
Meanwhile The battle with Macros was still going tense, however no one was willing to give up.
Macros: Well I hope you enjoyed this little warm up because the real attack is about to begin!
Macros begins to spin his staff rapidly and charges towards the group, however Sally was able to stop him by jabbing him in the stomach with her elbow, knocking him down.
Larry: Nice maneuver, Sally! Simple yet effective!
After the battle, Sally noticed a remote that fell out of Macros's pocket. She pressed it and all the windows and the door was unlocked.
Sally: So that's how they locked us in.
Hershey: Well it looks like we won! So we'll be on our way!
Macros: Very well, savor this victory while you can, for it will be your last!
Santros: We shall meet again! *Santros takes out the smokescreen gun and unleashes it causing the room to be covered in smoke*
Emily: We can't see!
Herman: I can use my wings to blow it away!
Herman proceeds to blow the smokescreen away with his wings. When the smoke cleared up, the group saw that the Scorpo Brothers were gone. however Emily noticed a small crystal right were they were stood, she picks it up and hands shows it to everyone.
Emily: Has anyone ever seen this before?
Herman: It looks like some sort of Crystal.
Hershey: It's a little small and slim to be a chaos emerald so we can cross that out.
Sally: Why don't I take it, I can see if Nicole and I can find some information on it.
Herman: Great Idea!
Emily: Here you go! *Emily hands Sally the crystal and puts it in her vest pocket.*
Herman: Looks like you got to see your Aunt in action after all, Emily.
Emily: Yeah, she really helped Miss Acorn do a number on those Scorpo guys!
Sally: Well I must admit, I never fought anyone like that before.
Hershey: I know, I bet they could give Dr. Eggman a run for his money. In all seriousness, is everyone okay?
Herman: We're fine thank you.
Emily: Thanks for saving us, Aunty Erma! You were really great out there!
Erma: Thank you! I'm just glad you're safe, Emily! And Fiona, I owe you an apology. I never should've accused you and threatened you like that, I was way out of Line!
Fiona: Hey, I get it! considering that I had a checkered past and considering my actions with the Destructix, I can understand why you would do that. I can tell that you really care for Emily.
Erma: Believe me I do!
Fiona: And I'm sorry I called you a weasel and a rodent the other day, I was out of line too.
Erma: I accept your apology. If it makes you feel any better, a lot of people mistake me for a weasel all the time, in fact you're the first person who actually apologized for it. and between you and me, sometimes people mistake me for Sally.
Fiona: I can see why, it's like you two are practically twins.
Everyone laughs at that statement.
Herman: Well now with that settled we never properly introduced ourselves, Fiona! I'm Herman, and this is Stan.
Stan: Nice to meet you.
Emily: And you know me, I'm Emily! and you Already met Misty!
Misty: That's right!
Fiona: Oh yeah, you were the Emily who came over with Erma the other day! I got the card you made for me, it was really beautiful.
Emily: Thank you! Aunty Erma told me you were in that rehab program so I wanted to show my support.
Sally: That reminds me, I got your card as well Misty, you're really quite the artist!
Emily: Thank you, Miss Acorn!
Sally: Fiona, you did great! you really saved Misty back there!
Fiona: Well I wasn't gonna let some deranged lunatic toss a weapon at a small child! I may have had a checkered past but that doesn't mean I would let a small child get hurt, even I have standards.
Sally: I'm really proud of you!
Fiona: *Blushes* well thank you Sally!
Misty: I can't thank you enough, you were really brave!
Fiona: Aww, you're alright Kiddo! You're safe now and that's all that matters.
Larry: Now that we got that out of the way, how about we celebrate this victory? How about some Ice cream?
Sally: Sounds good to me!
Herman: This is very nice of you!
Emily: Thanks Mr. Lizard
Erma: Yes, thanks Larry! This is very generous!
Larry: You're welcome!
Fiona: You're alright, Larry!
Everyone got into Larry's Car and drove to an ice cream parlor.
Larry: Well this is it, this place has the best ice cream you can't find anywhere else.
