A Childish Predicament

A Childish Predicament
By: Moon Princess

Q.N: Okay, so I lied. I guess I’ll have some kind of a note thing in my ‘fics. The backslashes (/) are letters while the star things (*) are thoughts. (X)‘s mean it’s some form of an audio clip. Sam’s letters are in color. Song lyrics are underlined. If you see the word ‘orb,’ that’s when Sam disappears and reappears in her blue aura. I just got tired of writing that over and over. Sorry it took so long for me to write this. I’ve been a little overwhelmed. BTW, if you have any questions, comments, flames even, tell me. I want to hear your opinions. I just don’t really want any cussing. That’s it. Later! M.P.

/Dearest Love,

    My training is progressing like crazy! Everyone is working their hardest and are pulling through. We just found out recently that there are more planets that have Senshi there. Sydney has been killing those Senshi for their pure heart crystals. A pure heart crystal is truly hard to find. They are wondrous and amazing. No one is sure what they do. Everyone has one, but very few know it, including Sydney and your uncle. By the way, how is he? The last time I saw him, we were escaping him, and he wasn’t exactly pleased.
    If you were excited about the baby before, wait until you see me! I look a lot different that when you last saw me. I look more like I do when I’m Sailor Moon. In order for Armageddon to be effective, I had to grow my hair really long. I don’t think you would recognize me. The baby has grown a lot and is getting heavy. I’m not really complaining, but I’m anxious to meet our child. I’m sure you are too.
    I miss you like crazy! I wish you could have come with me. All of the others say I’m acting a lot more mature, but that’s not because of Armageddon, and I know it. I’ve also been writing lyrics a lot more. I haven’t recorded them, though.
I’m definitely ready for a break. This place is so very crazy. You’d be ready to leave after being around here for five minutes. Please write back soon. I hope to hear from you soon because I really miss you.

