Considering how low and relatively flat the rest of West Side Island was, Miles hadn't been expecting the Hill Top Peaks to be so tall. The cyan mountains stretched above the notably thick layer of clouds, as did a number of orange plateaus that featured high canyons. The soil was made from cyan stones with geometrical patterns, some of which were checkered, and it was topped with lime green grass and some wildflowers, just like back in Emerald Hill. And, as was befitting such a region, there were many towering pine trees strewn about, and the fox could also spot various lifts and pulleys that would allow visitors to more safely traverse the environment. What made the place more dangerous was the fact that there were open lava flows and earth that shifted accordingly, suggesting high tectonic activity.
However, the teen's mind was occupied with several other things aside from the hazards and the scenery. There were the various troubles Sonic had caused him on this journey, though the biggest one was willingly putting himself in danger just from joining him. Not telling him that he couldn't swim in a place it was needed was another misstep, though it was forgivable. The whole grabbing the Chaos Emerald and causing damage to Charmy and Espio's bar? Even if he had put the blue Emerald out of reach, the other two would've still reacted due to Sonic getting up in his face. And then there was the loss of most of his rings, which, to be fair, was more his fault for indulging the hedgehog instead of calling it a night then and there. It still sucked, though!
He figured the only reasons he hadn't blown his top yet had been due to the hedgehog's capable and handy physical prowess, and their luck in finding the Chaos Emeralds. He would've attributed it to having saintly patience, too, but he knew he wouldn't have been as tolerant if it wasn't for the positives in their time together.
'Just put it aside, Miles,' he thought to himself, 'focus on what lies ahead and take deep breaths, especially with the thinner air. Worry about the other stuff later...if everything works out, you might not even have to address it.'
He shook his head and retrieved the Miles Electric and switched to the Emerald Radar, as had been a habit for him up to this point. There was no longer a signal coming from Casino Night behind them, which was good to see. There were the four Remi had tucked away, and it looked like there was one much further on ahead, perhaps within the mountains. He clicked the rightmost large button a few times to zoom out, enough to get a good, if basic view of the rest of West Side Island's eastern half. Sure enough, one of the Emeralds was even farther away, in the middle of a large framework that could've only been a city, which he confirmed after switching the view to satellite imagery. But, as for the seventh one...
'It's not even on the island itself,' the teen pondered, 'it's off the coast, most likely underwater. I bet that's where we'll find the Battle Fortress, assuming Fifteenth doesn't make a move first.'
"Hey, big guy?" Sonic called to him, getting his attention, "where are we headed next?"
Miles hummed and showed the boy both the spot where the fifth stone would be and its topographic view. That was another reason he couldn't stay all mad at the cobalt kid: he was a good guide around the island, and aside from the time lost in the Wood Zone, he knew what was where.
"The fifth Chaos Emerald appears to be located inside the mountains further ahead," he said, walking up a small incline and coming to a rope lift, "are there any major mining systems in that area?"
"Yep, that'd be the Mystic Cave Network," Sonic affirmed, "it's a bunch of tunnels built by miners and archeologists to dig out gems and artifacts. Not many folks use it for more than travel now, though, since the mountains over there got pretty hollowed out."
The two of them hopped into the gondola, riding it over the short gap to another cliff. There, they ran into a small, round robot that resembled a red kiwi bird with its thin beak and body shape, as well as its thin legs, but beyond that, it was rather different. It had a formidable spiked cone atop its head much like a whelk shell, angry looking black eyes, and each leg ended in some rather mean looking talons that kiwis weren't known for sporting.
"Another one of those weird Kukku robots," Sonic pointed out, "at least this one looks like a bird!"
Miles didn't waste any time worrying about the small details and swiftly approached the synthetic avian. It tilted its head down and fired its cone like a rocket, though the fox had figured it would try something like that and dodged to the side. Left vulnerable without its main weapon, the teen struck the robot with a tail swipe and reduced it to scrap. Given that it had been the only one around for the moment, the mechanical prodigy sifted through its remains and found a gold ring. He picked it up in one hand and used the Miles Electric with his other to scan its signature, raising his brow at the results.
