Meanwhile, Chris woke up in the infirmary alone. Up on the bridge, Tails was holding an unconscious Cosmo, and Amy, Knuckles, Cream, and Cheese were there too. Chris joined them and saw they were now in the atmosphere of a dead planet.

"Where are we?"

In the Dead planet Rouge pounded the console of her ship.

"Come on! Start! Ugh, guess we're stuck here." she said.

Her ship was trapped in the brambles of the planet. Shadow stood atop one of them, looking at the Blue Typhoon in the distance.

"Haven't you given up yet?" she asked.

"I don't give up that easily. She hasn't seen the last of me."

"What is this place, anyway?" she said and walked around.

Chris was in the Blue Typhoon infirmary watching as Tails operated on Cosmo in a confined space. A laser passed over her. Knuckles was also in the room.

"Hey Tails, you wanna get some sleep."

"I don't have time to sleep. Not until I find out the truth about Cosmo."

Meanwhile Sonic walked out on the runway when Amy called after him.

"Where do you think you're going, Sonic? You need your rest!" she said.

"Don't worry, Amy. I'm okay." he said and leapt off the Typhoon.

'I never have time for rest. Ever since the day Uncle Chuck took me in I've been busy.' he thought.

"Hey! I've got to follow him!" she said and ran inside and climbed into her spaceship, only to see Rouge inside.

"Hiya." Rouge said.

"Not you!" Amy said as Rouge beamed.

In the Infirmary.

"There's no communication device anywhere. I told you so!" Tails said.

"Hang on a minute..." Chris said and noticed an electrical signal in Cosmo's brain and Tails' eyes shimmered in fear.

"Huh?!" he said.

"You got something?" Knuckles said.

"There's some kind of signal emanating from Cosmo's brain. It's so microscopic normal radar wouldn't pick up on it." Chris said.

"So Cosmo really has been beaming information to the Metarex. Can we stop it?" he said.

"I'm not so sure. If we do, she'll never be the same." Chris said. "Whatever it is, it's attached to the part of Cosmo's brain that controls her sight and hearing. If we remove it, she may never see or hear again!" he said and Knuckles punched the wall in his stress and anger.

"That's a chance we'll have to take!" he said.

"How can you say something like that?! I'm not letting anyone hurt Cosmo!" Tails finally said.

"No one wants to hurt her! We just want to set her free."

"There has to be another way!" Tails shouted out.

"We're on the same team, you guys!" Chris said.

"I'm not the bad guy here. I just want what's best for all of us." Knuckles said.

"Okay. We've just gotta think this through calmly. I know this isn't easy for you, Tails, and I wish we had another choice, but we don't."

"Either we do this, or we sacrifice ourselves to the will of Dark Oak." Knuckles said and Cosmo quietly cried.

"I think it's pretty clear what we have to do."

On the dead planet Amy and Rouge were flying over the planet in the former's spaceship.

"I'll have you know the only reason I haven't tossed you out of this plane is because I was hoping you'd give me some information." Amy said.

"About what?" Rouge asked.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about Cosmo."

"What makes you think I know anything? Hey, Pinky, show this thing down, will ya?"

"No. Not until you tell me what you're up to. Why were you and Shadow after Cosmo?"

"The Metarex were using your friend as a spy. I should think you guys would be thanking us."

"But what do you and Shadow have to do with it?"

"Shouldn't you be keeping your eyes on the skies?"

"Hey, don't change the subject!"

"Watch out!" Rouge said and pulled up to avoid a prominent dead tree.

Wiping her brow, saw that there were others like it.

On the Blue Typhoon engine room Knuckles' comlink activated.

"Oh Knuckie." Rouge said over comlink.

"Yeah, what?" Knuckles asked over the comlink.

"Goodness. What a charming hello that was."

"Well well, if it isn't Rouge the rat. You've got a lot of nerve."

In a building.

"You think I'm gonna make nice after all you've put us through?" he said over the comlink.

"He's goin' off. Here, talk to him." she said and handed the comlink to Amy.

"Knuckles, it's me. Rouge and I figured out where we are." Amy said on the comlink.

Back in the engine room.

"Oh yeah?" he said on the comlink.

On a building.

"You won't believe this. It's their home planet. Cosmo's and the Metarex!" Amy said on the comlink.

