Emerald Madness

by NetRaptor

Sonic and Knuckles are given charge of a strange grey box and commanded to destroy it by strangers from another time. But when a curious Sonic opens the box, they realize they are in more trouble than they thought ...

2. Sonic's Exile

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Emerald Madness

Part 2 of 3

Sonic's Exile

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As Sonic walked out of Knothole that chilly, foggy morning, he had no idea what he was doing. Was this really happening? Was he dreaming? It must be real because he was never this cold in a dream. He began to run.

Stick to the trail. Where am I? Suspended in time--a ghost-world of grey mist--where am I going?--stick to the trail. Fog--can't see very far--just like my mind--can't think--just keep running--stay on the path. One foot ahead of the other, feel the hard ground under my feet--frozen--rock--everything is so hard--everything but me--pull myself along--am I moving at all? Where am I?--stick to the path. Cold wind biting into my face, my eyes, trying to stop me--am I moving?-- fog, nothing but fog, walls of grey receding in front and closing behind--alone in this mist, cold--wet--

The sun pierced through the haze in golden rays. Sonic tilted his face to it and felt his spirits lift a little--the fog was clearing. Maybe the sun could burn off the mist in his head the same way. He kept jogging, moving easily with the strength that came from long training.

The fog turned white, then gold, then disappeared altogether. Sonic saw that he was running through the forest on a sandy path. It had once been a wide road that led into Mobitropolis, but the Freedom Fighters let the woods reclaim it and only maintained a small trail so Robotnik's big crawler transports couldn't traverse it. Sonic had helped work on it closer to home, but had never followed it this far-- what direction was he going?

Remembering the wrist-compass Tails had given him, Sonic pulled up the sleeve of his jacket and consulted it. He was moving south and a little west. Let's see, where did the trail end? Fog. His mind wouldn't work that far. "Somewhere outside the Great Forest," he thought vaguely.

He ran heedlessly for a long time. His only coherent thought was that he must keep moving to stay warm. He kept himself in low gear--he didn't feel like breaking the sound barrier just then (unusual for him), and cruised along at a fast jog.

An hour passed, then another. The sun rose into the blue sky, shedding pure warmth that did not penetrate the dark shade. Sonic at last ran out of steam and slowed to a walk, panting. He sat down in a shady spot in the path to let himself cool off. The exercise had not helped his mental faculties--his brain still refused to work properly. Perhaps he had some sort of disease that wasn't related to the emeralds at all, like alkimerze. Probably those videogames he had played with Knuckles.

Suddenly his thoughts began to spin crazily out of control, whirling in wild, chaotic patterns. A madness bout--maybe that was what was wrong with him. He leaped to his feet and began to run without meaning to. "Stay on the path," he told himself over and over. "You have to stay on the path ..." Then his sanity was gone and he ran like a thing possessed.

* * *

It was dark, the sky studded with stars, brilliant as diamonds. He was cold.

The blue hedgehog sat up and looked around. He was lying in a grassy meadow. He stood. No, it was more like a plain. It was flat for as far as his eyes could see, which wasn't very far in the night. He consulted his watch, thankful that it had a light built in. 8:16 PM. He had run all day. Hadn't Slasher said twelve hours? Twelve hours of insanity, and here he was in the middle of who-knows-where. He looked at his compass, using the light in his watch to see the needle. He was facing south and a little west. Maybe he had run in a straight line for once.

The air was frosty and his breath condensed in clouds. He shivered. He was cold and hungry. He took off his backpack and opened it. He pulled out his sleeping bag, which had been smashed into a sausage a foot long and four inches thick. With it spread out between him and the damp grass, he dug around in his pack, hoping he had brought a flashlight. Oh good, he had. He pulled it out, flicked it on and murmured, "Let there be light!" By its friendly illumination he pulled out a package of rather flat hotdog buns, hotdogs and several cans of chili his sister had thoughtfully packed. He would have to have a cold meal--there wasn't a stick of firewood for miles. His gaze fell on the little computer Sally had given him. He started to pull it out, then hesitated. What would he say? 'I went nuts and have no idea where I am'? Maybe he should wait until he was someplace with a name.

He had a lonely supper, then curled up in his sleeping bag, shivering with the cold outside him and the cold food inside him. It was a long time before he finally drifted off to sleep, ending his first day of exile.

* * *

Knuckles was not resting easily, either.

He shared something of Sonic's punishment for allowing him to open the box. Not that he had the madness; he was stricken with guilt for having helped send one of his best friends into lonely exile.

Now he was back on the island, wandering through Sandopolis, trying to remember where the library's secret entrance was located. It was very cold in the desert that evening, and the echidna was dressed in heavy clothing. His breath formed a vapor cloud before his face and his eyes were dull. He was thinking of the savage murder on Sonic's face a few days previous, and of his incredible strength as he attacked Slasher. It was not the hedgehog he was familiar with; Sonic had been truly out of his head.

Knux sighed into the chilly air. He must do what Sonic had asked him to: research the eighth chaos emerald and maybe figure out why it did what it did. Now, where was that door ...?

His hands brushed the cold stone wall, feeling for the camouflaged button. His fingers encountered it at last. He pressed it firmly. A wall section a few feet away swung inward a few inches, emitting a breath of warm, stale air. Knuckles pushed it open and entered, closing it behind him.

Sandopolis, because of its dry climate, had been chosen to house the ancient writings of the echidna clan. The library was a long, cold, stone-walled-and-floored hall of shelves stacked with books, scrolls and containers of loose papers. An attempt had been made to organize it all, but one might still find an article on 'super emeralds' under 'soil managment', or a book on Old Mobian buried in a collection of memoirs from past guardians.

Hunting through the library was one of Knuckles's favorite pastimes on dull, wintry nights. But, as he built a fire in the wide stone fireplace, he felt listless. For some reason he felt as if he would rather be out battling the elements in the mountains of his island--something that required physical endurance. Anything but being indoors.

The fire leaped up beneath his hands, shedding a pleasant yellow glow on the musty room. He gave it a few large sticks and a log to burn when it got big enough, then stepped back and surveyed the room.

The eighth chaos emerald. Nothing had been heard of it for more than a century. Where should he start? Perhaps in the documentation on Hidden Palace ... He went to a shelf, took out several dusty volumes, carried them to a small table near the fire and opened them.

An hour passed, then another. Knuckles did not notice--his mind was far in the past, seeing through this guardian's eyes or that one's. For a good while he was sidetracked, reading an manual of how to build--not grow--a super emerald, then again when he stumbled across several eyewitness accounts of the dreadful deeds leading up to the closing of the underground Palace.

He was startled out of his reading as the outer door opened, emitting a gust of frigid air. It closed, and footsteps came down the entry hall to the room. It was Espio. He wore a coat and scarf, and his arms were folded tightly across his chest. His skin was a light ice-blue. "Cold!" he announced to Knuckles, darting to the fireplace and extending his hands to the warmth.

"What're you doing here?" Knuckles asked. "I didn't think you liked the cold."

"I don't," Espio said through chattering teeth. "Mighty, V-Vector and Ch-Charmy just wh-whipped my tail at cards, ss-s-so I left."

"Wanna help me?"

"D-do what?"

Knuckles slid an encyclopaedic volume in the chameleon's direction. "I'm looking for info on the eighth chaos emerald."

Espio picked up the book, sat down on the hearth and flipped it open. After a moment he complained, "Knux, this is all Old Mobian! I can't read Old Mobian!"

"Oh. Well then, trade me."

"YOU can read OM?"

"Sure. I've been learning. Dad got on my case about it the last time I went to see him, and I'd like to impress him."

The chameleon exchanged books with the echidna, but held the new book in his lap without opening it. "Knux, I thought your dad was dead."

Knuckles lifted his head and looked at him. "No, he's fine. Where's you get that?"

"Well, I've never seen him around ..."

"That's because he's retired."

"Is he on the mainland?"

"Maybe. Nobody knows where he is but me--Robotnik'd love to get his hands on him."

"Why?"

Knuckles lowered his eyes to the book before him. "Dad knows how the power emeralds work and how to use 'em better than I do. He's writing it all down for me, but in Old Mobian. Which is why he was so mad I hadn't learned it yet."

"Why don't you ask HIM about the eighth chaos emerald?"

Knuckles snapped upright in his chair, eyes on Espio. "I didn't think of that! I'll bet he could tell me everything. I'm such an idiot! Good idea, Espie. I'll ask him."

* * *

The following day found Sonic trekking across the plains. He was able to travel the entire day with a relatively clear head and no madness. He had no desire to run fast--he got enough of that while mad, and there was no hurry, anyway. He had six months to burn.

Night found him still in the flatlands, but within sight of a blue mountain range. The blue hedgehog went to sleep dreading the morrow--if he went crazy he would remain so for 24 hours. It was a prospect he did not look forward to.

After a few hours of travelling the next morning, the hedgehog came to a little settlement on the prairie. It was built near a group of freshwater springs that bubbled from the ground and fed a good-sized brook. There were several houses, a general store and a few other shops. Sonic needed no supplies, but stepped into the general store to ask where he was.

The grey cat behind the counter was helpful, if not a little curious. He pointed to a spot on a big wall map and said, "We're right here, at Fallon. The next town is in the mountains--Grass Valley, it's called. It's a bit bigger than Fallon, and you can get transport to Riverbase or wherever you're going." This ended on a question that Sonic ignored. He stood and gazed aimlessly at the map until the shopkeeper went off to help another customer, then located Robotropolis. From there he was able to guess Knothole's location, then trace his path to Fallon. He had come roughly 200 miles. Gee, he must have run like the wind. Well, he certainly didn't want to go to Riverbase--how about a town just outside his distance limit? He searched, measuring three hundred miles with the map scale, and finally found a tiny dot way up in the mountains; a town called Xixa. He would make it his destination. Then he fled the store, aware of the stares he was drawing for talking to himself under his breath.

Sonic left the little town and was standing in the open, taking a compass reading, when that strange feeling came over him. He glanced at his watch in dread. It was 1:00 in the afternoon. He began to run, heart pounding, praying that it wouldn't be 24 hours ... then went out of his mind.

* * *

Knuckles sat on the topmost peak of the island, leaning into the cold wind. The sky above was leaden and everything in sight was colorless and dull. The air held the scent of snow; it was a day best spent indoors by a fire. But Knuckles had come here to discuss a confidential subject with his father, and wanted no chance of being overheard.

He clamped the 2-D communicator/projector onto the rough stone, fingers stiff and clumsy with cold. He shook it to be sure it was secure, then flipped it on. The tiny lens slowly began to glow a bright green, and a hazy square patch came into view above it. Knux thrust his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders. He hoped this wouldn't take too long--windchill was somewhere below zero and he would be too stiff to climb back down.

"Dad," he said as the square image defined itself into higher resolution. "Dad, are you there?"

