Pawns by -- Joseph DeLaCroix This story is based on characters created by Service and Games (SEGA), and on characters created by Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Any resemblance to actual characters are not coincidental. ;) Joseph, Bahb, and all other independent creations of Joseph DeLaCroix are the copyrighted property of JoCo Inc. Commander Packbell, Bookshire Draftwood, and Sandra Nightweaver are the copyrighted property of David Pistone. All rights reserved. Etc. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A day had passed since she had broken...since she had collapsed in his arms, begging the fox who had saved her to do so once more from a even more insidious foe than the cold; he had been asked to save her from a Damoclesian sword that hung over the entire world from a fraying strand of her own fur. And, for the most part, he had started to do just that. After he had heard what she had asked of him, and he had calmed her, the tall fox created a scheme to save them all; a plan that not only defeated the alien host, but conquored the homebound foe, kept both of them from being executed as traitors, allowed them to step out of the limelight that was melting Joseph, and gave Mobius a new and more powerful place in the universe. Not bad, she thought, for a honest night of work. Yet, it was a complex plan, with many variables that could be changed only slightly before the idea would have to be altered. Like a snowflake, the lightest pressure put against any part of it would ruin it all. But, if the fates played in their favor, and with some fast-talking and sneaky deceptions, everyone would be alright. Besides, she thought to herself, conspiracies can be fun... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Knothole was even more busy lately than it had been before. A greater number of people were being deroboticized every day, and were being shipped off with extra deroboticizers to places all over Mobius. Things were going exactly as they had planned, and before next spring Mobius could begin to return to what it once had been. Sally sat in the town square on that day, unknowing that just two nights ago the fate of the entire world had been decided by a spy and an alien. She sat there quietly, as a matter of fact, watching and directing others on where to go and what to do. It was, after all, her job to do such things...she doubted that leaving such a complex procedure as this up to Sonic would result in a Mobius covered in chili dog stands, rather than one covered in green and blue... Snapped out of her thoughts by a confused bluebird, she kept up her post as a guide and administrator for a few more hours, until she had gotten the latest load off to another section of Mobius. Exhausted from her mental and mildly physical toil, she walked back to her hut, where Sonic was boredly juggling some pillows. ^L "Sonic! Put those back on the sofa!" He did, in a way...he put the ones in his hands back on the sofa, while he dropped the ones in orbit on the carpet. "Okay, I did." Then, he smiled in that way Sonic smiled when he wanted to seem too stupid to yell at. It hadn't worked in a loooooong time with Sally. "Ooh!" she frowned, putting her hands on her hips angrily. He smiled again, laughing a bit while picking up the pillows on the ground. "What's your prob, Sal? Don't you like my jugglin'?" "I *just* cleaned in here yesterday!" He put them neatly back on the sofa, and then flopped down on it...knocking them into disarray. "You did? The place doesn't look any different." Sally smirked unpleasantly. "That's because you're in here, Sonic Hedgehog. You always seem to redecorate your surroundings in your own special way." Sonic took a chili dog off a table and stuffed in his mouth. "Reallyth?" he mumbled through his full mouth, "Thankth." As he swollowed, Sally got a bit more annoyed. "Sonic, you can be such a total HOG some days!" Sonic walked into the kitchen, where he fetched and slugged down a glass of water. "No, no, Sal...I'm more than just a pig. I'm a hedge*hog*!" She crossed her arms, nearly grumbling. "I couldn't have guessed." Sonic put up a paw. "Really, Sal, no need to thank me. I'm always here to help." He smiled, deciding to end the continual banter. Leaning up against the wall, he stated, "But enough about me. Why don't you tell me all about your day?" Sally rubbed the side of her head. "Oh, it was just lovely. Nothing like telling a few hundred people how to get to some place I've never seen with only a map to assist me to give someone hours of fun." "Well, at least you've gotten it done for the time being." "Yes, that's true..." She rubbed her head s'more. "Oh, my aching brain... I hope I don't have to do that more than I have to." Sonic put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You want to be alone, Sal?" She nodded. "Yes, Sonic...I really need to relax and get some rest." Sonic slicked back his quills. "That's cool...I gotta do some stuff, anyway." He headed toward the door. "I'll be around tomorrow, Sally. G'nite." Sally smiled as best she could. "Yes, Sonic, good night...I'll see you at breakfast." As Sonic waved and raced off, Sally felt her headache become stronger. Out of an instinctive drive to lay down, she did so on the couch that Sonic had just trashed...lacking any concern at all for what might happen overnight, she passed out almost as soon as the sun began to set. