...you...me?

serv...Chaos...by...power...the heart...

I slowly opened my eyes... It was dark, I couldn't see anything... Did... I die? Is this a dream...? I don't remember falling asleep in such soft ground. Where am--

Charmy: "GOOOOD MOOORNIIIIIIIING!!"

Knuckles: "WOAH--!?"

Out of instinct, I was about to throw a punch.

Charmy: "WH--WHAAA--!! WAIT, WAIIIT!!"

This little guy... possibly wouldn't want to harm me, would he?

Knuckles: "Who are you?? And why did you scare me like that!?"

Charmy: "I just came to wake you up! I made us breakfast... It's not much, but, I hope you like it!"

Knuckles: "...Breakfast? ...What?"

Charmy: "You... don't know what breakfast is? Wow. Are you sure you're ok? Espio said you looked pretty beat up yesterday."

Knuckles: "...Espio? Who are you talking about?"

Charmy: "Are you amnesiac or something? Weren't you attacked yesterday? Espio saved you!"

Now that he mentions it, I do remember yesterday... I was attacked by a bunch of weird things, and then somebody saved me... and then I collapsed from the exhaustion.

Charmy: "Let's get you outta bed; breakfast's gonna get cold, and I have to avoid using the microwave!"

Knuckles: "I can go there by myself."

Charmy: "Ok, sheesh..."

I step out of the bed and headed over to where this "breakfast" was. There, I saw two people gathered. One of them seemed familiar...

Vector: "Have a seat, sleepyhead."

Knuckles: "What was that!?"

Vector: "Woah, geez, I'm sorry! We're offerin' you food and you treat us like that!?"

???: "Vector, let us not do this first thing in the morning.

...Forgive him. My name is Espio the Chameleon. This is Vector the Crocodile, and him over there is Charmy Bee."

Knuckles: "Espio, you say? Charmy told me about you... You--"

Espio: "Yes, I saved you from those robots last night. You should be more cautious. It's dangerous to roam around the city during nighttime."

Knuckles: "Hmph... Thanks for the help, I guess. But I'm telling you: I would've clobbered those things if I weren't so exhausted."

Vector: "Yeah, uh, sure... Anyways, your food's over there. Make sure you make the most out of each bite."

Knuckles: "Wait, food...? ...Ooooh, so that's what that breakfast thing was! You should've said so sooner! I'm famished!"

I rush onto the chair and begin eating away. I've never had this back in the island... It's delicious!

Vector: "Geez, no one's gonna take your food, y'know? Calm down!"

Espio: "You're one to talk..."

Vector: "What was that!?"

Espio: "I have said nothing."

Phew... I'm done. That was really good, even though this place doesn't look too shabby.

Knuckles: "Say, can I get more of this?"

Vector: "No can do, pal. We're a little short on money, so we gotta save food."

Knuckles: "But doesn't this grow on trees?"

After I asked this, an awkward silence filled the room.

Espio: "Where did you say you were from, again?"

Knuckles: "I live on an island above the clouds... Hey, why are you guys looking at me like that!?"

Charmy: "Umm... Are you sure you're feeling ok?"

Knuckles: "Are you calling me crazy!? I'm telling you it's true! Or else I wouldn't even be here right now!"

Espio: "What do you mean by that?"

Knuckles: "Well... You see... On my island, there's this rocky shrine, where a gem called the Master Emerald's supposed to be. The thing is... I saw something steal it, and soon after, the island started looking terrible. I came here to look for it."

Charmy: "Wait... You say you're missing a gem!?"

Charmy then excitedly files to where Vector is, and whispers to both him and Espio. What is he saying...?

Charmy: "Guys, guys, I think this is it!! What if we help him find back this gem of his!? Isn't this the chance we've been waiting for!?"

Vector: "You're right... This is our chance for a good case! We gotta help him out!"

Espio: "I suppose that's true, however... Do you guys really think that he'd be able to pay us money? He doesn't look like he's from around here... Perhaps he really lives on a floating, faraway island after all?"

Vector: "Well, we could always charge him after the case is solved..."

Then, they all turn to me.

Vector: "Say, how about you let us help you out? We can help ya find this gem of yours, and--"

Knuckles: "No can do."

Chaotix: "WHAAAT!?"

Knuckles: "I appreciate the sentiment, but the Emerald's my duty. Besides... I'm not sure if I can completely trust you."

