The rumbling of mine carts and the cracks of whips could be heard as children were being forced to dig into the very depths of the underground caverns by the cruel rats of the Thugee, and their ringleader, the large and imposing Aligator dressed in their garb, who would pass by a straggler, and whip them once with a cry of "Shao-leeka-lo!"

It was a group of miserable slaves that had just grown by one. Poor Tails was now among them as he was being bossed around by a couple of surly rats, staying next to his friend Cream, who was often warning him of which rats and areas to stay away from.

Meanwhile, Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles, were all chained up in another room, dark and covered in torches along the walls, all by themselves as the three captured Chaos Emeralds shined on an altar nearby.

Knuckles scowled at Sonic. "Did you really need to throw that rock?"

Sonic scowled back at him. "Hey. What did you want me to do? He was WHIPPING that poor kid. What did you expect me to do? Just stand idly by and watch him do it?"

Knuckles showed no emotion to this "That would have been sensible given our position."

Sonic scoffed. "Oh, real nice. You're a very compassionate fellow, I can tell."

Amy interrupted them both. "Quit it, you guys! There's no point in bickering about this now. The fact is, we're here, we're trapped, and we need to think of a way to get out of here before we end up like Eggman!"

Knuckles just looked at her silently and nodded slowly As Sonic gave her an odd look. "Since when did YOU become the voice of reason in this group?" Amy shrugged and giggled a bit. "Happens under extreme duress, I guess."

Sonic just chuckled and shook his head, before they heard a voice say, "Please, let me die."

The three all turned their heads to see the figure of the same rabbit from earlier, who looked close to Sonic's age, maybe a bit younger, and was dressed in his same old servant clothes. He was still nursing his whip wounds from a while back as he crept into the room from a hidden passage.

He looked around and said, in a slight accent, "I pray to Chaos, 'Let me die', but I do not." He then slid to the middle of the room. "I often wonder if there is a reason he lets me live." He walked to a rock and sat on it as Sonic just stared at him. "Who ARE you?"

The rabbit smiled a bit. "I am called Ranjit. The oldest of the young servants they have here." Knuckles looked to him, curiously. "How come you're not chained up, or being followed and whipped, like the rest of them?" Ranjit shrugged. "They simply don't bother much with me anymore." Knuckles furrowed his brow. "I don't follow."

Ranjit smiled. "Perhaps I should explain. Like these children, I was stolen from my home a long time ago, and put to work in these very same mines. Now, when some servants reach a certain age, they are to be taken to the ceremonial altar, and sacrificed to Kali." Amy Gasped at this, and shuddered. "How awful!" Ranjit nodded. "Yes. I had seen many old friends sacrificed, before they got to me. But I escaped them. I slipped them when they were taking me to the altar, and after successfully hiding from them, they decided to give up on me. But I am still mindful to avoid their grasp, should they ever change their minds."

Sonic thought over this. "But wait, I saw you earlier, protecting Cream from getting whipped. If it weren't for my rock distracting that slave driver, you would have been captured again. Why'd you risk it?". Ranjit shrugged. "Because I feel a lot for Cream. I know what she's been through, and seeing here there reminds me so much of what I went through. She touched me. She seemed so compassionate and caring deep down. I felt a need to protect her." Amy smiled a bit. "Oh I see. So you've become like a surrogate big brother to her." Ranjit nodded and smiled as Amy mused "Awww, that's sweet."

Knuckles interrupted. "Yes, that's fine and dandy. Now do you know of a way to free us?" Sonic nodded. "Yeah. This isn't exactly a comfortable place." Ranjit nodded slowly. "Yes. I have ways of breaking shackles and picking locks. The problem is that there are so many guards in every corridor that an escape is a near impossibility. I've been trying to think of a way to free everyone, but the same problem with the number of guards keeps coming into play." Amy looked to Ranjit. "Well, if you free us, we could help you think of a way." Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Our intention was mainly to retrieve these children anyway."

Ranjit smiled a little as he realized what this could mean. "Yes…yes! Maybe you three can help me. That would surely work out with what I have in mind." He walked back to the hole he crawled out of. "I have a living quarters hidden just outside of the palace through these tunnels. I can go get a bunch of my homemade lock picks, and bring them back here." He began to crawl into the tunnel as Knuckles barked "Well, go and get them then!" Sonic yelled to him. "Act quickly, they might be coming for us soon." Amy joined in "Don't get caught, Ranjit. We're counting on you. ALL of us!"

A few moments after Ranjit left the room, a few guards entered through the door, and stood watch. It was then that the imposing figure of Mola Ram entered, slowly walking around the three, and removing his horned helmet. He placed it on a table as he looked to the three gems, and then back to Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy.

He just gazed at them as he plainly stated, "You were caught, trying to steal the Chaos Emeralds." Knuckles looked to him. "You're very perceptive." Mola Ram just sneered at him. "You find this humorous? If so, then you should find what I might do to you as punishment to be the height of hilarity." Knuckles sneered back. "Do your worst, you damn traitor!"

Mola Ram chuckled a bit. "You call ME a traitor? Do you even know who I am?" He walked to the Emeralds and examined them. "Let me explain something to you, as one of the few survivors of Angel Island. You see, I was once a prominent spiritual advisor on Angel Island." Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, I know all about that, and how that dark goddess Kali won your heart, and you turned against everyone." Mola Ram turned and rubbed his helmet a bit. "But did you also know that it took place around the time of Tikal?" Knuckles' eyes widened, as Sonic and Amy looked on in disbelief. "How can that be? Tikal's father went after the master emerald years and years ago. How can you still be alive?"

