Felix sat in his office writing during a session with Hilary.

"You used to be an ant."

"I used to... Oh, right. Because I'm... because you think I'm Flik. Why--Why do you-- Why do you think that Hilary?"

"It's just because of who you are."

"And who am I?"

"You're an inventor. You want to make a difference."

"So, all of the ants in Pixfare--"

"There aren't any bugs here. Listen." Hilary went to the window and listened. All they heard was an owl hooting, but no insects.

"Maybe it isn't late enough."

"There's never been bugs here. You've just never noticed." She sat back down on the couch.

"So, you think that's proof that there's a curse?"

"Yes, but I know it's not enough. I'm looking for more."

"So, Hilary, look, I asked you this once before and you said you'd think about it. Why do you think it is so important that this is real?"

"It... It just is."

"Alright, well... Keep thinking about that answer, Hilary, because I think there's something buried there."

At the Pixfare Sheriff Department, Jack and Andrea discussed his uniform and his new position as deputy sheriff.

"So, you think you can get people to do what you want in that red coat?"

"I'm getting you to do what I want right now."

"Well, at least wear the badge." She held it out to him, but he was hesitant. "Go on. Take it. If you really want to be a part of this community, you have to make it official."

The minute Jack clipped the badge to his belt, a loud tremor shook the office. Car alarms were heard going off outside and all of the telephones began to ring.

Outside, a crowd was gathered around to see what appeared to be a mine collapse. Derek got out of his car and approached the crowd as a police car arrived.

"Everyone, step back, please."

"Is that a crater?" Michelle wondered.

"No. There were tunnels, uh, old mines. Something collapsed." Ed replied.

"Be careful, step back." Derek instructed. Andrea and Jack approached the site. "Sheriff, set up a police perimeter. Ed, why don't you help with the fire department? Jack, this is now official town business. You're free to go."

"Well, actually, I work for the town now."

Derek gave Andrea a look.

"He's my new deputy." She explained.

"They say the mayor's always last to know."

"It's in my budget."

"Indeed." He gave Andrea another look, then addressed Jack. "Deputy, why don't you make yourself useful and help with crowd control?" Derek turned to speak to crowd. "People of Pixfare, don't be alarmed. We've always known this area was honeycombed with old mining tunnels, but fear not. I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe, to rehabilitate it to city use. We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it." As he spoke, Hilary and Dr. Cutter arrived.

Hilary stepped out from the crowd. "Pave it? What if there's something down there?"

"Hilary, what are you doing here?" Derek whispered.

"What's down there?"

"Nothing. Now step back. In fact, everyone please, please step back. Thank you." Derek picked up a piece of metal with a worried look and Hilary noticed.

"What was that?" Hilary asked Jack.

"Hilary, enough. Listen, this is a safety issue. Wait in the car." He turned to Andrea and Jack. "Deputy Swan, Sheriff, cordon off the area."

Hilary looked around, then got out of Derek's car and motioned to Felix. "Hey, Felix. Over here." Both Jack and Felix approached her beside the police car. "This requires all of Operation Cobra... both of you."

"I didn't realize I was in Operation Cobra."

"Of course you are. You know everything. We can't let him do this. What if there's something down there?"

"They're just some old tunnels." Jack shrugged.

"That just happen to collapse right after you get here? You're changing things. You're weakening the Curse."

"That's not what's happening."

"Yes it is. Did you do anything different today? 'Cause something made this happen." Jack touched his badge.

"Hilary, I told you to wait in the car." She turned to see Derek behind her. "Deputy, do your job." Jack and Felix started walking away. "Dr. Cutter, a word please?" He approached Derek "Okay, we're done with this."

"Uh, excuse me?"

"My daughter. We need a new treatment plan. Everything I do she thinks is part of some horrible plot. I can't cover up a safety hazard without her thinking I'm hiding something. How am I hiding something terrible in an old mine? How is any of this logical to her?"

"She's 's got an amazing imagination."

"Yes, that you let run rampant."

