"Emperor, incoming transmission from Lord Speedy!" one of the Kukku grunts in the command center announced.

The GBK stood up from his throne and calmly, but briskly strolled over to the center of the room. "Patch it through."

There was a bit of static before the line cleared up, allowing everyone present to hear exasperated breathing coming from the other end.

"Speedy reporting, milord," came the prince's voice after a few seconds.

"Have you acquired the Chaos Emerald we detected within Metropolis?" his superior questioned.

Another pause, though briefer than the first. "Negative. Target was secured by yet more of Miles' Prower's friends, who temporarily disabled my exosuit before fleeing westward. I'm currently tracking the gem's signal and am in pursuit."

The news of additional allies on the fox's side gave the big bird pause. Not to mention, they possessed tech that could trounce the defenses of their armor, and likely their other machines. If they were to meet up with that teenager and his new sidekick, it could potentially spell disaster, even more so if they combined their acquired Emeralds. He trusted Speedy to come through, though not enough to let him go without support.

"I'll send reinforcements to your destination," the GBK told him, "there, you can work together to bring back our rightful claim."

"What? I can do this! I simply underestimated them, Fa–I mean, milord," Speedy protested.

The Emperor growled through the transmission. "Are you questioning my methods, boy?"

"N-no, sir," the prince backpedaled, letting a little fear creep into his voice, "I am headed towards this 'Mystic Cave Network', that's where they ran off to. It's one of the few places we haven't scouted extensively, so there could be another Emerald there."

"Excellent," his leader claimed, "two stones in one go would be wonderful. I expect you to get them both, Speedy. Don't call the command center again until you've procured them."

A third bout of silence came and went before the heir replied.

"Yes, my liege," Speedy acknowledged, "cutting transmission now."

The GBK nodded at this and let his son get back to work. He then turned to the same soldier that had answered the call.

"Get me a line to Dr. Fukurokov," he ordered, the grunt hopping to it without any need for further prompting.

The image of the elderly owl leaning back in his chair while taking a snooze appeared. The GBK clenched his crooked teeth and crowed into the microphone on his end. The effect was pretty much instantaneous. The doctor squawked in surprise and fell out of his reclining seat, then slowly got to his feet.

"Oh, Your Majesty," he said as he adjusted his specs, "forgive me, I was just catching a nap after all the work made last night and this morning."

The GBK clicked his beak. "Of course, Dmitri. I do appreciate the efforts, but we'll need more. We have run into some unexpected resistance."

"Miles Prower is already in Metropolis?" Dr. Fukurokov pondered aloud, his expression becoming more unsettled.

"No, but friends of his are. Or rather, they were until some minutes ago," the Kukku head clarified, "they made off with the Chaos Emerald after disabling the suit you had specially crafted for my son!"

But, that couldn't be right! That thing should've been insulated enough to protect it from anything like a localized electromagnetic pulse! Not only that, but the suit was made to withstand otherwise grievous injury and possibly fatal damage. How had anyone managed to shut it down?

He had a feeling his commander wouldn't want to hear about any of that, though. Instead, he'd just have to figure something out.

"What can I do to rectify the situation?" he offered.

The GBK hmphed and crossed his arms. "They're headed for a place known as the Mystic Cave Network, in the mountains west of our position. If you've any special creations made for such an environment, use them."

With that, the call ended, the owl letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in during the latter statement. So the fox and his associates were headed for a cave system, eh? Perhaps that new Mecha Golem of his would prove useful in this endeavor.

He activated the lift and went down into the space he had for Dr. Robotnik. When he got there, though, the man was back in his old garb, humming happily as he went to work on whatever his latest project was. Dr. Fukurokov was disappointed that his Conversion Therapy had worn off once again, especially since he didn't really have the time to make Ovi go through another session. He'd simply have to make due and hope that certain projects had been completed before the effects of treatment had worn off.

"Hello, Ovi," the owl greeted the nicer personality, "I was wondering if I could grab your ear for a moment."

The human turned around in his chair and beamed at the small avian. "Why certainly, doctor."

"Do you happen to know if the new Mecha Golem Mark VII was completed last night while you were...in the zone?"

Ovi's face fell and he furrowed his brow.

"It was," he said after a moment, "my...other self, managed to finish it before he went to bed."

Well, this was different. Last time, the man had no memory of being subjected to CT. But now, he could recall that his personality had shifted after the most recent application. Not only that, but he apparently remembered what Ivo had been doing the previous night. Perhaps the energy from the Chaos Emerald was responsible for his greater lucidity? There would be time later to study the effects in more detail. For now, he just wanted the mech.

"We're going to need it for some...underground pest control," he said, carefully choosing his words, "if we don't employ it soon, there could be a terrible collapse in the mines in the nearby mountains."

"Oh my, that would be awful," Ovi mumbled concernedly. He frowned at the thought and nodded to the chief engineer. "It should be up in the large vehicle bay, if I can recall correctly. I think it's a bit much, but if that is what is needed, then don't let me stop you. I would...rather not pilot it myself, if possible."

The owl chuckled darkly. "Oh, don't you worry that gifted little head of yours. I will be the one to drive. You just stay here and do what you do best."


"Which way do we go, Sonic?" Miles asked his young companion.

They stopped at a crossroads where they could head further up into the cave or stay low along the path. They stood atop a blue and orange railway, with many lanterns hanging from ropes strung up between posts. The kid hadn't been kidding about the place being hollowed out either. Purple stalactites and green stalagmites went on for quite a way, with other rail lines visible in the distance. The number of lights almost made it so his eyes didn't have to adjust, not that it was a big problem.

"Let's go low, since I told your friends to," the hedgehog reasoned.

The fox nodded, and the two went with that, jumping and Rolling down a curved decline on the rails. They stopped themselves on a wooden landing, only to leap back when they felt it start to give way. The planks fell away, clattering into a pit of spikes a couple meters below. There also appeared to be a wall blocking the way forward, though Sonic wasn't concerned.

