I finally got the fourth part done. Mail me and/or Jim Doe with any
comments. Uhmm, again this story wouldn't be possible without Jim Doe.
Thank you again Jim!

His responce: "Muhahahaha I have the power! Er.. Your welcome =]"


                           Home Sweet Home?
                         Silver Star: Her Story (Part IV)
                        By Silver Star and Jim Doe

        Silver sighed as she breathed in the salty sea air.
        "So, this is FLiCKiE Island?" Knuckles looked around.
        Silver smiled. "Yup." She sighed again and started off towards
the island's brush. She soon vanished in the bushes.
        "Hey, where'd you go?" Knuckles yelled.
        "Look's like she's done it again," Archimedes chuckled.
        "Look's like you two should keep you're eyes open a little more."
        A voice laughed from within a bush. Two crystal blue eyes peered
out at the echidna and fire-ant staring back. "So? Whatcha waitin' fer?"
Silver laughed and shook the bush. Knuckles lunged towards it with a grin.
        Silver vanished and left Knuckles in a pile of leaves.
        Archimedes tsked and shook his head.
        "I would of thought better of THE GUARDIAN OF THE FLOATING
ISLAND!!" Silver laughed as she shook another bush and peered out.
Knuckles again lunged, this time successful. He lay there, surprised, on
top of Silver. She grinned at him, eyes sparkling. There was a moment of
silence, then they kissed. Knuckles went in again for another. Silver
giggled and vanished, leaving Knuckles with a mouthful of sand.
        "I don't mean to be rude," Archimedes cleared his throat. "But I
would like to see more of the island."
        Knuckles wiped his mouth out in disgust. Silver laughed and
agreed. She motioned them to follow and they did. They walked for a while
then stopped abruptly.
        "Oof!" Knuckles ran into Silver with surprise. "Why the sudden
stop?" Knuckles questionned.
        "You'll see." Silver smiled. She slid a wooden covering to the
side of a tree. There was an impression of a hand in the tree's trunk; a
hand with only three fingers [and a thumb]. She laid her hand on top and
a large rock groaned and rumbled out of place revealing a dark tunnel.
        "Whoa," Knuckles gasped.
        "Come on," Silver sighed. She led them down the tunnel, which was
surprisingly short. Silver started cartwheeling with glee as she tumbled
towards a large stone statue of a FLiCKiE Bird, with a Chaos Emerald
encrusted in his forehead. She sighed. "Isn't it beautiful?" She waved
her hands around.
        Knuckles nodded, not taking his eyes off of the Chaos Emerald.
        "FLiCKY? FLiCKY!!" A little green bird with yellow beads on it's
head cried happily.
        "FLaBBo!" Silver cried as she hugged the bird.
        "Interesting place you have here," said Archimedes.
        Silver looked up from her FLiCKiE bird.  "This?" she said.  "Oh,
this isn't mine.  This belongs to the FLiCKiE birds and..., well, the whole
of the universe, really.  My father used to tell me that echidna
from around the world came here to look at the statue, back before the
two-toes became so technological."  She stroked FLaBBo's head.  "Now the
FLiCKiEs run it all.  They do much better than my race did.  Many people
underestimate them, but the birds are the ones that moved this chamber
into a pocket dimension."
        "I THOUGHT I had felt something in the cave entrance!" exclaimed
Archimedes.  "So we passed through it just like that?"
        Silver screwed up her face.  "Well, they did have this big ring
that you would've had to jump into, then a big distortion, but they
replaced that just lately.  Didn't you FLaBBo?  Didn't you?"
        As Silver made baby noises at the green bird, Knuckles and
Archimedes explored the chamber.  Each had different thoughts on their
minds.
        Knuckles had noticed that Silver seemed to be almost on the verge
of babbling.  Also, her sudden desire to play when they had landed on the
beach had seemed almost manic in its intensity.  Probably, she was just
happy to be home, but Knuckles couldn't shake the feeling that it might
have something to do with her "encounter" in the forest a few days ago
with someone or something that she refused to talk about.
        Archimedes, meanwhile was thinking about the ramifications of this
chamber.  If it was true that the FLiCKiE birds had done this, on their
own, then Silver was right.  Everyone HAD greatly underestimated them.
All tales of the "wild" FLiCKiE bird indicated that it was a naturally
tame animal, having had no natural enemies for millineum upon millineum,
and that they had no real special features except for the ability to
digest crystals.
        If they had done THIS as if it was nothing more than a normally
scheduled coffee break and still maintained their dopey normal animal
act, they had much more power than anyone had ever imagined.
        Knuckles was staring at the Chaos Emerald again.  "Hey, Silv," he
said, "what is the purpose of that emerald being there?"
        Silver had put FLaBBo down and walked over to the other echidna
and looked up with him.  "I dunno," she said.  "I always figured that it
was just . . . ornamental.  Y'know, it just looks good."
        "Strange thing to just set out just for decoration.  Surely it's
there for SOME reason."
        Silver shrugged.  "If it has one, I don't know about it and the
FLiCKiEs sure aren't talking."
                                        ***
        "Hello, what's this?" said a strange figure to himself.  "Sooooo,
that annoying little three-toe is back, and she brought friends! Hurm...
What to do, what to do.  I could, of course, kill them straight out -
knife to the gut, gun to the back of the head - but, the boss told
me to make it messy if anyone showed up, and what the boss says goes."
        The strange figure sighed.  "Sometimes, I wonder if I'm really
getting paid enough for this kind of thing.  Ah, well.  On with the
show!"
        The strange figure pulled his Ozzie hat down snug around his head,
tightened his pistol belt, and lit a cigarette.  After a final tug at his
gloves and a quick check of his bag of tricks, Nack T. Weasel was ready
to rock.
                                        ***
        Silver thought to herself quietly. Ever since she had met
Knuckles, she had felt something, something warm and fuzzy bubbling over
inside of her. She didn't know exactly what it was, but whenever she was
near him it was there; whenever she kissed him, it ran through her like
it was a warm river sparkling in the sunlight. Now that she was back on
FLiCKiE Island, her heart started beating at sonic speed, and her head
was in a whirl as she rambled on about nothing inparticular. Knuckles
seemed to bring out the best in her, more still when she was on FLiCKiE
Island.
        Silver glowed as she interrupted her own thoughts. "Hrmmm...," she
sighed. "If there's anything on it, The Book'll have it." Silver
approached an old dusty rock that jutted out from the cavern's wall.
        "The Book?" Knuckles questionned still staring at the Chaos
Emerald.
        "Yeah, whenever there was a question I had about something, or
someone..., it always had an answer." Silver slid her hand across the
all. The rock started to glow with a white light as it started to roll
out of place. "Ugh." She cried as she fought the rock for the book.
        "Oof!" She tumbled backwards.
        "You okay?" Knuckles inquired, peering over Silver's shoulder. She
held a old leather bound, brown book.
        "Yup." She sighed. She let the book hit the ground with a thud.
"Hrmm..., statue, statue, statue..., here it is!" Silver cried with
excitment.
        Knuckles looked closer. "Huh?" He stared at the dusty old book
with weird characters arranged in some sort of writing style. "What the
hoo-haw is that?" He pointed towards the squiggly characters on the
age-stained pages.
        "Oh, that? That's Ancient Echidnian." Silver scanned the book.
"Hrm..., this is weird." Silver scrunched her face.
        "I'll say, how the heck can you read that?" Knuckles snorted.
Silver looked puzzled.
