"Earthly Balance" Authors: Francis Tolbert and Robert Brown Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Sega of America, Inc. and Archie Comics (except where noted, in which case they were created and copyrighted by us or by another and we have permission to use them). The authors hereby give permission for this story to be downloaded and/or printed at 1 copy per user as long as (1) no changes to the story are made without our express written(not e-mailed) permission and (2) no attempt is made to profit from this story. If either or both rules are violated, it will be considered a violation of copyright law. Author's Note: If I could avoid writing these...things, I would. However, Robert is standing right over me, making sure I do this. Well...here goes. It has recently come to me attention, that our stories are being used in ways we did not permit. According to this disclaimer (which I know nobody, including myself, ever reads), our stories are not to be editted in ANY way without our written, not e-mailed consent. I'm asking people not to edit anything in the story 'cause it loses some of the content and flow of the stories. I also wanted to say that we starting posting our stories with Bookshire, and will continue to post with Bookshire exclusively. NO ONE IS TO POST STORIES ON ANOTHER PAGE (unless you somehow got our permission) UNTIL ONE MONTH AFTER THE FINAL STORY OF THE RACE FOR THE EMERALDS HAS BEEN POSTED. EVEN THEN, IF WE WRITE MORE STORIES AFTER THE RACE HAS ENDED, THOSE STORIES WILL BE EXCLUSIVE TO BOOKSHIRE. Sorry if I sound grouchy, but let's see you type with someone over your shouldlers (googalee-goo-goo). Peace, see ya later. Cast of Characters(in order of appearance) Donovan### Princess Sally Acorn Sonic Hedgehog Dr. Robotnik Metal Sonic Tanis Shi-rat*** Knuckles Echidna Princess Sondra Acorn*** Miles "Tails" Prower Rosie Antoine D'Coolette Bunnie Rabbot Princess Lydia Evergreen^^^ Rotor Dulcy Isabela Evergreen^^^ Alexi Kavenoff### #18 Donovan wandered blindly through a darkened cave deep under the ground. He had been fighitng the Kavenoff and had been about to get killed by him. But he had fallen into a hole covered by a bush just as the Kavenoff struck. He was safe, for the moment at least. Donovan cursed bitterly as he stubbed his toe on a stone. Since the Race began, he had been doing nothing but chasing the Kavenoff. He hadn't even been taking care of himself. His vest was tattered and torn, his shades cracked. He looked, and smelled, like he hadn't taken a bath in weeks and a coarse beard had taken up residence on his chin. But perhaps the biggest change was occurring inside. His purple eyes had begun to adopt the same aspect of madness that showed in the Kavenoff's. His thoughts, once almost purely rational, were now full of pain and anger. "Everything I've done has had next to no effect on that thing," he thought. "I can't wait until the time comes that we can get rid of him, and it can't come soon enough." He continued his ramblings, not really caring where he was going. He would have teleported back to his base by now, except that the Kavenoff had wrecked his teleporter, as well as most of his other inventions. Even his boots weren't working right. He walked around for over an hour. He knew there were a vast series of interconnecting tunnels under Mobius, some of them over twenty miles long. He had no light and no way to tell where he was or what direction he was going. In a normal, rested state, Donovan would have been able to get out in a matter of minutes. But in his current condition, there was no telling how long he'd be wandering around down there. Just then, Donovan noticed a change in the tunnel ahead. It was lit by a soft green light, a welcome change to the darkness he was currently in. He headed toward it, hoping that it was a way out. But it wasn't even close. The light emanated from a small rock pedestal in the middle of a large cave. Donovan walked to the pedestal and was surprised by what he saw. A small green gem was laid with evident care in a hollowed part of the rock. Donovan reached for the gem, a dark smile on his lips. A few weeks passed. In Knothole, Sally was sitting under a tree, enjoying the first few hints of an approaching fall. The leaves of the trees had begun turning colors; the one she was under had leaves a deep red. The animals of Knothole were busy trying to get the last bit of summer fun out before the weather turned too cold and Sally was happy to see them. Sally sighed. She wished she could join them, but there was too much for her to do. The Race for the Emeralds was in its fourth month, but only two Emeralds had been decided. Robotnik still had the three Emeralds he was supposed to defend, and nothing they had done had found any hint of where they were hidden. "Nicole, bring up possible location number ten," she said, opening her computer up. "Accessing now, Sally," Nicole said. A hologram of an isolated part of Robotropolis appeared before her. Sally looked at the area from every possible angle, having Nicole manipulate the image every way she could. There were at least five good hiding places in that area, but Sally's gut instinct told her they wouldn't find anything. Sally closed up Nicole in frustration. She could spend months searching the images for anything, but would always turn up nothing. She was really getting depressed about this whole thing. "Yo, Sal," Sonic yelled, speeding up and stopping right in front of her. "Get moving, we got lessons at the dojo in five minutes." "I don't know, Sonic," she said wearily. "I just don't feel like it today." "Here we go again," he said. "Last time, I tried to talk you around. This time, I ain't even gonna bother." He reached down, picked Sally up, tossed her over one shoulder, and walked toward the dojo. "Sonic!" Sally yelled. "What do you think you're doing?" "Getting your mind off your problems," he said. On the way, he started tickling Sally's sides. Sally screamed, laughing. She tried to get away, but the more she struggled, the more he tickled her. Finally, she gave up, tears of laughter running down her cheeks. She tried to get furious at Sonic, but just couldn't bring herself to be. For all her worries, she did feel better now. It was great how Sonic could just cheer her up. That was one reason why she loved him and wanted to be with him. Over in Robotropolis, Robotnik sat in his command center, drumming his fingers impatiently. "It's been too quiet lately," he said. "I don't like