A/N: I'm going back to school this Monday, so that'll be a real joy killer as my stories will be randomly updated again (not like that has changed). I just hope I won't have any major breakdowns like before. Crossing my fingers here...

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. And if you don't, then I deserve scorn.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or the other characters, and that'll remain true for all eternity.

Chapter 21: Jackal and Hide (1)

Location: Resistance HQ

Savage pressed his glasses to the bridge of his nose, sniffing shortly when he felt an itch. He was busy looking at the map of Mobius on the large monitor. It had been a few hours since Amy and Raff left the call to help the soldiers in Green Hill. Over the course of time, he was updating the log on the territorial regions that have been recovered by the other units. The calculations showed that they were now up to around 14% of safe land whereas Team Eggman stood approximately at 86%. The rate had steadily fluctuated ever since Sonic returned to the team, which proved to be a key impact on the heroes' side. Despite this, they were far away from fifty-fifty to make it an even match, and Eggman's army was still holding the upper hand.

The wolf sighed before his stomach made a growling sound. Coincidentally, he saw Knuckles set down a paper plate with two sandwiches beside him.

"I figured you were hungry," Knuckles smirked. "I made some ham and cheese for us."

"Thanks, Knuckles," Savage grabbed one off the plate while the echidna took the other. As they devoured their lunches, the orange wolf returned his attention to the screen. "Phantom Ruby... Phantom Ruby..." he kept repeating to himself. "I'm on the same boat as Amy. What the heck is that thing?"

"Beats me. Eggman also said something about prototypes. I'm trying to piece together what that even means."

"Well, let's think. Apparently, before Eggman invaded Red Gate City, he claimed to have found this ruby. Heck if I know where he found it in the first place, but he mentioned that he took the time to research its powers. And after Eggman tested it, he gave it to Infinite as a test. Do you think that's what he meant when he said he was using it for control?"

"That's a solid theory you came up with, Rookie. But if there was something about prototypes, my concern is that Eggman must have made extra copies of this strange ruby. But for what purpose?"

"Could it be a part of his experiments? Maybe he wanted to make similar models to test them out without interacting with the real one. If it's rare, he probably didn't want it to go to waste."

"Maybe, but it doesn't make sense to me. There must be a reason why Eggman mentioned those copies."

"If only we had our hands on one of them. Even if they seem dangerous, maybe we can try to tap into its powers to understand why it's helped Eggman and Infinite."

Before Knuckles gave it any thought, he turned around when he heard the radio signal go off. It wasn't from Amy or Raff. The call was coming from a different soldier.

"Commander speaking from HQ. Who's calling?"

"This is Collar from the Mystic Jungle unit reporting to you, sir!" He was a black-furred dog with a white stomach and a unique red collar around his neck, hence his name. "My team and I are getting some strange readings from our system. The signals are coming from the laboratory that was locked down. It's right near the exact spot where Infinite fought Silver and Blaze!"

"Do you think Infinite is there again? Or is it one of Eggman's robots?" asked Savage.

"We thought it was Infinite, but something's odd about it. There's like probably two or more of these things on our tracker. The problem is that we cannot determine what exactly they are. But we can almost guarantee that they are not robots."

"Excellent," Knuckles groaned. "Just what we need: another mystery to solve. I'll go investigate these sources."

"Do you have any personnel to join you, sir?"

"I do. Savage, it's your lucky day again. You're coming with me once again."

"No problem, Knuckles," Savage gave a thumbs-up.

"What about us?" another voice called to them.

To their surprise, the front door of the HQ opened up. The two saw Rouge and Omega walk inside with the magenta dog medic beside them.

"Who was that?" inquired Collar.

"Don't worry about that. I'll get back to you later. We'll head down in five minutes." After he hung up, Knuckles started yelling at the white bat. "Rouge! What are you doing here?! You're supposed to be healing in the infirmary!"

"Hmph. I'm doing well myself, thank you very much," she said sarcastically, placing a hand on her hip. "No need to be so overprotective."

"Overprotective? I'm trying to look after you and everyone else! What makes you think that you're alright? If you're not in shape to go out for action and you severely get hurt again, I have to take responsibility! I'm not going to risk that chance!"

"Aw, so you do care about me, Knuckie-poo."

His cheeks turned redder than his fur. "Rouge!"

"What?"

"Knuckie-poo?" Savage was puzzled at the weird nickname.

