Delphine was just enjoying another normal day(if any day in Knothole is normal and if she was actually enjoting it) when some strange things went underway.... Sonic the Hedgehog and other characters is a copyright of SEGA Enterprises and Archie Comic Publications, INC. Delphine, Comet and Dimitria are a copyright of ME(the author, duh) Robotnik had caught them. After hours of searching and running, the SWATbots had finally cornered them. "Del," he whispered, "I'm going to give you the Medallion. If you get a chance to escape, take it with you." "But Dad, what about you?" asked five-year old Delphine. "Forget about me," her dad said. The SWATbots closed in around them. He gave Delphine the Medallion, then threw her over the heads of the SWATbots. She was so small, they didn't notice. "RUN!" He shouted. "But Daddy,..." "Just go!" he ordered her. As she ran off towards the Great Forest, Delphine heard her father say one last thing. "I love you." "Hey, Del!" Delphine looked down from her perch, shaken from her daze. She realized she had tears in her eyes. She wiped them away. "What is it now, Sonic?" Delphine asked. She smiled down at Sonic the Hedgehog, then jumped down. Delphine and Sonic had been friends even before the War had started. "Sally wants your opinion on Nicole's new program. C'mon, she's in her hut." Then he saw that her eyes were red. "Hey, you OK?" "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about my dad...." She looked away, tears stinging her eyes again. Sonic put his arm around her. "Don't worry. Someday we'll win this war, and everyone will be back to normal." "I know. Thanks, Sonic. I feel a lot better now." "Hey, what are friends for?" Unfortunately, things on the Floating Island weren't so quiet. Knuckles the Echidna had just finished trashing a few SWATbots, and now he was looking for the Chaotix. Suddenly, he was attacked from behind. "What the...." He turned around. In front of him was a robotic replica of himself. "Dr. Robotnik has finally created something to match your strength. Instead of just a Metal Sonic, he has now created a Metal Knuckles. Me!" Knuckles gulped. "You mean there's two of you?" "Oh, look, he can add. Do you think you can learn subtraction next?" Metal Knuckles said. "You may be able to match my abilities, but have you any experience?" Knuckles asked. Then he leaped forward and punched the robot. The robot was taken aback. Metal Knuckles had not expected any resistance! Metal Knuckles hit him back. "Damn you!" Knuckles screamed. He leaped at the robot, but he quickly got out of the way. Metal Knuckles decided to leave. He took to the air. "I'll come back later, and Metal Sonic will be with me!" He snarled. Knuckles stood in shock. Then went to find the Chaotix. In Robotropolis, Robotnik was pacing impatiently. Finally, a comlink opened up. "Where the hell have you been?" Robotnik yelled. "Sorry," apologized Metal Knuckles, "but the target was stronger than I realized. I had to retreat. I'm going to need Metal Sonic." At that exact moment, Metal Sonic walked into the room. "Someone decide that it's time I do some damage?" he asked. "Yes," replied Robotnik. "You will fly to the Floating Island and help Metal Knuckles perform his mission." "Yes, sir." Metal Sonic flew off, and Robotnik turned to the comlink, smiling evilly. "Your reinforcement will be arriving shortly." "Yes, sir." Metal Knuckles replied. When Knuckles found the Chaotix, he explained to them what had happened. "I need to leave the island. You guys have to keep watch for me." "You're leaving? Why?" Charmy Bee asked. "Yeah, man. Why you leavin'?" asked Vector the Crocodile. "I need to tell Sally and the freedom Fighters about this. Besides, I have a feeling that we're gonna have a lot of trouble taking care of these two on our own." Knuckles turned to Mighty the Armadillo. "You keep these guys in line while I'm gone, all right?" Mighty nodded. "Hold it. Why him?" Espio the Chameleon asked, pointing to Mighty. "Because I said so. You got a problem with that?" Knuckles growled. "Whatever," Espio said, crossing his arms. "Just don't get in to much trouble while I'm gone," Knuckles said. With that, he glided off the edge of the island. In Knothole, the hidden village in the Great Forest, home of the Freedom fighters, Delphine and Bunnie were fighting....again. "Get outa my face, dumb-ass!" "You got in