Chapter Seven

They reached the valley and looked around, expecting the ring to be right in the middle of the valley on a golden dais. They all knew they were thinking it, only

Coal said it,

"Thought it was going to be in the middle of the valley on a golden dais, did you?" She smirked.

Shadow rolled his eyes, "No."

"Come on guys let's go find the ring!" Tails said. He dashed down the slope into the valley.

"Look for an opening that the ring might be in!" Lizzy shouted after him.

"Dude, don't shout so close to my ear." Coal said pushing her away from herself.

"Sorry," Lizzy said and she ran down after Tails. Coal shrugged and jogged after Lizzy, the other three trailing behind her. Tails looked around the enormous

valley and almost collapsed.

"How are we supposed to find the thing?" He asked.

"Split up and look for a cave or underground tunnel that looks like it could hold the ring." Lizzy answered.

"Okay, good idea, Coal and Shadow, you should search the east side of the valley, Silver and Icefire, you guys go search the north side, and Lizzy and I will go

search the West side! Let's go!" Tails said.

They split up into they're different groups and started to the location to search.


Lizzy and Tails walked in silence as they searched. Tails knew that they were so close but still he had doubts. Finally he couldn't keep it any more and he

blurted, "What if it doesn't work?"

Lizzy looked at him and said, "What?"

"The Ring of Life…"

Lizzy rolled her eyes at him. She stooped down to look behind some bushes for a secret tunnel of some sort before answering him. "Of course it will work! As

long as you have his ring and you put it together with the other ring and bla, bla, bla, he'll come back."

Tails looked hurt and troubled, "I know, but what if I stick it on him and he doesn't come back to life…? What if I lose the ring once I combine it together with

this one?"

He lifted up Sonic's blackened ring.

"Don't worry," Lizzy said reassuringly, "He'll come back. I know it."

"But he might not! You don't know how it was to watch your best friend push you aside so that he gets killed and you can't do anything about it!" Tails nearly

shouted, tears blurring his vision. Lizzy looked sadly at him then looked off into the undergrowth.

"No, no I don't…" She said sadly, "But I know how you feel…or something like it. But, Tails, have faith."

Lizzy took up his hand in a comforting manner. Tails looked up at her and smiled, wiping his tears away.

"Come one, little warrior, let's go find that ring!" Lizzy said with a smile.

She placed her hand in her pocket and felt her L-emerald there. She glanced at Tails as he wandered towards another bush.

"Hey, Tails." She said walking up to him.

"Yeah?" He turned around his face still showing traces of tears.

"Take this. It's sort of like a good luck charm." She said handing him the yellow L-Emerald.

Tails took the gem, his eyes growing round as he looked at the beautiful gem. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Positive."


"Wow, you can't see a thing in this shrubbery!" Icefire stated. Silver nodded in agreement. Icefire looked over at him, puzzled, he had been acting weirdly

lately and she wanted to get to the bottom of it, "What's the matter with you?"

"Oh, nothing…" Silver responded, "Maybe a little homesick…"

"Homesick?" Icefire asked.

"Yeah…"

There was a moment of silence for which Icefire looked down a small rabbit hole and Silver looked in nest in a tree.

"Where do you live?" She asked.

"In the future." He replied.

Icefire stopped what she was doing and looked at him, dumbfounded, "The future?" She asked, "Like the far future or near future?"

"Far."

She gawked at him, "Really?"

He nodded.

"Am I still alive?"

"I am not allowed to tell or I shouldn't tell."

"Oh, yeah, it would like mess up the past or something, right?"

He shrugged, "I guess."

"Huh, well let's look for the ring and then get you back home!" She said teasingly, pushing him. He smiled at her.


"Why do they have to do that?" Shadow grumbled.

"Do what?" Coal asked as she searched the side of the mountain for any grottos or tunnels.

"Pair us up." He replied.

Coal stopped what she was doing to glance at him, "Why?" She asked continuing.

"It's always, you-me, Silver-Icefire, Lizzy-Tails."

"And you have a problem having me as your partner?" She asked now glaring at him.

"No…" Shadow said searching the cliff side with her.

"Uh-huh." Coal stopped looking, to give Shadow a proper glare.

"Maybe I should have just not have come with Tails." He said gazing off into the shrubs, "He's doing fine on his own with you guys."

"But then you wouldn't have met me!" Coal objected, "And I could have died." She remembered her fall at Eggman's ship.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Shadow said.

"You bet—" She didn't finish when Shadow pulled a leafy tree out of the way, revealing a cavern into the side of the mountain.

"Found it." He said as they both saw a radiance coming from the inside.