THE HUNT BEGINS (A PRELUDE TO IGNITION FACTOR AND 72 HOURS) BY THAD "X" BOYD Rating (on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being least offending and 10 being most, 0 being none): Violence: 6 (not too brutal) Profanity: 0 (nothing worse than "crap" or "blasted") Sex: 1 (Karl makes a SLIGHTLY rude comment about Kate Chaos that involves the words "chick" and "fun" -- it's much less offending than what you'll hear in a typical bar or school past elementary -- and Maxl/Jade/Tracker wonder[s?] if it's/they're anatomically correct) NOTE: As this is the text version you're reading, it's naturally inferior to the original...all color and special fonts have been removed, and all bold/italic words have simply been replaced with all caps. In any case, if you want the original version (which requires Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0 or something that can convert its documents), be sure to E-Mail me (my addies are listed twice in here, so just pay attention). I may put it into HTML format later, but as of now, I'm only getting 1 meg of space on the Web, and I'm trying to figure out what that'll be. INTRODUCTION "ALL STORIES MUST BEGIN SOMEWHERE." - L. FRANK BAUM LEGAL STUFF This work is written by Thad "X" Boyd, and unless this happens to be YOUR name (and you haven't changed it!), you aren't allowed to sell it or make any changes, unless I've given you permission to do so. You can share it with anyone you want, as long as you abide by these conditions. With the exception of the prologue (in which the characters are created by Capcom Games' Mega Man series), this story is based on Sonic the Hedgehog characters created by SErvice and GAmes (Sega), DiC entertainment, and Archie Comics. Characters designed neither by the four above companies nor by me are as follows (alphabetical by character): Crotswurth - Steven Tramer Elrond Prower - Dave Pistone Kate Chaos - Stefanie Londo Maxl (Jade, Tracker) - Steven Tramer and Thad Boyd Packbell - Dave Pistone Sarah Prower - Dave Pistone Time - Jonathan Richardson Xavier (Hedgehog X) - Brent Roberts FOREWORD For those of you whose only impression of my writing is my JADED VIEWS Sonic fanfic, not only has it probably made you not like my writings to the point that you didn't check out BLUE FLAMES, you might be expecting this to be a comedy. It's not, though. For one thing, check the title. If you'll recall, the title JADED VIEWS was actually just a pun that had nothing to do with the story. THE HUNT BEGINS, however, is obviously a bit more serious. Besides that, those of you who are in the Prodigy Sonic Clubs and have read my fanfic there will know that I've only written a few comedies (my holiday specials -- especially my Valentine's Day and April Fools' Day stories -- and JADED VIEWS are about all), and besides, the other author of JADED VIEWS, Steve "Maxl" Tramer, is a comedian (and despite the fact that he says he's going to make fun of that statement in an upcoming story, it's TRUE!). This, of course, is in no way, shape, or form to say that this story will be void of all comedy. It just means that's not the main theme. I'll crack a joke here and there, but don't expect the whole opera scene from FINAL FANTASY III. Also, this story is much less farfetched and "unSonicy" than Jaded Views and Blue Flames were (and if I had only written the first half and not the whole thing, it probably wouldn't even end up under "Alternate Universes" on Bookshire's page). Okay, that's about enough about what this story ISN'T. Here's what it IS: This story is a "flashback" to about five years ago, and tells of the events surrounding the creation of one Hedgehog Xavier Chaos, which is a consequence of the same events by which Maxl the badger (and his other two personalities) and Packbell the android came to be. Just remember at all times that this is a flashback, so that's why Robotnik is known as Julian and is well-built, and why the Freedom Fighters occasionally act with a tad of immaturity (not that this should be surprising from Sonic or Tails). Also, Knothole is located underground, as in the first few issues of the comic. It retells of the destruction of Bluebrook, although not quite the same way as in TAILS' TALE. This time, for example, Packbell's existence was caused by the burning of Bluebrook, and not the other way around. Of course, this brings me to restating my policy on conflicting stories: If events don't exactly coincide, no problem; you're just reading about two different realities. This is especially important to remember in this story, since I've screwed-up the chronological order of just about EVERYTHING in some stories (I wouldn't be surprised to re-read some of MY previous stories and find that this contradicts them)! This story also involves Crotswurth, a delightfully evil geneticist/prosthetic limb maker, who also plays a huge role in the 72-HOUR series, an upcoming storyline by Steve Tramer (who is very happy with all my plugs for him). I hope you love to hate him (Crotswurth, not Steve), cuz we sure do! Finally, the story is a kick-off to the IGNITION FACTOR series, a storyline I'm working on that stars Hedgehog X. In other words, THE HUNT BEGINS is to IGNITION FACTOR as THE HOBBIT is to THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Those of you who don't see your character in this story, don't be too disappointed, because they're likely to appear at some point in IGNITION FACTOR. I should include a young Knuckles in one story, but don't expect the Jamaican accent this time. I thought it made sense for him to have it in a comedy story, but in this case, it'd probably sound pretty ridiculous. In case you want to ask questions or give comments on the story, you can reach me through the Sonic Mailing List, or E-Mail me at AHVT94B@PRODIGY.COM, or, if it's a school-day, 217- 6200@TNET.BLUETHUN.COM (if you're not sure if I'm at my Other Place or not, please use the former). If, however, you're the anti-Sonic type and have decided you want to send me flames, please think for a minute about how much time you'd be wasting in doing so. In fact, think of how much time you've wasted even using the Sonic Mailing List, Newsgroup, WWW page, or wherever you got this story! While you're at it, think of how much time you've wasted reading this far! Do you even spend any time outside? Have you breathed fresh air in the past decade?! Hang your head in shame if you've nothing better to do than bashing. However, you're not without hope, and I'll give you a special book on rehabilitation from Complete Net Addiction, if you act now, and send me six-thousand dollars in ECash! Thanks for sitting through that, if it didn't apply to you! To tell you the truth, I seriously DOUBT such a low-life even exists, but I HAVE met a few major lamers who criticized my stories. Lastly, I would like to plug two other stories I have on the Web as I write this. With my friend, Steve "Maxl" Tramer's help, I wrote JADED VIEWS, and in partnership with Brent "Hedgehog X" Roberts, I wrote BLUE FLAMES. Both can be found on Bookshire's page (http://rat.org/bookshire). Anyways, sorry for boring you with the foreword. Enjoy the story! :8) PROLOGUE THE INVENTION Possible Future Earth 20OX Nearly a century had passed since the mysterious disappearance of Kathryn Chaost. Kathryn had been only fifteen, and -- according to accounts by witnesses -- vanished into thin air in the year AD 2015. Of course, very few people had believed these accounts, since the only witness who hadn't been drinking was a sci-fi fan who many thought had dreamed up the idea of her teleporting. This witness was Kathryn's best friend, a foreign-exchange student from Japan. He talked to Kathryn's older brother, Thomas Chaost, who believed him. However, this one credible witness disappeared, himself, a decade later, apparently looking for Kathryn. However, his disappearance only made Thomas believe even more that people could teleport. He based his life's work on trying to find out what had happened to his sister and friend, and how he could duplicate it. Now, Thomas Light, Chaost's grandson and namesake, had just about made the breakthrough. His father (Chaost's finest student) had been able to incorporate teleportation properties into robots by converting their molecules to light, and now Light was going one step further than that by incorporating it into cyborgs -- half-robot, half-human beings. Light grinned at the prototype, an unconscious cyborg wearing red armor and dark sunglasses. "Roll," he said happily, "commence de-magnetization process. Rock, prepare to insert the chipset." A young, blond cyborg girl reached into the prototype's open chest-plate. "It's done, Doc," she said. Rock, the other cyborg present, reached in, holding the chipset, and in less than a second had inserted it perfectly. He pushed his black hair back out of his eyes, and said, "All set. Shall I turn him on?" "Of course," responded Light's assistant, Wily. Wily was a fairly intelligent scientist, but short on patience and imagination. He rarely did any research on his own; he often just helped with that of others, which had netted him the job with Light. Rock switched the prototype on, then entered the teleportation command. The prototype disappeared in a bright flash of light, and then reappeared on the other side of the room. Light grinned from ear-to-ear. "We've done it!" he said, jumping up and down and clapping. Then, to Wily, he said, "We have to think of a name for it. What shall we call him?" Wily thought for a moment and then said, "Errrr...I think that, since it's a new prototype, we should call it Proto Man." "Fine," Light said, trying to hide his disgust at the unimaginative nature of the name. "Proto Man it is." Light tried to cheer himself up. The experiment had worked, and Proto Man wasn't a BAD name, it just lacked the zing of Rock and Roll. But then, if there was one thing Wily lacked, it was originality. In fact, that was the whole reason he was working for Light... PART ONE JULIAN'S PLOT "NOTHING TRAVELS FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF BAD NEWS, WHICH OBEYS ITS OWN SPECIAL LAWS." - DOUGLAS ADAMS CHAPTER I THE BURNINGS Mobius; Alternate Version of Earth 3231 "Who could be doing this?!" Princess Sally Alicia Acorn wondered. Sonic the Hedgehog tapped his foot in annoyance and rolled his eyes. "Girls," he muttered. "ANYONE can see that it's Julian, Sal." "Sonic," Sally replied, trying to be patient with her impulsive friend, "I have no doubt in my head that Julian is at the root of this." Before Sonic could reply, she continued, "The ransackings and burnings of the villages are obviously being done by more