Chapter 10
Lava Reef
I watched the two of them fall further into the darkness, then disappear. I quickly climbed out of the shaft and back into the pyramid. I then looked back down the shaft. Nothing but the smell of molten rock came from the darkness. I didn't even hear Sonic or Tails yelling. I started to smile. More than likely they had fallen into a pit of lava down that shaft. I pulled myself away from the ledge. I guess I must have been more exhausted from all the excitement than I thought I was, because the last thing I could remember was leaning against one of the walls and they waking up almost eleven hours later.
I suddenly woke with a start when I realized what I had done. I suddenly got worried as a thought passed through my mind. This particular area of Lava Reef was very close to where Hidden Palace was located. If they had not fallen into a lava pit like I had thought the previous night, then they could have found Hidden Palace without the help of a teleporter by now. I quickly pulled out the miniature Master Emerald, rubbed my hand over it, and threw it to the ground. The ring teleporter appeared in front of me. I scooped up the miniature and jumped into the ring.
**********
Metal Sonic stood silently in the shadows, watching Knuckles perform this act. He had become very bored just watching the echidna sleep for the past eleven hours. How he wanted to go after Sonic, but Robotnik had given him clear instructions to follow and watch Knuckles. He clenched his claws into fists. He would have a word with him about that when he got back to Death Egg. Suddenly, the ring reappeared. Knowing that this was going to be the only way to keep track of Knuckles, Metal Sonic jumped into the ring, disappearing in a flash of light.
**********
"Oh man. What happened?" asked Tails as he sat up. Sonic was standing at the entrance to a cave they had landed in. He looked back at the sound of Tails voice.
"Oh good, you're up," said Sonic. Tails yawned and stretched. He then noticed the time on his watch.
"Sonic! How could you let me sleep for ten hours!" he cried, glaring at Sonic.
"Relax little bro. You didn't miss anything. I've only been up for about ten minutes myself," said Sonic. "But I wonder what knocked us out? I remember hitting bottom, but I didn't hit my head or anything." Tails shrugged, then caught a whiff of the air.
"Geeze!" he said, pinching his nose. "What's that terrible smell?" He looked over at Sonic with a glare. Sonic noticed and held up his hands in defense.
"Hey! Don't look at me! It smelled like that when I woke up," said Sonic. Tails gave him that 'yeah right' look, but took another whiff, and realized that it wasn't that kind of smell. He took another good smell and knew then for certain what was causing the smell.
"Your right Sonic. That's not the smell. It's the smell of sulfuric gas," said Tails.
"What's sulfuric gas?" asked Sonic.
"It's a kind of gas that is given off by lava," said Tails.
"I'll bet it was that gas that made us fall asleep. But why did we wake back up? If the gas knocked us out, wouldn't it keep us out?" asked Sonic.
"I doubt it. I think that the gas knocked us out because we were both exhausted from all the activity since last night. After we got our strength back, we were able to work the gas out of our system," said Tails.
"That's probably it. You aren't used to this much running around, and I haven't slept since we got here," said Sonic. He stretched, then picked up his pack, and put it on. "Well, we'd better get going. Only two hours left until the Death Egg launches again." Tails stood up and grabbed his pack. They then started to walk out of the small cave, only to find themselves inside what looked like a huge volcano. Rivers of lava flowed throughout the whole cavern they were in, with only a few rocks sticking out of the rivers, sort of like stepping stones. On the far end was a tunnel that looked to be carved out of the stone.
"Man! Where are we?" asked Tails. Sonic shook his head.
"I don't know Tails. But if this is a volcano, then we've reached the mountains, which means that the Death Egg isn't too far away," said Sonic. He then leaped over to the nearest rock. He turned around and motioned for Tails to follow him. Tails whirled his twin tails and flew over to Sonic, landing beside him.
"Where do you think Knuckles went?" asked Tails, trying to get his mind off the intense heat the lava was giving off. Sonic leaped over to another rock, and Tails followed.
"I don't know. But he must not be looking for us right now, because if he was, I'm sure we would've woken up a lot sooner than we did," said Sonic. He then leaped over to the last rock right in front of a tunnel entrance. Tails flew over and landed next to him.
"So what's the plan, Sonic?" asked Tails. Sonic sighed, then shrugged.