I love you!
Sam/

    Sam folded the letter and placed it in a manila envelope along with pictures, a Cd, and small notations on small pieces of paper. She sealed it with a crescent moon on top of a microphone sticker and sighed. She would love to be in Knothole right now, but Senshi business always had to come first, unfortunately. She thought of all the times she rebelled against that rule. Her favorite was starting a family. She went to find someone to deliver her letter since she had to train, again.
    ****
    The Freedom Fighters were just closing a meeting. A blue aura appeared and what looked to be a page appeared.
    “Letter for Mr. Kintobor,” the page said. Snively stood up, and the page handed him the letter and left without saying another word.
    “Who’s it from?” Sonic asked.
    “It’s from Sam,” Snively replied.
    “If you don’t want to go on the mission later, you don’t have to,” Sally said.
    “No, I’ll go. I just want to hear how Sam is progressing in her training,” Snively said. He was about open to the door when Hope and Amy Rose came bursting through it. “Hope! Would you settle down,” Snively yelled.
    “But we’re supposed to tell Princess Sally something!” Hope protested.
    “That doesn’t mean that you need to run around and create a ruckus!”
    “But--”
    “Enough, you two!” Sally interrupted. “Now, what did you need to tell me?”
    “A skunk is at the entrance of Knothole and wants us to let him in,” Amy said.
    “We said no ‘cause we’re not supposed to talk to strangers. And he said he wasn’t one! Then--”
    “Hope, the short version!” her older brother said impatiently.
    “Well, he said to get one of the adults,” Hope said.
    Sally, Sonic, Antoine, and Snively, along with Hope and Amy, went to the entrance of Knothole. True to Hope and Amy’s word, a skunk was waiting.
    “Hello princess,” the skunk greeted.
    “Hi Geoffrey. I thought you weren’t coming until next week,” Sally said.
    “Well, I decided to surprise you,” Geoffrey trailed off as soon as he saw the overlander man. “What’s he doing here?” hissed Geoffrey.
    “He’s a Freedom Fighter,” Sonic replied.
    “So, he’s been pardoned by his actions?”
    “Well, no, but he’s proved himself on more than one occasion,” Sally replied.
    Hope could tell her brother was starting to get uncomfortable. “What’s that?” Hope inquired, looking at her brother.
    “Sam sent it.”
    “Who’s that? Your accomplice?” Geoffrey asked smugly.
    “She’s my wife. Now, back off!” Snively growled. He stormed off to his hut and slammed the door, which shook the foundation.
    “What’s his problem? Geoff asked.
    “You just criticized him and his wife. If Sam were here, you’d be picking yourself off the ground,” Alicia said, appearing out of nowhere.
    “Alicia, aren’t you supposed to be training? Not that we don’t want you here,” Rotor asked.
    “I don’t,” Geoffrey muttered.
    “I’m just checking up on a few things. Where’s Snively?” Alicia questioned.
    “Well, Geoffrey St. Jerk made him mad,” Sonic snorted.
    “Well, I checked with Raciel, and I was going to see if Snively wanted to spend a few days with Sam,” Alicia remark, nodding off a little.
    “Can I come too?” Hope asked.
    “I don’t see why not,” Alicia replied. “Why don’t you go get your brother so that I don’t have to explain myself twice,” Alicia said. Hope did as she was told.
    ****
    Snively was in his hut, reading Sam’s letter. He enjoyed receiving them. She sent him parts of songs she was working on. When she was around before, he’d give her a few ideas, and she would always write them down. He smiled at the thought, looking toward the door when Hope came running in.
    “Snively! Guess what?! Alicia’s here!” Hope screamed delightedly before giving her brother the chance to answer.
    “Why?”
    “She said something about Sam.”
    “What? Is she alright?” he asked, expecting the worst.
    “No, she wants to talk to us,” Hope answered.
    “When?”
    “Well, now.” Snively stood and strode toward the door. “Coming?” he asked, smiling faintly.
    She nodded, slightly surprised that he smiled at her. *Maybe it has something to do with Sam,* Hope banished the thought and hurried after him. They saw everyone else go into the Meeting Hall. He smirked when Geoffrey skulked in reluctantly. Snively and Hope walked in and took a seat.
    “What took ya?” Sonic inquired rudely.
    The siblings disregarded the blue hedgehog with ease.
    “Okay, now that everyone’s present, I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Alicia said, looking around the room.
    “Raciel decided to let Sam have a break since she’s pregnant and all.” Everyone turned to look at Snively, who sank down in his chair, turning a slight shade of red. “Since her 21st birthday’s coming up, we’ve been planning a huge bash for her, but it’s not as easy as it sounds,” Alicia continued.
    “She’s getting into everything, isn’t she?” Snively piped up.
    “Yeah, a lot. So, we figured that she’s doing that because she’s lonely.”
    “Yes, but she has all of you guys,” Sally said.
    “True, but Sam’s grown up a lot in the past year. Plus, she’s become extremely attached to everyone here, especially you,” Alicia answered,    nodding toward Snively. “So, how would you and Hope like to come up a few days?” Alicia asked.
    “Up where?” Hope inquired, confused.
    “The moon palace,” Alicia replied.
    Geoffrey St. John burst out in loud laughing. “How and why would anyone what to live there?” he asked, after he had calmed down. He was ignored by all who were in the Meeting Hall.
    “That sounds perfect. When do you need us?” Snively inquired.
    “Let’s see… Sam has to go to a meeting tomorrow, so, I’d say about noon tomorrow.”
    The whole room could tell that Snively was ecstatic and would be ready any time.
    “See you guys later,” Alicia said before disappearing in a flame. Snively was out of the building within seconds.
    “DUDE! That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen him walk!” Sonic exclaimed. The others were laughing at Sonic’s sudden outburst.
    ****
    “Hey Alicia, where’ve you been?” Sam asked, walking up to her.
    “Uh, a-around. I had to do a few things with someone,” Alicia replied.
    “Oh. Hey, I’m working on this song and everything, right? Could you listen to it?”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    “Oh, by the way, have you seen Melissa? Some dude is looking for her,” Sam said.
    “What’s his name?” Alicia inquired.
    “I dunno. Leo or somethin’ like that.”
    “That’s Travis’ brother.”
    Sam looked like she was in a slight dazed state before looking away from the controller of fire. “I give up, Alicia. I have to see my husband,” Sam said abruptly.
    “How about you wait until tomorrow? After that, we can talk to Raciel,” Alicia said, never mentioning who was actually arriving tomorrow with his step-sister. “Relax, I’m sure he’s safe,” Alicia continued.
    “Yeah, but he hasn’t returned any of my letters. What if Robotnik got him? I can’t lose him! Not after I lost Sophia,” Sam said, sinking miserably into a nearby chair.
    “I’m positive he’s fine. How about I listen to that song you mentioned?” Alicia asked, changing the subject.
    “Alright,” Sam said, uncertain.
    ****
    “How much longer?” Sydney asked.
    “Including this month, about two or three months,” a demon said.
    “Why didn’t she suggest this earlier? I can’t wait to crush her and the rest of the pathetic Sailor Senshi!” Sydney bellowed.
    ****
    The following morning left Snively helping Hope find her things to take with her to the Moon Kingdom’s palace.
    “You should have done this last night,” Snively said, impatiently.
    “I didn’t know what Sam would like and what you wouldn’t yell at me for wearing,” Hope replied cheerfully.
    Alicia appeared in her flame. “Ready to go?” she asked.
    “Well, not really. Hope decided to pack at the last minute,” Snively said, scorning Hope at the same time.
    “Why don’t you tell Sally that you and Hope are leaving and I’ll help your sister,” Alicia suggested.
    He knew there was really no point in arguing about Hope being his step-sister. As he was walking to Sally’s hut, Geoffrey appeared from    behind a tree and stopped him.
    “Where are you off to, mate?” Geoff asked.
    “None of your business. Now, out of my way,” Snively replied curtly.
    Geoffrey shoved him roughly. Snively was about to retaliate when he though about Sam and what she’d think about him if he did.
    “I’m not going to fight you. I have to tell Sally that I am leaving to see my wife,” Snively explained, sighing.
Geoff snorted. “Who’d want to marry you?”
    “Oh, I don’t know, the princess of the universe,” Snively smirked.
    “Yeah, you wish. Good mornin’, Miss Rabbot,” Geoff said when Bunnie strolled up.
    “Hi there, Geoff. Why, Snively, aren’t you supposed to be leavin’?” Bunnie asked.
    “Yes. Could you tell Sally that Hope and I are leaving?” he answered.
    “Shore thing, sugar. Now go see that pretty lil’ wife of yours,” Bunnie smiled. Snively nodded and ran back to his hut.
    ****
    Sam was at a meeting, but was bored out of her mind. She noticed Alicia slip in quietly and take a seat across from her.
    “Where have you been?” one of the newer Senshi asked. The whole room, aside from Sam, knew the answer, but just played along.
    “Sam, could you check the corridor to make sure no one’s listening in,” Alicia asked, smiling widely.
    “I’m the one who’s pregnant here!” Sam exclaimed playfully.
    “Sam, it’s not that hard of a task,” Alex said.