"Don't make fun of me or call me that!" he hissed at the wolf with a fist.

"I wasn't making fun of you! I didn't even laugh!"

"Um, excuse me, Commander," the medic named Delilah spoke up to break up the random tension, "I apologize for interrupting, but recently, I was checking over her current health status, and it seemed that her wing is back to normal."

Knuckles blinked. "It is?"

Delilah nodded. "Luckily, it was a fast recovery. She tried flying for a short while, and she didn't report any signs of fatigue or pain. Her headache had also gone away. No signs of dizziness or unconsciousness."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. And as for Omega, he's up and running again after our mechanics team took good care of him."

"Affirmative. Main batteries are recharged and backup power is sufficient for new battle opportunities. I seek a chance at redemption," Omega responded.

"Just as long as he doesn't get shut down again," Rouge muttered to herself. "Seriously, Knux. I'm fine, and so is Omega. We want to join you. Because from my intuition, I bet you're going to need more than just the Rookie on this mission. No offense to you," she directed at Savage.

"Eh, you're fine," he waved it off.

Knuckles stood still for a while before shifting his head to the floor and crossing his arms over his chest. He pondered about Rouge's determination to assist him. Plus, Omega was also willing to offer support. Even though both had a rough battle against Shadow the night before, both looked healthy and prepared to hop back in action.

He was slightly reluctant, but he made his decision. "Okay, Rouge. You and Omega can join us."

The bat grinned. "Thanks for giving us the chance," she genuinely replied. "We'll do our best to not let you down."

"If we fail to succeed in our task, we will accept responsibility. Regardless of the outcome, we shall not let our impairment hinder us greatly," Omega boomed.

"Hey, Knuckles. Should we also explain the situation we learned from Amy and Raff?"

"What situation?" Rouge wondered.

"Oh, yeah. They managed to snoop on Eggman and Infinite in Green Hill Zone. From what we heard, we have some alarming news. Eggman has a secret plan, and he briefly explained that it will end all life on Mobius in just three days."

"Three days?" her eyes widened. "Oh, my. That is certainly not a lot of time."

"No, it's not," Savage concurred. "We need to stop him, Infinite, and the rest of his militia by then. Otherwise, all of our hard work would be for naught."

"Should I alert the others about this?" asked Delilah.

"Yes, please do. And find the Chaotix. I'm going to make them hold down the operations of this base as we all head out to Mystic Jungle."

"Will do, Commander," she gave a salute before leaving.

"Alright then. Is everyone good to leave?"

"I'm all set," said Rouge.

"Ready for action," Omega beeped.

Savage fidgeted his glasses before replying with a clenched fist, "Let's do this!"

Location: Mystic Jungle

A place known as Aqua Road was found near the mountainous region of the large jungle, far from the Luminous Forest where Sonic ventured through. Because that path featured the gigantic snake, Knuckles had a bad feeling that their path would be blocked if they end up running into it. Due to this dilemma, he planned an alternative route that was considerably longer but less dangerous. It required going through several water channels that led to a humongous lake. At least Sonic wasn't participating in this expedition. Water was never a good thing for the Blue Blur.

Knuckles led the quartet into the jungle while Rouge stayed close beside him. Savage ran behind the echidna and bat while Omega followed everyone else. Just then, Collar gave an update to the party.

"We seemed to have lost some connection to the strange signals we received earlier."

"How unfortunate. Well, we'll get to the bottom of this anyway," responded Rouge. "Just keep up at your current job."

"Will do," Collar hung up.

"If it's neither Eggman, Infinite, nor robots, what could they be?" Knuckles thought.

While running through another casino setting, they made their way to a wall only for it to crumble by a couple of Egg Pawns. Some of the stone from the wall nearly knocked them down.

"Holy crap! Is it just me, or did Eggman seriously wreck the entirety of this forest?" Savage asked as he took down one of the Egg Pawns with his Wispon.

Rouge disabled the other enemy before answering. "He and his army must have done a lot if they constructed this ugly casino. All the ruins that were built from the old civilization are practically gone. Any remnants of it would just fall apart like that one wall."

"Not to mention that Eggman had deforested this jungle from the construction of said casino. And like the buildings in Red Gate City, fires have been set aflame in the many trees around us," explained Omega.

"Brace yourselves, everybody!" called Knuckles. "We're going on a water ride!"

"What do you mean by that?"