The building they were in, or rather, near, was in ruins. A hologram of Earthia, Cosmo's mother, appears.

"You are looking upon Planet Green Gate. We lived here long ago, before a terrible darkness befell us. Everything has been destroyed. All that is left is long since dead. I have come to tell you our story, and that of the evil Metarex." Earthia said.

Shadow was standing directly above them in a nearby tree.

Sonic leapt over to a nearby tree.

"Well..." he said and Shadow turned to him. "You know, you really outdid yourself this time, trying to hurt a harmless little kid like Cosmo. I just can't seem to figure you out, Shadow. You really are a mystery." he said and Shadow leapt to the ground. "You just better watch your back, Shadow."

Then Shadow closed his eyes.

"Well, what's stopping you, Sonic? Here's your big chance." he said.

"Nah, I'm not in the mood to fight. But when I am, you'll be the first to know, pal." Sonic said but Shadow took off into the distance.

"We were once a thriving civilization, but then came the time of the great calamity." Earthia said on voiceover.

On Green Gate building.

"It was long ago. A war began that soon threatened to spread to the far reaches of the galaxy." Earthia said.

In the past Several Seedrians took of running, but a jet bombed them. Daisy and her husband Landar are communing.

"I have to act quickly. Perhaps the transformation will last this time." Landar said.

"Landar!" Daisy said.

Landar roared and transformed into a giant dinosaur-like creature. This was Mover Mode. Several enemy jets tried to shoot missiles at him, but they did nothing. Landar chomped down on a jet. Liquid seeps from his mouth, and he fell over and died. Daisy cried over her.

In the conference.

"The citizens of out planet are in grave danger! As the enemy is getting stronger, we are losing more soldiers by the minute." Starla said on voiceover.

"The evolutionary process is unnaturally fast. It has yet to be perfected." Zelkova said.

"Something must be done! We must find a way to make the transformation last. We cannot continue to let our men destroy themselves!"

"My own husband perished only yesterday, and unless something is done, I'm afraid more thousands will meet the same fate." Daisy said.

Earthia stood up,

"It is time for us to leave here. Perhaps we will return to our home one day, but now it is too dangerous." she said and placed an amulet on the table." Earthia said.

"What is that?" Zelkova asked.

"It is a blessed amulet. It will protect us on our journey."

"Journey? How dare you!" Lucas said and slammed his hands on the table in protest. "You want us to simply give in to the enemy? Never!"

"Lucas!"

"I won't do it! I have never been a coward, and I won't become one for you!"

"You will do as I say." she said calmly.

"I have gone along with you this far, Earthia, but I refuse to let those who have fallen before me "perish in vain!" he said and slammed his hand on the table again.

"If you won't respect my decision, you can stay behind and fight the enemy yourself!"

"Very well."

In the past a large colony spaceship was ready to take off. Earthia and Starla were speaking.

"Earthia, do you think we will ever return here once the war is over?" Starla asked.

"No one knows what the future will hold for our planet, Starla. We will have to wait and see." Earthia said as Daisy ran up to them.

"Earthia! Come quickly! Something's happening to the trees outside!" Daisy said.

"What do you mean?"

Sure enough, the plants were withering, leaving only bare trunks and shrubs. Earthia ran over to Lucas, who was alone.

"Lucas!" she said panting.

"Yes, Earthia?" Lucas asked.

"You must help. There is something happening. It's awful Everything outside is suddenly dying-" she said and gasped when she saw the giant machine Lucas was standing in front of. "What is that?"

"It is the Planet Egg, the entire energy of our planet in crystallized form. In its powers, I have discovered a way for the transformation to last, a way for us to fight our enemy forever."

"Have you gone mad?"

There were several male Seedrians asleep in test pods.

"Just the opposite. With such a thing as this, we will be more than mere beasts. We will rise up and we will claim our victory! Finally, Earthia, this is what we've been waiting for!" he said as Easherthia wept.

"But Lucas, our people have always honored the natural world. How could you do it?" she said.

"Earthia?" he said and tried to comfort her, but she pushed him away.

"You... You have betrayed your own people! You have destroyed everything that was our faster than any enemy!" she said and approached Lucas, but he stops her.

"You were the one who wanted to leave here. I haven't betrayed anyone. You have!"

"You're wrong."

"We will crystallize the power of every planet in the known galaxy. We will have the strength of a thousand armies!"