"I don't really have one. Knux totally messed up my main plan after we fell into that pyramid," said Sonic. He leaped over into the tunnel and Tails followed close behind him. They then started walking through the tunnel, which was slanted down at a twenty degree angle. "The basic plan now is to follow these tunnels until we get out of this volcano." They had been walking for only about ten minutes when huge a tremor shook the whole tunnel, knocking Sonic and Tails to the stone floor. Rocks came loose all around them as the tremor increased.
"Sonic! Behind us!" cried Tails, pointing back towards the front of the tunnel. Sonic looked behind him to see a bright red glow coming at them fast. It was then Sonic realized what was happening. The lava must have built up in that cavern they were in and had flowed into the tunnel
"It's the lava!" cried Sonic. He got to his feet as fast as he could, which was hard with the whole tunnel shaking wildly. He then dashed forward just as the lava suddenly burst forward into the tunnel, gushing towards them like a giant wave. Sonic scooped Tails up in his arms just a split second before the lava would have reached him. Sonic then sped up, trying to outrun the fast flowing lava. He would have easily outran the lava, but the tunnel was still shaking, making it hard for him just to run fast enough to stay ahead of the lava flow. By now, Sonic could see the end of the tunnel ahead of them and realized that there was nothing beyond the exit except for a ledge about ten feet across a deep canyon.
"Hang on Tails! We're going to have to jump!" cried Sonic. Tails gripped Sonic tighter as they hit the exit to the tunnel. Sonic pushed off with both feet, jumping over six feet into the air. Tails watched behind them as the lava burst from the tunnel, spilling into the canyon below. Sonic reached out with both hands and grasped the edge of the stone ledge by his fingertips. He strained as hard as he could, and managed to get a firm grip on the ledge.
But he knew that unless Tails was to get off him, he wouldn't be able to pull himself all the way up. He was already tired from just getting that better grip on the ledge. Thinking fast, he grabbed Tails by the fur on his back and flung him up into the air. Tails let out a yelp of pain as his fur was pulled out of his back, then he landed on the ledge with a small thud. Sonic quickly scrambled up onto the ledge, breathing heavily as he rested on his hands and knees.
"Man…that…was too…close," panted Sonic..
"I'll say, but did you have to pull my fur out?" asked Tails, reaching around to feel the small area on his back where there was now a bald patch.
"Sorry, but I couldn't pull myself up with you hanging onto me," said Sonic. Sonic then looked back at the lava still flowing from the tunnel.
"Wonder what caused the lava to come flowing through the tunnel like that?" said Sonic. Tails thought about it for a second. The tunnel had looked like it had been carved out of the mountain.
"I'll bet Knuckles designed that," said Tails. Sonic looked over at Tails, thinking he had lost it.
"You can't be serious," said Sonic.
"Hear me out. In normal active volcanos, the lava will build up inside the mountain. Eventually, when there's enough of it, the lava will be forced out of the mountain, which is what happens when it erupts. Now I think Knuckles built that tunnel to give the lava somewhere to go when it started to fill up the cavern. That way, the mountain wouldn't erupt and destroy a good portion of the island," said Tails.
"Good point," said Sonic. He then smiled and shook his head. "You are just too smart for your own good sometimes, you know that?" Tails blushed slightly.
"Maybe, but that won't help us get out of here," said Tails, pointing up. Sonic looked up to see that they were a long ways away from the top of the cliff they were on. He could see the glow of more lava above them, but it didn't seem like it was growing any, so it must have been in rivers deep enough to hold it.
"Well, guess we'd better get climbing," said Sonic. He reached for stone wall when Tails grabbed his arm.
"Sonic! Look!" cried Tails. Sonic looked around, expecting to see lava coming up from down below them. It would have fit in perfectly with how their luck had been running lately. But instead of the red glow of lava, he saw the rainbow glow of another teleporter ring.
"Well, at least there's some good coming out of being driven down here," said Sonic as he started climbing down the side of the cliff. Tails hovered down after him. Sonic leapt off the side of the cliff and into the ring, Tails fling in right behind him as it disappeared in a flash of light. They then reappeared again in Hidden Palace.