it." "It's been quiet because the Freedom Fighters can't do anything to hurt you," Metal Sonic reminded him from his seat in front of the monitors. "Still, they should have at least come looking for the Emeralds I am supposed to defend." Robotnik looked at the three Emeralds in his gloved hand. "Did it ever occur to you that Sonic's uncle is still somewhere in Robotropolis and is searching for them?" "You're probably right," Robotnik conceded grudgingly. "I wonder if I could use his searches as attempts on the Emeralds?" "I wouldn't. After all, Knuckles did say that the Freedom Fighters had to come to Robotropolis to search for an Emerald before you could say you defended it. Sir Charles has been here since the start. And didn't he say your Emeralds had to be hidden by the end of this year or you would lose one?" "I know the rules," Robotnik snapped. "Still, I do not want to lose one by forfeit. Very well, prepare a report on the best places to hide them and give it to me." "As you wish." Metal Sonic grumbled a bit to himself but did as he was told. At around the same time, Tanis was in Sanctuary sitting behind the altar. Every day since the Race began, he had prayed for guidance. He knew he had to be neutral; it was his job, after all. But his heart wished otherwise. "What I wouldn't give to be able to see Rosie again," he thought. "After so long of not being with her, the time we spent together wasn't enough. I wish I could forget, if only for a time, that I am a Holy One." A rumble shook Sanctuary. Tanis sighed. "Forgive me, Almighty One," he prayed. "It was a momentary weakness, nothing more. I shall continue to be faithful to my duties." The shaking subsided, and Tanis was filled with a peace he had not felt in months. "I've been called for something," he thought. "But yet I am to wait here? This makes no sense." The main doors to Sanctuary flew open. Tanis stood and looked, trying to see who or what was doing it. A familiar shape stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the sunlight. "Who's there?" Tanis called. "Has it been that long since you seen me, that you don't remember who I am?" Donovan asked as he stepped into Sanctuary. Tanis stood there for a few moments, shocked by Donovan's appearance and mannerism. "What has happened to you?" Tanis asked. "You look like..." "I've been busy," Donovan snapped. "Fighting the Kavenoff most likely," Tanis said, composing himself. "Take care that you don't become what you're fighting." "I'm not here for any advice," he said angrily. Then, seeing the hurt look on Tanis' face, he made an effort to compose himself. "Forgive me, Tanis. It's been a long time since I was around anyone I care about." "I understand. So tell me, what brings you to Sanctuary?" Donovan sat down heavily on a nearby bench. "I need to speak to both Robotnik and Silly at the same time. I thought it would be best to do that here." "Can I ask what this is all about?" "I believe I can answer that," Knuckles said, stepping from the shadows. Donovan clapped his hand to his forehead. "How did I know you would be here, Guardian?" "I am always here when it concerns one of the Emeralds," Knuckles said calmly. "An Emerald?" Tanis asked. "By the Almighty Donovan, you've won an Emerald?" "Not won," Knuckles interjected before Donovan could speak. "He merely has possession of it, much as Miss Evergreen had possession of the Water Emerald. I am here to make sure he understands the distinction." Donovan stands up and looked Knuckles square in the eyes. "First of all, don't ever interrupt me again. Second, I am fully aware of the rules when it comes to possession of an Emerald. Third, I have no interest in possessing an Emerald. If I had, I would have had one, if not all three, of Robotnik's Emeralds by now. Finally, what I intend to do with this Emerald is perfectly legal, so you cannot say anything." Knuckles clenched his enormous hands into fists. "I decide what is legal here, Osaya," he said menacingly. "Don't presume to take my job." "I wouldn't want your job if it were the last position on Mobius. I'm just reminding you of the rules, which you gave and I was here to listen." "Gentlemen," Tanis said, stepping between the two, "remember where you are. If you want to continue bickering like babies, take it outside." Both Donovan and Knuckles turned to face Tanis. Never before had either one seen the expression now on his face: an angry one. Both Knuckles and Donovan sat down on the nearest bench, looking like kids about to get scolded. "There, now that that's settled, we can get to business. Donovan, I will allow you to use Sanctuary for your purposes under three conditions." "Since when do you use conditions?" Donovan inquired. "Desperate times call for drastic measures. If you do not want to use Sanctuary, I can tell you of another holy place that might suit your purposes." "I hardly think that's--" Knuckles began. "Am I speaking to you?" Tanis asked in an angry tone and Knuckles cowered back. "I'll deal with you after I'm done with him. Well Donovan?" "Can I speak now?" Donovan asked carefully. "Go right ahead." "Thank you. What are your three terms?" "Simple. First, when you contact Sally, you must do so through Nadia, not Nicole, and it cannot be a recorded message." "What?" Donovan interrupted. "You can't be serious." "I'm dead serious. Second, you must have Sally bring Rosie with her." Both Donovan and Knuckles raised an eyebrow at that, but Tanis stood firm. "Rosie?" Donovan asked. "Why do you want Silly to bring Rosie? Of all the people Silly could bring, why Rosie?" "I have my reasons," Tanis snapped, much as Donovan had earlier. "Suffice to say they are of a personal nature." Donovan looked at Knuckles. "Are you gonna touch that?" he asked. Knuckles shook his head, but didn't risk saying anything. "Fine, though I'm afraid to ask what condition three is." "That is my secret for the time being," Tanis said. "You'll simply have to trust me on this." "I really HATE surprises," Donovan mumbled. Then he looked at Tanis and sighed, "Very well. I agree to your terms." He looked over at Knuckles and asked, "Anything you want to add, Chuckles?" Knuckles glared at Donovan. "You did not grow up with me, so I suggest you keep those names for those who you have," he said icily. "Did I give you permission to talk?" Tanis asked, grabbing Knuckles roughly by the chin. "You may not be bound as a Holy One by the covenant, but here in Sanctuary everyone is. One more remark like that, from either of you, and