A well-known voice came from the com's speaker. "I'm here, Knux."

Abruptly the picture came into focus, and Knuckles father, Locke Echidna, was visible. His face appeared to be an older version of his son's, although he did not seem very old. He, too, was dressed in heavy clothing. "What is it? Your message was 'urgent' status."

Knuckles drew a deep breath. "I need to know about the eighth chaos emerald."

Locke stiffened. "What about it?"

Knux explained about the strangers and the box Sonic had opened, the madness and exile. Locke was silent a long moment after Knuckles finished, eyes downcast. At last he looked back at his son and said, "There's a lot to tell about it, and I can't here because this is an open frequency. Tell you what. You know the script engraved on the Master emerald's pedestal?"

"Yeah," Knuckles replied, perking up. "The stuff that doesn't make any sense?"

"Yes. Try reading it right to left, bottom to top." His eyes took on a teasing glint. "I hope you know how to read Old Mobian."

"I sure do!" Knuckles replied proudly.

"Anyway," Locke continued, "it's all about the rogue emerald and every time it has come into contact with our ancestors. You'll find everything you ever wanted to know there."

"Wow, thanks! Or, as Sonic says, 'cool'."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah Dad, thanks."

. . .

Knuckles beamed down in Hidden Palace, a notebook under one arm. He was excited; he had often tried to decipher the writing on the Master emerald's pedestal, but it made no sense. Now that he knew the secret he couldn't wait to try again.

He dashed across the polished floor, between the softly glowing super emeralds on their pedestals and to the six-foot broad Master emerald pedestal. His eyes immediately flew to the lower right corner and followed the characters to the left. "Herein is contained an account of the Controller Chaos Emerald and--" The echidna seated himself on the floor, opened his notebook and began to copy down the inscription.

* * *

When Sonic came to the following day, he was surprised to discover that he recalled sections of the previous day, which had been spent in madness. He remembered breaking the sound barrier and accelerating to Mach 2, at which speed he travelled for as long as he could. He remembered taking a broad road up the side of a mountain and being completely spent by the time he reached the top, and being horribly angry because of it.

He was lying on a steep, forested mountainside. He was surprisingly unhurt, but very hungry. He opened his backpack (he never seemed to notice it while insane) and scarfed several hotdogs, hardly bothering to slap them into buns first. It had been an entire day since he had last eaten.

It took him a month to reach Xixa. Every so often the emerald madness would hit him and throw him off course, and he would have to find his way back to the road he was following. He stopped by three different towns to buy food and supplies, and was relieved to discover he was now 500 miles from home. Maybe he could settle down someplace and wait out the winter.

Snow. A cloud front blew in and stayed for three days. When it cleared the mountains were blanketed in two feet of white. A wet, shivering Sonic made a pit stop in one of the little towns and bought himself snowpants and a pair of snowshoes. He also purchased a tent, as it was now far too cold to sleep in the open.

This exhausted what money he had brought with him, so he stayed in one place for eight days, working in a lumbermill. It was hard work, but it was a good feeling to know that he could support himself and wouldn't starve.

His insanity had toned down somewhat. He now went three or four days at a stretch without a fit, and the eternal haze had lifted from his mind. With this came something he had not yet felt--homesickness.

One bitter, windy day, he made it to Xixa.

It was a nice little town, tucked away neatly in a small valley between two ridges. Sonic checked into a motel and slept in a bed for the first time in weeks. But the next day, bored and alone, he was hit by a wave of homesickness so strong he wanted to cry. As a result, he dug out the computer Sally had given him.

It had taken some hard knocks and was a bit scratched, but still worked. Sonic figured out the mail program with a little effort, wrote a short note and sent it off into cyberspace. While he waited for a reply, the hedgehog bundled up and walked out into the snowy street. He needed a new road map for this area.

As he looked at a few maps in a coffee shop, he overheard a conversation that meant little at the time, but turned out to be very significant later. Two bobcats were sitting at the counter, drinking hot coffee and talking in low voices.

"Well, so far the search has been unsuccessful. He could be anywhere in these mountains."

"How long before it becomes critical?"

"Another four months is the maximum. He MUST be located by that time."

"Have the other teams had any luck?"

"None at all. It's as if he vanished."

Sonic assumed they were part of some search and rescue and thought no more of it.

When he arrived back at his room, the little computer had a 'message waiting' notice on the screen. Eagerly he opened it and read the letter.

Sally had written it, apparently. She wrote an enthusiastic letter telling him how worried they had been, how the Freedom Fighters were, how much it had snowed and how much they missed him. Slasher had finished it out by asking how he was, how his madness was going and if he needed anything. Tacked onto the file was an attachment. Curious, Sonic opened it.

It was a text file written by Knuckles. There was a short note in the top that said, "Sonic, I've been researching the 8CE like you asked me to, and I found a monster archive of history. It was way too long to put into the computer, so I compiled it into the following. Hope it helps."

Sonic's eyes scanned the file without much interest; then several phrases caught his attention ... 'controls the Seven' 'frenzied power-lust' 'madness' ... He went back to the beginning and began to read.

"Herein is contained an account of the Controller Chaos Emerald and its effects upon our kind.

"The Seven chaos are highly unstable and often uncontrollable. Several of our physics scientists, however, had learned of a lone emerald with the power to restrain and control the Seven.

"This took place during the Power Wars of 1960. We feared for the safety of our island; the Master Emerald was taxed greatly to keep it afloat, as the Seven Warriors of the Island had taken the Super emeralds into battle, and the Chaos Emeralds were at the peak of their most violent cycle. None of our experts could wield them safely.

"A secret expedition was sent to the Controller Emerald's location. It was collected in the end, but not without extensive loss to the team. The remaining three returned in triumph, bearing with them the thrice-accursed gem. It was given into the hands of the Guardian, whose name was Sasnak. He took the emerald to the underground Palace in an attempt to bring the Seven under his control. In this he failed; the Controller Emerald consumed his mind with a frenzied power-lust. He took the Seven for himself in his madness, and they revealed to him the hiding place of the Emerald Sword, which contains the other half of the Controller Emerald."

Sonic gasped.

"He was stopped before he could find it and restrained, but the Controller Emerald had unforeseen effects on the Master Emerald, forcing it into dormancy. Our island seemed doomed to crash into the great sea, but one of the Seven Warriors returned, bearing his Super Emerald, and reactivated the Master before all was lost.

"Sasnak never recovered from the madness, and Guardianship passed to his son. He decreed that the Controller Emerald be returned to its former location and never brought to the Floating Island again; but one of his officials, secretly thirsting for power, concealed it among his own possessions ..."

And so it went, good Guardians and bad Guardians, betrayals, murders, huge hunts for the gem and terrible things resulting once it was found. The only echidna ever to recover from the madness was the one and only ever to submit to the six-month exile. He returned fully recovered and was one of the wisest Guardians the Floating Island had ever seen. He was the one responsible for building the emerald's box and hiding it away.

At the end of the report was another note from Knuckles. "So there IS hope for you, Sonic. Hang in there."

Sonic wrote a reply with a lump in his throat, longing to see his friends and more homesick than ever.

* * *

She stood before the cougar, wrapped in a heavy black robe with a hood, looking into his face but not into his eyes.

"I wish to know his location and condition, nothing more," he growled. "You will be fully compensated. Will you comply?"

She stood a moment and considered the offer, eyes on the snow under his heavy boots. "You will not hurt him?" she asked.

Nash shook his head. "Of course not. I only want to talk to him."

After another moment she lifted her head and again looked into the evil face. "I'll do it."

* * *

After examining his new map with bland interest, he selected a large dot called 'Ironhedge'. It appeared to be a fairly large city and was some 400 miles to the southeast. He wanted to keep moving and maybe outdistance the emerald's power.

A few days went by. Sonic exchanged email with Knothole several times a day, but toward the end of the week the fog began to creep into his head again, and he felt with despair that it was time to get away again.

But this time, as he packed up and began hiking through the mountains, the fog in his head reversed and 'over-focused'. His thoughts came and went at lightspeed, keeping his mind so busy he was exhausted by sunset. It seemed to be part of the madness; he had only two 12-hour crazes in his entire journey to Ironhedge.

Most of the thoughts were strange--he had no idea where they came from. He had the sensation that there were two radios and five boom-boxes in his head, all competing for attention, but the voices always won out in one way or another.

"What are you doing here? Why are you in these mountains, trudging through the snow? Seriously, how bad could becoming evil be?" Snatches of assorted music. "You went through it with the sword's mind-control and you fought it out. Why couldn't you master the emerald too? After all, it WAS the same power, right?" More music and the memory of his glimpse of light inside the box. "What does it matter? None of your friends really care, or they'd be out here with you. They just wanted you out of the village. Face it, they're probably rejoicing right now because you're gone."

These were the lightest of his thoughts.

One day the fever in his head was so intense he gazed into a deep, rocky ravine and actually considered jumping in, if only to make the voices stop.

"You're in the dark, totally and completely. Feel it, Sonic? Feel the utter blackness of it? It's evil--an evil you want. You want that emerald--it's the only way out. Exile will never work. It's hopeless."

He stopped and stood in the snow, breathing hard into the cold air. "That's wrong!" he shouted into the stillness. His echo was flung back to him from a nearby ridge--"Wrong, wrong, wrong!"

"But how do you know? Is there a light you can see? No, light is only a myth--there IS no light for the darkness inside you." He had no answer. He saw himself in his mind's eyes, floundering in darkness with nothing solid anywhere. Again, that maddening music was there, mocking him: "When I reached down inside me, I could feel the emptiness ..."

He preferred madness to this.

* * *

At last, after ages of slogging through snow, sleeping by a feeble campfire, eating cold food, listening to his thoughts and the howl of timber wolves, he topped the last ridge and saw the valley below. The mountains fell away in row upon row into hazy greenness, criss-crossed with roads and patched with plowed fields. It was a relief to his eyes, which had looked upon only white and blue and black for so long. He started forward with renewed vigor.

As he descended the mountains, he discovered with a shock that it was not cold. The lower he went the warmer it was. By the time he reached the valley floor it was a balmy 80ºF. He consulted his map and found that he was only about 2000 miles from the equator--they had a rainy season here, not really a winter. The air smelled of damp earth and mud.

And there were people. People walking, people on hoverbikes, in cars, in transports flying overhead, everywhere. It was nice to be in civilization again, but a shock to see the multitude of Mobians.

After an hour of hiking along a road in the warm sun (he had taken off his heavy clothing and snowshoes long before this), he reached a sort of bus stop with an number of animals standing around, waiting. Sonic approached a badger and asked him how to get to Ironhedge. The badger gave a grunting laugh that smelled of cigarettes and said, "Wait here 'nother minit an' the bus'll take ya there."

A moment later a towering bus roared down on them, pulled up to the curb and opened its doors. Sonic boarded it with the others and sat back for the ride.