        "What's wrong?" Archimedes peered down.
        It starts to talk about the Emerald here, and then it jumps to
the island's history here." She pointed from one page to another.
        "Well, what does it say?" Knuckles questioned impatiently.
        "The FLiCKiE Bird statue is old and very sacred; to the FLiCKiE
Birds AND the Three-Toed race of Echidnas." Silver read out loud. "The
Emerald in it's head, which is a Chaos Emerald, is...," Silver trailed
off.
        "Is what?!" Knuckles cried.
        "Is this!" A husky voice yelled from behind as he shoved Knuckles
to the ground.
        "I dunno...," Silver continued, seemingly unaware of the
unexpected visitor. "It just stops, it's like someone or something ripped
out a page, it just doesn't make sense." Silver sighed
        "Yeah, what you'll be like in a minute. Ripped apart and won't
make sense." Nack growled as he threw a punch at Silver.
        "Uh, I don't think so." Silver turned around suddenly and grabbed
Nack's hand in mid-punch. She gripped it with anger and squeezed tightly.
        "Yeow!" Nack cried as he fell on his knees. "The boss never said
anything about this!" He squealed nervously. Silver clenched her hand
tighter around Nack's fist and heard it crunch. Nack whipped his other
hand around and whopped Silver in the side of her head with his brass
knuckles.
        "Oof!" Silver cried as she fell back in pain.
        Nack jumped around and swore as he cradled his hurt left hand.
        Knuckles stood up and charged him, but stopped up short when he
found himself facing down the barrel of one of Nack's guns.
        "Don't even," said the weasel.  As Silver stood back up, he looked
at her and said, "Don't you think of doing anything funny either or your
boyfriend here is toast."
        "I remember you," said Knuckles.  "Nack the Weasel.  Who let you
out of your cage?"
        "*I* did, echidna.  You didn't think those Freedom Fighters could
hold me for long, did you?"
        "Boo."
        Nack suddenly jerked forward.  Archimedes was on the back of his
head, biting down.  Knuckles, taking advantage of the situation, punched
the weasel out cold.
                                        ***
        Silver grabbed her head and cried out in pain. "Not this again, I
thought I solved this problem." She whirled around and around in her
mind, purple smoke distorting her vision. She saw a weasel, similar to
Nack, talking to the egg-shaped evil guy named, Robotnik. "Wait a sec!"
Silver slapped herself. "That is Nack!" The two seemed to be discussing
something, Silver couldn't make out what. The two shook hands and Nack
left. Robotnik laughed evilly as soon as the weasel was gone. "Now, I'll
be able to ..... and trick that weasel into ....... " Was all the words
that Silver could make out from Robotnik's evil laughing. Her head
throbbed with pain as she whirled backwards. Suddenly she was greeted by
The Ancient Walkers. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked.
        <>
        Their mouths didn't move but the words filled Slilver's head with
confusion. "More power than I think I have? Enemies closer? What are you
talking about?" Silver cried as she was flung back out of her mind into
real life.
                                        ***
        She woke up in Knuckles' arms.  He was looking down at her,
concern lining his face.  "Are you alright?" he asked.
        "I . . . think so," she answered.  She noticed Nack laying on the
floor a few feet away.  "I . . . saw him talking to that Robotnik guy."
        "We should've guessed," said Archimedes.  "This loser had been
hired by Robotnik to steal our island's emerald, too.  We got here just
in time to stop him from taking yours.  This is just more evidence that
FLiCKiE Island needs some kind of guardian now."
        "Well, the Freedom Fighters will be here soon, anyway," said
Knuckles.  He turned his attention back to Silver.  "Can you stand?"
        "Yah."  Silver stood up on wobbly legs.  Knuckles put an arm
around her to steady her.
        "So what do we do with him?" asked Knuckles.  He was pointing at
Nack.
        "Tie 'im up," said Archimedes.  "Then we pump him for
information."
                                        ***
        Nack's head felt like it was going to explode.  He tried to pop
his ears to equalize the pressure, but it didn't work.  He tried to reach
up and cradle his head in his hands, but it didn't work.  He tried to
move, but it didn't work.
        Full consciousness hit him like a cold towel.  He found himself
hanging upside down from a palm tree.
        "Wha-wh-wha-" he sputtered.
        Knuckles came into the weasel's line of vision.  "Now, Nack," the
echidna said.  "Who are you working for?"
        "I ain't tellin' you nothin'!" Nack slurred.  He felt too dizzy
from the blood filling his head to concentrate.  "Lemme down!"
        "Robotnik," Knuckles answered his own question.  "What did you
come here for?"
        "Bite me!"
        "The Chaos Emerald.  What is Robotnik going to do with the
emerald?"
        Nack couldn't concentrate.  Knuckles' repeated questions and the
blood rushing to his head and-
        "Archimedes," prompted Knuckles.  The fire ant came into view.  He
took in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then exhaled a plume of
fire right beside Nack's face.  Nack felt his face fur singing as sweat
started pouring down.
        "Who are you working for?" Knuckles asked again.
        "Nnnyyyyyrrrrgggh," said Nack.
        "Robotnik.  What did you come here for?"
        "Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh, . . . "
        "The Chaos Emerald.  What is Robo-"
        "ALRIGHT!  ALRIGHT!" yelled Nack.  "I'm working for Robotnik, I've
come for the emerald, and he wants to power his new EGG-02 with it!  Now
CUT ME DOWN!"
        "Archimedes," Knuckles prompted again.  Archy aimed his fire
stream at the rope on Nack's feet.  The bounty hunter fell to the ground
in a heap.
                                        ***
        "FLiCKY.  FLiCKY.  FLiCKY, FLiCKY."
        FLaBBo was walking back and forth in front of the statue, having
nothing else to do.  He tended to do this a lot, seeing as FLiCKiE birds
had little to do with their physical bodies.  All the interesting stuff
happened when they moved back into their own plane of existence.
        "FLiCKY, FLiCKY, FLiCKY.  FLiCKY."
        But, FLaBBo was stuck with guard duty.  This was just an honorary
position, really, since there wasn't much a FLiCKY Bird could do in its
physical state.  FLaBBo sometimes wondered just who was being honored.
        "FLiCKY, FLiCKY.  FLiCKY!  FLiCKY?"
        Someone or something was walking into the statue room.  FLaBBo
stopped pacing and waited to see what it was.
        Its eyes glowed red.  It looked around the chamber until its sight
set upon the Chaos Emerald set in the statue's forehead.  A burst of
light illuminated blue and silver metal as it flew up to the emerald.
        After prying the emerald loose, Mecha-Sonic said, "Mission
accomplished.  Chaos Emerald aquired.  Assessing chances of escape."
        Mecha-Sonic's eyes blazed as it looked at FLaBBo.  "Threat factor:
0.00%," he said.  "Initiating booster jet."
        FLaBBo watched helplessly as the mecha flew out with the green gem
in its hand.
        >>FLiCKY, . . . <<
        The deep voice made the entire chamber rumble.  FLaBBo made FLiCKY
sounds in terror, and ran into a hiding space as the statue came to life
and crashed out through the ceiling.
                                        ***
        Silver whirled around. "The Great FLiCKiE Bird!" She cried.
        "Huh?" Knuckles turned around, as did Archimedes.
        "Shinga!" Silver screamed as she tore through the bushes making
her way back to the statue. Panting, she ran through the cave. "FLaBBo?
FLaBBo! What happened to the statue?!"