"Ring energy's pretty common when it comes to powering machines," he began, "but despite how clean and efficient it is, they can only last so long, especially when they're used in more complex systems like those of attack robots." He flipped the display of his multitool around to show what he'd discovered. "Yet, in the case of this new Kukku model, the ring's reserves are barely tapped." The fox put the ring in storage and then stroked his chin with a confused look. "Kinda weird how it wasn't that way with the ones we saw at the Reserve. Maybe the doc hadn't ironed the kinks out yet?"
Sonic chuckled a little bit at the older guy's curiosity.
"Maybe you can get a better look after we send them packing," he suggested.
Miles nodded and stowed his gadget away. Sonic was right, they had to keep moving. They continued on up the small hill in front of them, coming across another one of the robots they had just seen. Sonic revved up a Spin Dash and took it out without issue, uncurling and skidding to a halt inches from a short ledge that overlooked a lava pond.
"Watch your step!" he commented, "these flows are kinda common here. Sometimes, new ones will open up, or old ones will cool off and all that. The path through the mountains changes pretty often because of it."
The teen took note of that and provided his companion a lift across the fiery pit, then leapt up the cliff that met them at the end of that stretch. Another, smaller pool of molten rock was close by, and beyond that was a cramped tunnel that the two had to Roll through in order to fit. The terrain ramped up once they came out the other end, sending them up onto one of the higher cliffs in that section. From there, Miles once again took flight, bringing them both a considerable distance to a second rope gondola.
After riding the lift, they came to a sheer cliff that had a loop up against it that seemed to lead into the ground. Sonic examined the soil around that area, tapping at it curiously with his shoes, then getting down to feel with one hand. After a few moments, he looked up to Miles and pointed down at the patch of grass.
"The ground's loose around here," he said, slamming one fist into his other open palm, "that means there's a tunnel that goes through the mountain here. The entrance just got covered up, that's all."
The hedgehog knelt down and built up a Spin Dash for a couple of seconds, then followed the path of the loop straight into the spot he'd marked. The blue sphere tore up the dirt and burrowed for several feet before he let out a small cry of surprise. The fox went to take a peek at what happened, and was relieved to see that Sonic had safely landed. He dropped down after the younger Animal, finding himself in a sort of cavern that was lit up by the nearby glow of magma. Miles stored his shades for the moment, letting his vulpine eyes adjust to the low light.
Once he was good, he and warily made their way across a number of stepping stones in a large lava pool, arriving at yet another lift on the other side. The pair were spooked as a spike from a kiwi robot shot down from above, slashing right through one of the ropes holding up their ride. They spilled out of the gondola and tumbled down towards another fiery lake, where they also spotted a fourth carriage in their spinning vision. Sonic regained his bearings and reached out towards Miles, who grabbed at his hand and started to spin his tails. They had just enough time to soften their fall and redirect themselves so that they touched down in the lift with a thud, the both of them sprawled out as it carried them further down.
A bit more cautious after what happened, the fox and hedgehog avoided repeating that fiasco when they spotted one of the bird bots on the ceiling in front of them. Miles reached into Remi's pack and pulled out one of the small explosives he'd used in the Aquatic Ruin. Fortunately for him, the spike did not protect it from the blast, and the rest of their short trip went by without issue. A red spring at the end of the path bounced them up a low cliff, which continued on into a long and narrow hall. Just as they came into another chamber with a magma pool, the ground started to rumble beneath their feet.
Not wanting to find out what would happen if they stuck around, the pair rushed through the remainder of the tunnel, discovering a space where they could Roll through. Left with no other option, they took the risk, spending several seconds barreling down a winding passage. And much like earlier, the slope curved upward into a ramp-like shape, their momentum carrying them high over a grassy loop. They soared through the air until they touched down in a modest meadow tucked away in a group of pine trees.
"Alright, we should be about halfway to Mystic Cave," Sonic announced, taking a moment to brush himself off.
Miles did the same and was about to double-check his gadget when his ears perked up at another low rumble.
"Sheesh, Hill Top's really active today," the hedgehog commented, having also picked up on the commotion, "we better be careful."
"No," the teen disagreed, tilting his ears in the direction of the now-constant noise that was growing ever so slightly louder, "that's something else. It sounds more distant, and the pattern doesn't seem seismic, otherwise we'd be feeling it beneath our feet."
The other boy scratched his chin and looked in the direction it was coming from. "What do you think it could be?"