In what seemed like a few seconds they were in the city, surrounded by buildings, powerlines and trees. Sonic stared out the big window in amazement. It reminded him vaguely of Robotropolis, but with a few differences; there were no robots, the smog wasn't bad and there were trees and other vegetation used in landscaping.

Then the bus was slowing down and everyone was disembarking. Sonic got off with them and found himself standing on the hot, glaring street, surrounded by a crowd of strangers who all wanted to be elsewhere. It was culture shock in every sense of the word.

He began to drift with the flow along the sidewalk, an inconspicuous blue hedgehog carrying a dirty backpack over one shoulder. He had never seen so many people in his life. Looking at them was so interesting he walked three blocks without realizing it. He paused only once; he spied a wanted poster on the side of a building, and with a start recognized the face it displayed--Robo Knux. The robot had killed several people for the fun of it and was regarded as 'armed and extremely dangerous'. This brought a large grin to the traveller's face. Slowly he began to notice other things: the skyscrapers high above him, the roar of traffic and smell of exhaust, the clatter of feet and the chatter of voices, the sun beating down on his head, the weight of his backpack ... He was suddenly tired. His five senses were on overload, but it was good; his mind was too busy processing to toy with insanity.

After a bit of searching he found a motel that was cheap enough for him to afford. He went to his room, locked the door, flopped on the bed and slept for three hours. He didn't realize he had slept until he awoke and looked at his watch. "Oh my gosh," he yawned, "I took a nap!" He was still bone-tired from his weeks of strenuous hiking. Perhaps he should stick around for a while and rest.

Now that he had reached his destination he ought to write home. He dug out the little computer, brushed dust from its cover, flipped the screen open and turned it on. Everything was just as he had left it. He wrote a half-hearted note, sent it off to Knothole, shut the screen, rolled over and slept for another hour.

Even though his madness was still with him, he stayed in Ironhedge for six weeks, working to earn enough cash to see him through the rest of his exile. He became miserably depressed and the letters from home seemed to add to it. Christmas was coming and he was unable to go home, even for a day. One of his lowest days was when he admitted this in a letter: "I wish there was a letup in this darn thing so I could come home for Christmas."

One of the things he learned about his insanity was that he did not like waking up in the middle of nowhere. For this reason he bought himself a pair of heavy-duty handcuffs. When his 'running madness' started coming on, he would flee the city, hide in the woods somewhere and cuff himself to a tree. Thus he would awaken hours later, wrists chafed, but in the same place.

December went by uneventfully. Sonic thought it strange for it to be warm and rainy in the middle of winter, but reminded himself that the further south you went the more the seasons reversed.

It was January before anything of interest happened.

Sonic had decided that he liked the city and would stay put until his time was up, but one day something happened that made him wary of ever staying put again.

He was sitting in the motel lobby one Saturday afternoon, gazing absently out the front windows at the people going by, listening to the voices in his head and trying not to answer them; as this drew stares from all directions. There was a multitude of pedestrians out there--it had rained all morning and the sun was now out, glaring on the wet pavement.

As Sonic sat there he half-noticed a hedgehog pass by in the crowd. Big deal; he had seen several hedgehogs while here. A moment later the same hedgehog walked back by the front of the motel. A little later he passed by again. Sonic began to watch him. Why was that guy doing that?

As the stranger walked by for the fourth time, he turned his head and gazed through the window at Sonic. Their eyes met for an instant and Sonic recognized him. He had seen him before ... an orange hedgehog ... wait, that night so long ago--a disfigured echidna and an orange hedgehog.

Trying to act nonchalant but burning with curiosity, Sonic got up and went to the door. When the orange hedgehog walked by again he stepped out and confronted him. "What do you want?"

The stranger pressed a finger to his lips, grabbed Sonic's arm and forced him to walk along beside him so as not to attract attention. "Sonic," he said urgently, keeping his voice low, "you have to get out of Ironhedge. They're gonna kill you tonight."

"Who are?" Sonic asked in disbelief.

The stranger glanced at the crowd around them and said, "I can't talk here. Get your stuff and meet me in the alley behind the motel in ten minutes." With that he released Sonic's arm and vanished down the street.

Sonic made his way back inside the motel and up to his room in a daze. All of a sudden that mad rush of thoughts was upon him again. "Kill me? Who? Why? Who IS that guy? Should I trust him? What if HE wants to hurt me? He and his friend gave me the emerald, after all. But his eyes ..." A vision of the stranger's face flashed through his head-- the pleading, terrified expression. Could that face mask someone capable of murder? Maybe not ...

Sonic slowly put his few thing into his backpack and slipped into the shoulder straps. The familiar weight dug into his shoulders as he stood. Then his feet, through no will of his own, carried him out of the building.

The other hedgehog was waiting for him in the alley, as promised, but dancing with impatience. "Hurry," he said as Sonic approached. "We have to get a move on. They're already here, watching. We've gotta get outta here. C'mon!"

He led Sonic from the alley and down a sidestreet. Sonic looked him over as they went along. The hedgehog was of a lighter build than himself, and an inch or so shorter. He was a rich pumpkin color all over but for his face, chest and arms. He wore dirty green sneakers with two yellow straps around them. With a shock Sonic realized that this kid could be his almost-identical-twin if he were blue. "What's your name?" he asked.

The stranger sideyed him, gulped and muttered something.

"What?" Sonic asked, not quite catching it.

"Jason," was the answer. "I'm Jason. Shh."

They spoke not a word as they worked their way out of Ironhedge. As soon as they reached the farmland on the outskirts of the city and were certain they were not being followed, Jason stopped. "Okay Sonic, I've got to lay down some rules. You DO NOT ask me where I'm from, got it?"

Sonic nodded.

"No questions."

Sonic nodded.

"No talking to strangers. If we get stopped _I_ do the talking. Okay?"

Sonic nodded, raising an eyebrow. This was getting interesting.

The orange hedgehog held up four fingers. "You tell me when you're gonna go crazy, got it?"

Sonic smirked. "Okay, Captain, you've got it. Now you've gotta permit me this much. Who are we running from?"

Jason started walking again and Sonic fell into step beside him. Jason glanced all around before speaking, although they were obviously alone. "Okay, I think you already know that I'm from the future. Well, there's this really bad dude in my time named Commander Nash. He has all seven chaos emeralds but needs the eighth one to make his power complete. He had just found it when--" He stopped abruptly, glanced at Sonic, then down at the ground.

"What?" Sonic prompted.

Jason licked his lips nervously. "Uh, well, we got it away from him somehow, and me and Simoon brought it to the past, thinking we'd get rid of it. But Nash found out and came here, only to find that you'd won ownership of the emerald. That's why you're nutty." He snickered. "The only way for Nash to win it for himself it to kill you. He had finally tracked you down and he was gonna get you tonight. I heard 'em talking."

"Oh." They walked along in silence for a while as Sonic's not-so- calm mind worked through this information. "What's this Nash-guy look like?"

Jason held a hand as high as he could reach. "He's a really tall cougar. He's got kind of red-gold-brown fur and a white belly and black around his eyes. He always wears his blue and purple uniform. Oh, and he has a big ol' cape that reminds me of Darth Vader."

"Uh-huh. Where're we going?"

Jason shrugged. "I donno. I was sorta thinking Joston, but it's a little far."

Sonic pulled his worn roadmap out of a pocket on his pack. "Joston? Let's see, J-O-S--oh, here it is. 'Bour two hundred miles east of here." He glanced at his companion. "Why there?"

Jason shrugged again. "Well, we've gotta keep moving so Nash's army don't find us. They're mostly bobcats."

Bobcats. Sonic remembered the two bobcats in Xixa discussing their failure in a search for a missing person. HE was the missing person! "I've seen them," Sonic said, "but I didn't know who they were."

"Did they see you?"

"I don't think so."

This seemed to trouble Jason, and he answered all other questions in monosyllabic grunts.

To reach Joston, they would have to travel over the mountains again (the range formed a crescent from north to southeast). This would take several weeks at the least, as Jason complained that he couldn't run sixty miles an hour.

Sonic didn't know what to make of his companion. Sometimes the orange hedgehog would talk freely about anything; Sonic found that his favorite sport was street hockey, he lived in what was known as New Mobitropolis, he had two younger sisters, and Simoon the echidna was his best friend. In the midst of his chatter he would suddenly clam up, drop his eyes and say no more for a long time. It kept Sonic very curious, indeed.

The mountains were lower than the northern ones and had no snow. But that did not mean they lacked freezing temperatures and strong winds. Sonic and Jason took refuge in a steep-sided gully for the night. They couldn't keep a file lit because of the wind, and so passed a night much like Sonic's first one, but with the added comfort of one another's company.

It was during this miserable night that Sonic sent his last note to Knothole: "Something funny going on. With a friend. Going to Joston. Sonic." His letters became very cryptic when the madness came on full force.

And indeed, it was running on high gear. He did not develop the running madness, thankfully, but the insanity gripped his mind with alarming intensity. He sank into depression and everything that came out of his mouth was morbid. He hit Jason with everything that was tormenting him, spreading the depression to both of them.

"I'm so dark, Jason. Everything is dark. It's sickening. How can you tell what's good and bad? Does anybody even care?" He brushed a hand over his forehead as if to wipe away cobwebs. "I need a light. I need a light or I--I'll--I'll do something I'll regret afterward."

The orange hedgehog looked at him with a sort of horror. "But Sonic ... there IS a light ..."

"Tell me." Sonic's eyes were dead. "Tell me how you know."

Jason tried and failed. He couldn't find the words to grasp the concepts he was thinking of, and Sonic's direct stare unnerved him.

In return, Sonic continued to aim his venom at him.

Day after dreary day this continued, the sane and insane plodding alongside each other, the insane one so unlike himself that the sane one lived in fear of him.

One night they camped in a little valley between ridges. The wind had dropped, clouds covered the stars and the temperature lowered. For the first time in a week they were able to keep a fire going and enjoyed a hot meal. Sonic, still tortured by his inner turmoil, was silent as they ate, then bedded down without a word. Jason was careful to sleep several feet away from him; at the moment Sonic was the last person he trusted.

Sonic's sleep was fitful and haunted by bizarre dreams. He tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable on the lumpy ground, often muttering incoherently. He awakened somewhere around midnight and lay looking at the fire. The logs had settled into a bed of glowing coals. He knew he should get up and put another log on, but the air in his face was bitterly cold and his sleeping bag was warm. His eyes lifted to the dark sky. There were no stars and the night was black as pitch. He could barely make out Jason's sleeping bag on the other side of the fire. The other hedgehog was hidden from sight, burrowed into the center of his bag, the blankets rising and falling with his breathing. Sonic's maniac thoughts were still with him.