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jhohn (furthermore referred to phonetically as "John") sat in the command chair on the craft's bridge, looking out the window toward his quarry. Still it was just a bluish-green marble, far off in the distance. Its three moons appeared to be crumbs knocked randomly about it, drifting aimlessly in space. Also in the distance, a few other uninhabited worlds and the sun of the Mobian system loomed... However, the leader of the _Apocolypse_ was more concerned with the only inhabited world that faced him, as well as the mysterious and wonderous treasure that might await him there... His quest for the mysterious "Chaos Emeralds" began shortly after his defeat at the hands of the Keld'yrians, after he was transferred due to his bravery to the head planet destroyer of the fleet, the _Apocolypse_...she was still a good ship, after all these years. But the ship itself did not lead him to the hunt for the powerful stones of magical force that had somehow been created on Mobius. Nay, it was the research and careful note-taking of the Supreme Scientist, which one of his lackeys stole one day while on a routine check of the latest weapon development from the Orange sector. Apparently, he remembered, the doddering old fool had been meddling about with the system of time warps and wormholes that existed naturally within the fabric of the universe, which had been very throughly mapped by many different races that made up their galaxy. He'd been doing it mainly on his vacation time, but had discovered a world about 300 light-years or so from Ur'thae proper; a world that had looked ripe for conquest in John's eyes. However, the old fox didn't see the planet as something the Empire should meddle with, yet...he wanted to explore it, but just to see what he could learn. (He groaned. Scientists, bah!) He must have roamed all around this world, taking notes on a Great War the people of the world were having, but discovering that something else was afoot...apparently, the Minister of War for the Northern Continent's King (Old Julian, he smiled. There was one member of that inferior human species that HAD to be part fox...) was out doing a little conquesting of his own, slowly capturing cities and villages in the southern part of the world, then making his way east and west, and south, and north...however, John noted, he didn't get to see what happened at the end of this one-man war, partially because he didn't care about it, and partially because he had discovered something much more strange and wonderful... By his remaining notes, he apparently had begun work on a dimentional travel system during his more youthful years, but cut it off once he calculated the amount of power that was needed to operate a proper interdimentional point-to-point gate system. It would have been too incredibly expensive to power even one jump...nay, even one very short jump through the system he had designed, despite the fact that he had drawn it up to be incredibly efficient. Cutting a swath between one dimention, setting up a field to shoot it through the imaginary "Void" that the wily codger had assumed existed, and reopening the incision on a different point in space (and, he mused, possibly time... for now, he thought, it could wait) was simply too power-consuming. Yet, he had discovered, six powerful "chaos emeralds" and one "master" emerald had been rumored to exist on a mysterious "Floating Island" of some sort, that never seemed to stay in one position for long. On this island, there was some sort of protector that would keep (and allegedly had kept) anyone from getting too near to them. Well, this had piqued the scientist's interest. After all, when you tell an Ur'thaen to not do something, she'll not only do it, but make sure that she does it better than anyone else ever could. So, the Supreme Scientist of Ur'thae journeyed to this island, quickly stunned the enemy defender (Why didn't you save me some time, you senile old goat, and eliminate the creature? Scientists! Bah!), and got to the stones within a matter of days. While he was there, he took energy readings of the stones, the chamber that contained them, and the main crystal; and, he noted, the power generated by those rocks could definitely power a point-to-point transport system, and perhaps even more than that with assistance from conventional power sources. Also, he reported that the stones were somewhat magical in origin, and one of the "instruction manuals" (A magical text!) explained how one could utilize these stones to achieve almost infinite power. (And that was almost a side-note...typical scientist mentality...) However, he realized that it would be negative for the planet's survival to inform the Empire as a whole of his discovery at that moment, so he hid his documents and notes back on his ship, mem-wiped the defender, and returned to the homeworld. Meanwhile, John was learning Ur'thaen magic from various contrabandish sources, including the "accidental loss" of some valuable books from museums, personal collections, and archeological digs around the planet. In fact, he was a fair-to-average sorceror (by