    “Fine,” Sam replied. She got up, opened the door and walked out. When she looked to the left, she squealed. For there, standing in the middle of the corridor was her husband, Snively. She ran up to him and was welcomed with open arms and a kiss. “How did you get here?” Sam asked.
    “SURPRISE!”
    Sam turned to see the Sailor Senshi smiling.
    “Meeting adjourned, considering that it was a set-up for Sam,” Melissa said.
    “Where’s Hope?” she asked her husband.
    “Exploring,” he replied. “Speaking of which, where do I put my bags?”
    “My room,” Sam said smugly. He and Sam walked to their room, talking and catching up on each other’s lives.
    ****
    Later on, it was about five minutes until dinner, and things seemed to have died down. Sam and Snively were going through books and baby names, something they had never thought about nor considered.
    “I just can’t believe how you’ve changed. I didn’t think that your hair would be this long and the baby would be--”
    “I’d watch what I was saying if I were you,” Sam laughed. She did look different; so different, he would not have recognized her at first. Her hair was blonde and was parted in the middle in pigtails and went down to her ankles. The top of her head was adorned with two spherical odangos, which where on each side of her head. Sam’s belly was a lot bigger since the baby was growing also. Her attitude was about the same; she joked a little more than she used to.
    A guard, Simon, walked in. “Princess, it is time to eat,” Simon reported.
    “Simon, please, call me Sam,” she said warmly. He nodded, smiled, and walked out quietly.
    “Do all of your guards call you princess?” Snively inquired.
    “No, the newer ones do, until I tell them I’ll give them a raise if they refer to me as ‘Sam.’ Simon’s been here since I was born and I still can’t get him to,” Sam replied. She leaned against him.
    “Sam, don’t you think that we should go to dinner?” he asked.
    “We can have it delivered to us,” she replied. He could tell she was trying to be playful and stubborn at the same time.
    “Sam, how about we go eat dinner, get Hope, and do something,” Snively suggested.
    Sam smiled and nodded. “Sounds like a great idea. I haven’t seen Hope for awhile anyways. We could go to Earth and catch a movie,” she replied. They walked out of the bedroom, hands together, to dinner.
    ****
    It was about nine in the evening when they got back. Snively was carrying a sleeping Hope to her room while Sam reported that they were back. Sam was in bed, writing what appeared to be lyrics. Snively came in shortly after.
    “I told you so,” Sam smirked.
    He looked at her, confused.
    “When I said you’d be a great father.”
    “Oh, well, I knew you wouldn’t be able to carry her,” he replied.
    “Uh huh.” Sam looked him directly in the eye and could tell he was, in a way, lying. He smiled sheepishly and went to the bathroom to change. He came in later and had a thought in mind.
    “Sam, why are we going to bed so early?” he inquired.
    She shrugged as he sat next to her.
    “You know,” he said, “tomorrow is Sunday. We could go to church.”
    Sam’s eyes gleamed a little at the thought. “Alright. The sermon starts at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Hope can go to children’s church,” she replied.
    He nodded as he considered the idea.
    She closed her notebook without signing her name.
    “Aren’t you going to finish that?” he asked.
    “No, why?” she answered.
    “Just curious is all.”
    “Don’t worry. You’ll be able to read this book eventually,” Sam smiled. She clicked off the light and wrapped her arms carelessly around her husband. She laid her head on his shoulder and gave it a kiss.
    “Sam? What are you doing?” he asked.
    “Nothing,” she replied as she nuzzled into his neck. He pulled away from her and sat up. He saw that she did the same.
    “Sam, I’m serious. What’s wrong?” he asked.
    She quickly tackled him playfully. He finally caught on to why she was acting strange. She was just goofing off. So, he decided to go along with it, since he knew that she wouldn’t lay off if he didn’t. He tickled the back of her neck. She fell backwards, giggling, swinging her arms around his neck, thinking she was going to fall off the bed. She did fall, but landed on a pillow.
    “Ow, Sam. You made me pop my neck,” whined her husband.
    “Sorry, I thought I was going to fall off.”
    He noticed her sincerity and forgave his wife. He laid back down beside her. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.
    “Sure about what?” was his answer.
    “You know what.”
    “Yeah, I guess so. After all, when Armageddon’s over, Sydney won’t attack us any more.”
    He nodded and took her hands in his. “Promise me you’ll be careful,” said Snively.
    Sam looked at him. “Always am and always will be.”
    He kissed each of her fingers and was about to kiss her lips when a small voice stopped him. Sam was ready to fight with an energy ball in her hand. She lowered her guard immediately when she saw a small, girl toddler.
    “Momma,” the child said.
    “Momma? Sam, what did--”
    “Relax. She shows up off and on a lot. She came a few days ago actually. The first thing I noticed this time was that her eyes looked like yours.”
    “Then why does--”
    “We dunno. The only things she says are ‘momma,’ ‘where’s poppa,’ and ‘chibi,’” Sam replied, shrugging it off. They watched the toddler roam the bed, seemingly interested in it.
    “What’s her name?” Snively inquired.
    “We’ve been calling her Chibi.”
    Chibi looked over to see Snively. “Poppa!” she squealed and hurried over to him. She cuddled into him and was asleep within seconds.
    “I got the same reaction when she saw me.” Sam picked up the sleeping child and walked out of the room. Snively assumed that she was taking the child to bed. He waited for her patiently, but hoping she’d return quickly. Sam came in, shutting the door quietly and approached the bed silently, for she noticed he wasn’t facing her. She leaned in and put her lips by his right ear. “Boo!”
Snively cried out and shot up in bed, only to be pushed back down. He felt something on his lips and realized it was Sam, apologizing, somewhat. She parted from him and smiled.
    “Got ya!”
    He laughed and gave her a kiss.
    ****
    The next morning, Snively woke up to see stars on the ceiling. He blinked. Surely those weren’t actual stars. But sure enough, they were. There was a glass dome on the ceiling so that they could see space. He laid there looking up at it, thinking. *What did I do to deserve all of this? I’ve been so cruel to everyone in the past. St. John was right. I should have been pardoned.* He felt something nudge him and realized it was only Sam. He watched her back rise and fall rhythmically. He rubbed her back and she shifted her position to where she faced him. He wasn’t sure how she could sleep so peacefully with all the things that she had to do, especially with Armageddon coming up so quickly. When he looked at the clock, he sighed. It was only 5:30. *Well,* he thought, *I’ll get up now and let Sam sleep for another hour.* He got up quietly and carefully and proceeded toward the bathroom. When he came out, forty minutes later, he smiled, shaking his head. Sam was still in bed, asleep. He sat on the bed and watched her roll over to face him and open her eyes.
    “How long have you been up?” she asked softly.
    “About forty-five minutes.”
    Sam noticed his troubled expression. “What’s wrong?” she inquired, sitting up.
    He sighed again. “Geoffrey St. John showed up the day before yesterday and now I’m having second thoughts of being a Freedom Fighter. It’s all because I haven’t been pardoned and me feeling guilty because of it.”
    “I can get you pardoned right now, if you want. How about, after church, we go get somethin’ sayin’ that you’re pardoned?”
    He shrugged. “I guess. I know that you wouldn’t like St. John for sure.”
    “Why?”
    “Trust me, you just wouldn’t,” he smiled.
    “Why?”
    “Sam.”
    “What?!”
    He looked at her and shook his head, smiling. “You never learn, do you?” he inquired playfully.
    “Learn what?” she asked, totally lost.
    “Never mind and get dressed,” Snively said, standing up.
    “What—ever,” Sam replied, making sure to separate ‘what’ from ‘ever.’ She got up and started going through the closet, muttering ‘no’ under her breath after looking at an outfit or an article of clothing.
    “How about black?” Snively suggested.
    “Snively, I’m not going to a funeral.”
    “Yes, I realize that, but you look nice in black,” he replied.
    “I do?”
    “Yes.” He tried to persuade her so that it wouldn’t take all morning to decide on something.
    “Fine,” she finally agreed.
    ****
    Knothole was pretty calm that morning. Dulcy grabbed the Power Ring from the Power Ring Pool. Sally walked up with Sonic. Morgan, Alex, and Erika followed not far behind.
    “So,” Alex said.
    The three Freedom Fighters looked at her.
    “When did you get here?” Sally inquired.
    “We just got here,” Erika said.
    “We were wondering if you could help us,” Alex said.
    “Waitaminute. Where’s Sam, Snively, and Hope?” Sonic asked.
    “I think they went to church,” Morgan replied, “and we’re not sure where Alicia went off to.”
    “What did you have in mind when you asked if we could help you?” Sally asked.
    “Well, we were hoping that you could help us brainstorm and plan Sam’s surprise party,” Alex stated.
