Knuckles let out a startled yelp and swung around, fists ready. He jerked his head up, staring at the empty cliff.
Then, with a roar, he lunged forward, digging his clawed-knuckles into the wall. "You! Where did you put it, invisible fiend!"
Sticks winced, her eyes wide.
"Answer me, captor! If you have touched it, terrible fate is certain to fall upon you!" the echidna roared. The whole chamber reverberated with his voice.
Sticks scrambled forward, swinging her nun chucks. "I would never touch your forbidden curse of an Emerald! What do you think I am, crazy? Unless you want to be whacked on the head again, stop shouting inside my cave!"
"Where is the Emerald?" Knuckles belted.
Sticks glared her eyes flashing.
The echidna lunged at the wall again, nearly pulling himself up halfway. He surged upwards, digging his bare toes and knuckles against the rock—
The nunchucks whirred overhead. Knuckles had a second to look up before they struck him between the eyes.
Knuckles fell back to the ground like a rock.
Sticks dared to peek her face over the edge of the pit. She stared at the Guardian of Angel Island, her blue eyes round.
Nothing moved on the projector screen for five seconds.
Then the creature on the table stirred.
Sally and Crème still stared at the feed, their jaws dropped.
The hedgehog's chest fur had grown back. There was not see a single trace of the operation on his body. Somehow, all the restraints holding him down had broken.
Then he stood up.
Sally blinked, her auburn hair falling into her face.
The hedgehog walked slowly, towards the window. Moonlight fell over his figure.
And then, in a flash, he disappeared.
"What…what happened, Miss Sally?" Crème tried again.
"I …I do not know," Sally said, her blue eyes wide. For once, there was a calmness in them. She rubbed her finger over her lip, in thought, a hint of the familiar Sally back in her eyes. The princess Sally that loved puzzles and made raid strategies and who was not afraid. "Robotnik for some reason chose a Mobian to put a shard of…of something into. If it was the relic of Angel Island…"
"What… what is that, Miss Sally?" Crème's eyes were wide. "Is it…bad?"
"The relic of Angel Island…" Sally hesitated, still staring at the screen. "According to tradition, it's an Emerald…a powerful jewel endowed with special properties from the dawn of our planet. The most ancient texts say that the one who 'takes it to heart' will live forever…others say, it grants supernormal power only, combining all the different Gifts that Mobians can receive…like Sonic's Speed…and Uncle Sparks' Electricity and Knuckles' Strength. Those are Gifted Mobians, but they only possess one Gift. Supposedly, bearing the Emerald grants them all."
Crème narrowed her eyes.
"Regardless of what the different versions say about the power, they are all unanimous in regards to our position to the Emerald. We are not to touch it," Sally said.
"Oh," Crème hesitated, confusion on her face.
"The Emerald is kept here as a promise…" Sally went on. She hesitated, uncertainty in her eyes. "…It is reserved for the end of all Time, when all things will be summed up, repaid and restored. Only one Person can rightfully and voluntarily take such power. Until then, for some reason, the Emerald was left in our reach, under our care…much like the Mobian rings are. Only we can use the rings…the Emerald, on the other hand, has to stay locked away, untouched, until the right time…" Sally fell silent, pinching her lips.
Crème frowned. "What happens if someone does touch it?"
"It does not say," Sally said.
"They touched it," Crème said.
"They did more than touch it, they tried to 'take it to heart.'" That's why Robotnik operated on him," Sally's eyes narrowed, as if beginning to understand. "Everything… everything he strives for revolves around immortality. That's why he is roboticizing himself….I wonder how important this project was to him... Was it merely a side experiment done for his own curiosity? Or is this an integral part of his plan to use us as raw material for his new civilization? To what extent does this act further affect the fate of Marto…?" Sally sighed, her shoulders heaving. Despair crept back into her eyes.
She continued to stare at the fuzzy screen and the empty lab room.