than just him." Sonic rolled his eyes again. "He's got a whole army of robots, remember?" he asked rhetorically. Then, with a gleam of hatred in his eye, he said, "My uncle Chuck included." "Would y'all two please quit arguin'?" came another voice. "Ah know from experience how cruel he is when he turns animals into them nasty robots..." and with this, she indicated her robotic left arm and legs. "But Ah don't think they's the only ones helpin' Julian. The question is: Who the who-ha IS helpin' him?!" "I have a feeling we're gonna find out," said a voice from the corner. The voice belonged to a walrus named Rotor, who was the other children's senior by a year or so, but also the quietest of the Freedom Fighters, "and I have a feeling we're NOT going to like it." "Which village is next?!" Crotswurth demanded. "Not that I don't enjoy senseless violence, but destroying village after village after village without finding the Jades is getting quite monotonous!" Julian pushed back his curly red hair with his robotic arm. "Patience, Crotswurth," he said. "We will find the Jades in time. And then the planet will be mi--errrr, ours." There were only two Knothole Freedom Fighters who were not attending the meeting in the war room. One of them will be mentioned later; for now, we'll focus on was Kate Chaos. At that particular moment, she was in her room in the underground village of Knothole, sitting on her bed, by the side of which was a stand, holding the seven Chaos Emeralds; all of which, despite being green, were surrounded by different-colored auras of light. Kate was very troubled. Of course, she had lots of things to be troubled about. She had been born at the turn of the millennium on the planet Earth, and had lived there fifteen years. Then, suddenly, she had been whisked away to the planet Mobius, where she had to fight the evil Julian. It had been over six years since she had come, since she found out that she was the child of the Chaos Emeralds and was one of the sworn protectors of Mobius. Since Julian had lost his arm because of making the stupid mistake of stealing the Red Chaos Emerald without bothering with the others, since the true power of the Gray Chaos Emerald had been revealed. None of these things were truly troubling her, though. The truth was that, in her subconscious, she knew Julian's purpose in burning the villages. She knew that he was looking for something. And, above all, she knew that she must figure out what was gnawing at the back of her mind and stop Julian at all costs, for all life on Mobius was at stake. CHAPTER II THE VILLAGE Kate wasn't the only one who had an idea of what Julian was trying to do. The denizens of Bluebrook also knew, and they were quite uneasy. They knew that, after having failed several times in collecting the Chaos Emeralds, Julian was moving on to the other Power Gems of Mobius, and that the Life Jades were his current target. Because of the Jades' importance, there was a whole village of Freedom Fighters dedicated to helping to keep them safe, rather like the Knothole Freedom Fighters' protection of the Chaos Emeralds. A Bluebrook Freedom Fighter named Willind was comparable to Kate Chaos, because he was the Child of the Jades and one of Kate's three "brothers". Among the citizens of the village were an important family of three foxes named the Prowers. Elrond and Sarah Prower had been in Mobotropolis during Julian's initial attack, before it became the dark and polluted city of Robotropolis. Unknowingly, they had been exposed to radiation during their flight, and this affected their son, Miles Prower, who was born nearly a year later, causing him to have two tails. It was undecided whether Miles' extra appendage was a blessing or a curse, but he certainly thought it was the former. He had even practiced using his tails to fly, and had shunned his given name for the nickname "Tails". There was a meeting of all the Bluebrook citizens, with the exception of Tails and his young friends, and the adult who was watching them. The meeting was to decide what to do with the Jades. "I think we should plan for the worst," one individual spoke up. "We need to do something with the Jades so that Julian can never harness their full power." "We could destroy one of the Jades," suggested someone. "Or all of them, for that matter." "But then they would be lost to both evil AND good," Willind pointed out. "Here's MY strategy: Take one of the Jades, and break it in half. Transform both halves into some unlikely objects, and give each to a different individual." Everyone applauded Willind's idea. And so it was decided that one of the Jades was broken in half. One half was shrunken down to look like any other jade, and the other was turned into a green carpet. CHAPTER III HIGHLAND A second Knothole Freedom Fighter was not attending the meeting in their underground village. His name was Antoine D'Coolette, and he was reconnoitering Knothole's surrounding areas. Antoine was often laughed at by his peers, and there were several reasons for this, most of which came down to his bloodline. He often proudly referred to himself as being a fox, but in truth, he had much more poodle in his blood than fox. This led to a nervous nature, and although he often tried to be brave, he was known more for hiding behind bushes than protecting his friends. Also, his native language was French, and he sometimes made mistakes with English. Finally, he had quite rigid and proper tastes in etiquette, such as his choice in dress. The other Freedom Fighters were casual in dress (Kate, for example, usually wore jeans, an old T-shirt, and a baseball cap), but Antoine was usually clad in a frilly knight's uniform. In spite of the fact that the others didn't think too highly of him, they DID acknowledge that Antoine had been brought up as a knight until Julian's attack, and was the best one of them at tracking ("And, besides," Sonic had once said, "if there's any danger nearby, he's likely to run home even faster than me!"). Right now, Antoine's duty was to see if anyone had survived Julian's recent attacks. He had been instructed to take any refugees to Knothole. His search had led to the Jungle Zone, where the treetop village known as Highland had been until the recent attack. The knight nervously fingered his sword as he approached the scorched trees. WHAM! Antoine jumped back as a metallic coconut fell just inches from him. He drew his blade and looked in the direction from which it had come. "Who goes zere?!" he cried as forcefully as he could muster. A bunch of chattering robotic monkeys descended the trees, each toting a bag of the metal fruits. Antoine recognized these as Coconuts and Monkey Dudes, Julian's lackeys, and realized with a sinking feeling that they were all that was left of the denizens of Highland. Well, he wasn't about to join them. Swallowing what little pride he had, Antoine threw down his sword and ran. He had to get home, fast. "Excellent!" Julian said gleefully. "He will lead my robots directly to those Freedom Fighters' hideaway!" "Snively," Crotswurth said to Julian's nephew, "send in the SWAT-bots!" CHAPTER IV THE CHASE In the middle of a thought, Kate shot bolt-upright. She sensed a fellow Freedom Fighter in danger. What was happening? She jumped up off her bed and ran to the Chaos Emeralds, in a gold case at the other end of the room. She held the Emerald of Sight in both her hands, and closed her eyes. Antoine was losing ground, fast. He was not used to running through thick brush, and going through the trees was unthinkable. As he collapsed, breathless, on the jungle floor, he realized he'd never make it back to Knothole. "Blast!" Julian cried, banging his metal hand on his desk and breaking it in half. "He's unable to lead us back to his home!" "So," Crotswurth said, "a 'glass is half-empty' type, as always. Look on the bright side: we've got one of them, and may even be able to use him to lead the others into a trap!" A cruel smile formed on Julian's face. "You're right, Crotswurth," he said. "Now I remember why I keep you around! Snively, bring me a new desk. I've got an evil plot to work out!" Kate burst into Knothole's war room. "Antoine's in trouble!" she yelled. "So what else is new?" Sonic asked. "Cut the cracks, hedgehog," Sally said. "Despite his shortcomings, Antoine is our friend, and he needs our help!" "Bunnie," Rotor said, "go get my experimental hover-boards. I'd rather not use them right now, since I haven't had time to field-test them yet, but it looks like we have no choice!" Bunnie exited the room and returned a few seconds later with four devices that looked like skateboards without wheels. "I'll monitor your progress from here using Nicole," Rotor said, "and I should be able to use it to make sure the equipment functions properly, but no promises." Sally withdrew Nicole, a micro-computer, from her vest pocket and handed it to Rotor, who switched it on and keyed in the info to turn on the boards. "Good luck," the walrus said. "See you soon!" So this was the way it was all going to end. Antoine had never thought he'd be caught in this manner; he'd always clung to the hope that his friends would come for him, but now he heard the mechanical monkeys' chattering from the trees right above him. Suddenly, the robots' noise got louder and more urgent. Antoine heard the sound of a struggle, and then a series of thumps beside him. This was it! "There's more on the way!" came a voice. "C'mon, buddy, let's get going!" Antoine opened his eyes. Next to him was a mangled heap of Coconuts and Monkey Dudes, and a rope dangling down. He looked up into the trees, and saw a fox holding the rope. "Climb up!" the fox said. "We have to get out of here, and we're less likely to leave a trail if we take to the trees!" Antoine quickly obeyed, and climbed to where the fox was. "Who are ze you?" he asked. "Name's Elrond," his new comrade replied. "Elrond Prower." On Earth, Kathryn Chaost had been a champion hover-boarder, but that had been years ago and these hover-boards were designed differently. Even so, she was able to lead the way, using the power of the Chaos Emerald of Sight to find Antoine. "He's moving through the trees," Kate reported. "He's with a fox, and...Gods of Mobius! They're being tailed by SWAT-bots!" Suddenly, she realized what she'd been trying to figure out for a long while, and she knew exactly how serious the situation was. "We can kick them SWAT-bots' tails any day o' the week," Bunnie replied with determination. "This is different," Kate replied. "They're headed towards a village called Bluebrook, and that's exactly the village Julian's been looking for!" Sally gasped. "That's