Author's Note: Sorry this took a while again. Just trying to cram all the info I planned to use in this single chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

Like the Umlaut Snakes chapter, this features two songs. However, the second one is a reprise of an earlier song, not a whole new song. So in my mind, it doesn't count. The first song is "Don't Let Your Guard Down" which is the last song in Sonic Underground. You have no idea how hard it was to find one that fits well. I was going to find a song for Mulholland, but that was harder than you'd think. Anyway, the aforementioned reprise is based on "Panic and Run" from the Lion Guard.

Hope you enjoy this chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

Tails took point when leading his group forward. He followed the directions on his device until he stopped right by a large lake. He turned to his friends.

"Well, according to the tracking device, Rouge should be somewhere around here." Tails said.

"Maybe… she found the tracker and ditched it." Wolf said.

"Well, we can't just give up." Kipo said. "Maybe if we look around, we can find a clue of where she went."

"Kipo, wait." Wolf said. "What if we can't. Look, we have a map to your dad. Why don't we just go and get him now."

"We can't." Kipo said. "You said it yourself. This Rouge woman stole the Chaos Emerald, the last thing my dad gave me before we separated. So I'm not going back until I find her, take back the Emerald, and make her answer for your sneak stealing."

"We're with you, Kipo." Sonic said.

"As long as we don't go anywhere near that mucky water there." Sonia said looking at the lake. "That standing water doesn't look sanitized."

Suddenly, Dave hatched into his baby form in Benson's arms. "Yeah. You guys start searching while I make sure Dave doesn't get into trouble."

While everyone started searching, Tails and Mandu regrouped with Wolf.

"You're still not going to tell them the truth?" Tails asked.

"What? That Rouge tricked us, took advantage of Kipo's friendly-to-everyone routine, and made me give her the Emerald in exchange for the hedgehogs' mother's letter?" Wolf asked. "How can I?"

"Look, I'm not going to tell her if you don't," Tails said, "But she's going to find out sooner or later. If we find Rouge and Kipo confronts her for stealing the Chaos Emerald, that bat's going to tell her what you're not. What do you think Kipo will think of you when she finds out you've been keeping a secret from her?" Tails' words really made Wolf think.

Meanwhile, the hedgehogs met up with Kipo. Manic took a look at the jacket sleeve that Kipo wore on her right arm. "Hey, sweet thinking with the sleeve. Best to hide the fur thing."

Kipo chuckled nervously. "What fur thing? It was just a one-time thing, right?"

"I don't know about you guys," Sonic said, "But I am thirsty." She rushed over to the nearest water fountain and took a sip. "Ah. Good to know these things still work."

"Is that what those are?" Benson asked. "We thought those were just weird satellite dishes." That's when Dave molted into his pouty teen form in his arms.

"I could use a drink." Kipo said. "Anyone else?" Everyone agreed and took a sip with her.

After everyone else was done, Sonia felt a slight tingle in her head. "Anyone else feel that?"

Suddenly, a cool liquid brushed around everyone's feet. They all turned to see the water gather around at the edge of the surface to the lake. The puddle grew more and more until it changed into a large blob made entirely of water. The blob grew a face smiling down on the kids.

"Well, this day just turned fantastic."

"What are you?" Tails asked followed by a slight yawn.

The blob moved around changing its shape to illustrate his sentences. "A co-occupier of this planet, just like you, my friend. I'm a community of tardigrades. Water-dwelling, microscopic water bears. But you can call me Tad Mulholland. Some have referred to me as a guru, although, I don't like to think of myself that way. I'm trained in different schools of visualization, meditation, warm stone massage. I also make a really neat pineapple upside-down cake. 'Cause heck, even Mulholland likes to mix it up a little. Mostly though, I'm a dream maker."

That's when everyone felt a little tired and exhausted. They leaned down while Mulholland continued.

"Everyone thinks they've got a dream. But most don't know how big they're allowed to dream. I reveal your best, biggest, most perfect dream to you. And then, I make that dream come true. Neat, huh?"

Underneath the kids, a pillar of water carried them to the lake.

""We didn't ask for this, Make it stop." Wolf demanded quietly without much of an enthusiastic fight.