"Well, I think it would be wrong to rip away the world she's constructed. I'd rather use it to try and get--"

"Sometimes I think you've forgotten. You work for me. You're an employee, and I can fire you. This is my town. You will lose your office, lose your house. I can cut you down to size until you're a tiny, shrunken little creature, and you won't have a roof over your head."

"What would you have me do?"

"You take that delusion out of my daughter's head, and you crush it."

Felix sat in his office, thinking, when Danielle, a young girl wearing pigtails, and entered with an elderly woman.

"Hey, Felix."

"Danielle, what are you two doing here?" She motioned to her mouth. "Oh, lunch. I'm sorry. I forgot. I've got another patient. Another time?"

"Oh, ok." Hilary then came up beside her. "Hi Hilary." She greeted her and then left.

"Are you recruiting the Queen and Dot for Operation Cobra?" Hilary asked.

"You think Danielle and Patty are Dot and the Queen?"

"Sure. They're Flik's friends, and they're yours."

"Hilary, look. We--we really need to talk about this, okay?"

"I know you're not convinced, but I know where I can get proof." She opened up her backpack, and Felix looked at the contents inside.

"What is this? A flashlight? And candy bars? Oh, wait. Hilary, you don't want to go down there."

"Jack's here, and stuff's happening. I have to look at it."

"Hilary." He grabbed her shoulders and sat her on the couch. "Hilary, stop. Stop. There is no proof. Look all of this, all of this is a delusion. Do you know what a delusion is?"

"I-I think so."

"It's something that's not real and-- and not healthy, and-- and I thought you'd outgrow this, but Hilary, you know... know it's turned into a psychosis. Do you know what a psychosis is? That's-- that's when you can no longer tell what's real, and if that continues, then-- then I have to lock you away. Hilary, look, this has to stop for your own good. You gotta wake up. This nonsense must end." Hilary stared at him angrily, and then stood up and stormed out of the office. Felix bowed his head, feeling guilty about what he said.

At Pixfare General Hospital, Laura Reed was playing hangman with Clark, which currently read _AU_A _EE_.

"I don't know. 'R'"? She guessed.

"Mh-hmm. Two of them." He wrote a letter "r" on the fourth and

space. "Get it yet?"

She laughed, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment. "Yes, and I'm such an idiot. I almost hanged on my own name."

"Don't worry, I would never have let you hang. I would've added toes and a hat, maybe a horse."

"Is this a game you played a lot before?"

"I don't know."

"It'll come back. They're sending you home in a week. They have to think you're progressing, don't they?"

"Physically."

"Well, you're making new memories just fine."

"Maybe I'll like these better."

She smiled, touched. "Okay, play again?"

Evelyn soon entered, carrying a box of photos. "Can I guess, too?"

"Mrs. Grimm. I thought..." She stuttered nervously. "Oh, it's noon already. I didn't realize. I should go."

"Good day, Miss Richards." Evelyn sat beside Clark. "Honey, I brought more pictures. Maybe they'll jog something." Clark watched Laura Reed leave as Evelyn began showing him pictures.

"I am the worst person in the world." Laura Reed told Jack as they made s'mores in the kitchen.

"Really? In the whole world?"

"If Evelyn was horrible, it would be easier, but she's so... nice."

"And what exactly would be easier?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing's a good idea. You're smart. You know not to get involved with someone who's married. It's not worth the heartache. Trust me." They heard a knock at the door. Jack went to answer it. "I'll get it." Upon opening it, he saw Hilary, crying. "Kid, what happened? Come in."

Felix sat in his office with his dog Dug, when he heard pounding at the door.

"Felix! Felix!" Jack shouted angrily on the other side of the door. He entered the office. "What did you do? You told me not to take the fantasy away. You told me it would devastate her."

"When a course of therapy stops working, you adjust it."

"Is it him? Did he threaten you? What could be strong enough to drown out your own conscience?"

"I don't need to defend my professional decisions to you, okay?"

Jack's cell phone began to ring, and he answers it. "Hello, Mr. Mayor. Nice work.