Mola Ram smiled and rubbed an old red amulet on his chest. "The power of Kali can give life. Eternal life, to whomever she pleases. I am her vessel, her ambassador to the world. She will not let me be bound to mortality. And the Echidnae you have seen are the descendants of those who followed me here, and also believe in Kali." Sonic jumped in. "Just who is this Kali anyway?" Mola Ram put his helmet to the side again and walked around the room. "Seeing as how you're trapped here for the rest of your lives, I shall tell you. Kali is the sister of Chaos." Knuckles furrowed his brow. "Sister?"

Mola Ram nodded. "Yes. As Chaos is a being of water, Kali is a being of fire. And she knows all too well of Chaos' greed. He hoarded the chaos emeralds, and the master emerald from her, thinking he was the only one suited to have them, and after a long battle, sent her to the underworld and forgot about her. But she did not cease her determination. She called out to someone from her prison in the inferno. And I was the one who answered her. When we talked, she warned me. She warned me not only about Chaos and his greed, but also about Tikal's father, who lusted after the power of the master emerald, so much that in the end, it cost him the life of his daughter." He looked down at this point. "I was her personal spiritual guide for many years. I cared for her, possibly more than her father ever did. I tried to deliver her message of warning all across Angel Island, but in the end I, and the others who came to believe in me, were declared enemies of the peace, and expelled from their society!"

Knuckles looked at him skeptically. "Well, that may have had something to do with Kali's apparent demand for living sacrifices."

Mola Ram looked to him sternly. "Do not judge me so harshly for doing what must be done. I gave those people a purpose, a great purpose for which they shall be spiritually rewarded when Kali accomplishes her mission. I value life just as much as you do."

Sonic snorted. "Ha. That sounds kind of funny from someone who keeps innocent children down here chained up like slaves." Mola Ram shook his head and walked around Sonic. "You still fail to see my vision. These children dig for ore and minerals for weapons and machines, so that they can support our cause. They also search for the last 4 emeralds, which I believe to be hidden down here in the catacombs. I can sense that Kali diverted these four here, into the lands of those who are loyal to her. Soon, we will have all seven chaos emeralds, and the Thuggees will be all powerful."

Amy looked at him; half scared and stated, "What a vivid imagination." Mola Ram just chuckled and walked over to her, grinning a bit. "You…doubt me?" He smiled more. "You won't when I am through with you." Amy just stared at him as he continued. "You will become…a true believer…" Sonic and Knuckles looked on, wondering what he was up to, as the large Alligator slowly walked into the room, and right up to Amy. At the same time, Mola Ram accepted a bizarre object from one of the rats. It was large goblet, filled with a foul smelling liquid that looked like blood. At the same time, another figure entered the room. It was the Maharajah, with the same glazed over look in his eyes, standing near a torch as Mola Ram brought the Goblet over. The Alligator then grabbed the terrified Amy by the face, and opened her mouth with his hand.

Mola Ram chanted softly as he began to pour the liquid into her mouth. It didn't take much for Sonic and Knuckles to decide that this was a bad thing they were doing. Sonic frantically shouted, "Amy! Don't drink it!" as Knuckles yelled "Spit it out, Amy! Spit it out!" Amy held the liquid in her mouth as Mola Ram continued to pour, before finally breaking free of the Alligator's paw, and spitting it in his face. Mola Ram grunted in frustration, before yelling something to the Maharajah.

Sonic looked over to see the Maharajah, as he pulled out a small effigy made of straw, which looked like Amy. He watched as a hypnotic smile appeared on the boy's face, and he held the figure up to the torch flames. At that same moment, Amy yelled out in pain, feeling a sharp burning sensation in her back. The Maharajah smiled more as he held the figure up to the flames a few more times. Amy yelled "Stop it!" numerous times, on the verge of sobbing before the Gator plugged her nose with one paw and held her mouth open with the other, as Mola Ram poured the liquid down. "After we have slaughtered our enemies here in the uncharted territories, we will cross the borders, overtake every land! Corrupt governments and cities will fall right and left! The greedy and rotted form of Chaos will soon be cast down and forgotten!" The Gator then closed Amy's mouth, forcing her to swallow as Mola Ram looked to the sky. "Soon, Kali-Ma will rule the world!"

Amy shuddered and closed her eyes, exhausted as the guards walked over and unchained her. Sonic slowly shook his head and groaned, "Why? Why her?" Mola Ram walked to Knuckles first. "Because you do not deserve what I have given her…" he then walked to Sonic and pointed to him, "And I also need a sacrifice that will please Kali greatly." Sonic breathed heavily as he heard this, trying to conceal his fear now as Knuckles scowled at Mola Ram, trying to find some weakness in his shackles, and failing.

Meanwhile, the guards dragged Amy, who was still groggy from the liquid she was force fed, and threw her onto a stone slab in a bizarre room filled with skulls and candles, as well as thuggee symbols. The Guards left her as she trembled and shook, the effects of the liquid beginning to take hold. She clutched her hands and moved them around as she looked up into the ceiling, apparently hallucinating. She breathed harder and faster as what she saw became more and more horrifying, and made her convulse in terror on the slab. She screamed as she kicked, knocking over a candle as she yelled out and thrashed around on the slab, absolutely horrified by what she was seeing. After a few more minutes of this, she bolted up in the darkness, panting softly as a terrible smile began to crawl across her lips; her eyes glazed wide open as a hypnotic, trance like state came over her.

A few rooms down, some slave children were sitting in shackles, being given a brief rest from their work as a few guards snoozed nearby. Tails was among them, sitting with Cream as they wondered what was being done with the others. They suddenly heard some shuffling noises in a passageway nearby, and Ranjit popped out of the whole. "Ranjit!" Cream softly called to him as she ran over, as Tails followed her. "Who?" Cream giggled a bit. "Oh yeah. Tails, this is Ranjit. He's been looking after me ever since I got here." Ranjit smiled and nodded to Tails before looking to cream. "How are you doing? Are you sharing your rations like I told you too?" Cream nodded softly as he smiled. "That's good. You'll make a lot of friends doing that, and believe me, you need friends in a place like this." Cream nodded and hugged Ranjit softly. "I don't like it when you leave, Ranjit. I get so scared when you're not around."

