All characters mentioned in this book are Copyright of Sega of America, Archie comic publications, and DIC. The author allows the reader to print this story off of the web, but you can't sell it.

No characters in this story are under copyright from other authors, however, any new characters I introduce are mine, and may not be used without saying so. I've also noticed that it is difficult to determine character's thoughts and feelings apart from the story, because of the inability to decrypt italicized text. Character's thoughts and feelings will now be placed in brackets rather than the unsuccessful Italic typing.

(Sample thought)

NEVER Talk To Strangers

Knothole, sometime in the 34th century. Enerjak is posing an immediate threat to the lives of residents on Mobius everywhere and the Freedom Fighters of Knothole have to deal with him.

"We know that Enerjak can not be beaten with raw strength, he is beyond that." Sally commented. "Does ANYONE have any suggestions?" Everybody began thinking. Nothing immediately came to mind. After a while, Antoine spoke up.

"Is zit pearhaps possibles to use energy weapons against zis Enerjock maniaco?"

Sally knew only Knuckles had the answer to that, but his answer was most definitely disappointing.

"I don't think so. Something as strong as Enerjak would think of lasers as tickles, but that's just a theory. We could give it a try, but I'd say the odds are against us on it." Sally shook her head.

"We must have a way to get rid of him that we are at least ninety percent positive of it's success. Rotor, do you have any ideas?" She asked curiously. Everybody now turned his or her head towards the walrus. It was most definitely obvious that he was thinking of something.

"Hmm." He began. "Well, Tails offered a theory of his that I thought was rather interesting, it involves…" Sally stopped him there.

"Hold that thought! Has anybody seen Tails ever since he was released?" To everyone's surprise, no one said anything. Sally immediately became worried.

"Dispatch search parties, I got a funny feeling Tails got a little too lustful for revenge. If he is found, he is to be brought back immediately." Everybody got up and left, except for Sonic.

"You seriously think he went to take on that monster?" He asked Sally, poking his head with his index finger.

(She's crazy… Tails is crazy)

(She could be right...)

Sally just shrugged. She didn't have a good enough answer to Sonic's question. To make her feel better, Sonic continued the conversation.

"What do you think he did, if not to go after this Enerjak?" He asked. Sally was surprised.

"You remembered his name!" She exclaimed. Sonic glared.

"How can I not? That dead red echidna wouldn't shut up about him, AIII! He's SO annoying sometimes." This made Sally laugh.

"What's so funny?" Sally flipped her hair up and looked at him, still chuckling from his remark.

"You! You're so… so 'perfect', when comparing you to Knuckles, who is so reasonable." She explained. Sonic was not impressed.

"DON'T compare me to that echidna." He spat, "He may be related to me species wise, but he sure as hell is not related to me through blood." He seemed a slight bit proud by this remark. Who wouldn't? If you were Sonic, you'd probably think of yourself as the ONLY hero on Mobius too.

"Well, some things you've got that he doesn't have." She said softly. Sonic smirked. He knew just where this led.

"Please continue Miss Acorn." He said sarcastically, adding a small bow to the end of the sentence. She drew near, placed a hand on his shoulder, and on the back of his neck.

"Make a wild guess."

The search parties had been searching all possible routes from the Great Forest to the Great Unknown; they found nothing that could tell them if Tails had walked by.

"Princess, we could find no trace of Tails either at the Great Unknown, or the nearby surroundings. We have set up scout towers that will alert us immediately if he should return." The metallic voice spoke through. This annoyed both Sally and Sonic to be so rudely interrupted by a damn communicator during a special moment. Sally gave Sonic a look that was undoubtedly supposed to be "sorry, should've turned it off."

"So, in other words, you haven't found him along that destination?" She asked. She waited for it to transmit, and the voice responded again.

"Yes ma'am. Tails is nowhere near here. We'll just have to wait until he comes this way, or returns to Knothole." Sally bit her lip.

"Did you try to reach him on his communicator?" She asked desperately.

"Yes ma'am, I think he turned it off." She nodded, and disconnected. She sat back in a chair for a moment. She was worried, but she knew that all she could do now was trust him to…

"Look after yourself, yeah right. What do they think you are Tails? Dumb?" He asked himself. He had no idea surviving out here in the wilderness was so difficult at this time of year. Summer was almost over, so he had to take the opportunity to complete this task before the snow began to fall. Still, the confidence in his voice suggested nothing of his confidence in him. It was his first night out alone in the wilderness of Mobius, and if he could live through that, everything would be Easy Street from then on.