    “When do I get to meet this ‘Sam’ everyone keeps talking about?” Geoffrey inquired, walking up.
    “Soon,” Erika said.
    “Okay, any ideas anyone?” Morgan asked.
    ****
    It was noon when Sam, Snively, and Hope got back from church. Hope ran off to play with some of the maids’ children.
    “So, how do I get pardoned?” Snively asked.
    “Ummm, I’d say we check the books first,” Sam replied.
    “Sam, you mean to tell me that you have no idea how to pardon someone?” he asked, in an incredulous voice.
    She shrugged as if it was none of her concern. “I just figured that I would never have to pardon anyone.”
    “You’re a handful, you know,” Snively muttered as they walked to the Palace Library.
    “I know,” Sam said cheerfully. He smiled and rolled his eyes.
    ****
    The next day, Snively did all he could to keep Sam busy. He kept her up late into the previous evening. If he thought about it, keeping her up wasn’t really the difficult part. No, it was getting her up at noon that was difficult. Even then, he got up half an hour earlier than she did. He just stayed with her because he was still fairly tired himself. When Sam did finally decide to get up, they ate lunch and decided to go to Knothole. Snively had asked Hope if she wanted to go and she said she would later.
    When they went to Knothole, they were greeted by friends saying that it was nice to see them together again.
    “So, this is the ‘Sam’ that I keep on hearing about?” Geoffrey asked, walking up to them.
    Snively gave Sam a look telling her that he was St. John and that he especially couldn’t stand the skunk. Sam noticed Snively’s stiffness and placed a hand on his shoulder as if telling him to ‘cool it.’
    “Yes, this is my wife, Sam,” Snively replied.
    “So, um, you’re into women bigger than you,” Geoffrey joked.
    “WHAT?! Well, listen here, Geoffrey St. John. If you think you can get away with--”
    “Sam, calm down,” Snively interrupted Sam in the middle of her rant.
    “Jeez! Calm down. I was just joking,” Geoff said, defending himself.
    “I’ll show you ‘just joking,’” Sam muttered lowly under her breath. Snively heard it and was resisting bursting out laughing.
    Aloud, Sam said, “You joke like that about someone who is pregnant?”
    “Pregnant, huh? How much did he have ta pay ya?”
    Sonic was in the background, laughing hysterically. Sam marched over towards Geoffrey, about to show him her definition of ‘pay.’ Snively stood in front of the two and before Sam could sidestep, he pulled her to him and gave her a long kiss. Her anger was gone within seconds and was completely calm.
    “Feel better?” Snively inquired, after breaking off the kiss.
    “Much. Say, I’m still a ‘little’ upset, so how about we go somewhere else?” she answered, smiling.
    He nodded. “First, we have to go to Robotropolis to get those files. Then, we can,” he replied.
    “Files? For what?” Sally inquired.
    “We can explain it later, when he isn’t around,” Sam said, nodding towards Geoffrey, who wasn’t paying any mind to them whatsoever. They went walked away from the crowded circle of people.
    “We’re getting all files on me since Sam has no idea how to pardon someone,” Snively explained.
    “You could have come to me,” Sally replied.
    “No, we couldn’t. If a princess’ husband needs to be pardoned, parliament, or the jury of the court, needs data on him in order to decide if he’s guilty or not. If guilty, they will be sent to prison for a short period of time. If pardoned, they get a certificate stating that they were pardoned,” Sam stated.
    “Sam, I thought you knew nothing about pardons,” her husband said.
    “I don’t.”
    “Then what would you call what you just said.”
    “Memorization out of a book.”
    “Sam, you’re completely impossible.”
    “I’ll take that as a compliment, thanks,” Sam replied.
    “So, are you guys leaving now? If so, you’ll need a disk, to get all of the files, and backup. Sonic should go for sure,” Sally said.
    The couple nodded in agreement.
    ****
    A few hours later, Sam and Sally were downloading the files while Sonic and Snively stood guard.
    “There, that’s all of them,” Sally said.
    “Good, that took forever,” Sam replied. “Can I see that disk?” Sam inquired. Sally gave her the disk, and Sam pulled out her cell-phone. She copied the files on her phone and alarms started going off. Sonic and Snively came in, helped the girls into the air ducts. They hurried out of Robotropolis. As soon as they were in Knothole, Sam went into their hut. Snively stayed behind to talk to Sally about something. She opened the first few files and read them, somewhat relieved. When she got to the tenth, she was a little unnerved. *He helped Robotnik with the coup?* she wondered. She kept reading the files, each one getting slightly worse and worse. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. The last two files were about Snively rebelling against his uncle and herself. She read about how much Robotnik hated her and believed that she was the reason why his nephew rebelled against him. Robotnik also wrote how her husband’s behavior had changed since July 20th of last year. Sam paused. *Wasn’t that when we had that dream? It says it was two months before my birthday.*
    Sam closed her cell-phone, which closed the files, when she heard Snively come in. He noticed her looking a little pale and worried.
    “Is everything alright?” he inquired.
    “Um, yeah, I’m fine,” she lied.
    “Listen, they’re having a dinner tonight in the Mess Hall. We could get Hope so she could come,” he told her.
    “Yeah, sure,” she answered flatly. To him, she seemed a little distracted.
    “Are you sure you’re alright?”
    “Yeah, it’s just one of those mood swing things.”
    He looked at her funny, and then shrugged. “C’mon, let’s get Hope,” he said, before walking out of the hut.
    *I’ve…… married a killer,* she thought weakly.
    ****
    Later on, about 7:30 in the evening, Snively and Hope were to taking Sam to her surprise party but said nothing to do with it. Hope was extremely excited, but Snively was putting on a straight face, while Sam’s thoughts were in turmoil.
    “Why are we taking a walk? We’re going to be late,” Sam asked.
    “We’re not going to be late, Sam. Just calm down or, how you would say, take a chill pill and relax,” Snively teased.
    “I can’t wait! They always have good food!” Hope said excitedly.
    “Hope, why don’t you go ahead of us? I need to speak with Sam,” Snively said.
    Hope nodded and replied, “See you there!” and ran off.
    Sam looked at him. “What do you need to talk to me about?”
    “You seemed a little… tense earlier today. Are you sure you’re alright?” he inquired, with a worried tone inflicting his voice.
    “Yeah, I’m fine,” Sam replied, knowing she probably wasn’t fooling him.
    “In fact, you seem a little tense now,” he said.
    “I’ve…just had a hectic few weeks. Nothing to worry about, I promise. Let’s just get back to Knothole, ‘kay?” Sam replied. She and Snively continued to Knothole without saying another word. When they got there, Sam noticed something immediately. “Why is it so dark?” Sam wondered aloud.
    “I’m not sure. Maybe we should check the Mess Hall. Someone should be there,” Snively said. They went in, Sam not realizing what was actually going on.
    “Snively? There’s no one here,” Sam said. “Snively?” When she realized she wasn’t talking to anyone, she became panicked. “Snively? Dude, this is seriously not funny. Snively, please come out.” There were no answers to her pleads for him to answer.
    “Snively? I know this sounds completely stupid, but I’m really scared to b-be in the dark by m-m-myself. So, can you please come out? I’m really starting to freak out. Guys? Snively?” Sam was nearly in tears.
    “Sam, take five steps forward and turn to your left.”
    Sam paused, and then did as she was told.
    “Alright, Snively, in t-the words of Sonic, ‘this is mondo u-uncool.’ Guys, Snively, please come out.” Sam felt something tap her shoulder and screamed.
    “Ow! Sam! What are you trying to do? Make me deaf? Mondo uncool!” Sonic yelped.
    “Sonic!? Don’t scare me like that. Where’s Snively?” Sam replied.
    “Alright guys, come on out,” he said.
    “What?” Sam asked. The lights were flicked on.
    “SURPRISE!”
    “Oh, you guys!” Sam looked up to see all of Knothole, her friends, and her dad, along with her husband and his sister. She saw the stage and walked up to it. Alicia, Morgan, Erika, Melissa, and Alex followed her, as if by instinct. Sam sang one of her new songs, ‘Attitude’ while everyone else enjoyed it. Snively pulled her off of the stage after she finished the song.
    “Sam, do you think that you performing while pregnant is a good idea?” he asked.
    She pretended to think about it. “Yeah, I think it’s an awesome idea,” she replied, in a mock-serious tone.
    “This coming from you must mean it’s a bad idea.”
    “Chillax. I’m not doing anything too dangerous,” Sam answered, getting back on stage. “Besides, I want you to hear something,” she continued. “Okay guys, I’ve been working on this new song, and I think it’s finally time to perform it. Alex, can I have the keyboard?” Alicia knew what she was doing and pulled up a chair for Sam. “Thanks ‘Lish. Yeah, yeah, I know, call you ‘Alicia.’ Well, here’s the song. Melissa, can you be my vocal back up?” When she saw Melissa nod, Sam started playing the keyboard, making sure it would sound like a piano. The song was an acoustic song, something Sam was not known for. The song goes something like this:

“I know there’s something in the wake of your smile.
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah.
You’ve built a love, but that love falls apart.
Your little piece of heaven turns to dark.
(Refrain) Listen to your heart,
When he’s calling for you.
Listen to your heart,
There’s nothing else you can do.
I don’t know where you’re goin,’
And I don’t know why,
But listen to your heart,
Before you tell him goodbye.”

Sam continued her song and could tell she touched several people within the crowd. She glanced over to her husband, who was smiling. *He knows I wrote this for him…… I wonder if he likes it.* When she finished, she stood and looked out to the crowd. She couldn’t tell if they liked it or not. Snively came up to her and gave her a hug, as if to tell her that he loved it. The crowd broke out cheering and Sam felt somewhat relieved.
    “How about you take a break for a while,” Snively said. Sam nodded.
    ****
    Later on in the evening, Sam left the party and went to the Power Ring Pool. She sat down on the log and sighed. She took out her phone and was about to look at the files again when she heard the shuffling of feet.
    “What is it, Sally?”
    “How did you know it was me?” Sally asked, sitting next to her.
    “I heard you coming and saw your reflection in the Power Ring Pool. Why are you out here?” Sam replied.
    “I could say the same for you. I noticed that you weren’t at your own party. Why?” Sally inquired.
    “I guess I’m really not in the party mood.”
    “Did you read the files about Snively yet?”
    Sam sighed heavily and looked away.
    “I’m assuming that’s a yes,” Sally said.
    “I don’t understand. Why didn’t he tell me about his past?”
    “Maybe he didn’t want you to know because he thought you wouldn’t love him. When he was still working with Robotnik, he also seemed to want to please him. Now, since he married you, he wants to please you,” Sally explained thoughtfully.
    “I don’t want him to please me. I just… want him to know that nobody’s perfect and that I will still love him no matter what,” Sam replied. They didn’t know that someone was watching them behind a tree.
    ****
    “Snively! Snively! Where’re you at?” Geoff asked, running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
    “I’m right here! What is it?” Snively replied, annoyed.
    “I’ve gotta tell you something. It’s bad, man,” Geoff said.
    “Would you get on with it already?! I can’t find Sam.”
    “It’s about her. She looked at those files you guys went to get. She told Sally that she was upset because you didn’t tell her about your past. Y’know, now that I think about it, she did seem really upset. I mean, like ticked! She did say something about not being really sure that she still loves you,” Geoff recounted.
    “What? No, no, that doesn’t sound anything like Sam would have said. I know her well enough to understand how she comprehends things,” Snively replied. “But, since I didn’t talk to her about this, you might be right,” he continued.
    *He actually believes me!* Geoff thought. “She also said she was disappointed in you. Sam said that you guys should have a truthful marriage or somethin’ like that.”
    “If you see Sam, will you please tell her I must speak with her?” Snively asked, before walking away.
    “I guess. But, you just believed the whole lie,” Geoff muttered under his breath, snickering.
    A figure was watching the scene taking place in a tree. She had also downloaded the files and sent them to Sam’s father. If you could see the figure, you would be able to tell she was part of the Sailor Senshi.
    “Just wait Sam. Your father won’t allow you to remain married to someone who isn’t royalty,” the figure whispered coldly and disappeared.
    ****
    Snively was talking with Sonic, Antoine, and Rotor later on in the evening.
    “Snively Kintobor, you are under arrest. Please come quietly of we will use any force necessary.”
    They turned around and saw several of Sam’s father’s guards.
    “What’s Sam up to?” he asked them.
    “Princess Sam has nothing to do with this. Come quietly or we’ll use any force to apprehend you,” one of the guards said.
    Snively looked around for Sam, but much to his dismay, she was nowhere present. He gulped and darted away as fast as he could and swung up on a tree branch that was low enough to reach, and waited for the guards to pass. He let out the breath that he didn’t notice he was holding. He started to climb down from the tree when he was pulled by the scruff of the neck and thrown on the ground. Two of the guards picked him up off the ground and disappeared along with the others.
    ****
    Sam and Sally went back to the party and saw the confusion among peoples’ faces along with hushed whispering.
    “What’s going on?” Sally inquired.
    Sam saw Geoffrey in a corner looking very pleased. Sam stormed up to him, grabbed his chest fur, and shoved him up against a wall. “Where is my husband?” she demanded.
    The Freedom Fighters were shocked by Sam’s sudden action.
    “Well?”
    “They took him away and said he was arrested,” Geoff said, vexed.
    “They who?” Sam inquired slowly, coldly.
    “I dunno. They never said who they were. Now, will you let me go?” Geoffrey asked angrily. Sam sighed and did as she was asked.
    “They looked like your father’s guards,” Rotor said.
    “What? Why would they do that?” Sam asked.
    “They said it didn’t really concern you,” Shadow replied.
    “Didn’t really concern me!? How stupid are they?” Sam said before disappearing in a blue aura.
    Geoffrey St. John whistled. “Boy, she looks ticked,” Geoff commented.
    “Ya think?” Sonic replied, annoyed.
    ****
    “How do you plead?” King Raciel asked. They were just beginning an emergency court session. The Sailor Senshi, excluding Sam and Sophia, were there and were serving as the jury.
    “Not guilty, sir, considering I have no idea why I’m here in court,” Snively replied. Sam burst into the room, dragging at least four guards behind her.
    “Your Majesty! We tried to keep her out. It… just… didn’t work out as well as we had hoped for,” a guard said quickly.
    “We--”
    “WHAT IS GOING ON?!” Sam demanded. Snively caught Sam’s arm and pulled her to him.
    “Don’t push it, Sam,” he told her quietly. She nodded, but the look on her face told him that she didn’t mean it.
    “Sam, Snively, there has been files sent to me telling me of Snively’s past,” Raciel explained.
    “Sam, are you that upset with me?”
    “I was never mad. I don’t know where you got that from. Maybe a little disappointed that you never said anything. But I was never mad,” Sam replied to her husband.
    “But I thought—Geoffrey!” Snively said through clenched teeth.
    “Sam, you are not allowed in this room until this trial is over,” Raciel said firmly.
    “What! Yeah, that’s definitely not going to work for me,” Sam replied.
    Raciel motioned to one of the guards. The guard came up to Sam and locked a bracelet around her left wrist.
    “That’s so you can’t orb in here. Now, you must leave,” Raciel said.
    Sam gave her husband a hug and a kiss, which he returned. “Good luck,” she murmured.
    “Thank you. I’ll need it,” he replied, giving her a wistful smile. She saw it and gave him her arrogant smile and walked out. *Here goes everything,* he thought grimly.
    ****
    Later on, about 11 at night, Sam ran into Alicia and Travis.
    “It’s over, Sam. Your dad is really mad at you too,” Travis told her.
    “Why is dad mad at me? And how did the trial go?” Sam inquired.
    “Your dad’s mad at you because you didn’t do a background check on Snively,” Alicia replied.
    “That’s completely irrelevant! He didn’t seem to mind a few months, weeks, days, or even hours ago before this stupid trial,” Sam said weakly.
    “We, as in the Inner Senshi, Leo, myself, and Melissa, voted not guilty during the trial. Everyone else voted guilty,” Travis said, his eyes downcast.
    Sam looked down and shed a few silent tears. “Where is my husband now?”
    “We’re not entirely sure. They shoved us all out,” Alicia said.
    “Aside from Melissa, all of the Outer Senshi stayed there,” Travis said.
    “Do you think they’ll let me in?” Sam asked.
    “I don’t know,” Alicia replied. Melissa and Leo strolled down the corridor while holding hands, both looking pleased with the other.
    “Hey guys, what’s going on?” Leo asked.
    “Do you know if Sam can go into the court room now?” Travis asked.
    “She can if she wants to. Snively’s not there, though,” Leo replied.
    “What? Where is he?” Sam inquired earnestly.
    “Devil’s Gulag on Mobius,” Melissa replied.
    “Where’s that at?” Travis said.
    “In the Great Unknown,” Leo replied.
    Sam perked up. “That’s close to Knothole, right?”
    “Yeah,” Melissa said.
    “See you guys later,” Sam said before disappearing in a blue aura.
    ****
    *I don’t understand. Why didn’t Sam tell me she sent those files to her father?* Snively wondered, pacing his ‘new home,’ a prison cell. He had arrived 45 minutes to an hour ago. He was placed in the middle of Drago the Wolf and Nack the Weasel.
    “Heh, what’d you do?” Nack asked, chewing on a toothpick.
    “I don’t know. Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” Snively replied stiffly.
    “My girl got me in the slammer. Whatta ‘bout you?” Drago said.
    “Ditto,” agreed Nack. They both looked at Snively.
    “What about ya?” Drago asked.
    “What about me?”
    “Did your girl get you put in here?”
    “It’s none of your business,” Snively replied.
    “I bet he doesn’t got a girl,” Nack sneered.
    Snively sighed and tried to tune out the inmates.
    “I bet he’s not right in the head, if ya know what I mean,” Drago snorted.
    “I have a wife for crying out loud! Now would you two morons leave me the heck alone?” Snively growled.
    All of a sudden, alarms started wailing. They watched as several guards went through the left double doors. Within two minutes, a figure burst through the same doors and was running.
    “Snively!” the figure cried out, revealing itself as a female. She finally found his cell.
    “Sam? What are you doing here?” Snively inquired, surprised.
    “Duh! Getting you outta here,” she replied, toying with the lock. Drago and Nack watched intently.
    “How did you know I was here?”
    “Melissa and Leo told me.”
    Just then, four guards came in.
    “Darn guards,” Sam swore under her breath.
    “You moved rather quickly for being pregnant,” Snively said.
    “Thanks,” Sam replied before the words sank in.
    “Hey!”
    “Miss you need to leave. It’s past visiting hours,” one of the guards ordered.
    Sam looked at them. “Really?”
    “Yes, it’s midnight,” another guard replied.
    Sam looked back at her companion, pulled out a notebook and handed it to him. “I finished it. We are the only two who can read it,” she said.
    “Thank you. But, why are you giving me this now?” he replied.
    She shrugged.
    “Miss, you need to leave,” a guard said.
    “Just give me a second, will ya?!” Sam retorted.
    Snively reached through the bars and gave Sam a hug. “Go home and get some rest. I can barely stand you when you’re a grouch,” he said.
    She returned the hug. “You too. You’re way worse than I am.”
    “Hey!” He gave her a kiss, which returned.
    She turned to leave. “See you later,” she said, giving him a wistful smile.
    He nodded,” see you soon.” He walked to his cot and sat down.
    “So, that’s yer girl?” Drago asked.
    “Yes, she’s my wife,” Snively replied. Nack and Drago started chattering persistently. He sighed and sat down heavily. He opened the notebook and could actually read it, unlike all the other times he opened it. He flipped through the pages seeing various lengths of entries, letters, poems, song lyrics, and he came across pictures. There was an absolutely amazing sketch of the Power Ring Pool with Tails catching a Power Ring. He flipped to the last page and found another picture. It was a picture of him and Sam smiling, no, laughing. On his side, it showed all of the aspects of his life, before and after meeting Sam. He closed the notebook and set it carefully on the floor. He noticed both Nack and Drago were asleep. He laid down and fell into a fitful sleep.
    ****
    “Wake up!” a gruff voice said.
    Snively woke up, wishing he was waking up to the smell of Sam’s pancakes or her touch and the sound of her voice, and not some stranger. He never realized how much he missed her until now.
    “You’re Robotnik’s son, aren’t you?” the guard asked. He had an ugly looking laser rifle, complete with a taser and bayonet.
    “Nephew,” Snively hissed. “But I have nothing to do with him no longer.”
    The guard opened the cell door and forced a pair of handcuffs around his wrists and pulled him out. This was the first time Snively noticed a line of inmates, chained together by the wrists. He was soon unwillingly part of the line. He would surely loathe his first day of prison, he knew it.
    ****
    While Snively was drowning in misery, Sam was drowning in boredom. She had researched almost the whole night with only three hours of sleep, an hour less than her husband. She was going through her husband’s files, not because of curiosity, but of determination to get him pardoned. She sighed. *It would be so much easier if he was here,* she thought, gazing up at her ceiling, watching the clouds roll by. She had a rather small list, which was not entirely much, or good. She turned on her stereo, hoping to get some ideas. Then, it all clicked. Sam started writing down several things to the list happily.
    ****
    Later on in the afternoon, the inmates were allowed outside. The sun was blazing down on their backs, blazing hot. There were a couple of basketball hoops and several weights as well as a track. Snively would have preferred to stay inside, but the guards made him go out. One thing he was grateful for was that the other inmates were leaving him alone. Since leaving Robotropolis, he forgot how he liked being alone. He couldn’t figure it out. Why was he comparing his past life to what he had now, which was waiting for him outside of the prison. *This is all so confusing,* he thought. Guards started rounding up the prisoners, as if they were cattle, ready to be sold. One of the guards grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him.
    “Let go of me!” Snively growled. The guard ignored him until Snively broke loose and ran toward the fence and started climbing it. He ran his hands across the barbed wire and let go with a yelp of pain. He fell and landed on his back, hard. The guard, along with two others, pulled him up and dragged him back to the line and chained him up. Within five minutes, he was back in his prison cell. They never even bothered looking at his hands, to check if they were infected. He ripped up one of his bed sheets and wrapped his injuries in them. He picked up the notebook and opened it up to the first page. It read:

As you can see, I finally finished this notebook. Most of this notebook has my innermost thoughts and feelings. You and I are the only two who can read this notebook. After you finish this, it will all appear blank. You will be able to write over my words. When you finish writing in this notebook, I’ll be able to read it. We’re basically switching roles. I guess that’s really about it. I won’t be able to read what you write, until the whole notebook is full, just like when I wrote this for you. I love you and I hope you enjoy reading this notebook as much as I’ve had writing it.

Love you much,
Sam

    Snively could tell she put a lot of thought in just that one passage. He turned the page and saw that she sketched out the scene of when they had first met. *I had no idea she could draw this well. She probably never told me so she could surprise me. Everything looks so professional, I wouldn’t have known she drew it,* he thought. He had read through three more passages; one long one and two short ones. Each was written with more feeling than the last. Drago and Nack glanced over at him every once and a while to see what he was doing, but never said anything.
    ****
    Sam went back to Knothole later that day to interview the inhabitants of the village. She already had more than two and a half pages saying what her husband did since being in Knothole. She was pleased with all of the positive information she was getting.
    “How’s it goin’?” Bunnie inquired, jogging up with an exhausted Antoine trailing after her.
    “I’ve gotten everyone in Knothole’s positive information now. I have to go to one more place and I plan on going solo,” Sam replied.
    “Where?” Antoine asked, finally catching up with Bunnie.
    “Robotropolis.”
    ****
    “Have you seen Sam?” Erika asked Morgan. They were in the Senshi meeting room, waiting to start a meeting.
    “I think she went to Mobius to get some more records on Snively,” Alex replied, walking in the door. “Hey sis, you’re early!” Alex continued.
    Erika ignored her sister and picked up a red book, jammed with notes. She opened it up and read some of the material before looking up at the other two. “I think Sam’s really upset about her husband being in Devil’s Gulag.”
    “What makes you say that?” Melissa inquired, shutting the double doors behind her.
    “All this book has in it is stuff that says all of the good he’s done,” Erika replied. The other three peered in the red book and nodded in agreement.
    “She’s probably collecting more information to back her side of the case up,” Alex commented. They read some of the notes before putting the book on a shelf when Arable walked in.
    “Where’s everyone else at? We should be starting right now,” Arable asked.
    “Alicia said she couldn’t make it. She said she and Travis were in the middle of something big,” Melissa replied.
    “So, it’s just us?”
    “Yeah, pretty much,” Morgan said.
    ****
    Sam, in her Senshi uniform, orbed into the Main Control Center. She walked down the halls in a white cloak, making sure every security camera saw her. She soon stood in front of the Control Room. She opened the door and saw Robotnik in his green chair with Mecha-Sonic by him.
    “Samantha, why have you invaded my city? Most Freedom Fighters try not to be seen,” Robotnik asked.
    “I’m not like most Freedom Fighters,” Sam retorted.
    “You’re right. Not many Freedom Fighters would even consider befriending a ‘traitor’ of Mobius, much less marry them,” he chuckled.
    Sam was beginning to have second thoughts about going and confronting the Tyrant of Mobius. “I want to know anything and everything about your nephew before he left here,” Sam said.
    “What’s in it for us?” Mecha inquired.
    “What do you want?” Sam asked, sighing.
    “The location of Knothole,” Robotnik replied without hesitation.
    “No way! It has to be nothing to do with the Freedom Fighters,” Sam shot back.
    “Give me your darkest fear,” Robotnik ordered.
    “Give me what I want first and I’ll consider it,” Sam replied. About 45 minutes later, Robotnik gave her all the information she wanted to know. She turned to leave before Mecha-Sonic grabbed her by the arm.
    “Your fear?” he prompted.
    “Nothing,” she lied. It was basically true because she was learning to cope with her fear of darkness.
    Mecha shoved her against a wall. “What is your darkest fear?” he demanded, extending a claw.
    “Nothing.”
    Mecha stroked her cheek while she struggled. “Your fear?”
    “Nothing.”
    He slashed her right arm. She winced but never cried out. Half an hour later, she was a bloody mess. But still, she replied with the same answer. She tried orbing, but only got short distances. Sam finally pressed the distress call on her necklace, for she was wearing out because of the pain. Robotnik called off Mecha-Sonic, who was covered with Sam’s blood. Robotnik picked her up by the throat and raised her off the floor so they could see eye to eye.
    “Where is Snively?” he asked. Robotnik wondered why he hadn’t shown up yet and was curious as to why.
    “Devil’s Gulag, stupid,” she retorted, kicking his knees. He collapsed from the pain in his knees and Sam started short, but quick orbs out of the city. Mecha-Sonic followed her but lost Sam when she orbed up in a tree. As soon as she was sure he was gone, Sam orbed back to the ground and healed herself enough to be able to walk. She proceeded to Knothole, looking behind every once in a while to make sure she wasn’t being followed. Her phone started ringing, startling her.
    “Sam? Are you okay?” It was one of her newer friends, Phobos.
    “Yeah, I’m fine. I just got myself into a small mishap. How, no, why didn’t I get any help?” she replied.
    “You weren’t helped? Alicia said she would help you,” Phobos responded.
    “She never showed.” Sam looked around. “Listen, I’ll call you back later. I’ve had a…rough day. Bye,” Sam hung up. She continued for Knothole. Once there, Sam returned to their hut, went to their bedroom, laid down, and sobbed herself to sleep.
    ****
    After six days, Sam, the Freedom Fighters, and the Inner Senshi, along with Melissa and the two representatives from Earth, went into the Universal Court Room. This was the final session to decide Snively’s fate. Sam had the red book, loaded with more notes than before. They walked in quietly, but while the others had unsure looks, Sam had a look of confidence and defiance. The other Senshi groups were a little unsure as to why Sam was so sure of herself. Sam stood in front of the jury and presented her case.
    “I don’t see how everyone thinks Snively Kintobor is a not a good person. Maybe it’s because the Sailor Senshi is way too closed minded, which is not entirely good,” Sam said. “But he is my husband, and I love him. If I ever lost him, I would be lifeless. I would have no reason to live.” As she went on, a lot of the Senshi changed their minds.
    She finished by saying, “I have enough positive information on Snively that you would be blown away.” She looked out toward everyone and gave her trademark smile: warm, but confident and rebellious. People around the universe knew that smile so well, when talking about it, they could picture it in their heads. “He’s my husband and I love him so much that I’d do everything I could to show how much I love him. I’ll do anything I have to to get him pardoned.” The other side didn’t have much of a back-up saying why Snively should stay at Devil’s Gulag.
    “Sam,” the judge, her father, said.
    She stood.
    “The jury and I have come to a decision,” he continued….
    ****
    The next morning was Snively’s 8th day in prison. He was definitely sure the guards didn’t like him. He had the marks to prove it. He himself wasn’t too fond of them either. The guard with the taser came up to his cell and unlocked it. He pulled Snively put and went through the morning’s daily routine. He was back in his cell in ten minutes sharp. Snively picked up the notebook Sam gave him. He was nearly finished with it, only by five pages. Ten minutes later, the same guard came back, unlocked the cell, and opened it with a begrudging glare. Snively gave him a curious look and went back to reading.
    “Some overlander man is here, signing papers for your release,” the guard said.
    The overlander prisoner raised an eyebrow.
    “You’ll be out of here later.” The guard left, leaving the cell door open.
    Snively read the last entry, written nine days ago. He enjoyed every sentence, every word, and every space of it. It read as follows:

To my Dearest Love,

You made it! We made it! This is the last entry, aside from the picture in the back of the book. I assumed you would look in the back of this book first. During Armageddon, there is a 50/50 chance of me dying. There is an even stronger chance that most of the Senshi will die with me, if I die. I know this passage is so unlike me, because I am almost never serious. But, I’m confident that we’ll win Armageddon. I never wanted to fight Sydney. I just felt like I had to. I don’t want to kill her, Snively. I want to give her what I’ve given you, love. I’m sure she needs it. I was even more positive when I thought you needed love when we first met. I’m so happy I did though. We ended up falling in love, getting married, and are expecting a child. I cried a lot when I wrote this when you weren’t at my side, trying to see what I was writing. I always loved it when you did that. I’ve never told anyone, but since being with you, I’ve felt wanted, needed, desired, and loved. Dearest Love, I love you more than anything in the universe. Please don’t change, for I love everything about you. I feel so complete with you by my side…I feel like I’m writing my wedding vows again! See? I knew I could get a joke in! Dearest Love, I love you forever and don’t deny, nor forget, it.