"Knuckles said this place was called Hidden Palace. I wonder why it's called that?" said Tails. Sonic had walked over to where the Master Emerald and the seven Super Emeralds sat on their pedestals. Five of the seven supers were charged, each one giving of the glow of its corresponding Chaos Emerald.
"I'll bet it's because of the Master Emerald," said Sonic, looking up at it. Tails walked over next to him and gazed up at the giant glowing gem.
"Yeah. Something that powerful shouldn't be out in the open," said Tails in agreement.
"Well," said Sonic as he walked over to one of the two remaining dead supers, "let's finish this up and get back the last two emeralds." Tails ran over to the other dead super. Then they both slapped the tops of the giant gems at the same time, both of them disappearing in a flash of light. A few minutes later, they both reappeared, Sonic grasping the white Chaos Emerald, Tails holding onto the light blue emerald. Both of the emeralds flew from their hands and hovered above their dead counterparts. Then both shot rays of colored light into them, the dead supers suddenly flashing to life as they were charged. But this time, the Chaos Emeralds didn't return to Sonic and Tails. They instead flew up to hover a few feet above the Master Emerald.
"What's up with those things?" asked Tails. Sonic merely shrugged, then felt several things fly out of his pack. He watched in amazement as the five other Chaos Emeralds joined the two above the Master Emerald. Each Chaos Emerald was in a direct line of sight with it's corresponding Super Emerald.
"Now what?" asked Tails.
"I don't know," said Sonic. He looked at the Master Emerald, gazing deep into its glowing core. For some reason, he felt he knew what he needed to do. He walked up to the Master Emerald, still gazing deep into it.
"What are you doing Sonic?" asked Tails. Sonic shook his head as Tails voice broke through his train of thought. He looked back at Tails.
"I'm not sure, but I think I'm supposed to touch the Master Emerald," said Sonic.
"But Sonic, that's how this whole thing started. You touched the Master Emerald and caused the supers to appear and the Chaos Emeralds to scatter to that dimension again," said Tails.
"I know, but for some reason, I know this is what I need to do," said Sonic, reaching out his hand. He hesitated slightly, the though of them losing the Chaos Emeralds again causing him to rethink this. But he shrugged off that concern. For some reason, he knew he needed to do this. He placed his palm on the glassy surface of the Master Emerald. Sonic was knocked back to the floor by some unforeseen force. Suddenly, the Master Emerald's glow increased greatly, Sonic and Tails had to shield their eyes against the bright light. But when it died down, the seven Chaos Emeralds were circling the Master Emerald rapidly, their glow increasing as well.
"What's going on?" cried Tails.
"I don't know," said Sonic. The Chaos Emeralds suddenly stopped in mid air. They hovered there for a few seconds, then the seven Super Emeralds shot a ray of white light into its Chaos Emerald counterpart. The Chaos Emeralds then shot their own beams of white light into the Master Emerald. As if by some hidden signal, all of the crystals in the chamber suddenly flashed brightly as the Master Emerald grew brighter for just a few seconds, then shot out seven beams of colored light at Sonic. Sonic and Tails watched in awe as the beams of light converged in Sonic's fist. A flash of light came out of Sonic's fist, then died down. Sonic slowly opened his fist, and he couldn't help but stare in awe at what he saw.
"Sonic? Are you okay?" asked Tails. Sonic turned to him, and Tails could have sworn he had never seen Sonic this happy since they had been on the island.
"Tails," said Sonic in almost a whisper. He showed Tails what was in his glove. "It gave me miniatures of the Super Emeralds." Tails stared at the seven small gems in Sonic's hand. Each one glowed their color brightly, and looked exactly like the Super Emeralds on the pedestals. Sonic and Tails looked up as the sound of something hitting the floor caught their attention.
"What was that?" asked Tails. Sonic walked over and picked the Chaos Emeralds up off the floor. By now, all of the crystals had returned to their normal glow, leaving the huge cavern lit once again by the emeralds.
"Just the Chaos Emeralds hitting the ground. I think you'd better take these," said Sonic, handing them to Tails, who slipped them into his pack. Sonic likewise put the supers into his pack. Then they disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing at the top of the cliff were they had escaped from the lava.
"Well, that was sure handy," said Sonic, looking over the edge.