"Who is that kid? Why is he so intent on helping me? If he wasn't so scared of me I'd say he made up that Nash person and brought me out here to kill me. But I'm older, bigger and tougher than him, so that doesn't make sense. "I wish this thing would stop. He scared of me even when I'm normal. Wonder why." Heavy-metal music from somewhere, blaring in his mind. "Wish he could answer the voices for me. If they got answered I could almost bet they'd shut up."

His eyes dropped shut, then flicked open again. He needed to put another log on or the fire would be dead by morning. He turned his head toward the fire and started to roll over and froze. Was Jason up? No, he had not moved--the night itself had become tangible and curved itself over him. Sonic lay motionless without breathing. What WAS that? Had the madness extended to his vision now? Was he dreaming? No, thing was moving--it was solid black. It seemed to be trying to locate Jason in the folds of his sleeping bag.

Rage. The instinct to protect the helpless arose in his heart. Sonic tore out of his sleeping bag, hurtled the fire and dove at the black shape, eyes afire with pure hatred of the unknown monster. His outstretched hands met something solid--someONE dressed in a heavy cloak. The force of his rush sent it tumbling backward with him on top of it, seeking a vital spot through the fabric. It struggled wildly and screamed in a whisper, "Sonic! Sonic, stop it!" An oddly familiar girl's voice. He backed off abruptly, fight burning within him. "Tell me who you are, quick, before I kill you with my bare hands." His voice was strange to his ears.

The figure sat up and pulled her hood back. In the dim light he saw her pointed face and long hair--an echidna. He couldn't quite make out her color in the dark. Her eyes were sharp and cold. "My name is Winstrom. I was trying to make sure this wasn't one of Nash's camps."

Sonic tossed another log on the fire. As it blazed up she pulled her hood back on, hiding her face.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" He was calming down. He could handle a girl echidna.

"No," she replied. "I've never seen you before." Something about her tone said otherwise, as if she weren't used to lying.

"Then how'd you know who I am?"

"Everybody knows you, Sonic."

He thought about that for a second in surprise, then asked, "What do you want?"

"I needed a place to sleep tonight. Would you mind if I rolled out my bag by the fire, here?" This was spoken as if carefully rehearsed.

Sonic wished he could see her face. "Sure," he said guardedly, "and you can come with us tomorrow, if you want."

"Where are you going?"

"Joston."

"No, I'm going to Ironhedge. Thanks anyway. I'll leave at dawn so I don't get in your way."

Sonic climbed back into his sleeping bag and watched as Winstrom unrolled hers (she had been carrying it somewhere under her robe). She climbed into it without a word, and without removing her black cloak or hood. He watched her for a long time, deeply suspicious. He was certain he had seen her before. As he began to doze, a memory leaped to life in his head--a girl echidna, robotized from the throat down. Zephyer. But no, this couldn't be her. She had drowned while trying to save them from an attacking enemy. Besides, this echidna wasn't robotized ... then he was asleep.

* * *

The next morning the echidna was gone without a trace. Jason was skeptical when Sonic told him about it. "Sonic, we haven't seen another soul for weeks. We're out here in the boonies, and you mean to tell me that some girl came and spent the night?" He gazed into Sonic's eyes searchingly. "Sure it wasn't a hallucination?"

Sonic glared at him in mad rage. "It wasn't a hallucination, idiot. I know the difference between what's real and what ain't. She was here and she let before we woke up. That's all."

Jason didn't trust his judgement and there was contention between them all day because of it. The next morning Jason asked Sonic half- mockingly if he had seen any pink elephants during the night, which put Sonic into a seriously bad mood for the rest of the day.

A few more days went by. Sonic was becoming increasingly fed up with the slow pace and Jason's company. He simply didn't care for the hedgehog's company, and this was intensified fourfold one fateful day.

The terrain was becoming more and more rough. Most of their time was spent climbing a hill, descending the rocky slope on the other side and struggling up the next. Sonic ached for a good run, and Jason's protests against this chafed him even worse than it would have before.

The blue hedgehog's craze was subsiding somewhat, and for hours at a time he was completely lucid. It was these times that he most loathes Jason's company and longed for the Freedom Fighters. One of these times he pulled out the little laptop, flipped it open and fired it up as they walked. Jason didn't notice him, eyes fixed on the hilltop above them. Suddenly the orange hedgehog said, "Hey Sonic, wanna race up this hill?"

The query was so unexpected that Sonic stared at him for a second, mouth hanging open. Then he replied, "Sure, be happy to!" and was off like a shot, the forgotten computer clutched in one hand.

At first Jason was left behind, but presently Sonic's ears caught the sound of pounding feet and he pulled up along side, running as Sonic did with arms held high against his sides, out of danger of his flying feet. His eyes mirrored Sonic's love of speed. As they raced up the mountainside, Sonic caught a glimpse of Jason's real personality--a kid with a crazy craving for speed. Even so, as they neared the top, Sonic began to pull ahead. "Ha!" he shouted as he crested the hill, then set his brakes with a gasp.

The far side of the hill fell away in a sheer cliff to a river far below.

Sonic couldn't stop soon enough at the speed he had achieved and skittered off the edge. Fortunately, as he fell, he was able to grab onto the overhanging brush. His momentum slammed him painfully into the side of the cliff, but he hung on and Jason was able to help him up.

The blue hedgehog was furious.

"You creep! You knew it was a cliff, didn't you? You were trying to kill me, weren't you?!?"

Jason's face was ashen--Sonic's fall had frightened him immeasurably. He held up his hands. "I--I didn't know! I'm sorry! Really!"

Sonic rubbed his side where he had hit the cliff. "Yeah, bet you are," he said darkly. Suddenly he realized his hands were empty. He looked around for the computer, then stepped to the edge of the cliff and looked down. He could just barely make out the twisted plastic shape on the rocks below. He groaned. "Oh NO! I must have dropped it when I fell!" He shot a sharp glare at his companion. "That was our only communication with the outside world. Congrats, Jase. You've just been accepted into JA--Jerks Anonymous." He stalked away from him stiff-legged, wishing he wouldn't follow but knowing he would.

The two didn't speak for hours. Sonic was nursing a deep grudge, enjoying the hate in a morbid sort of way. The only problem was that Jason didn't become angry--only more timid than ever, which intensified Sonic's disgust in him.

One day not long after this, the two semi-enemy hedgehogs topped the last wind-swept hill under an overcast sky and looked upon their destination; the little town called Joston.

"All right!" Sonic exclaimed, punching a fist into the air. "Time to get me a chili dog!" And get away from Jason the Jerk, he added to himself. Jason looked a bit grim, but fell into step beside Sonic without a word.

They only made it halfway down the hillside above the town, however. Jason said, "Uh oh. Looks like somebody's coming to greet us."

They stopped and gazed toward it uncertainly. Indeed, a lone figure was climbing the hill as hard as it could. Sonic folded his arms and leaned into the cold wind, eyes fixed on the approaching stranger. It was only fifty feet away now, running where it could and scrambling along on all fours when it couldn't. Sonic squinted. It was dressed in a dark blue coat and pants, but its head was red with long dreadlocks-- an echidna. He immediately thought of the strange girl who had caused so much strife between himself and his companion. If this was her, he thought, he would make Jason eat crow--

It wasn't her.

As it drew closer it lifted its head and looked toward them. Sonic was startled to see it had but one eye--the right side of its face had been burned away. Jason recognized the stranger before Sonic did. "Simoon!" he exclaimed, and ran out to help the echidna up the last few feet. "Si! Whaddya DOIN' here?" Sonic heard him ask.

Simoon couldn't answer at first. He put his hands on his knees, gasping oxygen into his lungs. After a moment he grabbed enough breath to gasp out, "Mr. Hedgehog, don't--go down--there!" He paused for a breath. "Nash's guys're down there waiting." Another gasp. "They knew you were coming!"

Jason shot a horrified glance at Sonic, who returned it. "Wonderful. What do we do now?"

"Get out of here," Simoon panted, his good eyes full of fear. "I'm sure I was spotted. They'll shoot anybody who so much as looks at you, Mr. Hedgehog!"

Jason punched his arm.

"Sonic," the echidna hastily corrected.

Sonic decided to ignore this for the time being and grabbed their hands. "Hold on--I'm givin' us a one-way ticket outta here." He whirled and charged across the hillside at top speed.

He ran for the better part of an hour, his flying feet putting miles between them and Joston. His mind was also going full blast. Nash must be real because of the terror he invoked in these two kids. How did they get to the past? They couldn't just time-warp, like on Little Planet. Maybe they had some kind of time-technology, like the Time Rippers. Too bad about the computer--he would have liked to have Sally run a search on 'Commander Nash'. Well, maybe not, if he was from the future, too.

Suddenly a thought hit him and his heart nearly stopped with the implication. That girl echidna--he had told her they were going to Joston. Was that how the enemy--if there was an enemy--knew their destination?

He pondered this as he ran, but by the time he ran out of energy he had also run out of answers. All he had were endless questions, some of which his companions knew the answers to. 'Mr.' Hedgehog? What was that supposed to mean?

The blue hedgehog dropped to a walk and glanced around at Jason and Simoon. The two were gasping for breath and trying to stand. "You okay?" he asked, smirking. The echidna looked at him with his one eye and seemed about to say something, but the orange hedgehog elbowed him sharply and said, "Yeah, we're fine."

Again Sonic let this slide. He would be able to weasel more info out of Simoon than Jason.

Jason ran a hand through his tangerine quills and gazed around. "Where are we now?"

Sonic looked around for the first time. They were standing on the side of a hill that blocked all view to their left. To their right the terrain fell away into a deep, forested valley, so wide they could barely see the far side. It looked rather inviting to Sonic, a native of the Great Forest. They could hear the rushing of the wind in the treetops; a roaring, like surf.

"Let's go camp down there," Simoon suggested, pretending not to notice the sudden gleam in Sonic's eyes.

"Yeah," Jason added. "We won't be so exposed and I won't lay awake nights waiting to get shot."

"Like you lay awake so much anyway," Sonic said sarcastically, shooting a pointed look at the hedgehog. The issue of the girl echidna was still fresh.

The three trekked down the hill and entered the forest, little realizing the seriousness of their mistake.

As they made they way through the windy woods, none of them thought to look up. Perched in one of the treetops was a lone bobcat, dressed in camouflage and riding the swaying limbs, watching them with piercing yellow eyes. As soon as they passed from sight he lifted a small communicator to his mouth and whispered, "They are here, Commander. They may now be taken at will."

The reply crackled softly, "Do it. I only want Sonic alive, Captain."

"Yes sir."

Now Sonic had never developed the hair-trigger senses of Slasher, and even his brother and sister were sharper than he. But suddenly he had the feeling of being watched. He glanced around, saw nothing and tried to shrug it off. Nevertheless it continued to grow, making the hair on his neck rise.

Suddenly Jason stopped, put a hand on Sonic's arm and murmured, "Something's wrong."