"Hard to say," Miles answered, his expression darkening, "but I have a feeling it's nothing good..."
It was a beautiful day in the sprawling settlement of Metropolis, the capital and industrial center of West Side Island. The sun was shining, the Flickies were singing, and many Animals, as well as some humans, were following their routines. It appeared to be business as usual for the denizens of the great city, but it was not meant to be so. Off the eastern coast of the island, right next to Metropolis, the water around the inconspicuous islet that had shown up began to boil. Slowly, the small bit of green rose up, revealing not earth, but metal at its base. Though not everyone was familiar with the true identity of the behemoth craft making itself known, all of the birds in the area, both Animal and Critter, shook at the sight of it.
It was none other than the Battle Fortress, the flagship and strongest weapon in the Battle Kukku Empire's arsenal.
From the immense flight deck on top, and scores of ports opening up on the main body, veritable swarms of robots and Kukku fighters descended upon the city. There were red and gray droids that appeared as a cross between birds and planes, sporting yellow beaks, eyes, and legs similar to eagles, but also possessing stabilizers on their tails, support wheels on their feet, and two rotors in the back. There were small blue aircrafts with yellow wings, propellers, and mounted guns that were piloted by Kukku combatants with orange helmets. There were egg-shaped metal shells with yellow propellers on top of their heads. two cartoony cyan eyes, orange arms and faces, white gloves, and a small cannon on the bottom of their bodies. There were mud dauber-esque robots that had colorations much like Japanese hornets, sporting red faces and black abdomens with jet thrusters attached, a thin metallic pole connecting to a black and yellow back end where a "stinger" gun was mounted.
As for the ground forces, there were Kukkus that toted laser rifles, and some that flew through the air under their own power to bring bombs down on hapless people. There were small blue and gray walkers with cannons on the front that got around on duck-like feet, silver and orange hover pods that spewed flames from narrow barrels, and detachments of Robo Kukkus to back them up. Joining them were red and white crab bots with white abdomens, two pairs of white legs, eyestalks with large yellow eyes, and two different-sized claws, the right one being larger and boasting three spikes adorning the upper joint. There were also green mantids with yellow eyes, metallic mandibles, wheels on the heels of their feet, and two razor-sharp claws on the ends of their hands. Last, but not least, there were tall and green, ostrich-like walker mechs that were piloted by two soldiers, each side containing a flamethrower, which they did not hesitate to use.
The peaceful scene of the city descended into chaos in no time flat. The batteries of guns on the Fortress opened fire on the biggest skyscrapers, blasting several of them into nothing more than debris, which caused further damage to smaller structures close by. Some civilians and Critters were dealt with lethally, while others were snatched up and taken back towards the flying ship. Those that weren't cut down or taken hostage by the Empire fled as fast as they could, while law enforcement and the local defense force arrived to oppose the Kukkus. Unfortunately, their efforts did little more than slow the advancement of the numbers that continued to pour forth.
At the forefront of the attackers was Speedy himself, who was wearing a white exoskeleton suit with a white jetpack, a lime green helmet, and red and white gauntlets with huge metal claws on the ends. He effortlessly weaved his way through blaster fire and concussive bombardments, leaping atop a police cruiser and delivering a powerful punch into the hood, crumpling the engine like paper.
He engaged his thrusters and took to the air, soon finding a couple of helicopters on his tail. The claws on his right gauntlet lit up, and the Kukku prince briefly flipped around to swipe his arm. A curved blade of purple energy shot towards the rear rotor of one of the choppers, knocking it out of commission and forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. Machine gun fire pinged off the edges of buildings that they passed, the relatively open airspace giving Speedy the maneuverability he needed to dodge. He returned fire with another blade, slicing clean through the craft's tail and bringing it down, then continued on towards his target.
The visor of his helmet lit up, a white circle appearing in the left side while speakers in the ears let out a consistent beeping. The frequency of the noise increased as he proceeded ahead, increasing his altitude to get a better vantage and have less obstacles in his way. From there, the icon in his lenses fixated on a white marble building way out to the southwest of his current position. With his flight suit, however, such a distance was no trouble for Speedy, especially with the improvements the doctor had made. Another burst from his jetpack, and the prince was at the steps of the establishment within mere moments.
"Hmm, the 'Metropolis Museum of Geology and Archeology'," he read off the nearby sign, "how convenient that the Chaos Emerald is here. Almost too convenient."