Ranjit patted her back softly. "Don't you worry, Cream. If all goes according to plan, you'll be back with your mother in no time." Cream perked her ears. "Plan?" Tails jumped in. "You have a plan?" Ranjit nodded. "Yes. But, unfortunately, it's hit a bit of a snag. Mola Ram came in after I left, and he's going sacrifice Sonic!" Cream gasped. "No!" Tails struggled with his shackles. "Well, we've got to go save him then. Can you free us?" Ranjit nodded. "Yes. I have special lock picks you could use." Tails immediately reached out with his hand "Well, give me one, then!" Ranjit shushed him. "No. Not now. Only when the time is right."

Tails just stared at him. "So when's the right time." Ranjit simply answered, "You will know as soon as I know. Just trust me, and be ready to act when the moment comes." With that, he hugged Cream once more, and disappeared into the passage. Tails stared into the passage as Cream rubbed her hands together anxiously. "Oh, I hope he knows what he's doing." Tails nodded softly as he waited with her, as the guards prepared to start them on another working shift.

Time passed, and the work continued in the mines, as the rats stood guard, whipping any stragglers, as Tails and Cream worked as casually as they could, in the hopes that Ranjit would soon show up again to help them, unaware of what was about to take place in the ceremonial room above.

The drums thundered through the room slowly as the group of rats, and the Maharajah gathered once more, as they watched the altar from across the firey pit. Mola Ram was already standing near the edge, addressing the crowd in their native tongue. "Kali-ma me shak te, meda mali! Shappa te hei mo, no hup ti gi! MASA DE OH BE TE POLIGAD!" But there was something particularly special about this event. Knuckles sat helplessly near the altar, as a pair of heavy shackles was attached to his wrists, keeping him on the ground. Chattar Lal was standing in his usual place on the altar, with Amy standing right next to him! She had a partially blank look in her eyes, with the same small smile from before, as she responded Mola Ram's chanting in English.

"Kali-ma protects us. We are her children. We pledge our devotion to her with an offering of flesh…" As she said this, she could hear yelling, as two rats were dragging out Sonic. She finished her sentence as she saw this, "…and blood." Chattar Lal looked to her and stated, "Your friend has seen, and he has heard. Now he will not talk."

Knuckles could only watch as Sonic was pulled over to the cage-like device that they had previously used on Eggman, as he struggled to get away in vain. He looked over at Amy, as the crowd of rats began chanting once more. "C'mon Amy. What're you doing just standing there? I know I've complained about you being obsessed with me, but I wouldn't mind some of that obsession now!" He struggled as she just stared at him with a hypnotic smile on her face. "Amy! What are you doing? What's the matter with you?" Amy just watched as the cage was pulled right-side up with a small squeak, set down on the ground as the two strong rats pulled Sonic over and threw him into it, only managing to get one of his arms into the shackles as Mola Ram slowly walked to him, the smoke billowing from the firey pit behind him as the crowd chanted " SAY A PREE BE GEH BE OHN TEY YAMBO! RIGA YAN PAHN CONNA YA SE TAMBO!" Sonic breathed nervously, and simply covered his chest with his free hand as Mola Ram approached.

Sonic kept a stern, but slightly nervous face, as Mola Ram continued the ceremony, obviously delighted with the fear that he could sense in Sonic. He stroked his trembling face with his hand slightly as he stated, "Bunno lak te. Bunno lak te Kali ma." Sonic lightly said "no…" under his breath as Mola Ram decided to cut to the chase at that point, raising his hand into the air towards the statue of Kali. "Kali-ma." Knuckles watched as Mola Ram's hand began to shake with power. He began to lower it while chanting, "Kali-ma, shuk tee deh!" Sonic began to breathe harder as Mola Ram lowered his hand closer to his chest. "Oh-nee-jerado, beh-beh ah geh."

But just when it looked like Mola Ram was about to go for his heart, he just looked at Sonic and grinned evilly, before pulling his hand away slowly. The chorus swelled as he slowly moved his arm, extending his hand, using it to motion for Amy! "Come…" he softly commanded, as Amy smiled and began to walk over to the cage. "Come…" he smiled and motioned, as Amy walked around the back of the cage, past two echidnas with painted faces who stared blankly ahead. The chorus lightly began to chant, "kor-ram, kor-ram, kor-ram, sur-ram", As sonic looked over at her. "Amy…Amy…help us…" Amy only blinked a little bit, before returning to her evil smile, as Mola Ram looked on expectantly at her.

Amy slowly walked up to Sonic, and looked over him as Sonic softly pleaded with her in a calm manner. "Amy…please snap out of this…" Amy looked him in the eyes blankly as he continued. "You're not one of them…" Amy lightly took Sonic's hand into hers, blankly looking at it as he breathed a little heavier, "You're NOT one of them…" Knuckles sat by in his shackles, just hoping he could find a way to reach her.

As this was going on, Tails and Cream were still working casually, waiting and waiting as the guards gradually dispersed over their area. It was then that two objects fell out from nowhere at their feet. They looked up to see Ranjit in a hole above, waving to them as he pointed to the lock picks he just threw down to them. Tails nodded, immediately understanding as he used one pick to take off his shackles, giving another one to Cream as she freed herself with it. The other children watched in awe as Tails shushed them quietly, and tiptoed around a mine cart with Cream, as the Aligator was just walking in front of them, leaving it behind.