my way first, you blue-eyed freak!" Sally walked in as the two were about to send fists flying. "Whoa, hold it! What's going on here?" Princess Sally Acorn asked. "Um...." Delphine said intelligently. Bunnie looked down. The two of them had been at it so long that they forgot what they had been fighting about in the first place. The two reluctantly apologized to each other. "Now that that's taken care of, what are you two doing in the game room?" The game room was in the Recreational area. "You should be outside helping us rebuild the lookout post." It had been totaled in the storm from the night before. The reason Sally thought that these two should be out there is because each was exceptionally strong and could both fly. Bunnie had been half robotized by Robotnik. She now had a robotic left arm and robotic legs, and she could fly like all robots could. Delphine was empowered by a mystic Medallion. All she new about it was that her father had given it to her the last time she had seen him, and that her mystical friend Dimitria had taught her how to use it. Dimitria hadn't been seen for a long while, but that's another story. Delphine was human, but surprisingly was native to the planet. Not to many humans lived on Mobius. Bunnie was, obviously, a rabbit. Sally was a squirrel. The three left the room. Bunnie left the building, but Sally held Delphine back. "Sonic told me about what happened today. Are you all right?" She was speaking of Delphine's flashback. "Yeah, I'm fine Sally. Don't worry about me." Just then Sonic walked in. "So there you are! I was wondering where the two of you had gone." Sonic smiled. He knew what Delphine was going to say. "You idiot! Can't you mind your own business?" she said in anger. "If you had even half a brain...." At that moment Knuckles walked in and leaned against the door frame. "It's about time someone agrees with me." Knuckles said with a slight smile. "KNUCKLES!" Delphine screamed. She ran to him and hugged him tightly. "Whoa, watch it! I wasn't expecting that!" Knuckles said as he tried to catch his balance. Delphine backed off. "Sorry," she smiled. "It's been awhile since I've seen you." "Yeah, well now I'm here," he said. Then he kissed her. It was a long kiss. Delphine was surprised, but soon fell into it. "Um, excuse me, but just why is Mr. Lover Boy here?" Sonic asked. Knuckles let go of Delphine and said, "Robotnik is attacking my island again. Now he's got a Metal Sonic and a Metal Knuckles." "A Metal Knuckles?" Sally gasped. "Damn him." Sonic said quietly. "Yeah. I thought you guys might want to know about it, and, I, um, I need some help getting rid of the two." He said the last part quietly. Sonic still heard it though. "Oh, the Great Unstoppable Idiot needs our help? Mr. I Can Do Anything I Want And Nothing Can Stop Me?" "Lay off, Sonic," Delphine said, still in Knuckles arms. "You think the same thing half the time. That's the reason the two of you don't get along. You're too much alike. You've both got ego's bigger than the planet." Sonic was speechless. Knuckles looked her. The two of them realized that she was telling them the truth. "Um....so Knuckles, what happened?" Sally asked. She was trying to lead the conversation away from what Delphine had said. "Oh...um...yeah." Knuckles said, clearing his head. "A couple of SWATbots landed on the island. I trashed 'em, and then went looking for the Chaotix. All of a sudden I was attacked from behind. I turned around, And there he was! I fought him off, and he said that he would be back, and that Metal Sonic would be with him! Do you know what this means?" "Yes, it means that we're gonna have to go to the Floating Island and help get rid of the two of them." Delphine hadsaid this. Sally nodded her agreement. "Sonic, tell Antoine to prepare the hovercraft for flight. We're going to the Floating Island." "Well, it looks like nothin' is happening. Whadda we do now, Mighty?" Vector asked. "We wait for Knuckles to come back. What else are we gonna do?" Mighty replied. Just then the four of them heard an explosion to the north. "Are you sure nothing is happening, Vector?" asked Charmy. "Okay, I take it back!" Vector said as they traveled north. "Think that will get their attention?" Metal Sonic asked. "I was thinking of a more subtle approach." Metal Knuckles said coldly. "Look, I've dealt with these guys before. Sometimes