There was complete silence in the cavern. Until a small box rolled down the edge of the pit and landed at Knuckles' feet.

Sticks looked down over the edge of the pit, holding the staff she had used to carry the box with. Below, Knuckles still lay on his back.

She disappeared from view again. In a few seconds, an assortment of roots, greens, and dried grasshoppers scattered over the edge of the cavern, showering Knuckles' body.

Knuckles moaned, clutching at his head. He winced.

"Mmm," Sticks muttered. "Guess I didn't hit him hard enough."

"Knuckles has the skull of a rock," Knuckles murmured. He fisted his hands and shook his head, coming to. "…Nothing…can strike him down."

"You've been unconscious for the last six hours." Sticks said. "I know how to hit people just right."

Knuckles groaned, sitting up.

"Though you should have been out for a day at least. You probably have a lot of Mobium," Sticks said.

Knuckles rammed up to his feet, "Where is the Emerald!"

"Next to your foot." Sticks said.

Knuckles' eyes widened. He jerked his head down

He blinked at the box.

Knuckles swooped it up, examining it. With great care, he twisted the edges loose and a crack of light shone through a space, piercing the darkness of the pit.

Knuckles caught his breath and twisted the box shut again. The light disappeared. He tucked it under his arm.

Neither Mobian spoke for a moment.

"What do you want with me?" Knuckles asked.

"Nothing," Sticks said.

"Then why have you placed me in this pit?" Knuckles fisted his hands.

"Because I knew nothing about you. But now I know everything about you," Sticks said. "I brought you food."

Knuckles glanced around him at the scattered roots. He picked one up and sniffed it, glancing up at Sticks suspiciously.

Sticks raised her eyebrows in amusement. She wasn't used to meeting people in general, but especially people who were just as wary as she was.

"Liver root," Knuckles said. He took a bite, chewing carefully.

Sticks watched.

"I had much liver root on Angel Island," Knuckles said. "It's good."

The two remained silent as Knuckles chewed on the root.

He finished and swallowed, picking up another root. "Now that you know everything about me, you must let me leave the pit. Bring a ladder."

Sticks continued to stare.

Knuckles sniffed the root and made a face. "Hmm…onion…" He pushed the whole thing into his mouth and chomped down.

The silence continued. Knuckles glanced up at Sticks, glaring through his mouthful. "I said—"

"Yes, you need to leave—you've needed to leave for a long time," Sticks said.

"Then get me a ladder—" Knuckles glared.

"But just because I know everything about you doesn't mean that I trust you yet," Sticks hissed. "First of all, you are a male, and my mother, before she left, always warned me about males. Also, even if you are a Guardian, how do I know for sure you aren't an evil Guardian who will plunder my hole? Or, perhaps knocking you on the head made you tipsy and that life story you recited for the whole world to hear was actually something your brain came up with on a spur of the moment? What if you are an imposter Guardian or you knew I was listening, so you spoke it aloud so you would make me think I knew everything about you when I really still don't—"

"You have not actually heard my life story yet," Knuckles said, picking up one of the leaves. "Only the story of my past two weeks."

"I heard enough," Sticks muttered.

"You shouldn't have heard anything!" Knuckles hissed in sudden annoyance. "I am not used to having people overhear me when I talk to myself—no one was there to overhear on the island." He huffed. "It's not easy to get used to the possibility of having unseen people around."

"Speaking of unseen people," Sticks' voice lowered to whisper. "You said that you knew the hedgehog…"

Knuckles paused in mid chew.

"Thonic?" He asked. He swallowed the leaf.

Sticks hissed. "That's another reason I shouldn't trust you—if you know Sonic the hedgehog, then that means you're in trouble with everything evil in the world, which means having you here is going to bring everything evil in the world here, to my doorstep, and all they care about is destruction—my forest, my hole!" She clutched her head. "Obliterated by metal robot monsters!" She pointed her staff back at Knuckles. "You—you, I have to get rid of you at once-! You are being chased by metal robot monsters, aren't you? Admit it!"

Knuckles cleared his throat. "You make fast assumptions."

"You are! All because of that creepy rock you have with you!" She shuddered. "I thought about dropping it into one of my lava pits."

"What?" Knuckles roared, his purple eyes flashing with horror. "If you dared, you would be the most accursed-"

"Hence, why I did not actually do it," Sticks heaved a sigh. "Giving it back to you was the next best thing I could do with it. But now, I just need to get rid of you—get you and that thing far away from me—"

"Yes, which is why you should give me a ladder," Knuckles crossed his arms and clenched his jaw.

He frowned. Sticks seemed to be staring directly ahead at the wall above him, her eyes blank. "Oh no, no, no, noooo. That's a terrible idea."

"Not no, yes!" Knuckles glared. "You must, as Guardian of Angel Island I order you to get me a ladder!"

"No!" Sticks still stared at the wall. "I have never left my hole before, I couldn't do that! I don't know the way either—not really—I really don't—"

Knuckles made a face. "Leave your hole? All I want is for you to get me out—"

"I'm not talking to you, be quiet so I can hear my thoughts, you silly!" Sticks spat out, glaring down at him. She looked back at the wall. "Uuuhn, he is so loud. No. Just no. He knows the way himself. He's seen it from his island, he said so himself…" She closed her eyes and clutched her ears. "No!"

Knuckles rubbed his chin. "Ah. It's your conscience isn't it?" He sighed. "I talk to mine too. You must have been without people for a long time."

"Yes, and it was perfect, and now you're here and you're ruining everything!" Sticks yelled. She turned back to the wall. "Isn't it enough that I helped him? I'm just going to let him out and he can go and that's the last I'll ever see him again—winter is coming, I had foraging plans tomorrow—no. No, no, no."

She spun around and disappeared from sight.

"Wait! Do not leave me, strange Mobian cavern creature!" Knuckles roared after her. "Bring me a ladder!"

Stick's voice could faintly be heard echoing down the tunnel. "No. No. No…"