I love you forever and ever more,
Sam Brody Kintobor

    Snively had finally discovered what love really was in this last passage in the notebook. He was sorry he ever finished the notebook. He traced his wife’s name and laid down and fell asleep……
    ****
    Snively woke up to screaming from all directions. He opened his eyes and looked around to see his bedroom and couldn’t figure out how he got there. “Something is missing,” he muttered. He didn’t hear Hope, so he assumed she was with Amy Rose. Then, he knew what was wrong. Sam wasn’t with him. He sat up and saw a note on Sam’s pillow. It said something about her being at Dr. Quack’s Medical Ward because she was in some pain. He stood, dressed, and walked out into what one could call pure chaotic destruction. There were Swatbots everywhere, either capturing or killing Freedom Fighters. To his horror, most of his friends were dead. He struggled and almost losing battle to hold down his previous meal. He could smell the scent of blood and feel tears well up in his eyes. He checked the pulses on several of the inhabitants of his home, each identical; dead. He ran towards the Medical Ward. To get Sam, so she could heal everyone. Unfortunately, Swatbots spotted and captured him. They took him to his uncle, Robotnik.
    “How did you find Knothole?” Snively demanded, but it came out weaker than expected.
    “Dear nephew, you told me,” Robotnik replied nastily.
    “What?”
    “Mecha-Sonic, replay our ‘conversation’ from yesterday. Make sure Samantha sees it. We wouldn’t want her to miss this. After all, she’s ‘family’ too.”
    “Leave her alone. She didn’t do anything!” Snively wasn’t sure what his uncle was talking about, but he wanted to protect Sam from it. Mecha started an audio clip.
    X “Why are you here?” Robotnik asked.
    “I want revenge on the Freedom Fighters.” X
    That was his voice. There was no mistake in it.
    X “I will join you after we destroy Knothole.”
    “You? Rejoin me? What is in this deal that you offer?” Robotnik inquired, somewhat interested.
    “A strong force and the location of Knothole.” X
    Snively couldn’t believe it. He observed that they were in front of the Medical Ward, where he wanted to be. He heard Sam’s sudden screams of pain. She rarely screamed or showed pain unless it was unbearable. *Why is she screaming?* Snively got one of those rare ‘oh crap!’ looks on his face. He broke loose of the Swatbots and ran toward the door of the Medical Ward. Mecha-Sonic grabbed him.
    “Let me go! Please! She needs me! She’s in labor!” Several cries came from Snively’s mouth, in a voice so unlike his.
    Robotnik broke off a piece of a burning hut, walked up to the Medical Ward, and threw the wood through the window.
    “NO!”
    The Medical Ward was ablaze within seconds, and Snively saw Sam’s blue aura disappear and reappear every few seconds.
    “You should know that I don’t keep promises,” Robotnik said. Snively heard Sam’s frantic cries and wept bitterly. He was unaware of being shot until he saw the blackness of death…
    ****
    “SAM!” Snively shot up in bed, drenched in his sweat. He looked around his cell, realizing he had a nightmare. He took a few deep breaths and tried to fall asleep. Within ten minutes, he was in a somewhat more peaceful sleep…
    ****
    *What smells so pleasant?* Snively wondered.
    “Snively, there you are!” He knew that warm, comforting voice anywhere.
    “Sam?” He opened his eyes to see the blue sky, with fluffy, white clouds roll by. He sat up to see he was in a meadow of tall grass with wild flowers of different types and colors. He saw Hope in a soft pink dress wearing a smile and Chibi in a light blue dress, trailing after Hope. They barreled into him and he didn’t really mind.
    “Girls, why don’t you go play?” Sam asked in the distance. They did, but after them each giving Snively a hug first. Then, he saw Sam. She was wearing a long blue skirt, which was ruffled at the bottom slightly. She had on a light peasant blouse that was white and just under her shoulders. He wasn’t sure if the top was like that when she had bought it, or if she adjusted it that way to impress him. She had no shoes on and her hair has in a blue hair tie and to the side, making it more visible and had ribbons of blue and white, braided in with her hair. She sat down, pushing him on his back, and gave him a kiss; a very long and intense, but extremely pleasurable kiss, to him at least. He shifted their position to where he was a lot more comfortable.
    “Sam, why don’t you look… um, pregnant anymore?” Snively inquired.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “The last time I saw you, you were pregnant.”
    “I had Chibi a couple of years ago. Don’t you remember?”
    Snively gave her an odd look. *Maybe this is a dream showing the future,* he thought. Sam rested her head on his chest and yawned.
    “Poppa!” Chibi wailed, toddling up with Hope running after.
    “What’s the matter, baby?” Sam asked, taking Chibi into her arms. This was the first time he noticed that Hope had developed into a teenaged girl figure. She sat down and looked at him.
    “What?”
    He noticed her attitude change and figured it was because she was with Sam often. “Nothing, and don’t give me lip Hope,” he replied.
By then, Sam had helped and was sending their apparent daughter off to play. Hope followed and started to play tag with Chibi. Sam laid back down with him and put her head back on his chest. He yawned and pulled his wife to him. He closed his eyes for a moment, hearing Sam say something, but ignored her…
    ****
    “Snively? Hey, get up.” Snively heard a woman’s voice close to him. “C’mon, it’s time to leave. Snively, you can sleep at home.”
    He opened one eye to see Sam’s smiling face looking down at him. He opened his other eye and sat up. “Sam, why are you here? Not that I mind,” he said.
    “We’re going home,” she replied.
    “Sorry, but I have to stay here.”
    Sam brought out a piece of paper, colored a light yellow, like parchment.
    “Sam, what is this for?” he asked, taking the parchment from Sam.
    “Open it! Trust me, you’ll love this better than any of my other surprises,” Sam replied excitedly.
    He did as she said and saw why she was so excited. He grinned widely, reading it with anticipation. “How? When?” he asked.
    “I did a little tweaking over the last few days. Plus, we had a trial last night.”
    “How did you ever convince everyone in the jury?” Snively inquired.
    “Well, it turns out that it was a ‘behind the scene’ kind of thing. Geoffrey listened in on Sally and me, and then told you. He twisted the truth around a lot when he did tell you. One of the Outer Senshi, Sailor Uranus, who doesn’t like me or Morgan, spied on you guys.
    “She only heard what Geoffrey said. She also downloaded the files on you shortly after us. She was the one who sent the files to dad, not me. She also taped what you and Geoff were saying the other night.
    “Luckily, I had enough information to back our side up. So, she’s in major trouble,” Sam explained.
    He nodded and remembered something. “Sam, I’ve got great news!” he said.
    “How can you have great news after being in prison for eight days?” Sam asked.
    “I know who Chibi’s parents are!” he protested.
    Drago looked up from a magazine he was looking at.
    “Really!? Who?” Sam inquired, with a clearly excited tone.
    “Us!”
    “What? Snively, we haven’t known each other--”
    “I know. I had a dream that gave me a glimpse of the future. You told me yourself that Chibi was our own daughter,” Snively replied, standing up and stretching. Sam patted his belly, causing him to double over. He knew she was playing around, and besides, he did give her an opportunity. He picked up the parchment and the notebook and looked at his wife. “Let’s go home.” Sam nodded. They walked out of the prison cell, through the double doors, and Sam orbed the two home, to Knothole.
    ****
    About midnight, Snively was awakened by a small voice. He looked over to Sam, who was sound asleep and was holding him around his abdomen. He smiled softly and brushed some loose strands of hair out of her face.
    “Poppa?” the voice said again. He looked over his side of the bed, and saw Chibi peering shyly at him. He moved one of his arms from around Sam and picked up the toddler.
    “What’s the matter?” he whispered.
    “Me……few-few-futer,” she replied loudly.
    Sam mumbled something and rolled over.
    “I know, Chibi. You need to be quiet, so momma can sleep.” Snively didn’t understand. Why was he talking to Chibi like this? He knew he was her father, but that will be two years from now. Chibi nestled between him and Sam and gave in to rest. He sighed, laid back down, and fell asleep.
    ****
    The next morning, Sam woke up first. She could not wait until the baby was born. It kept waking her up early, like an alarm clock. She liked sleep. It was like a hobby and was good to her. She looked over to see Snively, asleep, and with a slumbering Chibi in his arms. Sam got up, went to get the camera, and her cell-phone, and took a picture with each. She went into the kitchen to make breakfast. Hope bounded into the kitchen an hour later, looking for her brother.
    “He’s still asleep. Will you get him and Chibi up please?” Sam replied.
    Hope did and came back and sat at the table. “Whatcha fixin’?” Hope asked.
    “Cinnamon pancakes. Can you get the juice please?”
    Hope did as she was asked when Snively came in, carrying Chibi, who was half-asleep.
    “Mornin’ Sleepin’ Beauty!” Sam greeted.
    Snively gave her a dirty look, telling her that it was a little early for jokes. He laid Chibi down on the couch before coming in. Snively walked back in, ruffled Hope’s hair, and shared a quick kiss with Sam. They had breakfast and Hope ran off with Amy Rose and Tails later. Their day seemed quiet and peaceful.
    “What time did Chibi get here last night?” Sam asked. She had just put the toddler down for a nap, a mistake they would discover later.
    “Midnight,” Snively replied. Sam sighed heavily. He looked at her curiously. “What’s the matter?”
    “I’m just really tired is all,” she replied. He got off the couch, allowing her the rest on it. “I’m going over to talk to Sonic and Sally about the next mission.” Sam nodded and rolled over. He left, knowing that she wasn’t going to be that concerned unless he left Knothole.
    ****
    A half an hour later, Sam came bursting through Sally’s door. Sally, Sonic, and Snively looked up.
    “Snively, do you have Chibi?” Sam asked.
    “No, I thought she was taking a nap on our bed,” he replied.
    “Who’s Chibi?” Sally asked.
    “She’s our daughter from the future,” Snively said, getting up. Sam was already out of the door and making phone calls to her friends and other Senshi members.
    “What did everyone else say?” Snively asked, fifteen minutes later, coming in their hut. He had checked all of Knothole twice, without much luck.
    “They haven’t seen her,” Sam said. Hope, Amy, and Tails walked in.
    “Sam, some lady wants to talk to you,” Tails said. Sam and Snively exchanged looks of worry.
    “Did she say what her name was?” Sam asked. The children nodded.
    “She said her name was ‘Cindy’ or something like that,” Hope answered.
    “Sydney!” the adults said together with dismay.
    “You’re right. They are weird!” Amy giggled.
    “You should hear my brother in his sleep,” Hope said. Sam went to get a pen and some paper, leaving her husband in charge of the trio.
    “Why?” Tails asked.
    “He says stuff like how nice Sam’s brea--”
    “Hope!” Snively interrupted. The kids giggled.
    “What about me?” Sam asked, walking in.
    “Now is really not the time, Sam,” Snively said weakly.
    “No, no, this sounds important. Hope, please continue,” Sam replied. She sent Tails and Amy over to Sally, with the note. Snively looked away from the girls and tried to make himself appear busy.
    “Well, Amy, Tails, and I were saying how weird you guys can be sometimes. Then, I said that they should hear Snively in his sleep. Tails asked why and I was getting ready to tell him before Snively interrupted,” Hope said.
    “Next time you want to repeat something you hear, check with us before saying it,” Sam said. “So, what did he say?”