        "FLiCKYFLiCKYFLiCKYFLiCKYFLiCKYFLiCKYFLiCKYFLiCKYFLiCKY!!" FlaBBo
cried in terror.
        "Oh no!" Silver gasped out the new sun-roof. Suddenly Silver fell
to her knees grasping her head. Things started to whirl around and around
again and again. She felt as if she was going to vomit, then she saw
something. A blue dot, a fast blue dot, whizzing through the sky, holding
the Chaos Emerald, FLiCKiE Island's Chaos Emerald, and a the giant FLiCKY
Bird statue flying through the sky after the thief. Silver remembered
reading something like a warning in The Book:
                "He who dares to take things that does not belong to him,
                        Shall be punished,
                Unless the rightful thing has been returned."
Well it was a rough translation, but you get the picture. Silver regained
consciousness and began running back and forth in panic.
        "FLiCKY!! FLiCKY?!" FLaBBo cried impatiently.
        "I don't know FLaBBo." Silver yelped as she took to the sky. She
soared through the air with ease. She soon caught up to the FLiCKY Birds
who had flown after the giant statue. "Argh! If I could just gain a little
more speed." Silver strained as she increased her speed. She had no sooner
caught up to the giant flying statue, when lasers started to shoot from
all directions at her. "ACK!" She cried.
                                        ***
        "Just great," grumbled Knuckles.  "This is the last thing we
need."
        Up in the air above him and Archimedes, there was Silver, the
Great FLiCKiE Bird, a flock of smaller FLiCKiEs, Mecha-Sonic, and the
Dark Legion.  Knuckles climbed up the wall and flew up to help Silver.
Archimedes disappeared in a puff of smoke.
        Seemingly, Silver didn't need all that much help.  The Great
FLiCKiE Bird had caught up with Mecha-Sonic and had him wrapped up in his
talons.  The Dark Legion's hovercrafts were having trouble navigating
through the flock of FLiCKiEs.  By the time Knuckles had reached them,
things seemed to be well in hand.
        Until, however, Mecha-Sonic said, "Warning, Warning, this unit has
been attacked.  You have five seconds to surrender.  Five . . . four . .
. three . . . "
        >>FLiCKY!<< rumbled the Great FLiCKiE Bird.
        "Threat value has risen.  Countdown aborted.  Attacking . . .
NOW!"
        One of the huge statue's legs was severed by Mecha-Sonic's arm
laser.  A Dark Legion hovercraft was hit inadvertantly, and it fell
towards the island.
        "This is Kragok of the Dark Legion," Kragok's voice boomed over a
loudspeaker.  "I demand you to stand down."
        Knuckles glided over to Silver and clung on to her to stay aloft.
        "Doesn't look like yer in too good of a posistion to be giving orders,
Krag!" he yelled.
        Mecha-Sonic had severed the Great FLiCKiE's other leg.  Free to
act, he darted around as the statue pecked at him.
        >>FLiCKY!<< the statue yelled in frustration.
        "Whadda we do?" Knuckles asked Silver.
        "I dunno," she said.  She was watching the fight between
Mecha-Sonic and the statue.  "I'd say we are severely outnumbered."
        "What about your magic?"
        "The FLiCKiE birds cause a slight disruption in my magic," Silver
said sadly.  "I'm lucky to be able to fly while they're around!  If I try
anything, I might fry the Legion and the blue robot, but I might just fry
us and the FLiCKiEs too!"
        "That's IT!" yelled Kragok in frustration..  "Shoot all of the
birds!  Get them OUT OF THE WAY!"
        "NO!!!" Silver screamed in terror. "If you *DARE* harm one feather
on their bodies, I can guarantee you'll never have a chance of marrying me
Kragok!"
        "Well, well, well, looks like we've found Silver's weakness: The
FLiCKY Birds. Hold your fire!" Kragok commanded. "Silver, if you surrender
you hand in marriage to me, I'll save the FLiCKY Birds."
        Silver thought for a moment. "Shinga, I shoulda kept my big mouth
shut." She whispered.
        Then the statue seemed to fly downwards, after a falling
Mecha-Sonic. Then the FLiCKY Birds followed. Silver dived after them.
Mecha-Sonic let go of the Chaos Emerald, and Silver caught it.
        "Good catch Silver!" Archimedes said.
        "Aiee!" Silver jumped and almost dropped the Chaos Emerald. "Now I
know what Knuckles is talking about.
        >>FLiCKY!<< The statue boomed realizing Silver had the Chaos
Emerald.
        Silver glided up to the bird's head. "There you go," she sighed.
"Go back now before things get worse." Silver pointed as the giant statue
glided down towards where it came from.
        "Now that that's over," Silver sighed.
        "Uh, not so fast Silver. We still have The Dark Legion to deal
with." Archimedes gasped as he watched The Dark Legion and Knuckles.
        "Crud." Silver muttered.
                                        ***
        Knuckles was making a desparate gamble that the Leigon wouldn't
try to shoot at him in fear of incurring Silver's magical wrath.  A
desparate gamble since her magic wouldn't work for him up among the
FLiCKiE birds.  He was gliding around the hovercrafts, trying to get in
close enough to do some damage without a Legion member grabbing him.
        The FLiCKiE birds that hadn't followed the statue after Mecha-
Sonic were getting in his and the Legion's way.  He dodged around until he
accidently ran into -
        "Kragok!"  He and the Legion's leader almost fell off of the
hovercraft.  They regained their balance and started grappling with each
other.
        Knuckles heard Silver yelling something in the background, but
couldn't tell what it was.  He was able to hear it clearly when she
suddenly started screaming in the FLiCKiE bird language.
        All of the remaining FLiCKiE birds dived down after the main
flock.  The confusion cause by this sent some of the Dark Legion's
hovercraft spinning out of control.  The air was filled with cries of
"FLiCKY!  FLiCKY!" and "Pull up!  Pull up!"
                                        ***
        "What did you say?" asked Archimedes from Silver's shoulder.
        "I said, 'Free lime jewels in the statue chamber.'  No FLiCKiE
bird that I know of can resist them," said Silver.
        "And when did you learn the FLiCKiE language?"
        "When you've lived 16 years with the FLiCKiE birds to keep you company,
you learn a few things.  Let's go help Knuckles."
                                        ***
        Mecha-Sonic hit the ground hard.  He came to in a four foot deep
crater.
        "Systems check," he said.  "Working . . . . . . Done.  Systems in
workable order, excepting the radio system.  Unable to request course of
action from base."
        "Well, well, well," said a voice.  "Lookee what we have here.  One
of the boss's toys, huh?  You'll come in handy.  Stand up."
        "Voice recognition program running . . . . . Done.  Voice ident:
Nack T. Weasel, 4.67% chance error."
        "Yah, it's me, ya bucket of bolts!" said Nack.  "Now get up."
        Mecha-Sonic didn't move.  "Considering . . . . . . . done.  In
absence of other power figures - i.e., Robotnik and Snively - and
considering Nack T. Weasel is currently under their employ, this unit has
decided to follow the bounty hunter until another course of action is
presented."
        "Yah, yah, yah," said Nack.  "Hurry up!"
        Mecha-Sonic lifted himself out of the crater and looked down at
the hog-tied bounty hunter.  "First order?"
        "Whadda ya think, bolts?" Nack said impatiently.  "Cut me loose!"
                                        ***
        "NO!" Silver cried as one of the hooded figures aimed his laser
at Knuckles. Silver dove and attacked the figure. Struggles and cries of
pain, then a gun shot. Silver's eyes closed as she fell backwards off the
hovercraft and down towards the island.