They continued to sneak around, looking for a way out as Tails looked up and saw the same hole in the ceiling that had a passage leading to the altar room, which Sonic and Knuckles had used earlier. He pointed it out to Cream as one guard managed to catch sight of them. He yelled out to the other guards as Tails gasped and grabbed Creams arm, taking off with her as they both ran, avoiding guards lunging at them as the other kids cheered them on. They ran and ran all around the outer mines, before seeing a smooth slope below them. Both of them swallowed hard and ran to the slope made of smooth glassy rocks, sliding down on it as their speed increased. Two guards tried to grab them at the bottom, but before they could even touch them, tails suddenly jumped up, grabbing both of Cream's arms as he began to twirl his tails, lifting them both into the air like a chopper as the two guards lunged for them, only to collide into each other.

The children cheered like crazy as the two ascended towards the hole, both with big smiles on their faces. Ranjit was right there at the top, waiting for them as he helped Tails and Cream get their footing in the passageway, helping them set down. Cream happily hugged Tails, giving him a little kiss on the cheek in thanks as she ran off with Ranjit. Tails smiled and blushed a bit, before running off to join them.

Back in the Altar room, things looked grim. Amy took the hand of Sonic, and gently placed it into the other shackle in the cage, locking it in place. "NO!" Sonic yelled. "Have you lost your mind, Amy?" Knuckles looked on in shock as Amy simply began chanting. "Kor-ram, sur-ram…kor-ram, sur-ram…" the crowd began chanting the same thing again as the rats and the two Echidnae began to adjust the cage that Sonic was in, as he began to mutter. "This can't be happening…this can't be happening…wake up, Sonic…" The chanting slowly swelled as the cage was flipped over, and Amy went over to the other side of the altar to watch. Chattar Lal pulled a lever as the slab below the cage opened, revealing the swirling hot pit of lava. Sonic simply closed his eyes, trembling as he prayed to himself that everything would turn out ok, the heat already making him feel woozy.

The drumming and the chanting intensified as the crowd chanted. "KOR-RAM, KOR-RAM, KOR-RAM SUR-RAM! KOR-RAM, KOR-RAM, KOR-RAM SUR-RAM!" Knuckles struggled with his shackles in a last ditch attempt to free himself, but to no avail. Amy just stood by, smiling in the same hypnotic fashion as the chorus swelled and swelled, and Mola Ram simply looked on this time.

As this was happening, Tails, Cream, and Ranjit all ran into the back part of the altar. Cream turned and immediately saw her friend Amy, running to her and grabbing her arm. "C'mon, Amy, let's get out of here!" Amy immediately threw her arm away from her, and used it to backhand her across the face! Tails gasped and ran over to Cream as she looked up to Amy with a tear in her eye. "Amy…"

Mola Ram caught sight of this, and immediately barked orders to the rats. Ranjit was grabbed from behind before he could act, and Tails was grabbed, by his said tails as he tried to fly away. Cream immediately ran, not wanting to be captured again, and picked up a torch nearby, waving it around in an attempt to fight off the guards. She noticed them recoiling a bit from the flame, and got an idea as she jabbed it briefly into the stomach of one guard. He yelled and fell unconscious as the contact made a sizzling sound on him.

As she fled from the guards, she stopped in front of Amy, who just stared down at her as she said, "Amy, I love you…" she then jabbed the torch at her belly as she yelled, "Wake up, Amy!" Amy immediately screamed at the feel from the flames, and fell to her knees as two guards grabbed Cream.

Sonic was still being lowered slowly into the pit as the crowd chanted, "CHOY-HUP! CHOY-HUP! CHOY-HUP! CHOY-HUP!" Amy blinked, and shook her head as she came into full consciousness once again. She became aware of what was going on, as she looked over and saw one of the guards holding Cream withdrawing a knife from his pocket. She thought of something right there, trying to make it look like she was still one of them. She stopped the one guard as he was about to slit Cream's throat, yelling, "Wait! She's mine!" She then grabbed the terrified little rabbit, by her dress, pulling her over to the edge of the pit, and holding her over it.

As Cream gave Amy a terrified look, she simply said, "I'm all right, Cream." And winked at her, motioning her head towards her mallet, which was conveniently right next to her on the altar. Cream nodded to her quickly before Amy tossed her to safety! She picked up the mallet, ran right over to where Knuckles was, and with the hardest swing she ever took, managed to put a crack in his shackles. The crowed yelled out as the guards immediately moved towards them. Knuckles managed to break the cracked shackle, and broke his other one off too as he freed himself! He immediately began punching away, sending many guards to their deaths as they fell from the edge of the altar!

Amy knocked other guards away with her mallet, as Ranjit managed to kick himself off of the guard who held him, running over to another guard on his strong feet, and kicking him hard in the chin, getting him to release Tails as he fell! Tails just let Ranjit do his thing as he sprung around everyone on his feet, kicking the guards away as Knuckles fought with the two Echidnae watching over the lowering cage. One of them charged at him with a staff, before Knuckles grabbed it and lifted him up with it, sending him over the side and into the pit as he swung the staff around and smacked the other one with it, knocking him into the inferno as well.

Amy struggled with Chattar Lal, who was keeping her from getting to the control lever. Lal had blindsided her with a kick, making her drop her mallet as he withdrew a knife. Amy struggled to get back to her feet as Lal was poised to strike. But before he could make his move, Cream snuck up behind him, and smashed a rock into his foot! Lal turned and yelled, "Ow! What in blazes…" Amy took advantage, and gave him a resounding shot to the face with her mallet! The force sent Lal into the wooden gear that raised and lowered the cage, falling on the other side as one of the big wooden sticks slammed right into his chest, crushing and killing him as it stopped the cage!

