A/N: I apologize for last chapter…it was rushed, since I hadn't had a chapter out in a fair bit, and I think you, as my faithful readers, deserved better. So, I hope this chapter is more satisfying. ^_^ Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!
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The moon was just rising over the tree line, casting its dim, muted rays into the forest. It swathed everything in a pale, silvery light, giving an eerie glow to everything it touched. Making hardly any sound, Tails continued onward, leaving footprints in the misty ground. His eyes scanned the forest ahead of him, catching a hold of something ahead through the trees. He cautiously walked forward, stopping every couple of feet to peer in bewilderment at the thing in front of him. A few more steps…and some more…until finally, he found himself in a large, open clearing. And in the clearing, was a glowing, red orb. His eye's widened as he approached it, getting a strange sort of déjà vu from the whole experience. This had happened sometime before…
Before he had time to reflect on that, however, the orb jumped in front of him, and a brilliant red light engulfed the surrounding landscape. Tails shielded his eyes as he tried to look at this phenomenon, but was overpowered by the sheer glare of it. He adverted his eyes then, waiting. After a minute, the light subsided, and a voice called to him softly.
"Tails…" it said. He gasped at the sound of another, live voice and turned around. What he was met with stunned him. Staring back at him, was the sweet, kind face of—
"…Tikal?" Tails asked, eyes wide. "…B-but…you're supposed to be—"
"I am," she replied, laughing softly. "This is just my spirit. I came to help you now…because of how you helped me before." She smiled.
"I'm eternally grateful for that," she said, looking at him. "Now Chaos is at peace." Tails scratched his head, puzzled.
"But…I thought you were going to be sealed up with Chaos…how did you get out?" he asked. Tikal smiled.
"They will understand…" she replied. "This is for a great cause. To rid the evil from this evil hedgehog…just as you rid the evil from Chaos." She sighed, wringing her hands.
"The power of the Chaos Emeralds seems to always be the source of this eviliness…" she whispered. "I wish they wouldn't be used for such…vile deeds…" Tails nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, they do just seem to be used for power nowadays…" A thought suddenly struck him, and he gasped. "…But what if we got rid of them? Like…put them in a place where they couldn't be accessed by anyone, ever!" Tikal stared at him incredulously.
"If we did that, then there could be serious problems…" she mused. "For one, Sonic would cease to have the ability to become Super Sonic…and you'd need to have to come up with more alternate power sources for your planes…" Tails nodded.
"I could do without that," he countered, into the idea. "And I'm sure if it was for the better good of the world, then Sonic could understand not being able to turn into Super Sonic anymore…and, besides…I'm sure if the time came and we really needed to get them again…we could, right?" Tikal thought about this for a minute, and then slowly nodded.
"If we managed to get all the Chaos Emeralds together…I could seal them up with me and Chaos…and they would be untouched," she replied slowly. Tails cocked his head, perplexed.
"How would we be able to get them back in times of need, though?" he asked. "I mean, you came out of the seal…but…would they be able to as well?" Tikal nodded.
"I'm a spirit," she said, laughing softly. "How do you think I knew that you were in trouble? If the time comes when they are essential for the victory of good, I will find you and bring them. But until that point…if we want to go through with this, then…they're gone." She looked at Tails, her eyes somber.
"Are you sure that this is what you want? For the better of the world?" Tails hesitated, and then nodded.
"I'm sure," he replied, and Tikal held out her hands.
"So be it then," she said. "Now, come on. We have seven emeralds to find."
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Knuckles banged his fists against the bars, infuriated. How dare someone keep him in? How dare they treat him and his friends like this? His frustration was apparent as he ground his sharp, pointed knuckles into the metal, futilely trying to break them. It was his last hope. He'd spent all day trying to dig his way out, but to no avail. The ground was some sort of hard stone – granite, most likely, he thought. He let out a wail of despair and lowered his hands, the constant clawing having made his knuckles raw, even bleeding in some places.
"You won't get away with this!" he shouted furiously. "You'll see! We'll get out of here somehow!"
"Oh, just shut up already. You're giving me a headache," a tired, irritated voice replied, causing Knuckles to look up in alarm. He cautiously walked in the direction of the noise, cursing the feeble light of the cell as he tripped over a floor stone that was jutting out a bit higher then the rest.
"Who is that?" Knuckles called out tentatively. "Identify yourself!" The voice laughed humorlessly, and he heard the rustle of someone getting up in the cell with him.
"I'm surprised you haven't recognized the voice, echidna," the voice said. With that, a little beam of light shown out in the direction of the person, and Knuckles gasped at who was standing before him, a small flashlight in one of his hands.
"Eggman!" Knuckles cried, immediately getting into a defensive position. "You're not going to get anything out of me so easily!" The heavyset genius clucked, shaking his head.
"How naïve you are," he replied. "To think I would be trapped in this cell with the likes of you." Knuckles stared, mildly shocked.
"You mean—" he started, but Eggman cut him off, bitter.
"Of course! This is uncalled for. To think of all I did for that spinning, black furball…" He growled, and in the small amount of light from the flashlight, Knuckles saw something he had never seen before in the doctor's face. Hurt.
"I worked for him…made sure he had everything he needed…and what does he repay me with? Nothing. And now I'm trapped here, thirty feet under the ground, with my enemies!" He sighed angrily and clenched his free fist.
"It's unfair," he muttered. "And I will get my revenge." Knuckles smirked.
"Seems like everyone is out to get Shadow nowadays," he said, looking over at him. "Say…what about if we all get out of here, we join together? We're obviously all fighting for the same cause here – to get rid of him. And, as much as I hate to admit it, we could probably use your help." Eggman looked him over, and snorted.
"As much as you hated to admit that, I don't think that can come close to how much I am going to hate saying this…but all right," he replied. "But this is a one time deal, echidna. Don't think because we worked together one time means that we're best friends!" Knuckles held his hands out defensively.
"Woah, chill out, Doc!" he said, taking a step back. "No one was asking for you to sing our next birthday party or anything, sheesh!" Eggman pulled down on his shirt, hmmphing as he straightened himself out.
"Good," he replied darkly. "I don't know the tune to Happy Birthday anyway…"