"Stop? Why, we've barely begun." Mulholland said. "I see this more as a service we provide. And you just drank us. Isn't that a surprise? I take my little water bear friends here and send them, just like that, into your brains. And they do their thing. And I give you the special, little perfect world dream you want most. You know, when you dream biggest, your brain has the most energy? Wow, that sure is something. To complete this journey of ours, you become a part of me. You live in a fantasy forever and I live off your brain energy. Isn't that great?"

Like everyone else, Kipo had a hard time trying to stay awake. Every second brought her closer and closer to falling to sleep. She tried to keep her eyes open, and laying back on the water in front of her was a certain bat mute that she was looking for. Rouge laid back on the water with her eyes peacefully closed.

"Wait… is that… She has something that…" Kipo couldn't stay awake much longer. She lost all her consciousness just like everyone else.

Everyone had their perfect little dreams differently. Mandy had her fantasy that everything was made of cheese puffs. It was an all-you-can-eat course for the four-eyed pig mute. Benson and Dave both shared the same fantasy: the wildest party they could ever throw.

As for Tails, he had his own special dream. He was working a highly-advanced engineer's lab with his own plane right behind him. He rubbed sweat from his forehead before his watch started beeping. When he looked, instead of the time, Tails saw the face of his best friend "Sonic".

"Sonic! What's up, buddy?"

"It's the Great Battle Kukku, Tails! He's back and he's brought his empire to invade Cocoa Island!" "Sonic" said. "I know I can take him, but it will be a very big help if my best friend came to help!"

"Ha! Only Sonic the Hedgehog will need help this much! Don't worry, buddy. We'll send that kooky Kukku flying with his tail feathers between his legs. He may have an army of evil birds, but we have something stronger: friendship… along with my most ingenious gadgets." Tails hopped in his plane and flew off to join the fight.

Sonic yawned as he woke up from his blue race-car bed. He stretched before turning to his other siblings, Sonia and Manic, who were sharing his dream. Sonia woke up in a fancy, queen-sized bed. Manic emerged from his low-grade, yet cozy bunk.

"Morning, sibs." Sonic said. "What a great nap, huh?"

"You said it." Sonia said. She shook her head to make her hair pretty.

"I guess." Manic said. "Still, does something seem… off to you?"

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

Before Manic could answer, the door opened in front of them. They smiled when a certain purple hedgehog woman walked in wearing a beautiful white robe with a gold belt and cape.

"Mom!" the kids cheered as they rushed to hug her.

"Take it easy, kids." "Aleena" said. "I just came to wish you good morning."

"Sorry, mother." Sonia said breaking the hug with her brothers. "It just… it feels like we haven't seen you in ages."

"Well, I'm here now." "Aleena" said. "Now come on. It's time for your address."

"Our address?" Manic asked.

"Of course. After all, everyone in Las Vistas wants to hear from the royal princes and princess."

The hedgehog kids widened their eyes as if this was the first they were hearing of it.

"Royal?" Sonic asked.

"Princes?" Manic asked.

"Princess?" Sonia asked.

"Aleena" lead the hedgehogs across a couple of hallways before they made it to a balcony. Down below, the kids watched in surprise seeing mutes and humans cheering for them side by side. There were even some very familiar people such as the Mod Frogs, the Hooligans, and even Scarlemagne and his Nobles.

"They're cheering for us?" Sonic asked.

"Why wouldn't they?" "Aleena" asked. "After all, thanks to us being reunited, mutes and humans are living in perfect harmony. They were so grateful, they made us their rightful rulers and we must rule with peace and justice."

"I… guess I remember that." Manic said scratching his head.

"Something wrong, Manic?" Sonic asked.

"I… I don't know. Something just seems… missing."

"Well, why don't you play something?" "Aleena" asked. "The people are wanting to know what you've got to perform."

"Really?" Sonic asked. "Way past cool!" He, Sonia, and Manic whipped out their talismans and summoned their instruments before playing them.