The sun of Mobius was hanging low. Tails knew that he would have to get to sleep soon. He stopped, and began to set up camp. He pitched his tent just how he was shown by Antoine, set up his sleeping bag, and had his last meal. As he climbed into his tent, he realized that it was cold out. He cuddled himself into a little ball inside the sleeping bag, and he still shivered. He was afraid to cry, for he feared that the tears would freeze to his face. Tails had never been this scared. The eerie breeze outside his tent, even though he was sheltered nicely, still managed to give him chills. The crickets outside added to his nervousness. Chirping endlessly as the sun sank down over the horizon. Tails pulled the sleeping bag over his neck and closed his eyes. Somehow, even with all his fears, he fell asleep.

It wasn't long before he opened his eyes again, but this was strange. The world he opened his eyes to wasn't… solid enough. The corners of his eyes showed wavy vision instead of straight vision, as though he was traveling through a portal, and different environments passed by. But it was no portal, it was Mobius, and he was still in his tent. It was seemingly warmer and brighter now. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and opened his tent. Looking out, he knew that it WAS in fact Mobius, but, different. Leaving his tent, he walked around a near vicinity of his camp. But he had a strong urge to go farther. He took a deep breath, and started walking west. The trees were still green, the grass was wet with morning dew, and the white clouds mixed with the blue sky beautifully. This environment seemed too good to be true, and it confused Tails deeply.

Tails whipped around when he heard a child's cry. Nothing distressing, more or less reassuring. Tails raised an eyebrow. He heard it again, and distinctly heard an 'ee' sound in the cry. His eyes scanned the area, but he saw nothing. He perked his ears for another sound…

(…ady!)

There it was again, seemingly south of him. He turned his head. He was a little surprised when he saw a little child running towards him. The child ran with a rather large smile on his face, but that smile turned to fear as the little child tripped. Tails didn't see what he tripped on, but he ran to help. The kid was whimpering quietly. Tails knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" He asked softly. The kid was brown furred, much like Tails in most respect, which got Tails confused again. He waited for the kid to answer his question, but he had no idea the kid would say…

"I'm okay daddy. Its not that bad, just a little scrape." He said innocently. He then got up in Tails' lap and hugged him. Tails got more shocked when he saw that this kid had Two tails. Tails' head hurt from a lot this. He gently pulled the kid off him and spoke softly.

"I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. I'm not your daddy." He was about to continue when he heard another voice.

"Perhaps you should listen to what he says Tails, he is right, you're his father." This voice was very familiar, in fact, he knew who it was even before he looked up. NOW he was REALLY confused. Snowflake was walking down the same way the little kid had come. The little kid turned his head and yelled,

"Hi mommy!" The child yelled. Tails looked at the kid suspiciously.

"Mommy?" He said. He looked up at Snowflake, who had now just sat down beside him.

(If I'm his daddy and Snowflake is his mommy… Oh, jeez)

"Is something wrong Tails?" She asked sweetly. Tails, not knowing what to do, just sat and stared. She looked at him harder and asked again,

"Is something wrong Tails?" Tails looked back into her eyes, and finally managed to speak.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" He asked. Snowflake's expression changed quickly.

"Would you rather I stayed dead?" She asked him sternly. Tails thought she would take it the wrong way.

"No, no" He said, taking her hand in his. "I don't want you dead, but, you are. Do you understand?" Snowflake took her hand out, and held her "son" in her lap.

"Oh yeah, I know I'm dead. Sitting here in Limbo isn't very fun when the guy of you're dreams is still down on Mobius." Tails raised an eyebrow.

(Limbo?)

"Is this the land of dreams?" He asked. Snowflake nodded. "Then, none of this is real. This is all in my imagination!" Snowflake quickly grabbed his arms.

"DON'T SAY THAT!" She cried, "You're fading, you're beginning to wake up!" She was scared. She didn't want this to happen, and it was obvious.

"How do I reverse it?" He asked desperately.

"Fall asleep, be calm, at peace. Be passive." She almost begged. The kid was now holding onto Tails too.

"Daddy, don't go." He said softly. As if by magic, Tails' image began to reform. He was whole again.

Tails never imagined Limbo to be so much fun. His "son" was really something else too. He hoped that if he ever had a kid, that this would be the one. He had a great time playing hide-and-seek with him and Snowflake. Soon though, the kid began for "home," leaving the two alone.

"Let me guess, he's the only FAKE thing in this dream?" Tails asked. Snowflake replied as she waved back.

"He was created by my imagination. I think he's a perfect son. Kinda like the one I'd like to have." She stared into Tails' eyes as she said this.

"Snowflake, we have no time to discuss our future. All we have to discuss is you. How can I get you back to Mobius in a physical form?" He asked. She just shook her head.

"I'm not a magician, I don't know how these things work. All I know is that it's possible."

"How?"

"I don't know! You're the one who is alive, YOU have to make it possible!"