you just gotta fight fire with fire." "That means brains wouldn't work." "Exactly." Delphine and Knuckles were in the back, out of earshot of the others. Sally decided to leave it that way. The group consisted of Delphine, Knuckles, Sonic, Sally, Antoine, and Tails. "When you said that about ego's, you were kidding, right?" Knuckles asked hopefully. "No, Knuckles, I wasn't. But, in my opinion, Sonic is worse." Delphine gave him the smile that would've melted any guys heart. Knuckles smiled back. "Well, if that's the case, then I guess that it's not that bad." He leaned over and kissed her, caressing her back. When they were done, Delphine said, "Well, that was...um...oh, who cares. Let's just wait and see what happens when we get to the island," Delphine said, trying to shake off the effect that Knuckles had on her. Delphine had known that it would be strange having a relationship with someone from the Floating Island, seeing as they would hardly see each other, but the Guardian? He had even less time on his hands! But she didn't care. Who else was there, anyway? Sonic was with Sally, and besides, he was her best friend. Antoine was with Bunnie, Rotor, was, well, Rotor. Uncle Chuck was too old, (besides, he was a robot) and Tails was too young. "Are you guys all right back there?" Sally asked. "Um, yeah Sal, we're fine!" Knuckles said. He was still looking at Delphine. "Good, because we're about to land." Metal Sonic and Knuckles ambushed the Chaotix. "Yo, what's goin' on here?!" Vector asked. "You shall be taken to Robotnik. There you will be robotizized and will tell us where the Chaos Emeralds are." Metal Knuckles said. "Yeah, right, you wish!" Espio growled. They began combat. The Chaotix put up a good fight, but they were no match for the two 'bots. They tied up the struggling friends and sent a message to Robotnik. "Phase one completed." The Freedom Fighters and Knuckles climbed out of the hovercraft. "Antoine, stay here and guard the hovercraft," Sally said. "Yes, Princess." he replied. "All right everyone, let's get moving. Knuckles, lead the way." "Of course." Knuckles went towards the place where he had left the Chaotix. North. Delphine saw them first. She was behind Knuckles. She held him back. "What is it?" he asked. "Look," was all she said, and pointed forward. "Oh boy," Knuckles breathed. Sally saw them too, and told everyone to backup. "Now I wish we had brought the others. ," Sonic said nervously. "Are you NUTS?! Bring Bunnie?" Delphine said. Sonic laughed, even more nervous. "Ok, now we need a plan," Sonic said. After a few minutes, Sally said, "I've got a plan!" Comet and Dulcy were flying around, laughing. Comet was a white pegasus, the only one the Freedom Fighters, or anyone else for that matter, had ever seen. She and Dulcy were talking about Antoine's recent bumble. "So then *giggle* he...." Bunnie came up and interrupted them before they could continue. "You guys need to see this, now!" Bunnie ordered them. The two of them landed, (Dulcy crashing, of course) but Comet was surprised. She had never seen Bunnie in this mood. Bunnie led them into Rotor's workshop. "What is it, Rotor?" Comet asked in her musical voice. "See for yourself," he said. "This is a recording of an message that was sent to us." He stuck the video in, and Comet gasped. On the screen appeared Metal Knuckles and Metal Sonic! "We have captured the Chaotix, and we will take the Guardian and Freedom Fighters as well. You have been warned." Then it ended. "Oh, dear. We're going to have to warn them." Comet said. As they left, Robotnik got another message. "Phase two completed." Everyone dispersed around the clearing as they had been told. Delphine was with Sonic, Sally was with Tails, and Knuckles was by himself. "Hey, Del," Sonic whispered. "Hey, what?" She whispered back. "What do you think Robotnik is up to this time?" "I don't know, but it's not something good." "It never is." Just then, Sally gave the signal that she was ready. It was a low whistle, one that they always used to signal each other. Sonic whistled back, saying that they were ready also. A few moments later, Knuckles whistled also. Delphine, Sally, and Knuckles all counted to three, then everyone jumped out at the same time. Bunnie, Rotor, Comet and Dulcy arrived on the island. They headed North. "You freaks think you can defeat US?!" Metal Sonic yelled. Sonic