"You are mad... Let go!"

She breaks free of Lucas' grasp.

"We will lay waste to the enemy... and with our new-found power, we will create a new order!"

"No... Please... Stop..."

Later, many Movers are rampaging through Green Gate, including Lucas.

Later in the Seepdrian ship.

"Earthia! I'm afraid hundreds of beasts are still resisting!" Seedrian said.

"We have no choice but to destroy them." Dearthia said and the others looked at her in surprise. "They will bring darkness upon the galaxy if we do not stop them." she said and moved her amulet. "May we be granted divine protection as we travel to a more peaceful world."

In Green Gate Lucas was no longer in Mover mode. He was partially buried in rubble.

"We are not yet finished! Our transformation is not complete! The final stanges are upon us! Soon we shall rule through space and time!" he said as rocks fell around him.

Soon, an outline of Dark Oak's armor could be seen as it morphed into Dark Oak.

"You tried to destroy us, Earthia, but we are indestructible. We will live on, and all our enemies shall bow before us." Dark Oak said and crossed his arms, and Pale Bayleaf, Black Narcissus, Yellow Zelkova, and Red Pine appeared with him. "We will have our revenge!"

In Green Garden.

"Only four of those who remained here survived. In time, Lucas became the Metarex leader, know as Dark Oak. He and his fellow revolutionaries continued to cause chaos throughout the galaxy. Please, do everything you can. They must be stopped." Earthia said.

"That explains a lot." someone said and Amy noticed Sonic listening.

"Sonic!" she said.

"We gotta stop these guys." he said.

Cream and Cheese were in Cosmo's room trying to comfort her, in bed.

"Cosmo, you must be awfully hungry by now. Why don't you let me make you something to eat, okay? My mother taught me how to make the most delicious sugar cookies." Cream said.

"Leave me alone..." Cosmo said.

"Cosmo..."

"Chao..." Cheese said.

"Please, you two... Just go... Don't you know it's dangerous to be around me?" Cosmo said.

"You're wrong!" Cream said angry.

"Chao-chao-chao-chao-chao-chao!" Cheese said angry.

"You're our friend, Cosmo. What you say is just not true-" Cream started.

Then Cosmo finally sat up, tears pricking her angered face.

"It is!" she said.

"But how...?"

"I can't be anybody's friend, not when I'm secretly working for the enemy! Just stay away! I'm no good anyway. Shadow should have finished me off by now!" she said as tears form in Cream's eyes as well.

"No... Please don't say that, Cosmo... We all love you! And if you are a spy like they say..." she said and Cosmo looked up again, still angry. "I'm sorry..."

Cosmo breaks down again.

"Get out... just leave me alone..." she said.

"Please don't cry..."

"I said go!" Cosmo screamed startling Cream.

Cosmo buried herself under the covers as Cream and Cheese leave.

"I can hear them... I can hear them inside my head..." she said to herself.

On the bridge Sonic approached Chris.

"Hey there, Chris. You still up here workin'?" he asked.

"Finally makin' some headway. This stuff is pretty complex." Chris said.

"Well, if anyone can figure it out, it's you, buddy." Sonic said and looked over to see what he was doing.

"Man, there sure is a lot of data inside of this thing." Chris said and held Leon's device.

"Anything interesting?"

Then he thought about what Manic would do if he saw this and snickered a little.

"Plenty. In fact, I'm still downloading it all." Chris said and analyzed the data. "There's a lot I haven't figured out, but what I have is pretty amazing, like this stuff here. Remember the data that Tails and Cosmo collected from that underground Metarex factory? Well, I was able to cross-reference it, and here's what I found. It's some kind of plan to wipe out all flesh and blood creatures of all kinds until the whole galaxy is populated only by trees and plant life."

Then he remembered forest planet.

"Plant life! There it is! There's the whole Cosmo connection! Why didn't we see it back then, Sonic? How else could she have figured out that Metarex language?" he asked on voiceover. and remembered Cosmo reading Metarex writing.

Right now, Tails was in his room, looking at a picture.

"Maybe we could have done something. Maybe it would have been different if we-" Chris said and saw the party Cosmo threw.

"Dwelling on the past isn't gonna make it easier, pal." Sonic said on voiceover.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I just don't wanna see anyone get hurt, that's all."