anything but good," she said. "A major understatement," Kate replied. "If Julian finds the Life Jades, all of Mobius is at stake!" "Thanks a lot, Antoine," Sonic muttered. "Two Freedom Fighters for the price of one!" Julian said gleefully. "The SWAT-bots are ill-equipped for traveling through the trees, though...we'll have to send in the Fly-Bots!" "Right away, Sir," Snively said. It seemed to the villains as though it was a merry chase, and that they were going to catch two rebels. It didn't occur to them that they were quite close to finally achieving their goal. CHAPTER V HIGH STAKES "We can try to cut them off," Kate said. "Hang on, everybody; we're kickin' these babies into overdrive!" The boards moved at a speed that even Sonic hadn't expected, and the Freedom Fighters were barely able to keep from flying off. Kate led them toward a place where they could find Antoine and the fox and stop them. They had gone a few kilometers, when suddenly the boards started making strange noises. "Jump!" Bunnie shouted. They did so, and watched their boards explode. Kate swore. "We have to stop them!" she shouted. "Quick!" Sally yelled. "Use the Emerald of Communication!" Kate closed her eyes and focused on the energy of the White Chaos Emerald back at Knothole. After a few moments, she said, "It's no use. I've drained a whole lot of my power by using the Emerald of Sight for so long. We've lost." "Not yet, we haven't!" Sonic said with determination. He reached into the red backpack he carried, and withdrew a golden circle. He held it high in triumph. The circle was a Power Ring, a special invention his Uncle Chuck had created using the Chaos Emeralds. Mobius' different Gems made a variety of rings, including Teleportation Rings and Protection Rings, but the Power Rings were different. They were created to give the user invulnerability and amazing speed, and because of their design, their power could only be used by someone with DNA like Chuck's -- a description Sonic fit. As Sonic held the Power Ring above his head, a golden glow surrounded him. His legs started moving at a speed not thought to be possible for an eleven-year-old hedgehog, and he found himself running at his favorite speed across the jungle floor. "Still have a couple kilometers to go," Sonic told himself. "I don't know what's going on, but Kate says the planet's at stake, and I've never been one to question her knowledge!" The hedgehog realized that the path was getting narrower and more difficult to maneuver, and he saw a large tree that had fallen in front of him. At this point, others might have given up hope, but as all the Mobians knew, once Sonic had his mind set on something, you couldn't pry it off with a crowbar powered by the Super Emeralds. Sonic laughed, enjoying the challenge, and rolled himself into a ball with his quills facing outward. He buzz-sawed straight through the tree, then unrolled and shouted, "All RIGHT! My patented Sonic Spin! You may applaud!" The hedgehog had meant this in sarcasm, not thinking there would be anyone to hear him, but he was wrong. He was in a clearing, surrounded by SWAT-bots. Suddenly, he realized this must be his destination. Sonic started scaling a tree at his high speed, using his quills for support. As he made his way up, he kept yelling, "Antoine! Other guy! Cut it out! Divert your course! You're being tailed!!!" "Who's that?!" Elrond shouted to Antoine. "Zat is Sonic ze Hedgehog!" Antoine replied. Elrond gasped. Sonic, the hero; his son's role model. "I guess we'd better do what he says, then," he said to his comrade. "The last thing we need is Julian finding Bluebrook!" So, Sonic the Hedgehog was able to stop Antoine D'Coolette and Elrond Prower from leading Julian to Bluebrook. Unfortunately, Julian had sent a squad of Stealth-Bots to cut them off, and thus he accidentally found Bluebrook anyway. PART TWO BLUEBROOK "ANYTHING BAD THAT CAN HAPPEN, WILL HAPPEN." - MURPHY'S LAW *AUTHOR'S NOTE: I OFTEN WANT TO FIND MURPHY AND PUNCH HIM OUT FOR THAT CURSE. CHAPTER VI THE BATTLE STRATEGY "Snively!" Julian gasped. "What's that on the monitor?!" "It appears to be a village of some sort, Sir," Snively replied. "Can it be?!" Julian gasped. "The hidden village we've been looking for! It MUST be!" "Just like all the others MUST have been," Crotswurth replied in irritation. "Fine...I'll go and help you this last time, but if this isn't the right village, I'm outta here." "I'm feeling lucky today," Julian replied, rubbing his hands together, making the sickening sound of metal against flesh. "Snively, prepare my Egg-o-Matic! I'm going to make a personal appearance there!" "Gods of Mobius," Kate said. "Julian's found Bluebrook!" "You mean Sonic's failed?!" Sally gasped in disbelief. "Sonic stopped them, all right," Kate replied. "Julian found it by accident." "So whatta y'all waitin' for?" Bunnie asked. "There's still a chance that we can stop 'im!" "You're right," Sally replied with determination. "How will we get there, though?" "Ah can run," Bunnie replied. "I can try to fly," Kate said, "but I don't know about you, Sally. I'm so burnt-out, I can barely get myself there." "Maybe I can be of service," said a voice. "This is NOT good!" said a young rabbit. "The robots have found us! Julian must be on his way!" "Don't worry," his friend Tails replied. "Sonic the Hedgehog will come to save us, I just KNOW it!" "I hope you're right, Tails," replied his friend. "So it begins," sighed the human in the hood and cloak. "I wish there were some other way, but it looks like Willind and Kate are on their own. For when it comes down to it, the Children are the only ones who stand a chance, and the other three are unable to be there. Oh, would that I could do anything to help..." Throwing back his hood, he revealed the black-haired head of the Child of the Time Stones. Time had the power to oversee all possible realities, which was possibly the greatest power of all the Children. When it came down to it, though, his only power over events was to advise others on what to do. So, in a sense, he was the most powerful, but in another sense, the weakest. CHAPTER VII TELEPORTATION "Whoa!" Sally exclaimed, shortly after their surroundings changed from the jungle to a village. "I don't think I'll EVER get used to teleporting!" "Gives y'all a MAJOR headache," Bunnie agreed. "We have even more pressing matters at hand than migraines," replied Kate. "The sitch is urgent. Willind must have brought us here." "You were expecting Ford Prefect, Sis?" came the same voice they'd heard before teleporting. "Listen, you need to recharge before Julian gets here. The combined powers of the Jades and the Emeralds should give us a bit of an edge." As Kate went catatonic, Sally queried, "A BIT?" "We've segmented the most powerful Jade," explained Willind. "On top of that, our brothers and sisters are unable to help us. In spite of the large amount of Mobius Stones there are, not all have Children to represent them. For example, there are no Children for the Moon Gems or Super Emeralds." "Ah see," said Bunnie. "Wait a minute...where's Sonic?" Sonic wasn't far away. He was still in the treetops with Antoine and Elrond, but they weren't going to stay much longer. They had realized that the robots had found Bluebrook, and that Julian was on his way. "We have to get down there!" Elrond exclaimed. "We have to get the carpet and the stone out!" "Your furniture and jewelry aren't exactly the most important things on Mobius," Sonic said. "Personally, I think our LIVES are more important." "You don't understand!" Elrond replied with urgency. "Those ARE our lives! I can't say anymore; we might be bugged. Just trust me!" "Fine," Sonic replied. He didn't care if this fox was nuts or not; he knew urgency when he heard it, despite its truthfulness. "Let's go." The trio ran toward the village. CHAPTER VIII GOODBYES Tails was amazed. His hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, was at HIS house, talking to HIS parents about the situation with Julian! He was so excited that he didn't even mind having to stay outside of the house while they talked. "We have to each take half of the Jade out of here," Sarah Prower stated. "I'll take the rug; you take the jewelry." "I wish we didn't have to part with Miles," Elrond admitted. "Me neither," Sarah said, "but we do. There's no other way." "I'll take care of him," Sonic offered. "He seems like a nice little guy." "Good," Sarah replied. "He'd love staying with you. You're his hero, Sonic." Sonic grinned. "Aren't I everyone's?" A few minutes later, they were ready to tell Tails the news. Upon hearing it, he gasped, "You mean, I get to live at Knothole with Sonic?! WOW!" "Goodbye, Miles," said Sarah, and kissed him on the cheek. "See you again someday," promised Elrond, and gave him a high-five. Tails was too young to realize how much of a change in his life this would be, and the nonchalance with which he said goodbye to his parents would haunt him in later years. For now, though, he was simply thrilled to be doing anything with Sonic. CHAPTER IX THE ATTACK A war-horn sounded from Bluebrook's crow's-nest. Several cries of "Julian's here!", "Brace yourselves!", and the like came from the Bluebrook denizens. Off in the distance, Julian could be seen in his flying silver half-sphere, the Egg-o-Matic. At his sides were Snively, in a truck with a roboticizer on the back, and Crotswurth, seated in a jetbike. Sonic the Hedgehog and the other Freedom Fighters raced toward Julian, trying to see what they could do to stop him. "So these are the people who were helping you!" Sally exclaimed, then turned to Sonic and stuck her tongue out in an "I told you so" sort of way. "I think I recognize the guy with the big nose driving the Roboticizer-on- Wheels," Sonic said, indicating Snively, "but who's this loser?" "Loser, eh?" Crotswurth asked, and swooped forward to flatten Sonic. Bunnie quickly extended her robotic arm and tossed the hedgehog to safety. "Less talk, Sugah-'Hog, an' more action!" she shouted. In answer, Sonic rolled into a ball and aimed one of his Sonic Spins straight at the Egg-o-Matic. Right when he was about to hit it, a large metal pincer suddenly protruded from Crotswurth's jetbike, and held the hedgehog fast. Sonic struggled, but to no avail; he could hardly move. Seemingly out of nowhere, a brown-orange flurry flew through the air. Rolled into a ball that looked quite like Sonic in one of his spins, it bounced off Snively's Roboticizer-on-Wheels and off the Egg-o-Matic, and smacked straight into the side of the jetbike. Caught off balance, the hulking vehicle fell on its side, and the claw holding Sonic was ripped