In the past, Cosmo was standing on a conveyor belt that transports people down corridors. A few other Seedrians pass her going the other way on the belt.
"Hi there, Cosmo!" Starla said.
"How are you doing today?" Chrysanthemum asked.
"Be sure to give your mother our regards. We'll see you later, Cosmo!" Daisy said.
"Okay! Goodbye!" Cosmo said and saw her older sister Galaxina standing in a four-hall intersection. "Galaxina!" she said stopped in front of Galaxina.
"There you are, Cosmo! You've had Mother worrying all afternoon." Galaina said.
"I didn't mean to. I was playing my pretend game again, and I must have forgotten what time it was."
"Don't worry, little Cosmo. We're all pretty used to your daydreaming by now.
Cosmo scowled and crossed her arms.
Cosmo and Galaxina were standing in a sanctuary aboard the ship. There was a giant tree in the middle of the room, kept alive by machinery.
"Sorry to worry you, Mother." Cosmo said.
"She was dreaming again, like always." Galaxina said.
"Hey, have you ever wondered if Mother likes to daydream too sometimes?"
"Well, maybe..."
"I'll bet she dreams about being back home again, like I do."
"Yes. I'm sure it's a great comfort to her. To hope that one day we'll all be back there..."
"Galaxina... the elders say we'll be journeying through space like this forever."
"Not forever, Cosmo. Just until we destroy the evil Metarex monsters for good. Only then can we rest and search for a new planet to call home."
Cosmo was silent.
"Come on, let's go. Mother has many errands for us today!"
"Yes!"
Then Galaxina left.
"Oh, goodbye, Mother! See you later!" Cosmo said and left.
Later, an explosion rocks the ship, throwing Cosmo into a wall. Smoke poured from the ship as the Metarex' Scarship pulls alongside it. Cosmo was frightened at the sight of the Scarship as it casted its shadow over her.
Starla, Chrysanthemum, and Daisy were gathered on the bridge with an image of the Scarship. An alarm blares throughout the ship.
"Metarex approaching!" Starla said.
"Sectors 3 and 7 have been irreparably damaged! We can't fight them much longer." Chrysanthemum said.
"We have to stop them!" Daisy said.
But before the shields could be deployed, a blast from the Scarship struck the bridge, killing Starla, Chrysanthemum, and Daisy.
Cosmo ran for as explosions rang out across the ship. The conveyor belts stopped working. Suddenly the entire ship explodes.
"Cosmooo!" Galaxina said.
On a planet Cosmo opened her eyes, shaken at the memory. Then she looked over and saw Tails and Knuckles. Tails is typing on his comlink.
"My comlink's indicating that there's a Chaos Emerald nearby, but it won't pinpoint where exactly." Tails said on the comlink.
Chris was flying the X-Tornado.
"Could be this one's buried way underground where it's hard to get to. Just means we're all gonna have to work a little harder to find it, that's all." Chris said over the comlink.
"Well, let's not all stand here twiddling our thumbs. Let's look for this thing!" Knuckles said on comlink.
The Comm cut to Sonic, who was also on the X-Tornado thinking.
"Yeah! Move it down there, will ya?" Sonic asked over the comlink.
Tails and Knuckles looked up to see the X-Tornado fly overhead.
On the X Tornado Cream was also inside the X-Tornado.
"Good luck, everybody! Be careful, okay?" she said waving and Tails waved back.
Cosmo, however, looked sad.
"Poor Cosmo... I wish we could cheer her up somehow."
"Chao chao..." Cheese said.
Sonic didn't know what to say.
"It's not easy when your family's not around. In fact, it's just about the loneliest feeling in the world." Chris said.
'She's not the only person to not have family around.' Sonic thought and put his hand on his medallion.
Chris saw him put his hand on his medallion and regrets saying that.
Meanwhile Tails, Knuckles, and Cosmo walked through an abandoned stone city.
"Why do I have a sneaking suspicion the Metarex have been here too? This place gives me the creeps." Tails said.
"Yup. Just another sad ex-planet." Knuckles said.
Tails and Cosmo stopped, the latter looking around.
"Look around. Families lived here once. Children played all day without a care in the world. They didn't know what was coming." Cosmo said and saw the exploding Seedrian ship. "Now they're all gone, just like Mother, and Galaxina, and they'll never come back!" she said and looked at Tails, who was looking at his comlink. "Sometimes I miss them so much."