"Yeah," Simoon agreed, turning so his blind side was toward his companions and his good side was facing outward. "Somebody's watching us."

Maybe it wasn't his imagination after all. Almost for the first time Sonic thought of the tiny scanner Rotor had given him. "Wait a sec," he said, pulling his pack off and opening it. He finally located the scanner at the very bottom. He pulled it out and flipped it on.

He just had time to see the red dots that surrounded his green one when the laser struck his neck. Sonic staggered backward a few steps, dropped the scanner and clapped his hands to the wound. His companions didn't realize he had been hit. Jason was screaming, "No! Not again! Not again! Get down!"

More lasers zipping around them, shouts of, "Halt! Surrender!"

Sonic fell to his knees. It was so sudden--one moment he had been fine, the next he was mortally wounded. He could feel the searing heat of the blast and the warmth of his own blood on his hands. Was this how it felt to die? He coughed wrackingly and collapsed on his face in the pine needles.

* * *

But it was not a fatal blow.

The stunner had indeed ripped his flash, but being merely a stunner, harmed no major blood vessels or nerves. And thanks to his strange insanity, he did not truly lose consciousness.

"Motion. Somebody's carrying me. Harsh voices, bandages wrapped around my neck. Too tight. Too tight. I'm strangling. Breathe. Motion. A hovercraft of some kind, lying crosswise across the seat. Rough hands steadying me. Breathe. Now it's dark, lying near a campfire. Voices talking and laughing. Breathe. Heavy hands unstrapping the bandages. Gasp air into my tortured lungs. Another bandage applied, but not so tightly. Cold. Day again. Riding that hovercraft, swaying, being steadied by rough hands. Stop touching me; I won't fall off. Being lifted and carried into a dim place. My eyes won't open all the way. What's going on? Where am I? Where are Jason and Simoon? Holy smokes, who the heck was THAT? Those eyes! I've only seen eyes like that before on Mecha, or Robo Knux! Creepy. Alone now, lying in what I guess is a bed. Very quiet here. Can't wake up. Neck hurts. Those eyes ... Maybe I don't want to wake up.

"Hands again, touching my face and neck. Cold hands, heavy hands. A faint humming sound--where have I heard it before? Gone now.

"Alone. Alone with the emerald. Can't get away from it no matter how far I go. Only way out is to give up or give in. But what about the light? I've been looking for it. That's what the voices are talking about. The light I don't know. What is it? Jason knows, too chicken to explain. Slasher knows. She could tall me. She HAS told me, wish I'd paid more attention. What's the alternative? Too dark. Despair. Can't see. What IS the way out? Oh, hands again, more voices. Can't understand them--to far gone. What'll happen if I die? Where will I go? What will happen to me? I don't know. I've never known.

"Night and day. Which is which? No sense of time, trapped in the layers like this. Can't get back into my own. Might as well die--they'll kill me anyway. But I don't want to die. I'm too scared. There's no second chance once you're dead.

"Hands again, but these are gentle, like Slasher's. Cold, but gentle. Soft voice. A girl. Sally? Serena? No, I'm knot in Knothole. Who is that? What's she saying to me? Swim a little further into my layer, maybe I can understand. Can't quite get it. No, don't go. Come back. You were helping me surface. There she is again. Concentrate. That voice-- the words--c'mon, make sense. I can understand if I can just get close enough--"

Sonic's half-open eyes focused for the first time since he had been shot. He could see her, but it was some time before he recognized her as the mysterious girl echidna. She still wore the long black cloak, but her hood was off and he could see her clearly. She looked just like Zephyer--no, she couldn't be. Zephyer was dead. She was talking, not trying to make sense, just chanting things like poetry, trying to get through to him. It was working; Sonic was gradually pulling out of his stupor.

Try as he might, he couldn't build up enough strength to speak. His mouth seemed disconnected from the rest of his body and he couldn't find it. He had to content himself with looking at the stranger and listening to her voice.

Suddenly she quieted and stood. A door just out of Sonic's range of vision opened and someone entered the room. A low, sinister voice growled, "What are YOU doing here?"

Sonic thought you could ski on the ice in her voice. "I was trying help him wake up."

The person stepped into view. Sonic was glad he was too weak to move--it was a burly red robot he had hoped never to lay eyes on again. Its green crescent-eyes shimmered with displeasure as it glared at the girl, then turned and glanced at the motionless hedgehog. It placed one cold metallic hand on Sonic's chest, the eight-inch knuclaws conveniently near his throat. Come to think of it, Robo Knux had been here before-- Sonic recalled the cold, harsh touch and the soft hum of the robot's engines.

"He is not as deep as he was," Robo Knuckles observed blandly. "In fact he can probably hear us. Hello, Sonic. Nice to see you again. Get well soon. We have several interesting deaths planned for you." It was that twisted sense of humor that gave Sonic the creeps.

The robot removed his hand from Sonic's body, purred to the girl, "No double crossing, now. Ask him what I do to double-crossers," and left the room.

The echidna closed the door behind him, muttering, "I never thought I'd meet a robot who was worse than Metal Sonic." As she moved back to Sonic's bed she noticed that hie eyes followed her. "Are you awake?" she asked softly, genuinely surprised.

He managed a grunt in reply, the first sound he had made since his capture.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned toward him a little. "Don't try to talk; just listen.

"You were shot with a reverse-stunner; a weapon that stuns, then slowly kills with a kind of radiation. But you pulled through, 'cause you're awake." She drew a breath and looked at her hands in her lap. "We're in Nash's compound in a city called Diablo. We're about two thousand miles from your home. Nash wants you dead but needs to kill you himself, so he's letting you recover, stupid, isn't it? They let your two friends go. You've been out for almost a week now. I'm going to help you escape."

Sonic's first reaction was to shout, "What? Slow down--information overload, here!" But, as he couldn't do that, he simply moved his head in a nod. He had a million questions for her--Who is Nash? Why is Robo Knux here? Who are you REALLY?--but was unable to ask them. He gazed helplessly after the echidna as she rose to her feet, pulled on her hood and quietly left the room.

Several lonesome hours went by. The insanity was winding down in its usual cycle, and the hedgehog's mind was clear. He had a lot to think about. Those eyes he had seen that had given him such a start--it must have been Nash. Why hadn't he come in to check Sonic's progress? Maybe he should be glad he hadn't. The name Diablo sounded familiar. He was sure he had heard about it someplace--that it was not the model city. Why was she going to help him escape? Hadn't she ratted on him in the first place? R.K. warned her about being a double-crosser. Whose side was she on?

He dozed lightly, feeling his strength slowly recharging and hoping he would be strong enough to make good his escape. His room was featureless but for a small barred window and a door in one wall. The girl would have to help him--he had no idea where he was, even if he did somehow break out.

The light outside began to fade toward dusk. Sonic slept fitfully, one hand always playing at the bandage on his neck; it itched. Just before it grew too dark to see, the hedgehog got up and moved around a little. To his surprise his body was stronger than he had assumed--he felt almost normal. It was only his head that didn't feel right; probably an after-effect of the stunner.

The door was locked and the window too heavily barred to break through. He was trapped. Might as well play possum until somebody came.

* * *

Jason and Simoon had been released, as the girl had said. Nash's men had taken Sonic and roared away on hoverbikes, leaving the other two behind, frightened and bewildered. It was not until they were out of sight that the orange hedgehog grabbed his friend's hand and took off after them.

But even with his superb running abilities, Jason was only able to follow them for a couple hours. He finally staggered to a halt and dropped to his knees in the wiry grey grass, wheezing softly. "I can't do it, Si," he moaned. "I'm just not strong enough! Not strong enough--" The despair and frustration was evident on his face. He pounded a fist against the dry grass.

Simoon trotted to the top of the next hill and gazed into the distance. After a moment he returned. "Despite my monocular vision I can still see them. They are an average distance of twelve kilometers away. They seem to be moving in a straight line for Diablo."

Jason looked up at him. "Huh?"

Simoon rolled his eye and crossed his arms. "They're only about four and a half miles away, Jase. If they're going to Diablo we can take our time."

"TAKE our TIME?" the hedgehog exclaimed. He had regained his breath somewhat and leaped to his feet. "Si, if they kill Sonic I'm dead! Don't you understand?!?" His dark eyes were wild. "Don't you realize that everything that's happening is effecting our time directly? If they kill him things'll be so bad it'll be unreal! Robotnik would never have been defeated! Metal Sonic's strike force would have been unleashed! Chaos would have flooded Mobius!"

The dark echidna looked down. "I didn't think about that."

Discussing the possibilities had give Jason a new burst of energy. "C'mon, let's go!" And they were off again.

* * *

Sonic was standing at the barred window, trying restlessly to see out, when he heard footfalls in the hallway outside his door. He dove onto the bed, pulled the blanket up and was looking sufficiently ill when the door opened.

But it was not the girl. Instead a giant black figure stepped inside, ducking its head to avoid the doorframe. Sonic tensed himself, ready for anything, and tried to steady his breathing. The figure stood beside his bed and glowered down at him. Its eyes glowed like live coals--yellow cat-eyes--the same eyes Sonic had seen before. He could see little of its body in the darkness; only the eyes. It stared at him until he began to squirm inwardly, then placed its hands on either side of him and leaned into his face.

"I know you're faking, Sonic Hedgehog," Nash snarled.

Sonic could count the long white teeth and had to concentrate to keep from shrinking away.

"Winstrom reported you were doing better," the big cat continued, eyes like flame, hot breath in his victim's face. "I will destroy you at dawn tomorrow. You see, Sonic, I am after the eighth chaos emerald, and it is directing its' power to you. In order to direct it to me, I must kill you personally." He lifted a big hand into the light coming through the window and clenched it into a fist. "I have the strength in this one hand to crush your pitiful body to dust." He stood up, glowing eyes fixed on Sonic's terrified face. "Do not underestimate me, hedgehog."

Then he was gone, locking the door behind him.

Sonic lay perfectly still for a long time afterward, breath coming fast and heart hammering furiously.

* * *

About midnight Sonic's door again opened. This time it was the girl echidna. He sat up when he saw who it was and whispered, "Why did you tell him I was better?"

"I had no choice," she whispered back. "Here, put this on." She handed him a folded garment.

He stood and unfolded it. It was a black cloak and hood, like her own. He quickly slipped into it.

"Now," she whispered, handing him a pair of socks, "put these on over your shoes. It'll muffle your footsteps."

He obeyed, noticing that she too was wearing socks over her shoes. "I feel like an idiot," he whispered as he stood.

"It's better than feeling like a shish-ka-bob," she replied. "Follow me and no talking until we're out of the prison. The halls amplify all sound." She went to the door and beckoned for him to follow her. He pulled his cloak around him and did.

