Fiona, fresh from clawing her way out of her two-year nightmare in Robotnik's slave labor camp, stumbled into the overgrown forest just beyond the facility. There she ran into Nicolette the Weasel, who was scavenging for scraps and gems. Fiona warned her of the danger of lingering too close on account of the SWATbots patrolling about. Nic was impressed by the nerve of this gaunt, filthy, and trembling kit, who clearly escaped a place most never left alive, and so offered her a share of the day's haul and a temporary camp for the night. Thus an unlikely partnership was forged that would last another two years.

The two dwelled on the fringes as nomads who never stayed in one place for more than a week. They haunted Robotnik's abandoned outposts, derelict mining sites, and the wild borderlands between controlled territories and free Zones. Nic was street-smart, was a master of unlocking, and had a knack for bartering. Fiona, meanwhile, could navigate ruined structures and scale sheer quarry walls, could outlast Nic on long treks, and could spot ambushes and devise quick escapes. Together they scavenged power cells, spare parts, and the occasional uncut gemstone to trade on the black market. When supplies ran low, they pulled small heists, raiding supply convoys or abandoned caches, and were always careful to stay beneath the notice of major SWATbot patrols.

Every now and then, Fiona and Nic would return to the original prison camp, now a ghost facility, for both sentimental and practical reasons: it still contained hidden caches of supplies and the gemstone veins Mighty had once mined. During these visits Fiona would stand in the ruins of her old cell, tracing the tunnel she had dug with her own bleeding paws, and quietly nurse her grudge against Sonic and Mighty for "not saving everyone".

Nic was Fiona's only constant, someone who had seen her at her lowest and never once left her behind. Their partnership was pragmatic rather than deeply emotional; they watched each other’s backs, split loot evenly, and shared fireside stories, allowing Fiona to preserve Fortress Cliff's memory by recounting the old legends of fox tricksters. Yet Fiona rarely opened up about her family or the invasion of her island home, preferring to keep that wound private.