He turned to her.
"What's that?" he said and Cosmo looked down.
"Nothing." she said.
"Take a look at this, Tails!" Knuckles said.
They joined him and looked down into what appeared to be a bottomless drop-off.
"This has to be at least."
Tails opened his comlink, and a blip indicating a Chaos Emerald appeared.
"This is it, you guys. The Chaos Emerald's down there somewhere." he said.
Soon he flew Cosmo down the cliff, while Knuckles climbed down. Cosmo saw a cave opening below them.
"Look! The cave!" she said and they stopped their downward progress.
"You two go check it out." Knuckles said.
"We're on it." Tails said and lowered her to the cave opening before landing there.
Then they felt their way into the cave.
"Be careful, Tails. It's dark in here." Cosmo said then accidentally touched a certain part of the wall, and quickly withdrawer her hand.
"What's the matter?"
"I'm not sure; it felt like some kind of-"
Suddenly the entire ground shook and cracked, separating them and rocks started to fall.
"Cosmo!"
Tails tackled her away from the larger falling rocks, accidentally sending them both falling into a pit. Knuckles finished descending to see that the mouth of the cave was blocked off.
"They're sealed in. Hang on!" Knuckles said.
Inside the cave Tails came to see Cosmo looking at him in concern.
"Please, Tails... Oh, please be okay..." Cosmo said.
Then he sat up.
"What happened?" he asked and rubbed his sore head.
"Careful; you're hurt."
"I-I'm feelin' kinda dizzy..." he said and looked up at the open space above him. "Strange... I remember walking inside the cave, and then hearing this rumbling and I must have passed out."
"It's my fault. If I hadn't touched that thing, then none of this would have happened."
"The button! I remember now. Hey, don't feel bad, Cosmo; this is a good thing." he said and opened the comlink. "We'll tell Chris where we are and then we'll start lookin' around."
"What if the Metarex are in here?"
"Chris, Amy, do you read me?" he said on the comlink.
But there was no signal; only static.
"No good. We must have lost our connection."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, Cosmo. We'll make the most of it." he said and pressed a button, and saw that the Chaos Emerald was closer than before. "We're still getting a reading, so the Emerald's gotta be down here somewhere. Let's go!"
"Wait, Tails." she said and ripped part of her dress and prepares to bandage Tails' wound, but he pulled away.
"Really, I feel just fine, Cosmo." he said. "We need to get that Emerald so Sonic doesn't have to feel this much pain."
But she did it anyway.
"I don't care. It's better to be safe than sorry, I always say."
Tails' eyes shimmered, and he blushed.
On the X Tornado Chris saw a blip on his radar.
"I just hope they're okay. I can't get rid of this bad feeling. If that Emerald is buried underground, things could get kinda dangerous." he said.
"Don't worry. When things get scary, at least Knuckles is there. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to them, Chris, 'cause he's tough!" Cream said.
"Chaaoo!" Cheese said.
Sonic walked over next to the canopy.
"Don't sweat it, buddy. I've got it covered. If somethin' goes wrong, I'll be there in a jiffy!" he said. "Still got my medallion on to go with it."
"Thanks, Sonic." Chris said.
"Blue Typhoon to X-Tornado! Chris, do you read me?" Amy asked over the radio.
"I read you." Chris said on the radio.
On the Blue Typhoon bridge.
"I just got a radio message from Knuckles! He says Tails and Cosmo are trapped in a cave somewhere and he can't get through to them!"" Amy said on the radio.
Meanwhile the X-Tornado's occupants showed surprise and concern.
Underground Tails and Cosmo were walking together through the dark cavern.
"You know, I really have to upgrade this thing when we get outta here. Like maybe add some type of software that allows you to cut through subterranean rock formations." Tails said.
"Uh-huh..." Cosmo said.
"I mean, sure, it would make it a lot easier to find hidden Chaos Emeralds. Plus, with Sonic's permission we'd have the ability to send digitized contact signals to and from wherever we might me. Even if we're underground or outer space in some secret hi-tech laboratory somewhere. Yeah, all I have to is upload a new transformer and reprogram the main..."