"Sure was," said Tails in agreement. They turned around and looked about, seeing a few rivers of lava, all going over the side of another cliff. Sonic and Tails walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down. About a quarter of a mile below them was a huge lake of lava probably a half mile wide with what looked like rock ledge ringing the whole lake.
"Man! I'd sure hate to fall into that lake," said Sonic. Tails just nodded. Sonic then spotted a tunnel entrance with a small ledge on the outside just over the lava lake. He then looked behind him, but there didn't appear to be any other way out of the cavern.
"Well, let's get going," said Sonic. He then started to climb down the side of cliff, taking his time as he went down so as not to slip. Tails carefully started down after him. Sonic sighed as he climbed. At this rate, they wouldn't get to the bottom for at least another hour. They were cutting this too close. They would only have about half an hour to find the Death Egg after they reached the bottom of the cliff. Luckily, they reached the bottom with no problems. They then entered the tunnel, walking up its slope at a good pace. After about ten minutes of walking, they saw the exit. Sonic looked over at Tails.
"So how much time do we have?" asked Sonic. Tails glanced down at his watch.
"About twenty minutes left ," answered Tails. He then noticed that Sonic had stopped and was looking up the tunnel. He looked up to the exit. Standing there was none other than Knuckles.
"What do you want Knuckles?" asked Sonic, his voice ice cold. Tails felt braver now that they had both the supers and Chaos Emeralds with them. He walked up next to Sonic, his hands balled into fists and he wore a look of defiance on his face.
"You know what I want. I want you," said Knuckles. "You have overstayed your uninvited welcome. Now you will pay for trespassing on this island and its secrets." Sonic just crossed his arms and glared up at Knuckles. He saw Knuckles give him a smirk, then disappear from view. Sonic was about to run up to the tunnel's exit when he saw a huge rock moving towards the exit. Tails let out a scream of terror as he and Sonic saw what he was going to do. The boulder started to roll rapidly towards them. Sonic quickly grabbed Tails hand and sped back down the tunnel. While he could outrun the boulder, Sonic knew that if he were to speed up too much, he'd go flying out into the lava lake before he could stop. It was then that the whole situation hit him. This wasn't rivalry anymore. Knuckles was trying to kill them. Sonic could sense his anger growing rapidly into a giant inferno of rage. If this echidna wanted to kill them, then he'd have to do it on Sonic's terms. He reached behind him into his pack and pulled out the seven miniature supers.
"Tails. Keep running. If this doesn't work, you can still make it," whispered Sonic into Tails' ear. He didn't want Knuckles to be forewarned of what he was going to do. Tails nodded and then started running, his tails whirling behind him as he ran past Sonic, who slowed to a stop in less then a second. He turned around and held up the seven supers.
"That's it! You've crossed the line Knuckles!" cried Sonic. He saw Knuckles look down at him. He then clapped the seven gems above his head. He was blinded by a flash of white light and a loud buzz filled the whole tunnel. When the light died down, Sonic stood in the same place, but he was completely transformed. His entire body glowed and his blue fur and quills were now sparkling in a rainbow of seven colors. Large energy stars circled his body, some of them hitting the floor and disappearing with a hiss. His vision had been enhanced twenty times, giving him the eyes of a hawk.
"Now this is cool," said Sonic under his breath as he stared up at the tunnel's exit, glaring right at Knuckles with his fiery red eyes. The boulder was coming at him at well over 70 mph. But compared to Sonic, the boulder was just a pebble. Dashing forward, he grabbed onto the boulder, grinding its progress to a stop in less then a second. Sonic then shoved the boulder effortlessly back up the tunnel. He then went into a spindash and charged the boulder, shattering it to pieces as he blew through it like a hot knife through butter. He then looked back up towards Knuckles, who in turn dashed out of view. *Oh no you don't, Knuckles. This time you're not getting away,* thought Sonic as he flew up the tunnel. By now, Tails had reached the bottom of the tunnel and had stopped. He looked back up to see some flashing object fly out of the tunnel's exit.
"Was that Sonic?" said Tails to himself. Not wanting to be left behind, he started running back up the tunnel, but it was tough going, and he realized it be at least five minutes before he could reach them.