"This place can be tricky," he commented.

He bounced up and grabbed hold of a rather out-of-place vine. The wall in front of them fell over and covered the gap, revealing itself to be a bridge. The two then continued towards a slope with another of those shaky wooden platforms. This time, Miles and Sonic went for it, crossing to the next platform, where some rocks were moving up and down. Miles wasn't sure how that was possible, but he did have a couple of theories. He'd have to mull over them later, as Sonic had decided to slip by and wait for him. He followed the hedgehog to a second vine, which dropped them down and separated another bridge.

At the bottom, the path was fairly straightforward aside from a gradual increase in elevation. This kept up until the teen had to fly them up to reach the next leg of the journey. After a short dip, the pair found more crushing rocks and a third pulley that worked much the same as the second. Along the low path, they found a few large crates filled with who knows what. Maybe they're supplies left behind by the people that used to work in these tunnels. In any case, they forge onward to a steeper rise in the rails, using the Spin Dash to make it up and over more deadly stalagmites.

They got a little ways forward before they were accosted by a robot that poked out from the rocks. It had eight rounded dark blue body segments that ended in an ostrich head. It had yellow spikes on its form aside from there, and a radio antenna on its crown, with a couple of steel gray panels surrounding it. Ever fearless, even in the face of something spiny like him, Sonic weaved from side to side to avoid the things pecking. It seemed it could only stretch its "neck" so far, which Miles capitalized on. Just as his partner flipped back, the fox lunged forward and Rolled into its head, instantly causing the rest of its form to crumble.

The guys nodded to each other approvingly, then climbed the rails and platforms in front of them. A fourth vine brought down what would've been a bridge, though it seemed more of an outcropping. They jumped atop it, then Miles flew them up the rest of the ascent. Careful timing was needed to avoid a pair of stalagmites trying to crush them. From there, it was only a gradual slide, a hop over a gap, and then another flat area before they came to a stop.

Miles retrieved his multitool, checking on the distance between them and the wolves, as well as the Emerald that was hidden somewhere in these passages. The former signal was still moving, indicating that they hadn't met any significant resistance on the way to meeting up with him and Sonic. As for the latter, it appeared to be much deeper underground than these rails seemed capable of reaching. Perhaps there was another way to get to it, maybe further in the cave.

With that consideration, he packed up the Miles Electric and was ready to continue. He didn't get far before he felt a tap on his back; Sonic wanted something. Unlike the last time the hoglet had done that, Miles faced him with a more relaxed disposition.

"Yes?" he inquired politely.

"We're at about the halfway point," Sonic informed him, "we should definitely stick to the lower path if we want to meet up with your buddies."

The teen hummed in acknowledgement. It wouldn't do well to deviate from what they'd instructed Gad and Giselle. They could just miss each other, leaving the lupines lost while he and Sonic ended up confronting Kukku forces. They would have to do the latter anyway at some point, but he would like to ensure the safety of the others first.

"I'm kind of curious, Sonic," Miles wondered aloud, "this doesn't seem like a path most people coming and going through the range would take."

The boy chuckled a little. "That's because it isn't. I mean, you saw what we had to deal with to get here, right?"

That was valid. Miles often had to remind himself that he was far outside the norm when it came to what Animals were capable of. The wolves were above average, but they could only get so far on their own efforts. Against someone like Speedy, without their tools, they probably wouldn't stand much of a chance. Even with them, now that the prince was feasibly wise to their tricks, it would be rather difficult.

They had to hurry.


As Gad and Giselle made their way from the opposite direction, they turned back every so often to make sure the Kukkus hadn't caught up to them. The twins ran along the track, leading them over a bump in the path and a few ledges at the end of it. They used their grapplers to pull themselves up a narrow shaft, but they were confronted by something at the top. It was a small robot that looked to be a cross between a firefly and a hummingbird. It had a small red head with two black eyes, a radio antenna, its upper body all black while the flat underside had a glowing bulb covering it.

"The doctor sure has been getting creative with his newest models," Gad observed.

Giselle rolled her eyes. "Creatively lame, maybe."

The teal twin attempted to nab it with her wire, only to receive a genuine shock when she tried doing so as the little construct lit up. Gad reached into one of his pouches and brought out another dark sphere like the one he'd used against Speedy, then tossed it at the thing. Rather than bright light and deafening noise, this one simply exploded on impact with the hybrid creation, taking it out in a snap. Once his sister had stopped convulsing, Gad led the two of them past some crushing stalactites, whereafter they found a fork in the passage. They decided to heed Sonic's words and went down low, passing down a wide shaft that brought them in front of an even deeper one with spikes at the bottom.

They made their way over that and the next one, but a wall was in their way after that. When they got a closer look, they discovered that it was actually a simplistic drawbridge, likely over another set of traps.

"Okay, how do we get this down?" Gad wondered as he peered around.

"It wouldn't matter if you did!"

The wolves spun around on their heels and there, not more than a few meters away, was Speedy.

'Damn, he caught up faster than I expected,' Giselle thought, 'that suit must be strong if our emitters only slowed it down by as much as they did.'

"You two," the ace bird said, "after what happened earlier, I should beat you both to a pulp." His expression shifts to one of calm. "However, maybe I'll let it slide if you hand over the Chaos Emerald."

Giselle scoffed at the notion. "No sell. I'll just do the same as I did back at the museum."

"I'd love to see you try, now that I'm aware of your widgets," Speedy declared, powering up his gauntlets.