you'll both find yourself in the Polar Caps. "Donovan, do what you must. You can use your old room. Right now, I wish to speak with the Guardian...alone." Donovan stood up, bowed, and ran to his old room, not looking back even once. Tanis released Knuckles and sat next to him. "You didn't have to grab me so hard, Shi-rat," Knuckles complained, rubbing his chin. "It was your idea for me to lose my temper," Tanis reminded him. "I've never done that to him before, and I'm surprised at his reaction." "Since you raised him, I figured that you were the only one who could do that to him without him responding in kind." Tanis nodded. "I had almost forgotten that we Holy Ones can communicate telepathically with each other." "It does come in handy at times. I was coming here anyway to see what he planned to do with the Emerald, but seeing how bad he was, I knew you had to act." Tanis looked toward Donovan's old room. "Do you think it worked?" "For the time being. But tell me, why did you come up with those conditions?" Tanis smiled secretively. "I do have my reasons. And as I said, they are of a quite personal nature." Knuckles smiled himself and left it at that. Donovan closed the door to his old room and leaned back against it. "I've never seen Tanis react like that," he thought, shaking a little. "I'd better do what I have to and quickly." He took a communicator from his pocket and tuned it in to Nadia's receiver frequency. Sondra and Tails were sitting in her hut, talking about nothing in particular, when Nadia started beeping. "What's up Nadia?" Sondra asked, opening her up. "I have an incoming message from...Donovan?!" Nadia said, surprised. "Hmm, wonder what he wants," Tails muttered. "Actually, Miles, I need to speak with Silly," Donovan said. "Would either you or Sondra mind taking Nadine to her please?" "Why didn't you send to Nicole directly?" Sondra asked. "No time for that. Just please do as I ask. And make sure Rosie is with her." "I'll get them," Tails volunteered. He opened the door and flew off. "Long time no hear Donovan," Sondra said as they waited. "Where are you?" "No time for small talk, Sondra. This is a very urgent matter." Sondra rolled her eyes. "Very well." They waited in silence until Tails came back with the others. "They're here." "What is it, Donovan?" Sally asked, walking in the room. "I need both you and Rosie to come to Sanctuary," Donovan said. "It is imperative I speak to you here. It concerns the Race. But only the two of you may come. That means leaving Nicole and any other computers there." Sally's eyes lit up. "We'll be right there. Sondra, Tails, tell the others where we're going and that we'll be back soon." "Gotcha, Sis," Sondra said with a thumbs-up. "Grab on, Rosie!" "OK," Rosie said uncertainly. "I just wonder what possible reason he has for asking me along." "Maybe he's not the one asking for you," Sally murmured as she ran off with Rosie in tow. "Let's go, Miles," Sondra said, forgetting in her haste to close Nadia. "It was really good talking to you again, Donovan," Nadia said. Strangely enough, her voice held no trace of attitude or sarcasm. Instead, it was actually quite kind and warm. Donovan switched off his communicator. A smile crept in on his face, a warm one that lit his eyes. He turned around, hearing a noise behind him, and saw Tanis there, smiling at him. Donovan hurriedly composed himself. "There, I've done the first two things," he said, trying to use a hard voice. "What's the third?" "Did you contact Robotnik yet?" "I sent a pre-recorded message to him." Tanis nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then my third condition is to sleep until they get here." Donovan's eyes widened, then quickly closed as Tanis' spell took hold. Tanis let Donovan fall on the bed and walked away, still smiling. Donovan awoke to to Tanis' hand on his shoulder. "They're here," he said. Donovan sat up and stretched. "You look much better after that nap," Tanis remarked. "I feel better," Donovan admitted. "I guess I really needed that." Tanis nodded. "They're waiting by the altar," Tanis said. "When you get there, please send Rosie in here. I'd like to...discuss something with her in private." Donovan looked at Tanis for a moment, then sighed and went outside. Sally and Robotnik were sitting on different benches on opposite sides of the altar. "We're here, Donovan," Sally said. "Now tell us what you know." "Yes," Robotnik agreed, "It seems that you either know of an Emerald's whereabouts, or currently have one." "All in good time," Donovan said, noting peripherally that Knuckles had taken up a position by the doorway. "First, Tanis would like for Rosie to join him in that room. He says they have something to discuss." Rosie walked to that room with a quickness that belied her age. All four stared after her for a moment before returning to the business at hand. "Conitnue, Donovan," Sally prompted. Donovan cleared his throat and shook his head. "Robotnik was right. Not only do I know where an Emerald is located, I have possession of that same Emerald. It is the Earth Emerald, and I have hidden it somewhere for the two of you to find. "I have used one of Robotnik's old bases that has been long since abandoned. Of course, I have made a few modifications to it, adding some traps that you will have to get by, but the basic layout remains the same. As such, Robotnik would have a distinct advantage. So I will allow you, Silly, to bring along one animal or computer of your choice." "What kind of traps?" Sally asked, interrupting Donovan. "I was getting to that," Donovan said in a controlled voice. "These traps are all quite deadly, but there is always a way through. And if for some reason you cannot get through it, you will be teleported back to the beginning of the maze." Donovan gave two chips to Sally and one to Robotnik. "I will teleport you there five minutes after you reach your home base. If there is nothing else." "I must raise a point," Knuckles said. "Technically, a battle must be fought over each Emerald, but that can be waived only if both of you agree to this contest. If one does not, then I will hide the Emerald again." Sally and Robotnik looked at each other. "Much as I hate to admit it, this is probably our only chance to find this Emerald," Sally said. Robotnik nodded slowly. "Agreed. Let us return to our home base, as Donovan has said." "There is no need," Donovan said, pushing a button on his remote control. Robotnik disappeared in a flash of white light. "Wait!" Sally