The hall outside was pitch black, the polished floor smooth as glass. Sonic moved cautiously; his socked feet tended to slip around. He vaguely imagined that this was the kind of place where ladies in high-heels walked with that peculiar pock, pock, pock sound.

They padded down the silent hall, paused at a junction and turned right. Sonic looked around constantly. Nash and Robo Knux were in here somewhere. What if they were spotted? Would they be gunned down on sight? Could his escort be trusted? He gulped. She might very well be leading him to his execution. But if he couldn't trust her, who COULD he trust?

The faint shuffling of their feet against the floor seemed as loud as air-traffic to Sonic's pricked ears. His heart was in his mouth every other minute. If only he had his emerald belt--

It dawned on him suddenly: Nash had mentioned the eighth chaos emerald by name and it had not disturbed Sonic. In fact, he had felt normal since awakening from the stunner. "It may be too early to tell," he thought to himself, "but I may be pulling out of the madness!"

They turned a corner and came to a large room with big glass windows composing the front wall. Streetlights outside illuminated the room and for the first time Sonic could see clearly. It looked like an office--a receptionist's desk, chairs for waiting, houseplants. Why in the heck was he in a prison? he wondered with a start.

The girl led him across the room and to one of the doors. She fiddled with the lock, then held the door open and motioned for him to step outside. He did and was struck by a wall of heat--it felt like mid-summer! He waited as she carefully shut and locked the door, then murmured to him, "You can take off your socks now."

He did, feeling stupid, and only slightly less so when she did the same.

She stood erect, glanced around furtively, then said, "Follow me, and pull your hood down." She reached out and pulled it further over his face, cutting off his vision.

"I can't see," he complained.

She pulled it around some. As she did his eyes fell on her extended arms. She wore gloves that covered her hands and wrists, but the bit that showed between that and her cloak gleamed silver in the dim light.

She noticed his stare and abruptly withdrew, hiding her hands under her robe. "C'mon," she said curtly, wheeled and strode away. He followed and fell into step beside her.

"You're robotized?" he asked softly.

She shot him a savage glare and didn't answer.

"I'll take that as a yes."

She didn't look at him.

"How much?"

No answer.

Tiring of this one-sided conversation, Sonic looked around at his surroundings. They were walking along a street in the depths of some city. All the shops were rather broken down, sporting cardboard in the windows and peeling paint. Every so often a car would go by, invisible except for the head and taillights. Ragged-looking people walked the sidewalks or stood in groups under the streetlights. It did NOT feel like a safe place to be; perhaps that was why they were wearing black.

"What's your real name?" he asked her.

She sideyed him. "I told you. Winstrom."

"Not."

She looked at him angrily. "What do you want me to say?"

"Your real name," Sonic said coolly. "You're too smart to give Nash your real name."

"Not now," she replied. "We've got company."

Sonic looked around and saw the three thugs coming up behind them. He had never seen wolverines before--they had all black fur with an orange stripe starting at their noses and tracing down to the tips of their broad tails. They wore spiked collars and black leather everything. Sonic shivered--they reminded him of the wolf Roofern he had met once in the far past.

"Keep walking," his companion whispered. "Act brave."

"I can outrun them," Sonic whispered back.

"No," she returned. "They'll remember you and might tell Nash."

In a moment the gang had caught up with them. The biggest wolverine said, "Well well, what have we here? It looks like a couple'a little kids!"

Sonic edged himself between Winstrom and the thug. The latter sneered at him. "Tryin' ta protect your sis, eh?" He shoved Sonic back a step, who bristled. "Watch who you're shoving, jerk." He pushed the thug, who also stumbled back a step and laughed nastily. "Lookit the little dude! Think's he's hot stuff!" This, of course, was mixed with several words that don't bear repeating.

"Don't touch him," came Winstrom's soft voice from behind Sonic.

The thug grinned, showing his sharp, if discolored, teeth. "Look whose talkin'! Whatcha gonna do, babe?"

Her voice was even softer than before. "I'll have to kill all of you. Just leave us alone."

The three wolverines burst into raucous laughter.

"What are you doing?" Sonic hissed to the echidna, who only looked at him calmly--then winced. Sonic turned back to see the thug's hard fist coming at him, then stars. He started to scramble up off the ground, but stopped when the echidna stepped between them and said, "I told you not to touch him." She pulled off her black cloak and tossed it aside.

Sonic stared. From the neck downward she was covered in tarnished metal. The thugs also stared, mouths hanging open.

She held up her right arm, which seemed to liquify before their eyes and reform itself into a short sword. With it she attacked the gang.

Sonic leaped to his feet and backed away to a safe distance, watching in amazement. The fight didn't last long. The three wolverines fled after a few second, each bleeding from at least one sword cut. The only one she pursued was the obnoxious leader, swatting him with the flat of her blade.

Zephyer. It HAD to be Zephyer. There was no way it could be anyone else. But wasn't she dead? Maybe she had survived somehow--he had to know. He THOUGHT he had recognized her ...

The echidna in question returned, donned her cloak once more, and without a word set out down the street. Sonic ran to catch up with her.

They walked in silence for several minutes. Then Sonic said, "Too bad you couldn't do that to Creeah, huh?"

She looked at him sharply, then turned away, pulling her hood over her face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't ... Zeff."

No answer.

"So, how'd you keep from drowning?"

No answer. Sonic grinned in spite of himself. "Winstrom's only your LAST name, isn't it?"

She gave a deep sigh and said, "Okay Sonic, I'll talk, but not here. Wait 'til we get out of Diablo. Then we can have Old Home Week."

* * *

The two figures finally made it out of the city. Diablo was not really a big city, but its streets were as contorted as Robotropolis's had been and the inhabitants were anything but friendly.

The countryside was hilly with many small woods here and there. The air was hot and somewhat humid, the stars bright and close overhead.

"We'll take this road into the first," the girl said, "and get as far as we can by dawn."

"Sounds cool to me," Sonic shrugged. "Too bad Nash's jerks took my stuff. I had maps and a scanner and a compass and everything."

She flashed a smile at him, reached into her cloak and pulled out a handful of small objects. "Here," she said. "I grabbed the compass, the scanner and your money. Sorry I couldn't get your sleeping bag--it was too big to smuggle out."

"Wow, thanks!" He pocketed his money and strapped the scanner and compass to his wrists. "Now," he said, "pulling back his hood and looking at his companion, "time for the interrogation. Are you Zephyer?"

She pulled back her own hood, shook out her long dreadlocks and looked at him. "Yes. I nearly drowned on Flicky Island, but I got washed ashore. Ever since then I've been touring Mobius."

"How did you make your arm morph like that?"

She smiled and rolled up her sleeve. "Easy. All Mecha had for his robotizer was the bio-metal he had been using to build those robots. This stuff can phase-change, do life-support and carry full weaponry. I have a laser cannon in my left arm, but it over-heats real fast so I don't use it much. Oh yeah, and this machinery won't poison me like Robotnik's stuff." She flexed her elbow, then dropped her arm to her side. "What else do you want to know?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why in the world were you working for Nash?"

A stony look passed over her face. "Two reasons. One, he offered to pay much-needed cash, and two, he promised he wasn't going to hurt you. Ha! What a joke." Her voice was bitter. "I DID want to see you again, Sonic, but I was horrified when he explained why he really wanted you. So I knew I had to get you out and get out myself." She looked at him with her clear blue eyes. "See, now there's a price on my head, too."

"We're even, then. Are we going to find Jason and Simoon?"

"Your two friends? It's up to you. We're a long way from where you were apprehended."

"I'd like to find them," Sonic said earnestly. "They aren't from this time and they could get hurt or something."

"Okay."

They lapsed into silence for a while. Sonic didn't know Zephyer very well, but she seemed all right. He didn't know much about her at all, really. Their meeting on Flicky Island had been rushed and introductions basic. They walked for a long time without a word, feet crunching on the dirt road. Sonic began to feel sleepy and scratched at the bandage on his neck.

Zephyer broke the silence. "You okay?"

He nodded and murmured, "I guess."

"You homesick?"

"Yeah." Sonic had tried not to think about it, but he was so homesick it hurt.

"Me too."

Sonic didn't respond--he was too tired to say much.

"It wouldn't be so bad if I couldn't see it."

That got a response. "Huh?"

She pointed upward. "See how those three bright stars form a triangle? Just down from the left corner is a kind of medium-bright red star. See it?"

"Uh-huh."

She dropped her arm and looked down. "That's our sun."

Sonic stared at her as if she had just claimed to be a boiled egg. "Yeah right."

She looked at him coolly. "Sonic, I'm not FROM Mobius. Mecha pulled me here right off my home planet. There ain't no possible way I can get back."

Sonic didn't believe her, but out of curiosity, said, "Then where ARE you from?"

"Long story."

"We got all night."

"Okay then, but remember that you asked for it." Zephyer cleared her throat and began.

"For starters, our planet is called XR-7. We're sixth from our sun, which is called XR-1. It's a desert planet, just a tad smaller than Mobius. (It was hard to move for a while when I got here.) We have weather, too. This stuff you got here is nothing compared to ours. A day was about fifteen hours long, which churned our atmosphere to a froth." She smiled at the thought. "On a good day the wind dropped to about thirty miles an hour and there weren't any tornados."

"Uh-huh," Sonic said, still thinking she was making it up. "And how did you survive?"

"We live underground, of course. We've got all sorts of tunnels and caves way down underground. That's where we grow all our food. I had never seen a tree 'til I came here. I also had a ball studying oceanography--there's no above-ground water at home. You have to dig for it, and then it's so full of sulfur you can't drink it--have to purify it."

"Did you like it?"

"Of course--I was born there, and I never knew any different. But Mobius is a much nicer place to live--I see why everybody wanted to come back."

"Come back?"

"Yup. See, a couple generations ago--" she stopped and frowned. "It's kind of complicated. Let me see if I can get this right. About fifty years ago something happened with the chaos emeralds. Roughly, I think the red chaos emerald got separated from the others, or got out of balance. Something like that. Anyway, any echidna who had had contact with the emeralds was yanked into another dimension and dispersed at random throughout the universe. That included most of us--I don't know about Knuckles or his family. My clan was dumped on XR-7 and nobody knows what happened to the others.

"Anyway, a couple eggheads started messing with a machine that could open portals into other dimensions. I was bored and so volunteered to be their test unit. That means I was strapped in to the seat and looked through the portal and told them what I saw. I saw some pretty weird things, but I didn't think anything could happen to me. Then one day they opened the portal just as Metal Sonic created the distortion to pull Flicky Island into the third dimension. I materialized, travelled through the warp and ended up in the cave at Mecha's feet." She drew a breath and let it out slowly. "That's how I got here. And as far as I've seen, Knuckles is the only echidna here."

"As far as we know," Sonic agreed. "He was really broken up when we thought you were dead. He gets real lonesome for his own kind." He didn't know if he believed her or not, but she seemed to be serious.