Giselle went first, rushing at their foe with her grappler aimed at his head. Speedy ducked beneath the oncoming shot, only to notice that it hadn't quite been directed at him. Rather, it lodged into the end of the previous part of the track they'd been on, which the teal wolf used to zip her way over to the bird and attempt a high kick. When Speedy dodged that as well, Giselle recalled the cable and bounced off the wall, redirecting herself and curling up into a Rolling Attack. The prince attempted to shoot her, but he was unable to get a hit before she crashed into him, forcing him back several steps. However, he held his balance, and just before she could uncurl, Speedy bent over backwards and threw her off of him.

Gad, who'd been trying to find a way to lower the bridge, tagged his sister out and tried his luck. He opted to sprint towards their foe rather than use his cable, reaching into one pouch to pull out another little black ball. Expecting a flashbang, Speedy shut his eyes and "deafened" the audio receptors to his suit, only to be surprised when a powerful concussive blast sent him soaring back. He engaged his jetpack to keep from hitting the wall behind him, then dive bombed at Gad while one hand built up power. The red wolf skipped back just as Speedy hit the ground, but just as soon as his boots touched the rails again, he was hit with a blue energy ball that knocked him on his back and sent him sliding.

The twins shared a glance at each other, then put on a stance as they prepared to fight him together. But before either of the two sides could continue duking it out, there came a loud rumble that caused the ground to shake. And from the ceiling came the new Mecha Golem, using its drill arms to carve through the rock. Speedy had heard that the old owl was working on something special, but this wasn't what he expected. And judging from the reactions of the twins, they were definitely more stunned than he was.

"Lord Speedy, I'm here to assist you!" came the voice of Dr. Fukurokov, a bit sheepish, "primarily because His Majesty had ordered me to do so."

The prince couldn't help but feel insulted at his father's seeming lack of faith in his abilities.

"I don't need it," he jeered, "take your toy elsewhere, doc. I've got this."

"Toy!?" the chief engineer screeched through the built-in speakers, "I'll have you know–"

"Look out."

While the doctor was about to go on a rant, he failed to notice two grappling wires attached to the front of the Mecha Golem's viewing window. Gad and Giselle pulled themselves towards the mech, then maneuvered their bodies so that they each kicked at the thing with their dominant legs. The Mecha Golem flipped in the air a couple of times from the impact, leaving the owl feeling rather woozy. The she-wolf was about to attack once again, but an energy blast, courtesy of Speedy, sent her flying away from the large machine.

Gad caught hold of his sister so that she didn't take a nasty bump against the surrounding stone, then pushed her back to her feet. He glared at the Kukku, then went for his own assault. He had to stop on a dime due to one of the Mecha Golem's arms planting itself just in front, missing him by mere centimeters. That distraction was enough for Speedy to swoop in, ball one gauntlet, and strike the red wolf in the gut. He discharged some of his suit's energy right after that, not only causing the wolf to be blown off his feet, but also tearing his shoulder strap and waist pouches to pieces. On doing so, the yellow Emerald clinked onto the ground, and unlike last time, Speedy was quick to snatch it up and place it in his suit.

The power coursing through its systems bled over into his body, and the feeling was quite a rush. It was almost overwhelming, though the prince's sheer will allowed him to move past these sensations and concentrate on the fight. He saw Giselle coming at him, though with the energy he now had, it was almost like watching in slow motion. He casually sidestepped the oncoming tackle, then did the same to her as he had her brother. He drove an energy ball into her torso and made all her equipment spill out from the ruined pouches. It also caused some clothing damage, but Speedy wouldn't let that distract him.

Fortunately, she still had her grappler, which she used to constrict and tug one of the heir's arms towards her. What wasn't so fortunate was that because of the Emerald that Speedy was using, he was a lot stronger than a moment ago. He merely pulled back with that same arm, dragging Giselle to him, rather than the other way around like she'd intended. The she-wolf dug her boots into the ground, but that did nothing, and she could see that he was holding onto part of the line so that she couldn't recall it to her.

Much as Gad wanted to help his sister, there was another foe to contend with. Nervous though he was, the viridian wolf sprinted at the Mecha Golem, dodging to the side with each attempt to drill him. He shot his wire at the faceplate, getting right up on the viewing window. Dr. Fukurokov just about leapt from his seat as Gad started trying to kick out the glass. He used one of his drills to try and skewer the young adult, but said Animal had been hoping for him to do that. He hopped and flipped over the Mecha Golem just as it struck itself in the face with its own weapon and once more sent him spinning, now with a broken viewing window.

The male twin turned his attention back to Giselle, firing his grappler to try and keep Speedy from moving around so easily. The prince chuckled and shook his head, then let out a battle cry as he whipped both wires into each other. This caused the two wolves to smack their heads together and fall over, only to be dragged ever closer by the bird's Chaos-enhanced strength. Both got to their feet and pressed their heels into the ground again, attempting another shot at bringing him down. Speedy could tell that they were already rather winded from how much they were resisting, so he decided it was the right time to end it.

He released his grip, making the twins slide and fall from the sudden slacking in the lines. It seemed that despite their training, they were still pretty inexperienced in combat. The Kukku took the opportunity to swiftly fly over and use their own tools against them, binding them up together in the cables. The doc then tried to score a hit with his weapons, only for a pair of energy balls to knock them away. The Mecha Golem whirled around at Speedy, who had his arms folded.

"What is the meaning of this, Lord Speedy!?" Dr. Fukurokov demanded, "we could be rid of them once and for all!"

The ace shook his head. "We got what we came for." A dark smirk crossed his face. "And besides, they're better to us alive than dead. Miles wouldn't hesitate to try and rescue them...he might even be willing to hand over the Chaos Emeralds he has just to guarantee their well-being."

"I see!" the owl chortled, "that would be rather fortuitous! Pardon me, my prince, but I'm going to see if there might be another one of the gems in these mines."

Speedy watched the big mech tunnel into the ground, then tapped at his visor to see if that was the case, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. That was strange. Maybe there wasn't one here, or perhaps the signal was being blocked?