said. "What about Rosie?" Donovan stopped as his thumb was about to push the button. "I'll get her," he said, heading toward the room. He knocked on the door. "Time to go, Rosie." Rosie emerged from the room, walking slightly unsteadily. "Thank you, Donovan," she said, her voice also a little unsteady. She walked to where Sally stood and Donovan teleported them out. Donovan peeked inside the room and saw Tanis sitting on the bed, facing away from him. He walked around to see his face and saw that his eyes were noticably crossed. "I just wanted to talk," he muttered. "Apparently, she had a bit more than that on her mind." Donovan let out a low whistle. "I'll be leaving now," he said, quickly teleporting back to his base. When he got there, he set a five-minute timer and sat down to wait. "I don't know, and I don't want to know," he muttered, thinking about how he had seen Tanis. In Robotropolis, Robotnik was busy memorizing the layouts to the abandoned bases he felt were most likely to be used by Donovan. He was concentrating especially hard on one that was located near the Underground Caverns. "That has the most complex series of hallways," Robotnik reasoned. "Donovan is sure to have chosen it." Uncle Chuck made careful notes, watching Robotnik's every move. "I'm not sure what he's doing, but I know the others will want to know about this." At the exact same time, Sally had called an emergency meeting in the War Room. "I don't have much time to explain," she said, quieting everyone down. "Let's just say Donovan has an Emerald and is giving us a shot to get it. Any volunteers to come with me?" "Need you even ask, Sal?" Sonic asked. "I'll go anywhere you want me to." "I don't know, Sonic," Sondra said. "I know Donovan best, so maybe I should go." "Not exactly true," Antoine said, rising from his seat. "Donovan and I go back farther than anyone else. I should be the one to accompany you." "I'm not letting sugarfox go anywhere without me," Bunnie said. Sally looked around, frustrated. "I can only bring one," she said. "That includes computers." "Then perhaps I should come, Sally," Nicole said from the table. "No way, I'll go," Nadia said. A full scale arguement broke out at that point. Sally tried to make herself heard above the racket, but everything was too loud. Lydia stood up and stuck two fingers in her mouth. She let out such a loud, high-pitched whistle that everyone stopped talking. "No matter how you look at it, it's your call, Sally," she said. "If you can't pick, why not draw straws or pick a number?" Sally nodded. "Rotor, can I borrow your cap?" "Sure Sally," he said, giving it to her. Sally took a sheet of paper and tore it up into 16 pieces. She numbered each one, crumpled them up, and placed them in the cap. "Whoever wants to come, pick a number. After all are drawn, I'll choose one at random." She laid one of Donovan's chips down on the table. "If I call your number, take the chip." As soon as she set the cap down, every hand there reached for a number. A number was also placed by each of the computers so they could have a chance. But in all the confusion, no one noticed one piece of paper fall to the ground. Nor did anyone notice the small, white furred hand that picked it up. Sally turned her back as the last numbers were drawn. "Everyone ready?" she asked. "Ready Sally," Dulcy called. "Then I pick number...five." A low murmur went up as everyone tried to find out who had the number. "I know I wrote down a number five," Sally said. "Someone must have it." "No!" Lydia screamed. Sally turned around to see what was wrong when she was engulfed in a white light. Robotnik waited patiently for his vision to clear after he was teleported by Donovan. "I wish he had another way to do that," he thought. "Not being able to see is becoming annoying." "Greetings, Robotnik," Donovan said. From the slight static in the background, Robotnik knew he was speaking through an intercom of sorts. "I will be very brief. You are in a maze. Silly and her companion are on the other side. You make it to the center first and grab the Emerald, it is yours. Anything else you want to know?" "Why am I not able to see yet?" Robotnik demanded. "I doubt this is a normal side effect of your teleportation." Donovan chuckled. "Did I fail to mention that? Most of my traps are illusionary. However, I know for a fact that something in your eyes allows you to see through them." The chuckling grew louder. "Therefore, you will go through the maze literally in the dark." "Damn you Donovan!" Robotnik swore, punching at a wall but missing badly. "Good luck, Fatboy," Donovan said, laughing hysterically as the intercom disconnected. A door slid open and Robotnik felt his way toward the opening. "Wait till I get my hands on him!" Robotnik thought. "He'll regret ever crossing me!" Sally blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to get them to adjust from the bright light of the teleport to the dim light of the room she found herself in. She looked around, trying to see who had come with her, but no one was there. "Great," she muttered. "Looks like I have to go through this solo." A whimpering came from near her leg. Sally looked down and saw Isabela clamped to her leg, eyes wide with fright. "Isabela? What are you doing here?" Isabela held up a small piece of paper that had a big "5" written on it. "Oh no," Sally groaned. "Lydia's gonna kill me." "Your day to babysit, Silly?" Donovan's voice asked from a nearby speaker. "I mean, there are safer places to take a four-year-old, you know." "Let her go, Donovan," Sally said. "You know she doesn't belong here. I'll go through this by myself if I have to." "Oh no, Silly," Donovan said, holding back his laughter somewhat. "You weren't careful enough to make sure she didn't come, so now you have to deal with it." A nearby wall slid aside, revealing a hallway that stretched off into the darkness. "Here's your situation. You are in a maze. Robotnik is on the other side. The Emerald is in the center. Whoever gets it, can have it. You will have to deal with many illusions. You must figure out what is real, and what is not. Any questions?" "I guess not," Sally muttered, picking Isabela up. "It's OK, little one," she said, trying to comfort Isabela. "Good. Then get going; Robotnik already has started." A click from the speaker indicated that the conversation was over. Sally walked down the hallway, holding Isabela close to her. After a few moments, the hallway opened into a dead-end room. "Must've