| abstract | - While out collecting berries on the edge of the forest, Sally and Tails notice that Sonic is frantically dancing instead of helping them. Sonic explains that Rotor's ants found their way into his shoes and are making his feet unbearably itchy. He returns the ants to Rotor and asks why he keeps them as pets. Rotor says he thinks they're interesting to watch and they like living on his ant farm. Sonic asks why they keep running away if they like living in the farm when Robotnik and Snively surprise the Freedom Fighters, attacking them with a portable Roboticizer. They set their sights on Rotor when the entire group is sucked up by a giant hose into a spaceship. Once they land inside the ship, Robotnik tries to head back out immediately. He's caught by a massive alien, who tells them that he captured them with his Umbilicus and plans to keep them on his ship forever. "Ivo Robotnik, Freedom Fighter!" - Part Two The alien captor reveals that he is Car-Heem, an avid collector from the planet Weeet. Robotnik's attempts to get off the ship anger Car-Heem, who decides to dispose of him. The Freedom Fighters convince Car-Heem that Robotnik part of their group and necessary for their survival. The concept intrigues Car-Heem, as his species is trained to live a solitary life in space. He places them in a recreation of the Great Forest to study them. Sonic asks Car-Heem to get them some food, intending to break out while the alien is preoccupied. Unfortunately, Sonic is unable to break the container holding them. Days pass, and the Freedom Fighters are hard at work. Robotnik refuses to help until they point out that Car-Heem is observing them and might destroy him if he doesn't pretend to be a Freedom Fighter. Later, Sonic recalls that Rotor said about his ant farm: that Rotor watches them because the ants are "interesting". He proposes that they stop being interesting to try and make Car-Heem get rid of them. Robotnik volunteers to build a vehicle to help them escape their prison and use the Umbilicus to return home. Sonic asks how they can trust him, and Robotnik simply tells Sonic that he's a Freedom Fighter now. "Ivo Robotnik, Freedom Fighter!" - Part Three Sonic plays dead, prompting Car-Heem to remove him from the habitat. He runs inside Car-Heem's space suit to distract him while the others escape. Robotnik flies their escape vehicle to the control panel of the Umbilicus, revealing his treacherous intentions: he opens the ship's door, sending Car-Heem and Sonic flying out into space. The Freedom Fighters, outraged at Robotnik's carelessness and cruelty, restrain Robotnik and use the Umbilicus to catch Car-Heem before he floats too far away, rescuing him and Sonic. Car-Heem, having learned the error of his ways and vowing to collect comic books instead of creatures, agrees to return the group to Mobius. Later, Rotor decides that he wants to follow the example Car-Heem set and releases his pet ants. He asks his friends if they're proud of him, but they're too busy itching at their ant bites to talk.
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