He shrugged and called for whatever troops had made it here with him and the chief engineer. Within a couple minutes, a small company of Kukku combatants arrived and took Gad and Giselle into custody. The prince followed after them, ripping the "watch" off of Gad's arm and fiddling around with it for a moment. He eventually found the call feature, and seeing as the most recent one was a certain fox, that would make it all the easier to contact him.


"Hold up, Sonic," Miles told the hoglet as he fetched his handy device, seeing Gad's icon flashing on the screen as the "ringtone" went off, "Gad and Giselle are trying to reach me."

But when he answered the comm, he found neither twin on the other side. Instead, it was the face of someone he hadn't seen in quite some time.

"Hello, Miles," Speedy greeted him, "it's been a while."

"Speedy!" the fox exclaimed, his expression turning into a furious one, "why do you have Gad's comm? What have you done to them!?"

The Kukku tilted the view so that the teen vulpine could see behind him. He saw that the twins were tied up in their own cables, and that many combatants were dutifully watching over them. To rub it in his foe's face, Speedy held up the yellow Chaos Emerald as he grinned.

"They're in my custody," the prince said, shaking the gem in his gauntlet, "they incurred some injuries, but nothing serious. If you hand over what Emeralds you have, I'll agree to let them go without further harm."

Sonic growled at that. "Don't do it, big guy! It's a trap!"

"Ho, is that the blue hedgehog the doctor told us about?" Speedy said with some amusement, "he sounds smarter than he looks." He snickered as Sonic frowned. "That said, I'm not keen on the kind of approach he's suggesting. I know I'm not exactly a paragon of virtue, but I'm 100% serious about this trade, Miles. And if you are too, you'll find me near the exit to the other side."

"I swear, if you so much as harm another strand of fur on my siblings' hides..."

"Please, Miles, I'm not a brute," Speedy replied as he rolled his eyes, "as I said before, Gad and Giselle shall be treated fairly so long as you give me what I want. I hope you end up making the right choice, my high-flying rival."

The link was cut off after that, leaving the two to ruminate on what went down and what to do next.

"I don't trust him," Sonic said, "and why did he call you a rival? Aren't you guys enemies?"

Miles clenched a fist, still looking down at the now empty screen. "We are, but Speedy isn't all bad, unlike his father and Dr. Fukurokov. He'll keep his word, though we should still be careful, just in case."

Sonic nodded, glad that the fox didn't dismiss his concern. He was, however, curious about something else.

"I also thought those guys were your friends," he stated with some confusion, "but you called them siblings."

Miles hummed as he put away his device. "We don't have time for the full story, but to summarize...you remember when Charmy said that he and the twins grew up together with me?"

"Yeah, I wanted to hear more," the hoglet said with a tinge of guilt, "sorry about before."

"Don't worry about it. But, anyway," the fox went on, "long story short, they all found and befriended me a little more than ten years ago. Gad and Giselle began treating me like a younger brother, and before long, I started seeing them in a similar light."

Sonic nodded, displaying that seldom seen serious face. "So this is extra personal for you."

"Yeah," the fox mumbled, turning his gaze back to the way forward to signal that he was done with this conversation for now.

The first step after the discussion was getting the bridge lowered, which was easily done with another vine. The two crossed over the structure, and just as they reached the other side, another ostrich bot whipped its head out from the rocks. It found no purchase, however, due to the pair's reflexes, and Sonic summarily smashed its head with a Rolling Jump. After that, the fox and hedgehog dropped down into the lower area from their position, being mindful of spikes and stalactites.

The railing here directed them to a couple of wooden outcroppings above a deadly pit. Miles cautiously flew them up towards the next landing, his sharp eyes and ears detecting a pair of eyes in the low ceiling. He let Sonic off of his shoulders and fetched his hammer, taking a few steps to lure out what he assumed to be another robot. His guess was right on the mark as a third ostrich attempted to stab him with its beak, only for the teen to hop back and then lunge forward again, bringing down the hammer. Past an upward curving incline, the boys ran into a fourth one, which the fox was able to down by slicing through its "neck" with his two tails. A strange hummingbird and firefly unit awaited them beyond the next rise in terrain, and Sonic learned the hard way that when they're lit up, you're in for a shock. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt too badly, but the same couldn't be said for the little contraption after taking a Spin Dash to the face.

Taking a lower route when given the choice, Miles and Sonic came across another collection of boxes, one of which was covering a hole in the rails. Moving it aside, they dipped down further and lowered a bridge that connected to a nearby platform. On the other side, the path below proceeded in the direction they'd come from, so they tucked into Rolling Attacks and let momentum carry them along the tracks. The line dipped and rose a few times, the Animals slipping under more of those deadly stalactites and ending up near another bed of spikes. They jumped up to the next set of tracks, narrowly avoiding being crushed by yet more treacherous rock. A trio of firefly bird bots were there to greet them, Sonic waiting until the first one stopped flashing before he knocked it out of the air. And rather than get close himself, Miles lobbed one of his bombs near the other two once they were bunched up, resulting in a shower of scrap metal.

They lowered the next bridge over a seemingly bottomless pit, and the sight that Miles found made his fur bristle. Just as he'd said, Speedy was waiting for them, and near him were the wolf twins. They didn't look any worse for wear than they had a few minutes ago, which brought Miles a minor measure of relief, though that did little for his mood. Likewise, he could tell that while Gad and Giselle were happy to see him, the situation prevented them from showing it.

"Sorry, Miles," the red twin said regretfully.

"We tried, but, well, you can see how that worked out," the teal one joked, trying to hide her anxiety.

The Kukku heir ignored them and stepped forth, scanning over the two boys with his visor. The results were not what he expected, making him scowl.

"It seems you've got something that keeps the Emeralds hidden from my radar," Speedy mused aloud, "but no matter, the deal hasn't changed. Hand over what you have, then I'll let the twins go free. Don't try anything funny if you want them to stay in one piece."