Vector: "Huh!? How can you say that!? Espio took you to our HQ and we even got you food and a nice cozy bed, what do you mean" you think you can't trust us"!?"

Espio: "We do not have malevolent intentions. We genuinely wish to assist you the best way we can."

Charmy: "Please, please, pleeease let us help!! Besides, we really need the m--"

Vector then muffles Charmy's mouth. What was he gonna say...?

Vector: "A-Anyways, listen, we can help ya out! We don't have any cases to solve at the moment... You can just relax, and we'll handle it!"

Knuckles: "Hmmmm..."

I begin to think. These 3 took me in, gave me somewhere to rest and also gave me food, and now they wanna help me find my Master Emerald. I can't really call them evil, if they did all this for me. Besides, I don't see anyone blue here, either, so...

Knuckles: "...Alright, I'll let you guys help, I suppose."

Espio: "A wise decision. We will not disappoint--"

Knuckles: "With! One condition."

Vector: "Condition...? What are you talkin' about?"

Knuckles: "You guys are gonna let me look for it as well. I don't need anyone doing my job for me."

Vector: "...We don't usually have our clients help us out with our cases, but... It is your possession, so I guess ya could also search for it alongside us."

Knuckles: " You mean you'll look for it alongside me."

Vector: "Yeah, sure, whatever, fine! We can all look for it."

Charmy: "Yippie, a new case!! Finally, finally!"

Vector: "Hey, we just met you and already accepted helping you out, but you haven't told us your name yet."

Knuckles: "Oh, my name? It's Knuckles. Knuckles the Echidna."

Vector: "Knuckles, huh? Well, Knuckles, first, you're gonna have to tell us what you remember from the moment you had your Emerald stolen. Can you try to remember it?"

Remember the day it was stolen... I'm not gonna forget that so easily.

Knuckles: "It was around daytime, I think... I was gonna go shake one of the island's trees to get some fruit to eat, when I suddenly noticed a leaf on the ground. I've never seen one like that..."

Vector: "Uh... Leaves falling from trees isn't that abnormal."

Knuckles: "Yes it is. I've never seen a leaf on the floor like that on my island."

Espio: "We should not disregard what he's saying. It might be a noteworthy clue."

Vector: "Probably..."

Knuckles: "I decided to run out of the forest, but I noticed more and more leaves on the ground... When I made it back to the shrine, the Emerald was gone."

Vector: "Did you catch a glimpse of the thief? Or did you notice a trail?"

Knuckles: "I looked at them from afar, but I couldn't make out what they looked like... The only thing that stood out was the blue color."

Espio: "The thief was colored blue?"

Charmy: "Wearing blue on green scenery's not a good idea if you're trying to be sneaky."

Espio: "How does this Emerald look like?"

Knuckles: "It's a huge, light green gem."

Espio: "...Is that it?"

Knuckles: "Yeah."

Vector: "In the few minutes you were gone, they managed to carry a big emerald in the span of a few seconds, going fast enough for you to not even be able to make out their details?"

Knuckles: "Now that you say it out loud, it is strange... They must be really strong. Agile, too."

Vector: "So, the thief's colored in blue... They're fast and strong enough to carry a huge gem without any issues... I feel like we can't start a proper investigation with just these clues. If this testimony is reliable... Can you guys think of someone, or something, capable of pulling off a feat like this?"

Charmy: "Nuh-uh."

Espio: "Not at all."

Vector: sigh... "I figured..."

Knuckles: "...So... Can we go look for the Emerald now?"

Vector: "Sure. Let's all head out and spread out throughout this huge city to look for one big emerald we're not even sure is anywhere around here."

Knuckles: "Alright, let's--"

Vector: "I'M BEING SARCASTIC, KNUCKLEHEAD!! We can't start properly if we don't have enough information!"

Knuckles: "What did you call me!?"

Espio: "Both of you, calm yourselves! We're not going to make any progress if we yell at each other!

...Listen. We all have to try and find out a good starting point for our investigation. If we cannot think of one, we must go look for one."

Vector: "You're right... But that's gonna take a while, given how big this whole place is!"

Espio: "I think we all know who to go to when it comes to roads."

Charmy: "Oooooh, yeaaaah! We can go ask them, right?"

Vector: "You're right... They're always holed up inside their garage, I keep forgetting about them..."

Knuckles: "Them? Who's "them"?"

Vector: "Follow us."

They got up from their seats and left the room. They told me to follow them, so I might as well. I wonder where they're gonna take me...