Hedgehogs:

Don't let your guard down

Keep your shield up. You gotta be ready

Don't let your guard down

When the going gets tough, keep your heart steady

Sonic:

You never know when danger will strike

Might be tomorrow. Might be tonight

Learn to trust your instincts and nothing else

The world can be cold. The world can be tough

Sometimes, love is not enough

Sometimes, you've got to stand up for yourself

Hedgehogs:

Don't let your guard down

Keep your shield up. You gotta be ready

Don't let your guard down

And when the going gets tough, keep your heart steady

Don't let your guard down

Keep your shield up. Keep your shield up

Don't let your guard down

Keep your shield up. Keep your shield up

Don't let your guard down

You gotta be readyyyyyyyyy

Wolf had her own adventure in her dream, and not just from her fantasy life. In her dream, she and her best friend, "Kipo", were mute hunters of incredible size, build, and strength. Each of them had arms the size of trees.

After killing the last mega-bunny, Wolf and "Kipo" were setting up camp at Cactus Town. "Kipo" was stirring up the cooking fire before a strange shaking sound got her attention as well as Wolf's.

"That can't be right." "Kipo" muttered to herself.

"What can't be right?" Wolf asked.

Suddenly, the cactus wall behind Wolf was knocked down. She turned and gasped in shock when a gigantic ram walked through the hole it made. It took a few steps toward Wolf before stopping and speaking.

"You didn't tell Kipo the truth."

Those words made Wolf remember what was lingering in her mind. Her knees shook when she finally recalled what she was keeping from her best friend. Lowering her head, she turned to "Kipo" and finally admitted.

"Kipo, there's something you need to know. Rouge didn't steal the Chaos Emerald from me. I gave it to her so she wouldn't destroy the letter. And she only did that because I let her get to close. I tried it your way and it ended up getting your dad's last gift taken…"

"Hey, hey." "Kipo" said. "It's all right. The truth is, I don't really care."

Wolf raised her head after hearing the last thing she thought Kipo would say. "You don't?"

"Nope. That's all in the past. Besides, the whole 'making friends' thing was a total failure from the start anyway."

Those words shot into Wolf's mind like a lightning strike. She growled angrily before jumping on "Kipo". She pinned her arms to the ground and mounted her.

"The real Kipo would never say that! I know it! What's going on?"

"…Oh, dang it." Said the imposter followed by the illusion falling.

Wolf gasped when she woke up in Mulholland's water. She struggled until she freed herself and recovered her Deathstalker tail. She turned to Mulholland who stared at her curiously.

"Well, this is a first."

"You!" Wolf shouted. "What did you do to us?"

"That ram must have been your guilt, little pup. Those are some big feelings you got sealed up tight like a jelly jar to interfere with the dream I made for you."

"You mean the first time someone has woken up out of one of your messed-up dreams before you digest them?" Wolf reached into the water and pulled out a skull.

"That doesn't sound right." Mulholland said. "That sounds sad."

"Kipo, wake up!" Wolf yelled. She rushed over to help her friend, but Mulholland sent a wave to push her back.

"Little pup, I wouldn't do that to your friend. You'll wake her up."

"I want her to wake up!"

"If you wake them up, you'll yank them from perfection. I can reveal a better dream to you. I can make you more buff."

"I don't want anything that turns me into this." Wolf pulled out another skull.

"A hamster? I could definitely make you a furry hamster."

"No! Dead!"

"I speak from the heart when I say that hurts my feelings."

Wolf didn't care. She just wanted to save her friends. But she knew she didn't have a chance against Mulholland and his shapeshifting, so she made a break for someone who she know could. She made a mad dash toward the three hedgehogs.

After singing their song, everyone who heard them cheered. That's when Sonia realized

something.

"Uh, guys, why did we sing that?"

"Come to think of it," Sonic said, "It did seem strange to sing a song with a message like that."

"It felt like it was instinct to me." Sonic said.

"SONIC! SONIA! MANIC! IT'S NOT REAL!"

"Not real?" Sonic asked. "Was that Wolf?"

"If this isn't real, then…" Sonia turned to "Aleena". "You're not our real mother."

"But I'm here now. Isn't that what matters?" "Aleena" asked.

"No way, phony." Manic said. "Our real mom is waiting for us!"

"So stay out of our heads!" Sonic cried out.

Back in the waking world ,the hedgehogs struggled to wake up. Mulholland was determined in trying to keep them asleep.

"Now, hold on. Let's not do anything we're going to regret."

"TOO LATE, YOU WET BLANKET!"