        "Silver!" Knuckles cried.
        "My Queen!" Kragok yelped. The was a moment of gasps and shock. Then a
coarse voice ripped the air. "What are you standing there for? Get her!
QUICKLY!" Kragok snapped in the middle of his struggle.
        Silver fell, the air rippling through her braids. She was only ten feet
away from hitting the island when a blue swirling hole opened up and
swallowed Silver. The Dark Legion stopped suddenly in amazement. It was
almost as if Silver had vanished in thin air.
                                        ***
        Silver woke up, with a pain in her chest. She rubbed her stomach, stood
up and yawned. She looked around. She was standing on The Floating Island.
She was confused: last place that she could remember she had been was
FLiCKiE Island, battling The Dark Legion with Knuckles. "Knuckles!" She
cried. Then stood terrified of the voice she had heard escape her mouth.
The voice was pure, a solid, and reassuring, unlike her normal voice which
was kind of high-pitched and whiney. She grasped her throat and peered
into a nearby pond. She jumped. Her previously wild bangs had calmed down
and her braids were longer and neatly tied back. Her grey baby-tee had
grown into a purple shirt. She wore a light blue jacket over top of the
shirt, and her bell-bottoms had changed into nicely fiting navy blue
jeans. She gasped in horror and back away. The only thing she slightly
reconized was her Doc Martins.
        "You alright? I heard you call my name a few mintues ago." A tall,
older Knuckles emerged from the bushes. She gasped. Knuckles was a cutie
before but this guy was a total hunk-o-rama, he stole the cake. Silver
just stood there staring at Knuckles in astonishment. His dreadlocks were
long, his fur was a deep red and his crescant was pure white. He wore the
same gloves that Knuckles did, only larger. He looked almost like a older
version of Knuckles.
        "Who- Who are you?" Silver stuttered.
        The older version of Knuckles looked suspiciously for a moment.
"I'm  Knuckles, your husband, the father of your two kids. are you sure
your okay?" He looked concerned as he approached her.
        "K-k-kids?" Silver stuttered.
        "Here, come with me." Knuckles sighed with concern lining his
face. "I think you need to rest. That search in finding yourself has
must've tired you out." Knuckles wrapped his arm around her waist as they
walked.
        "But, my clothes..., what happened to my bell-bottoms and grey
baby-tee?" She yelped.
        "Why Silver, you haven't dressed like that for over ten years now."
Knuckles chuckled.
        "What year *IS* it?" Silver gasped
        "3249 of course." He chuckled.
        "But just a few minutes ago it was 3235." She gasped. How could
she have lost fourteen years so quickly. Well that would atleast explain
her different voice, clothes and her children; she was 30 years old.
Hrmmm..., she thought to herself. I wonder what they look like.
        Knuckles looked concerned. "I think you might need a doctor." He
sighed.
        Silver looked up.  "N-no," she said.  She smiled lightly.
"Everything is fine.  Everything is just . . . fine."
                                        ***
        >>FLiCKY, . . . <<
        The Great FLiCKiE bird looked down at its ruined feet.  The metal
one had done quite a job on the statue.  All it could do now was sit
there and look at its stumps.
        >>FLiCKY?<<
        The statue looked up.  Something in the air was wrong.  It
extended its senses around, but couldn't exactly place a feather on what
it was.  Something strange, something that tickled the great bird's
senses, but something just out of rea-
        >>FLiCKY!!!<<
        The Great FLiCKiE Bird tried to rise up on its feet, but couldn't,
having no feet to stand on.
        >>FLiCKY!  FLiCKYFLiCKYFLiCKY!!!!!<< it thundered, but to no
avail.  Nack clambered up the helpless bird and plucked the Chaos Emerald
from its resting place.
        "I'll take that, thank you very much," said the weasel.  He and
the metal one left, leaving behind a saddened statue that saw what was
coming, but was helpless to prevent it.
        The statue was so engrossed in its own thoughts that it failed to
notice the firefight in the sky above.
                                        ***
        "Not too friendly, are they?" said Archimedes.  He was on
Knuckles' shoulder, involuntarily ducking as laser fire went past.
        The red echidna, meanwhile, was busy gliding around the Dark
Legion's shots and hovercraft.  "Great time for Silver to duck out on
us!" he yelled.  "I thought she cleared the FLiCKiEs to get 'em out of
the way AND to get a clear shot at the Legion!"
        "She still has problems with her magic, Knux," Archimedes yelled
back.  "Who knows what's happening to her?"
                                        ***
        "Knux!  Get down!"
        Silver jumped back into a bush and tried to drag Knuckles with
her.  Knuckles just looked at the hand on his arm in confusion.
        "What are you doing?" he asked.
        "Dark Legionnaires!  Everywhere!" she said, and pulled harder.
        Knuckles looked out at the small city.  It was similar to what the
ancient Echidnopolis had looked like, almost exactly like Knuckles has
detailed it to Silver, just at a smaller scale.  And walking along the
streets and sidewalkes were Dark Legion members - without their black
cloaks - their cybernetic parts gleaming in the sunlight.
        "Yes," Knuckles said finally.  "So?"
        Silver stood up out of the bushes.  "What do you mean, 'SO'?"
        "I mean, 'so what?'  The Dark Legion - and they don't like being
called that anymore, remember - have been here for the past 28 years.
Are you sure you don't want to see a doctor?"
        "Uh, I'm fine." She looked around nervously.
        "Come on, the faster we get you home, the better." Knuckles sighed
and wrapped his arm around Silver.
        "Yeah." Silver sighed nervously glancing at the passing Dark
Legion members. She gasped as she watched an older version of Kragok walk
by.
        "My Queen," he sighed. He looked her up and down as he bowed and
continued on his way. Knuckles grumbled something about being years ago,
but Silver couldn't make it out. Silver held onto Knuckles a little
tighter.
        "Well, I see she's back." Archimedes sighed looking at Knuckles.
"How was your trip?" He sighed looking at a surprised Silver.
        "Uh, fine." Silver said staring at an slightly wrinkling fire-ant,
identical to Archimedes.
        "Here we go." Knuckles sighed as they walked through what seemed
to be an invisible door of some sort. Knuckles and Silver walked in,
removed their shoes and looked around. The room was completely covered in
computers, cameras and television screen that showed pictures of echidnas
walking by.
        "Mommy!! Mommy!!" two voice screamed as the tore through a dark
hallway. Silver bent down instinctivly to catch the two speeding
echidnas. A boy, that looked to be six, was identical to Knuckles; and a
girl, that looked to be four, was identical to Silver. "These must be the
kids, our kids," she thought to herself.
        Knuckles smiled. "It's so good to have you back, Mommy. We missed
you." The boy rambled.
        "Look what I did, Mommy." The girl held up a painting.
        "Oh, very pretty...," Silver sighed. She felt like she was truly
home, even though she wasn't.
        "Kayla-La and Aristotle, you better get ready." Knuckles grinned.
        "Ready for what, Daddy?" Kayla-La inquired.
        "You know." Aristotle elbowed Kayla-La.
        "Hey," Kayla-La pushed Aristotle.
        "Eh, come break it up you two." Silver separated the two pushing
echidnas. Silver smiled. "What's the special event that we have to get
ready for?" Silver questionned.
        "It's--" Kayla-La started but was cut off by Knuckles glove to the
mouth. "Mophe bithmpths phey" Kayla-La muffled.