"And how am I supposed to make SOMETHING out of NOTHING?" He practically spat in her face. She stared. She never expected him to go that far overboard.

"Are you giving up now, before you even start?" She asked, her voice beginning to quiver. Tails sighed and looked down at his feet.

"I have no idea how to get you back on Mobius. YOU have no idea. Where am I supposed to start?" He protested. Snowflake shook her head.

"You're trying to get out of it, aren't you?" She assumed. Tails could now see tears beginning to form in her eyes. This REALLY made him angry, but he tried not to show it.

(She's trying to get you into something, and she's using that pitiful "Puppy-dog tactic" to help)

"Snowflake," he began, placing a hand on both her shoulders. "I love you very much. You know that. I want you back on Mobius like you do. But, I don't know how to do it. It's not that simple." His heart began to ache as he said this. "Plus, I have no confidence in myself when I'm led down a trail with nowhere to start from." She looked into his eyes, and nodded.

"I guess then it's up to me." She inched forward, and Tails could feel her press her lips against his own…

…Then everything changed. He was no longer in the fantasy world, but in fact, he had returned to the REAL Mobius, still in his tent. He understood. He knew that somehow, some way, sometime, he would venture out on his own to bring Snowflake back to life. His confidence was up, and he had faith that he would succeed. Unfortunately, that goal would have to be placed on hold. There were other important matters to attend to.

"Thirty-six hours, and still no sign of Tails. I don't think we can put any more effort on this wild goose chase he set for us. We have to get rid of Enerjak first. Are you two ready?" She said to both Sonic and Knuckles.

"Almost Sal. There's just one minor prob. I don't think that fifty rings for the both of us is gonna last very long. We're going to make a little de-tour over by the Pit of Lazaar. Other than that, we're ready." Sally smiled and shook her head.

"You boys ALWAYS have to have 'more POWER.'" She said sadly. Knuckles cut in politely.

"I disagree, I'd take Enerjak on right now, alone, with only fifty rings." He said, bravery was easily detected in his voice.

(Bravery or stupidity?)

"Sorry Knuckles, but this is the best way we can defeat Enerjak. You'll have to go with Sonic to the great pit of Lazaar and get as many rings you see fit." Both sonic and Knuckles nodded in acknowledgment. As they left, Sally turned to look out a window. Judging the position of the sun, she guessed it was mid-day.

(I hope those two will be all right, we still don't know Enerjak's full power.)

She sighed.

(But it's the only logical solution we have. If this doesn't work, who knows what will?)

She immediately began to feel nervous about not only Sonic and Knuckles, but also for Tails. No one has seen him since…

"Sally?"

She jumped. Instinctively, her head turned to look at the communicator. She placed her hand on her heart and tried to steady her breathing.

"Sally? Antoine reportink from ze watch towers."

Sally pressed the "Talk" button.

"Go ahead Ant, anything unusual?" She released her finger. First static came through, then the static disappeared and Antoine's strong French accent returned.

"No, Mon Cheri, eet iz Tails. He has just fallen from the sky onto the ground, and he iz not respondink to my voice."

Sally immediately felt a pain in her chest. She told Antoine to keep Tails back on the ground. She ran and got Rotor and Dr. Quack to follow her to Tails' location.

From this vantage point, Enerjak looked small. But then again, Sonic and Knuckles were about 3 miles away.

"He doesn't look so dangerous. Why is he just sitting there?" Sonic asked Knuckles warily. Knuckles, who was quite deeply entrenched, said in a very low whisper.

"He never did this before, I think he knows there is something that might interfere with his plans. We better move fast."

Enerjak, sitting and meditating, could see all that was going on. He saw Tails come crashing through trees, and slam onto the ground in front of a Freedom Fighter watchtower. He also kept a close eye on him and his encampment, and his activities. He knew Tails would be a threat no matter how far away he is. That's why he made "the creation." Hopefully, however, his creation would successfully spawn before it died. Otherwise, the creation would have failed.

He now saw a young, beautiful Ground squirrel, a slightly overweight Walrus, and a white cloaked duck enter Tails' vicinity. They were probably going to give him medical attention. He moved his vision elsewhere, and caught sight of the last thing he expected to see. His eyes opened immediately.

"He's here? With the hedgehog?" For the first time ever, Enerjak was really confused. Nonetheless, he would have to teach them both a lesson.

Knuckles glared at Enerjak. He had every bit of confidence in him that this mission would succeed. He looked over at Sonic, who was looking at him with utmost sincerity. They both nodded, and opened their bulging backpacks.

(What were those two doing now?)

Enerjak was puzzled. He began wondering if Sonic and Knuckles were plotting to destroy him. He would have laughed out loud, but then he saw both of them beginning to absorb golden rings. This made him slightly uncomfortable. He would have to be cautious this time.

