I'd like to start out by saying, this story is from before Robotnik was defeated. Plus I'd like to thank CamCoon, who really brightened my day with his response to "Bunnie's Bad Day", Bookshire, who happens to be the best storyteller around, and I'd also like to say to a certain "Nefaria" that I would love it if he sent me more pictures. Clean ones that is. On wit da storwee... __________________________________________________________ "VIXEN IN THE LABYRINTH" by Holly-Beth Vixie Kraft (my real name) It was a typical Knothole day. Tails was outside playing with Sonic. Sally and Bunnie were talking and figuring out things on Nicole. Rotor stood in his workshop, and Dulcy was asleep. Antoine happened to be on lookout that day, and he was getting very t ired. To no one in particular, he spoke. "Sacre bleu cheese! Zees es soooooo boreeng...Ah I know! Oui Oui, yes I will take a break for zome loonsh. Zat weel get me goeeng!" Antoine smiled and walked over to the edge of the lookout post to reach his sandwich. Unfortunately, there was a loose board, and Antoine, being himself, tripped over it, making him squash face first into his calamari dish. Sonic and Tails had happened to be looking at Antoine when he fell, and they were rolling on the forest floor, laughing. As soon as they had calmed down, they ran up the ladder to help him. "Why Ant, why I think squid makes a statement for you!" Sonic sneered. Tails fell down again and laughed. "I am not thinkeeng zees was funny! Stop laughing!" Antoine said with malice as he picked off his lunch. "Chill Ant, I just came to tell you that your shift is over, you can go back to Knothole." Sonic smiled. "Hmph...I knew this! You cannot knit wool over mah eyes!" Antoine said matter-of-factly. "Good, then go! Dulcy takes over from here!" Sonic then whistled for Dulcy. It never failed to bring her attention. Hearing it, she got up and flew to the lookout. "Hi Sonic! Hi Tails! Hi...uh..Tony." paused Dulcy, "Um, Antoine, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?" "He was attacked by a killer squid!" giggled Tails. Sonic laughed. "C'mon Tails, let's go see what your ol' Aunt Sal is doing with Bunnie." "Okay Sonic! Bye Dulcy!" barked Tails, as he climbed down the tree. Antoine was close behind him as he and Sonic left. "Hey, Sal. What's cookin?" said Sonic as he and Tails walked into the hut. "Hi Sonic, we're just working on a plan to sabotage one of power plants in Robotropolis." replied Sally. "Plus we're workin' with Nicole here to find out why I've been sleep-walking!" added Bunnie. "Sleep-walking?" said Tails. "Mm-hm. I keep going over to the Power Ring Pool in the middle of the night, for reasons Sally-girl is trying ta find out!" "I'm pretty sure it has to do with a dream you might have had." Sally said to the side of the ongoing conversation. "Anyway, what's the ol' plan?" "Well, there's a cargo shuttle containing fuel and oil that we'll sabotage on the way in. When we overtake the Swat-bots on the inside, we can lead the shuttle into the Doomsday Area." "Way cool plan, Sal. Tails can come, right?" "Sonic, I don't think..." "Good! That's good! You don't think! Okay, so Tails can come with me!" Sonic grinned mischievously. Sally sighed. "So immature..." "Can I, Aunt Sally?" "Sure Tails, but you are going to be careful, right?" "Of course, Aunt Sally!" Tails smiled. "Okay." "Yes! Past cool, big guy! C'mon, let's get ready." Sonic said motioning to his admirer. "Yeah!" "Snively, have you placed that false file about the cargo ship into the Swat-bots?" Dr. Robotnik growled. "Yes sir. The freedom fighters have already downloaded it from a Stealth-bot this morning." "Good, Snively. Very good." "Thank you sir." "Now once I have that rodent in my vicinity, we'll invite him and his little friends on a trip to my labyrinth." "Labyrinth, sir?" questioned Snively. "Oh yes. It's a complex maze I have made especially for that blasted blue burden. Once inside, I will persuade him to find the center of the maze. Of course, I'll tell him I will set him and his friends free when they reach the center, but in the center of my little labyrinth, is really...a