from it. Sonic assumed he was about to hit the ground, hard, but a small shadow was suddenly cast over him, and his fall slowed. He looked up and saw his young new friend, Tails, easing him to the ground by his backpack. After getting to the ground and working his way free of the pincer, he gave Tails a high-five. "Welcome aboard, buddy," he said. "You make an awesome Freedom Fighter!" "Get the kid off the field!" Sally shouted as she dodged a laser beam from the Egg-o-Matic. "It's not like he's too young, Sal!" Sonic retorted. "We were fightin' Julian at his age, too, y'know!" In the confusion, no-one noticed Crotswurth slipping out of his toppled jetbike and heading toward the city, flame-thrower in hand. CHAPTER X BLUEBROOK IS BREACHED "Those fools," Crotswurth growled. "I would have thought Sonic the Hedgehog to be more of a challenge, what with all the ranting Julian continually does about him." Crotswurth spoke a few words into a communicator. He laughed then, tossing back his head, and blasted the air with his weapon, making sure it was in working order. A shout pierced the air, and Crotswurth was surrounded by an unearthly blue light. All at once, the light faded, and a badger stood there. "It's YOU!" the badger hissed angrily. "An' this village...I KNOW this village!" "Soon no-one will know this village," Crotswurth replied, "cuz it's goin' down...and you with it!" He hoisted the flame-thrower and aimed at his adversary. "I do not sink so!" shouted a voice behind him. Crotswurth whirled around to see who had said it, and as he was caught off-guard, the badger tackled him and started trying to wrest the flame-thrower from his grasp. "Who do I heet?!" the speaker wondered aloud. Crotswurth and the badger each pointed at the other. "I'll just have to taking you both down!" the voice decided. A form ran out of the brush. "Antoine!" the badger exclaimed. "It's you! This guy's tryin' to destroy the universe!" Antoine backed up a step. "How are you knoweeng my name?" he asked shakily. The badger hit himself in the head. "Shut up and just kill him, you fool!" Antoine reached for his scabbard, and began to slowly withdraw his sword. SOMETHING'S WRONG HERE, Crotswurth thought, BUT WHAT?! "Just throw the sword, you moron!" the badger screamed. "I can't hold this guy down much longer!" Crotswurth suddenly realized that, although this badger was successfully pinning him, he was nearly three feet taller than his adversary. No matter how tenaciously the animal held onto him, the weight advantage was with the human. Crotswurth rolled over onto his back, trying to crush the badger. Then, he let out a piercing scream, and jumped up, shaking back and forth and trying to remove the badger from his back. "'Twan!" the badger shouted, clearly trying very hard to keep his claws in the human's skin. "Throw the freaking sword, NOW!" In spite of the pain in his back, Crotswurth suddenly realized what was wrong. He had seen it on the monitor back in Robotropolis: ANTOINE HAD THROWN HIS SWORD AT THE ROBOTIC MONKEYS BEFORE HE FLED! "Where'd that sword come from?!" he shouted, still trying to shake the badger off. Antoine's eyes grew wide as he, too, realized that this couldn't be his sword. Luckily, this realization shook him up to the point that he actually threw the sword, much to the badger's relief. As the sword flew through the air, the badger retracted his claws and jumped to the ground, then stole a quick glance at his wrist (forgetting, for the moment, that his watch had disappeared, and that even if he had it, whatever it said would be inaccurate anyway). Who cared where the sword came from?! The point was, it was heading towards its mark! Suddenly, the sword started glowing, and began a transformation. "Thanks for wakin' me up, 'Twan!" shouted Kate Chaos as she took form. She flew at Crotswurth, knocking him down. "Can't Julian fight his own battles?!" she demanded as she reached forward to nab Crotswurth's flame-thrower. Resisting her strength, he swung his gun-arm up from where it was being pinned and hit Kate in the head with it. He kicked her forward, and she went sprawling into the dirt. "Nobody," the badger said with a gleam in his eyes, "but NOBODY, does that to my friends and lives to tell about it!!! You're about to go have a friendly little discussion with Jade!" He withdrew his handkerchief from the pocket in the vest he was wearing. Kate noted that the vest looked just like one of Sally's, with one obvious difference: Sally couldn't stand to have her clothes dirty for long, whereas this vest was caked with several months' worth of mud. "'Friends'?" Kate inquired. The badger rolled his eyes. "Stupid time-travel," he muttered. "No-one remembers me, just because they haven't met me yet!" "What's this buffoon talking about?!" Crotswurth demanded. He swung his flame-thrower around and aimed it at the badger. "Not so fast!" shouted a voice. Willind slammed into Crotswurth's back with incredible force. When he saw the blood seeping out of the claw- marks, he smiled at the badger and said, "Nice work, whoever you are. You would make an EXCELLENT Freedom Fighter!" "This ain't chat-time!" the badger replied. "We can talk after we waste this guy!" "Sounds good to me," Willind said. He stood on top of Crotswurth's back, and started glowing, channeling energy from the Life Jades. "I'm going to make this as quick and painless as possible," he growled. Suddenly, there was a bright flash. When the Freedom Fighters could see again, however, they found themselves rubbing their eyes, because the sight they beheld was not what they had expected. Willind was standing there with a sort of glassy-eyed look, and, as they watched, Crotswurth stood up and his wounds began to heal. CHAPTER XI KARL A jetbike whizzed toward Crotswurth. "These are what you wanted, right?" the driver said, grinning evilly as he held up six glowing gems. "Ahhh, the Jades," Crotswurth said. "Good. I've earned my pay, and you've earned yours, Karl." Kate lunged forward at Crotswurth, but Willind jumped up and knocked her back. "Stay back, Sis," he warned. "I can't control my actions!" "But I can!" The badger lunged forward, knocking Willind into the side of the jetbike. The Jades went flying everywhere. "Nice try," Willind said, smiling an ugly smile uncharacteristic of his kind features. The Jades all flew towards him. "Sorry, bud, but I DO have control of the Life Jades, after all." The badger was about to attack again, but suddenly, he heard Willind's voice in his head. IT'S NO USE FIGHTING ME. FOCUS ON KEEPING THEM FROM GETTING THE ONE JADE THEY DON'T HAVE, the voice said. PROTECT THE GREEN CARPET AND THE RING AT ALL COSTS. The badger took the words to heart. He glanced at where his watch should have been, swore, and wandered away into the underbrush. The telepathic message had helped Willind in more ways than one. For one thing, it had served the purpose of putting the message of the ring and the carpet at the back of his mind so that he couldn't tell it to his captors. The other thing it did was that, unknown to Willind and everyone else, he also got all the memories of the badger stuck in his head, to serve him later. "That flash!" Julian exclaimed. "He's got the Jades!" Willind came flying towards the fighters, with Crotswurth in tow. He righted Crotswurth's jetbike, which was still on its side in the middle of the battlefield, and dropped Crotswurth into it. Sally swore. "This is NOT good," she said. "There's nothing more we can do here," came a sad voice. Kate Chaos appeared, looking forlorn. "We can't possibly hope to stop Willind. Our best bet is to escape with our skins." Kate used the last of her power, which was just enough to serve its purpose. She teleported the whole team back to Knothole. The unholy foursome moved into Bluebrook, Crotswurth burning everything in sight, and Snively roboticizing anyone who survived. It was a red-letter day for the forces of evil. PART THREE THE HUNTERS "IT IS WRITTEN IN THE DISKS OF MISHAKAL THAT EVIL ALWAYS TURNS ON ITSELF." - JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE DRAGONLANCE BOOK (I THINK MARGARET WEIS AND TRACY HICKMAN CAME UP WITH IT ORIGINALLY) CHAPTER XII PACKBELL How long had it been since the raid on Bluebrook? Two days? Three? Karl couldn't tell. All he knew was that he hadn't slept since, and the smog around Julian's city, Robotropolis, made it dark at all hours. At first Julian had congratulated Karl, ignoring the fact that Crotswurth hadn't even told him about the fact that he'd brought another human to Mobius, which Julian should have been made aware of. Then, when he'd noticed that Karl had retrieved only six Jades, he had completely wigged out and practically bitten Karl's head off. Afterwards, Julian had gone into a room to work on something and not come out since. Karl had been designing a machine to sap out Willind's memories, since it had been made clear that he had enough free will left to refrain from telling them where the other Jade was, and they had lost a roboticizer already trying to neutralize that free will. Crotswurth, meanwhile, had been working on the programming that would run the machine. Both had been taking orders from Julian through Snively. Karl sipped his thirtieth cup of coffee, then spent a few more hours putting the finishing touches on the machine. Finally, the last wire was in place. "Cro'sw'rth," Karl muttered dazedly, "y'done w' th' programm'n'?" "Nah' yet," Crotswurth replied. "Reckon 'nother hour or so shou' do i'." "Fine," Karl said. "I think I'll jus' c'ch up on some o' my sleep..." With that, his head hit the desk and he commenced snoring. Crotswurth shrugged and downed Karl's half-finished coffee. There were very few things that startled Karl after his years of friendship with Crotswurth. Of those, barely any caused him to show any visible emotion. However, the cry of "Commence the transfer process!" that awoke him caused him to jump nearly three feet in the air. Julian's muscular frame stood over him, the cape of his outfit billowing around him. "R-right away, sir," Karl stammered, managing a salute. To Crotswurth, he whispered, "What do we do?! We haven't tested it yet!" "Nevermind," Crotswurth whispered back. "Just pray that it works." Karl spoke up. "Crotswurth, put the CD that has your program on it here." He pointed to a slot in the side of the machine. "Strap Willind in right here," he said, noticing that Snively had come in with Willind in a containment field. "The computer that's going to download his memories connects here," he continued, motioning to an I/O port. Julian spoke an unintelligible word, and a few robots appeared carrying a large