**********
I appeared in Hidden Palace in a flash of light. My eyes first went to the Master Emerald, as they always do. I sighed. It was safe. I then caught the sound of a voice, and I started to panic. And it was this panic that casued me to totally miss the seven glowing Super Emeralds sitting on the pedestals. Sonic and Tails were right outside Hidden Palace. And then the worst part of the situation hit me. After the last seismic quake caused by Lava Reef's volcanic activity, the rocks blocking the entrance had been shaken loose. I had never replaced the rocks afterwards, so they could plainly see the entrance to the palace! I slammed a fist into the wall. How could I have been so stupid as to not replace the rocks covering the very entrance to the most secret place on the whole island! In my panic, I failed to notice Metal Sonic appear in a corner and watch me, keeping his crimson eyes focused on me the whole time.
I could hear their voices getting louder. I still couldn't make out what they were saying, but I knew they were coming. I had to get rid of them somehow. And this time for keeps. A thought then came to my mind. I looked about the palace, looking for what I needed. I then spotted a nice round boulder about a foot taller than myself, but it was big enough that it would fill up enough of the tunnel and surely crush Sonic and Tails. I had had enough of them. They were too close for any kind of comfort. They had crossed the line. My anger with them was now pure hatred, and I wasn't about to let them live. I knew that if the boulder didn't crush them, then at least they'd fall into the lake of lava at the other end of the tunnel. Now I could hear their conversation as I moved the boulder across the cavern and into position.
"So how much time do we have?" said Sonic's voice.
"About twenty minutes left," said Tails. I frowned. Twenty minutes until what? I shook my head as I returned my focus back to dealing with them. I moved over to the exit of the tunnel and stood there, my fists against my hips. I could see them, Sonic leading Tails up the tunnel. I saw him look up at me, then stop.
"What do you want, Knuckles?" snarled Sonic's voice. I noticed that it had changed from his usual cockiness to a much more serious tone.
"You know what I want," I said to him. "I want you." Sonic just stared back at me. I could see Tails now standing defiantly by his side, no fear at all in his eyes. *That's a little odd,* I thought. Normally, Tails had a look of fear on him, but not this time. Oh well, that would change shortly. "You have overstayed your uninvited welcome. Now you will pay for trespassing on this island and its secrets." Sonic crossed his arms and glared at me, as if to dare me to do my worst. I smiled evilly down at him. I would do just that. I walked over to the boulder and easily pushed it up to the tunnel's exit. I heard Tails let out a scream of horror when he realized what I was going to do.
I then pushed the rock as hard as I could and it started down the tunnel after them, picking up speed quickly. I watched them as Sonic grabbed Tails by the hand and dashed down the slope of the tunnel, the boulder slowly gaining on him. While he was a good distance out in front of it, I knew that if he were to stop, he wouldn't have enough time to be able to speed back up again. But what happened next took me completely by surprise. I saw Tails continue running while Sonic skidded to a stop. I then saw him hold up something that was glowing in the colors of the rainbow in both of his hands.
"That's it! You've crossed the line Knuckles!" I heard him cry from down below. I watched as he struck the things together above his head. I figured he was using the Chaos Emeralds, but I was caught completely off guard as a blinding flash of white light filled the whole tunnel, followed closely by a loud buzzing sound. I had to cover my eyes from the brightness. When my vision cleared, I looked back down the tunnel and was completely shocked. Sonic's blue fur and quills were now flashing in a rainbow of seven colors, his quills sticking out like he was full of static electricity. Several large energy stars circled his body as he stared up at me with fiery red eyes. I realized my mouth was open and I quickly shut it. Was this the power of the Super Emeralds? My father had told me legends of a few echidna's who had used the power of the Super Emeralds to go hyper, but I never thought I'd live to see someone actually become hyper. And how had he gained their power? They were supposed to have been decharged and hidden from everyone, including the Guardian of Floating Island.
I watched in amazement as Hyper Sonic rushed the boulder. He grabbed it with both hands and picked it up off the ground. He then threw the boulder back up tunnel, and then spindashed through it, smashing the boulder to millions of little pebbles. I saw him stare up at me, complete hatred filling his eyes. He then shot forward, flying up the tunnel towards me. Finally, I found the courage to move again and I took off, running back towards where the Master Emerald was. I had an idea that I hoped would work, because it was my last chance to stop Sonic before he reached the Master Emerald.
END OF CHAPTER 10