sped into him and knocked him sideways. "Actually, we know we can. Right, Del?" "Right, Sonic," she said as she and Knuckles both punched Metal Knuckles in the face, with Delphine calling up her powers. Sally and Tails were helping Sonic, and the tide of battle quickly turned in their favor. The Chaotix watched from the side, still bound. Metal Sonic and Knuckles soon realized that they were outnumbered, so they decided it was time to leave. "Don't think you can win that easily, incompetent fools! We will be in Robotropolis formulating a new plan, and no one can stop us! You shall all PERISH!" Metal Knuckles screamed down at them. "Oh, yeah? Delphine asked looking up, "Well perish this!" She focused all her energies into a ball, and a green ball of pure energy formed in her hand. She threw it up at the robots. Metal Knuckles dodged it, but Metal Sonic got hit squarely in the chest, temporarily disabled. Metal Knuckles caught him. At that moment Bunnie and the rest had arrived. "Sally! We need to warn you about...oh." Bunnie had looked up and seen the bots. "A bit late, Bunnie?" Delphine said innocently. Bunnie was about to say something but decided against it. As Knuckles was untieing the Chaotix, Metal Knuckles dropped a bomb. No one was prepared. "LOOK OU--" "Phase three completed." Hours later, Delphine woke up. She rose to a kneeling position, held her head in her hands, and groaned. "Oh boy. It's gonna take a while for THIS headache to go away." She stood up and saw various people draped across the landscape. Sonic was closest, so she walked over to him and shook him. "Sonic, get up. C'mon, get up!" Sonic pulled himself to a kneeling position and groaned. "Ouch," he said. "That's putting it mildly. C'mon, let's get the others." Delphine and Sonic went around randomly and helped everyone up. When they were done, they noticed that some people were missing. "Where's Sal?" "And Tails?" "And Espio?" "Metal Sonic and Knuckles must have them!" Everyone gasped. Delphine took control of the situation. "Everyone get back into the hovercraft." She looked around, and saw that most everyone was wounded. She turned to Knuckles. "Will you come with us?" "Sure, I owe you that much." He turned to what was left of the Chaotix. "You guys stay here. I need you to watch the island while I'm gone." "The last time you said that we got fried!" Charmy complained. "Well, this time Metal Sonic and Knuckles won't be here. They'll be in Robotropolis Just stay out of....never mind." When the hovercraft landed and Everyone got out, Delphine summed it up. She saw that everyone had been wounded greatly except for Sonic, Knuckles, and herself. "Sonic, Knuckles, you stay with me. Everyone else go to the infirmary to see Dr. Quack, pronto!" Everyone else left, and she turned to the two heroes. "There has to be more than three of us on this mission. Everyone else is wounded, so you know what that means." "No, not him!" Sonic groaned. "Yes, him." "Excuse me, but did I miss something?" Knuckles asked. "Obviously." Delphine turned to confront the voice. "Oh, there you are. I was wondering when you show up." "St. John?!" Knuckles asked, surprised. "How could you....why did you....how....what?" "That's exactly what I was thinking," Sonic said. "Hey, it's not my fault you can't do what you're supposed to." St. John said. Geoffrey St. John was a skunk. "What?!" Sonic said. The two were about to engage in combat when Delphine stepped between them. "Now hold it. We're here to work together. if you two start fighting we won't get anywhere." "You're right luv. Sorry I let this amateur get the best of me." "I believe it was you who started it, Johnny boy. Now can we get this show on the road?" Knuckles said. Sonic mouthed the word "THANKS" to Knuckles, and the four started for Robotropolis. Oh the way, St. John kept hitting on Delphine. This angered both her and Knuckles. Every once in a while Sonic laughed out loud, making Knuckles mad at him, too. So all in all, things weren't going too well four the four combatants. When they got there, the four all crept into an abandoned warehouse. Everyone thought of it as a port before the storm. At least the could breath again. "All right everyone. I believe this is Sally's line, but I've got a plan. Sonic, Knuckles, you scout the place out. Find out where Sally, Tails and Espio are. Hopefully Robotnik hasn't