By this time they had walked quite a distance. The forest was now right up against the sides of the path, forming dark, mysterious walls in which insects trilled the night's chorus. It seemed strange compared to the arctic chill Sonic had travelled through until now. It seemed almost stolen--skipping winter and going straight to late summer. The stars burned down like fiery eyes, shedding a faint light on the landscape. There was no moon.

"How far should we go?" Sonic asked, opening his heavy cloak to let the air cool his sweating body.

Zephyer shook her head (she didn't seem to feel the heat at all.) "We can't stop here, that's for sure. We're still too close to Diablo-- Nash's guys'd find us for sure."

"Can't we sleep in a tree?" Sonic pled. "I'm about done in."

She looked about to refuse, then thought better of it. "Yeah, I forgot--you pry aren't recovered from the stunner yet. But how do you sleep in a tree?"

"I'll show ya." Sonic turned aside and entered the woods. Zephyer hesitated a second, then followed.

The underbrush was thick and tangled, tall shrubs grown through with vines and creepers, fallen leaves crunching underfoot, brambles and thistles tearing at their legs and clothes. Sonic helped Zephyer through the most tangled thickets, privately envying her robotic protection. All the while he kept an eye on the surrounding trees, looking for one that would suit their purpose. After a while he decided on a big old elm tree with nearly horizontal branches.

"Here," Sonic said, taking off his little scanner, "use this to find dead branches on the ground and hand 'em up to me." She obeyed wordlessly and walked off into the woods as Sonic clambered up into the tree and investigated the branches. He had just settled on two forks that were good and sturdy when Zephyer returned, dragging a large limb through the undergrowth. As she helped him lift it she said, "There's a bunch of dead wood not far off--like a windfall." She put her hands on her hips and watched as Sonic laid the branch crosswise across one of the forks, then said, "Oh, I get it. Platforms. Okay, I'll be back in a minute."

It was an hour before the two tree-platforms were completed, and the two fugitives were exhausted. They flopped on the beds and were dead to the world at once.

* * *

Dawn came, hot and clear. Sonic and Zephyer slept several hours into the morning, and it was a good thing. About sunrise three bobcats, wearing Nash's violet military uniforms, passed through, scanners going full blast. Fortunately, they were looking six feet high and under, expecting Sonic and Zephyer to be sleeping on the ground, and missed them completely.

Sonic awoke from an uneasy dream of summer heat and a landscape that bobbed and swayed. For a moment he lay absolutely still, wondering where he was, staring at the boughs above him. Gradually it came back to him. He relaxed and stretched, his joints aching from sleeping on the rough branches. After a moment he sat up and looked around.

It was still early, although the sun was a fist above the horizon. The air smelled of green leaves and humidity, and the blue sky was cloudless. He glanced toward Zephyer's nest a few feet away, saw it was empty and looked around for her. She was perched sever branches up, back resting against a big limb, legs dangling on either side of a branch, bright eyes fixed on some point in the distance. She was not wearing her cloak, and her body gleamed silver in the morning light. She looked down at him and said, "Hey, you're up. How'd ya feel?"

"Awful, to tell the truth."

"Mm, likewise. I sure could do with some chow." She began to climb down. "You're the native. Is there anything to eat in a forest like this?"

Sonic shrugged regretfully. "Well, there is, but somebody like Slash or Knux would have to find it."

"Slash? Oh, that raptor with the wings. Darn." She balanced on a branch at his level. "I wish I had thought to pack some food."

Sonic changed the subject, trying to ignore the impatient growl his stomach gave. "What were you looking at?"

The echidna shrugged. "Just trying to see if we were being tracked, but you can't see a thing through these trees. We might as well get going and take our chances."

They climbed down and headed back for the road, little dreaming what was occurring elsewhere.

* * *

Nash lifted the captain by his shirtfront and hissed in his face, "What do you MEAN you couldn't find them?!?"

"We couldn't locate them, sir," the bobcat gasped, green eyes wide. "We looked everywhere within ten miles! The hedgehog must have run--"

The cougar tightened his grasp, shutting off the bobcat's breath. The fiercely angry ones burned into the frightened green ones for an instant; then Nash opened his fist and let the soldier fall to the floor.

The tawny cat stalked around the room, dark cape flowing behind him. "This is intolerable, captain. Sonic could not have gone far--he will not recover from the stunner for another thirty hours. He MUST be located and so must the traitor. I should have known not to trust her!" His burly hands knotted into fists at his sides and his tail lashed back and forth. "I should never trust anyone I have met in my own time." He whirled on the hapless bobcat, who was just climbing to his feet. "Nevertheless my plans will proceed. His pack was to be stained with his own blood, but I suppose it must be faked. I will go to his village and demand the emerald while you and your men continue searching. I want him captured or dead by the time I get there." He bared his long fangs. "Understand?"

The grey bobcat saluted hurriedly. "Yes sir, Commander."

* * *

An hour after this, Jason and Simoon entered Diablo.

Unaware of what was going on, they stopped and inquired of the way to the prison. They were pointed rather roughly in the right direction.

"Isn't it ironic," the one-eye echidna murmured as they walked along, "that Nash set up camp in the very place he ought to be?"

The orange hedgehog nodded. "I'm more worried about Sonic. How are we supposed to rescue him? This won't be like back home where we know how everything is."

"I know."

No more was said until they came into sight of the sprawling cement complex. One of the usual bobcats was standing guard outside the door. Jason and Simoon shrank down behind a parked car--they knew the guards would recognize them, having had so may run-ins before.

"What do we do?" the echidna whispered to his companion.

"I donno--you're the brain!" Jason replied. "You tell me!"

"Well," said Simoon, standing a little and peering through the car windows at the front doors of the prison, "there goes the Panther himself."

"Where?"

Nash was just coming out of the prison with some sort of package held in one hand, a dark liquid dripping from it. The two boys stared at it in horror as Nash's car pulled up to the curb and he climbed in. It wasn't until he had driven out of sight that either could make a sound.

That package had been what was left of Sonic's backpack, dripping fresh blood.

* * *

"You desire my assistance?" Robo Knux purred, staring rudely at the bobcat captain.

"Yes," the bobcat replied. "You are an excellent hunter and my men have only this time's weapons. They are not familiar with them. And if I don't locate the traitors--" he drew a finger across his throat.

The crimson robot gazed at him for a long moment without speaking, then said, "It is not for their sake then, but your own. Why are you working for Nash? You are not his kind."

The bobcat appeared uncomfortable and looked away.

Robo Knux lifted a hand to his chest and touched the small metal patch there. "Very well, I will track them for you, but not because of you. It is because of a deep grudge I carry against Sonic Hedgehog." His green crescent-eyes shimmered slightly. "You want them alive? Dead would be very entertaining."

"No, we need them alive."

"You seem bent on removing all pleasure from this job. Oh well, I will depart momentarily."

* * *

The orange hedgehog and one-eyed echidna were seated on a bench in a bus terminal a block away from the prison. Jason had his hands over his face and was weeping silently. Simoon sat with him, distressed at his friend's grief, an arm around his shoulders. "Don't cry, Jase--" he pled.

"But Sonic," moaned the hedgehog. "They well-nigh killed him to get that much blood! He might be dying now and there's nothing I can do! Oh Dad, I didn't mean for things to happen like this--"

"But Jason--"

Jason turned on him in sudden tearful wrath. "Just shut up! This never would have happened if you hadn't opened that stupid box in the first place!"

Simoon abruptly withdrew and looked away, grief coming into his eye. He sat in silence as Jason's sobs diminished, broken once in a while with, "I blew it Sonic, I blew it ... now we're both dead ... so sorry ..."

After a few minutes the hedgehog had himself under control, but still bore a look of stark anguish. "What do we do now?" he asked his companion. "We can't go home, now that we've made such a mess of the past."

Simoon gazed down at his folded hands, still stung. "I donno. We could try to find Knuckles ..."

"No, that'd mess things up even more."

Simoon glared suddenly at the hedgehog. "I may have messed up our lives, Zip, but I'm sick of messing up other people's. Nash was never supposed to come to the past. The rebellion would have overthrown him-- but no-o-o, YOU had the bright idea to toss the box into another time!"

"Excuse me ..."

The two turned to see a big, heavily built robot echidna standing behind their bench, green crescent-eyes shining. "Did I just hear you mention the name 'Zip'?"

Jason shot a killing glance at Simoon and said, "No sir, nobody here said anything like that."

"Well," said the robot, leaning his elbows on the bench's backrest, "if you happen to see this 'Zip' fellow, tell him that the accursed Sonic is still alive and on the lam. Affirmative?"

Jason gulped and nodded. Something about the robot set his heart to racing in his chest. The robot gave a mechanical nod and clanked away. As soon as he was out of sight, Jason turned and hissed savagely, "How many times did I tell you--we CAN'T use our nicknames in this time! That robot is probably WORKING for Nash!"

"Sorry," Simoon replied. "It just slipped out."

"Yeah, like when you kept calling Sonic 'Mr. Hedgehog'."

"That's what I'm used to calling him! It's not polite to call adults by their first names!"

"He's not an adult here, idiot. He's still a kid!"

Simoon saw his chance to head off an argument. "Did that robot say he escaped?"

The ferocity faded from Jason's face as it dawned on him. "He sure did!" Then his eyes darkened. "It could be a trick, though. We start looking for Sonic and Nash's guys mug us."

"Yeah, but that robot might be looking for Mr.--for Sonic, too. We could follow him ..."

"Gimme a break. You can't follow a robot without it knowing. And what about the--well, you know, what Nash had?"

"It coulda been faked ..." Simoon said doubtfully. "Besides, what about your ring? We could travel partially materialized and the robot would never know."

Jason stood, looking hopeful. "It might work. Let's trail that robot!"

* * *

"Did you know that today is March first?" Zephyer said.

Sonic shrugged. "Nope. My watch don't keep track of the date."

"Well, mine does," said the echidna. She looked up at the sky. "They say that when March comes in like a lamb it goes out like a lion, and vice versa."

Sonic glanced at the calm, bright day around them. "This be the lamb, then."

The two were walking along a thin path through the woods, once again wearing their black cloaks. The late morning sun glared down through the treetops, already hot as a late-summer heat-wave can be. Birds chirped and sang in the dusty greenness around them, and insects buzzed and sawed. "Wow," Sonic commented. "It's almost as noisy as the Floating Island in the springtime!" He winced a little. "Well, like the Floating Island USED to be."

"Why?" Zephyer asked. "What happened to it?"

Sonic gave her an abbreviated overview of the terbium and of its deadly effects on Knuckles's home. When he finished Zephyer looked pained and sympathetic. "Gee, I didn't know Knuckles had it so hard. Imagine not only being the last of your kind, but to lose your inheritance, too ..."

