South Island. This large island in the Mobian Sea is the location of
Mobius' many Hill Zone, the Green and Emerald among them. At the very
northern edge of the island lies the ice formation known as the North Cave.
As the tip of South Island lies in the frigid Northern Seas the area around
the North Cave is covered in a blanket of snow and ice. In times gone by,
during the rule of Robotnik for example, this Cave was the resting-place of
seven of, at that time, 14 Emeralds, the other seven being guarded by
Knuckles on the Floating Island. This cave was perfect for this job, as the
freezing waters within the cave were able to control the Emerald's energy
and stop them from returning to the Special Zone.
But our story does not concern the North Cave, as its duty has already been fulfilled. The next chapter of this story takes place in that most famous of the zones.
The Emerald Hill Zone. Situated on the coast of South Island it is known for its wide, open beaches, and clear, blue seas. However, the locals forbid the building of tourist resorts on these natural wonders, as the buildings would spoil the view. The Zone is also known for its bizarre rock formations. Top Mobian scientists believe that the famous Mobian Corkscrews and Loop-the-Loops are the result of volcanic activity. Although, there is still much dispute over that. During the time of Robotnik the Zone was filled with pitfalls and traps, not to mention Badniks. However, since the explosion of the Black Asteroid as the resultant revolt to oust the cruel dictator the traps have been removed, the pitfalls filled in and all Badnik wreckage removed. However, there is one place in the Zone, which played an important role in the defence of Mobius.
The Emerald Village. Built by the native people using the bizarre properties of the Zone's trees and plant-life. What's so special about the trees you ask? Well, they very big and very wide. In fact, every home in the Emerald Hill is built inside the trunks of these massive trees, using the plant's natural growths as windows and doors. During the exile in the time between the destruction of the Death Egg and the defeat of Robotnik, the Emerald Hill folk used their skills to create homes in the huge mushrooms that covered the Mushroom Hill Zone on the Floating Island. The island has long since disappeared, after its destruction by the Chaos creature. One of the Emerald Hill's houses was, and still is used by Sonic as a base. From the outside it looks like any other. Well, if you ignore the satellite network and power cables that criss-cross the structure. But inside, the beginning of Planet Mobius' next adventure was about to take place.
Sonic buried his face in his magazine, propping his legs up on the circular console in the centre of the room. Flicking through the brightly- coloured pages he grunted in disgust and placed it on a rapidly growing pile on the floor next to him, before taking up another from a rapidly shrinking pile on his other side. On the other side of the room Porker was fiddling with one of the control panels on the expansive console that ran around the edge of the upper base. Looking over to his right Sonic nodded. The door to the lower base was still closed. Knuckles hadn't come out of there much since two months ago, when Tails managed to find the old chest of diagrams and blueprints for the Floating Island's computer screens. Everyone had though it lost when the Floating island had plunged into the ocean, and the fact that this had survived was a good sign to the red echidna. Down in the bowels of the Headquarters lay Porker's lab, and the rooms for most of the Freedom fighters. Knuckles had occupied Johnny Lightfoot's room after the rabbit's death at the hands of the Chaos creature. Sonic sighed and picked up a chilli dog from the tray next to him, perched precariously on the bumpy Kintobor console. Tails had recently left on his morning patrol of the Zone. In fact, thought Sonic, looking down at his watch, the fox should be back right around.
He'd hardly finished his thought when Tail burst through the door, tripping over Porker on the way. As the two tumbled head over heels Sonic scowled. Standing up he placed one foot on Tails' back to stop him. As the two picked themselves up Sonic returned to his swivel chair, giving it a little spin, before being dumped on his backside as the whole contraption collapsed beneath him. Dusting himself off Sonic walked over to where Tails was getting up.
"What's the rush, pixel-brain?" he asked. The fox leapt up and Sonic had to put one hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Sonic! I was talking to some of the Emerald Hill folk, and I heard that there's trouble in Metropolis City!" Sonic took the information in calmly, then walked over to his demolished chair and flicked a switch on the command console. The unwieldy holographic-projector mounted on the wall sprung into lights, bleeps and clanks emanating from its surface as wheels inside the lens began to turn. Above the central console a face appeared. The face of Doctor Ovi Kintobor. The good doctor had created the Kintobor computer some time before the explosion that combined the Chaos energy of the Emeralds, a rotten egg and the unlucky professor to form the twisted Doctor Ivo Robotnik. As the face turned to Sonic, Porker turned on the computer's voice-recognition systems.
"Hey, Kintobor. Have your sensors picked up any trouble in Metropolis City?" The computer turned to Porker and nodded. A large monitor hung from one of the walls lit up, showing a familiar picture. Badniks swarmed in the streets, chasing citizens up alleyways, into buildings. Sonic slammed his fist down on the table.
"Porker, ready the hover units. It looks very much like D.R.A.T.'s up to its old tricks." The pig nodded, running into the closed door to his lab, and the underground hanger that also held Tails' biplane, which had taken a well-earned rest after Porker invented the new units. They had first been used in the first battle with the Chaos creature, which had obviously had a big effect on the history and geography of Mobius. As Sonic watched an old Batbot flutter past on the screen he wondered how the members of the 'Doctor Robotnik Appreciation Tribe' could be so blind. Their 'leader' had gone insane. Why did they keep doing this?