To emphasize the lattermost statement, the combatants jabbed their energy rifles into the two wolves, their fingers hovering near the triggers. Growling under his breath, Miles bade Sonic to stay back as he approached his rival, his hands digging through Remi's storage until he found the gems. He had an idea, though, so his anger was partly for show. The yellow Emerald hadn't been synced with the others yet, so bringing multiple gems into proximity with it...

He kept the cyan one hidden while he pulled out the red, green, and blue minerals. He stopped just a few meters away from Speedy. The bird was a tad perplexed.

"Let one of them go first," Miles demanded, "then I'll give them to you."

Speedy sighed, but didn't argue against it. He waved off the combatants surrounding Giselle, allowing her to untangle herself and walk over to join the vulpine's side. With that, Miles closed the distance and placed the three gems into Speedy's hands. Sonic and the twins realized what the fox intended to do and shut their eyes tightly.

As had happened in Casino Night, an overwhelming flash engulfed the area, blinding those who weren't prepared for it and causing some of the ceiling to rain down. Thankfully, it hadn't resulted in a cave-in, so while Speedy was incapacitated, Miles charged up a Spin Dash, and then barreled towards the bird. The prince had no way to see the attack coming before he was sent bouncing along the ground and into his troops. Not only did this scatter the smaller avians like bowling pins, but he also dropped all of the Chaos Emeralds that he had just been holding, including the one he'd slotted into his equipment! Miles swept up the green gem and tossed it to Sonic, Giselle hooked the blue one with her cable. He nabbed the yellow as well, rushed over to Gad to unbind him, then handed the stone off to the wolf as he escorted him over to the others.

He went back and pounced for the red Emerald, but was unable to retrieve it before Speedy grabbed it and rolled out of the way, having recovered rather fast from the energy reaction. He snarled as he reoriented himself and clutched the Emerald tightly, a faint red aura emanating from his exosuit.

"You conniving sneak!" he yelled, crimson sparks crackling across his armor as he placed the stone into the slot that the yellow ad previously occupied, "you knew something like that would happen, didn't you!?" The whirring of his jetpack became near deafening as it was fed Chaos Energy that, in turn, was fueled by the bird's anger. "You're going to pay for your deception, Miles!"

Speedy flew at his slightly taller foe, intent on delivering one hell of a shoulder check. Miles answered with one of his own, cyan light coalescing around his form and his eyes an electric blue as he brought out and tapped into own stone. The two rivals clashed and struggled to overtake each other, but it became apparent that they were getting nowhere. They broke away to reposition for a better approach, the fox's eyes glancing back at his friends for just a moment before returning them to his foe.

"You know, I'm disappointed in you, Speedy," he told the Kukku, who was taken aback by the remark, "I thought you wanted to be your own Animal, free to live as you please. You could've left all of this behind." He motioned to the troops and shook his head. "But here you are, participating in the same sorts of trouble you brought to my home!"

The prince clenched his teeth and rose a couple meters off the ground as he revved his jetpack. Miles started spinning his two tails, soon at the same elevation as his opponent. His friends looked on as the two confronted each other, and it seemed that the Kukku combatants were also doing the same. Whether it was because they respected their leader or feared their enemy was anyone's guess.

"As if you could ever understand my position," Speedy said with disdain, "your second chance amounted to nothing! I had no choice!"

He accelerated full throttle, letting loose a volley of blue energy balls as he rushed the fox. Miles dipped and bounded around the blasts, allowing them to just barely miss as he streaked through the air. The teen made to dive towards the ground, coaxing Speedy into trying to cut him off. The fox feinted upwards when the bird took the bait, curling up into a Drop Attack and slamming into his back. Speedy rolled from the hit, though he managed to avoid the rails and righted himself, whirling around and charging his other gauntlet. The fox descended sharply and transferred his momentum into a sprint the instant his feet touched down.

Speedy grunted as he brought his arm down in a chopping motion, the resulting blade projectile much larger than usual. Miles clutched the cyan Emerald tight as he skidded to a stop and swiped both tails at the oncoming projectile, the aura around his appendages growing brighter. They met the blade and dissipated it on contact, leaving him a clear path to the Kukku prince. A twirl of his tails provided the burst he needed to close the gap and go into a Rolling Attack. Speedy braced himself to try and catch the amber sphere, only to be stunned when Miles unfolded just a couple meters away, spun on his free hand as though he were breakdancing, and thwacked him hard in the face with his tails. This was followed by two solid kicks to the chest, making him stumble back for a moment.

"You're wrong, Speedy!" rebuked the fox, "you always had a choice! You're just too afraid of your father to make a sensible one!"

The Kukku snarled and fired a blast at Miles, then propelled himself up the moment it hit the ground near the other Animal's feet. As he'd predicted, the fox leapt high, to which he responded by jetting in close and delivering an energized punch to Miles' face. The teen was sent hurtling back to the ground, but managed to stick a three-point landing and rolled to the side as Speedy shot at him with more energy balls. Miles once more bounded into the air, though when the ace closed in, a brief flick of his tails let him flip and hover just a tad higher, enough to avoid the oncoming blow. While in mid rotation, the fox brought out his hammer, then drove it hard into the jetpack.

Speedy yelled as he went crashing into the rails, coming to a stop near his combatants. Miles landed close by, causing the birds to recoil in fear. The sight was something that Sonic found both amusing and cool. Only a hero could make the bad guys that afraid without having to hurt them as well. That Speedy guy sure could take a beating, though, as he was back on his feet in a matter of moments. He also learned that even without his apparatus, the Kukku was still a capable flier and quite agile in spite of the suit's bulk. He wondered how much the Emerald's power was helping versus the avian's own efforts as the two continued to clash.