Savage's question was answered when he and the others ran up a large incline before jumping out of a cave. They splashed through a cataract where the water flowed down to a wide flume with barrels, Moto Bugs, and other objects following the current. Thankfully for Omega, he was unaffected since he was waterproof. But because of his inability to swim, he had to balance himself on the barrels so he wouldn't accidentally fall into the raging stream. (2)

"Damn, these waters are rough. They're cold, too," Savage shivered.

"This place is enough to make us or anyone else dizzy if we keep swaying back and forth to avoid these Moto Bugs." Inconveniently, one landed on Knuckles' head pretty hard. "Ow! You little- I'm going to get you for that!" He started pushing his hands against the surface to move faster.

Rouge was amused by this. "I don't know why, but I always love it whenever he gets mad over the little things," she told Savage.

"Does he always act like this around you as well?"

"Only when I mess with him on purpose. I only do it for jokes... sometimes."

"Um... okay?"

Rouge then turned her attention to what was in front of Savage. "Look out!"

The wolf looked ahead and nearly screamed when he was about to run into a Moto Bug. He dodged to his left and burned the robotic ladybug out of his way. He ducked his head against the water while going underneath a set of vines with thorns.

"Thanks for the warning!"

"Anytime, Rookie," she winked. "I told Knuckles I had a feeling you guys were going to need my help."

As more Badniks kept flowing with the waters, Savage, Knuckles, and Rouge managed to bump into the robots as if they were performing a normal homing attack. Omega carefully aimed his lasers at the ones they missed to allow a clear path. At the end of the first torrent, the heroes took a big drop before landing in another flume. The downward slope was so steep that it was like they were enjoying a big slide at a water park. That was when the four ran into the bumpers at the edge, sending them over a large gap of the jungle. While Rouge and Omega flew in the air, Savage grabbed Knuckles' hand and carried them over with his grappling hook.

"Thanks. At least there's no sign of that snake that Sonic encountered," he huffed while they continued to run down the next section. "But it's still a long way to go to get to the lab. Eggman must have gone through a lot of trouble to make it hard to both find and travel there."

"It's likely that the doctor was doing something to that Phantom Ruby you mentioned to us before we arrived here. He could've been doing experiments they don't want others to know about," deduced Omega.

"More Egg Pawns up ahead!" Rouge pointed.

"I'll take the ones on the left!" Savage ran up and fired his weapon. Omega and Rouge took care of the others on the right side while Knuckles pummeled a line of Badniks down the middle.

Savage helped Knuckles up to higher ground with another hook shot with Rouge and Omega behind them. More Egg Pawns alongside a legion of Caterkillers and Buzz Bombers targeted the Resistance members but to no avail. Rouge and Knuckles went with close, physical combat while Omega and Savage had the long-distance range with their weaponry. With the Badniks gone, everyone made their way to a dash ramp and soared over to a larger channel with more Moto Bugs flowing in the water.

"How's the water treating you, Savage?!" Knuckles shouted over the sound of the current.

"Not too shabby! Just as long as these stupid bugs get out of our way!" he bumped into a couple.

"The flume is divided into paths," Rouge noticed. "I hope they all lead us to the same area!"

Knuckles took the left, Rouge and Omega slid on the right, and Savage went down the center. They all experienced several tight curves and twists through the wilderness. The slides all met with each other again as they glided over a deep abyss. Once again, Savage proved his worth to Knuckles by getting in range of him and using the airborne targets with his hook to land on safe ground. Rouge and Omega rejoined them as they stood outside the temple. (3)

"Another job well done, Savage. That grappling hook came in handy yet again!"

"It's no problem, Knuckles. I'm glad I could help out again."

"Now we have to figure out where the readings came from and who they are. Omega, can you detect anyone nearby?"

"Scanning for life forms. Searching... Searching..." he took his time. "I sense a strong presence lurking in the shadows nearby."

"You do? Where?"

"To our northeast. Their location is approximately fifty feet near our coordinates."

"Fifty feet? So they're technically nearby?"

"Wait. They're getting closer. The signals are slowly approaching."

While Omega tried to make sense out of his own readings, the rookie noticed something strange on the ground. He walked away from the group, moving towards the thing that caught his eyes.

"Savage?" Knuckles saw him.

The orange wolf bent down and picked up the object. Adjusting his glasses, he inspected a magenta and black stone with triangular faces and pointed edges. He was caught off guard when it glowed in his hand.