Meanwhile Cosmo was in her room, washing her face.

"Tails was so upset before. Poor guy's heart is breaking." Chris said on voiceover. "Not to mention Cosmo. Can't be easy for her." He said on screen.

"We'll get through it, pal. We've been through worse before, and we made it through okay, right?" Sonic said and Chris nodded. "It's gonna be okay. One day, all of this will be over. I promise."

'It has to.' he thought and saw the day he left again.

In the Hangar Cosmo prepared to board Chris' ship and left.

"Where are you going?" someone asked and she saw Tails emerging from hiding behind the X-Tornado.

"Please, Tails. I'm leaving. You can't stop me." she said.

"I don't understand where you'll go."

"To fight Dark Oak, though I'm not sure what good it will do."

"You can't go alone, Cosmo."

"Yes I can! You'll be much safer when I'm not around. I can't stay here! Don't you understand? They're using my eyes to spy on you! They're listening through my ears! They're using me to betray you."

"It's not your fault, Cosmo."

"I feel so lost... I just don't know what to do..."

"It's okay."

"I feel like I don't even know who I am anymore."

"You're my friend, that's who."

"I've done nothing but bring you trouble. So how can you still call me your friend, Tails?" she said and he was now in front of her.

"'Cause those Metarex can use your eyes and ears all they want, but they can never have your heart." he said and took her hand.

Then the hangar lights turned on.

"You're not leaving without us, are you?" Amy said.

Cream, Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge were with her.

"If you're gonna fight Dark Oak, we're gonna fight with you!" Cream said.

"Chao chao!" Cheese said.

"Me too! Those Meta-dopes might need a knuckle sandwich!" Knuckles said.

"Knuckle sandwich? Gee, that was sure clever." Rouge said.

"Who asked you?!"

"Really?" Cosmo said.

"We all talked it over together, and we wanna help our friend." Sonic said.

"See? It's just like I said, Cosmo. It doesn't matter what the Metarex do. We all know that you're really our friend; that's what matters." Tails said.

"Thank you, Tails. Thank you all." Cosmo said.

Shadow was watching them from outside and Chris was sitting nearby.

"You're all fools." Shadow said and started to walk away.

"You may be right." Chris said and Shadow stopped. "If being a fool means helping a friend when they're in trouble instead of turning your back on them, then that's what we are." he said and Shadow continued to walk. "You don't have to go, Shadow." he said and Shadow stopped. "Why don't you stick around and help us defeat them? They may be using Cosmo, but it's not her fault. And who knows? Maybe we can use their own weapon against them? Come on; what do you say? Will you stay?"

"No matter what you say, your friend Cosmo is a Metarex spy, and that's all there is to it." Shadow said and started walking again.

"It's not that simple!"

Then something slammed into the ground nearby and Bokkun rose out of the brambles.

"Shadow! Emergency!" he said.

"Hey! What's he doing here?" Chris asked.

"Please help, Shadow, I'm begging you!" Bokkun said. "The Metarex have taken Eggman prisoner!" he shouted out.

Shadow and Chris were shocked at this new development.

Meanwhile Eggman, Decoe, and Bocoe were imprisoned in a Metarex prison.

"How dare you treat us like common criminals!" Decoe said.

"There is nothing common about us!" Bocoe said.

"You are under arrest for stealing top-secret information. We have been watching you for a very long time." Pale Bayleaf said.

"How dare you have us under surveillance!" Bocoe said.

"Yeah! We should have you arrested for spying and for stealing the doctor's technological innovations!" Decoe said.

"I'm afraid that will not be possible, my jailbird friends. It would be best if you just sit tight and enjoy your stay." Bayleaf said and left.

"Hey! You let us out of here! Come back!" Bocoe and Decoe said.

Eggman was silent this whole time.

On Dark Oak's battleship bridge Black Narcissus entered Dark Oak's room.

"Master, all preparations have been completed. We are ready to move forward." Narcissus said and Dark Oak chuckled. "Master?"

"Well, Earthia, it seems that your daughter has decided to continue in her mother's footsteps. But I'm afraid she's just as misguided as you." Dark Oak said and turned around in his chair.

The screen behind him rose, revealing he has all seven Chaos Emeralds.

"All of the lights have been gathered. The time has come. The Forestation Project is about to begin!" he said and laughed.