Shaking his head, Sonic ran to join his friends in the hanger.
But our story does not concern the North Cave, as its duty has already been fulfilled. The next chapter of this story takes place in that most famous of the zones.
The Emerald Hill Zone. Situated on the coast of South Island it is known for its wide, open beaches, and clear, blue seas. However, the locals forbid the building of tourist resorts on these natural wonders, as the buildings would spoil the view. The Zone is also known for its bizarre rock formations. Top Mobian scientists believe that the famous Mobian Corkscrews and Loop-the-Loops are the result of volcanic activity. Although, there is still much dispute over that. During the time of Robotnik the Zone was filled with pitfalls and traps, not to mention Badniks. However, since the explosion of the Black Asteroid as the resultant revolt to oust the cruel dictator the traps have been removed, the pitfalls filled in and all Badnik wreckage removed. However, there is one place in the Zone, which played an important role in the defence of Mobius.
The Emerald Village. Built by the native people using the bizarre properties of the Zone's trees and plant-life. What's so special about the trees you ask? Well, they very big and very wide. In fact, every home in the Emerald Hill is built inside the trunks of these massive trees, using the plant's natural growths as windows and doors. During the exile in the time between the destruction of the Death Egg and the defeat of Robotnik, the Emerald Hill folk used their skills to create homes in the huge mushrooms that covered the Mushroom Hill Zone on the Floating Island. The island has long since disappeared, after its destruction by the Chaos creature. One of the Emerald Hill's houses was, and still is used by Sonic as a base. From the outside it looks like any other. Well, if you ignore the satellite network and power cables that criss-cross the structure. But inside, the beginning of Planet Mobius' next adventure was about to take place.
Sonic buried his face in his magazine, propping his legs up on the circular console in the centre of the room. Flicking through the brightly- coloured pages he grunted in disgust and placed it on a rapidly growing pile on the floor next to him, before taking up another from a rapidly shrinking pile on his other side. On the other side of the room Porker was fiddling with one of the control panels on the expansive console that ran around the edge of the upper base. Looking over to his right Sonic nodded. The door to the lower base was still closed. Knuckles hadn't come out of there much since two months ago, when Tails managed to find the old chest of diagrams and blueprints for the Floating Island's computer screens. Everyone had though it lost when the Floating island had plunged into the ocean, and the fact that this had survived was a good sign to the red echidna. Down in the bowels of the Headquarters lay Porker's lab, and the rooms for most of the Freedom fighters. Knuckles had occupied Johnny Lightfoot's room after the rabbit's death at the hands of the Chaos creature. Sonic sighed and picked up a chilli dog from the tray next to him, perched precariously on the bumpy Kintobor console. Tails had recently left on his morning patrol of the Zone. In fact, thought Sonic, looking down at his watch, the fox should be back right around.
He'd hardly finished his thought when Tail burst through the door, tripping over Porker on the way. As the two tumbled head over heels Sonic scowled. Standing up he placed one foot on Tails' back to stop him. As the two picked themselves up Sonic returned to his swivel chair, giving it a little spin, before being dumped on his backside as the whole contraption collapsed beneath him. Dusting himself off Sonic walked over to where Tails was getting up.
"What's the rush, pixel-brain?" he asked. The fox leapt up and Sonic had to put one hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Sonic! I was talking to some of the Emerald Hill folk, and I heard that there's trouble in Metropolis City!" Sonic took the information in calmly, then walked over to his demolished chair and flicked a switch on the command console. The unwieldy holographic-projector mounted on the wall sprung into lights, bleeps and clanks emanating from its surface as wheels inside the lens began to turn. Above the central console a face appeared. The face of Doctor Ovi Kintobor. The good doctor had created the Kintobor computer some time before the explosion that combined the Chaos energy of the Emeralds, a rotten egg and the unlucky professor to form the twisted Doctor Ivo Robotnik. As the face turned to Sonic, Porker turned on the computer's voice-recognition systems.
"Hey, Kintobor. Have your sensors picked up any trouble in Metropolis City?" The computer turned to Porker and nodded. A large monitor hung from one of the walls lit up, showing a familiar picture. Badniks swarmed in the streets, chasing citizens up alleyways, into buildings. Sonic slammed his fist down on the table.
"Porker, ready the hover units. It looks very much like D.R.A.T.'s up to its old tricks." The pig nodded, running into the closed door to his lab, and the underground hanger that also held Tails' biplane, which had taken a well-earned rest after Porker invented the new units. They had first been used in the first battle with the Chaos creature, which had obviously had a big effect on the history and geography of Mobius. As Sonic watched an old Batbot flutter past on the screen he wondered how the members of the 'Doctor Robotnik Appreciation Tribe' could be so blind. Their 'leader' had gone insane. Why did they keep doing this?
Shaking his head, Sonic ran to join his friends in the hanger.