        "That's for us to know, and you to eventually find out." Knuckles
snickered as he motioned the kids along.
        "Oh?" Silver smiled slyly and stood up. The kids exited the room.
Silver rubbed her fingers on Knuckles chest.
        "Uh, I think I better get ready too." Knuckles said nervously,
thinking he might spill the secret.
        "Oh okay." Silver smiled and sat on a comfortable chair. She
smiled to herself, then let herself float back into her memories. "What
was the other Knuckles doing now?" She thought to herself.
                                        ***
        "What are you doing now?" asked Archimedes.
        "How should I know?" replied Knuckles.  "I'm playing it by ear
here!"  The Dark Legion was directly behind them and gaining quickly.
Knuckles was weaving around, seemingly with no direction or plan.
        "Plan?" asked Archimedes.  "Plan?  PLAN?"
        "Workin' on it, workin' on it," Knuckles mumbled.  " . . . GOT IT!
Okay, Archy, hold on!  We're in for a slightly rocky ride!"
        "What're you talki-AAAAAAH!"  Archimedes was cut off when Knuckles
turned his glide into a nosedive.  The Dark Legionnaires, prefering to
face death over their leader's wrath, nosed their hovercraft to follow in
mimicry of the flying echidna's bold move.
        "Pull up!" yelled Archimedes as they crashed toward the jungle
treetops below.  "Pull up!"
        "Just a few more seconds, Archy!  Just a few more- now!"
        The green leaves were suddenly replaced by blue sky.  The echidna
and fire ant could hear the multiple explosions of Dark Legion
hovercrafts that weren't able to pull up in time.
        "Next time you try that," gasped Archimedes, "remind me to put my
seat belt on!"
        "Duly noted," said Knuckles.  "Let's get out of here before the
survivors come after us."
                                        ***
        "Requesting course of action."
        "What do you think, bolts?" said Nack.  "RUUUUN!!!!!"
        "Course of action noted," replied Mecha-Sonic.  "Implementing
now."  The mecha lit up its booster pack and prepared to run off ahead of
Nack.
        "Not without me, ya don't!" the bounty hunter yelled as he grabbed
Mecha-Sonic by the arm.  The two of them blasted off as the Great FLiCKiE
Bird flew behind them.
        "Aw, man," grumbled Nack.  "Isn't this where you came in, anyway?
What's that crazy statue gonna do now?"
        "Reading high energy signature, bearing 180, 0," said the mecha.
        "Really?" said Nack.  "But that would place it directly . . . "
His eyes widened as realization hit him.  " . . . right behind US!!!
Faster!"
        Suddenly, the FLiCKiE Statue exploded in a flash of green light.
Nack and Mecha-Sonic were able to stay ahead of the explosion.
        "*Whew*," breathed Nack.  "We made it!  Now, I -"
        <<**FLiCKY**>>
        "Uh-oh."
        Nack looked back.  Instead of the giant statue following them,
they now had a very big, very bright, very angry ball of energy shaped
like an enormous FLiCKiE bird bearing down on them.
                                        ***
        Silver sighed as she leaned back in the comfortable chair, lost in
her thoughts. She thought she heard faint scratching of some sort - but
ignored it.
        "Happy Birfday Mommy!" Kayla-La cried in excitment.
        "It ain't her birthday you dork," Aristotle said smacking her on
the head.
        Knuckles chuckled to himself. Silver whirled around in
astonishment. In the far end of the hallway, there was a table. It was
glowing a beautiful white light. She approached it. On the table was a
cake saying: To Mommy, Lots of Love Kayla-La, Aristotle and Knuckles.
Silver started to wonder what this was all about when she saw a little
plastic white stork standing upon the cake, with a little blue towel
hanging out of it's mouth. Silver gasped in amazement. Somehow she
remembered seeing that somewhere - it meant something special was going
to happen soon. She couldn't place what the symbol meant though. She
racked her brain hard and long until she found the answer.
        "A baby?" She cried.
        "Yes," Knuckles said half proudly and half concerned. "Don't you
remember? Our nights. Your test. The results?" He grinned and pulled her
close. She looked into his big brown eyes and kissed him deeply.
        "Ooooooh. Mommy and Daddy are kissing!" The little girl giggled.
        "Shhhh!" The boy hushed her.
        "Well then, should we celebrate?" Knuckles pulled back and
motioned towards the cake.
        "Yeah!" The two kids screamed in unison
        "Well then let's get started." He grinned.
        Silver felt a rush oh joy, then of the same tingling feeling of
when she had first met Knuckles. She closed her eyes and leaned back
against the wall enjoying the sensation, as it ran through her whole
body. She had never felt so good in her whole entire life. She sighed.
        Suddenly, she fell backwards.  "Wha-" she said as she bumped down
on the ground.  "Knuckles?  What happened?"  She opened her eyes and
looked around.
        Instead of the kitchen of her house, she was sitting in the middle
of a crater.  She stood up and inspected it.  The crater seemed to rather
old.  I was half refilled with dirt and the walls stood almost four feet
high.  Silver clambered over the edges and looked at the scene outside
the crater.
        It was all as desolate as the hole had been.  Everything - the
trees, the buildings, the people - was gone.  Silver felt her heart skip
a beat.  "No . . . " she sighed.
        She twirled around and yelled, "Knuckles!"
        "Yes?" said Knuckles.  "What is it?"
        Silver found herself back in the kitchen.  Her family was looking
at her with worried expressions on their faces.
        "I- I- " she stammered.  "I- I think I'll go see the doctor now,"
she said just before she fainted.
                                        ***
        "That was a close one!" gasped Nack as the Great FLiCKiE Bird
lashed energy all around him and Mecha-Sonic.  "If it had come just one
inch closer . . . "
        "Changing tactics," said Mecha-Sonic.  "New air vector angle:  45
degrees."
        Nack yelled as the mecha turned upward and shot of into the sky
with him.
                                        ***
        Silver's head spun. Though she had fainted, it felt as if she was
still awake. She whirled around and around, spinning constantly.
        "Noooooo!" Her father's cries ripped through her memory. The pain
in those cries, felt like someone's heart had been ripped out - and it
had; not literally though.
        The pool of blood her father's cold body had left behind, when she
was two seeped into her brain, like a sponge absrobing water.
        Silver's body quaked, as she started to have a seizure. Knuckles
by this time had already taken her to the doctor - and was glad he did
when this started to happen.
        "What's wrong?" Knuckles cried in panic.
        "Mommy?" Kayla-La uttered a soft cry.
        "Take your sister and wait in the waiting room." Knuckles ordered.
        "But-" Aristotle started to protest.
        "Now!" Knuckles snarled. The two left the room with sad
expressions.
        "It's seems to me she's suffering from Compressed Memory Overload"
Dr. Quack's fragile body shuddered.
        "Say what?" Knuckles snapped.
        "All these years, she's been compressing her memories. Bad, good -
who knows? All I know is somehow we have to relieve the pressure or her
brain will overload."
        "What happens then?" Knuckles asked holding the shaking Silver
down.
        "Well with her magical powers - boom!"
        "Boom?" Knuckles echoed.
        "Boom!" Dr. Quack confirmed. "I can give her a stabilizer. It
isn't much, but it should stop her harming herself anymore than she
already has."
        "Well what are you *WAITING* for? How do we relieve the pressure."