The big guy was even more surprising, though. He hadn't witnessed the fox making direct use of the Emeralds' power before, so it was something else to finally see. The hedgehog glanced down at the green stone in his hands and pondered what he could do with it. Maybe Miles could give him a couple pointers, seeing as how he seemed to be very much in control of what he was working with.

Suddenly, the Mecha Golem burst from the ground and interrupted the showdown, causing the two to stop for the moment. One of its drill hands came in the direction of the twins and Sonic, though they realized it wasn't aimed at them specifically. Miles caught on, though, and he used his tails to fly up and out of the way at the last second, leaving Speedy to take a terrible hit in the chest and once again go tumbling. To the fox's relief, the point hadn't penetrated the armor, though the suit had clearly taken severe damage. It was enough that Speedy was struggling to get it to do as he wanted, his movements strained and heavy.

"You bumbling old fool!" the prince berated the chief engineer, "look at what you've done! I can barely get my flight suit to function!"

A hoot of exasperation echoed from the mech's speakers. "I would think, with all your training, that you'd be able to dodge such a thing, milord." There was a brief pause. "Though it appears you'd already taken a fair amount of damage before that. Perhaps your reunion with the fox has dulled your senses?"

"Oh, shut your rusted beak!" Speedy fired back.

Miles gave an impressive whistle as he eyed up this new model mech. "This certainly is a step up for you, Fukurokov. How much of its design did you come up with?"

"All of it, of course!" the owl answered rather defensively.

The fox gave his friends a wink and almost imperceptibly motioned with his head, ears, and eyes to get ready to attack or run. Sonic wasn't so familiar with canid body language, but Gad and Giselle understood, both because of their species and their familiarity with Miles.

"Oh really?" he challenged, shifting his body so that he could keep an eye on both the Mecha Golem and the crowd of Kukkus. To up the daring act, he slowly put his hammer away, but kept the Emerald out on display. "Then what's with that face? You've never used such tacky decals before."

A bit of grumbling came from the speakers.

"I'll admit it's a bit much," Dr. Fukurokov conceded, "but he was just so insistent that–"

"Who's 'he'?" Miles interjected, jerking his head the mech's way and hoping the others got the hint, "I thought you said this design was all your idea."

"Nothing you need to know!" the old bird said quickly, "and why am I even entertaining a discussion with you? I should just crush you in this cave and let you be forgotten like the people that once lived on this island!" The Mecha Golem's optics regarded the present soldiers. "And you should be helping instead of standing around! Attack!"

The combatants fumbled for the weapons and hastily fired at the fox, who went high and lobbed a canister from his pack into the crowd. A hiss rang through the air as gas spread out from the container, which the soldiers were ill-equipped to handle, being reduced to coughing fits within seconds. At the same time, the twins and the hoglet went at the Mecha Golem from different angles. Gad grappled the bases of the machine and went into a slide as he pulled himself towards it. Sonic dashed right under the thrusters, performing a 180 heel spin and curling up into a Spin Dash. And Giselle hooked into the stalactites above the mech, zipping over and preparing a flying kick.

"Time to get you back for before!" Dr. Fukurokov raved, launching a powerful explosive into the ceiling above.

The falling rock that the teal wolf's wire had snagged altered her trajectory so rapidly that she lost her grip on the blue Emerald and was whipped towards the mech. The doctor repositioned himself just as suddenly, making Gad stumble and drop the yellow gem as he detached from the robot and went into a roll. The Mecha Golem thrusted one of its drills at the hapless lady lupine, only to be knocked aside by a cobalt sphere wrapped in green light. The hoglet gave her a small grin, which was rudely wiped off his face when the other arm smacked him with the blunt side, sending him careening towards the cavern walls.

"Sonic!" Miles cried out in alarm as he stowed the cyan gem and flew over to the young boy.

He caught him just before he could splat against the rocks, letting out a sigh of relief. The three Emeralds that they'd gathered up to now were in the Empire's hands as the Mecha Golem hovered over them and used some manner of tractor beam to draw them into it.

"Hoo hoo hoo! All too easy!" the old owl bragged, "His Majesty will certainly recognize my genius and forgive me for my previous setbacks after this venture!"

Miles had to admit: things weren't looking good. Sure, Speedy and his soldiers were effectively down for the count, but the others had little they could employ against the doctor. That was, until he noticed that the viewing window appeared to have some sort of hastily made barrier over it rather than proper glass. That could certainly be exploited. He reached into Remi and pulled out two of his bombs, handing one of the to Sonic. Miles then once again took hold of the cyan Emerald, set the little robot down so that it could assume its Critter state, and gave it the other explosive to hold in its mouth.

"Sonic, follow my lead," he told the boy, "Remi, keep yourself scarce until I give the signal."

He was met with a thumbs-up and a bark, which was all he needed to see and hear. The amber and blue duo raced side by side as they closed in on the Mecha Golem, the fox straying off to one direction while Sonic kept his course. Having only now stopped his crowing, Dr. Fukurokov fired a few explosives in their path, but the teen had anticipated he might try that, taking to the air. Seeing as he was the one most responsible for the engineer's misery, not to mention holding an item of great importance, the owl's focus narrowed on him, as did those deadly drill arms.

Miles had been counting on that, weaving out of the way of those spinning points and grabbing onto one of the arms as it retracted. Dr. Fukurokov screeched in surprise and, without thinking, brought down one of the limbs onto where the teen had clinged, only for the fox to flip out of the way at the last moment. He smirked with satisfaction as horrid crunching echoed through the tunnel due to one arm being totaled, furious squawks coming from the mech's speakers. The embarrassment only deepened as Sonic sprinted up the torso of the Mecha Golem, bounced off the face, and chucked the bomb he was given at the viewing window, easily breaking the patchwork material apart.

He avoided a repeat of the earlier hit he took thanks to a cable wrapping around his waist and pulling him to safety. Sonic turned to see Giselle, thankful that she was okay.