"I'm so frightened..." Cosmo said to herself and stopped walking. "Mother would know what to do."
"Cosmo?" he said and she looked up. "You okay?"
"Huh? Just daydreaming."
Several fireflies started to fly up around them.
"Hey look, Cosmo! Like some kind of fireflies or something!"
Cosmo stared in wonder as the fireflies fly down a passage.
"I wonder where they're going?" she said.
"Yeah, let's follow 'em."
They raced after the fireflies down the passage, and stopped.
"Huh? Whoa!" he said
The fireflies flew up to a place where there appears to be a giant metal building - something unexpected this far underground.
Outside the cave Knuckles was wearing his shovel claws punching his way through the blocked cave entrance.
"There's a whole avalanche worth of rocks in here. Something must have jarred them all loose." Knuckles said.
Sonic, Cream, Cheese, and Amy looked on.
"Just listen to him showing off with those big silly gloves of his." Amy said.
"Say what you will, but I have faith in Knuckles. You should too." Cream said.
Chris used his comlink to project a holo-scan of the area.
"I'm using the infrared movement tracker, but I can't seem to get a reading from anywhere. It looks like a system of interconnected caves." he said and Sonic walked up to him. "And I'm guessing there's gotta be more than one way down there."
"So while Knuckles is busy boulderizing, we can snoop around for a bit." Amy said.
"Let's hurry. It must be awful spooky in that place. I don't like to think of them down there." Cream said.
"Chao chao..." Cheese said.
"Cheer up." Sonic said. "We'll find 'em!"
In the metal building the fireflies flew in front of the front door.
Several Metarex Vipers patrol the halls as Tails and Cosmo carefully peer around the corner.
"This is a nightmare..." Cosmo said.
"I think we're both having the same bad dream." Tails said
Ducking back, Tails checked his comlink for the Chaos Emerald.
"The Chaos Emerald is located somewhere in this complex." he said and closed the comlink. "Ready, Cosmo."
Cosmo nodded. They ran down the halls and through other passages and corridors, trying to stay out of the way of the Vipers. They enter another room containing giant tubes. There were Chaos Emeralds inside each tube.
"A whole room full of Emeralds..." she said and they examined one of the tubes.
There was strange writing on the top and bottom of the tube. Cosmo gasped and ran to another part of the room.
"It's some kind of... manufacturing plant." she said and joined her. "This must be the real one. They're feeding off it somehow."
The white Chaos Emerald rested in a tube in the middle of the room.
"So they'll all have the same kind of power. This explains the counterfeit one that Metarex had on Planet Breezy." he said.
There was a flashback of Metarex Crystal and the red Chaos Emerald he was holding.
"You're right. It looked so real it fooled all of us. And now there's a whole factory full of them!"
The flashback ends.
"Why would they be doing this?" she said.
"I don't know. It's weird. But if I can hack into their computer systems somehow, we just may be able to find an answer." he said and typed on a computer, and writing in another language appeared. "Some kind of strange code... I can't decipher it."
Cosmo was able to read the Metarex writing.
"It says here "Operation Duplicate", with a list of key Chaos Emerald components. Let's see... "Stabilized energy... 93% compression rate... distillation of properties..." she said.
Tails was astonished that Cosmo could read the Metarex writing.
"You mean you can read this?" he said.
"Only some. But I'm not all that familiar with a lot of the more technical data. I wish I could help more..."
"You helped a lot, Cosmo! Now let's download this information right away!"
Tails soon connected a cord to the computer and downloads the information onto his comlink. "Now loading" appears on the screen.
"We'll look at the data when we get back to the Blue Typhoon. Will you help me translate?" he said.
"Sure, I'd love to! ... It's the least I can do after the mess I've gotten you into."
"But Cosmo, we wouldn't have discovered all of this if it weren't for you."
"Aahh... Intruders!" someone said.
They turned to see a Metarex Viper approaching them.
"Cosmo, get the real Emerald!" Tails said and retracted his cord.
"I will teach you not to trespass! You're not wanted here. Stay away from there!" Viper said.
The Viper lunged toward them. Cosmo struggled to open the door, but finally did and retrieved the Chaos Emerald. Tails disconnected the giant power cord, causing sparks to fly. Then he thrusted it into the Viper's mouth, shorting it out. He and Cosmo fled the room.