And was just at the right time. The cage had stopped just before it made contact with the lava. As this happened, Knuckles ran to his nemesis on the altar yelling, "Mola Ram!" Mola Ram soon ducked and rolled into a secret passageway, laughing at Knuckles as he couldn't reopen it to go after him.

Knuckles soon ran over with the others as the crowd protested from across the pit. He rolled Lal's body out of the gear, as Amy and Ranjit turned it, making the cage come back up, complete with an almost unconscious Sonic, exhausted from the heat. Amy ran over as Knuckles turned the cage over, slapping Sonic lightly on the face. "Wake up, Sonic. C'mon Sonic, wake up!" Sonic weakly opened his eyes, and attempted to throw a punch at Amy! Amy shook Sonic, "No Sonic! It's me! I'm all right!" Sonic smiled and sat up a bit, rubbing his sweaty brow. "Oh…Thank god." He slowly stood up and got his bearings as Knuckles and Ranjit gathered the three emeralds from the skull statue nearby.

Cream walked slowly over to Amy, holding her mallet as she looked up at her kind of somberly, offering it to her as her face still had a mark from where she had been struck. Amy accepted it, and then hugged her young friend tightly. "Amy…my friend…" Cream muttered as Amy responded, "I'm sorry, Cream. I really am."

After they finished, Tails walked to Sonic as he was back on his feet and ready to go, after sipping some cold water that Ranjit brought in a makeshift canteen. "Let's get out of here, Sonic." Tails said as he stood next to him. Sonic nodded softly and looked back to the passage that led to the mines. "Right…ALL of us!"

Back in the mines, things were looking miserable once again. As punishment for two of their prisoners escaping, they were making the poor children work twice as hard as before. Many were pushing carts in groups, while others were carrying baskets full of rocks. One of the children slipped and fell over, as another one tried to help her up, only to be accosted by a guard with a whip.

But before the guard could give out any punishment, he looked up to see a figure in the shadows. A figure with large hands! Before the guard could say anything, two punches landed, and the guard was sent sliding across the gravel-covered floor. The two children looked up as Knuckles stepped forward, and smiled. Other guards tried to run in and stop Knuckles and the others, but were soon quelled by rebelling children, who dumped load after load of rocks on them from above!

Knuckles ran over and punched out another guard, as Ranjit rolled in and sprung up, kicking another one in the chest as Sonic also rolled in and took one out with a sonic spin. Amy, Cream, and Tails, all picked up their keys, and walked to all of the anxious children, undoing their shackles group by group. The freed children ran around with glee, heading back up to the main floor of the palace, trashing a few of the rooms before finally leaving!

Most of the guards had been taken care of by now, but one still remained. The Aligator! He stood near Sonic as he picked up a sledgehammer and tried to swing it at him. He caught the hammer before it hit him, and lifted Sonic into the air, depositing him into A mine cart nearby. Ranjit was about to help out, before he saw more guards running into the room, deciding to look after the others as Knuckles rushed in to fight the Gator. The Gator was slowly wheeling the cart toward a conveyor belt as Tails suddenly rushed up, and tried to whip his back with a small cat-o-nine-tails. It obviously didn't affect the Gator at all, but as he turned to take the implement from Tails, Knuckles came in with a metal pail, clocking him across the face with it. Sonic later came to, and leaped out of the cart, joining in the fight as they edged closer to the conveyor belt.

As this was happening, the hypnotized Maharajah, watching from above, took out another tiny effigy, like the one he had of Amy earlier, only this one was shaped like Knuckles! He slowly withdrew a needle from his turban, and with a sinister smile, plunged it into the doll's back! Back on the ground, Knuckles suddenly reached at his back and yelled out in pain, as if something just jabbed him in the back! He stumbled and fell onto the conveyor belt as the Gator tossed Sonic and Tails aside easily, jumping onto the belt to take care of Knuckles. Knuckles got back up and punched the Gator a few more times, picking up two pails, and rising to smash him in the head with them. But he suddenly cried out in pain as he felt another jab in his back, as The Maharajah gleefully jammed the pin into the doll of Knuckles.

"What's wrong with him?" Sonic asked Tails in frustration, as Tails suddenly looked over and saw the Maharajah from high above with the doll and pin. "I'll be right back, Sonic!" he said, before taking off and elevating himself with his twirling tails. Sonic jumped down onto the belt as Ranjit continued to protect Amy and Cream from the sporadic guards. Knuckles struggled painfully with the Gator as the belt moved them slowly towards a quick rolling wheel, which crushed every rock that went into it. Sonic jumped onto the gator's back as he tried to strangle him from behind with his arms, which was clearly having no effect.

Tails soon landed on the ledge where the Maharajah was, running over and tackling him, making him drop the doll as it still had the pin lodged in it! Back on the belt, the gator threw Sonic off, before pinning Knuckles to the belt, as they got closer to the wheel, waiting for it to crush his head. Knuckles screamed as he was in too much pain to do anything about it. Back on the ledge, Tails struggled with the Maharajah, wrestling him to the ground as he reached slowly for the pin.

Tails finally elbowed the Maharajah right in the chest, before reaching over and pulling out the pin. With that, Kunckles suddenly came to full attention, sitting up and grabbing a saw, and swinging it right into the gator's gut! It wasn't sharp enough to penetrate in too far, but it did stun and hurt the gator to the point where Knuckles could tackle him to the belt and start punching the living daylights out of him. At the same time, the Maharajah suddenly pulled out a knife and swiped it at Tails. Tails fell back as the maharajah walked to him with a crazed look in his eyes. Tails then saw another torch nearby, grabbing it and jabbing it at his belly. The young ruler screamed as it touched him, and fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, the persistent gator shoved Knuckles off of him, and was about to attack him and Sonic again, when he suddenly felt something grab at him. He looked back in terror to discover that his long silk scarf had caught inside the crushing wheel, and was slowly being pulled in. The gator frantically yelled and tried to untie his scarf from his shoulders, but was unable to as Sonic and Knuckles jumped off the belt and left the scene, not watching as the Gator let out a final scream, being pulled into the wheel and finally crushed underneath it's weight, making a horrible sound!