Larry leads the group inside the Ice cream parlor and heads up to a counter and sees a male Mobian Fennec Fox working there which catches Fiona's attention.
Larry: Syrus, good to see you buddy!
Syrus: Larry! I haven't seen you here in awhile!
Larry: Well with my job and everything, it's hard make some freetime, but I manage. Girls, this is Syrus, he runs this place!
Sally: Nice to meet you, Syrus! I'm Sally, and this is Hershey!
Hershey: Hello there!
Sally: This is Erma! She's Emily's aunt.
Erma: It's very nice to meet you.
Sally: And this is Fiona, she recently started the 3 month rehab program here in town.
Sally notices Fiona staring at Syrus. Sally nudged her a bit to grab her attention
Fiona: Huh? What? Oh sorry! hello there Syrus.
Syrus: Well it's very nice to meet you all!
Larry: Syrus also served with me on the days of the battlefield.
Syrus: Yep! we were quite the team back then! He and I could take on anyone and come out on top.
Larry: Easy there, buddy! We were strong but were not invincible.
Syrus: Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away. So what can I get you guys?
After everyone had got their ice cream flavors, they all proceeded at sitting at the table near the window.
Sally: So Erma told me you were preparing for a school debate next month.
Emily: That's right, we were having difficulty coming up with a topic.
Just then Nicole emerged in her Lynx form upon hearing about the kids' dilemma about the debate topic.
Nicole: Maybe I can be of assistance, what kind of topic are you searching for.
Herman: Well we want it be something that can be very helpful for future freedom fighters, especially when it comes to those who begin to stray in the wrong direction if you know what I mean.
Misty: But we really want to get the facts straight about it.
Nicole: I see...
Sally: That sounds like a good idea, do you know anyone you can use as an example?
Stan: Well, we would never use an actual person as an example for our debates, we usually use fake names for that.
Larry: It's true, the board always advises against using real life people out of fear that it could mock them if the debate goes wrong.
Sally: That's pretty clever to use fake names.
Larry: Well considering that the debate's only a month from now, you have plenty of time to come up with a topic. So there's no need to rush into anything.
Nicole: Larry's right, I'm sure whatever topic you come up with, it will be a good one.
Herman: Thanks, Nicole!
Sally: And who knows, maybe an idea can come to you when you least expect it.
Stan: Yeah, maybe you're right!
A half hour later, after everyone enjoyed their Ice cream the group headed out of the building.
Syrus: Be sure to come again!
Sally: Oh you can count on it! Everything was great.
Syrus: And Fiona, I hope you do really well on the rehab program. It helped many people over the years.
Fiona: So I've been told! Thank you! *Blushes*
Emily: We can walk home from here, our houses isn't too far.
Larry: Okay then, I hope to see you at school tomorrow!
Herman: Oh you will, see you later!
The kids parted ways while they waved goodbye as Nicole reverted back to her handheld form, however just as Sally and the group got in the car, there was a thought in Fiona's mind that has been bothering her.
Fiona: Hey Can I ask you guys something?
Hershey: Of course!
Erma: What's on your mind?
Fiona: Well do you honestly believe I can actually change for the better?
Larry: Of course I do!
Fiona: Now I really want you to be honest with me.
Larry: I am, I honestly believe that there's good inside you.
Sally: This sort of thing takes time, Fiona. All you need to do is to put your heart into it.
Hershey: After seeing your little rescue mission, I believe you can change.
Erma: No heartless villain would ever risk their life for a child.
Fiona: I guess that's true. But still I don't feel any different...
Sally: Fiona, it's okay if you're having some doubts, but you've only been in the program for a couple of days.
Fiona: I know...but still I don't know if I'll ever improve, I mean I'm happy I was able to save Misty from the Scorpos, but I still the same as I ever was. Just a lone vixen who's angry with the world.
Sally: You broke things off with Scourge, so that's gotta count for something.
Fiona: yeah about that...I gotta confession to make...I didn't break ties...He did!
Larry: Wait! So you're saying it was the other way around?
Fiona: Yes...
Sally: How did that happen?
