Nack the Weasel grinned widely, laser pistol clutched in his left hand, a light whisp of steam still rising from the barrel.  At his feet lay Knuckles, clutching his chest with a trembling hand, blood streaming down his fingertips.  He grunted in pain, tilting his head back in resignation; for once, that damn weasel had gotten the best of him.  "Some guardian," Nack sneered, putting his boot on the echidna's gut a moment and illiciting a cry of pain, then shaking his head and moving away.  "You'll live."
       His ears pricked at the sounds of distant voices.  He tossed the gun up, flipping it so the barrel was held in his hand, and proceeded to slam the handle hard into Knuckles' head.  The echidna didn't move after that.  Nack darted into a nearby empty room tucked into the wall of the underground passageway.  He ducked into a shadow at an angle, craning his neck to see what was going on.  Had they caught onto him?
       Several uniformed echidnas were gathered around a computer.  Nack could just see the map outlined on the screen, and whatever was blinking, it was far from where he was.  He carefully scanned the hallway, then darted from shadow to shadow between the dim golden lights.
       "What the hell is that?" he heard a woman ask as she walked into the room, coffee in hand.  Another answered in a distracted sort of tone, "We're seeing a significant energy signature, Doctor.  It just appeared outside the city, it was an enormous blast."
       Nack watched as she leaned in to look at the monitor full of readings and maps.  "The equivalent of 2.14 emeralds?  Do we--"
       "We have all the emeralds accounted for, Doctor."
       "But that's insane!  I've...I don't think I've ever seen power like that that wasn't directly due to emeralds; not with that type of energy."
       Nack blinked.  2.14 emeralds?
       "Doctor, it looks like it's a magic-user." Another uniformed echidna turned from a separate monitor to the woman.  She stepped close and blocked the weasel's view.  He scowled, carefully stepping closer.  On the screen was a security camera view of a vixen lying unconscious on the ground.
       The weasel reached a gloved hand to his ear, pressing a small button on an earset hidden in his hat.  "Dr. Robotnik, this is Nack; I think I found something better than that emerald yeh wanted, mate."

       Kelly buried her face in her hands as Snively tried to regain his composure, trembling visibly.  "He watched me the entire three days?"
       Snively sighed.  "He kept track of everything you did.  Teleportation, invisibility, telekinesis; he recorded every single time you seemed to zone out, watched all the surroundings to see if anything happened.  Saw you heal yourself once.  Lots of little things."
       Kelly closed her eyes.  "I just...I didn't care anymore."
       "Care...?"
       She shook her head.  "I used to hide my powers.  But at that point I didn't care.  I...things changed..."  She fell silent.
       Snively rubbed the back of his head in thought.  Robotnik must be brooding right about now, stewing over the failure of his little pet project.  Or perhaps he had started revision already.  Either way, Snively knew better than to go anywhere near him.  Part of him urged to get out of here and find solace in a cup of hot tea.  He glanced at Kelly.  Her eyes were glazed over, her expression troubled.  Locks of hair had fallen in front of one of those emerald green orbs.  The thought hit him of brushing it away, and his gaze fell nervously.  Her tail was there though, swishing in almost feline fashion.  He watched the tip curl and sway slowly, entranced.
       "Hair."
       Snively looked up.  "What?"
       "Hair."  Kelly's expression was still vague.  "You had hair once, didn't you?"
       He stared.  "Er...yes."
       "Were you taller?"
       "What?" He couldn't help but laugh.  So she thought she was psychic now?  What next?
       "Were you?" Her eyes pierced through his, and somehow he couldn't help but stare.  That hair..those soft eyelashes gracing an even softer gaze.  He cleared his throat.  "No, I wasn't.  Why do you ask?"
       "Oh."  She looked confused.  "It's...nothing, just..." Her voice fell away, then she drew a breath to try again.  "Something genetic, your...height..and your hair.  Is it?"
       Snively would've scoffed at such a brazen question.  But she looked genuinely concerned.  He avoided her eyes.  "Yes.  I was born...funny."  The corners of his lips turned downward.
       There was a long silence.  When Kelly finally said something, it almost made Snively jump.  "It can be fixed, Snively."
       His eyes widened.  "What in hell are you talking about?"
       "That height.  Your hair.  Everything.  It can be made right.  I just...I know it can.  Something I trust is telling me it should be."
       "You're mad."  He said it flatly, leaning back against the couch, then shaking his head.  "You're mad," he said again.  Kelly glared now.  "I'm not crazy, Snively; I've been seeing it over and over again.  I thought it was in your past, but now I know, it's future.  It's what's supposed to be."
       "And why now?"  He crossed his arms, perturbed that she'd even brought up the subject.  "How about when I was born, huh?  How about before I was dumped on my aunt's doorstep, unconscious and nearly dead thanks to my own father?  Before I got this scar..and that one..hell, how about before all of them?!"  Those eyes..it was as if she had reached into him and pulled out his words.  He scowled, turning away.  Must not have been her eyes.  Because he kept talking.
       "You think you can just walk in here and make things better, fox?  I've been this way for 26 years, and Robotropolis has been this way for a decade as of a few months ago!  You aren't even from this goddamn planet; you have no idea what you're dealing with, fox-girl.  You don't know what I've been through, and don't you pretend you do.  You don't know what it's like to have the shit beat out of you, or--"
       "No."  That single word hushed him.  "I don't know," Kelly said softly.  He sulked, sniffing irritably.  She brushed the hair out of the way of her eye.  "I'm sorry.  I'll leave you alone."
       "Good."  He rose from the couch and headed for the door, and Kelly's ears splayed as she watched him.  "Tomorrow morning.  Same time.  We're heading for the factory again."  He opened the door, scowling.  "Be there."

       Somehow there was no solace to be found in that cup of tea.  It seldom worked, but Snively always hoped, at least.  By now it had gone cold, and he spun the cup in slow circles while he stared ahead.  He shifted in the wobbly seat he'd accidentally chosen to sit in at this small table.  There was an industrial-sized kitchen and dining area available not far away, but somehow he always preferred this tiny break room.  Sick of all the big buildings and rooms, maybe.  Or maybe it was Robotnik's secret claustrophobia.  Snively sneered at that thought.  Few people knew what a wimp Robotnik really was--and always about the dumbest things.  You couldn't phase him if you ripped off his arm.  But stick him in a tiny room with bright lights, and he'd snap within a week or less.
       Snively wished he could've snapped by now.  So much could've been avoided.  The agonizing pain, the days and days in the medical wing; wasted breath, wasted existence; humiliation and shame.  Somehow he had grown accustomed to the pain and humiliation.  What stung him now more than anything were those eyes.  He couldn't get his mind off--
       He slammed his cup down on the table, cold tea sloshing out.  Damn her! I need no pity!  She can't help me anyway...I'm too far gone.  The sadness of that thought had faded away.  It was just a fact now.
       His eyebrows twitched.  Was it a fact?  He pushed the tea away and rested his folded arms on the table--and the wheels of his mind began to spin.
       He lifted his communicator, rising from the table and adjusting the frequency.  "Kelly?"
       It took a moment for her to reply.  When she did, her voice was hoarse with sleep.  "Yes sir?"
       "You'd better not be asleep."
       "Why's that?"
       "Because I'm dropping by."