humanoid robot, then stood it up next to the machine and connected a wire under its arm. The android's appearance stunned Karl; it was so lifelike that he would have mistaken it for a human if it didn't have a wire coming out from its armpit and skin that shone with an eerie reflection of the light around it. Also, the android had a more intimidating look on its face than most genuine life-forms could achieve: a cruel mouth; a small, slightly pointed nose; dark, piercing eyes, highlighted by bushy, black eyebrows. Below the head was a small neck and a set of broad shoulders. If you looked closely, the right shoulder was imperfect, and had a set of block letters in it: PACK, then a chip in the metal, and then BELL. Karl thought he remembered that being a brand name of a kind of computer on Earth, but he couldn't be sure. The arms were huge and obviously capable of tearing large things to shreds, and Karl thought he could see small spots on the metal that showed they could change shape. Under the right arm was the I/O port to which the cable was connected. The rest of the frame was equally well-built; the android was perfect from top to bottom, except for the dent in its shoulder. "This Packbell is an excellent piece of work," Karl said in breathless admiration. A hint of a satisfied smile crossed Julian's face, but he then returned it to its accustomed scowl and said, "Commence!" CHAPTER XIII THE TRANSFER PROCESS Karl flipped the ON switch and said, "Crotswurth, how does this program work?" "Well, first off, it runs as soon as the computer starts up, and to change its course of operation, you need a keyboard. I didn't have time to work on voice recognition. It just takes thoughts from the brain connected to port one and transfers them to port two, while displaying the thought's category on the monitor." Karl's face paled. "Did you say it goes from port one to port two?!" he asked. "Yeah, why?" "Willind's in port two and the Packbell's in port one!" Karl shouted. He grabbed a keyboard from a nearby terminal, fumbled with it, and finally, after agonizing seconds, managed to plug it into the machine. "How do I cancel?!" "I dunno! I didn't program that in!" Karl's fingers flew to the keys marked CTRL, ALT, and DEL. "Whew. I think that did it." He ejected the CD and shoved it toward Crotswurth. "Fix it," he muttered. As Crotswurth put the CD in another of the room's many computers and went to change the error, Karl prepared himself for Julian's wrath at this mistake. However, Julian was anything but wrathful. His face was pale and his eyes were closed; Karl assumed they were closed because Julian thought that might conceal his shock. Snively nodded at him with a grim look, as if to say, I KNOW WE CAN BOTH SEE WHAT HE'S THINKING, AND I WON'T TELL IF YOU WON'T. HMMMM, Karl thought, I HAVE TO EVENTUALLY FIND OUT WHAT DATA WAS ON THE HD IN PACKBELL'S ARM BEFORE THAT'S SO IMPORTANT. "Here," Crotswurth said, giving the fixed program to Karl. Karl took the disk and put it in the drive, then said, "I'll just delete the stuff we just transferred, since it was gonna be overwritten anyway, okay?" Upon getting a nod from Julian, who had almost fully recovered now, he put a copy-protect on the thoughts that had just been transferred, to look at them later. Then, the transfer started. Karl read off the lists on the screen. "Okay. Mechanical skills. Automation. Deductive reasoning. Capacity to learn." After each of these, Julian nodded. Karl continued. "Memories and general knowledge." Julian's eyes gleamed. "Creativity and imagination." "Stop!" Julian commanded. "Stop the transfer! I don't want him to have those abilities!" "Gotcha." Karl stopped the program. "I'm afraid I can't delete what's been transferred, though, for fear of losing everything." Julian frowned. "Hey, a little's not bad, right?" Crotswurth said. "Anyways, it's like Albert Einstein said, 'imagination is more important than knowledge.'" Julian shot back, "Albert Einstein also said that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, even though the basis of his own theory of relativity proves that it can!" Then, calming down a bit, he said, "I guess a little can't hurt. Is there anything else to transfer?" "Uh-uh," Karl replied. "Those were the last of it." "Hmmmf. All right, then dispose of the Gem Child." "I'll take care of it," Karl said. As he removed the vegetable human from the machine and walked off, the remaining three disassembled all the connections and put the machine away. Then, Julian flicked a switch and turned Packbell on. CHAPTER XIV CRYPTOSMASHER There was a soft knock at Karl's door. "Who's there?!" he demanded, putting his fingers over the keys that would close the file he was using. "Crotswurth," came a voice from outside the door. Karl sighed and relaxed. "Come in," he said. As an afterthought, he added, "Close the door behind you." "What's happening?" "I've modified that hacking program I made," Karl replied. "Ah. CryptoSmasher, wasn't it?" "Yeah." "How'd you figure out what files to use on Julian's systems?" Crotswurth asked in awe. "A few were obvious. After I had made sure Julian couldn't observe anything that happens in this room, I found some info from what got transferred into HIM." He pointed to a metal casing on the floor that had a wire connecting it to Karl's computer. "Who?" Crotswurth opened the lid, then quickly shut it. "Willind?! Man, Julian would fry you if he found out!" "He couldn't," Karl replied with a smirk. "I'd shut down this whole city." "What if he found out how to keep you from doing so?" "No problem," Karl assured him. "If he DID manage to figure out a way to delete my links without destroying the files he needs to run the city, he'd still have to delete everything on all the CD's I've got. Even if he managed to get ahold of ALL of them, which is practically impossible, I changed the syntax on them so that if he tells it to delete, it'll just hide all the files in a place where they can't be detected without a high-level security code being entered. If, somehow, he even found out the correct way to delete the files, it needs my thought patterns after the deleting string to keep from transferring them to every computer on Mobius." Crotswurth's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Man, you thought of EVERYTHING!" he exclaimed. "Even I can't program THAT well!" "Course not," he replied. "Anyways, let's have some fun with Willie here." He said a few words, and the monitor listed two "subdirectories" of Willind's thoughts: CREATIVITY & IMAGINATION and OTHER. Karl went into "Other" and opened a file that made Crotswurth laugh out loud. It was a letter sent to Earth from Mobotropolis a little over a decade before, and read as follows: Earth fools: There IS intelligent life on other planets, and if you had the slightest bit of intellect yourselves, you could find it. You should have listened to me, but then, that's why I'm here and you're not. Hugs and kisses, Ivo Robotnik Alias, Wouldn't You Like To Know?! "Ivo Robotnik!" Crotswurth howled. "I remember Sniffles callin' Julian 'Ivo' behind his back to make fun of him; it's his middle name and he hates it with a passion. But 'ROBOTNIK'?! Talk about LAME!" "It was obviously something he called himself when he was younger to keep the Earth scientists from knowing who sent the message," Karl said. "However, I think Ro-BUTT-nik is more accurate!" The pair laughed hard and long. Then, Crotswurth said, "As long as you've got Willie here, why don't'cha try and figure out the secret of that last Jade? Juli...ROBUTTNIK was complaining about how, apparently, it wasn't transferred into that android. We could sell it for mucho bread!" "I've tried to find it," Karl sighed. "However, other than the files transferred from that Packbell, all that's left in him is a residue of imagination an' stuff, and it's really hard for me to glean any info that makes sense, although I believe he was somehow able to control his mind to put the Jade's whereabouts in where it couldn't possibly be picked up." Crotswurth grinned. "That's where I come in," he said. "I'm a geneticist, remember? If I were to alter his body and you were to add some knowledge into his head, we could manage to change his basic thoughts enough to probably be able to figure it out." Karl shrugged. "Makes sense. Ain't got nothin' to lose; if somethin' should happen to the body, I've got all the memories backed up on CD's." "Good," Crotswurth said. "I'll go get my software." He smiled and walked out of the room. CHAPTER XV THE EXPERIMENT Beads of sweat glistened on Crotswurth's brow. For the past few hours, he had been doing what he enjoyed the best: genetically altering a living being. All the four humans in the city shared the common bond of absolutely loving to control life, to play God. Crotswurth really savored the ability to bend creatures' cells to what he willed them to be. Karl had been helping any way he could for the time: making sure Willind's supports were in proper order, bringing Crotswurth coffee, explaining how he'd changed certain syntax on his computer. However, Karl was glad, for his part, that Willind was in a vegetable state, for he, unlike the others in the city, had a bit more sympathy for all life. However, he tried his hardest not to show this "weakness" to the others, and had succeeded so far. Finally, Crotswurth pushed himself back from the computer terminal. "Quick!" he said to Karl breathlessly. "Show me Willind! I must know what I've created!" "Don't you know already?" Karl asked, rather muddled. "Actually," Crotswurth replied, "when I do my work, I sort of go into a trance. I reach into my subconscious to find what I want to do, and do the whole thing without really thinking of what I'm doing." "So," Karl said, "what's under this sheet of metal is what's been nagging at the back of your mind?" Crotswurth nodded. "Exactly. Open it! OPEN IT!" The geneticist started shaking with excitement, and his friend quickly removed the cover of the containment system that housed Willind. Both the villains gasped at what they saw. Crotswurth said, in a hoarse whisper, "It's that blasted badger!" "The one who attacked you in Bluebrook!" Karl added in the same hushed tone. "It all makes sense," Crotswurth said, barely audibly. "The badger attacked me right before Willind showed up, so naturally, I linked him with Willind!" Karl, trying to make light of the situation and dispel the uncomfortable atmosphere, laughed, "I wish you'd associated that chick who was there with Willind instead of THAT ugly thing! We'd've no doubt had a lot more fun in that case!" Crotswurth laughed a little at the joke, adding another