        "I - I - dunno." Dr. Quack sighed injecting Silver's arm with a
clear fluid. Her eyes fluttered and then shut. She stopped shaking -
however, her mind didn't stop spinning. Around and around she went,
continously whirling. Blood flowing. Screams echoing. Silver's memories
washing upon her like an ocean wave eating away at the sand.
                                        ***
        Quack was getting too old for this.
        He had been in the medical profession for almost forty years now,
and almost all of that time had been one crisis after another.  First,
the birth of Princess Sally Acorn, in which Sally's mother had become very ill.
Then, the Great War had started, and his hospital had been swamped with
injured soldiers.  Then, Robotnik had taken over, and that was a crisis
all on its own, medicine aside.  Then it was a long string of medical
problems that had kept him on his toes until Robotnik's banishment just
ten years ago. Then Quack had moved his hospital here to the Floating
Island where something was always going wrong with the Dark Legi- sorry,
the "neo-echidnas'" cybernetic systems.  And now, this.
        "Give her fourty CCs of cordrazene!  Clear a path people!"  He was
yelling down the hallway of the New Echidnopolis Medical Center as the
crowds of neo-echidnas parted for him, his patient, and the group of
doctors and nurses helping him.  He lowered his voice as he bent over
Silver and said, "Don't worry, honey, everything is going to be just
fine."
        "Mnnrrghrrraaaannni", was all Silver could get out.
        Five minutes after he had given Silver the stabilizing drug in
hers and Knuckles' kitchen, she had gone into convulsions.  He had
radioed in an ambulance and transported her over here to the NEMC, and she
had fortunatly calmed down a little.
        Still, that condition might change at any moment.
        "I said MOVE, people!" Quack thundered.  People started moving out
of the way a little faster than before, suprised by the sudden booming
voice coming out of the old, skinny duck.
        Quack looked back down at Silver and held her hand, trying to
comfort her.  "Don't worr-"
        Everything was gone.  Quack stopped rolling the hospital bed
Silver was on and looked around.  The hospital, the trees, the . . .
well, the EVERYthing on the Floating Island was gone!  The land was
scarred, arid, and red.  There were no clouds in the blood red sky.  All
of the nurses, doctors, and patients were gone.  The strange landscape was
empty except for Silver, Dr. Quack, and the hospital bed.
        "Nooooo . . . " Silver mumbled.  "Not again . . . "  She squeezed
her eyes tight and started crying.  Dr. Quack stared out at the dry,
cracked ground in dumbfounded confusion.
        Suddenly, it was all back again.  Dr. Quack was pulled forward as
the bed started moving again, pushed by the nurses and and other doctors.
        Quack looked down Silver, who had passed out again.
        I am WAY too old for this, he thought to himself.
                                        ***
        Kayla-La sats quietly beside her brother, on the uncomfortable
plastic chairs. "Is Mommy gonna be alright?" She questionned.
        "I dunno." Aristotle replied.
        "Where's she goin'?"
        "I *don't* know." Aristotle grumbled.
        "What's happening to her?"
        "Listen, I'm not the doctor. I don't have any answers okay?!"
        Kayla-La burst into tears. I heard the nurse saying she's never seen
something like this before. She doesn't think Mommy will make it!!" Kayla-La
screeched. People turned around with concerned faces, and sympathetic eyes.
        "Shhh...," Aristotle hushed his little sister. "It's gonna be okay."
She soothed her tears and stroked her braids. But in his own mind he had his
doubts. He remembered being a baby, his mother was always there, usually
accompanied by his father. Everynight, she would stroke his dreadlocks and
sing him a lullaby:
                (chanting)
                "Hayla hayla yahe heya yahea heyahh hega,
                Hayla hayla yahe heya yahea heyahh hega,
                (singing, high notes)
                Steady as the beating drum singing to the cedar flute,
                Seasons go and seasons come,
                Bring the corn and bear the fruit,
                By the water sweet and deep where the mighty sturgeon lives,
                Plant the squash and reap the bean,
                All the earth our mother giiiives,
                Oh Great Spirits here our song,
                Help us the ancient ways,
                Keep the sacred fires strong,
                Walk in balance all our days,
                Seasons go and seasons come,
                Steady as the beating drum,
                Come to see butchu ba,
                Steady as the beating drum,
                (chanting)
                Hayla hayla yahee heya yahea heyahh hega,
                Hayla hayla yahee heya yahea heyahh hega,
                Hayla hayla yahee heya yahea heyahh hega
                Hayla hayla yahee heya yahea heyahh hega,
                Hega,
                Hega,
                Hega,
                Hega,
                Hega...."
        The words echoed through his mind, and slowly reassured him
everything would be okay. Almost in telepathy, Kayla-La began to slowly
utter the same. They slowly began to softly sing the lullaby, both
reassuring themselves, everything would be okay.
                                        ***
        Silver mind went whirling again, whirling into the past. The
fire's flames flickering as the ocean surrounding FLiCKiE Island kissing
the cool night sky. The ceremony began, the night the Three-Toes had found
a new home. They began.
                "Hayla hayla yahe heya yahea heyahh hega,
                Hayla hayla yahe heya yahea heyahh hega,
                (singing, high notes)
                Steady as the beating drum singing to the cedar flute,
                Seasons go and seasons come,
                Bring the corn and bear the fruit,
                By the water sweet and deep where the mighty sturgeon lives,
                Plant the squash and reap the bean,
                All the earth our mother giiiives...,"
        Silver's memory went whirling into the future again, her father was
sitting on the edge of the bed, softly singing her to sleep. He softly sighed:
                Oh Great Spirits here our song,
                Help us the ancient ways,
                Keep the sacred fires strong,
                Walk in balance all our days,
                Seasons go and seasons come,
                Steady as the beating drum,
                Come to see butchu ba,
                Steady as the beating drum,
                (chanting)
                Hayla hayla yahee heya yahea heyahh hega,
                Hayla hayla yahee heya yahea heyahh hega,
                Hayla hayla yahee heya yahea heyahh hega
                Hayla hayla yahee heya yahea heyahh hega,
                Hega,
                Hega,
                Hega,
                Hega,
                Hega...."
        She slept with those words forever echoing through her dreams. She
began to sing reassuringly to herself the same words that had been passed
down through her family for years.
                                        ***
        Doctor Quack leaned down to listen to Silver.  She was whispering
the some sort of song, and the doctor couldn't make out most of the words.
        They had placed Silver in the ICU to keep an eye on her in case
her condition worsened.  Quack had not left her side since that time.
Ever since Quack had moved up to the Floating Island, he had formed a
tight bond with Knuckles and his family.  The duck had never felt all that
comfortable around the neo-echidna populace, even though he realized that
they needed his medical expertise.
        This bond was the reason Quack had gone out to check on Silver
personally, and why he sat with her now.  He leaned closer to Silver and
took her hand to comfort her.
        It happened again.  Where their had been pastel hospital walls and
potted plants, there was nothing but red desert.  The only thing other
than rocks dotting the landscape was Quack's chair and Silver's bed.
        "Oh, great," muttered Quack.
        Silver sat up and screamed.  Quack's doctor instincts kicked in
and he immediately started calming her down.  She stopped screaming, but
still looked like she was scared witless.  Her eyes were wide and her skin
turned a paler shade of white than her fur.  She turned her head and
looked at Dr. Quack.
        "I- I-" she stuttered.  "I- I need your h-help, d-doctor."
        "I think I need some help myself!" said Quack as he looked around.
        "What kind of help?"
        "I need to go b-back and h-help, b-but I can't d-do it al-alone."
        "Go back?  Go back where?"