"He didn't lose it," Sonic hedged. "It just got kind of messed up."

They walked along in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds being their feet on the dirt path. Suddenly Zephyer lifted her head and slowed to a stop. "Sonic, what's that sound?"

He pricked his ears. "What sound? ... oh ..." He heard it and identified it instantly. It was a high, airy whine--a jet-engine far off. He whirled, searching the sky through the green canopy above. "Robo Knux," he growled through his teeth.

"Oh great!" Zephyer exclaimed, following his example and scanning the sky. "We'd better hide!"

"Too late," Sonic said grimly. "If you can hear his engines then you've been spotted."

Zephyer set her teeth and her eyes narrowed. "I'm not going down without a fight." Under her cloak, Sonic saw her arms morph into a sword and laser cannon. He shook his head; she had spunk, but she was no match for the ruthless, unpredictable robot. "Change back," he said. "As soon as he lands, grab on to me and don't let go. I can outrun anything."

The echidna gazed at him uncertainly for a moment. Then, perhaps knowing that she stood little chance in combat, morphed her arms back into their original shapes.

The scream of the robot's engines was very close now. Before long they glimpsed his red form through the trees above. He flew with his arms out to the sides, wing-like, and the jets in his deadlocks going strong. His green crescent-eyes were fixed on the forest below, watching with every instrument he had. Sonic waved to him cockily. Robo Knux abruptly cut his thrust, hovered, then slowly descended to land on his feet five yards away from them.

"Don't look at his eyes," Sonic whispered out of the corner of his mouth as the robot began to move forward. Indeed, Robo Knux's green eyes were wavering and shimmering in his most hypnotic patterns. His favorite method of subduing an enemy was to mesmerize them and lead them captive without chains.

"Hello, Sonic Hedgehog and Zephyer Winstrom," he purred, lifting a clawed hand in greeting. "Nice to see you again."

Sonic quietly took ahold of Zephyer's wrist and backed away a step. "Hi, R.K.," he replied evenly. "I didn't expect to ever see you again."

"Yes, I do get around," Robo Knux returned, moving up a step.

Sonic backed away accordingly, pulling Zephyer along with him.

"And how is my old friend Metal Sonic?"

Sonic sideyed his companion and didn't answer.

Robo Knux saw this and asked with approval, "Ah, so HE is the one who robotized you, eh Zephyer?"

Her eyes burned and she clenched her teeth to keep from answering.

Again the robot moved forward, and again the two moved back. "I have been bidden to bring the two of you back alive," the robot said peaceably. "But how much alive remains to be seen. Will you come quietly?"

This was too much; Sonic's fury bubbled over. "After all the things you've done," he spat, "I'll never come quietly with you ANYWHERE."

"You are much like your brother," Robo Knux said coolly.

Sonic somehow sensed that the robot would attack. He tightened his grip on Zephyer's wrist, whirled and began to run. There was a roar of engines, a sharp clank, a gasp from Zephyer and the sound of tearing cloth. Sonic glanced back to see that Robo Knux had sprang and dug his knuclaws into Zephyer's back. But, as her back was clad in metal, his claws were repelled and he merely ripped a section out of her cloak.

Then Sonic was flying and Robo Knux was lost from sight behind them. Zephyer was doing her best to keep up with him, but her eyes were wild. "He won't give up so easily," she panted. "I know him."

"I know him better," Sonic replied grimly, eyes on the path ahead. "He'll be furious and I don't have my belt this time."

"Belt?"

"I'll explain later."

Trees flashed by on either side, blurred by their speed. Sonic was hard put to keep from slamming his companion into obstacles and so kept his speed to a low forty miles an hour. He tossed an occasional nervous glance over his shoulder, expecting any moment to see the red robot bearing down on them.

Abruptly the terrain sloped uphill and rocks appeared. They could not see very far ahead because of the forest. "Keep and eye out for R.K.," Sonic instructed. "I gotta concentrate on navigation!"

The ground became steeper and rockier. The trees began to thin out, the light around them brightening. Sonic wished he could see further ahead--he couldn't plan his course unless he could see--

"Go left!" Zephyer shrieked.

Sonic glanced to the right and saw Robo Knux flying at them from the side, eyes a fiery emerald green. Immediately the hedgehog swerved left to avoid him, mentally kicking himself for not remembering the robot's keen strategy programming.

Because of the uphill terrain and trees, Robo Knuckles might have overtaken them, but Zephyer was a quick thinker. Sonic had her by the right arm--her left arm was free. She morphed it into her laser and began sniping at their pursuer. Some of her wild shots came uncomfortably close to their mark, making the robot duck to the side. Once he dodged a laser and slammed head-first into a tree, losing considerable ground.

Bright, unfiltered sunlight ahead. Sonic made for it, heart thundering in his ears. He was tiring, and Zephyer was focused more on target-practice than running with him. He was towing her weight and running on reserves.

They burst into the sun. Sonic glanced around and felt a shock of horror race through him. They had come out of the forest in the bottom of a rocky, steep-sided canyon. The ground was so rough he could never get enough speed to scale the cliffs. Robo Knux had seen this with his scanners and herded them in. Again, Sonic kicked himself for not seeing the robot's intention.

His echidna companion voiced his thoughts. "I think we're trapped." She too was looking around at their predicament. "Where did this ravine come from?"

"Who knows," Sonic panted. As he slowed he suddenly realized he didn't feel right. It was the long-reaching after-effects of the stunner; he had not yet fully recovered and was bone-tired and dizzy.

Robo Knux had stopped just outside the forest and was hovering five feet in the air, arms folded, watching them smugly. He had them buffaloed and knew it. Let them look for an avenue of escape--his scanners told him there were none. Maybe once they realized that they would be a little more reasonable.

Sonic, seeing that the robot was not pursuing, leaned wearily against a boulder. He was winded and somehow the spirit had gone out of him. Zephyer moved off a few steps, turning around and around, scrutinizing the walls for a way out. Finally she turned back to the hedgehog. "Can you get us out?"

He shook his head. "I can't run fast enough in these rocks. Besides, I'm too tired to run anymore ..."

"HA!" came Robo Knux's shout. "The stunner is functioning correctly!"

Sonic shot a hateful look in his direction, then looked down at the ground. "I can't go anymore, Zeff. You might be able to climb out. They really only want me, I guess ..."

"What is the MATTER with you?!"

The absolute exasperation in her voice made him look up. Her hands were on her hips, red hair ablaze in the sun, blue eyes like an iceberg.

"I didn't come this far on my own, Sonic. I did this to save YOU. And there is absolutely no way I'm gonna let HIM take you away! I'll die first!" Her voice trembled with fury, then lowered into scornful tones. "And here I thought you were some kind of hero ..."

"Bravo!" Robo Knux called, clapping his metallic hands. "Brilliant speech, Zeff! Now Sonic, would you like to go back rare, medium or well done?"

Sonic slowly stood erect and faced the robot. Zephyer's heated words had reawakened the fight in him, if only for a short time. "Forget it, jerk-o-matic!" he yelled, hands doubled into fists at his sides. "I'll never give up! Never never never!"

Suddenly the world around him faded into a grey mist. His own words: "Never, never!" were echoing in his ears. Then his voice merged with another: a younger voice yelling the same words. In the mist before him he saw an orange hedgehog--Jason--being dragged away into darkness, shouting, "I'll never tell you where the emerald is! Never never never!"

The vision vanished, but Sonic remained suspended in grey nothing, like an empty sheet of paper. Sudden terror stabbed through him--was he dead? "What is this?" he yelled. His voice rang and echoed, as if he were in a vast tunnel. He turned his head and saw to his vast relief that Zephyer was a few feet away, looking bewildered as he was. "Are we dead?" he asked her.

"I have no idea," she replied. "Maybe this is some hypnotic invention of Robo Knux's?"

"No it's not."

They turned. There in the mist stood--or floated--Jason and Simoon.

"Hey," Sonic exclaimed. "What're you guys doing here? Where are we?"

Jason looked at Simoon and said, "We're between the third and fourth dimensions."

"The void?"

"No ... just an in-between place. We pulled you here just in time--Robo Knux was going to torch you with his flame-jets. That's why he asked you how much you'd like to be cooked."

"He doesn't have a flamethrower," Sonic said.

"Yes he does," Simoon contradicted. "He installed it himself."

"So what good is this place?" Zephyer broke in, pulling her torn cloak around her nervously. "Put us back on Mobius, you two."

"Actually," Jason said, looking down, "we were going to hide you where Nash would never find you."

"Yeah right," Sonic said scornfully. "There's nowhere in the world we could hide from that guy."

"You could if you were in our time."

Simoon gasped as if he had just taken a blow to the stomach. "Jase, no! Not our time! That's ZEPHYER, Jase--"

"But isn't Nash FROM your time?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah," the orange hedgehog replied, ignoring his friend. "That's why it'd be so perfect! He'd NEVER look for you THERE!"

Sonic felt Zephyer grab his arm, afraid. He couldn't say he was too wild about sudden time-travel, either. He swallowed, looked around at the blank mist and said, "Just get us out of this place. Then we'll talk."

Jason held out his right hand. He wore a gold ring on one finger. It was quite simple with one clear, round stone in it, like a moonstone. He rubbed his fingers over it and the mist faded away.

Sonic blinked and looked around. They were standing on a paved road through a snowy plain. He could see nothing more--wait, there seemed to be building of some kind a mile off. The sun was shining, glaring off the white snow. It was cold.

"Jason," Simoon muttered, "you'd better learn to control that thing better."

"I got us here, didn't I?" the orange hedgehog snapped. He turned and seemed about to say something to Sonic, but saw Zephyer for the first time and stiffened. She looked at him, then down at herself uneasily. "What?"

"You--you're--" he stuttered.

Simoon punched his arm. "See?" he hissed. "I told you not to bring 'em here!"

"It's Zephyer!" Jason finally managed. "I didn't notice--"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Here we go again. Just ignore 'em, Zeff. They carry on like that, then tell you they can't answer any questions."

"Oh." She brushed her hair out of her face and looked at the one- eyed echidna with pity. "You poor kid. What happened to your eye?"

"It got burned," Simoon replied automatically.

Jason bristled, hissed a savage, "Shut up!" and said politely, "Sorry Zephyer, but no questions while we're here."

"See?" Sonic muttered, then fell into step behind the two as they began to walk toward the town in the distance. He was sick of the secrecy, and his odd weariness combined with this to put him in a rather irascible mood. He pestered Simoon and Jason with questions as they went along. He got Jason to admit that they had got the ring from a friend who was familiar with inter-dimensional travel, that this was indeed a future in Sonic and Zephyer's lifetime, and that Nash was the one currently in command. There he refused to talk anymore and wouldn't let Simoon speak, either.

Only Zephyer, with her female observation, noticed the look of terrible stress on the orange hedgehog's face.

End of Part 2.