comment or two about Kate Chaos, but didn't really feel any mirth. He had to ponder this turn of events, and the last thing he needed was Karl, or worse, Snively or Julian, noticing his misgivings. "I think I'll turn in for the night," the geneticist said. "This has tired me out." Turn in! Hah! Crotswurth didn't sleep a wink that night. He was pondering, and worrying. He recalled the badger's sudden appearance, and a few of his words. From what the badger had said, it had sounded like he was either a complete lunatic, or had traveled there from the future...or both. Although Crotswurth wanted to believe the lunatic theory, he knew that it's always best to prepare for the worst, and besides, it was feasible that he would share the fate of Victor Frankenstein and have the creation turn on him and go through time to try and kill him. One comment had particularly bothered him: the badger had told that French fox-knight-lookin'-thing that Crotswurth had been attempting to destroy the universe. Again, Crotswurth wanted to believe the badger was not mentally well, but the aspect of him being sane frightened him, and so he thought more of that. Supposing Crotswurth DID later take it into his head to destroy the universe - except himself and his friends; he assured himself he wouldn't destroy them - that badger, who obviously had access to time-travel and possibly more advanced reality-hopping, could really be a thorn in his side. And so, Crotswurth finally developed a plan. He would change the future to a reality from which the badger couldn't have possibly come. He'd do everything in his power to make the creature into a complete, blithering idiot. CHAPTER XVI THE CREATION...S? "Activate it," Crotswurth said softly. "Are you sure?" Karl asked in awe. "It could turn on you!" Crotswurth held back a grin at how alike he and Karl thought. "I don't think so. Not yet, at least." Karl shrugged, and said, "Computer, activate specimen 'Willind'." The badger got up, rubbed its eyes, and stepped out of the containment capsule. Crotswurth decided he'd test the creature to see how easily he could make it stupid. So, he looked at it, stretched out his hand, and said, "Hello, I'm Crotswurth. Who might you be?" "Maxl, buddy," the badger replied in a male voice with a New York accent. "No, Jade!" it contradicted itself in a sharp, feminine tone. "Tracker," it said in a voice with very little distinction except that it was male. Karl, not noticing Crotswurth's pleasure at the three answers, rolled his eyes and growled, "Well?! Which is it?!?!" "MAXL!" shouted the New York accent. "JADE!" the female voice screamed. "TRACKER!" yelled the indistinct voice. "The badger appears to be schizophrenic," Crotswurth said with a grin. "Intriguing." "Must've come from the fact that Willind's mind was in pretty weird shape, and just about all that was left was his imagination and creativity," Karl observed. "'Scuse me?" the New York accent cut in. "Who's dis Willie guy, and what does dis have to do wit' me?!" "US!" corrected the indistinct voice. "Never mind that," Crotswurth said hurriedly. "Hey!" said the feminine voice. "What's goin' on?! I'm not wearing anything!" "Hmmm," Tracker said. "I wonder if we're anatomically correct? Good question, considering we're different genders." "I don't think you are," Crotswurth replied. Then, he looked at Karl and mouthed the words, "Especially since they were genetically engineered!" "What would you like to wear?" Karl asked the badger. "Anythin' ya got dat went outta style thoity yea's ago?" asked Maxl, the New York accent. "A black robe with a hood," the indistinct voice, Tracker, suggested. The badger rolled its eyes, then Jade, the female voice, said, "I don't care, as long as it's NOT what those two CLOWNS want! Jeez, talk about unfashionable!" Suddenly, all the voices started alternating, shouting at the top of the badger's lungs, and it started hitting itself. Crotswurth grinned, smugly. Keeping this thing stupid would be a lot easier than he had thought. He and Karl left the room, and so they didn't see the lightning bolts, fireballs, and other unnatural things that started appearing due to the badger's actions. CHAPTER XVII THE CURSE It had been weeks since Maxl/Tracker/Jade had come into being. Crotswurth and Karl were pretty much left alone in that time, since Julian and Snively were preoccupied with testing Packbell. Since then, the badger had been given an old outfit of Karl's. Of course, the shirt was pretty baggy, and the bottoms of the pant-legs had been cut off, due to the fact that the badger was about a foot and half shorter than Karl. Another funny thing was that, it seemed that every time the badger moved, some strange magical thing happened. In an effort to make them stupid, yet figure out how their powers worked, Crotswurth had experimented with them in numerous ways, and gotten to know each personality pretty well. Jade, he realized, wouldn't be a threat to him, since she actually seemed a born criminal and had made fast friends with him (Crotswurth was afraid, a couple of times, that she had a crush on him, but when they sparred she was just as fierce as the other two, and the fact that she literally got a crush on him in one of their training sessions dispelled that thought). Maxl was the stupidest of the three personalities, and actually believed the geneticist when he used a trick on the badger he'd used on some elementary- school kids once for a laugh, and told him that it was vitally important that he wear a watch at all times and make sure it always was correct, so that there was no way to get caught in a time-loop. He explained to the badger that a time-loop happens when the exact same circumstances occur more than once, and then that loop of time will repeat for eternity. Of course, Maxl was the only one stupid enough to buy that. Tracker was the one who truly scared Crotswurth. Seeing as he was the smartest of the three and the only one with a male voice without an accent, Crotswurth thought this HAD to be the one who had attacked him earlier. He tried to make him stupid like Maxl, but he couldn't make it happen; Tracker was too smart for that. Crotswurth wanted to kill him, but he found no way to do so without also killing Maxl and Jade, and he thought they could amuse him for a little while longer, at least, before he had to do away with them due to their "sibling". It came as a shock how the message came through that afternoon. Suddenly, unseen speakers in Crotswurth's and Karl's separate rooms went off, with Julian's voice calling them to the control room, IMMEDIATELY. Karl found an old movie he'd brought to Mobius, and set it up to keep the badger occupied. It was the favorite movie of all the personalities, in spite of the fact that it was an old two-dimensional show, and parts of it weren't even in color. When Karl and Crotswurth moved to the control room, they found Snively and Julian sitting in front of computer consoles. Julian turned to greet them. "Crotswurth," he said warmly. "Karl." The two gasped at his appearance. This wasn't the Julian they remembered! This Julian was balding, and had gained at least ten pounds! What was happening?! Julian frowned. "Ah, I see you two are troubled by my appearance. Snively, show them." Snively pushed some buttons on his computer console, and a large hologram appeared. It was apparently a recording from several weeks ago, as it showed Willind, alive, but hardly well. In the recording, the old, fit Julian was standing over him, trying to force him to tell the location of the Jade. The image of Willind laughed softly. "No, Julian," it said. "You may have six of the seven Jades, but without the last, you cannot force me to tell you anything. You remember the power of the Gray Chaos Emerald? Hah! Of course you do!" The recording of Julian fingered his artificial arm (which Crotswurth had made for him after the dictator made the unfortunate mistake of trying to use the Red Chaos Emerald against Kate Chaos when she had the Gray Chaos Emerald in her hand) uncomfortably. "Ironic, isn't it?" Willind asked. "You can't get me to tell you where the last Jade is until you have it, and you can't have it until I tell you!" Julian punched Willind back. "You WILL tell me!" "Hah!" Willind laughed. "Go ahead and kill me! That will accomplish your purpose nicely!" "I WILL glean the secret from you," Julian vowed. "You've tried to roboticize me," Willind replied. "You know how well THAT worked. You will never make a robot out of me, fool!" Julian punched Willind again, then walked up to his foe and picked him up by the scruff of his neck. "There are ways," he said in a soft and dangerous voice, "to make a robot out of you WITHOUT the roboticizer." He withdrew the Life Jades from a pocket in his robes. Then, he spoke into his robotic arm, "Snively, bring me a metal containment device for our friend. Then, tell Crotswurth and Karl to start working on a machine to transfer human thoughts to a robot. Oh, and also, bring that failed android prototype of mine. Yes, the one that had the arm made from the Packard Bell components." Willind's eyes widened as he realized his enemy's intent. "You MONSTER!" he shouted. "I've been called that and worse," Julian replied, "but name-calling won't change my strangle-hold on the planet Mobius." "Hah!" Willind replied. "You can't even to claim to have a stranglehold on South Island as long as the Knothole Freedom Fighters exist!" Julian seemed about to hit his prisoner again, but he thought better of it. Instead, he held out the six Jades and grinned evilly. The stones began to glow. Willind screamed in pain. "No!" he cried. "So, you've got me." He gasped. "But, this I promise you, Julian. From now on, you will wish you had a fate as pleasant as mine." Julian smiled again. "You're in no position to threaten me," he said. "Still, let's see how long you can struggle against the Jades, shall we?" Ignoring him, Willind said, "Julian, that head of hair you've always been so proud of? You will lose it. All of it. Your muscular build will be replaced with an ugly mass of fat cells. Your allies will turn on you. Even your given name will cease to be used. Bit by bit, every cell in your body will follow the example of your arm, and be replaced with a mechanical version, and all your metal parts will ache with pain every moment of your life. I may have lost..." he began to choke, "...but the Freedom Fighters......will......WIN!!!!!!!" Then, in a fit of coughing, he fell, unconscious, to the floor, blood seeping from his mouth, in as much pain as Julian could give him without the possibility of brain damage. Willind's eyes closed, for the last