missed a turn," Sally thought, turning around. But when she tried to step outside, a door shot up from the floor, sealing her in. As soon as the door shut, Sally noticed a breeze started to blow, but she had no idea where it was coming from. "There has to be a way out of here," she thought, looking around the room. "Ewww," Isabela said, making a face. "What?" Isabela pointed to a section of wall that had worms crawling over it. "Disgusting," Isabela declared. Sally looked closely at the wall as the breeze picked up. Part of it was black, but there were so many worms she could see the design clearly. Fighting back her revulsion, she used one hand to clear some of the worms away. Isabela dropped from Sally's arms and scurried into an opposite corner. "Gross!" "Tell me about it," Sally muttered, swallowing the urge to retch. When she had enough cleared, she saw it was a black circle surrounded by what looked like gold. But near the bottom of the circle was the outline of a winged snake, much as her signet ring looked. In the meantime, the wind had grown steadily stronger and was starting to lift her hair and vest a bit. She tried to shoo the worms away from the snake, but they wouldn't budge. Gingerly, Sally put her hand among the worms, feeling the wall. She felt a button and pushed it, immediately pulling her hand back and shaking some worms off. A door opened in the wall near Isabela. Sally walked to her and they got out just as the wind started to pick up Isabela. Sally looked back and saw a giant fan come down out of nowhere, stopping less than an inch from the floor. "So that's what Donovan meant by illusion," she thought. "He had a fake ceiling cover that fan. He's definitely playing by a different set of rules." Tanis sat in Sanctuary, trying to calm himself through meditiation. "This is not working," he said, frustrated. "I have never had trouble controlling my thoughts before. But now they are focusing solely on Rosie!" He sighed, thinking back to that kiss she gave him while they were alone. "All these years, I've waited for that. And now that it's happened, I can't stop thinking about it. This is no way to go on." "If I could interrupt," Knuckles said in his mind, "there is a dire emergency. The Kavenoff is making his way toward where the Earth Emerald lies, which will pose a serious problem. He cannot be allowed to get an Emerald." "I understand," Tanis said. "I will inform the Freedom Fighters at once." "Good. Meanwhile, I will use my magic to try to delay him. Good fortune, Shi-rat." Tanis stood, his mind clear and focused. He quickly cast a spell and appeared right in the center of Knothole's War Room. "...and it looks like Robotnik was planning to go to that base for some reason," Uncle Chuck was telling the others. "I don't know what happened after that." "That's probably where the Emerald is," Sonic said. "Well, now we know." "And it's a good thing, too," Tanis said, startling everyone. "I've just heard some disturbing news from Knuckles. The Kavenoff is heading that way, and it doesn't look like random wandering. He must know an Emerald is there." "Oh man," Sonic said. "We gotta stop him. Who knows what he'll do to Sally if he finds her." "I don't mean to sound cold, but that pales in comparison to what will happen if he gets an Emerald. He could find a way to free Chaos with it." "We gotta get moving," Sondra said. "Uncle Chuck, think you could find the fastest way to get there?" "Already have it mapped out," Uncle Chuck said, handing her a piece of paper. "Dulcy, take as many as you can carry and follow me and Sondra," Sonic said. "I'm coming along too," Tails said. "Don't forget me," Lydia said. "After all, that's my cousin and daughter in there." Sonic nodded. "Anyone else?" Bunnie and Antoine stood up. "All right. Let's get going." "Good fortunes," Tanis said as they headed off. He was about to leave when he saw that Sondra had grabbed Nicole in her haste and left Nadia on the table. He picked her up and saw a bunch of numbers flashing across her screen. "What are you doing?" "I'm trying every frequency in existence to find Donovan's," Nadia said quickly. "He has to know the Kavenoff's coming." Tanis nodded. "When you get in contact with him, I'll send you to Sondra. Deal?" "Deal." Robotnik felt blindly along the hallway, muttering curses with every few steps. Finally, he felt his way into a room and heard the door close behind him. Robotnik triggered a button on the floor and a speaker crackled to life. "Incoming recorded message," came a strange voice. "Hello, Robotnik," came Donovan's voice. "If you are hearing this, that means you stepped into room 738. What that means is as soon as this message ends, you will have three minutes to find a keypad and a three-digit code which is located somewhere in this room. As the time passes, the air will get sucked out of this room. Needless to say what will happen if you don't find your way out. Word of advice, memorize that code; you will need it again. End of message." Immediately, Robotnik heard two giant fans start drawing air from the room. He felt along the walls quickly, searching for them. He found the keypad, but the code was nowhere to be found. "Two minutes," said that strange voice. Robotnik made another circuit of the room, but still had no luck. "One minute," the voice warned. Robotnik fell to his hands and knees, getting dizzier as the oxygen was depleted. He felt a small metal plate move beneath his hand. Quickly he reached into the hole the plate had covered and felt raised numbers beneath his fingers. "Seven...two...four," Robotnik read. "Thirty seconds." Robotnik forced himself back to his feet and lumbered to the keypad. He felt the buttons and pressed the right sequence just as the voice started, "Time's--" Donovan watched as Robotnik fell through the door that suddenly opened. "Very lucky, Robotnik," he said with a sadistic grin on his face. He turned to another monitor to watch Sally and Isabela struggle through another of his traps. "Hopefully, they won't be so lucky, so I can teleport them back. I really don't care which one messes up, but I do want one of them to." The communicator on his belt started crackling. "Donovan, are you there?" Nadia said. "This is an emergency!" "Nadia?" Donovan asked in surprise, pulling the communicator from his belt. "This is Donovan. What's up, Nadia?" "Donovan? Thank the Almighty I found the right frequency. Kavenoff's on his way!" "What?" Donovan screamed. He turned to the console and punched