Speedy strolled up the stairs towards the large double oaken doors, power building up in one palm. He thrust his palm forward and fired a blue sphere of energy, reducing the doors to splinters and causing some of the entrance to collapse. The Kukku hopped over the rubble and watched as frightened Animals scattered before him, while a trio of security guards confronted him at the atrium. The heir to the Empire sighed in disappointment at the resistance. He was never a fan of unnecessary fighting, though he wouldn't hesitate to hurt anyone that tried to oppose him with force.
The ace closed the distance to the first guy, a black bear, and slashed the gun in his hands to ribbons while avoiding the ursine's limbs. The fellow was hardly given any time to react to his sudden disarming before he was thrown to the ground face-first and given a swift chop to the back of the head. A bald eagle managed to fire a taser, but Speedy sidestepped it and shook his head at the other avian. He grabbed the cables in one hand and tugged the guard his way, then delivered a harsh punch to the fellow's diaphragm. That left the last one, a yellow lab, trembling at the sight of his two co-workers being taken down so easily. He gazed between them and Speedy, then dropped his weapon and backed away fearfully. The prince raised one gauntlet and fired what appeared to be a yellow arc of electricity that, upon striking the canine, shocked him for a few moments before rendering him unconscious.
"Coward," the bird scoffed.
Speedy continued on, following the directions his radar gave him until he entered a spacious room with a display case roped off by red velvet. Within the glass was the object of his mission, the yellow Chaos Emerald, although, as he predicted, there was more resistance to be found in the chamber. What wasn't anticipated, however, was who it was that stood before him.
There was a tall and athletic verdigris teal wolf with fiery orange eyes, a peach-tone fleshy muzzle, upward curving ears, a big black nose, and a moderately long and bushy tail. She had tufts of "hair" on the back of her head that were drawn into a short and low ponytail, and two of her upper canine teeth were visible despite her lips being shut. She was dressed in a sleeveless purple top, a pair of tight black jeans, royal purple gloves with silver patches on the palm and back, and matching combat boots with black soles, cuffs and ankle braces. She sported a pair of white-framed goggles with purple lenses atop her head, a capris blue utility belt with four pouches and a strap across her right shoulder, what appeared to be a black wristwatch on her left wrist, and a curious black bracelet with a raised portion on one side around her right wrist.
"This is unexpected," Speedy mused, one fist clenching as his eyes narrowed in recognition, "I knew Miles was around, but I didn't think you'd also be on West Side Island, Giselle."
The lady lupine, nearly as tall as his father, flashed him a toothy grin that only her kind could manage.
"It's nice to see you too, Speedy," she remarked in a teasing mezzo-soprano, "I had a feeling you or some other shady sort would come after the Chaos Emerald. Good thing I scoped the museum out beforehand and grabbed a little place nearby just in case this happened."
The Kukku spat off to one side and raised both gauntlets in a fighting stance.
"How did you even know to search here?" he wondered aloud.
Giselle wagged a finger at him. "Trade secret between Gad, Miles, and I. But even if that wasn't the case, come on, it's a museum for minerals and artifacts. Seems like the first place you'd search, don't you think?"
Speedy scoffed and started walking forward, his eyes scanning the room.
"You must be so proud of yourself," he sneered, "though if you're here, then your sniveling twin brother must be around as well."
"Maybe he is, maybe he's not," the she-wolf said as she shrugged, not dropping her smirk, "either way, you're not getting this rock. I didn't come all the way out to West Side Island just so I could let you take it." She giggled a little bit. "Actually, I wasn't even here for this in the first place, but, you know, plans change."
The prince clicked his beak and leaned towards her, the turbines in his jetpack whirring to life. He'd had enough of this small talk.
"Have it your way," he conceded, "don't say I didn't give you a chance!"
He fired forward with his thrusters and slashed at the wolf, only for the young woman to drop to the ground. Speedy shot past her and nearly crashed into the wall, but flipped himself over and kicked off of it with his boots. He returned for another go 'round, yet found the female pouncing just as he passed by, swiveling atop the Emerald's case to face him. Before he could turn around, the Kukku felt a weight tug at one of his ankles that suddenly halted his trajectory, causing him to crash to the floor. He wasn't hurt all that much due to his armor, but now he was getting annoyed. Speedy found the cause to be a grappling wire that was attached to that brace that Giselle had, which she quickly called back with a resounding snap.