time in his human form. Julian laughed. "I doubt that very much." The recording stopped. Karl gasped in horror. "This curse," he said hoarsely. "It's...it's coming true!" "What do you think he meant about that comment, 'your allies will turn on you', Snively?" Julian asked. "Well, sir," Snively replied, "it seems your computer systems were used by an unknown source ever since that date." Julian grinned, smugly, and crossed his arms. Crotswurth and Karl gasped in horror at the realization that he had known all along about their actions with his software. The two backed away in fear, but found themselves caught in metallic arms. "'Packbell', as you were so kind to name him," Julian said, "has had his systems tested throughout all these weeks you've been abusing your privileges to my city. However, he has yet to experience the thrill of actually killing any living, breathing beings. You two shall be his first non-robotic prey." Julian laughed evilly. CHAPTER XVIII ESCAPE! "This is gonna be FUN," Packbell said in a dark, evil voice that made the flesh of his victims-to-be crawl. The huge arms that held them were easily capable of ripping them to shreds, but Packbell was apparently going to have some fun with them instead of giving them such swift deaths. The android plucked off two of Crotswurth's fingers, making him yowl in pain. Then, he threw the geneticist into a wall -- clearly not using his full force, as Crotswurth survived the impact with not much more than a trickle of blood from his head and his lips -- using the arm that had the words that had become the android's name etched in it. As Packbell began to get a tight grip on Karl's neck, there was a sudden loud noise, and a badger appeared out of nowhere, looking confused. "See?! Toldja!" it said in a New York accent. "Hey!" it said, without the New York accent. "That thing's trying to hurt Crotswurth and Uncle Karl!" "What IS that thing?!" Julian demanded. Crotswurth smiled through his pain, realizing Julian hadn't observed EVERYTHING he and Karl had been doing. "Take this!" the voice without the accent said, then pulled out a twelve- foot-long sword that had somehow been concealed under its clothing. The badger threw the sword at Packbell's head. However, owing to the fact that the blade happened to be nearly four times the creature's size, it hit a little low, and became lodged in something under Packbell's arm. "Yow!" Karl cried as an electric shock coursed through his body from the android, who began shaking in what would have been considered convulsions if Packbell had been organic. As the arm holding Karl loosened its grip, he ran to his partner, slumped against the wall, and helped him back up, as the badger ran to get its sword. "Snively!" Julian choked. "What are you waiting for?! Send in some SWAT-Bots!" "Back off, Sniffles," Crotswurth said, pulling a concealed knife from his boot and throwing it so that it almost hit Snively's large, pointed nose. "You and Robotnik ain't stoppin' us!" "Make that RoBUTTnik!" Karl chuckled as the badger ran to their side, holding its sword in front of it. "And if you try to stop us, our pal here is gonna kick your RoBUTTnik!" The badger clicked its boots together. "There's no place like home," it said in a female voice. The trio disappeared. "Snively!" Julian roared. "We must reactivate Packbell immediately!" "Right away, sir," Snively muttered. He and pressed some buttons on his keyboard, then walked over and threw a switch on Packbell, who quickly stood up. "Packbell," Julian said, "follow those three!" "I can't determine their location, Robotnik," the robot replied. Julian fumed. Somehow, when Packbell's circuitry was scrambled, he must have heard Crotswurth call him "Robotnik" and gotten that in his memory chips as the dictator's identification. It would be very difficult to amend this error. "Fine," Julian replied eventually. "Just burn everything in their rooms." After the android saluted, he added, "Oh, and Packbell?" "Yes, sir?" "If you ever encounter them again, shoot them on sight." The badger clapped its hands. The marks on Karl's neck and the wounds on Crotswurth disappeared. However, the geneticist's fingers didn't grow back. "Humph," Crotswurth muttered. "I suppose this healing ability only speeds up the natural healing process considerably; it can't grow limbs or digits back. Oh well...I suppose I'll have to make myself some artificial fingers." "How'd you figure out to teleport like that?!" Karl asked, mystified. "When ya left us watchin' DA WIZUHD O' OZ," Maxl replied, "I told Jade she should try an' do dat ting Dor'thy did. She told me she couldn', so I made a bet wit' her. Which, I believe, has yet ta be paid." Grumbling in Jade's voice, the badger took a bill out of its pocket, then put it in its other hand, which put it back in the pocket. The badger glanced at its watch. PART FOUR XAVIER "WHEN THE DARK COMES RISING, SIX SHALL TURN IT BACK." - SUSAN COOPER CHAPTER XIX THE COUNCIL "Kate." The gentle voice sounded in the human's mind, so that she pushed herself up on her arms. "What was I dreaming?" she tried to recall sleepily where she'd heard the voice. "You're not dreaming this," the voice replied. "Oh. I should have known that if I'd been dreaming I'd have another nightmare." The voice said softly, with great sadness, "None on South Island, and even in many other places on Mobius, has been able to sleep well since Willind was captured." "It's been weeks," Kate replied. "Weeks since I closed my eyes without seeing his face." "That's why I'm calling you," the voice replied. "The Council is to meet at the Hidden Palace." Kate sat up, fully awake now. "The Hidden Palace?" she whispered. "I don't believe I have the strength to go there." "Do not worry," the voice replied. "The Chaos Emeralds will function for you." As if to emphasize this point, the seven jewels floated up from their stand, and surrounded her in a glowing, multicolored ring. She found herself flying, up out of Knothole, moving at incredible speeds above the treetops, and, at last, to the Hidden Palace. The Chaos Emeralds glowed, and a doorway opened in the face of the rock. Kate Chaos entered the doorway, and looked around her in awe. She had been to the Hidden Palace once before, but even so, its beauty amazed her still, and probably always would. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of smoothly-arranged precious stones; no mortal hand could have created the spectacular surroundings. Moving down through the glorious corridors, her eyes beheld more splendor every step of the way, until she reached the main chamber. The chamber was the center for all the key forces of good on the planet Mobius. It was adorned with many more precious stones and furnished with a throne for each of the Stones' Children, whom Kate sensed standing with her. The central throne was larger than the others, and encrusted with jewels of all colors. Time -- a figure in a black hood and cloak, who would seem enigmatic to all but these, his closest brethren -- walked slowly toward it and took his place there, the Time Stones following him and hovering above the throne, encircling the Master Emerald that was floating there already. He removed his hood, showing a human face that was young but had an ageless quality to it, and black hair. The throne to Time's left was made up of objects from the sea. Cylna, a woman who had flowing, green hair and was wearing blue robes, moved down the hall and took her seat at the throne, the Rhythm Pearls following her. To Cylna's left was a wooden throne, to which Bran, a man in green robes (they appeared to be made from grass) with brown hair walked with the Primal Tourmalines. On Time's right was an empty throne, and to the right of that was a throne made of turquoise, to which a woman in navy blue robes -- Sky -- walked, with the Invisibility Sapphires floating behind. And now, Kate, who noticed suddenly that her nightgown had disappeared and been replaced with red robes, walked to the green throne to Sky's right. Three empty thrones were in the chamber. One, to Time's right, was adorned with roses to mourn the loss of Willind and the Jades. Another, to Bran's left, was made of moonstone, and represented the Moon Gems, which, at present, were kept at a place called Pride Lake and had no Child. The last, and the most important at present, was to Kate's right and was made of several precious stones and metals, and had the Super Emeralds, which were always kept at the Hidden Palace, floating above it. As all the Children were seated, Time cleared his throat. "My brother and sisters," he said in a voice that seemed to make the many lines of sadness on his face grow more pronounced, "we all know of the capture of Willind and the Life Jades. However, take heart, as Willind -- although changed greatly - - is still alive, and the most powerful of the Jades safely hidden." Bran spoke up, "So we are here to plan to retrieve them?" "No," Time replied. "That is a quest for another day. We will bide our time, and we have much of it to bide, if you take my meaning. Robotnik will be occupied with other things." "Robotnik?" Cylna said with inquisition. "That name is what Julian is to be called from now on," Time replied. "It's a taunt, just another of the many common bonds that tie his many foes together." "If we're planning on taunting him," Kate said, "I'd personally suggest RoBUTTnik instead." The others looked amused at their youngest sister. "Yes," Time said. "Many will use that name, as it is often the first thing that comes to a person's mind upon hearing it...Robotnik, however, has significance to Julian's past." Kate nodded in understanding. "I see," she said. "I would like to know, though, why ARE we here if that's not our goal?" Time smiled again at her impatience. "Think about it, sister," he said. "Hmmm," Kate said, stroking her chin. "Let's see...here we are, the five of us...FIVE! That's it! Xavier!" Sky smiled at her sister's quick thinking and her memory. "We only mentioned him once to you," she said, "as one of the replacements we'd have, should something happen to one of us. Yet, you recall not only the name we were going to use, but that he was next in line." Kate blushed. "Well, they always said on Earth that my memory was fantastic...of course, we don't even have a NAME yet for the Child of the Moon Gems should we need one, nor even a gender, so that helped me remember." "Very good," Cylna said with both amusement and pride in her bright eyes. "Wait," Kate said in sudden realization. "The Life Jades are gone. How are we to create a new Child?!" Time smiled in satisfaction. "That's why we're here." CHAPTER XX THE