up the outside security cameras on the nearest monitor. Nothing was there. "Nadia, if this your idea of a joke," Donovan began threateningly. "No! I swear, Tanis warned us about it. The others are on their way to try to stop him, but they don't know how to fight him like you do." Donovan connected the console to the computer at his home base. "Computer, estimate distance between me and Kavenoff and calculate direction of travel." "Assessing," the computer said in a voice very like Donovan's own. "Donovan, was that your father's voice I heard?" Nadia asked in what could be termed awe. "I used that gift you gave me last Christmas to program my computer with his voice," Donovan explained. "Assessment complete," his computer said. "The Kavenoff is approximately one thousand seven hundred meters from your location and closing." "That gives me about twenty minutes," Donovan reasoned. "Plenty of time to organize a suitable welcome for him," he said, smiling. "I don't like your tone of voice, Donovan," Nadia said, worried. "What are you planning on doing?" "The less you know, the better," Donovan said, standing. A jolt of electricity shot through him from his communicator. "Snap out of it!" Nadia yelled. "What did you do that for?" Donovan yelled back. "You're starting to sound like the Kavenoff! Get control of yourself!" "I'll get control all right. After I see to it that this is the Kavenoff's last day on Mobius!" he yelled, grabbing his sword. "Is that what your father would want?" Nadia asked in a low voice. Donovan stopped dead in his tracks. "Father?" "Do you think he wants his son to become that thing? You know it'll possess you if you kill it! How will you ever get him back then?" Donovan stared into a blank monitor. What he saw staring back at him shocked and scared him. "By the Almighty, what have I become?" he whispered, slumping back into his seat. "Nothing you can't change," Nadia said. "Now stop feeling sorry for yourself and figure out a way to stop him. You know the others can't fight him for long." "They may not have to," Donovan said, calling up the layout of the building. "Nadia, when I give the word, have them herd the Kavenoff toward the north entrance to the building. I'll have something waiting for him." "Nothing deadly, I hope," Nadia said. "No, just annoying," he said in his old voice. "You don't know how good it is to hear you back to yourself, Squirrel- boy." Donovan chuckled, but it was a warm chuckle. "If it weren't for you, Nadine, you might never have heard that again." He switched off the communicator and started typing away on a nearby keyboard. Sally and Isabela emerged into a hallway, gasping for breath. Both were covered from head to toe in mud. "Glad that's over," Sally muttered, glaring back at the room they had just come from. "That was fun!" Isabela said. "Can we do that again?" Sally rolled her eyes. She was about to say something when a mudball hit her squarely in her face. She cleared it from her eyes and saw Isabela scraping some more mud from her dress and forming it into a ball. Just as she was about to throw it, Sally pushed it into her face. "Serves you right," Sally said, wiping what mud she could off herself. "I'd love to continue this, but I'm sure Robotnik isn't waiting." Isabela sobered. "I'm sorry, Aunt Sally," she said. "It's OK," Sally said, smiling suddenly. "It feels good to be called Aunt Sally again; Tails doesn't do it much anymore." Isabela smiled. She grabbed hold of Sally's hand and they started walking down the hallway. It didn't take long for Sally to realize something was wrong. The floor looked clean, but she felt like she was wading through water. She looked down and saw that the floor came up to her knees. "Another illusion," Sally said, picking Isabela up. "Well, at least I can fly over it." Sally tried to fly up, but found that her feet were stuck. She retreated back to where she could see her feet and tried again. This time, she was able to fly and headed swiftly toward the door at the far end. When she was about halfway across, a large hand shot up from the floor and grabbed her. Before she had time to do anything but scream in surprise, it pulled her and Isabela down into the liquid under the floor. Sally lifted Isabela above her head as everything from the shoulders down was now under the illusion. She slowly made her way back to the true floor with no other incidents. "Very tricky, Donovan," Sally thought, trying to comfort a hysterical Isabela. "Let's see if I can run across." Once Isabela calmed, Sally held her close and activated her engagement ring. As the light surrounded her, she revved up her legs and took off. The hand made another grab for her, but she ran right through it. But as soon as she did, the far door begun shutting. Sally pushed herself to her limits to try to make it through the door. The door closed before Sally made it there, but she continued to run. She tucked into a ball, protecting Isabela, and struck the door at full speed. The metal hissed and bubbled as she melted a hole through it, but she was protected by the energy of her engagement power ring so no harm came to her. She burst through and landed on the other side, uncurling as soon as she touched the ground. "I can't imagine how Sonic can do that all the time," Sally said, swaying a little unsteadily. "You OK, Aunt Sally?" Isabela asked. "Yeah, I guess. We'd better keep moving." She set Isabela down and they started walking down the hallway. "There he is!" Sonic yelled, pointing to the skunk that was tearing a path of destruction through the caverns. "We've gotta catch him before he gets through them!" Sondra yelled back. A light appeared in front of Sondra, moving with her as she ran. Nadia appeared out of the light and Sondra faintly saw Tanis waving in the light before it vanished. "Nadia?" Sondra asked. "But I thought--" "You grabbed Nicole by mistake," Nadia said. "Listen, no time to explain. Donovan and I got a plan worked out." "Donovan?" Lydia asked, adjusting her grip on Sondra's waist. "The same Donovan who's doing this with the Emerald?" "No time for that," Nadia snapped. "When I give the signal, try to herd the Kavenoff to the north side of the building." "How can we trust him?" Lydia asked. "Just do it!" Nadia screamed angrily. "I trust Donovan completely, now that I woke him up. If you don't want to trust him, then trust me." "Sounds good to me," Sonic said. "Besides, he's the only one other than my parents who have dealt with the Kavenoff on a