"You with him?" Derek asked through the phone.

"Yes, I'm with Dr. Cutter, and guess what? You left your fingerprints all over him when you--"

"Is Hilary with you?"

"I dropped her off at your office an hour ago."

"Well, she's not here."

Jack was now shocked. "I don't know where she is."

"I do." Felix spoke up.

Hilary stood in front of the mines where the tunnel collapse occurred earlier. She took a deep breath and entered.

"Hilary! Hilary!" Jack called as he and Felix searched the front of the mines.

"Hilary!" Dug came running to the entrance into the mines, sniffing. "What you got there, Dug?"

"I don't think she's here."

"I think she is." Felix picked up an candy bar. "Candy bar. She had these with her."

Inside the mines, Hilary, with a flashlight in hand, explored the area when she found a mysterious piece of metal among the stones. She picked it up and examined it when all of a sudden, she heard the gravel rustling. She looked up to see an avalanche of rocks, and ran.

Jack, Felix, and Dug felt the shaking effects of the avalanche.

"Hilary!" Felix headed for the entrance. "Hilary! It's not safe!" He climbed into the collapsing mine, just before more rocks fell and blocked the entrance.

"Felix?! Hilary!" Jack shouted.

Felix lit a match and proceeded through the mine to look for Hilary, calling her name.

"Felix! You're here to help me!" She suddenly came out with the flashlight shining on him.

"No, listen. We gotta get out of here, okay."

"So you're still against me."

"Hilary, there's no time for that. Come on, Hilary, come on!"

She started backing away from him. "You don't believe me? You'll see. You'll see." She turned and ran away.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Hilary! Hilary, come back!" Felix turned to look towards the exit, then turned back and chased after her. "Hilary!" He saw a light in front and found Hilary shining the flashlight at a gap on the ground. "Hilary. You gotta slow down."

"There's something shiny down there."

"Hilary, this is seriously dangerous. We gotta get out of here."

"It could be something."

"Will you look at me?! Look at me! I'm scared for you, Hilary!"

"Because you think that I'm crazy?"

"No! No. Because we're trapped underground in an abandoned mine, and there's no way out." She looked at him, slightly scared.

Outside at the entrance of the mine, Dug was barking. Derek, Jack, Andrea, Patty, and Michelle gathered around as workers tried to open the entrance.

"Felix is smart. He'll keep her safe until we get to them." Patty assured them.

"Watch out!" Michelle shouted as the ground suddenly shook.

Derek ran towards Jack and the workers. "Stop! Stop! You're making it worse."

"I'm trying to save her. You know why she wouldn't have gone in the first place, don't you? Because you made her feel like she had something to prove!"

"And why does she think she has anything to prove? Who's encouraging her?"

"Do not put this on me."

"Oh, please! Lecture me until the oxygen has run out!" Derek turned and walked away.

Hilary and Felix headed in the direction of the barking sound.

"Hilary, do you hear that?"

"It's Dug!"

"Follow the noise."

"We have to stop this." Jack decided to call a truce. "Arguing won't accomplish anything."

"No, it won't." Derek turned around, knowing he was right.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Help me."

Jack nodded in agreement, as Dug continued barking.

"It's loudest over here." Felix removed a large sheet of metal labeled 'Danger'.

"What's this?" Hilary asked.

"Looks like... an old elevator."

"We need to find someway to... punch through the ground. We need something big."

"Like what?" Jack shrugged.

"Explosives." Patty suggested. Derek and Jack both considered the idea.

Felix walked towards the elevator. "Its to get the mine workers in or out. Goes all the way to the top. That's why we can hear Dug."

"Can we make it work?"

"Let's give it a shot." He and Hilary climbed into the elevator.

Everyone stood back and hid as the explosives were ready.

"Okay, we're all clear." Jack announced.

Felix and Hilary tried to turn the wheel of the elevator, and it started to move a bit.

"Blow it." Derek ordered, as everyone ducked for cover.

One of the workers pressed the button, setting an explosion.

Felix held Hilary tight, as the elevator shook and dropped a bit.