Wolf didn't recognize that voice. She looked up and saw a figure fall from the sky. She was shocked to find a pink-haired hedgehog descend quickly with an overly-large hammer in her hands. She swung it down in the middle of the lake causing a strong shake that rattled everyone. Even Mulholland was shaken, so much so, that almost everyone else woke up.

When Sonic finally woke up, the first thing he saw was the pink hedgehog who shook him awake. "What the… Amy?"

"Oh, you remember me." Amy said bashfully. "I'm touched."

"Nice landing, Amy." Said a certain rabbit girl who hovered from the sky with her large ears. Her Chao was next to her as she landed right next to Amy.

"Who are they?" Wolf asked. "You know what? It doesn't matter. Let's just get Kipo and…"

Wolf was interrupted when Kipo, who was still asleep, was raised up close to Mulholland's face.

"I don't think so, little pup. Her fantasy is my best work yet. I had her mom come back to life. I made her feel strong in the face of adversity. I don't get jealous, but if I did, I would be… of me."

"But it's not real!" Sonic cried out. "None of our fantasies were, no matter how much we want them to be! Kipo would never want this!"

"You may have tried to control our fantasies, water bear," Wolf said before jumping up on top of Kipo, "But you will not control our reality! Kipo, wake up! Your dad's waiting for you, remember? Your REAL dad! Please!"

Kipo began to stir violently. She shook around until finally, her eyes widened and she gave out muffled screams. Her water cocoon broke and she landed in the lake with Wolf. Together, the two of them regrouped with the others at the edge of the lake. They even dragged the unconscious Rouge with them.

"And that's why I hate water." Sonic said.

Suddenly, Mulholland rose up from the water above them all again. He looked at them all curiously.

"Wait a second. So you're all happier to be here instead of the perfect world I created for you?"

"Look, it's no lie that reality is horrible. But there are better ways of dealing with it than just retreating to a dream. It's not easy, but it's worth it."

"I guess you could say that if everything is perfect," Sonic said, "Then nothing is."

"Wow. That is deep." Mulholland said. "I was supposed to take you on a journey, and you guys took me on one instead. I'm starting to think this isn't the best way to get my nutrients. I'm going to take some time to do some thinking at the mountains. And also at the sea. And maybe outer space." He spun around until he disappeared from out of sight.

"Creepiest… mute… ever." Manic commented.

"I do miss that dance floor though." Benson said.

When dawn finally broke out, Rouge stirred herself awake. She stretched herself until she was fully aware of her surroundings.

"Hey. Where's my castle full of treasure?" The bat mute was then at a loss when she saw the faces of certain people who were not her biggest fans. She laughed nervously. "Is this a party?"

"You got a lot to answer for." Kipo said. "Taking my dad's Chaos Emerald like that."

"The Chaos Emerald?" Rouge asked. "Oh, you must be Kipo. Gotta be honest, the way your cub friend talked you up, I thought you'd be taller."

"Don't change the subject." Benson said.

"Yeah." Sonic said. "You stole the Chaos Emerald from our friends from out of nowhere."

"Stole? Out of nowhere?" Rouge asked. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

Tails looked over to Wolf's direction and pointed toward Kipo. Wolf knew what he was trying to say and sighed.

"Kipo… There's something you have to know." Wolf said. "The truth is… Rouge didn't take it from us. She made us give it to her or else she would destroy Aleena's letter."

"What?" Kipo asked. "Why did you lie?"

Wolf paused before finally confessing. "The reason she knew to use that letter against us was because we told her how important it was. She showed up, helped us look for birthday presents, and honestly, for some strange reason, I trusted her enough. I opened up to her like you would, and she took advantage of that. I was worried that if I told you how it really happened, then I'd be shattering your world. And I care about you too much to do that. So… I lied and I'm sorry, Kipo."

The truth brought tears to Wolf's eyes. Kipo leaned in and hugged her.

"It's okay, Wolf. To be honest, I guess deep down, I knew it wouldn't work on everybody. I just want to hold on to that hope."

"But it always worked for you." Wolf said. "You befriended Timbercats, Umlaut Snakes, the Mega-Monkey, and even the guardian of Angel Island."