his judgement) when his spies gave him a copy of the old vulpine's notes. Naturally, he remembered, he was very intrigued...yet, he too knew that if the rest of the Empire was informed, the entire planet would be picked over and stripped before he could even get one handful of sand. So, John kept his mouth shut, and the papers hidden in his own computer, until he had the time to pursue his goal personally. That goal was finally given the ability to be accomplished when the cowardly terrorists of the anti-technology sect were able to finally deteonate the planet, thus fracturing the backbone of the Empire immediately. They were out in deep space at the time, so the news had reached the ship late...it had been a major blow to the psyches and mental states of the entire crew, and many of them immediately committed ritual suicide...such a loss. But, those who remained were as mad as hell. They felt they *knew* who was *really* to blame...sure, the anti-tech side was native, but who would have ENCOURAGED such a thing? What sort of people would have given the people of that backwards "nation" the idea that technology, androidization, imperialism, the ultimate domination of the universe, and the other great things about the Empire were, in fact, BAD things? Why, the people of the _Apocolypse_ sneered, the slime-bodied Keldy'rians! Since then, revenge, hate, and bloodlust had powered the remaining crew's determination to come back from the ashes, and form a new Empire. The ones who were eligble to do so (roughly 50%+ percent of the crew) went over to android bodies. A few chose to remain flesh, and put themselves in cryonic storage for the day when their procreative activities would serve the Empire's needs. Others just wished to live out their natural lives and die, which John had never had a real problem with...the crew was expendable, after all...it was always that way on a Ur'thaen ship. But now, John smiled, but now...all of the hate and malice that he had stored up in his soul, all of his anger and rage, could soon be amplified through the Chaos Emeralds; and released on Mobius, Keld'yr, and the universe! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In the ether between the dimentions, where magic reigns over all things, there were infinite observers watching all the worlds in all infinity of the universes. Some of the watchers were benign caretakers of the worlds they watched, serving as benevolent "gods" to the creatures they observed. Others were cruel, tyrannical "demons" who derived pleasure out of the unpleasant foibles and humiliations the creatures they watched endured because of their slight, but still effective, interference. This is why they were called "watchers" rather than "alterers". The ones who made the many (who were themselves the many but still were the ones), in a sort of balance of power between the mortal plane and the immortal one, limited the abilities of the many "watchers" to that of a light breeze, or a dim musing in the back of the minds of the creatures that lived on these worlds. Yet, they could still change the paths of the energy of the universe to make things happen their way...it only took a great deal of effort from several of them combined to start making things happen. Mobius was one of these places that was being changed for the "benefit", "pleasure", or simple mischievous "fun" of these overbeings. Several of them were working diligently on the events that would happen around and on that world in order to get their unknown goal accomplished; and accomplished "soon", as in within a few "millenium". However, there was a greater level of "pleasure" being generated by these beings at this timeframe, for their "goal" was slowly coming to a head. For "aeons" they had struggled with the rhythms of order, chaos, light and darkness in order to change the events of that universe to fit some sort of ultimate "goal", and now, after all of this "time", it would happen very, very "soon". They had missed their chance the "first" time, but they would not miss it "again"... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bahb began the new task given to it without any major complaint. It took on the task while others were still pending completion; in fact, it had to keep the continuing the plodding deroboticizer project in the background, keep the Dome operating, hold the survelliance network together, occasionally interact with various individuals in Knothole and in the Dome itself, and divert an ever-growing amount to its personal "plan". It, fortunately, didn't slow down the completion of the deroboticizer software...the second version of the software had been distributed to Sally a few days ago, with a bit less fanfare than before. The timely production of the software, in fact, bought it some precious time in its struggle against the multitude of tasks that had been dumped upon it recently. Yet, it worked quickly and efficently on all the tasks, knowing that Joseph's latest idea had to be completed in a timely fashion as well. While it prefered its own idea over his, it knew that its creator would become angered that it was disobeying his commands in order to pursue its own personal goals...so, stretching its resources to the limit, it toiled relentlessly on all of its tasks. Never before had it worked so hard on so many different projects, and it was beginning to wear its endurance down. It would require a new memory crystal within several months, additional assistance to its main processor, and a good solid defragmentation. However, those things would have to wait until some of its load could be shifted to a more primitive system...if they couldn't or wouldn't be moved, it would just have to toil until it began to deteriorate. 