Roboticizer!" and with this, the evil Doc laughed. The next day, Sonic and his friends were packing up to go to Robotropolis. It was going to be a tough journey since it had began to rain as they headed off. Sonic took Sally and Bunnie on each of his arms while Tails flew alongside Dulcy, who was carryi ng an extremely petrified Antoine on her back. When they all reached Robotropolis, they began the journey to the power plant. Smog smothered it. Probably because of over usage. Sally checked the coordinates from Nicole with the ones she had stolen. According to Nicole, they were right on target. "C'mon you guys, get inside!" Sally whispered. All the Freedom Fighters continued within, when suddenly a giant monitor came to life before the steel door slammed shut behind them. On the screen was Robotnik. "Welcome, Welcome!" he sneered, "I see you found my little false file in that stealth bot you overtook this morning?" "I knew it Robutthead! You're always a snake." Sonic shouted. "Oh really? Well, I have another surprise for you. I am pairing you up with three other Freedom Fighters, on a trip..through my labyrinth..." "What's the deal Moon-head?" Bunnie cried. "Oh, it's a lovely little maze I designed for all of you. In it, there are traps, tricks, and treachery! If you make it to the center of the labyrinth, I guess I'll be able to set you free. That IS if you can make it to the center." "Don't be so sure about that, Robo-geek. This is one way past cool hedgehog you're talking to. Don't count on us being stopped." Sonic said with certitude. Robotnik chuckled. "We'll see, rodent...we'll see." And with that, the floor dropped out from beneath all the Freedom Fighters, leaving them to a high domed maze. Beside them, were the three other Freedom Fighters Robotnik was talking about. All three were girls. The first, a fox about Tails' age, stood up. "I'm Vixie Lamenta, Freedom Fighter of Northbreeze. This is Zip," she said pointing to a hedgehog about the same age as Sally, "and this is Annie." she finished, motioning to a young hedgehog, who was younger than all of them. "I guess you're our partners through the labyrinth?" said Zip. "I guess so," replied Sally, becoming slightly jealous of Zip. "Well, let's get this thing over with." said Sonic. Vixie walked over to Tails. "Why do you have two?" she asked. "You mean tails? I don't know." "Is that bad?" pondered Vixie. "No. I can fly with them." Tails smiled proudly. "Oh, cool!" she said. Tails was beginning to like Vixie. In fact, her darker red fur was very appealing. Like Bunnie, she had a little tuft of hair between her ears, which made her look at least twelve. "How'd you get caught..uh.." "Tails, call me Tails." "...Tails." "Robotnik tricked us into a mission to destroy a power plant." he paused for a moment, "How did you get caught?" Tails wondered. "Robotnik was getting ready to Roboticize my parents, with Zip and Annie's. He didn't seem to notice us escape, until we got caught in a heat duct." "Why didn't he just Roboticize you three?" wondered Tails. "He said that we would need a little extra punishment for postponing the inevitable. So he shoved us here." the vixen answered. "That's too bad." "Yeah..." The group of Freedom Fighters walked on inside the maze. Tails held Vixie by her hands and lifted her in the air. As the rest of the fighters walked on, Annie tugged on Zip's arm. "Zippy? Are Mama and Daddy gone?" she asked. Zip looked down at her little sister. "Yes." "When will they come back?" she persisted. "Annie, they're not coming back. Robotnik roboticized them." Annie sighed heavily for a six year old hedgehog. Sally and Sonic had watched the whole thing, and Sonic held Sally a little tighter as they walked. Soon they came upon a fork in the maze. One of the forks was lined in red, and the other yellow. "Which way, Sally-girl?" asked Bunnie. "Well," said Sally, taking out Nicole, "Let me try to see which way is safer." Nicole then proceeded to scan the area. "Scan shows sign of heavy bot patrol in the red sector, Sally." droned Nicole. "Yellow." blurted Sally. The group moved down the yellow path. Dulcy was beginning to get