Jack ran into the smoke caused by the explosion, and then came back out after a few minutes.

"Did it work?" asked Derek.

"It didn't open."

"Then what did it do?"

Laura Reed was leaving the hospital, saying goodbye to the other staff, when Clark approached her.

"Hey, where're you going?"

"Home. I'm done for the day. Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Actually, Dr. Whale wants me to get some exercise. I'm supposed to walk thirty minutes a day with an escort. But they're kinda short on personnel because of that thing that happened in the mine."

"Oh."

"So... maybe there's a volunteer willing to help?" They smiled at each other.

Later, Clark and Laura Reed were walking near a lake.

"I try to remember this place. It's like... it's like I woke up on some strange land."

"Is there anything coming back?" Laura Reed asked, and then paused for a while. "What about when you're with her?"

"Yeah, I lied." He confessed.

"You did?"

"She's just so loving, you know? I didn't want to disappoint her... but none of it feels right, you know? None of it make sense. None of it... feels real."

"That sounds so lonely."

"Actually, one thing does feel real. You."

Laura Reed looked shocked for a moment, remembering Hilary's theory. Maybe it was true that they really did belong together.

She shook off the thought, deciding to play along. "What?"

"I know it's crazy, but I swear, you're the only thing in this whole place that feels... that feels right."

Laura Reed smiled and they started getting closer to each other, before Clark pulled away.

"Evelyn."

She lowered her head. "Right."

Clark walked past Laura Reed. "Evelyn, uh, wh--" She also turned to see Evelyn arrive. "You're here."

"I know it's outside of visiting hours, but, uh... I needed to see you." Evelyn handed him a basket. "I made some cranberry muffins. They used to be your favorite."

Laura Reed looked between the two of them, and could tell the silence was getting awkward with her there. "Well, I should leave you two." She began walking away.

Clark chased after her. "Wait, Laura Reed. See you tomorrow?"

She turned back then smiled and continued walking away.

Outside at the mine entrance, Derek ran to the workers. "What was that? You said you could do this."

Jack tried to calm him down. "Mr. Mayor."

"They could have killed my daughter."

"I know. But this isn't helping."

"If we knew exactly where they were, we could drill down to them." Patty suggested. Dug's barking caught Jack's attention and he ran towards the fire truck he was in. "Maybe... maybe make something to bring them back up."

"But drill where?" Andrea wondered.

"What do you think we..." Derek started.

Jack opened the fire truck's door and let Dug out. "Come on buddy. It's Felix's dog." They all watched as Dug sniffed the ground. "He's found something. Look, this is where they must be. What is it?"

Jack held Dug by his collar as Patty and Andrea removed a metal covering and found a hole blocked by grate bars.

"What is that?" asked Jack.

"It's an air shaft." Andrea replied.

"I'm... really... really... really sorry." Hilary slipped her backpack off and sat on the floor with Felix.

"It's alright."

"I just wanted to find proof."

"No, it's really alright, Hilary. I mean, I'm sorry, too. Look, I-I don't think you're crazy. I-I just-- I just think that you've got a very strong father who's got a clear idea of a path that he wants you to be on, and when you step off that, he... he gets scared, and, you know, that's natural, but it's also natural for you to be able to be free to think the things that you want to think. So... anyway, I-I didn't mean those things I just said, and I-I never should have said them."

"Then... why did you?"

"I guess I'm still not a very good person. I'm not the man I want to be."

The elevator suddenly began to shake.

Using the pulley from Matt's tow truck, the workers removed the metal grate. Jack, Derek and Andrea looked down to the deep shaft.

"So? What's next?" Derek asked.

"I think you can be him. I think you can be a good person. I mean, you're Flik.

"Hilary, Flik was a, uh, he was an ant, okay, and he helped his colony, and--and I hardly think that's me."

"But before you said he was a guy who took a long time to figure out the right thing to do."

Felix paused for a moment, and nodded. "He kinda sounds like me."

"Now it's harder for you, because of the curse, to care for the voice inside of you, to be who you wanna be."