robotized them yet. St. John, you stay here with me and...." "Hold on a minute, luv. Are you trying to say that I am staying here? While these two go out and do the real stuff?" "Actually, I'm not trying, I am." "Well, what if I don't want to stay?" "Than I'll just have to make you stay." "Oh, and how do you propose....aah!" Delphine punched him a good one, and St. John was down for the count. She shook her head. "I don't know why i decided to bring him along." she said. "I was wondering the same thing myself," Sonic said. "Oh, well. You two go do what i said, and I'll tend to dufus over here." "Right," both Sonic and Knuckles said in agreement. The two of them were creeping towards the prison building when Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles saw them. They waited until the two had gone a wrong way and were facing a blank wall. "Oops," Sonic said sheepishly. "Forget it," Knuckles sighed. "Let's just....WHOA!" That's when the two bots ambushed them, metal Sonic fighting Sonic and Metal Knuckles fighting Knuckles."Forget it," Knuckles sighed. "Let's just....WHOA!" That's when the two bots ambushed them, Metal Sonic fighting Sonic and Metal Knuckles fighting Knuckles. "In your face, you sorry excuse for a toaster!" "Oh, please!" "Get outa my face, freak!" "Hey, I look better than you do!" The battle went on for a few minutes like that. Then Metal Knuckles got a good hit at Knuckles, and he was out cold. "Hang on, Knux!" Sonic raced over to him. Metal sonic came in and shot him. "AHHHH!" Sonic got hit on the arm. he looked, and saw that it was bleeding. He picked up Knuckles with his good arm, swung him over his shoulder, and sped back to the warehouse. "Phase four completed. Your turn." Delphine was starting to get worried when St. John woke up. "All right, who's the wise guy that....you!" "Yup, it was me. Now watch you mouth or I'll do it again." At that moment Sonic opened the door and staggered in with Knuckles on his shoulder. Delphine gasped, then went over to him. She took Knuckles from him and lead him the center of the room. She put Knuckles down, and Sonic collapsed from exhaustion into her arms. "Sonic! What happened? Where were you? Was it those stupid 'bots? Tell me!" "I-*gasp*-we were...we had gotten sidetracked somehow, and-*choke*-Metal Knuckles and Sonic attacked us. Knux-*gasp*-got knocked out, and I got-*wheeze*-shot." "Shot?! Where?!" Delphine looked around him, and saw that his arm was bleeding. she thought. Then Sonic passed out. She set him down. "St. John, hand me my backpack," she said, and pointed. he handed it to her. She took out a first-aid kit and began bandaging Sonic's bleeding arm. "What can I do?" St. John asked, actually showing some concern. (surprising, isn't it folks?) "Guard the door," Delphine said. After she had finished with Sonic she looked Knuckles over. There didn't seem to be any harm done except for a bump on his head, so she decided he was fine, but watched over him anyway. She bent over his body and kissed his cheek. she smiled slightly, then sat in between the two to make sure they would be okay. "Are they all right?" St. John asked. "Yeah, they'll be-hold on a minute! What do you care about their safety?" Delphine was surprised. She hadn't known that St. John had a soft side for beings other than girls! "Hey! I'm not entirely a jerk! I can be nice to the male populace too!" St. John retorted. He wasn't entirely happy at the moment. "Okay,okay, chill out." she said quietly. "I'm sorry. I'm just tense." "It's okay. You got a minute?" St. John asked. "Well, these two don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, so sure." She tried half heartily to grin. "When I was a kid, I had everything I wanted. Almost. Toys, T.V., comic books, friends, and anything else you can think of. Except...." he trailed off. "Except?" Delphine prompted. "Except a father. My mom always told me that he had died in the Great War, (the one before the current one started) but I had never seen him before that, either. Whenever I said anything about it, she just ignored the question. After a while, I stopped asking." St. John paused to take a ragged breath. Delphine noticed tears in his eyes. "Then, one day, me and my mother were captured by SWATbots. We were taken to a prison cell, and in there was another skunk. 'George?' my mother asked. 