"You guys actually did all that?" Rouge asked. "And here, I thought Arbor was pulling my leg."

Those words got everyone's attention. They all turned to Rouge.

"What was that?" Sonia asked.

"Did you say Arbor?" Manic asked.

"How do you know Arbor?" Kipo asked.

Rouge gave a slight chuckle. "All right. I guess I should tell you kids the truth. Do you know why I wanted that Chaos Emerald?"

"You said you liked how pretty it was." Tails said.

"That was a bonus. Actually, I was planning on giving it to Scarlemagne."

"What?" Benson asked.

"Scarlemagne?" Cream asked with fear in her voice.

"You heard me right." Rouge said. "The truth is, I used to work for the crazy ape in the past. I was basically his top spy. That is, until I got a little too greedy over the Chaos Emeralds he had on him. He didn't like that and chased me out of his lair."

"So you thought you could return to his good graces with someone else's Chaos Emerald?" Wolf asked.

"Well, yes and no. You see, it's more complicated than that. After I was fired, I took up work as a spy-for-hire. I sell my skills for whoever pays me to look over a Maud Frog's business records or study a Timberwolf pack's hunting pattern. Either way, I don't come cheap. Then, just the other day, the

Freedom Fighters contacted me."

"You met Arbor?" Kipo asked.

"Not exactly. We spoke over the radio and he had a disguised voice. What I do know is that the Freedom Fighters have been getting a bit more complacent thanks to a certain burrow girl who was rumored to have befriended every mute she came across. With that confidence in mind, Arbor hired me to infiltrate Scarlemagne's forces and figure out what he's up to. I knew Scarlemagne wouldn't let me a kilomoter near him unless I gave him something he could want. So I decided to use your Chaos Emerald."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Tails asked.

"Would you have believed me?"

"I'm still on the fence." Wolf said. "How do we know you're not just saying that to make us feel sympathy toward you?"

"Whether you believe me or not, I decided to let you kids keep the emerald. Scarlemagne won't be happy when he hears that and my plans will be set back by a while, but I figure I owe you kids for getting me out of that fantasy trap."

Everyone looked at each other. Kipo turned her head back to Rouge. "All right. But don't try to trick us again."

"I only promise to try." Rouge said. "I tell ya, you kids sure are interesting. Maybe we'll meet again." She spread her wings and flew out of sight.

"Wow. Isn't she something?" Dave asked in amazement.

"Something tricky, you mean." Benson said. "But now, we can move onto the other elephant in the room." He along with everyone else turned to Amy Rose, Cream and Cheese.

"Who are they?" Wolf asked.

"Right." Kipo said. "Wolf, Dave, Tails, this is Amy, Cream, and Cheese. We met them over at Ratland."

"Nice to meet you." Amy said giving a little courtesy.

"Did you follow us all the way from Ratland?" Sonic asked. "That's a little creepy."

"Hey, I did wake you up." Amy said. "Besides, I thought you could help us."

"Help you with what?" Sonia asked.

Cream lowered her head. "Well… my momma's missing."

Kipo's eyes widened. She knelt down to Cream and comforted her. "I'm sorry to hear that. Do you know where she is?"

"Something like that." Amy said. "Scarlemagne has her."

"Scarlemagne?" Wolf asked. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Amy said. "Cream's mom is a baker. She cooks delicious food for starving mutes in her area. And what most don't know is that she also cooked for the Freedom Fighters. She would sneak to their hideout and deliver their food. However, Scarlemagne found out what she did and sent his nobles to kidnap her. He's holding her prisoner until she can reveal to him where the Freedom Fighters are."

"I saw the whole thing." Cream said. "I was hiding in the cupboards when it happened. After my mom was taken by those flamingos, I was lost. If I hadn't found Amy, then…"

Amy stopped her with a comforting touch to her shoulder. "When we heard that Scarlemagne was after you guys, we thought you might be Freedom Fighters and that you may help. But it looks like you're just as lost as we are."

"Wow." Sonic said. "Looks like we have a LOT on our plate right now. Between trying to find our parents, this crazy prophecy, and now, this rescue mission…"

"Don't worry, Cream." Kipo said. "We'll find your mom."

"We will?" Benson asked.