Elsewhere in the Metarex base, an alarm went off, and a red alarm light flashed.
"Attention! Intruders have removed the Chaos Emerald. They must not escape!" Viper said over the intercom
Four Vipers took off. The Viper that was shorted out typed on a console, pulling up a map of where the Chaos Emerald is.
"The Chaos Emerald will show exactly where they're hiding. How convenient." Viper said and laughed.
In the caves several Vipers swam through the waters. Cosmo carefully looked around from behind a rock. She ducked back down.
"I hate to say it, Tails, but I think the Emerald is leading them straight to us!" Cosmo said.
"I've got a plan." Tails said and released several fireflies from his hands that he picked up from the ground. "I knew that there was something funny about these fireflies." Tails said.
"What do you mean?"
"They're tiny robots powered by the energy of Chaos Emeralds." he said. "Same components and everything."
Cosmo watched the fireflies flew through the caves.
"Tails, you're a genius!" she said and he blushed.
On the Metarex base Countless blips started appearing on the screen.
"Impossible!" Viper said.
In the caves Tails and Cosmo continued their trek through a large cavern.
"We'll be safe now that we threw off the Metarex, and we'll be outta here in no time!" Tails said.
"Sure." Cosmo said and looked at the light of the white Chaos Emerald she was holding. "We'll be okay." she said and remembered the giant tree on board the spaceship that was attacked. "The light... It reminds me of how Mother made me feel, like nothing bad could happen. It's just so bright... and warm... and loving..."
"Yeah, I guess Chaos Emeralds have that effect on folks. You know, it's kind of interesting. You could be in the worst kind of danger, but if you hold a Chaos Emerald in your hand, you'll feel a lot safer."
"When I was a young girl, my older sister Galaxina used to tell me the legend of the Chaos Emeralds. And... I used to dream that one day, I would hold one in my hand and feel all of its magical power."
"A power that is greatest when it is used by those who are pure in heart and intention."
"I don't understand."
"Its power depends on those who use it, you see." he muttered and saw Sonic fighting Perfect Chaos. "Like Sonic, for instance. Sonic can only use them for good, so only good can come of it. But then there are those like the Metarex or Dr. Eggman who uses it for purposes of evil. That's when the power changes into something dark and destructive." he said and Cosmo stopped. "What's the matter?"
She held the Chaos Emerald out to Tails.
"Oh Tails, I'm not worthy to be touching the Chaos Emerald. Please take it away from me!" she said and Tails took the Emerald.
"Why, Cosmo?"
"Because my soul is built up of nothing but sadness and hatred. Hatred for those monsters who destroyed my planet..." she said and started to break down. "...and to claim my family, and my friends, and everything else that was precious, and left me all alone..."
Tails felt compassion.
"There is no way any good comes from me. I will only bring you evil and disaster!" she said.
"Cosmo..."
Suddenly a Metarex Viper's tail whipped into Tails, throwing him into the cave wall and causing him to drop the Chaos Emerald and his comlink.
Cosmo was soon at Tails' side. The Viper picked up the Chaos Emerald with its tail as Cosmo tended to Tails.
"Give that back!" Tails said.
"I'm afraid that is not possible." Viper said.
"Forget it, Tails! We have to get out of here now!" Cosmo said.
Tails tried to stand, but felt a little weary.
"I'm begging you..."
Vipers laughed.
"Perhaps you should listen to your little friend."
Cosmo and Tails soon found themselves surrounded by Vipers.
"Okay... I guess all you Meta-mutants think you're pretty tough, don'cha? Well, we're pretty tough too, and we've got good on our side, which is more than you can say!" Tails said.
"Tails, don't do it..." Cosmo said.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. I'll be okay." he said and flew into the air, knocking the Chaos Emerald out of the grasp of the Viper that took it, and it landed on the ground. "Noooww!"
She broke herself out of her trance and ran toward the Emerald.
"Stay away from that Emerald!" Viper said.
Tails tried to intervene, but the Viper grabbed him with its tail.
"Let go of me! Let go!" he said.
Cosmo picked up the Emerald, then saw that Tails was in danger.
"Oh no! Tails!" she said.
"I've had enough of your foolishness." Viper said to Tails.
