The Destruction of Amy's Grotto

Amy, Sally, Cosmo, Silver, and Charmy were swimming to their secret grotto.

"Silver, why can't you or Charmy just tell us what this is all about?" Amy asked curiously.

"We really want to know!" Sally added curiously and excitedly at the same time.

"We're so excited!" Cosmo squeaked in excitement.

They swam through into the girls' grotto. The little mer-hedgehog, mer-chipmunk/squirrel hybrid, and mer-Seedrian were curious about what they wanted to show them. Whatever it was, it must have been something really fascinating!

"You'll see," Silver said with a smile, as they led them further inside. "It's a surprise. I'm sure you'll like it. Won't they, Charmy?"

"That's right, Silver." Charmy said, as he took Cosmo by the hand and followed. "It'll be great...now close your eyes..."

"No peeking, girls!" said Silver, as they led them towards the grotto.

At that moment, they were finally inside the grotto. Charmy said, "Okay, Amy. You and your sisters can open your eyes now."

Amy, Sally, and Cosmo did so, and they gasped in sheer delight as they looked on in surprise when they saw....

Standing in front of them, were, not one, but three statues of Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails! The same statues they saw on their ship.

Amy, Sally, and Cosmo put their hands on their hearts, smiled at them as they wrapped their arms around Silver and Charmy and gave them a hug.

"Oh, Silver! Charmy, you're the best!" Sally smiled.

"You're the best friends three mer-sisters could ever have!" Cosmo smiled.

"Especially in the ocean!" Amy smiled. Then she, Sally, and Cosmo swam toward the statues and examined them.

"They looks just like them," Amy exclaimed, "They even have their eyes!" She and the other girls had no idea how it got into their grotto. It must have sunken through it last night. But they didn't care; all that matters was that Amy, Sally, and Cosmo have something to remind them of the three normal animal boys. Looking at the statues, Amy, Sally, and Cosmo each had a bright smile and giggled to the statues, with Sally saying, "Why, Sonic, run away with you and the boys?" And Cosmo also giggled, saying, "This is all so...so sudden."

She and her big mer-sisters sweetly giggled again, as they spun excitedly around. Silver and Charmy smiled, too. They had never seen them so happy in their lives. Amy, Sally, and Cosmo spun around happily and then they stopped at the moment they saw their uncle in the entrance glaring at them intently, as he held his trident.

"Uncle Top Cat!" Amy, Sally, and Cosmo gasped in unison. They tried to figure out how he had found this place, but then they spotted Basil, cowering behind a rock. He had been forced to tell the whole story about the night before…and to where he said the normal red echidna, the normal blue hedgehog, and the normal yellow two-tailed fox and they would meet. It was only finding this place was of sheer coincidence. Silver and Charmy, being equally scared as Basil, hid behind a treasure chest, and peeked over it to see what would happen.

Top Cat took a deep breath through his nostrils. "I consider myself a reasonable mer-cat." he said. He then moved out of the shadows and towards his nieces, glaring at them, adding, "I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed!"

Amy, Sally, and Cosmo looked a little terrified at seeing their uncle this angry. They knew that reasoning with him now would not work, but Amy tried to, saying, "But Uncle Top Cat, we-"

"Is it true you rescued a normal echidna, a normal hedgehog, and a normal two-tailed fox from drowning?" Top Cat demanded.

Sally pleaded with her uncle on that, saying, "Uncle Top Cat, we had to."

"Contact between the normal world and the mer-world is strictly forbidden." Top Cat scolded. He then looked at Amy, Sally, and Cosmo with an uncle-like/serious look on his face, yelling, "Girls, you know that! Everyone knows that!"

Six years ago, his beloved wife, Queen Trixie, was killed by a pirate ship. If Amy, Sally, and Cosmo were to encounter the same fate, he did not know what to do!

Then Cosmo finally spoke up as she pleaded with her uncle, protesting, "They would have died."

She, Amy, and Sally couldn't believe their uncle could act so cold! Why couldn't he understand that they loved Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails?

But Top Cat couldn't care less as he bitterly shouted while turning his back to his nieces, "Three less normal animals to worry about!" And he flinged his hand carelessly.

That seemed to make Amy, Sally, and Cosmo angry; as always, their uncle judged an animal before he even knew what they were like. Amy then snapped at him, "You don't even know them!"

Her uncle wasn't there to see Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails, but he turned around, showing a raised eyebrow as he bitterly questioned and snapped back, "Know them? I don't have to *know* them; they're all the same!"