nervous. Her claustrophobia was even stronger now, since the yellow path was smaller in height. Antoine, as usual, was worse off than Dulcy. Suddenly, Zip heard something. She began to get ready to juice up, just like Sonic, only her feet began to glow. Just then, she darted off ahead of the troupe. She then commenced to blow away Swat-bots with lasers that were attached to the bracelets on her arms. It was at that time, that Tails noticed Vixie had a bracelet too. And he began to fly over the bots, letting Vixie fire from above. Dulcy took on a trio of Stealth-bots by freezing them with her icy breath. Antoine tried his best to use his "king-fu" to stop a particular Swat-bot that had the little squire on it's mind. Ant was losing, so Rotor and Bunnie came in and finished it off. Annie jumped into Sally's arms, full of fear. Sally ran off to the side of the tunnel, where she began to calm the little girl down. Rotor had been pulling out the main wire consoles of the bots he had ambushed, putting the parts in his utility belt. Probably will be helpful later, he thought. Bunnie just began punching the bots out of her way, or kicking them with her powerful robotic legs. At last, the Swat-bot team was finished. Proud of their victory, they cheered. Robotnik, who had been watching all along, began to chuckle subtly. He then brought out his microphone. The Freedom Fighters stopped and stared at a descending monitor. "Very good, my little Freedom Fighters. Did you think that was easy?" Robotnik scoffed. "Piece of cake, Robuttnik!" shouted Vixie. "Oh, is that so, little vixen? We'll see about that." the evil doctor smiled. With that, the monitor withdrew. Instantly, the Freedom Fighters began tumble to the ground from a large tremor that had just begun. After looking behind them, they noticed that the yellow cavern was caving in. "Sonic! We've got to get out of here!" Sally yelled over the rumbling. "Grab on you guys!" said Sonic to Bunnie, Sally, and Antoine. After they did what they were told, Sonic shot down the tunnel. Dulcy was making sure Tails, Vixie, Rotor, and the other two hedgehogs were secured on her back. When everyone was set, she cracked the whip, which sent the six Freedom Fighters screaming through the yellow corridor. It wasn't long before she had caught up with Sonic. "Sonic! I see a light up ahead!" shouted Bunnie. As soon as Sonic heard that, he knew what to do. "Slap me some power, Sal!" he said. Sally proceeded to grab a power ring from Sonic's backpack. She looked over to Dulcy, "Prepare to crack the whip again, Dulcy!" "Got ya Sal!" came her reply. Sally handed the ring to Sonic. After an initial power surge, Sonic shot off, dragon right behind him. When they made it to the light, the tunnel had already begun to gain on them, and was nearly ready to fall on top of them. At last, they emerged from the tunnel. "We made it you guys! We did it!" shouted Vixie. "Ha! No problem." crowed Sonic. Robotnik's great monitor then showed up. "No problem, Sonic Hedgehog? My, what an aspiration we have. Well I've only one more trick up my sleeve, and that, my dear boy, is my worst yet. Are you all set?" Robotnik grumbled. "You bet your gut on it." Sonic grinned readily. "Ah...I'm glad. Farewell, Sonic Hedgehog. You were such a dirty little rodent." Suddenly, the monitor disappeared. Rotor walked up to Sonic. "What do you think he has planned for us next?" "I don't know Rote, but I don't think I'm gonna like it." Sonic confessed. "Lookie!" shouted Annie. Before the party were two more hedgehogs. "Mama?! Papa?!" exclaimed Zip. "What happened?" Annie cried. "DETAIN FREEDOM FIGHTERS, BY ORDER OF ROBOTNIK!" the parents droned. "Oh Tails! I can't believe it..." Vixie said as she began to cry softly. "What?" said Tails as two more Roboticized individuals stepped out into the room. "He's...he's torturing us!" Vixie sobbed. The roboticized individuals were Vixie's parents. "No..." she whispered softly. Vixie the fell into Tails' arms, crying. "Mama, Papa, please, we're only trying to help you!" shouted Zip. Annie was crying. "DETAIN FREEDOM FIGHTERS, BY ORDER OF ROBOTNIK!" they droned. Sally turned