75% of its system was still at its digital prime...and falling. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - That morning in Knothole was rainy and grey, and was much cooler than it had been the last few days. A thunderstorm was coming, they noticed, but hopefully it would hold off for a few more hours. After all, they collectively agreed, they wanted to be sure that they helped the people who were leaving to other villages cover their things. That morning, like any other morning that week, had been a day of some mourning. The movement away from Knothole for some was the second greatest move of their lives, next to when they were rescued from Robotropolis and freed from their metallic servitude. They would be leaving their friends and family, the ones who they felt they needed the most, in favor of resettling themselves in a foreign and frightening place. They cried and hugged their loved ones, and promised to keep in touch however they could. Yet, despite their yerning to stay, they knew that they had to leave...Knothole could not be found by Packbell, not this late in the game. It was for Mobius they moved, but they left their hearts, minds, and thoughts behind with the young and strong who remained... Today, however, a meeting was going on between the leaders of Knothole, not to mention two special guests, to decide where to move the next batch of deroboticized citizens after they were again flesh and bone. It would be a challenging decision, indeed, and one that evoked very powerful emotions from some. However, with the amount of wisdom, logic, and straightforward thought from the leaders of the settlement, something agreeable to all could be hammered out. * * * In the hut where the majority of the decisions were made, specifically around the kitchen table, the home of Sally was yet again rattled by the sounds of heated discussion. Around the table sat Sally, Sonic, Sir Charles, Antoine, Rotor, Bunnie, Bookshire, and Tails. Sitting on the counter (much to Sally's chagrin) was Sandra Nightweaver, and leaning against the wall, smoking out the window, was Joseph. Sonic was quietly thinking, which was a rare event to observe. Meanwhile, Antoine was rattling on to Rotor about the benefits of settling another village within the eastern edge of the Great Forest, and Rotor was going on and on about sending more people over the Western sea to a cooler climate. Bunnie was quietly speaking with Bookshire about the pros and cons of making an underground warren, while the raccoon made note of perhaps going around Robotropolis and heading down to the Southern Continent to settle. However, Sandra and Joseph seemed to not be paying much attention to what was going on around them; Sandra was busy having another cinnamon-raisen bagel, while Joseph was, as previously noted, smoking out the window. However, unknown to the debating group at the table, Sandra and Joseph were actually listening quite intently to the discussion, and were waiting to interject at just the right moment. Sally, after a long time, finally spoke up, effectively silencing the room. "Well, I think if we move them against the Grey Mountains, and if we instruct them to start repairing the mountain path that goes through them to the steppes of the upper north, we'll eventually be able to fill out the areas above Robotropolis before the next spring comes." Antoine agreed automatically. "Ze princess eez right...however, I still believe zat zee Great Forest eez, howyousay, a good place to be starting?" "Yeah, Antoine," said Rotor, "but it's not a real good idea, in MY opinion, to put a lot of people all in one place...especially near Robotropolis." Bunnie nodded, but then got an idea into her head. "Rotor's got a poin', but Ah think that if we made somethin' undergroun', like a warren or like that Underground Village that Ari came from, that we could put it in the Forest okay." Rotor shook his head. "No, it'd be too risky. Besides, it's better for people to be around water and air, anyway." Charles spoke up after a bit, quieting people down again. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you kids, but I think that the best mode of action is to get everyone headed west, away from the Dark Mountains, Knothole, and Robotropolis. It's practically deserted, and the Great Unknown doesn't get as hot and impassable there." Sonic was still silent. This sort of sit-down thing wasn't quite his cup of tea. Tails, however, was a bit more talkative. "Aunt Sally's idea sounds good." Most of them ignored him, continuing on about their various ideas while continuing to kick around Sally's. This went on for about another five minutes, and probably would have gone on for five more if Joseph hadn't done something unusual...he finished his cigar, flicked it out into a puddle, and turned around. Then, he walked right over to the table, crouched down right by Sonic, and whimsically put his elbows on the flat surface, resting his head in his hands. "Would you like to know my thoughts on the subject?" Sonic looked up. "Go ahead, bro. I don't have any ideas." "Well," Joseph noted, "I think if you pushed everyone on *top* of the Grey Mountains, and dug a village out from the caves and stone, you'd not only be safe from Packbell, but you'd also clear a path halfway over doing it...from there, you could start clearing the path down the other side, and give future groups more places to expand to." Sally thought about this for a moment. "Joseph, I don't know...it seems really risky. What if there was a cave-in, or something happened to them? We'd never know what happened in time." Joseph rubbed his chin. "Get David to rig up a portable subspace transciever. Not only is it fast and clear, but Packbell doesn't have the technology to intercept communications with it. You might want to give it to some of the other villages, too." Sally smiled. "That's a pretty neat idea, Joseph. Thank you." "No problem." He then looked over to Sandra. "Hey, darling," he said, (which caused several males in the room to smirk), "you know this planet better than I do. Where else could Sally shove some of the `riff-raff'?" She sipped some coffee, looked at Joseph for a moment, and thought. "There's lots of places on Mobius which Packbell'd never find on his own...the Crystal Caves, Ironlock, parts of the Great Swamp, little islands off the western coast..." Sally took down the names Sandra recited. "We'll keep those in mind." Joseph scratched his head. "I'm sure I could think up some others... however, I think what Charles said about heading west is a good plan, too. You just need to be careful when you travel." Everyone agreed on that point. "Yeah man," Sonic said, "SWATButts are everywhere around here nowadays. A hedgehog can barely throw a stone without hittin' one." Sally nodded. "Quite true, Sonic...Packbell must feel up against the wall now...I wonder if he's figured out that we can undo what he does now." "I'd bet on that," Charles said, "that Packbell's a bad one...smart, but very bad. I think he's worse than Robotnik ever was." Sandra nodded. "He's definitely one to watch out for." Sally smiled. "Well, Joseph, Sandra, it's nice to hear your input about this sort of thing. We figured you guys were pretty apathetic about domestic policy." Joseph smiled, leaning back a bit in his chair. "Your planet is just as much mine as it is yours. I like it a lot. It has very beautful natural resources..." He looked over at Sandra, winked, and looked back at the others. "...indeed." Sally smirked. "Well, I'm fairly sure everyone knew that by now." Spotty laughter floated throughout the group. "But let's not get too sidetracked. We've got lots of other..." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "...options to consider." Robotnik paced the halls of the quiet ship, thinking quietly aloud for a moment. He had been walking around the outer rim of the ship pondering since he had awoke that "morning", stopping only for a bite to eat and some personal hygiene. His moustache bobbed slightly up and down as the large human paced, occasionally brushing against the walls of the ship when he moved to the side to let another individual by. Ivo needed to make some choices now. Did he remain on the ship until the very last minute; or did he escape now, perhaps earning himself some respect for warning Mobius of the incoming Ur'thaen host? Did he attempt to tell his son where he was, despite his trechery, or did he let the hedgehog destroy him? He rubbed his long, orangish follicle outgrowth. Packbell had not only abused Snively far beyond anything Robotnik would have *ever* done, Ivo ruminated, but he had ruled Robotropolis poorly. Look at what had happened to it! Security holes large enough to fit his arm through were everywhere. The SWATBot supply had dwindled to the point where his forces were actually LOSING ground, and who knew what else had happened that John hadn't informed him of... The fat man's blackened heart had cracked slightly, Ivo remembered at that moment, when he had learned of what his son had been up to in his absence. The conditions he had made Snively, Robotnik's own blood, endure, made his moustache quiver slightly. Didn't he teach Packbell of the value of allies? What had he done wrong to make him behave in such a way? He frowned, bowing his head a bit. He must have programmed something wrong, added too much code where less had been needed, allowed him to see something that had marred his perfect positronic net in a way to make him... Ivo made a fist, and punched the wall hard enough to make the patch of hull around him ring. Despite his powers of self-delusion, the reality of it kept smacking him upside the head, forcing him to look into the simple truth of it all: Face it, Julian, you have been an awful parent. However, parenting and a stern swat on the butt wouldn't help him now. It was far too late for that. His act of genesis had been corrupted-- Packbell, his pride and joy, the reason he had kept trying to totally eliminate all resistance instead of merely crippling it, had betrayed him. Julian's own child had been waiting for all this