As Sonic and Tails kept going, they exited Mystic Cave Zone into another underground area, which was lit up somewhat better than the cave. The walls in this area were decorated with triangular brown and purple tiles, which formed diamond shapes. There were triangular green and gold tiles on the floor as well, also forming diamond shapes. Corinthian-style columns could be found at regular intervals throughout the Zone. Additionally, the sound of vaguely religious music could just barely be heard above the sound of water dripping. Sonic stopped when he noticed Tails taking some time to let this new Zone fully sink in.

"What is this place?" said Tails.

"I dunno," said Sonic, "but let's hope we got Robuttnik cornered here!"

"Do you think it had religious significance to the residents of this island?"

"Huh?" Sonic blinked a few times. "What makes ya think that?"

Tails turned one of his palms up. "This area reminds me of a chapel I once visited in Quartz Village. Granted, that one wasn't quite as large, but I get the same kind of feeling here."

"Ya mean you visited an actual town once?"

Tails averted his gaze. "I don't really like to talk about that part of my life, but yes, it's true."

"OK, I get ya. Now let's speed, Keed!"

"Hold on!" Tails put his hand on Sonic's shoulder.

Sonic turned around. "What do ya want this time?"

"I've got another question for you, Sonic…"

Sonic raised his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"…and don't lie to me:"

"I won't."

Tails gulped. "Do you really…like me?"

Sonic paused and stared at Tails. "That's a good question, kid. So far, you've been good to me, but we've really only known each other for…I didn't keep count, but anyways, if I had to answer that, the answer would be yes."

"Really?"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Right on!"

"You're not lying to me, are you?"

"What? No! Why would I be jivin' ya like that?"

Tails hung his head a little, and his ears drooped accordingly. "I don't know, it's just…well…the way you're trusting me to go on these dangerous adventures with you, I just…I get this weird feeling like you're just using me to defeat Robotnik."

Sonic put a hand on Tails' shoulder. "Look, I dig that, and I may be able to read people, but today, after Robuttnik bombed Emerald City, I made a promise: I swore that I would never again use my ability to read people for my own selfish ends."

"And you're not gonna use me for your own selfish ends?"

Sonic looked into Tails' eyes again. Sensing that there was still that tiny little hint of doubt lingering, the Blue Blur put his other hand on Tails' shoulder, and in the next moment, he did something that he didn't think he'd end up doing until they got to know each other a bit better…

He hugged the Two-Tailed Wonder.

Initially, Tails gasped as this happened. Still not sure what to make of it, he took what he felt was the best course of action and hugged Sonic back. In spite of the newness of everything, both parties got a warm and fuzzy feeling, so much so that their faces turned red. Nevertheless, they did nothing to stop this. After all, neither one of them had been hugged in a while, if at all, so they welcomed it. Eventually, they let go of each other, but Sonic kept his hands on Tails' shoulders, smiling.

"Feelin' better?" asked Sonic.

Tails smiled. "I guess so. Just one more question…"

"Go ahead."

"You're not gay, are you?"

Sonic dropped his jaw and nearly let go of Tails. "WHAT!? Where would ya get that idea from!?"

Tails frowned. "I-I dunno…I mean…we haven't known each other for that long, but you hugged me."

"OK, first of all, no. Nothin' wrong with it, but still, I ain't. Second of all, even if I was, you're only…uh…how old are ya?"

"I'm eight."

"Right, so even if I was gay, it wouldn't be cool for me to be goin' out with ya. Third, huggin' ain't gay! Lots of guys hug each other nowadays, am I wrong?"

"Hmmm…that is a good point…"

"Anyways, before we quit jivin' around, as a way of provin' that I ain't usin' ya, I'm gonna make a promise: if we ever get out of this jam alive, I'm gonna buy ya all the chili dogs you can eat!"

Tails smiled. "Can I have mine with extra cheese?"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Ain't no thang! Now come on, let's see what Robuttnik's got waitin' for us in this palace!"

Sonic and Tails proceeded further within the Hidden Palace Zone, encountering the usual complement of SWATbots, Buzz Bombers, Caterkillers and other assorted nasties that Robotnik had under his command. None of these proved any tougher than the last number of times that the duo had fought them. At one point, they encountered yet another new robot, one that resembled a bat and swooped down just like a real bat would. However, they terminated it and moved on. Further down the line, they saw another mace, but this one was attached to a solid bar and swinging on a seesaw-like hinge, bouncing up and down. Not only were they able to dodge this, but they were also able to destroy yet another new robot that was waiting for them: a red robot that resembled a miniature T-Rex. After this, they kept going until they reached a dead end.

"Hmmm…" Sonic stroked his chin. "This wall looks pretty weak…"

Sonic did a Spin Dash and charged at the wall. Sure enough, it broke apart and scattered pieces everywhere when he rammed into it. Unfortunately for the Blue Blur, he ended up rolling off a ledge and into a rapid stream of water.

"WHOA!"

Sonic flailed his arms wildly as the current carried him further down and deposited him off a ledge, where he kept flailing his arms and screaming as he fell to the water below. Fortunately, Tails – ever following him faithfully – grabbed him before he could hit the water and set him down on a nearby piece of dry land.

"Thanks, Tails!" Sonic wiped his forehead. "I can't even swim!"

"You can't?" said Tails.

"No. Why?"

"But I thought all hedgehogs knew how to swim!"

"Never mind that, I got a way we can keep on truckin' and not drown!" Sonic pulled out his disguise bag again and fished around in it.

"What's in there?"