After successfully absorbing all the rings they brought with them, Sonic and Knuckles began to change. They knew the effects, and let it happen. Within seconds, the Chaos entities inside them both burst out from inside their captors, and took control. Sonic and Knuckles were no longer in control, but Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles knew what to do! Both of them began racing at incredible speeds towards Enerjak. Their anger was their offense; hatred was their defense.

Enerjak knew the effects of the Chaos Entity Ritual; easily done, painless, but dangerous if the entity ever got the captor in trouble. Enerjak just hoped that they didn't learn deeper secrets.

Super Sonic may have been ten times faster than the original Sonic, but Hyper Knuckles beat him to Enerjak and threw the first punch. The blow winded Enerjak. Hyper Knuckles quickly finished the combo off with a beautiful uppercut, which sent Enerjak sprawling. While in mid-flight, Super Sonic grabbed Enerjak, and hurled him at the canyon wall at the speed of Mach 2. When Enerjak hit the wall, the noise shattered most of the canyon rocks, and caused a rockslide to fall directly over top Enerjak. He was quickly buried. Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles stared in amazement.

"That was WAY to easy." Super Sonic complained, his body shining gold in the light. Hyper Knuckles snarled. He expected more of a fight from a stronger Chaos Entity.

Both Entities watched in amazement as some of the rocks began to stir, one falling on another, two falling on four, until they hit the ground. A hand jumped out of the heap, followed by the rest of Enerjak. He laughed an evil laugh, while our two heroes stared in disbelief. Enerjak began to float in the air, until he was seemingly high.

"Young fools. Only now do you realize your mistake." He sent a large fireball from each of his hands down upon Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles. They both went flying in separate directions. Hyper Knuckles fell on his back, but Super Sonic recovered in the air, and jumped kicked Enerjak. Enerjak quickly dodged, grabbed Super Sonic on his way down and tossed him at Hyper Knuckles, who was just standing up. Both of them fell into the ground like rocks. They both staggered to stand.

(The final curtain!)

Enerjak raised his arms menacingly, and sent a stream of energy into both Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles. They screamed in pain as they felt their entity's being drained. Enerjak smiled with glee as he saw 7 pieces of Chaos emeralds leave each of his two victims. On their way through the energy stream, the 14 pieces merged into two more Chaos Emeralds and enter Enerjak's body. His voice grew deeper as he laughed, and he grew larger. When Enerjak freed Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles from his grip, they tried once more to fight him. They were both repelled by an energy defense system and sent flying backward. Enerjak then summoned lightning down on them, giving each of them a super nasty shock. Knowing that they both couldn't stand up to Enerjak any longer, they fled. As they fled, they could hear Enerjak calling to them.

"FOOLS! You should have merged when you had the chance!"

"Merged?" Sally stared Sonic in the eye. "Did you say merged?" Sonic nodded. Sally was confused. For all she knew, Chaos entities can't merge unless their captors' bloodlines ran directly through each other.

"Rotor, is it possible to have two Chaos entities merge to become one?" She asked. Rotor, just coming out from the research area of the infirmary, answered quickly without really heeding to Sally's question.

"As long as both the entities agree to it." He said. Sally rolled her eyes. Obviously, the question she asked would NEED a logical answer. She faced the two bruised faces of Sonic and Knuckles.

"Well I guess you could go back and try again, and merge this time." She said. Her voice had a hint of "this is no statement, more of an order." Rotor cut in right there.

"And get their butts kicked again, Sally?" She turned to Rotor, who continued.

"If Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles were to merge, their total emerald count would be twelve to Enerjak's thirteen. He absorbed an emerald from both of them, remember?" Sally understood, but she didn't like it.

"So what other chances do we have?" She asked. Rotor motioned with his thumb to behind the closed door of Dr. Quack.

"He's working on that right now." He said.

"And I am finished, good walrus friend." Dr. Quack said as he stepped out of his office.

"There's most definitely an easy solution Sally. Want a lolly?" He asked and offered her a sucker. She turned it down.

"The simplest solution would be a tiny blood transfusion from either…" He didn't have time to finish. Sally was shaking her head.

"That won't work. Nobody in Knothole has the same blood type as either of them. I can't risk innocent people's lives to stop Enerjak. I need a sure way." Dr. Quack protested.

"That IS a sure way!" He said assuredly.

"But it's risky, it could end a life, the odds are against us on that one."

Dr. Quack sighed, and shook his head.

"Well…" Rotor began. Every eye was on him. He scratched the back of his head and gritted his teeth.

"Well what, Rotor?" Sally asked anxiously. Rotor sighed and slumped his shoulders.

"There IS one other way."