        "N-not where, d-doctor, . . . w-when."
        Quack's jaw fell open.  "'WHEN'?  What are you talking about?"
        Silver ran a hand through her hair.  "I-I'm not sure I kn-know all
the details m-myself.  Y-you just have to t-take my word f-for it."
        "Uh . . . is this going to hurt?"
        "N-not at all, d-doctor.  H-hold on."
                                        ***
        "'Get the emerald' he says.  'I'll pay you a fourtune' he says.
'It'll be the easiest job in the world' he says.  'There's nothing but
harmless little birds on the island' he says.  What did HE know?"
        Nack had been grumbling to himself almost constantly for the past
ten minutes.  Even now, hanging on to Mecha-Sonic's leg, in between
Knuckles and Freedom Fighter troops and a killer ball of FLiCKYing energy,
with almost no hope for escape, he was grumbling to himself.
        Mecha-Sonic was just hanging there in the air, turned inward.  He
didn't seem to be paying attention to anything but his own little
universe.  Nack has given up on trying to order him to blast out of there.
        The Freedom Fighters were standing on the beach, training laser
guns on the hovering mecha and weasel.  Knuckles and Sonic were talking to
each other.
        "What do we do now?" said Sonic.  "They've got the emerald, so we
don't dare shoot."
        "Why not?" asked Knuckles.
        "I dunno, really," Sonic admitted.  "Sally and Rotor told me about
it one time, but I wasn't really paying attention.  Something about the
emerald redirecting the laser energy."
        "You didn't bring any regular guns?" asked Knuckles
disbelievingly.
        "Hey, Red, we didn't expect to need ANY guns!"
        "Great, just great.  Now what?"
        "That's what *I* said."
        "Well," said Knuckles as he looked up, "what's the Great FLiCKiE
bird doing?"
        "Y'mean that green stuff?" asked Sonic.  "Nothing right at the
moment.  Just . . . sitting there."
        <<**FLiCKY**>>
        "Or maybe I spoke too soon!" amended Sonic.  "DOWN!" he yelled to
the other Freedom Fighters.
        The FLiCKiE energy started swirling above the mecha and Nack.  It
became a huge green vortex of energy.  Out of the vortex came two figures
who landed softly on the sand.
                                        ***
        "Radio repaired, functioning at 100%," intoned Mecha-Sonic.
        "What?" said Nack.
        "Opening commlink to Robotropolis Command.  Requesting orders."
        "Oh, jeez," muttered Nack.  If the mecha was getting in touch with
Robotnik, who knew what might happen?
        "Orders recieved," Mecha-Sonic finally said.  "Integrating Chaos
Emerald into main power matrix."  He opened up a panel on his back and
started to work on the parts inside.
        Nack cursed and let go of the mecha's leg.  He rolled with the
fall as he hit the sand, then started running for the ocean, shouting,
"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"
        Sonic and Knuckles glanced at Nack, then at each other.  In
unspoken agreement, they both ran for the two figures that had fallen from
the vortex, which was now funneling into Mecha-Sonic.
        With in seconds, the entire beach was clear.  The Freedom Fighters
had either run into the jungle or out into the ocean with Nack.  Sonic and
Knuckles had run into the jungle, carrying Dr. Quack and Silver Star.
       Silver breathed in a breath of fresh salty FLiCKiE Island air. She
looked own to see her normal black bell-bottoms and grey baby-tee. "I-I-'m
home! I'm ack in my own time!!" She cried happily as she lept from
Knuckles's arms.  Knuckles stood confused for a moment, staring at
the cartwheeling Silver
        Dr. Quack took a minute to examine his surrounding and his body. He
was young again - he couldn't believe it! He had somehow travelled into the
pat.
        Silver ran up and hugged Knuckles. "Oooh, it's so good to be back.
Knuckles's face was painted with puzzlement. "I saw you fall through a
something in the sky, where did you go?" He questionned with a deep
curiousity.
        "Uhm, into the future?" Silver said unsure of herself.
        "Quite precisely." Dr. Quack surprised himself with his younger less
husker voice.
        "Uhm, did I miss something? How did you get here Dr. Quack? You were
just back at KnotHole when we left." Sonic's face was lined with confusion.
        "It's a looooong story." Silver sighed prepraring herself to explain
everything - well almost everything. Fifteen minutes later, after the story,
Sonic and Knuckles's faces were still lined with confusion.
        "The Dark Legion?" Knuckles questionned with disbelief.
        "Uh-huh." Silver confirmed.
        "The future??" Sonic pondered as Dr. Quack nodded his head in agreement.
        "From what Silver's explained to me, or from what *SHE* knows,
something is happening right now that could alter the future of all of
Mobius - forever!" Dr. Quack sighed.
        "What's happening? How can we change it?" Sonic immediately asked.
        "I-I'm not sure..." Dr. Quack trailed off looking at Silver, who put
her head down.
        "You mean Mobius as in The Floating Island too?" Knuckles said
concerned.
        "Everything...," Silver confirmed.
        "Well, let's look at the simple things first. Dr. Quack you tell me
if you remember if they were supposed to happen or not." Knuckles sighed.
Dr. Quack nodded his head.
        "Uhm, okay simple things first...," Knuckles looked in the air
thinking. "Was *THAT* supposed to happen?" Knuckles pointed at a flying
robot being chased by a Giant FLiCKiE Bird statue.
        "From what I've learned, yes." The conversation continued Knuckles
examining every possible detail or event that has happened. Silver stomach
began to churn, if they didn't find the source of the problem soon she was
going to be sick. The conversation seemed to never end; until Knuckles had
run out of all possible answers.
        "I dunno, I just dunno." Knuckles shook his head.
        "Well maybe it's not what *EVENT* took place, but *HOW* the event
turned out." Sonic sighed, using his brains for once in his lifetime.
Knuckles looked surprised.
        "What? Didn't think I had any brains did ya?" Sonic grinned as his
ego inflated. "Yup, that's me, the fastest and one of the smartest." Sonic
dusted himself in pride..
        Knuckles opened his mouth to say something, but considered it best
not to since he had more important things to deal with. "Well the only thing
I can think of that might have some possible different turn out is that battle."
        Silver snapped her fingers. "Yea! But I still don't understand what
happened to me in the future and why the condition didn't stay when I came
back?" Silver's face became lined with utter confusion.
        "You were suffering from a sort of compacted memory build up that
was distorting your powers and harming yourself; almost like a living
organic atomic bomb. I don't know why it didn't continue, it must have
something to do with this battle and the turn out. Something must've
happened that made you want to bury this memory so deep inside of yourself
it caused a memory overload." Dr. Quack scratched his beak while pondering.
        Silver pouted for a minute. "Well whatever wasn't supposed to happen
that happened anyway, ain't gonna happen now, right?" She looked for
reassurance in Knuckles face.
        "Right," he agreed.
        Silver looked into his eyes and smiled. She had revealed most of
what she saw in the future, but not everything: not the marriage, not the
children, and a few other things she wanted to surpirse him with later on in
life. She didn't want to ruin everything, because she knew if he knew what
was supposed to happen, he might feel overwhelmed and the future may not
turn out that way. Though Silver knew, if she could just keep her mouth shut
this one time, and she would, the future hopefully would come true.
        "Hey, guys!"  Sonic yelled.  "Heads up!  Mecha-Sonic is doin'
somethin'!"
                                        ***
        Malfunction windows were popping up everywhere in the mecha's line
of view.  His motor functions started to force his arms and legs to gyrate
wildly, and he felt something trying to rewrite the programming stored in
his head.