Ranjit found a movable mine cart on the tracks, telling Amy and Cream to get inside as he had an idea. As this happened, Tails sat back, still a bit scared as the Maharajah, freed from the spell of Mola Ram, sat up and rubbed his head. "What?" he said to himself, before realizing. "Have I been freed?" Tails simply responded, "Well, I'm not sure what happened, but it looks like you're back to normal." The Maharajah nodded and smiled. "Yes. Indeed, I have control over myself once again. Thank you my friend." Tails smiled and nodded as he looked down to see Sonic running towards him from below, having seen Ranjit's idea to use the mine carts.

"Tails! Quit fooling around with that kid! We've gotta get out of here!" He shouted to his friend, who nodded and prepared to take off on his tails once more, before the Maharajah suddenly gripped his shoulder. "Please listen." He told Tails "To get out onto the safer paths, you must take the left tunnel." Tails smiled and thanked him as he simply nodded. Tails then took off, twirling his tails as the Maharajah searched for his own way out through some small tunnels below.

Tails landed near Sonic as he ran with him and Knuckles. They all joined Ranjit, Amy, and Cream all in the cart as it slowly began to roll along. As this happened, some thuggee guards ran in with bows and arrows, shooting them at the group as they ducked. Sonic looked up briefly and said "The cart's heading for that left tunnel. Tails nodded "Good. That's where we need to go!" But as soon as they spoke, a flying arrow hit the switch to the track, making it go off to the right instead! "Oh no." Tails exclaimed as they went down the undesirable paths, as the others looked on, unsure of what to do. Sonic then jumped behind them on the track, putting his hands on the slow moving cart.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked as she looked at him with a shocked expression. "Giving our ride a little boost" Sonic answered as he began to work his feet, running as quickly as he could as the cart began to pick up speed. It was soon speeding along the way a normal well-greased cart would, rolling down the hills like a roller coaster as everyone held on. Unfortunately, Sonic looked back and saw a cart full of thuggee guards in hot pursuit, knowing they'd be in danger if he didn't move faster now. He pushed a bit harder as Knuckles got a look at the guards and scowled, as Cream held tightly to her surrogate brother Ranjit. Sonic pushed the cart onto one side of a divided track, with a pool of lava far beneath the divide. The pursuing cart got onto the other side, as one guard suddenly lunged across, and grabbed Tails by the hands! Knuckles and Amy grabbed his feet As Tails screamed, being pulled to the divide as the pool of hot magma boiled below him. A great tug of war ensued as the Thuggees tried to pull Tails onboard, and Knuckles and Amy tried to get him back in. Finally with a tug of great strength, Knuckles helped Amy pull Tails away from the Thugge. The lunging guard lost his balance, and fell into the lava screaming as Tails fell back against the side with Knuckles as Amy sat, while Sonic pushed and ran with the cart.

Sonic suddenly pushed the cart over a gap in the track, trusting the momentum to carry them to the other side as the others all froze in fear at this moment. The cart coasted over the gap, where there was nothing but sharp rock below, before finally landing on the lower track with a bang! Everyone was shaken as Sonic pushed it without missing a beat, sending it along the tracks as yet another cartload of Thuggee guards raced along behind them. One of them shot an arrow at sonic, missing as Knuckles looked up, seeing a rusted metal tube with rocks and debris trapped in it above him. As they passed, he took a quick punch at all three sections of the tube, which broke apart as the pursuing cart went over it, causing all the debris to spill into their cart! The cart slowed as they tried to take out all the debris, as Sonic looked back and smiled.

But just when it looked like it was smooth sailing, another cart suddenly crashed through the straggler! The guards were sent flying, covered in debris as the other cart raced towards them. They pulled out their bows and shot arrows at them as another cart approached from the upper track. A guard jumped from the upper track, and into Sonic's cart, attacking with a knife! Amy shielded cream as Knuckles caught him with a punch, and Ranjit delivered a hard kick, sending him out over the side as the carts remained in pursuit. The other guard in the upper cart saw this, and jumped into the cart as well, landing on Ranjit and knocking the wind out of him, as he blindsided Knuckles with the handle on his knife! Amy then slowly approached him with a scowl as he approached them with his knife. But before he could move, Amy caught him with a hard punch to the chin! The guard tumbled out backwards onto the tracks, as the other cart ran through, running over him and getting thrown off the track in the process! It fell down miles below, crashing through some supports in the process.

Sonic then jumped back into the cart as it coasted along. "I think that's the last of them." He chuckled as he caught his breath. Ranjit then looked around. "Uh oh. I think we're getting close to the end of the line." Sonic nodded. "Ok then. Put on the brakes, Tails." Tails nodded and pulled back on the brake, which suddenly broke right off! He gasped as Knuckles exclaimed. "well, that's just great!" Amy shouted "we're still going too fast!" Sonic groaned and nodded as he saw the end of the line coming up, realizing what he had to do. He walked to the front as everyone panicked, and jumped onto the front end of the cart, placing his feet on the wheels! Amy watched with the others in shock, "Are you crazy?" as Sonic gritted his teeth and pressed his feet to the wheels, squealing and rubbing along them as the cart slowed down. He then screamed out in agony as the friction began to heat up his feet. Eventually the cart slowed to a stop, as he leaped off and panted, patting dirt onto his feet as Ranjit ran over and poured some of the water from his little canteen onto them. Sonic sighed in relief and thanked him as the others climbed out, happy to have that ordeal over with.