"Sweet moves, spiny boy," she praised, flashing him a grin and prepping her grappler for another go, "and thanks for the save earlier. Mind lending me some of that speed?"

Sonic returned her expression with a smirk of his own. The she-wolf wrapped the wire around his waist and braced her boots against the rock, then gave the kid a nod. She yipped as she nearly fell forward from the boy's acceleration, just managing to take hold of the line as though she were waterskiing. It really got her blood pumping, feeling the air whipping over her face, though she kept herself from indulging in the sensation for longer than a brief moment.

The Mecha Golem launched a few explosives their way as it hovered back to create some distance. Sonic used his quick feet and equally fast brain to run up one of the tunnel walls, which is where Giselle decided to separate from him. She recalled her wire as the momentum carried her upward, springing off the wall when she was a couple of meters below the ceiling. As the hedgehog taunted the remaining arm of the doctor's machine, the teal wolf met the amber fox teen in mid-air, where he casually kept pace with her flight path.

"Now's our chance to use that one move we practiced!" she called over to him.

It took Miles a moment to register what she meant, but when it came to him, he grinned excitedly. He flew ahead of the wolf and spun around, securing the Emerald in his jaw and opening his arms wide. Giselle curled up into a Rolling Attack and aimed for the fox, who adjusted his path accordingly. The teen flipped backwards a few times as he held onto the verdigris sphere, electric blue bolts arcing over them both. The instant he passed over his foe, Miles drew one leg back and let go of the spinning lupine ball.

"Thunder Shoot!" he shouted over the gem between his teeth, kicking Giselle with the full force that they'd built up.

The Chaos Energy he'd used shielded her from any harm on his part, and she went spiraling down at the Mecha Golem. The construct jolted backwards as the she-wolf crashed into it, forcing it to the ground. Sonic bolted up the machine and leapt from the top of it, catching Giselle, who was feeling a bit dizzy from the experience, but no less proud, if her smile said anything.

Miles caught sight of Gad grappling his way up to him, diving down to intercept. He grabbed hold of the viridian wolf's arms and hoisted him up.

"Two for two?" he asked the fox sheepishly.

The teen smiled around the Emerald and chucked him in the air, giving the larger canid enough room to initiate his own Rolling Attack. Miles caught hold of him and began using his hands to make the red orb rotate faster and faster. Once Gad was covered in those same bolts of energy, the fox threw him up once more, then went into a free fall, letting himself drop head-first towards the ground. Just as the Mecha Golem rose up and prepared to attack, Miles used his tails to backflip and strike Gad with a kick that would make any pro soccer player proud.

Dr. Fukurokov struggled to get his bearings as he was once again sent sprawling from the damage his machine incurred. This wasn't how things were supposed to be going! The fox was supposed to be done, as were all of his annoying friends! And even though he'd acquired three of the Chaos Emeralds, they were doing nothing by themselves.

'I knew I should have considered slots for them like the one I made for the human CT machine,' he thought begrudgingly, 'but it shouldn't matter as long as...what was that whistling? Why do I hear a miniature propeller?'

His eyes slowly went to the viewing window, where he saw Remi's tiny form slip through and peer down at him. It barked and wagged its tail, as though happy to see the owl again. The old bird was anything but, however.

"No! Get away from me!" he chirped hysterically, the images of the defeat that the automaton brought him those few years ago coming back to haunt him.

Remi simply tilted its head, then shrugged and made a noise like it was spitting something up. The small black bomb it had been holding before fell neatly onto the Mecha Golem's console, though it didn't explode then and there. The doctor scrambled to find a specific button on the console while Remi barked and left the way it came. Once his trusty companion was clear of the target, Miles flew over and opened the panel on its back to retrieve his multitool. A low puff echoed off the cavernous walls as Dr. Fukurokov ejected from the head of his machine, right as the teen fox's finger came down on one of the Miles Electric's buttons.

The Mecha Golem went haywire as its main controls were blown to bits, its remaining arm thrashing about. Bombs rained down at random, some of them going high enough to blast the ceiling above. The shock caused more of the rock to destabilize, triggering a flood of stone that showed now signs of slowing down. The Kukku troops, now no longer stunned by the tear gas, attempted to hurry Speedy along, but backed off when he insisted he could handle himself. Dr, Fukurokov, on the other hand, was more than happy to take some assistance in getting his old bones moving. Several seconds later, the Mecha Golem Mark VII went up in a brilliant fireball, adding metal scraps and shrapnel to the shower of stone that started coming down even harder after that explosion.

"Let's go!" Gad yelled, clear panic in his voice and his eyes, "we need to get out of here before we end up buried with the ancients!"

"No arguments here!" Giselle seconded, already running towards the bridge the fox had lowered earlier.

Sonic regarded the husk of the mech that they'd totaled. "But what about the Chaos Emeralds?"

"As long as we have one, the Empire can't complete their plans!" Miles shouted over the commotion, "let's cut our losses and fall back for the moment!"

The quartet dashed towards the crossing, the faster pair helping the twins along, only to stop as stalactites tore through the reinforced wood! Gad grappled a solid point on the other side, followed by Giselle, who both waved the fox and hedgehog over, beckoning them to hurry. Miles offered to carry Sonic across, but he insisted that he could make it with a proper running start. The teen had no doubts there, strapping Remi back over his shoulders and flying over the gap, maneuvering around the falling rock. The hoglet bolted backwards several meters, spun his feet in place, then shot forth, taking the leap of faith. A bit of mental math and observation told the fox that he would make it easily. And after this, he'd have to thank the kid for helping to save his friends, even if they weren't in the best spot right now.

But just as it seemed Sonic was in the clear, he was struck from behind by a blue energy ball that killed his momentum and made him cry out in pain. The canid trio gazed over at the other side and saw Speedy holding up one gauntlet, a murderous scowl on his face as he watched the hedgehog plummet into the pit.