'What the hell is up with her?' the bird thought angrily, 'she wasn't this well-prepared the last time I saw her!'
"Miles helped us build some new tools of our own," the she-wolf explained as though reading his mind, keeping herself ready for the next move, "Gad and I have only been training with them up until now, so I'm glad I finally get to put 'em to real use!"
Speedy jumped back to his feet and extended his exoskeleton suit's claws.
"Seems like your agility's gotten better, too," he praised in a snide tone, "but your talents can only carry you so far. And by the way, I've gotten some upgrades of my own!"
With purple light in one hand and blue in another, Speedy hurled himself at his opponent. The she-wolf flipped down over the back of the case, just narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with the prince. The Kukku anticipated such a move and twisted about to redirect his momentum, throwing an energy ball and swiftly following up with a projectile blade. The latter severed the glass around the Emerald in a diagonal cut, which Giselle managed to dodge. However, she didn't have enough time to react to get out of the way of the former shot completely as it struck the ground near her feet.
The canid was sent sprawling along the floor, giving Speedy an opportunity to try and grab the yellow Emerald. Just before he could reach it, however, a grappling wire nabbed the stone, making the prince turn over in the air and briefly engage his jetpack to halt his course. He growled in aggravation as he followed its path and realized that it wasn't one that belonged to his current opponent.
It instead led to another big wolf with viridian red fur over his whole body, save for his muzzle and the insides of his upward curving ears, which both had peach-tone flesh. He had the same fiery orange eyes, tail, and black nose as Giselle, as well as four tufts that spread out from the back of his head on each side. When it came to clothes and gear, he wore military green gloves and boots, each of which had tan patches on the back, and a pair of rectangular glasses with sleek black frames that rested on the bridge of his muzzle. He also had a tan utility belt with a left shoulder strap and four pouches, an identical black bracelet with a grappler on his left wrist, and a black wristwatch on his right wrist.
"Good job, Gad!" Giselle cheered as she got back up, "now let's scram!"
The red twin nodded firmly, reaching into one of his pouches and pulling out a tiny black sphere. Gad then clicked on the corner of his specs while his sister flipped her goggles down and pressed a hidden button on one of the frames. Before the prince could figure out what was going on, the male wolf chucked the ball at the ground as hard as he could. Speedy had reacted just in time to obscure his vision from a painfully blinding light, though his hearing was still affected by the flashbang's blast. While he clutched his ringing ears, the teal twin slapped a disc onto his back, which sent a violent shock throughout his suit and caused him to crumple to the ground.
"Agh!" he cried out, his shock turning to rage as he realized his armor had been disabled, leaving him unable to fly or move as freely, "why you, you think you can just run off!?" He stumbled a little as he tried to get to his feet, catching himself on a wall with one hand as the other planted itself against the ground. The shock had been painful, enough to make him really feel the weight of his exosuit without its tech to help lighten it. "When my gear gets back online, you contemptible canines will be wishing you'd just handed the Emerald over!"
Gad and Giselle kept on running as they leapt out of the destroyed entrance of the museum, heading for the nearest car they could find. They happened across a blue sports convertible, the teal twin going for the driver's side and pulling out a thin circuited strip of metal, using it to unlock the door as though it were a proper key. She unlocked the other side for her brother, then slotted the same tool into the car's ignition and started the engine.
"I knew my vehicular skeleton key would come in handy someday," Giselle said with a bit of self-satisfaction as she buckled up.
"Pat yourself on the back later, sis," Gad told her while strapping himself in, "let's get out of here before he has a chance to catch up!"
She didn't need any further prompting, shifting the car into gear and putting the pedal to the metal. The tires screeched for a hot second, then they took off down the street, honking the horn as they made their way through traffic. As his sibling did her best to avoid crashing or flipping them over, Gad brought his wristwatch up and tapped at the buttons a few times. The image on the clock face changed to an amber-silhouetted image of Miles' head with the word "Contacting..." underneath.
"Please pick up, please pick up," the red wolf mumbled, glancing down at the yellow Emerald as if asking for its help.