"Whoa. That's a little freaky." A thought clicked in his head. "Is this a Phantom Ruby? Or perhaps, a Phantom Ruby prototype?"

"DANGER! I sense danger in close proximity!"

At that time, a quick blur knocked Savage in the back of the head. His glasses fell onto the dirt next to him.

"Savage!" Knuckles and Rouge ran over to the wolf. Omega got his arm cannon charged up and surveyed his surroundings to find the source of trouble.

"Are you okay?" the bat crouched down to him, handing him his glasses.

"Ow... That hurt," he rubbed the back of his head and put them back on his face. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Knuckles looked around. "It happened so quickly that I didn't even catch it!"

"Show yourself now! You can't hide from us!" Omega demanded.

Savage realized that the ruby was nowhere in sight. "Hey! Where is it?!"

"Where's what?"

The same being that attacked Savage rushed into the party, sliding underneath Knuckles and causing him to fall on his back. Someone else was hiding behind the leaves of a tall tree. The shadow pounced on top of Omega's head before he could have a chance to shoot at them. It leaped onto Savage and nearly kicked Rouge in the face. She managed to duck and get into a fighting position until she saw what was in front of her. Rouge didn't move from her spot. She stood in awe, glaring at the two strangers.

There was a pair of black jackals who looked almost similar to Infinite. The one on Rouge's left wore a red cap on his head. The jackal on the right had a green bandanna wrapped around his forehead, holding the ears up. (4) What none of the others knew was that this wasn't the first time the bat had encountered them before. The thing was, they weren't the same ones she faced.

"Well, look at this," the jackal with the hat sneered. "I see we have some strangers in the jungle. What are you doing here?"

"Haven't I seen you clowns before?"

The bandanna-wearing jackal snickered. "Why, you're quite mistaken. I don't have any idea what you're talking about. I'm sure my partner has the same sentiment."

Knuckles dusted himself before he helped Raff up. Both of them gazed at the assailants.

"Rouge, what's going on here?"

She ignored Knuckles' question. "I've seen faces like yours before. Ever since Shadow disappeared, I ran into a couple of rascals like you when I tried to search for him."

"Huh, how coincidental. My name is Rascal, and my ally with the hat is Puck."

"Don't try to change the subject. What happened to the others?"

"And why the fuck did you assault us?!" Savage glowered.

"Isn't it obvious? You annihilated them, wench!"

Rouge was completely offended by his dirty comment. "Excuse me?!"

"Yeah, I said it. You got rid of our other allies months ago! I think it's time for us to get some payback."

"Wait a second," Knuckles paused. "Rouge, what do they mean that you got rid of their allies?"

"Never mind that. Where was that strange ruby I found?" queried Savage.

"Oh, you mean this?" Rascal pulled the stone out from the back of his head.

"What the... Why'd you steal it?!"

"First of all, Poindexter, this wasn't yours to begin with. And for your question, Ketchup Face, that's none of your business!"

Knuckles was instantly enraged. "What did you just call me?!"

"Forget about that! Let's just take these guys down!"

"You really want to challenge us? I don't think you have what it takes to- URGH!"

Rouge landed a hard fist into Puck's left cheek, punching him into the stone wall. Omega, who had his cannon ready from a while ago, released an onslaught of lasers at the enemies. Some managed to singe Puck's fur, but Rascal evaded them while sprinting from Savage and Knuckles. The two chased after the bandit, but they stopped when he took out some bombs and laid them behind his trail. Knuckles and Savage had to hop to the sides where they exploded. Behind the clouds of smoke, Rascal whipped out his long tail, whacking Knuckles in the nose. Blood spurted out of his nostril as he tried to stop the bleeding with his glove.

"Damn it! What is that tail made out of, steel?"

Savage felt his appendage hit against his chest, sending him back a few feet. "OW! I don't know, but it hurt like hell!"

"Our best bet to get this psycho is to corner him. Let's run in opposite directions. If one of us get the chance, attack when he's in range."

"You got it!"

While the male animals began their strategy, Rouge and Omega were dealing with Puck after he stood up from the base of the wall. The hat-wearing jackal pulled out a blade and threatened the bat. She wasn't fazed in the slightest. Rouge flew up in the air when Puck ran toward her. She waited at the right time to dive down and pummel him with her feet. After she landed, Puck grunted and tried to hurt her again. However, Omega stopped in front of him and blasted another critical laser. The enemy hit his head on a tree trunk and groaned from the impact. Unfortunately for them, he didn't show any signs to surrender himself. Puck chucked the blade at Omega who sidestepped to his right. The sharp weapon clanged against the lab door and fell apart. The metal remnant of the blade landed next to Rouge, to which she jumped away to avoid getting cut.