to Sonic. "We've got to get them out of here. They'll be lured into his trap!" "Okay, hang on." Sonic replied, putting out his arms for Sally to jump into. He then began to race around the room, diverting the attention of the parents. "HEDGEHOG! PRIORITY ONE! PRIORITY ONE!" they shouted monotonously. Bunnie had already caught on to Sonic's plan, and she rushed to gather up Annie, Vixie, and Zip. After telling them a few things, she ran over to Rotor, girls following behind her. "Rotor, I think there's a door over there! Try an see if y'all can open it. We've gotta get these kids out of here!" "Onto it Bunnie!" said Rotor. Rotor then ran to the door. He noticed a number keypad to open the door, so he searched his utility belt. Finding the wire consoles, he then began to reprogram the door. In less than one minute, the door was open. "Good old sugar!" Bunnie smiled as she gathered her companions and ran into the door. When the only people left were Sonic and Sally, Bunnie then whistled for Sonic to head into the room. As soon as he and Sally arrived inside the room, the door shut behind them. All was dark. "Welcome to the center of my Labyrinth." said a voice, "Now I guess I'll have to set you free." The lights jolted on. "NO!!" Sonic shouted. Standing in front of him were Roboticizers built for each one of the party. Below them, were the names of the Freedom Fighters, engraved in gold. "Game......OVER!" shouted Robotnik, standing next to the one marked "Sonic." Swat-bots then cornered the group and began to take each individual to their roboticizer. The bots had just finished putting in Vixie when suddenly Dulcy began to belch loudly. When she burped, Dulcy emitted smoke and she planned on getting everyone out of there. Robotnik began to yell. "ACTIVATE! ACTIVATE IT YOU TWITS!" he shouted at his bots. Just as the group escaped, Tails watched the Roboticizer beam up. "VIXIE!" he cried. Suddenly, Vixie began to be enveloped in a yellow beam. "No! No! NO!" Tails shouted. Sonic grabbed Tails' arm. "C'mon! We've got to find a way out of here!" "I'm not leaving without..." It was done. "...Vixie." he whispered. Sonic took Tails by the hand and shot off through a wall. The rest followed him. "She's gone! I can't believe she's gone!" sobbed Tails when they arrived at Knothole, "I'll never see her again!" Sonic looked down. "I'm sorry, Tails, but we couldn't have saved her anyway. It was too late!" "It's my fault Tails." said a voice. "Dulcy?" Tails looked up. "It was a stupid plan. I should have gone over it with the rest of you. It's all my fault." she replied softly. "It's okay Dulcy. We had to act for ourselves. I don't blame you for a thing." Tails cried softly. "What's wrong guys?" said a voice from behind them. "VIXIE?!" they all shouted. "It's me!" said the little vixen. "How did you escape? I saw you roboticized!" said Tails frantically. "Back in Northbreeze, I was voted the town's best scientist. I had a spare model of myself in my backpack which I let the Swat-bots think was me. Robotnik Roboticized a robot!" she explained. Tails ran up to Vixie. "I'm just glad you're okay." he said. And with that, he laid a kiss on her cheek. Vixie blushed, then hugged Tails. "I thought I'd never see you again!" said Tails. "I'm right here! Smile! You'll be able to see me as often as you want." "Yeah?" "Of course!" Vixie paused, "Tails, you're the best friend I've ever had. I'm glad I made it out alive. I could have never been able to live without a friendship like ours." "We haven't known each other for very long, Vixie." "Well, still, you've proven to be an asset in my life. In Northbreeze, I had no friends. No one. You've introduced me to friendship, and I think I like it very much." "Well, I'll always be here for you." said Tails. Bunnie took this time to interrupt the two foxes. "Supper time, sweethearts! Y'all don't want to starve, do you?" With a smile Tails ran towards the dining hall. Leaving Vixie behind. "C'mon!" he shouted. "I'll be right there Tails!" said Vixie as she watched everyone leave. Turning around to face Robotropolis, she whispered. "I love you Mama, I love you daddy." THE END