time to betray his father, eliminate all that was once his great plans for the world, and remake it in his own image. It made his sleep haunted with images of Packbell's planned assassination of him, his strong hands clasped around Ivo's neck! If Julian could cry, he would have. It had all gone wrong. He wanted to rule Robius, but with Packbell and Snively at his side. They could have easily defeated the hedgehog and his friends if they had all been working together...he played back several failed scenerios, and saw each one under the assumption that his son hated him. And, every time, Packbell's interference became crystal clear. A twisted wire here. A blown capacitor there. A SWATBot out of place. It all clicked with Ivo now, and that was what hurt him the most. Betrayal. But Robotnik clenched his teeth instead, his blood boiling with rage and hatred towards the one he had one day hoped to give his empire to, the one he loved the most! He would have his revenge against them all...but not yet. No, Robotnik plotted, it would be best to let them think he had died on Doomsday. He could then use not only the lack of possible Keld'yrian interference to his advantage, and his upgraded weaponry and robots, but the sheer element of surprise would also operate in his favor. They would pay for their insolence against him...in gallons of their blood. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Meanwhile, within a little patch of land known as Robotropolis: Packbell toured around the rapidly regenerating Death Egg, watching the SWATBots and remaining Worker-Bots plod around, rewiring and upgrading the Egg's technology to a level that more suited the amoral android aggressor's attitude. It was going fairly well at the moment, and he fully expected an operating fortress around summertime. However, he was also beginning to realize that a new plan of action would soon be needed. The amount of Worker-Bots had dwinded to a laughably low level; he barely had 10% of his original setup left, due to Freedom Fighters, accidental demise, or simple old age. Also, any new growth from prisoners seemed to have a resistance that the previous ones did not have to the mind-seperation...it had become a very disturbing trend to not be able to control your Worker-Bots as strongly as you had before. The constant threat of termination had to be enstated to maintain order...but even then, work slowdowns, sabotage, self-injuries to avoid work...Packbell was faced with rebelling slaves almost weekly. Entering the elevator to the surface, he realized how much this could deteriorate. If the roboticizer no longer could completely enslave the Worker-Bots, and the old ones he had were somehow reversing this condition, and Robotropolis was still in a weakened state... A formal war. Yes, that was what was going to happen, wasn't it? If enough of them could break free from him, become normal, and organize, a full war might be waged against Packbell, which he *might* have a chance of losing. Indeed, this was a frightening prospect to entertain. It might cause him to lose the Buyers' interest in the property, lose a good deal of his forces, and might even result in his ultimate demise! He snarled and hit the wall, causing the side of it to sing. This was all Snively's fault! And Ivo's! Damn them and their foolishness...if they could have only kept the status of the first few weeks of the coup evenly, none of this would be happening now! Fools! They had risked their own future for the sake of annhilating that idiotic blue rodent, and look what had happened! It was like some sort of bad dream. But there was hope, however...if he could keep what he had left, and slowly built up his defenses, he might be able to withstand a siege long enough to close the deal and escape. Let the Buyers deal with a rebelling planet, he thought, all he wanted was a way out with enough resources to start over. The elevator door opened, allowing Packbell to leave it and tour the lobby. Yes, he thought, that would work nicely. Just maintaining a stalemate would be enough; no need to gain land you won't use, after all. Diverting them into useless crusades would probably eat enough of their resources to allow him to buy time. But how? What problem could he pose that might hold them off for another year? Thinking about possibilities, he stepped out of the fortress to his hovership, and went for a relaxing cruise around the perimeter of the city. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tails laid on the gurney, somewhat sedated by a weak sleeping drug. The time had come for Bookshire to remove the `hard' cast, and to switch to a more mobility-inducing `air' cast. He had done all Bookshire had told him to, and had also kept a good deal in confidence in his eventual recovery from his condition. Bunnie and Sally were with him, he was vaguely aware, and both of them held one of his hands, calming his remaining nerves with soothing bits of nonsense and flattery. They were kind to him throughout the nerveracking minutes of the powered saw cutting ever-so-close to his soft, pink flesh... Yet, Bookshire had pulled off the `routine' procedure with nothing more than a case of `cast-fur' and some cosmetic problems on his right tail...the fur on that tail had been harder to save than