There was only silence below. Tails was frantic, ready to jump down himself, before he heard faint scratching sounds. He paused, hopeful. Knuckles eventually rose into view, climbing far too fast.

Tails dodged backwards as the echidna shot over the edge. Knuckles shut his eyes; he had never been so glad to be on dry land. He opened them again to see Tails' worried face blinking at him.

"What happened?" Tails asked, trying to keep the impatience out of his voice. Knuckles paused; how could he tell him? The pitch-blackness, hand over hand...almost endless.

And then, suddenly...wet. Dark, heaving, pulling at him, strong currents trying to tug him down. How could he tell him how he had almost been pulled away, ripping at the metal in his terror, frantic cries unheard by Tails, far, far above?

He finally said, "Water..." It was a pathetic reply, but the tone in his voice told Tails everything.

The fox dropped back, suddenly very tired. It was useless. They all knew about Sonic and water; the two did not mix. Ever.

...................

Far over the sea, Eggman finally slowed the hover craft, and allowed himself a smile. He had indeed known about the caves, and recognised the immediate danger to Sonic, or any of his friends...the entire reason he had built the metal block was to capture him.

And Sonic had fallen. He had watched him. He would have laughed gleefully, but he didn't, for once, assume that Sonic was dead. He had had him 'come back from beyond the grave' one too many times.

He could wait; in two days, he reasoned, the fox and echidna would have left, hopeless. He had even timed it right, down to the last detail, so that they would only find water at the bottom of the pit.

Sometimes he amazed himself with his genius.

A grin plastered over his face, he turned the machine leisurely, and set it on autopilot for his real base, the Death Egg. (Sonic Battle) He leaned back in his seat, twirling his moustache, as he thought over what he would do to the caves to assure himself Sonic would be gone. For good.

There was just one thing he over-looked. A small gap in the back of the first cavern. A gap just big enough for a hedgehog to squeeze through.

.............................

On the rocky ledge, Sonic awoke again. His entire body ached, but he scrabbled to the edge anyway. Looking over, peering in the dim glow, he could see that the water had gone down a bit.

With a sigh, he felt his way back along the shadowy ledge, and curled up in a corner. Maybe the water would be gone when he next woke.

............................

Three days later

The phone rang, insistently, nearby. Tails covered up his ears, willing the device to suddenly implode, or spontaneously combust, or something. But the ringing didn't stop, just continued.

With an annoyed sigh, he picked up the receiver. "Hello?" he asked snappily. The voice on the other end was shocked, fumbling over the words. "Um...er...sorry, I thought this was Tails, I must have...um...gotten a wrong number...I...er..."

Tails mentally slapped himself. "No, Amy, it's ok. It's me. I wasn't expecting you, sorry." Amy, on the other end, was relieved. "Oh, sorry, my mistake. Um...I just read the paper..."

Tails looked at the ceiling, imploring for help. It had been the best thing for the news in ages. Not since the ARK incident had so many people grabbed for the paper. Tails got captured. Sonic saved him. Sonic was lost instead.

He hated it; people giving him dirty looks in the street, ringing his phone with spiteful messages. Few people rang to ask him how it was, but he didn't want to tell them. Didn't want to think about it. Even though it was his fault, anyway.

He said, "Yes, I know. You can come over, if you like..." Amy looked at the receiver in surprise, before answering, "Yes, I was about to ask, I'll come right over."

Ten minutes later the doorbell rang. Tails heaved it open to reveal the pink hedgehog. Amy smiled briefly, trying in vain to hide her shock. Tails looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

..................................

At Holy Summit (Sonic Battle) Knuckles finished polishing the Master Emerald. Looking at the gem was so relaxing...and he deserved a rest.

After all, he had been helping Tails search the base again. The pit was still filled with water when they checked; unfortunately they had chosen the wrong time. Then Knuckles refused to go down. The place sickened him.

Now Eggman would pay. He hadn't been sighted since, but he would show up, eventually. He always did. And Knuckles would be ready. He had inexaustible patience...he would wait.

Some summer this has been, he thought reflectively, first the Emerl incident, and then we're all settling down when Tails gets kidnapped. Then Sonic...well, at least that tiresome bat isn't still trying to get the Emerald, he thought brightly.