"I'll still get you even if I don't have my blade! No way a girl's going to beat me!" screamed Puck.

"Pfft. Are you sure that you're a jackal? Because from what I see, you're a pig. A disgusting waste of life that wallows in the mud like the other ones I was forced to beat."

"You want to go?" he moved his fingers in a 'Come here' gesture.

"Ladies like myself are not the ones who start fights. It's always the guys who are full of shit."

"Oh, it's on!" Puck charged forward.

Rouge tested him by pushing against his fists of fury. They went head-to-head in each other's space, fighting for power over the other. When their hands lost contact, Rouge went straight for his face again, but Puck ducked away. He followed with a whip of his tail, copying Rascal's moves. He added some diagonal kicks while Rouge leaned back to avoid them. She couldn't utilize her fighting skills since she couldn't find an open opportunity. When she attempted to land a punch, Puck kicked her in the leg, causing her to grimace in pain. Puck smirked at the sight, but he didn't expect Omega rocketing at full speed. His large body frame crashed into the jackal as an act of retaliation. Down and defenseless, Puck saw a gloved fist moving towards his face. Rouge went all out with her martial art skills while giving Omega some room to fire missiles with his Lock-On Shot.

Back with Knuckles, the commander continued running after Rascal who ran out of bombs. He gave a dagger at the jackal when he looked behind and started chuckling evilly.

"You're way too slow to catch up to me!"

"Huh, you really sound like Sonic, only you're more of a narcissist than he is."

"You mean that blue cretin that got himself abducted for being a so-called hero? Ha! As if! Call me whatever you want, but neither he nor you will be able to stop us or our leader."

"You're about to eat those words," Knuckles rumbled.

"What makes you say that?"

"Surprise, motherfucker!"

Savage flew from one of the trees with his grappling hook and soared downward at the inattentive jackal. He was too late to dodge as the wolf tackled him to the ground and rolled in circles until they stopped. As Savage got back on his feet, Rascal had no luck when Knuckles delivered a nasty uppercut to his chin. As he was flung towards the wall, the ruby fell out of his possession. Savage seized the chance and grabbed it in his hand.

"I'll make sure he won't escape. Go help Rouge and Omega!"

"There is no need for backup," Omega replied, occupied with his attacks. "Rouge and I are adequate enough."

"Don't worry, Knuckles," she huffed while slamming her feet into Puck a second time. "We're taking good care of this prejudiced beast!" Soon, his body was out of energy and fell to unconsciousness.

Then, Savage peeked at Rascal who managed to get up. He was wheezing heavily, but his eyes sought revenge. When he headed straight at the echidna, the rookie acted out of impulse and stood in front of Knuckles. He fired his Burst Wispon and engulfed him with the flames.

"AAHHH! IT BURNS!" Rascal dropped to the ground and started rolling in an attempt to extinguish himself.

"Of course, dipshit. That's what fire does."

"ARGH! YOU SCOUNDREL!"

"I've been called worse," he watched him deteriorate from the burns and scars that he also lost his energy. Seconds later, Rascal stopped moving as he laid awkwardly on his side.

Knuckles let out a deep breath, holding a hand over his torso. "Oh my god... Savage, you saved me there."

"You're welcome, Knuckles. I wasn't going to let him harm you or take back the ruby."

"Oh, yeah. That's right. Can I take a look at it?"

Savage nodded and handed it to him. Rouge and Omega returned to their friends and gathered around at the moment the ruby sheened.

"It glowed again. I don't know how or why, but yeah. That's what I saw the first time."

"Omega, I don't suppose you can detect the significance of this... thing, can you?" Rouge looked up to him.

"Scanning for potential answers..." After a while, he replied with a monotone beep. "Negative. I cannot detect the basis behind this mysterious artifact." His tone didn't show it, but he was full of shame.

"It's not your fault. We just don't have a definitive answer on what this ruby does or how it relates to Infinite."

"But going onto a different topic, Rouge, do you know anything about these jackals? Did you say that you fought some before?" Knuckles asked, feeling like he was missing something.