        A warm feeling covered his hull, and through all of the
malfunction signs, Mecha-Sonic could see that he was changing from his
normal metallic blue color to a bright gold.
        Everything went dark as the last of his programming was remade by
the Chaos Emerald in his energy chamber.
                                        ***
        "Well, whadda we do?" asked Knuckles.
        "How should *I* know?" asked Sonic.  "I'VE never had to deal with
anything like this!"
        "Has that ever stopped you before?"
        Sonic screwed his face up.  "Come to think of it," he said, "no.
Let's go."
        Sonic and Knuckles burst out of the bushes as the now-gold mecha
fell crashing to the beach.  Sonic reached him first and started a sand
tornado to confuse the mecha's sensors.  Knuckles glided forward, planning
to take Mecha-Sonic by suprise and smash his head in.
        Before Knuckles was able to even get near the two Sonics, however,
a blast of yellow light flew out of the sand tornado in all directions.
The two Mobians went flying back into the bush.
        Mecha-Sonic stood there, laughing.  He lifted his arms to the sky
and screamed, "*WHO-ARE-YOU?*"
                                        ***
        "I tried to stop 'em," said Silver, "but they went too fast.
Quick, Dr. Quack, we have to get to them before they try that again!"
        Quack nodded and ran off to find Sonic.  Silver ran to Knuckles
and helped him up.
        "Whur- happen?" Knuckles mumbled.
        "You almost got killed!" said Silver.  "Now listen, you have to
stay back or Mecha-Sonic will kill you for real in this battle.  I have to
take him on myself."
        Knuckles' eyes grew wide as what Silver said registered.  "No!" he
said.  "What if THAT is what changed the future for the worse?
Mecha-Sonic could kill you, take your power just like he did with the
Great FLiCKiE, and go on to destr-"
        Silver placed her hand over Knux's mouth.  "No," she said, "I can
do it, and I WILL do it . . . for our children."
        Knuckles tried to sit up and ask her what she meant, but she had
already disappeared in a flash of light.
                                        ***
        "*I-SAID-WHO-ARE-YOU?!  ANYONE-CARE-TO-ANSWER?*"  Mecha-Sonic
looked around, but no one answered.  "*FINE-THEN.  I'LL-JUST-HAVE-TO-
KILL-*ALL*-OF-Y-*"
        Mecha-Sonic was interrupted by someone tapping him on the
shoulder.  He turned around.  "*WHAT-?*" was all he got out before a full
magical assault hit him squarely in the face and body.
        Silver stepped forward as the mecha was beaten back.  It seemed
that she would win an easy victory-
        -but Mecha-Sonic erected his own magical defenses and launched a
counter-attack.  The fight ensued and eventually seemed to enter a
stalemate, with Silver and the mecha circling each other.
        "*YOU-CAN'T-WIN.*" said Mecha-Sonic.  "*I-HAVE-THE-POWER-OF-THE-
CHAOS-EMERALD-IN-ME!*"
        Silver glared hard at him.  "I WILL win," she said.  "For me, for
Knuckles, for Sonic, for Archimedes, for my home, for my planet, for my
children, and my children's children, I.  WILL.  WIN."
        Mecha-Sonic stood up straight and laughed.  "*HOW-TOUCHING.  AND-
HOW-DO-YOU-PROPOSE-TO-DO-THAT?*"
        Silver smirked and said, "With a little help from a forest
friend called Jim."  She raised her left hand and aimed it at Mecha-Sonic.
It glowed with pinkish-purple light.  She felt determination well up
inside of her, and the light on her hand glowed brighter in
correspondance.  She closed her eyes and once again saw her future.  She
saw Aristole and Kayla-la, she saw peace on the Floating Island, she saw
the Dark Legion as model citizens, she saw the war between Robotnik and
the Freedom Fighters ending with the Mobians victorious, and she saw
Knuckles, smiling at her and waiting for her with open arms.
        And then it was gone.  Everything was black and she could no
longer see the future.  She opened her eyes and saw Mecha-Sonic, who
seemed to be mesmerized by the glow on Silver's hand.
        "From now on," said Silver, "we make our own destiny.  What I have
seen of the future may or may not come to pass, but WE are the ones that
will shape it that or another way.  NOT YOU."
        The light exploded from her hand and hit Mecha-Sonic.  It didn't
destroy him, but lifted him up into the air.  He was screaming in pain and
terror.
                                        ***
        "C'mon," said Nack, "c'mon, die already, ya bucket of bolts!"
        He was still standing in the ocean and had seen the whole battle.
Now it appeared that Silver wasn't going to destroy Mecha-Sonic, just hold
him in that funky purple light.  What was wrong with her?  Why didn't she
just crush him and get it over with?
        Unless . . . unless she couldn't, thought Nack.  But why couldn't
she?  He shook his head.  It didn't matter, really, but he did know one
thing:  To get rid of Mecha-Sonic, she needed help.
        He looked around at the Freedom Fighters that had followed him out
into the water.  "Hey, you!" he yelled at them.
        The Freedom Fighters looked over at Nack with scared looks on
their faces.  I don't blame 'em, thought Nack.  Out loud he said, "All of
you who have laser guns, get 'em ready to fire at Mecha-Sonic!"
        Some of them who were less into shock complied.  They stood up out
of the water and aimed their rifles and blaster pistols at the mecha.
Nack removed his ion pistol from its holster.
        "FIRE!" yelled Nack.  Laser fire blazed across Mecha-Sonic's hull.
>From the jungle on the other side, Sonic and Knuckles flew up and blazed
through the mecha with their own physical attacks.
        Mecha-Sonic emitted one last scream of pain, and exploded in green
light.  The Chaos Emerald fell to the sand below.
                                        ***
        Four figures watched as everything set itself right.  Dr. Quack
was sent back to his own timeline.  The Great FLiCKiE Bird was brought
back and resealed in a new statue.  The Dark Legion, who had watched the
battle from afar, flew back to the Floating Island in fear of the magic
powers unleashed.  Nack disappeared before any of the Freedom Fighters
could catch him (to congratulate him on helping or to slap cuffs on him
for starting the whole thing in the first place, it is generally unknown).
Sonic and the Freedom Fighters set up their mini-base so as to guard the
Chaos Emerald, leaving Knuckles, Silver, and Archimedes free to return to
the Floating Island.
        
        "Yah, thanks," said Jim.
        <>
        "I should have done more."
        <<>>
        Jim shivered at the memory of the touch of the Chaos Emerald's
power.  It was strange and alien to him, and yet he felt he could harness
the power if he just-
        
        "Yah, yah, yah, I know.  With such power I would be able to take
over the world with no limitations, and I could possibly keep myself fully
charged indefinitely.  So you said before.  If I go crazy under their
influence, boom."
        <>
        "Where are we going, by the way?"
        <<>>
        The four figures turned their conciousnesses outward, and they
disappeared into the cosmos.  The only person who felt them leave was
Silver Star.  She looked up at the heavens and sighed, pondering just who
her savior in the forest really was.
                                        ***
        (chanting)
        "Hayla hayla yahe heya yahea heyahh hega,
        Hayla hayla yahe heya yahea heyahh hega,
        (singing, high notes)
        Steady as the beating drum singing to the cedar flute,
        seasons go and seasons come, . . . "

        And so time flows on like a river, letting the living choose the
course that it takes.

    Source: geocities.com/timessquare/dungeon/5221

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