"You'll see…"

Sonic pulled out his scuba gear again, and then pulled out another set for Tails.

"Wow!" exclaimed Tails. "How did you do that?"

"I dunno," replied Sonic. "I guess this bag is just magic." He handed the other set of scuba gear to Tails. "Now here, put this on."

"Are you sure this'll fit?"

"Hey, if the other one fits me, then this one's gotta fit you!"

"OK…"

Tails put his scuba gear on. Sure enough, it fit perfectly.

"This is amazing!" said Tails. "I gotta figure out how that bag works!"

Sonic finished changing into his scuba gear and put away the S.M.E.C.K. "We'll figure that out later. Time to dive, Clive!"

Sonic and Tails put on their regulators and dove into the water. Unlike his blue friend, Tails was perfectly capable of swimming. That aside, they proceeded onwards. Down here, they encountered yet another new robot, this one resembling a giant jellyfish. Recognizing the danger that its tentacles posed, they made sure to jump high enough to avoid them while trying to destroy it. Fortunately, they managed to kill the jellyfish bot without getting stung. Unlike Labyrinth Zone, Sonic found that the water down here wasn't as dark, so there was less trouble for him when trying to navigate this portion of Hidden Palace Zone. A few ways and a couple of dead jellyfish bots later, Sonic and Tails emerged from the water.

"Sonic…"

"What it is?"

"Do we still have to wear this scuba gear? I kinda feel like it's weighing me down."

"Well, if we do this right, we shouldn't have to go through any more water, so what the heck, let's take it off."

Sonic and Tails took off their scuba gear and put it back in Sonic's disguise bag.

"I'm still puzzled as to how that bag even works," said Tails.

Sonic put his jacket back on. "Me too, but as long as it's workin', why ask questions?"

With that, Sonic and Tails continued further into Hidden Palace Zone. As they did, the vaguely religious music got louder. Barring a robot that resembled a small red Triceratops with wheels – which was also easily dispatched in spite of its tendency to charge – they encountered no other new robots. Eventually, they came upon a massive church-style organ, with four large pipes on each side of its triple-tier keyboard and eight smaller pipes above the keyboard, In the center of the floor, there was a large round tile depicting a scene the Sonic and Tails interpreted as the depiction of the planet's creation. They didn't have much time to admire it, however, because of a familiar face…

"So the annoying little Sonic the Hedgehog and his equally annoying friend continue in their doomed quest!"

This time, Robotnik's Eggmobile had a slide on the front resembling that of a trombone, plus two large, superfluous valves on each side and a large bell on top like a tuba.

"For your information, my name is TAILS!"

"Tails!" said Robotnik. "What a splendid name! I'll be sure to cast it to the forgotten winds once I've taken over the planet!"

"Just tell us about your latest hunk of junk, Robuttnik!" said Sonic.

"Very well! I'm sure my Egg-O-Matic Trom-Tuba will be number one on the charts!"

Sonic crossed his arms. "Trom-Tuba!? And you're tellin' ME not to make up words!"

"SILENCE! I can make up whatever I want because my IQ of 300 permits it!"

Sonic readied his fists. "Enough blabbin'! Time for you to get beaten like a drum!"

"We'll see about that!"

Robotnik played a loud four-note sequence, and each note caused a spiked sphere to drop from the ceiling. Fortunately, Sonic and Tails were able to dodge them all. Eventually, the spheres exploded without doing any damage to Sonic and Tails, but the duo had another problem: how to jump to a sufficient height to damage the Eggmobile. Eventually, Robotnik sounded one long, loud note, which dropped an especially large spiked sphere from the ceiling. Sonic and Tails dodged this one too, and when it exploded, some of the shrapnel struck the Eggmobile, which Robotnik struggled to keep from crashing. Using this to their advantage, Sonic and Tails jumped to hit the Eggmobile.

"Nice goin', Tails!" said Sonic.

Robotnik got on his usual flight path. Once again, he played a sequence of four loud notes, and it was here that Sonic could tell – based on the pitch of the notes and the way his Hedgehog Sense acted up – where the spiked spheres were going to land. Thus, him and Tails evaded harm yet again. When Robotnik played that one long note signalling that a larger spiked sphere was going to come down, Sonic and Tails attempted to lure him into such a position that the shrapnel would once again temporarily down the Eggmobile. They succeeded, and once again, they were able to land a few hits on it.

"Should only be a few more from here!" said Sonic.

Once again, Robotnik played his four notes, and once again, Sonic and Tails dodged the exploding spiked spheres that came down. When it came time for the large one, they set that up right, and with a few more hits, they destroyed the Eggmobile's latest attachments.

"Whoa, looks like you're out of tune, Robuttnik!" said Sonic.

"I was perfectly in tune!" said Robotnik. "Nobody recognized my greatness!"

"Yeah, whatever!"

With that, Robotnik fled to his next destination, while Sonic elected to stay behind.

"Sonic, shouldn't we be going after Robotnik?"

"In a minute!" Sonic walked over to the keyboard. "Right now, I wanna try somethin'…"

Sonic banged on the keyboard like a maniac, thereby causing the organ to emit some very loud notes. He also sang his own little tune:

"You put the pedal to the metal and baby I guarantee,
You'll be juicin' to the tenth degree!"

Tails – who had been covering his ears – walked over to Sonic and tapped him with his elbow, causing him to stop playing.

"What now, Tails?"

Tails uncovered his ears. "That was pretty good, but you're no Jerry Lee Lewis."

Sonic just stared at Tails. "Right. Let's just keep goin'!"

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.