Knuckles walked over after a moment. "Ok, if you're through resting, then I'd like to get the hell out of this place." Tails chimed in "I agree. I like traveling as much as the next guy, but we've done more than enough on this trip. Ranjit nodded as he carried the bag with the emeralds. "Yes, it is about time that we take at least these three emeralds away from Mola Ram's grasp. He shall not terrorize the world as long as we are around." Cream walked with him as Sonic got up, as Amy walked next to him as well. "I just hope we can find a safe way to leave from here." Sonic shrugged, "Well, there's only one way to find out." He ran out of the cavern leading to daylight, as the others joined him.

The path led back out into a part of the forest near a canyon, with a river far below it. Everyone ran out with Sonic as he spotted a large suspension bridge connecting both sides, pointing the others out to it, before two other guards jumped out at them from nearby. Sonic and Knuckles fought them both as Ranjit ran with Amy, Tails, and Cream. They made their way quickly across the bridge, trying not to notice the long drop below them, before reaching the other side. But as they reached it, Amy suddenly looked in front of her and screamed, because she soon saw Mola Ram standing in front of her with his guards! The others froze in back of her, as Mola Ram simply stated, "Welcome."

Tails looked around frantically, wanting to fly away, but knowing all too well that he couldn't carry three people all that far. The guards made sure they stood still as they drew their bows. Sonic ran onto the bridge with Knuckles after taking care of the two guards, stealing their swords in the process, before seeing what was happening, and turned around to suddenly see a squad of guards approaching the other side of the bridge as well. Knuckles growled as he raised his sword and yelled "Let them go, Mola Ram!" Mola Ram laughed and stated, "You are in a position, unsuitable for giving orders!"

Ranjit suddenly yelled "Sonic!" before kicking the tied up bag with the emeralds inside into the air, landing in Sonic's hands. Sonic held the bag out over the edge as he yelled. "You want the emeralds? Then set them free!" Mola Ram glowered a bit at him as Cream gripped Ranjit tightly, as Amy turned to Mola Ram and smirked a bit. "Let them go!" Sonic yelled once more.

Mola Ram simply laughed again and pointed to Sonic and Knuckles. "Go on, you two! Drop them! They will be found! YOU WON'T!" He laughed maniacally as he shouted a command of "Ganh Na!" to the guards. The guards slowly advanced towards Sonic and Knuckles on both sides of the bridge. They walked closer and closer, as Sonic and Knuckles slowly raised their swords, threatening to cut the bridge as their advancing slowed.

Mola Ram saw this and pulled out a menacing knife, pointing it towards Amy and the others as he hearded them back onto the bridge to discourage Sonic and Knuckles. Knuckles groaned a bit as he saw this, as Sonic looked all around him. Knuckles looked to Sonic, "So what do we do now?" Sonic looked over and hooked his foot around one of the ropes on the bridge. "There's only one thing we CAN do now." Knuckles saw what he was doing and quickly understood, nodding as Sonic looked over and said "Tails!" As tails looked to Sonic, he saw him hooking his foot around the rope as he raised his sword a bit. Tails nodded, looked to everyone with him and softly said, "Grab onto something, guys. We're gonna go on a little ride." Amy's jaw dropped when she realized what was going to happen, quickly hooking her arms around two loose sections of rope as Cream and Ranjit held onto the sides as well.

At this moment, Knuckles gave Mola Ram a half crazed look. "Mola Ram…" he proclaimed, "Prepare to meet Kali…in Hell!" And with that he and Sonic suddenly began chopping at the support ropes with their swords. The guards jumped a bit as Mola Ram's eyes widened. "What are you doing?!" He quickly spat out as they continued to chop away at the bridge, and their friends quickly held on for dear life. "You fool!" He spat again, half angry and half scared, as he dove down to grab one of the floorboards, knowing he wouldn't make it to the other side on time. Many guards who didn't know better started running to safety, before Sonic and Knuckles finally cut the bridge in two, grabbing onto the floorboards as the bridge collapsed below them, now in two different parts which quickly whooshed downward, still held up at the ends, but the broken halves pulled by the force of gravity quickly, then hit and hung down from the rock walls. Any guards stupid enough to run at this point, were treated to a long, long fall from the bridge, all the way down into the river, where a pack of hungry crocodiles were waiting for them! Cream screamed as Ranjit grabbed her hand and held onto her, as Amy held onto a floorboard for dear life below, Sonic and Knuckles above her as she fell a bit before grabbing on. Tails was hanging upside down as his tails were snagged in between two floorboards, unable to fly now as he watched in horror, seeing the unfortunate guards getting eaten by the crocodiles, their turbans in sashes now everywhere in the water.

Mola Ram grabbed frantically at the floorboards, trying to climb to safety, taking one of his own men, and throwing him off the hanging bridge, just for being in his way! Knuckles had enough of this, as he pulled Mola Ram down next to him, hanging off the same floorboard just below Sonic as he landed a few hard punches on Mola Ram, who responded with a few hard swings of his own. Sonic quickly shouted, "Knuckles, cover your heart!" but was to late, as Mola Ram quickly placed his palm on Knuckles chest, making him cough and spasm as he grinned and began trying to take out his heart, as Knuckles grabbed his wrist! "Oh my god!" Amy shouted as she watched from below, as Mola Ram softly chanted "Oh bes ke ban bebe no jidah he!" a couple of times, starting to laugh deviously, before Knuckles got a sudden burst of strength, slowly moving Mola Ram's now balled up hand over, before bringing his arm up, and making him punch himself in the face with it!