"Hey, what's that?" Sonic asked Miles as his ears picked up a different noise from the one they'd just heard, "it sounds like...a ringtone?"
The fox brought up the Miles Electric and saw that its screen was showing a red icon in the likeness of a familiar wolf, the words "Incoming Call..." blinking under it. Curious as to why his friend would be trying to reach him now of all times, he tapped one of the buttons below the display. He was greeted with the sight of the owner of said avatar, who appeared both panicked at something and relieved to see him.
"Miles!" came that recognizable light baritone he knew well, "thank the gods!"
"What's up, Gad?" the teen inquired, "you sound like you're in trouble."
Sonic stood on his toes behind the bigger male to try and get a look at who he was talking to, though he couldn't quite manage to get a good view.
"Trouble is right!" replied another voice he would've been glad to hear if it wasn't tinged with fright.
"Giselle? What's going on, you two?"
"Long story short, we wanted to surprise you, since you told us you were going to West Side Island," the teal she-wolf told him.
"But now the Kukkus are invading Metropolis!" the red twin exclaimed, "they've busted out the Battle Fortress and who knows how many troops! Speedy joined the fray personally, and we just managed to get away from him with the yellow Chaos Emerald." His ears folded back and he whined with uncertainty. "We shut down his suit with a targeted emitter, but we don't know how long we've got until it's up and running again. You've got to hurry up and get here!"
Miles clutched his bangs in his other hand and tugged at them nervously. Everything had just gotten more horribly complicated with these developments. He'd tried to keep one of his best friends out of the action, only for the other two to show up out of nowhere and join of their own accord. And now that they'd acquired one of the Emeralds and temporarily incapacitated Speedy, they definitely had crosshairs on their backs. The fox needed to get them out of that jam, and he was tempted to have Remi transform into the Sea Fox and engage its "Jet Mode" to get over there lickety-split.
He only stopped himself after considering that the Battle Fortress and other forces were at play. Miles knew he was a priority target, and the Sea Fox would most certainly stand out compared to other aircraft. If he went in trying to make a daring rescue, he'd only be drawing more attention and danger to the wolf twins. But he couldn't just sit there and do nothing!
"I'll figure something out!" he assured them, though it was more for himself than the two lupine siblings. He turned his attention to Sonic, a desperate look on his face. "Kid, is there any place in the Mystic Cave Network we could meet halfway?"
The hedgehog's own visage became serious, seeing the hero tensing up like he was. He was being asked for help, and he wasn't about to let the big guy down! He nodded and pointed for the fox to bend down so that they both could be in view of the communicator. Miles obliged, making sure that Gad could see the spiny speedster.
"Gad, Giselle, this is Sonic," he introduced the hedgehog, "you can get to know each other later, but right now, he'll be directing you where you need to go."
The male wolf's expression indicated that he had a lot of questions, but he merely nodded meekly and gazed attentively at his friend's new companion. The female gave a more curt bob of the head, her attention on the road.
"Where are you guys?" he asked first.
Gad's eyes darted up for a couple of seconds before he returned them to the communicator. "Um, Road 7, westbound."
"Alright, you're gonna wanna get off at the last exit before the end of the highway," the kid directed, "that'll take you to one of the ways into the MCN, but you gotta go on foot once you get inside. The tunnel there's too narrow for cars and stuff, so it'll be harder for the Kukkus to follow you."
The red twin nodded. "Got it. What then?"
"There's places the path will split up, and you'll wanna stick to the low one when you can," Sonic continued, "just watch out for pits and falling rocks."
"Just keep moving, guys," Miles told them determinedly, "we'll meet up as soon as possible!"
"We'll try not to keep you waiting, foxy," Giselle called to him, the sound of burning rubber and a blaring horn following a couple of seconds later, making Gad yelp and nearly get flung against the passenger door. "Hey, do you not see the invaders or something, slowpokes!? Get the fu–"
The fox mercifully cut the call before the impressionable hedgehog could hear the rest of what the she-wolf had to say. He switched over to the Emerald Radar, and sure enough, the "middle" of the three that they'd yet to claim was slowly moving west. Now knowing for sure that his friends were on the move, Miles urged the two of them on.