Amy, Sally, and Cosmo swam next to Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails' side of the five-figure statues, hiding behind their backs as Top Cat described normal animals, including Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails, with much venom and distaste in his voice, shouting out, "Spineless, savage, harpooning, Crash-eaters, incapable of any feeling-"

It was at that moment, with tears in their eyes, Amy, Sally, and Cosmo couldn't stand hearing this anymore. With all their courage, they shouted with much truth and commitment in their voices, as if it never left the cave, "UNCLE TOP CAT, WE LOVE THEM!!!!"

They gasped as they realized they had let that slip out They shrank behind the statue, covering their mouths. Basil covered his head with his hands as he hid, as did Silver and Charmy, all knowing what would happen next.

Top Cat's eyes grew wide with shock. He was speechless and still angry, as he only uttered out, "No!" His shock turned to anger at this insanity…this absurd infatuation. He then growled as he looked at his nieces, as if they had lost their minds, "Have you lost your senses completely? They're normal animals, you're mer-animals!"

Amy, Sally, and Cosmo hid behind the statues' backsides as they held on to the shoulders. They had heard what their uncle had said, but then they remembered what Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails had said to them. They had told them that they liked liked for who they were, and that maybe their uncle was wrong about both Normal Animals and Mer-Animals not getting along. However, Amy replied in a crackly voice, showing she, Sally, and Cosmo were on the verge of crying, though they remained firm on what they had said and what they thought now.

"I don't care!" Amy shouted.

"That goes double for me!" Sally added.

"Me too!" Cosmo finished.

Top Cat growled as his grip on his trident grew tighter. He looked at Amy, Sally, and Cosmo with much fury in his eyes, and he held his trident high in the air as it glowed a dark yellow color with powerful and destructive energy.

"So help me, young ladies, I am going to get through to you!" Top Cat snarled coldly," "And if this is the only way, so be it!"

The trident pulsated with red electrical energy, as Top Cat pointed at the treasure trove. The first shot was sent to a globe, destroying it into a million pieces. Then, he destroyed a candleholder holding three dinglehoppers and other utensils. Amy, Sally, and Cosmo looked in shock as he shot at another shelf, destroying the paintings that they, Silver, and Charmy collected from that giant ship in the Atlantic. They tried to reason with their uncle.

"Uncle Top Cat!" Sally begged.

But their uncle would listen as he destroyed the next items, leaving no trace as Cosmo pleaded, "No! No, please!"

He destroyed more and more, with Basil, Silver, and Charmy, but mostly Amy and her sisters watching helpless as they tried to plead to him even more. They couldn't take it anymore as they swam up to him, and Amy pleaded, "Uncle Top Cat, stop! Uncle Top Cat, stop it!"

But she, her big sister, and their little sister saw that he still wouldn't listen to them. But he then saw that his attention was drawn to something else. They looked to where their uncle was looking and saw the statues of Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails. They then realized those were what their uncle was about to destroy next, but that wasn't what shocked them the most. They couldn't let those get destroyed, so they turned towards their uncle as they pleaded one more time, this time, in unison, "Uncle Top Cat, nooo!!"

But it went unheard as Top Cat shot at the statues. Sally, Cosmo, and Amy shielded their eyes as the statues exploded with tremendous light and energy.

They were able to unshield their eyes as they looked to where the statues, now reduced to a thousand shattered and smoldering pieces.

They crashed to the ground, got on their tail knees, covered their faces, and started to cry.

Uncle Top Cat was about to say something to his nieces, but then his rage all disappeared. His once enraged face turned to sadness and guilt as the realization of what he had just done. Unable to think of anything else to say to them in order to apologize, he swam away, leaving them to cry.

Silver, Charmy, and Basil came out of their hiding spots as they saw Top Cat leave the cave. The two then turned their attention to Amy, Sally, and Cosmo, who were still weeping.

Basil could only blame himself for leaking the secret out. So he walked over to them as he tried to apologize to them, saying, "Sally? Cosmo? Amy, I . . ."

"Please!" Sally sobbed, "We don't want to see anybody."

"Leave us alone." Cosmo sobbed.

"Just go away." Amy sobbed. She, Sally, and Cosmo wanted to be alone.

Basil felt very depressed. He, Silver, and Charmy sadly slithered out of the grotto. Amy, Sally, and Cosmo continued weeping. Their normal animal collection, especially the statues, was so important to them! It meant the world to them! And their uncle had to destroy them! He also broke something else. He broke Sally, Cosmo, and Amy's hearts and their spirits! Will they be repaired? Amy, Sally, and Cosmo didn't know.

As three left, two more appeared. Raffish Ralph and Weasel McGreed were glancing back and forth between them and the sobbing princesses in the room, both thinking the same thought. Too easy.