FLASHBACK
Fiona (VO): Well it happened about a week ago, when Scourge was standing outside of our hideout after our latest attack, he seemed to have something on mind. I came by to check on him, that's when I noticed his change of attitude.
Scourge (FB): Fiona, I've been doing some thinking! We've been together for a while. Spreading a bit of Chaos, Showing Sonic and his goody two shoe chums a thing or two.
Fiona (FB): Yeah, Babe! We've giving those Freedom Fighter Jerks a run for their money. So What's the problem?
Scourge (FB): The Thing is, you're starting to go soft!
Fiona (FB): Excuse me? What do you mean soft!?
Scourge (FB): What are you deaf!? I said you're going soft! You're not fully in the game!
Fiona (FB): I don't understand! I did everything for you!
Scourge (FB): Sorry Fi, but it's the way it's gotta be. It's over between us! Not just that but the team and I took a vote and you're out of the destructix!
Fiona (FB): *Angrily while tears form* You can't be serious! After everything we've been through, you're just going to toss me aside like last week's garbage!?
Scourge (FB): Well you said it yourself, Babe! You can't count on anybody!
Fiona (VO): What he said to me sent me into a huge shock! Those were the exact same words I said to Tails, and Scourge had the nerve to use those words against me!
Fiona (FB): *Emotional* You're really willing to turn on me...just like that? I GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR YOU!
Scourge (FB): YOU HEARD ME! I DON'T NEED THIS KIND OF EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE! NOW GET LOST!
Fiona (FB): *Sobs* You know what...FINE! I DON'T NEED YOU! I CAN MAKE IT ON MY OWN! IT WORKED WELL FOR ME BEFORE!
Fiona (VO): I was devastated...After he kicked me out of Moebius, I landed near a different part of Mobius, I just kept running as far as I could, until I came across that town you call Floterna, and began spreading a bit of chaos of my own, until you guys came along.
END FLASHBACK
Erma: You poor thing...That must've been really rough for someone like Scourge to treat you like that!
Fiona: *Sheds a tear* yeah...
Sally: Of course! It all makes sense!
Fiona: What does?
Sally: When you attacked us at the Hydro stream, you weren't doing it out of Malice! You were frustrated over how Scourge broke your heart and you took it out on us! And when I rescued you from drowning, you felt defeated because you had nowhere else to go.
Fiona: Yeah...I got kicked out of the destructix and Scourge took all my warp rings so I couldn't go back to Moebius...
Sally: Oh, Fiona...I had no idea you were going through so much pain at the time!
Fiona: You don't know the half of it...
Larry: Look, you're obviously better off without that Hot shot jerk! You don't need to be in a relationship that's so...Toxic!
Hershey: Larry's right, I had my share of bad relationships before I married Geoffrey, and I know from experience that a person should only love you for the person you are inside not when they see you as a pawn for their own selfish goals.
Fiona: This is a lot to take in to be honest.
Sally: I understand, I just hope this gives you a better perspective on having a healthy relationship.
Fiona: Well it does gives me something to think about.
After the conversation, Larry dropped off Sally, Hershey, and Fiona back at the apartment and drove off with Erma. As the Sally and Hershey entered their respective apartments, Sally had one more question to ask Fiona.
Sally: Fiona, if Scourge broke up with you, then why did you say that you were the one that broke up with him?
Fiona: I guess the truth is...I just wanted to sound tough! I didn't want anyone to think that I was...weak.
Sally: Fiona, Listen to me! You're not weak, you're just going through a lot right now. Granted it's no excuse for the things you've done in the past, but it does provide a much better perspective about your situation.
Fiona: *emotional* I'm just scared of messing up and getting burned again!
Sally: You won't get burned again, and I will make sure of that!
Fiona: You're serious? You're willing to do that for me?
Sally: Yes, we're all in this together! You don't have to feel lonely anymore. It will take a lot of time but I know we can get through it together.
Fiona: Thanks, Sal! That's just the kind of pep talk I needed! *Hugs Sally*
Sally: Anytime, Fiona! Anytime! *Hugs Fiona Back*
TO BE CONTINUED