regular basis, and my parents ain't here." "All right, Nadia," Sondra said. "We'll wait on your signal. I just hope Dulcy and the others don't try anything before we get there." "I'll tell them," Tails said, flying up through a small hole in the cavern's roof. Lydia had grown very quiet all of a sudden. "Those words Nadia used, they seemed so familiar," she thought. An image of Dorian appeared in her mind and she smiled, forgetting her earlier train of thought. Robotnik felt along the hallway for another door. The room he had come from had gotten steadily hotter and hotter until he had found the keypad. He was still having a hard time breathing. Fortunately, he was getting close to the center and had most of this part memorized. "That door should be right around here," he muttered with a few choice curses. His fingers felt a door frame and he sighed. "Here we are." He walked through the door, knowing that the center room was only three more rooms away. A loud hissing sounded from the far end of the room. "Gas!" Robotnik thought in surprise. "I've got to find that keypad!" He felt along the walls quickly. When he got near the hissing, strong metal bands surrounded his arms and waist. The hissing was coming from the bands and Robotnik felt the bands in wonder. "Robotic snakes," he realized. "How ironic. Still, they shouldn't be too--" A snake wrapped around his throat and started squeezing with incredible strength. Robotnik grabbed at the snake and tried to pull it off, but it wouldn't budge. He felt along it for the head, trying to get some leverage. He couldn't find the head, but he did find a set of nine buttons on the snake. "The keypad!" Robotnik realized, hurriedly punching in the code. The snake's grip tightened. "What the?" Robotnik punched in the code again, but the snake only squeezed more. Then an idea occurred to him. "Which way is up on this thing?" He twisted his hand around and tried the code again. This time, the snakes let go and he heard them retacting into the walls. A door slid open and he stumbled through it, coughing and gasping for breath. "That was too close," he thought. He leaned against a wall for a few minutes until he could breathe easily again, then set off down the corridor. Sondra watched as the Kavenoff emerged from the caverns, heading straight for the building. "We gotta do something!" she whispered fiercely to Sonic. "Don't you think I know that?" he demanded. "But we promised to wait, remember?" Nadia started beeping before Sondra could answer. "Get going!" she said. "All right!" Sonic and Sondra said, highfiving each other. The Kavenoff turned to look at them. "Oh, the joy I am about to receive," he said, cackling, "for the misery I am about to give!" He lunged at Sondra and Lydia. "Gotta catch me first!" Sondra said, taking off one way while Sonic ran the other. "More speedsters!" Alexi said. "Well, the hunt will only make the kill that much sweeter!" He ran off after Sondra, swinging his runesword threateningly. "Hey, up here!" Dulcy called. Alexi stopped and looked. "A dragon! Even better! So much mass, so much potential for misery!" "You calling me fat?" Dulcy screeched. She let loose an icy blast at the Kavenoff, but missed. All that ended up iced was the ground. "You'll have to do better than that!" Alexi chuckled. "Will we be doing fine?" Antoine asked from behind him. Alexi turned to look just as Antoine and Bunnie hit him with a double shoulderblock. The Kavenoff took a couple steps back and ended up skidding on the icy patch heading right toward the building. Tails stood at the end of the ice and opened a door. "Have fun!" he called, waving to the skunk as he slid past. As soon as he was through, Tails slammed shut the door. "Welcome, Kavenoff," Donovan said, drawing his sword. "Come to do battle again?" "I am always ready for a game," Alexi said, standing up. "But this time, I shall win!" Donovan slowly circled the Kavenoff, making sure to keep one certain square of floor between them. "Well then, let's have at it!" Alexi jumped at Donovan, clearing the square easily. Donovan had barely enough time to bring up his sword before the skunk was upon him. Donovan tried to force Alexi onto that square, but the skunk kept avoiding it. "I know your tricks!" the Kavenoff sneered. "You will die here!" Donovan fought his way under the runesword and tried to push Alexi bodily onto the square. But Alexi held his ground and grabbed Donovan by the throat. "The game is mine!" he said, lifting Donovan off the floor. The door opened. "Donovan, close your eyes!" Nadia yelled as Sondra slid her in. Donovan shut his eyes as the Kavenoff looked toward the door. A bright flash of light came from Nadia's screen, blinding Alexi. Alexi dropped Donovan and held his eyes, screaming in pain. Donovan stuck his leg out and tripped him up, sending the skunk headfirst into the pit covered by the illusionary square. "You didn't kill him, did you?" Nadia asked, worried. "Nah, just teleported him to a nice, quiet, serene forest with no one around for miles," he said with a grin. If Nadia had a face, she would have grinned as well. "That's my Donovan," she said. "Welcome back!" Donovan smiled a warm smile. "If you'll excuse me, Nadia, I have a contest to see finished. But I do have one question for you, Sondra. What possessed you to slide Nadia in when you did?" "It wasn't my idea," Sondra said, walking in and picking up Nadia. "She's the one who had a 'gut feeling' about it, as she termed it." Donovan looked at Nadia, smiled, shook his head, and walked away. "Thanks again, Nadia," he whispered as he walked through an illusionary wall. Sally and Isabela peered carefully into the room, looking for anything that might be a trap. The room was large and spacious, but full of electronic equipment. In one corner was a small pile of stones; pretty, but not unusual. What caught Sally's immediate attention was the glowing green gem on a pedestal in the center of the room. "The Emerald!" she exclaimed. "And it will be mine!" Robotnik said, appearing in the doorway on the opposite side of the room. Sally revved up her legs, getting ready to sprint for the Emerald. "Pretty stones!" Isabela said, laughing. She ran to the pile in the corner and started playing with a couple of the stones. "Mommy will like them." "Isabela!" Sally yelled, distracted. She saw Robotnik stumbling toward the Emerald, arms outstretched as if he couldn't see. She started to run for the Emerald, but something stopped her dead in her tracks. A large