Their course brought them onto a short hill that came to a lava flow, giving them the option of going through a Rolling tunnel or jumping to a higher cliff. They went with the latter choice, following the path to a grassy loop and riding it to another rise in the turf. Seeing quite a few rises in the geography, Miles snatched Sonic by the hands and carried the two of them higher and higher until they came to the first gondola they'd seen on this half of the range. While it drifted over the molten pool, they had to jump back near the edge to avoid being splashed as something rose up from the depths.
It appeared to be a light purple plesiosaur with light gray plating on the underside of its neck, which was made up of four spheres. Its main torso, which was halfway submerged in the lava, also had yellow details, and beneath its cartoonish black eyes was a fierce looking jaw. Instead of lunging to bite, however, it whipped its head and lobbed an energy ball at the two of them. While Miles drifted to one side, Sonic leapt over the projectile and struck the mechanical dinosaur right between the eyes, causing its head to crumple. He landed atop the thing's body, puzzling the fox with how the laws of convection weren't making him hop from foot to foot. Maybe the robot's heat resistant plating was just that effective.
Regardless, he dipped one hand over the side and pulled the hedgehog back up, riding to the next cliff. A red spring at the foot of it propelled them just high enough to reach the top, where they found another hole in the ground like the one that led into the cavern they recently explored. This in turn brought them to another vertical shaft, which opened up into a narrow ledge along the outside. Miles and Sonic followed it into the next mountain, stopping at the edge of an outcropping that overlooked a magma flow several meters below. More rumbling greeted them not long after entering, only this time, they could plainly see the scorching, liquid stone steadily rising!
"Move it!" Sonic shouted, bouncing from one ledge in the wall to the next.
Miles had to go the extra distance in his case, as some of the footing the hedgehog had used broke away and crumbled into the lava. Several seconds passed, and the two were nearly home free, but then, the kid lost his balance when he reached the other end of the cavern due to the cliffside cracking from his weight. The fox was right there to catch him, thankfully, pulling him up and once again flying them to safety. They briefly reemerged outside, coasting down a handful of swoops in the slope before arriving at another cave.
A little ways in, the pair were forced to scale another wall, but they weren't alone. They reached the top of it just in time to avoid a trio of spines launched at them from more of the strange kiwi bots. Sonic boosted himself from atop a nearby boulder to smash one, while Miles handled the other two with a bomb. Afterwards, the two peered down the shaft and spotted three separate rope lifts that descended into the depths towards a small lake of lava. The fox brought them both to the third gondola, his eyes on the ceiling ahead while the hedgehog kept watch on the fiery rock below.
Spotting a second plesiosaur and yet more of the kiwi robots, the Animals went to task. Miles flew up to the top of the rocky passage, whipping out his hammer from storage and smashing the first of the upside-down droids. Sonic unleashed a Spin Dash and bounced off the partly submerged mech's head towards dry land, drawing the fire of two more spike cannons. He skipped and jumped up the ledges while the teen took out the now defenseless birds, taunting at another trio just ahead. Two more fell for the same bait, while the third one was dispatched before it could get a chance to fire off its weapon. Miles finished off the remaining pair, the first with his hammer, and the second one by going into Rolling Attack mid-flight.
They came out of what appeared to be the final tunnel before the range became impassable by normal means. Just ahead, they saw the only passage that went deeper into the mountains. Unlike the others, the air coming from further in felt more cool and humid than the others they'd traversed. The fox gave the Miles Electric one last once-over to make certain that they were on the right path. The signal coming from the Emerald that the twins had acquired was now notably closer, but moving at a slower and steadier pace than before.
"They must have made it inside from their end," Miles posited, putting the device away and cracking his knuckles, "any Kukkus that come after them better be ready. Nobody messes with my friends or my family and gets away with it."
Sonic perked his ears at the mention of family, but chose not to comment on it. Instead, he held out a fist to the older fellow.
"I won't let anyone you care about get hurt, big guy," he promised, "not as long as I can do something. Any buddies of yours are pals of mine, after all!"
"That's...thanks, kid," the fox said appreciatively, giving him the first genuine smile since they'd left Casino Night. He bumped his glove against the other boy's, put his shades away, then steeled his nerves as he gazed at the entrance to their next major hurdle. "Enough standing around. Let's go!"
They took off as fast as they could into the increasingly narrow space. Miles hoped that they'd be able to get to Gad and Giselle before Speedy or anyone else in the Empire caught up and overtook them.