The other Vipers surround Cosmo. Suddenly, Tails' abandoned comlink crackles to life.
"Tails! Cosmo! Do you read me?" Chris said over the comlink.
The Vipers looked at each other in confusion.
"Hurry! They've got us!" Tails said.
The word "Contact" appeared on the comlink's screen.
"Not for long, buddy!" someone said over the comlink.
Suddenly Sonic spun in and took out several Vipers, including the one holding Tails.
"Who dares help the enemy?!" Viper asked.
"I dare!" Sonic said.
Amy appeared and destroyed the Viper with her hammer. It was promptly buried under some rocks. Tails landed in front of Cosmo.
"Cosmo, are you okay?" Tails asked.
"Sure, I'm fine." Cosmo said.
"Man, that was close." Chris said.
Chris, Cream, and Cheese also dropped in from above.
"Hey, you two." he said.
"Chao chao." Cheese said.
"You really are lifesavers, you know that?" Tails asked.
"Well... yeah." Amy said.
"Thank goodness you're safe! Now that the monsters are all gone, then we can all go home." Cream said.
"That's right, Cream." Cosmo said.
Suddenly the Viper that Amy attacked emerges from the rocks.
"Not so fast. Don't let them get away!" he said.
Two other Vipers joined it.
"Bring it on! We're ready for ya!" Amy said.
"You want some more of this, huh?" Sonic said and charged toward the Vipers.
"Get him!" Chris said.
"Get him, Sonic!" Cream said.
One of the Vipers leapt over Sonic, only to be spun into from behind. Amy hammered three petrified Vipers into the wall. Even Cream got into the action by throwing Cheese at three other Vipers.
"Chaaao!" Cheese said.
Cosmo looked on in amazement. Even Chris, who wasn't capable of physical combat, reflected light off of his comlink to damage two other Vipers.
"See, Cosmo? Nothing but good can come when you help your friends." Tails said.
"Right." Cosmo said.
"Let's go."
She nodded. However, there was still another Viper left.
"Sonic, I will destroy you." Viper said.
"Just try!" Sonic said fighting the pain in him.
"Waaiit!" someone said and he looked behind him and saw Tails airlifting Cosmo, who was holding out the Chaos Emerald.
"Up here, Sonic! Catch!" Cosmo said and tossed him the gem to.
"Got it!" he said and Viper sweatdropped as he used the Chaos Emerald's power. "Hahaha! Bye-bye!"
Above ground everyone was gathered outside the Typhoon. Chris was looking at the data Tails collected from the Metarex' base.
"You know, I have a feeling whatever's on here might put an end to their Planet Egg plot once and for all." Chris said.
"Maybe the code will tell us where all the Planet Eggs are hidden, and we can save the galaxy." Cream said.
"Chao chao!" Cheese said.
"That's right! Good thing we have our brilliant translator with us." Amy said.
"Huh? Well... Thanks, Amy, but... I feel like I put you all in danger today." Cosmo said.
"That's silly. Besides, we're used to dangerous situations by now." Tails said.
"Danger is our middle name!" Cream said.
"Chao chao!" Cheese said.
Tails winked at Cosmo who couldn't believe her luck.
"Well, let's get going, you guys." Chris said.
"We still got plenty of Metarex to mangle!" Amy said.
"That right, and thanks to our friend Cosmo, this time we'll be way ahead of 'em. Right, gang?" Tails said.
"Yeah!" Chris, Tails, Amy, Cream and Cosmo said and fist pumped.
Knuckles emerged from underground.
"Finally!" Knuckles said and looked around. "They must be around here somewhere." Knuckles said then saw everyone. "Huh? Hey, where did you guys come from?" he asked and everyone but him burst into laughter. "What's so funny? They can't stop chuckling long enough to get me out of here? Hey, come on! I mean it! Get me outta here, guys!"
Meanwhile Dark Oak was sitting in his command chair, looking at a monitor.
"Good. They have fallen for the bait." he said.
Several fireflies flew out of a vent - the same kind that were in the caves.
"Soon, they and that fool Eggman will be back, clutching Chaos Emeralds in their greedy little hands. And then, when they least expect it, I'll strike." he said and pinched a firefly. "How perfect. One day they will know the true extent of my power, but by then it will be too late!"