PLAN "A cloning process might be a good idea," Bran suggested in his booming baritone voice. "But none of US can be cloned," Sky reminded him. "If anyone tried, the results would be disastrous for both them AND us!" "Would it be possible to clone a mortal being and give the clone the Super Emeralds' powers?" Cylna asked. Time looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "It's conceivable." "But the Children are always human, to represent a race that's dominant on other planets, but never really evolved on this one," Sky said. "The only humans on Mobius other than us are those who are trying to CONQUER it. If there were an accident in the cloning..." "There's likely to be," Bran said. "Without the Jades, we can't be sure of our success in creating a new Child, even if it IS a clone." "We'll have to attempt it," Cylna replied. "We've got little choice. I suggest that, if there are at least enough errors in the programming -- such as one major error, two medium errors, or three minor ones -- we give Xavier a trial period, and, if he succeeds, THEN he'll join us." "Good," Time said. "I'll think of what the trial would be. Any ideas on what we should clone?" Kate, who had been quiet this whole time, spoke up, "I think a clone of Sonic the Hedgehog would meet our needs." The other four heads nodded in consent. "Very well, then," Time said. "Go and get him from your home and bring him here." A large golden ring appeared. Kate stood up from her throne and stepped into it, the Chaos Emeralds following her. When she came out on the ring's other side, she was in Sonic the Hedgehog's room. She cast a spell to keep him from waking up, then another to cause him to float through the air behind her, as she returned through the Teleportation Ring, which disappeared after she came through. The other Children rose and moved to the place where Sonic was hovering. All the Gems levitated directly above the sleeping hedgehog. "What specifics should we give Xavier?" Sky asked. "Other than the power of the Super Emeralds, of course." "Hmmm," Bran said, pondering. "Well, since none of us age physically, he's going to be perpetually eleven years old, so we'll have to work around that." "We won't need to add much to his various thinking skills, I don't believe," said Cylna, "as those manifest themselves over time, whether the body ages or not. I think enhancing physical strength is important, as he'll otherwise possess only a marginal level for his entire existence." Time nodded. "Very well. Any other things we really should add?" "I don't think so," Kate said. "All the other abilities that should prove helpful to him will either manifest themselves over time or are already present in Sonic." "Very well, then," Sky said. "Let us begin." The five closed their eyes and began chanting an ancient, and very powerful, spell. Sonic rose halfway to the ceiling and hung there. The Super Emeralds surrounded him in a ring-shape; that ring was encircled by another made of the various red gems, which controlled physical strength; and that ring, in turn, was encircled by a ring of all the other Stones, with the Master Emerald hanging just above. All of the Jewels' strangely-colored auras began to grow brighter and larger, until the light in the room was blinding. The Children, however, did not notice and continued reciting the spell. Finally, the Gems drew away from Sonic; the Children opened their eyes. As they watched, the brightness around them began to die, and they could see a second hedgehog floating softly to the floor. CHAPTER XXI THE CHILD "Xavier," Kate whispered in awe. Sky, looking at him closely, said, "He's...he's PURPLE!" "He really IS?!" Bran asked. "I thought it was just a trick of the light!" "In a way," Time said, "it is. Apparently, our use of the Red Gems has led to a bit of a red aura glowing from within him, merging with his natural blue color." "Should we consider this a flaw?" Cylna asked. "After all, it could even be a blessing, as it may be important to distinguish him from Sonic." Time nodded. "That's a good thought. However, it's a flaw in design, nonetheless, and the smallest problem could have dire results." Xavier spoke his first words. Those present couldn't tell whether they were spoken in cynic or in sadness, but the words were very clear: "So you're saying I'm a defect." "Not exactly, and not yet. We must see your skills." "Skills?" Xavier replied. "Gotcha." He moved to where the throne was that would be his, picked it up, twirled it on his finger, then drop-kicked it down the hall, and began to run after it as though to catch up to it and stop it. But he fell. "OOOF!!!" Time made a gesture to the flying throne, and it turned around and floated back to its place, then landed. "Sonic's speed," Kate gasped. "What happened?!" "I...I just fell, that's all," Xavier said, then got up, and proceeded to run around the room. His speed was the peak for a normal hedgehog of his size...but it couldn't begin to match Sonic's. "I...I really AM defective," he murmured. "Where could the glitch have been?" Bran asked. "How did the speed keep from being cloned?" "We knew there was bound to be a hang-up somewhere," Cylna said, hanging her head. "I just wish it hadn't been in copying Sonic's most valuable ability." "What are you going to do to me?" Xavier asked in fear. CHAPTER XXII THE DECISION "From the flaws we've seen," Time said, "it seems you may not be able to use your powers effectively. You have a lot of potential, but before your powers ignite, there must be a spark. "Ignition results from friction. The friction will be between you and Robotnik. However, you can make an ignition more effective or less...part of it'll depend on the catalyst, or catalystS, you use." "So," Xavier said, "basically, you're saying I need to find an object or being...or several...to help?" "You don't NEED to," Time said, "but it is much more dangerous to go without." "Any specific guidelines?" Xavier asked. "You must let nobody find out your true identity," Time replied. "Use your abilities as little as possible, and avoid contact with the Knothole Freedom Fighters at all costs." "So be it," Xavier replied softly, trying very hard to keep his head from hanging. "I will do my best to meet these conditions. What will happen should I fail?" "You will be destroyed," Sky replied sadly. "Be a tad more optimistic, bro," Kate said. "How's about asking what will happen should you SUCCEED?!" "Because it's OBVIOUS," Xavier snapped. "I'll join your ranks and rise to full power. Of course, not that it's likely that I WILL." "It ISN'T, if you keep that kind of attitude!" Kate replied angrily. "There are two kinds of beings in the cosmos: Those who think they CAN, and those who think they CAN'T. Both kinds are correct." "Pretty words," Xavier replied, "and much easier to say when you're not the one who's defective and has to undergo the journey." Bran warned him, "If you're to succeed, you must believe it possible, and you must also keep a good head at all times." "I'll try," Xavier replied. "Good," Time said. "For, if you fail, we will have but one chance left to rid the world of Robotnik and Snively: The Child of the Moon Gems." Xavier flinched at the idea that the world's fate may well have rested on his shoulders. Clearing his throat, he said, "I will do my best. I will find all areas Robotnik threatens, and if I can't stop his plans, I will at LEAST set him back." The five other Children nodded. "Goodbye, Xavier," Kate said softly, and a beam of light came down from the ceiling, enveloping the purple hedgehog and taking him to the outside of the Hidden Palace. "I hope he succeeds," Cylna said softly. "For all our sakes." Five Teleportation Rings appeared. Time stepped through his with the Time Stones; Cylna stepped through hers with the Rhythm Pearls; Bran went into one with the Primal Tourmalines; Sky followed with the Invisibility Sapphires. Alone in the Council Hall, Kate was about to step through her Ring as well, with Sonic and the Chaos Emeralds in tow, but first, she looked at Xavier's throne, and at the Super Emeralds. Cylna's words echoed in her mind. "I hope he succeeds...for all our sakes." UHHH..."OUTRODUCTIO N", I GUESS... DON'T EVEN LOOK FOR A QUOTE HERE. I'M NOT GOING TO SPEND VALUABLE BRAIN CELLS. GOD KNOWS I'VE ALREADY SPENT ENOUGH TIME ON THIS STORY. WELL, IT'S BEEN A LOOONG TIME COMING -- THE IDEA OF WRITING ABOUT XAVIER'S PAST CAME TO ME OVER A YEAR AGO -- AND IT WILL STILL BE A LONG TIME BEFORE THE WHOLE IGNITION FACTOR SERIES IS FINISHED. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING THIS FAR. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THESE DAYS I'LL WRITE A STORY IN THE "NORMAL" SONIC UNIVERSE; IT'S LIKELY TO BE MUCH EASIER WITHOUT HAVING TO EXPLAIN EVERY SINGLE 3RD-PARTY CHARACTER. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THOSE WHO ARE CONNECTED WITH THIS STORY IN ANY WAY: DAVE "BOOKSHIRE" PISTONE, WHO THOUGHT UP BLUEBROOK AND HAS THAT GREAT SITE; STEVE "MAXL" TRAMER WHO HELPED ME AVOID INCONTINUITIES WITH HIS STORIES WHICH TAKE PLACE IN THE SAME REALITY; ALL THE PEOPLE WHOSE CHARACTERS ARE REPRESENTED HEREIN; AND THOSE PEOPLE AT THE PRODIGY NETWORK WHO HAVE DONE WONDERS IN THE PAST YEAR AND SHED THE INCREDIBLY HIGH PRICES AND OVERALL CRAPPY STUFF THEY HAD FOR THE LONGEST TIME, AND, MOST RECENTLY, CREATING DECENT SUPPORT FOR WEB PAGES. MEANWHILE, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO XAVIER? THE STORY CONTINUES IN IGNITION FACTOR, BOOK 1: GROUND ZERO. AS FOR THE FATE OF MAXL/TRACKER/JADE, CROTSWURTH, AND KARL, THEY'LL ALL REAPPEAR IN 72 HOURS, BOOK 1: THE END OF INNOCENCE, BY STEVE "MAXL" TRAMER. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT WHEN THEY'RE AVAILABLE. IN THE MEANTIME, BE SURE TO READ BLUE FLAMES AND JADED VIEWS, WHICH CONTAIN OTHER IMPORTANT ELEMENTS TO BOTH IGNITION FACTOR AND 72 HOURS. ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE EITHER AVAILABLE OR WILL BE AVAILABLE AT HTTP://RAT.ORG/BOOKSHIRE, AND WILL ALSO BE ON MY WEB SITE AS SOON AS I GET IT TO WORK CORRECTLY (I HAVEN'T EVEN FIGURED OUT WHAT THE URL'S GONNA BE YET). For your convenience, here are the E-Mail addies of all the authors who currently have stories from this Sonic reality on the Web: Mine, for those of you too lazy to go back and look at the foreword, are AHVT94B@PRODIGY.COM and 217- 6200@TNET.BLUETHUN.COM. You can reach Steve "Maxl" Tramer (my partner on JADED VIEWS and author of the upcoming 72 HOURS) as 308- 6200@TNET.BLUETHUN.COM. Finally, you can get ahold of Brent "Hedgehog X" Roberts (co- author of BLUE FLAMES and creator of the main character in IGNITION FACTOR) at NNFW26B@PRODIGY.COM.