'Emily?' he said. Then they went over and hugged each other. 'Mom, who's that?' I asked. She told me that it was my father. I was shocked. I didn't know what to say. I didn't have time. The SWATbots came then and my mother told me to run. I did, and in a way I still am. That's probably why I'm so messed up." His tears were flowing freely now, and he turned from Delphine. She was shocked. she thought. She walked up to him, twirled him around, and hugged him. "Hey, it's all right. Let it go." St. John cried into her shoulder for a whole minute. then he looked up, and wiped away his tears. "Thanks," he said. "Forget it," she said. They looked at each other for a moment, smiled, then went back to where they had been sitting before this whole episode had happened. Delphine heard a groan, and then Knuckles got up. Then he sat back down, holding his head. "Oh, boy. bad idea." he looked at Delphine, then looked around. "How did I get here?" "Sonic carried you." Knuckles looked down at Sonic and saw his arm. "What happened?" Knuckles asked. "Well, Sonic said that the two of you got ambushed by those metal heads. You somehow got knocked out, and he got shot. that's all I know." Delphine looked at Knuckles, wondering what he would say. "Oh, boy, some friend I am. All I do is moan and complain about what an idiot he is and then he saves my life, gets shot, and all I come out with is a bump on the head. No wonder he hates me." Knuckles looked down at Sonic again. Delphine thought about what he had said for a few seconds, got angry, and slapped him. Knuckles looked up in surprise. Rubbing his cheek, he said, "What was that for?" "For being stupid. If he hates you then why did he save your life? If he hated you, then he would've left you there. Don't you get it? WAKE UP!" This last sentence was said with such force that Knuckles was knocked back a few inches. He looked down. "Sorry," he said, so quietly that it didn't even sound like his own voice. Delphine just glared at him, and he could feel her eyes burning through him. He wished she would stop. Then her face softened and she leaned over and kissed him. He was even more surprised. She stood up, brushed herself off, and stretched her hand out to him. He took it, and she helped him up. She pulled him into akiss that lasted throughout the next few minutes. Then she said. "Come on, we need a plan." In the center of Robotropolis, Robotnik was pacing excitedly. Metal Sonic and Knuckles had just come back to report what had happened. "Do you know what this means, Snively?" Robotnik asked his bumbling slave. "Um, no sir, I don't" "Good, that means that I'm still right about you being an idiot." "Yes, sir." Snively sighed miserably. "It means," Robotnik continued, not even hearing Snively, "that they are in the city, somewhere, and that one is unconscious and the other is wounded. And it means that we can easily go on with the robotizization process without any problems. He pushed a button on his mechanized arm and up shot the side wall. Behind it was a large prison. Inside were Princess Sally, Tails, and Espio. "Let us out, you fat freak!" Espio screamed. He was beyond mad. He was about to ram into the bars when Sally grabbed him. "Don't! You remember what he said. You'll get electrocuted!" Sally was frantic. She wanted to get out just as much as Espio did, but didn't know what to do. Tails just watched them, quietly. Dimitria was communicating with him, using telepathy. She was telling him how to unelectrify the bars. "Sorry, Princess, I lost my head." Espio turned to Robotnik. "When I get outa here, you better be far, far away, because when I'm done with you there isn't gonna be enough left to make lunch meat!" Robotnik just laughed. "Even if you manage to get out of here, You'll never manage to get at me before I escape. I always have an escape route. Don't worry though. You'll never get out, so you don't have to worry about it! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Dimitria had been telepathically communicating with Delphine, too, and she was telling her a plan, a which in turn Delphine was explaining to Knuckles. Just as they were finishing, Sonic woke up. Delphine and Knuckles knelt down beside him, and St. John looked on from his post. "Sonic, are you okay?" Delphine asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've just got a splitting headache...." he trailed off. Looking up he saw Knuckles to his left, Delphine to his right, and St. John looking on in alarm. He shook his head. "Now I've seen everything," he said. Then he got up. "All right, what's the plan now?" Delphine explained it to him. "Sounds interesting," he said, "but I see a few hole's in it." "Don't worry about that. It'll be taken care of." Knuckles and Sonic exchanged glances. Neither of them new what she was talking about. thought Sonic. the four of them crept off to the center of Robotropolis. Back at Knothole, Comet the pegasus was back to normal, and she was restless. Dimitria had told her what was going on(you guessed it-telepathy!) and she wanted to help. "You can't just leave," Dr. Quack said. "I've gotten orders to keep everyone here." "From the Princess?" Comet asked. "Well,...." Check and mate. "I guess I could allow you to leave if you don't tell anyone that you were allowed to go by me...." "Of course Doc. Don't worry. I'll be extra careful." With that she was off. she thought. The four of them had just reached the center building, the command center of the entire city. It wasn't exactly short. "Whoa," Sonic said, looking up. "That's putting it mildly, Sonic." Delphine said. "Haven't you said that before?" he asked, looking at her. She ignored the remark. "All right," she said to no one in particular, "Time to crack this code." She walked up to the control panel, looked at all the numbers, and said, "Forget this!" while summoning up her powers and punching into the panel. Sparks flew. "Knuckles, help me force the door open." Together the row of them opened it up enough for the four of them to dash inside before it shut. Tails had explained the plan to them. Now he was crawling through the air duct, looking for the energy panel. He found it. He entered the correct code, then headed back. When he got back into the cell, he told them that he had found it and that the bars should nowbe unelectrified. His part was done. Now it was up to Sonic and the rest of the group. Comet landed on the roof of the building that Delphine and friends had just entered. She found an air duct big enough for her to get through, and she crawled in. "Okay, love, so now what do we do?" St. John asked. "Now we split into two teams." She turned to Sonic. " Do you think you can handle one mission alone with him?" she asked, pointing to St. John. "Yeah, I guess so." Sonic sighed. Then he whispered, "Just make sure Sal finds out about it if things go well, okay?" Delphine nodded, and smiled. Then she turned to Knuckles. "You come with me. Everyone, lets get moving!" she yelled, but not too loud. Comet was right outside the main room. She jumped out of the air duct, and slipped on a piece of something or other. "Dammit!" she yelled. Then she switched to invisible mode and slipped through the door into the main room. The two teams searched the building. Sonic and St. John said little to each other, but Knuckles and Delphine talked most of the way. "Knuckles, how do you feel our, um, relationship is going?" "Is this a trick question? It's great! I mean, I've got you, and you're smart beautiful, fun, very sexy...." "All right, all right, I get the point!" she laughed. Suddenly Knuckles pushed her against the wall. "Knuckles, what....?" "And how do you think it's going?" he asked quietly. Then he kissed her. Good, long, and hard. When he pulled away, Delphine said, "Um, we, um...." she tried again. "Let's, um, get going. We need to find that room." Knuckles pulled away, letting her walk ahead of him. The two teams reached the room at the same time. They simultaneously took a deep breath, and walked in. Robotnik turned. "Ah, so you're here." he smiled evilly. "I was wondering when you'd get here." he pressed a certain button, and the wall popped up again. Inside the three prisoners were about to lose hope. "YOU ASSHOLE!" screamed Sonic. it was all Delphine and Knuckles could do to hold him back. "Let....go....of....me." He was breathing heavily and could hardly get the words out. "No go, spiny. We're in this together, remember?" Knuckles. Sonic stopped struggling and they let him go. "All right, bot-head, let them go," Delphine growled menacingly. "We've played your little game and now it's over. Time to pay the piper." "Ha ha. That's very funny. This game is far from over, you stupid bitch." With that Metal Sonic and Knuckles descended into the