"No! Sonic!" Miles screamed, nearly throwing himself down after him, only to have his arms held back by the wolf siblings. He squirmed and struggled against their grim trying to buck them off. "Let go of me! I have to save him!"

"I hate to say it, Miles, but it's probably too late!" Gad told him with no amount of mirth.

"And we're not about to let you throw your life away!" Giselle added, trying to tug him away from the void, "don't do this, foxy!"

Miles growled and fought against their hold, moving his right arm in a position to elbow the viridian wolf in the gut. Gad released him and groaned as he clutched his aching stomach, leaving him free to round about and deliver a harsh slap across Giselle's muzzle. She yelped and rubbed over the red and stringing mark on her flesh, giving the fox the room he needed to wrench free completely. Without hesitation, Miles plunged down into the darkness, ignoring the cries of the twins as they called after him. Once he was out of sight, Gad and Giselle despaired at what to do. It seemed that all they could do was hope for the best, that Miles would somehow make it through, and hopefully, Sonic too. With nothing else, they retreated back the way the fox and the hedgehog had come.

On the other side of the gap, Dr. Fukurokov was elated to have procured even more Emeralds than they'd hoped. Speedy, however, did not seem so pleased at this turn of events. He'd just done something that, despite all the atrocities he'd engaged in, he'd never dared to do. He'd purposefully shot down the hedgehog to get to Miles, to wound him emotionally and out of spite. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. He'd not taken such personal measures before, and he wondered how the fox would treat him the next time they saw each other. Oh yes, he wasn't foolish, unlike many of the combatants that were cheering their fortune. He knew something like a catastrophic cave-in wouldn't be enough to rid him of his archrival, especially so long as he had that Chaos Emerald.


Miles didn't know how long he'd been falling. The darkness around him was only broken by the occasional bits of luminescent fungi and the glimmer of quartz that reflected their light. His vulpine eyes adjusted enough that he could weave here and there to avoid any rocks jutting out, but he couldn't see beyond a couple dozen meters. Thus, he was surprised when a large body of water basically snuck up on him, his tails going into overdrive to keep from smacking against the surface. He only paused for a moment when he concluded that Sonic had to have fallen in, and since the hedgehog couldn't swim...

"Remi, Sea Fox mode, now!" he hurriedly ordered, tossing the robot off his back, "I need light!"

The little automaton transformed in record time, recognizing the urgency in its master's voice. It followed Miles and dove into the depths of the pool, directing its LEDs around to scan over the environment. The water went down several meters, and there was little more than specks of trace minerals and unworked stone down there. And even through his thick fur, Miles felt chilled by the waters, but noticed that it wasn't stinging at his eyes, thus it had to be fresh. Which meant that the kid had less trace elements to keep him from sinking like a rock.

After what seemed an eternity, even with his two tails propelling him, Miles came to the bottom of the seeming underground lake. His eyes widened upon spotting the unconscious form of Sonic, face-down on the rocky lakebed. The fox twirled his tails faster than he thought possible while underwater, took the hoglet in both arms, then doubled back to the Sea Fox. The canopy opened for him, and once he was inside and the glass shut, the systems drained the water so that he could breathe. He directed the craft back towards the surface as swiftly as he could, brought it over to the closest shoreline, then hopped out with the hoglet in his arms.

Miles laid Sonic down and put an ear to the boy's chest. He didn't hear breathing or a pulse, which made his own heart beat more rapidly in distress. He scooted himself up, drew in a deep breath, plugged the younger Animal's nose, and then blew into the smaller muzzle. He repeated this twice more before putting his hands over the hoglet's chest and compressing it as firmly as he could without causing internal damage.

"Come on, kid, don't do this to me," he murmured, his tone becoming shakier with each moment that went by, "don't you dare die on me!"

The teen went back to giving more air to the kid, turning the speedster's head to the side a couple times in case he started coughing. There was no such luck. Miles couldn't register a pulse or a breath, no matter how many times he continued to apply CPR. The corners of his eyes stung with tears, but he refused to give up, even as his whole body felt weak from the aching in his heart.

"Wake up," he begged, his voice cracking, "come on, Sonic!" Another few breaths were given to the cobalt kid, but to no avail. "I'm sorry for all the times I acted like a jerk, and the negative thoughts I had about you!" Those paws continued to fruitlessly try to massage the water out of those lungs. "Forget about what I said before! You can be my partner, no, you've been my partner this whole time!" He trembled as his short gasps between words turned into light sobs. "You can come along on my adventures and we can see the world together! You can help me in my workshop, too! Doesn't that sound awesome?"

No matter what words he used to bargain with the powers that be, and regardless of the actions he took, his companion wouldn't rouse. There was only one option left, and if that didn't work, then his friend was truly gone.

"Remi, the Emerald!" he called over to the Sea Fox.

The minisub lobbed the gem out of its anti-air missile port, which Miles snatched out of the air. He knelt by Sonic's side and placed one hand over the hedgehog's chest while the other clenched the stone in a veritable death grip. Cyan light engulfed the vulpine's body as he let his desire to save Sonic fuel the power that flowed into him.

"I'm not going to lose you, Nicky!" he promised, his proclamation echoing off the walls of the vast cavern, "we're going to get through this together! So live, damn you, live!"

Miles yelled and drove the energy into Sonic like he was using a defibrillator, hoping against all odds that it would work...


Author's Note: I usually have these separate from the story, as per AO3's settings, but I thought I'd include one here on the FF version as well. The story is about halfway done, and things are only going to pick up more! Been nursing a recovering wrist following surgery for a fracture, but don't worry! Not fishing for sympathy, just letting people know it may be a little slow on updates. Anyway, thanks for the follows and general time taken to read this story.

LancetheFox: I'm very happy to hear you've been taken with this fic! Let's hope you enjoy more of what's to come :3