"Yes." Kipo said. "But first, we've got to find my dad and the hedgehogs' mom. And luckily, we have a map that leads right to them."

It was a long night, but the Hooligans managed to wash away every last Scooter Skunk stink from their bodies. Fang came out of his bath last.

"It sure is lucky we managed to find a convenience store with a whole bunch of tomato juice cans and a working bathtub." Bean said.

"I heard you the last thirty times, Bean." Fang groaned as he approached a city map on the wall. He took a moment to study it. "Okay. Back to business. Our targets started off at Skyscraper Ridge and went to where there used to be a human burrow. Timbercats found them and were convinced to take them to Cactus Town. After that, we found the targets at Angel Island followed by Ratland. Aside from Angel Island, they seem to be headed to a westward direction. That must be where the other humans are. We just need to catch them before we lose them for good, or worse, before Scarlemagne loses his patience with us."

Bean and Bark looked at each other. The polar bear mute gestured for Bean to talk to Fang.

"Me? Why can't you tell him?"

Bark made a face that said "Really?" He then made a cutting motion across his throat.

"Oh, fine." Bean said. "I'll tell Fang."

"Tell me what?" Fang asked.

Bean laughed nervously. "So here's the thing… While you were cleaning the stink off of you, Bark and I picked up a public radio broadcast from Scarlemagne. From the old zoo ruins, he officially gave the task of finding the targets to every mute who listened."

"What?" Fang asked in shock. "That's insane! We'll never catch them now that there are other mutes that will be going after them! We'll be tripping over each other!"

"Speaking of trips, how about we go on vacation?" Bean suggested. "I've always wanted to go to Florida."

"Bean, take this seriously!" Fang yelled out. His face dropped and he slumped down on the nearest chair. "Look at us. Just last week, we were the most feared and dangerous bounty hunters in the entire mute community. Now, we're failures. I don't know what to do now."

"Cheer up, boss." Bean said. "I'm sure we'll catch the burrow girl and the hedgehogs soon."

"No, we won't. There are too many variables against us now." Fang replied full of hopelessness. "Once the targets reach that second burrow, they'll be lost forever."

Bean frowned empathizing with his boss. He didn't know what to say. He lowered his head for a full minute. Once that minute ended, a thought made him stop. The duck slowly raised his head and widened his eyes with his mouth widening open. He turned his head toward Fang.

"Fang. I just got… an idea."

"I seriously doubt it." Fang said. "Remember the last time you got an idea?"

"How was I supposed to know they already invented a blanket with sleeves?" Bean asked. "But that's beside the point. What if… we don't catch them?"

"Don't catch them?" Fang asked. "You mean the targets? Bean, you're crazier than I imagined."

"Hear me out." Bean said. "Scarlemagne wants the human burrow, right? And the targets are going there. So instead of going after them, what if we tail them? Eventually…"

Fang dropped his jaw as he suddenly realized what Bean was trying to say. "They'll reach the burrow and we'll know exactly where they are. And they'll think they're so safe, we'll catch them at their most vulnerable! I never thought I'd ever, ever, EVER say this, but good thinking, Bean."

"Aw, shucks. 'Twernt nothin'." Bean said in a goofy voice.

Bark then made a certain gesture that Fang understood.

"Yes, all those other mutes could be a problem if they manage to catch the targets. But if we're clever about it, we can help them escape their hunters without them even knowing we're on their trail. After we locate their hidden burrow, we'll tell Scarlemagne. He'll come over and handle the humans himself. Then, he'll pay us everything and more while we do a certain to the humans."

"What?" Bean asked. "What are we going to do to the humans?"

Fang answered that question with a certain reprise. During that, he, Bean, and Bark armed themselves and proudly became ready.

Fang:

Give 'em a scare

Give 'em a scare

Catch them while they're unaware

Before they even have time to prepare

We will give 'em, give 'em, give 'em a scare

The Hooligans:

GIVE 'EM A SCARE

GIVE 'EM A SCARE

CATCH THEM WHILE THEY'RE UNAWARE

BEFORE THEY EVEN HAVE TIME TO PREPARE

WE WILL GIVE 'EM…

WE WILL GIVE 'EM…

WE WILL GIVE 'EM, GIVE 'EM, GIVE 'EM A SCARE