Rouge bobbed her head, narrowing her eyes. "I did. I never explained this to anyone, but it happened a few months after I joined the Resistance. I still searched for Shadow since I lost my connection with him. Along the way, these jackals started to emerge into this world. I have never seen them before, but I've had a couple of battles against these guys. All of the jackals were different from each other. There was one who wielded a sword. Another had yellow gloves and a scythe. I also fought against a female with a green vest and shorter dreadlocks. But the weird part about this is that I only saw them once."

Savage scratched his head in bewilderment. At the same time, a strange noise rung throughout the jungle. He, Rouge, and Knuckles unknowingly shivered from the sound. "You mean, you never encountered the same jackals?"

"Right. I may have defeated them, but I didn't technically 'kill' them. Yet it's like they fell off the face of the world. I've never met Rascal or Puck before, and-" Rouge paused when she looked at the spot where Puck laid, only to find it empty. "Where'd he go?"

"The other swine is gone, too," Omega viewed the area where Rascal laid. Everyone was at a loss.

"Alright. This isn't funny. Who's playing games here? Is this Infinite's doing as well?" assumed Savage.

"Probably. But I don't see him at all. Those jackals couldn't have escaped without making any noise or something like that."

Rouge moaned as she placed a hand on her head. "Ugh... I think I'm starting to get another headache."

"We might as well head back to HQ and regroup ourselves. After that, I think the next step we need to do is figure out what this ruby or the original one does."

"So, are we done with this place?"

"Yeah, Savage. Let's leave. But first, let me give Raff and Amy a call. I think they'll be interested in hearing about this." He took a while to get in contact with them.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Amy. I think we have a lead on what that Phantom Ruby is?"

"You do?"

"Uh-huh. Savage found something similar here in the Mystic Jungle. Just from its appearance, it looks like a ruby."

"Really? So, what is it for?"

"That's the problem. We don't know," Savage elucidated.

"Listen, all of us are going back to the HQ now. You and Raff can do the same as well. It'll be more convenient that way."

"Sounds good. Raff and I are getting the rest of these Badniks in Green Hill. We should be done in about fifteen minutes, and then we'll head off."

"Perfect. See you at home base."

"Alright. Talk to you later, Knuckles!"

With the team meeting scheduled, Savage started to leave with Omega going after him. Rouge was about to follow before Knuckles stopped her.

"What is it?"

"You were right. We sure needed your help back there. I frankly don't think that Savage and I would've pull it off without you guys."

Rouge comprehended his statement and blushed. "You're welcome. I'll do anything to help the team out."

"How are your wings?"

"Not too bad. The left one is still normal. The right is a bit sore, but it's nothing too severe."

"I'm grateful you feel better at least. I wonder if Sonic and the others have recovered at this point, too."

"Well, only one way to find out. We gotta hope for the best."

"That's what I've been trying to do since this war instigated. It's such a struggle. And we all know that it'll only get worse."

"Ain't that the truth," she sighed. The two ran off to catch up with the others on the long journey back to Red Gate.

END OF CHAPTER

I legitimately hope that all of this will make sense soon enough as we prepare for the chapter that'll probably change the course of action from here on out. I wouldn't say it's the climax, but it's a major turning point. So with that, be ready to be amazed... or disappointed.

Please review down below on anything I should fix or what you think of the chapter. Follow and favorite if you like this story so far. I hope to see you all soon and that I don't rip my hair apart. This is TGN, signing off.

Post-Chapter Notes:

(1): Another terrible pun here. This time it's a play on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

(2): On the Sonic News Network, it says that 'Omega appears to be waterproof as he does not short circuit when submerged in water.' But it also states that he is more than likely unable to swim. I added the barrels for that reason.

(3): As I mentioned before, the Casino Forest level is not included in this story as I changed both the order of the levels and the characters that are involved. And even though the Aqua Road level took place at night in the game, I'm making it daytime in this fanfic.

(4): In a way, the Avatar unexpectedly came across two beings outside the Mystic Jungle's laboratory. (Obviously, it wasn't Classic Sonic and Tails.) You might be wondering, these are just the mercenaries of the Jackal Squad, right? Well, not really. The actual role of these jackals will be clarified later in the story. I have a different purpose of including them. It's only for a minor reason, but it kind of ties into the secret. Nonetheless, their appearances are based on the artwork of some of the jackals in the actual squad.