Now, unlike me, lizards love heat. They’re cold-blooded, you see, so they can withstand a bit of warmth. So it fell to a scaly young Mobian to summon Amy Rose, Tekno the Canary and Johnny Lightfoot when a strange lump of rock was found at the lava’s edge in the Lava Loch Zone (Winner, World’s Most Lukewarm Hot Springs 1996). Johnny wasn’t impressed at the vaguely humanoid rock but the Mobian explained it hadn’t been there the day before. Around lava, that’s not always a good sign (ever heard of Pompeii?). Tekno added fuel to the fire, so to speak, when her scanner showed something was alive inside the rock- someone had been flash solidified! But what on Mobius could possibly survive being encased in molten lava?

Of course, it was none other than Robotnik’s own worst nightmare (and if you don’t believe me, ask him yourself), Shortfuse the Cybernik! Shortfuse’s indestructible armour had saved him from becoming a charbroiled squirrel. Shortfuse explained that his armour’s power had inexplicably cut out on him while flying over the loch and he’d plummeted in- only his back-up life support systems and the armour itself had kept him alive for the past few months! When his power kicked back in, he crawled to the surface, but the lava hardened around him.

Shortfuse was dismayed to learn the reason for his fall- the electromagnetic pulse that had defeated Doctor Robotnik! Not that he was upset Robotnik had been defeated, Shortfuse was anguished because he wasn’t there to help earn that Final Victory (we’ll get to it in due course, don’t worry!). Amy told Shortfuse that he had become too intense and asked if he had considered a “normal” career. Shortfuse decided Amy was on the money.

Unfortunately, Shortfuse wasn’t much cop in the real world. His bulky suit made him a poor fit for the double-glazing sales role as he ended up shattering the glass! Efforts to speed up cooking in a fast food restaurant by using his laser blaster led to equally poor results. Shortfuse couldn’t even get by as a celebrity spokessquirrel for armour wax!

Dejected, Shortfuse wondered if he would find a place in a post-Robotnik Mobius. As he contemplated his life as he flew through the air, a gateway between dimensions opened up! Shortfuse was face-to-face with an inhabitant of another world who asked for the help of Mobius’ greatest champion, Sonic the Hedgehog to aid them in holding off an invasion of powerful aliens! Shortfuse told the flustered soldier that Sonic wasn’t available (politely leaving out the part about how Sonic doesn’t usually fly so the gateway wasn’t in the best of positions) but was more than happy to offer his help.

A few days later, Shortfuse’s friend Tekno pondered aloud to Amy about where the cybernetically enhanced super-rodent had gone. Amy assured Tekno that Shortfuse would be fine no matter where he was, being the true hero he always wanted to be. And, sure enough, Shortfuse was putting his amazing skills to good use in an incredible interplanetary war!