The elevator began shaking again.

"We need to lower someone straight down, or the line would collapse with the sides of the shaft." Patty instructed to Derek and Jack.

Andrea came over with a harness. Derek offered to go down into the shaft.

"Oh, no way. I'm going." Jack argued.

"She's my daughter."

"She's mine too. You've been sitting behind your desk for ten years. I can do this."

Derek sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing. He took a step toward Jack. "Just bring her to me."

Felix noticed a few stones drop to the elevator. "Hey, can I ask you again?"

"Ask what?"

"Why do you think it's so important that your-- your Pixar theory is true?"

Hilary shrugged. "I don't know."

"Give it a shot."

Hilary handed Felix a chocolate bar from her backpack. "'Cause... this can't be all there is."

"I understand." He nodded with a smile.

"I thought if I've found proof... But I didn't find anything."

"Well, that's not true. I was lost when you found me, right?" He handed her a piece of chocolate.

"You mean, you remember?"

"No, I-I don't remember. But I-I do remember the kind of person I want to be. I just gotta listen harder."

More gravel suddenly started falling from the top. They both looked up to see a light and a shadow.

"What's that?" Hilary wondered.

"I think it's a rescue."

They stood up to see Jack being lowered from the top of the shaft. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're-- we're okay."

"Hang on, Hilary. Okay, that's good. Stop." Jack said into the walkie-talkie on his shoulder. He removed the roof of the elevator. Felix lifted Hilary up and she grabbed Jack's hand as he pulled her out.

More gravel began to fall as the elevator started to rattle, with Felix still inside.

The elevator soon fell to the ground with a crash.

"Felix!" Jack and Hilary shouted, scared. They were relieved however to see Felix was holding onto a carabiner on Jack's harness.

The crowd all clapped and cheered as the workers pulled Jack, Hilary and Felix out of the shaft. Derek hugged Hilary and pulled her away, while Andrea stopped Jack from following and took off the harness. Patty and Felix hugged each other, laughing with joy.

Jack came over to Hilary, smiling. "Are you okay?"

Derek shoved Jack away. "Deputy, you can clear the crowd away." Jack watched unwillingly as Derek sent Hilary away.

Derek came up to Felix, who was talking with Patty. "Thank you, Dr. Cutter."

"I, uh, I have something to say." Patty left them alone. Felix stepped off to the side with Derek following. "I'm gonna continue to treat Hilary, and I'm gonna do it my own way."

Derek looked at him, surprised. "My relief at her safety hasn't changed a thing, Dr. Cutter. You will do as I say, or you..."

"Or what? You'll ruin my life? You'll do your worse? Because I will always do my best. "

"Don't test me."

"Oh, I don't need to, because you're gonna leave me alone, and let me do my work in peace."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Because someday, Mr. Mayor, you may find yourself in a custody battle. And you know how a court determines who's a fit parent? They consult an expert, particularly one who has treated the child. So, I suggest that you think about that and you'll allow me to do my work and let me do it my inventive way." Felix walked away, leaving Derek with an angry look on his face.

Soon, it had gotten dark outside. Jack watched curiously Felix and Patty as they chatted happily. "Is that Felix's mother?" He asked Hilary. They both sat on the edge of where the mine had collapsed.

"No. They're just old friends."

Jack took hold of Hilary's hand. "You really scared me."

"I'm sorry."

Patty and Felix walked over to them, ready to go. Jack smiled at them and then turned to Hilary. "Well, come on. Your dad wants to take you home."

"Hey! Look!" Hilary looked down and saw a line of ants crawling on the ground.

Felix also looked down. "Ants."

"They’re back." Hilary smiled and turned to Jack. "Things are changing."

At the hospital, Laura Reed put her letter of resignation into the mailbox at the counter.

Outside the mine, the worker and the crowd chatted and drank to celebrate. Derek took out the piece of metal he picked up earlier that day, and threw it down to an air shaft. The piece of metal kept falling until it hit the ground near the remains of a broken robot.