block of stone was falling directly above Isabela. Within seconds, it would crush her. Sally knew she would not have time to save her and get the Emerald. Sally ran toward Isabela at full speed. She scooped up the child just as the block came down on the floor where she had been sitting, and disappeared. "Another illusion!" Sally realized. Robotnik's groping hand found the pedestal and lifted the Emerald from its depression. "Looks like you lose this one, Princess," he sneered. "Perhaps not, Doctor," Donovan said, seemingly appearing from nowhere. He pushed a button on the remote he held. "I've just deactivated all the illusions in here. It'll take a few minutes for them all to power down." "I don't care what you do now," Robotnik said, blinking his eyes as his vision returned. "All I care about is what I have here in my hand." "Ah yes, that would be important, I suppose," Donovan said, smiling. Robotnik arched one eyebrow and opened his hand. Instead of the Emerald, he was holding a reddish stone that faintly hummed with power. "What is this?" "You should have known, Robotnik, that not all in this maze was what it seemed," Donovan cautioned. "I placed two power sources in this room. It's not my fault you went for the wrong one. Feel free to keep it, though, as a consolation over your destroyed factory." Robotnik's eyes glowed with anger. His gaze swiveled around the room and came to rest on Isabela, who was still in Sally's arms. "Beautiful child," Donovan said at the same time, walking toward her. "And very much like her mother. May I see that stone, please?" Isabela shyly handed the stone over. "Malachite, I believe," Donovan said. "Similar to the stone I gave Linda for her birthday one year, wasn't it?" Sally nodded mutely, suddenly aware of where this conversation was headed. Donovan brushed away a fine powder from the crystal, and it suddenly exploded into a greenish light. He picked up another gem from the pile in the corner and gave it to Isabela. "This one suits you better," he said, pressing it into her tiny hand as he gave the Emerald to Sally. Isabela nodded, smiling. Sally breathed a huge sigh of relief. "So then we won?" she asked carefully. "No. There are still four Emeralds out there. However, you do have possession of this particular Emerald. As such, you lead in the Race. Doctor, my services are at your disposal, assuming you can find me." Robotnik looked ready to argue, but Donovan held up another remote with a countdown flashing on it. "You can stay and argue if you like, but I wouldn't recommend it." Donovan bowed and disappeared in a flash of white light. As soon as he disappeared, the pedestal in the center of the room was revealed to be a time bomb. Sally didn't even look twice. She drew on as much energy as she could handle from her engagement ring and ran out of the building as fast as she could. But even so, the explosion was on her heels as she emerged from the building. "Sal!" Sonic yelled, catching her in his arms as she nearly fell. "Isabela!" Lydia screamed, pulling her from Sally's arms and holding her close. "Mommy!" Isabela said, throwing her arms aroud her mother's neck. "Are you OK, honey?" Lydia asked worriedly, looking into her daughter's face. "Uh huh. Look what I brought you." Isabela gave her mother the stone she carried. Lydia looked at the stone in surprise. "I used to have one like this. Wait a minute. That's the same Donovan who did this?" "Mommy, who's Linda?" Lydia laughed and hugged Isabela. "I'll tell you later." Sally tried to push away from Sonic, but she was too weak from everything that had happened. "I'm fine, Sonic," she murmured. "Boy do I have a tale to tell you guys." "That can wait until you're rested," he said, picking her up and cradling her like Lydia was cradling Isabela. "The most important thing right now is to get you some rest." Sally shook her head weakly. She opened her hand, revealing the Emerald. "No Sonic, this is." Sonic kissed her forehead and took off for Knothole, leaving the others to manage on their own. Donovan sighed as he watched everyone disperse from a nearby cliff. He had made sure that Robotnik had gotten out safely, all that was left to do was destroy the chips he had given them so that he could not be traced. A push of a button, and it was done. And yet he lingered, watching the building as it smoked and burned. Oh, there was no cause for alarm. It was just that he had a lot to think about. "I came so close today to becoming that which I fight," he thought. "If it weren't for the efforts of both Tanis and Nadia, I might have." He sighed, looking at the building but not really seeing it. "What did you think you were doing?" Knuckles demanded, appearing suddenly at his side. "They could have all been killed! Or even if you had that covered, as you say you did, the Kavenoff could have gotten the Emerald! Do you realize the harm that would have done?" Donovan sat there, not even bothering to respond. Knuckles continued to chew him out for a few minutes but then stopped, seeing he was getting no response. He waved a hand in front of Donovan's face. Donovan simply stood up and walked away, not uttering a sound. Knuckles watched him go. "There goes a heavy heart," he thought. "There must be something I can do to lighten his load." Donovan walked wearily into his main base and slumped down into the first chair he saw. He vaguely noticed an unusual light blinking on his main control panel. "Computer, status," he said tiredly. "There is a recorded message awaiting you," his computer answered. Donovan raised one eyebrow. "A message? From who?" "It appears to be from Nadia." "How did she...? Never mind, playback message." "Hiya Donovan," Nadia's voice came. "I figured you might be feeling bad about everything that happened today, so I have something for you that might just cheer you up. Oh, don't worry. I'll keep your frequency and location secret." Donovan raised himself up in his chair as his holographic projector activated. It took a few seconds for the image to clarify. But when it did, Donovan's eyes widened. A smile touched his lips and brightened his eyes. "I don't know which is worse," he thought, standing up. "The fact that she feels this way, or the fact that I do. Computer," he said aloud, "save image." "Saving," his computer said. Donovan walked toward his room, the smile still on his face. The image that hung in the air was an embroidered heart with a very simple message on it in perfect cursive. "Donovan, I love you. Nadia."