    “He sometimes says really silly stuff,” Hope said. “One time he said how nice your chest looks,” she continued. Sam and Snively both turned red.
    “But, he actually said--”
    “Okay, Hope. She gets your point,” her brother interrupted.
    “Um, Hope, that’s something you don’t need to tell your friends or anyone else for that matter,” Sam said.
    “Okay, how about the one about your a--”
    “Hope,” Sam cut in, “please don’t swear.”
    “OR tell anyone about that either,” Snively said.
    “Then, what can I tell them?”
    Sam seemed to think for a minute, then whispered something in Hope’s ear. “How about that?” Sam asked, smiling.
    “Perfect!” Hope said.
    “Now, you need to Sally’s for a little bit, okay?” Snively said. Hope nodded and did as she was told. “What did you tell her?” Snively asked.
    Sam walked up to him. “Something,” she answered.
    “If I embarrassed you in any way--”
    “Embarrass me? I didn’t want to hear that from a ten-year-old girl. I wanted to hear that come from your lips,” Sam replied.
    He gave her a kiss to let her know he understood and a hug. Sam broke free of both, startling him. “If you don’t want me to do that, just tell me next time,” Snively said, rubbing his wrists.
    “We have to get Chibi from Sydney,” Sam replied, transforming into her Senshi uniform.
    “Sam, we can’t go without back-up!”
    She pressed her distress call. Within thirty seconds Erika, Alex, Melissa, and Morgan were there.
    “Where’s Alicia?” Sam asked.
    “I don’t know. She hasn’t been around for a few days. She even turned off her cell-phone,” Melissa said.
    “What’s wrong?” Alex asked.
    Sam’s eyes were downcast, telling them she didn’t want to talk. Snively held his wife from behind.
    “Sydney has Chibi. We’re not sure how she got in without Sam knowing. What I don’t understand is why Sydney didn’t kill you while you were asleep,” he explained, looking at Sam.
    She shrugged. “Right now, I want to save our future daughter,” Sam said.
    ****
    Sonic and Shadow followed the Senshi and Snively. They came across a closed clearing; a clearing that the couple knew.
    “Snively, isn’t this the place where you first kissed me?” Sam asked. He nodded and smiled.
    “Amazing, isn’t it? This is the place where it began and ends,” Sydney commented, stepping out of the shadows.
    “Where is our daughter?” Snively asked.
    “Chibi is still asleep. She has a very pure heart crystal, you know,” Sydney replied.
    Sam started for Sydney, but saw Chibi in some man’s arms. Chibi’s heart crystal was shining, a sign that the toddler was still alive. The negative thing was that the heart crystal was dimming, sign that Chibi was dying slowly. The other Senshi fought off demons while the two hedgehogs ran in circles, trapping some of the remaining demons. That left Sydney, and whoever was holding Chibi, to Snively and Sam.
    “Any ideas?” Sam asked.
    “No. She’s probably too young to get away by herself, isn’t she?” Snively replied.
    Sam nodded. “Wait, I’ve got an idea. Distract them while I get Chibi.”
    “What? How on Mobius are you going to do that?”
    “Trust me on this. Be careful,” Sam replied.
    He nodded. He ran to the left and Sydney threw something at him. Sam took complete advantage of the distraction.
    “Chibi!” Sam called quietly. The toddler appeared in her arms, but the heart crystal was still with whoever had had Chibi. Sam swore deeply and Chibi gave her a curious look. “Don’t even think about repeating that,” Sam ordered.
    “You got her, so let’s get,” Snively said, running up.
    “No, we can’t yet. Here, hold her. I have to get something,” Sam said, giving Chibi to Snively and running off. He took Chibi and hid behind a tall bush. Sam ran up to the one who had the heart crystal. “Ryan?” she asked. He nodded and took off running. She chased after him, gaining feet closer to him. He turned around suddenly and pushed her on her back. “Ungh, heart crystal!” Chibi’s heart crystal appeared in Sam’s cupped hands.
    “What the-?” Ryan watched Sam run off, not even bothering to go after her.
    “Guys, come on!” Sam yelled.
    The Senshi, two hedgehogs, Snively, who was holding Chibi, ran to Sam, who orbed them out of the clearing and into Knothole. Snively rushed     Chibi to Dr. Quack while Sam retrieved something from their hut.
    “Sam, how nice to see--” Sam heard Dr. Quack say as she entered.
    She completely ignored the doctor and peeked in every room until she found the one she wanted. “Melissa, what do we do?” Sam asked, her voice trembling.
    “Give me the crystal,” Melissa instructed.
    Sam did as she was told and backed up against Snively, searching for his hand. She looked at him, her eyes pleading, as if asking if he could do anything to help.
    “Morgan, please get Hope from Sally’s,” Snively said quietly.
    “Is Chibi going to be okay?” Sam inquired while Morgan went to get Hope.
    “Honestly, I don’t think she’ll live much longer. Her crystal is too drained to hold life,” Melissa replied sadly.
    “Won’t the Healing Chalice stop her from dying?” Erika asked, taking the aforementioned object from Sam.
    “It’s just too late,” Melissa said.
    “Did you restore the crystal back to her?” Alex asked.
    Alicia walked in with Morgan and Hope quietly. She had tears in her eyes and walked up to the medical bed.
    “See you later, Chibi,” Alicia said, before leaving.
    Most of the others departed from the room after bidding farewell to Chibi. That left Snively and Sam with the dying toddler. The child looked up at her parents and giggled slightly. Sam picked her up and brought Chibi to her husband. They both held their daughter from the future, trying to enjoy the last few minutes with her. Chibi looked at her parents, her eyes telling them she wanted down. They set her down, although Sam didn’t want to.
    “Poppa, Momma, I love you,” Chibi said, before lying down.
    Sam nearly broke down crying, but didn’t for she knew it would scare Chibi. Instead, she gave her daughter of the future a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
    “I love you too, Munchkin,” Sam said, feeling Snively grip her hand. He also gave his daughter a hug and a kiss.
    “Chibi, I love you. Be a good girl, okay?” Snively told her.
    Chibi smiled and closed her eyes. Sam lost it and broke down crying. Snively guided Sam home and made her lay down. He stayed with her until he was sure she was asleep. He went back to Dr. Quack’s to inform the duck doctor what had happened. After that, he went to Sally’s hut to get Hope.
    “She’s asleep right now,” Sally said.
    “I’m going to take her home now. I think Sam would be unnerved to know Hope wasn’t at home. She’s terribly upset about losing Chibi as am I,” Snively replied.
    “So, Chibi’s dead?” Sally inquired. The look on his face told her that she was indeed correct.
    He picked up his sleeping younger sister and carried her home and laid Hope down on her bed. He went to his room, changed, lay down, and went to sleep.
    ****
    The next morning, Snively woke up and felt a wet spot on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Sam’s head on his shoulder. He assumed that she had cried several times in her sleep. He rubbed her arm, which woke her up.
    “Huh? Is there a fire?” she asked, half-asleep.
    “There’s no fire, Sam. Are you alright?”
    “Yeah, I’m fine. What makes you think that I’m not?” Sam asked.
    “The fact that my shoulder is soaked.”
    She was silent for a moment before answering. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
    “I know. Sam, Chibi is still alive in a way,” he replied.
    “What? Is she here?” Sam asked, starting to get up.
    “Yes, she’s with you.”
    “Huh?”
    “Sam, you’re pregnant with Chibi. It’s basically like she never died.”
    Sam nodded and smiled. “Wait, then you mean that the one who ‘died’ was from the future?” Sam inquired.
    “Sam, you already knew that.”
    “I did? Oh, yeah. You told me a couple of days ago,” Sam remembered.
    “You have the attention span of a rock,” Snively said, getting up.
    Sam looked at him quizzically. “Rocks don’t have attention spans,” she replied.
    “Exactly.”
    She seemed to think about it for a few minutes. “HEY!” She got up and the chase was on.
    ****
    Two figures stood at the giant window in their palace. They knew that the final battle of the Second Senshi War was coming up in two to three months. They were the only ones who had an idea of how the battle would turn out. Even then, they weren’t very sure if they were correct. As far as they knew, it would turn out how everyone opposing the Underworld had been planning for. Except for one minor detail. One of the figures looked at her twin sister grimly.
    “She knew the rules, and yet she broke them as if they never existed,” she said.
    “All of the universe should have known her power when she defended the Moon Kingdom the first time. She was just born five minutes earlier,” the other, Phobos, replied.
    “The last moon princess is an expectant mother now,” other sister said.
    “Yes, and she also married one of the traitors of Mobius,” the second sister replied.
    “A traitor? I thought he was part of the rebellion.”
    “He is now, but he wasn’t at first,” Phobos said.
    “Their baby is a girl, right?” the first asked Phobos.
    “Yes, Deimos. They’re going to name her after Queen Serenity, the princess’ mother. I find it fascinating that Princess Sophia will be the infant’s guardian angel,” Phobos commented. The sisters started walking down the hallway, passing maids and servants, who were scurrying in and out of rooms.
    “Princess Sophia?” the second sister, Deimos, inquired, stopping then hurried after her sister.
    “She was supposed to have died, after being stabbed by Sydney.”
    “She did die, but somehow she’s going to be the guardian angel of her niece,” the first twin answered as she took a key-card out of her dress robe and unlocked the door of a room. In the room, was a big, circular tub of water. The water was a pale, silvery blue and smelled faintly of lilacs. The sisters ran the fingers of their left hands on the edge of the tub. The tub displayed a scene in the water. It showed Armageddon, the final battle. One side of the scene showed Sydney, now Sailor Chaos, the darkest Senshi ever to have existed. Accompanying her were her followers. On the opposing side, was Sam, now Sailor Cosmos, the purest Senshi ever to have existed. She was encircled by the rest of the good Senshi. About fifty yards away from the battle were the Knothole Freedom Fighters, including Sam’s husband, Snively.
    “She will need to be rushed to medical care after this,” Deimos said.
    “Why?”
    “She will be in pain and I do not think that’s the best atmosphere for a new born baby.”
    All of a sudden, alarms started blaring while red lights started a continuous blinking. The tub showed who was attacking; Sydney and some of her army, demons. The first twin shut off the alarms in that room while the other dumped the tub of water down a drain. They both noticed all of the alarms throughout the palace seemed to have stopped.
    “Do you think Sydney’s gone?” the second twin inquired. She noticed her sister’s eyes were glazed over.
    “Phobos?” There was no answer. The second sister took a step forward and froze when she heard a sickening sound. She looked down to see red liquid all over the floor; blood! She put a hand to her partly open mouth, shaking her head, mouthing ‘no’ silently, repeatedly with wide eyes.
    “I find it amusing that you two couldn’t see your own deaths approaching, Deimos,” a cold, harsh voice said. Deimos froze.
    “Wha-what?”
    A bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the walls of the palace. The owner of the voice walked up to the sisters, pulling the lockets off of their chains, which were around their necks.
    “Only eighteen Senshi against me to kill left,” Sydney said wickedly.

The End…

Q.N.
Okay, the ‘fic you’ve all been waiting for is coming very soon. Yes, dudes and dudettes, Armageddon is here! Will the Senshi stop Sydney for good? Or will they fail and Sydney’s reign of terror begin? Will Phobos and Deimos prediction of the future come true? Where has Alicia been? Will Sophia return for good? Read and find out……

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