the other, and was thus `thinner' than his other tail. "It will grow back in time," said the raccoon, and Tails sincerely hoped so for the sake of any social life he might one day aspire to achieve. Now, he stood in his hut, putting the things Sally and the others had given him for comfort back where he liked them, especially going out of his way to clean up the desk that his palmtop computer was typically kept. His tails felt asleep, which Bookshire said was a `good thing' because it meant he still had operating nerves in his tails. Still, it was very uncomfortable, and he wished he could keep the cast off all the time. As he sat down in his chair and looked out into the robust Mobian spring, he remembered how Bunnie had came over and gave him a hand with things for a while until she had to go assist some older people into the transport to the Grey Mountains. She was very kind to him, and even a relative emotional novice like Tails realized she was trying to work off some repressed guilt for not saving Tails, rather than the reverse that did occur...it wasn't her fault, he thought, but yet she feels sadder about what happened to me than Sally does. He believed that was very silly of Bunnie to behave in that way, but what could he do about it? No matter what he said, she said one thing and acted another. Perhaps, Tails thought as he tinkered with his palmtop, after some more time had passed, she would feel better about it. He pried off the protective casing and began testing the various circuits within it for structural deficiencies. Sally had said once that `time heals all wounds', but would that ring true in this case? Tails hoped it would. It made him feel very guilty himself that he was the cause of Bunnie's sadness, but he knew that it was all inside her head. He, after all, did what she would have done for him. He felt no anger toward her for what happened to him; it happened, and now he would adapt to his new situation like Sonic would, or like Sally would. He rubbed the tips of his tails, and winced a bit at the tingling of the `sleeping' appendages. Feeling was there, all right. After some physical therapy after they had healed, and perhaps some practice, he felt that they would propel him through the air just as well as before. It had never been difficult before, after all. All they needed was time. A few moments of that unpleasant feeling drove him from continued fondling, and put him back on task. He tested the electrical capacity of the device gently, and repaired a faulty resistor with no great amount of difficulty. He was getting pretty good at operating and repairing computers, and perhaps one day he could do that for a living... His thoughts were interrupted by Sally's entrance into the hut, after the vestigal knock. "Hi, Tails." He put down his tools, and carefully put the computer out of harm's way. "Hiya, Aunt Sally. How're you doing today?" Sally smiled, sitting down on his bed. "I'm fine...I just finished off my day's work, and I was just wondering if you'd like to have some dinner with us later..." Tails shook his head. "No thanks, Sally. I have some things I want to get done before I go to bed tonight...it's been so long since I was home, after all, so I really need to do some stuff. Maybe tomorrow?" Sally, understanding Tails' growing independance, nodded. "Okay, Tails, perhaps tomorrow. But if you finish doing whatever you're doing before dinner's over, you're welcome to join us." "Okay, Aunt Sally." She walked over to him, gave him a hug, and then her trademark funnykiss. "All work and no play makes a dull Tails." He smiled, hugging her back gently and giggling. "Okay, okay, I'll eat with you tomorrow." She grinned. "Don't be late." "I won't be, Aunt Sally." As she walked out the door, Tails went back to his work, forgetting entirely about the time and working deep into the night... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In a darker part of the Great Forest: Sandra and Joseph returned to the Dome that night, where they discussed the outcome of the meeting within his control room after Joseph had consumed a `light nightcap' from Sandra. Drinking some orange juice, Sandra leaned lazily against Joseph's midsection, which was currently occupying his control chair with the rest of his large form. "So, Joseph, how'd we do?" He keyed up some graphics on the screen, overlaying the villages that were planned onto the current map. "Not bad, actually...I hadn't suspected the large amount of successes we'd accomplish within the course of the first meeting." He tightened the view a little. "As you can see, we've filled 4 of the minimum needed 10 slots in order to assure 100% success of the master plan. Also, we've gotten the whole issue of communications and technologial needs out of the way, so that all the tools will be ready when the time comes." Sandra nodded, finishing her electrolyte-enhanced beverage. "So we're doing well, so far?" The fox smiled, pushing his fingers together as his fangs automatically bared. "Yes, we are doing very well...this might be easier than expected." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8J -J - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -6 - - - - -U$XhI&N=!a ` p LT Al4&M`NL8500NLPI p S D8 QD?<\F eEMLYeI p 8bC U$VhIch4 @a p ´Q  QD