He stepped out of the rocky cave-house, and gazed at the scenery, spread below him. Then he heard a faint sound, and turned his head towards it. On the far side of the mountain, Eggman's abandoned base was just in view.

As he put his head on one side, trying to catch the noise again, the entire structure suddenly exploded into the air in a surreal blast. A split-second later the sound wave smashed into him, almost knocking him over.

When he looked again, a smoking crater marked the spot. Even as he watched, the middle seemed to sink down. Eggman had blown up his own base? Surely not...and why had the middle sunk? The only theory he could come up with was that:

There were caves beneath the base that had collapsed.

Sonic just may have...well; Eggman seemed to think so, anyway.

Piecing these thoughts together, Knuckles suddenly realised their terrible mistake. Of course! The building was next to the sea...how could he expect to climb down and not find water?

It was stupid...he was stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Sonic could have been alive! If he had escaped those caves, anyway. If there were caves. In a flash he was away, bounding down the mountainside.

..................................

Sonic jerked awake suddenly. He was starving, thirsty, and stiff all over. How long had he been asleep? What had woken him up? He tried to call, "Hello?" but it came out as "He..ggh..."

He coughed a few times, to no success. Then he heard a faint hissing. With a rapid sense of dread filling him, he scrambled down the rock face, almost falling to the bottom.

Then the other cave exploded, fire billowing through the gap. As the shockwave hit, he was thrown back into the rock he had just climbed down, smashing into it and then smashed away again. The world seemed to disintegrate around him into light and noise.

He tried desperately to run, and hit the ground again. He was away before he even knew it, as the cave shook dangerously, huge cracks spreading across the surface.

The world crashed down behind him as he ran, driven by pure fear, just ahead of it. Then a falling rock hit him hard in the head and he knew no more.

.................................

Tails swung his head round as a loud boom echoed from the mountain. Amy jumped from her seat with a cry of, "What the-?!" Tails ran to the window, and saw a red blur come speeding towards them.

"Come on!" he yelled, dashing for the door, a dazed Amy following.

Knuckles pounded to the outskirts of the town, just in time to see Tails and Amy dashing towards him. He slowed to a jog, breathing heavily, and shouted, "It's that place...the sea...caves...Sonic..."

Tails tried valiantly to make sense of the words, but ended up shaking his head in confusion. Amy was no better off.

..................................

He came to his senses to find himself on the floor. Why was he on the floor? He struggled up to a sitting position, and clutched his head, groaning. Where was he? Who was he? It was a blur. A...a hedgehog...his name...something beginning with s...his head was a whirl of colours and pictures. It hurt.

Then he heard a small croak. He opened his eyes quickly, falling silent instinctively and flicking his eyes around. In the gloom and darkness, another pair of eyes looked at him. They were pale yellow orbs, floating, and he watched them warily as they approached.

A lizard came into view, sliding along the floor with surprising speed. It avoided the fallen rocks and smashed crystals, stopping opposite him. It hissed quietly, flicking its tail. Its slim length was covered with light brown stripes, and it was a pale greeny colour.

He was intrigued by it, and tried to make a sound back. But he had forgotten. He hissed quietly, imitating it. The lizard bobbed its head, apparently pleased. It hissed again, then swelled its throat, releasing it in a loud croak.

The sound echoed around, and he was surprised by its loudness. He tried to make a croak back, and it came out as a growl; "Grrrrrgh..." The lizard blinked, and he could have sworn it looked happy.

It turned and slid a little way, then turned to look back at him. He scrabbled up and followed it, swaying dizzily, but not wanting to lose it. He didn't want to be alone. Maybe it could lead him out of this place...

This place...he became aware of it for the first time. It appeared to be a large, dark, cave. The floor was littered with rocks and debris...almost as if...pain stabbed at his head...rising water, trapped...then the flash was gone, leaving him more confused than ever.

The lizard paced a little way, then waited, and then paced again. The pair travelled further into the dark caves. He started to travel easier, mimicking the lizard's sliding movement, gliding along the ground. His eyes got better used to the dim light, and he thought of it as a prison less and less.

As he followed, he practised his hiss. He liked it. "Ssssss..."