room. "Say, Luv, was this part of the plan?" St. John asked. "Not exactly, but we can take them down." Delphine replied. "Oh, yeah, just like we did last time?" Sonic asked. "Hate to tell you Del, but these two are a big problem." Knuckles said, looking at her sideways. "How do you propose we should 'take them down'?" "Simple. We have got an ace up our sleeve." "Yeah, me!" Sonic whirled around, recognizing the voice. It was Comet. "So, what have you gathered?" Delphine asked. "Well, the bars were electric, but Tails took care of that. Everything else is up to us." "Just dandy," she muttered. Then Metal Sonic took it upon himself to attack the five of them. Metal Knuckles soon followed. "Jerk!" "Freak!" "Dumb ass!" "Needle nose!" "Fools!" "Sorry excuse for a toaster!" "You said that already!" "So?!" "Jerk weed!" "Packet of slime!" "Ass-AHHHH!" St. John screamed. He had been hit. He was down. Sonic quickly carried him out of the way and returned to help Comet fight Metal Sonic. "Did I miss anything?" Sonic asked sarcastically. "Not yet sweetheart, but the next time you leave me with this freak you'll be missin' a lot!" Sonic took the warning and shut up. "So Knuckles, how's life been lately?" Delphine asked, trying to confuse Metal Knuckles. "Look around and figure it out," Knuckles said. The battle went back and forth like this. The tide of battle slowly turned in the 'bots. Delphine decided to change the odds. "Sonic, catch!" she yelled. Sonic whirled around and caught the emerald she tossed him. He soon began to glow yellow all over. "Ok, Knux, your turn." She tossed an emerald to him, and he soon began blinking. The battle quickly turned in favor of the Freedom Fighters. Metal Sonic and Knuckles where soon totaled. "All right Robutnik, we win. Now hand over our friends!" Sonic yelled at Robotnik. "Tsk, tsk. Did you really think it'd be so easy? The bars are electric, you know." Robotnik said with confidence, sure that he had won. "Oh, really?" Sonic asked. He ran to the cage and easily cut through them. "I seem to be fine, so you must have been wrong. Again." As soon as Espio got out, he started yelling at Robotnik. "Do you really think you could've kept us in there? Are you really that dumb? Did you not think that...." Before Espio could continue, Robotnik sat down in his chair and pushed a button that opened a trap door under his chair. he easily slid down and escaped. Espio ran to where he had disappeared, and Knuckles quickly ran to intercept and held him back before he could fall in. Or jump. "Hold it, Espio. Don't go jumping in there just 'cause revenge sounds good." Espio reluctantly withdrew from the opening. "Damn you!" he yelled into the hole. Everyone left the building, and soon they were back in the Great Forest. Everyone stopped when they were in the clear. "All right Del, give. How did you know that all that was gonna happen?" Sonic asked. "Perhaps I can answer that, hedgehog." All of a sudden a figure appeared in front of them. "What....who....huh?" Sonic asked. "I am Dimitria. I now all and tell what I want. I told Delphine, Tails and Comet all that was happening and what they could do. You can credit me for saving your life." "Delphine, is this true?" Sally asked. "Yes, all except the 'all knowing' part, everything said was true." "And now I shall leave." "HOLD IT!" Knuckles yelled, but it was to late. She was gone. "Well, Knuckles, it's been another exciting day. I hope you can come back soon." This was Sally talking. She had taken control of everything after her wounds had been attended to. Now Antoine was taking Knuckles and Espio back to the Floating Island in the hovercraft. "It has," he agreed, "But I need to talk to someone first." Sally nodded, and Knuckles went to find Delphine. "I've been waiting for you," she said when he found her. It was night, and all the stars were out. "I bet." He sat down next to her. They were on a grassy hill, looking over all of Knothole. "You know, it's been a very tiring day, and I've been wondering if I could find something to perk me up." "It's your move," she said. He pulled her to him, and kissed her long. It felt like an eternity to her. He pulled away, and looked in her eyes, noticing the green tints in the middle. And at that moment, he realized that they were perfect for each other. "See you next time," he whispered. "Yeah, next time," she whispered back.