Mola Ram sputtered, before smacking Knuckles with another punch, and moving up, smashing Sonic in the belly, and taking the bag with the emeralds from him as he tried to catch his breath without falling. Knuckles tried to follow, but couldn't go up without keeping his grip to well, as Mola Ram climbed slowly towards Cream and Ranjit, yelling something to his guards on the other side as they began to shoot arrows towards Sonic and Knuckles. The two heroes dodged the flying arrows, as Mola Ram got close to Cream and Ranjit, hoping to throw them out of the way as well. The two rabbits responded by stamping hard on his large echidna fingers repeatedly! Mola Ram squirmed, and began groaning in pain and frustration, trying to move up, before taking a hard kick in the head from Ranjit! He tried to move up again, only to hear Cream yell, "Go away you big meanie!" before kicking him in the head just as hard! This last kick made him lose his grip, as he fell, still holding the bag as he grabbed a floorboard, and was now hanging right next to Amy! Amy quickly grabbed the other side of the bag as a tug of war ensued on the broken bridge, with miles of rocky walls below them, with a river of hungry crocs waiting for the next meal to fall!

"The stones are mine!" Mola Ram frantically yelled, as he struggled to take the bag from Amy, whose mind still burned from all the awful things this Echidna had done to everyone, including making her do his dirty work earlier. Plus, something in that blood she drank seemed to do something else to her. "You betrayed Chaos!" she suddenly said, as an aura seemed to form around her in Mola Ram's eyes. She suddenly began chanting in a language she never even studied before, as Mola Ram looked, and swore that he could suddenly see the essence of none other than Tikal herself shining through her! "You betrayed Chaos!" she yelled again as she chanted, as the others watched from above, as the front of the bag suddenly ignited, burning a hole as the emeralds began to push through! Mola Ram watched in horror as two of the three gems fell out and disappeared into the river below, before the last one began to drop out. He reached out to grab it, not thinking of how hot it could be, as the shimmering stone dropped into his hand, burning it on contact!

Mola Ram shrieked in pain as this happened, tossing the gem into the air. Amy stopped chanting as the emerald stopped burning at the same time, catching it as Mola Ram fell from the bridge, screaming as he smashed against the rocky wall repeatedly on his long fall down, his screams getting fainter with each impact. Tails covered his eyes this time, as Ranjit shielded cream from what he knew was going to happen. A croc jumped up from the water, and quickly snatched Mola Ram's body, diving underwater with it in tow, as pieces of sash and some blood, along with his amulet, soon rose to the surface within minutes.

Amy climbed up with the lone emerald as Sonic and Knuckles made their way up too, freeing Tails along the way, before finding a barrage of arrows from the surviving guards waiting for them as they flew towards the wall. They dodged them, not sure how long they could do it, before they climbed higher, and saw a familiar sight. It was the freed maharajah, running in with a squadron of troops from Lamah Jat, led by Captain Khan! The ram quickly took out his rifle, as his fellow troops followed suit, firing at the thuggee guards, hitting many of them as another squadron approached from the other side of the broken bridge, apprehending those who tried to flee!

Khan smiled as he and his troops helped everyone up from the bridge, looking at Sonic, Amy and Tails with a smile. "Ah. My fellow dinner guests I presume?" Sonic grinned and nodded. "Yeah. We stayed around for a while. Nice location, but the room service left a lot to be desired." Khan chuckled a bit and nodded. "Yes. Once you never showed up to see me after dinner, well that only deepened my suspicions." He looked to the other side. "Well, you needn't worry now. I don't think they'll be sacrificing anyone else for a long time." Amy nodded "Yeah. All of their ringleaders are dead." She said, referring to Mola Ram, Chattar Lal, and the huge Aligator guard leader. Tails chimed in "And…so is Dr. Eggman!" Cream suddenly looked up and beamed. "All the bad guys are gone now?" Knuckles hmmed. "Well, I can never see someone like Mola Ram dying so easily, and there are always going to be bad people in this universe no matter what we do, but for now…it looks like we've earned ourselves some peace." Sonic shook his head with a smile. "Peace…Now that's a word I thought I'd NEVER hear." Ranjit smiled and ruffled Cream's hair a bit as Amy smiled and nodded down at the single chaos Emerald she held.

Khan came up and shook Sonic's hand. "Well, it looks like we part ways from here Sonic. Farewell. I hope this incident doesn't make you look down on us of the so-called "Uncharted Lands" at all. At least not where the noble kingdom of Lamah Jat is concerned." Sonic smiled and chuckled. "Oh don't worry Khan. You've already proven your kingdom as a friendly one. I'm sure we can work out some kind of alliance in the future." Khan smiled "I shall very much look forward to that.

Ranjit soon came up to Sonic. "Excuse me?…" Sonic turned to him. "What is it?" Ranjit smiled as he looked to Cream. "I believe I found the reason why Chaos lets me live. It is to look after her. Thank you for helping me to discover this." Cream smiled and blushed a bit as Amy jumped in. "That's great, Ranjit. I'm sure you'll do a fine job being her brother." Cream cheered and smiled as she hugged Ranjit, thanking him for looking after her as he smiled, feeling like he belonged to something finally, brushing away a tear on his cheek.

Knuckles soon got up and walked off, "I'd love stay behind and watch this emotional exchange some more, but I need to do some things. I need to see if there are any thuggees still running around. And I need to see if Mola Ram's really dead." Amy reached to say something to him, before Sonic stopped her. "No. Let him go. He'll find his way back, he always does." Amy nodded slowly as everyone watched the lone Echidna walk off to explore on his own. Sonic then dusted himself off a bit and smiled. "Well, I think it's time to go home now." Tails jumped up and nodded. "Yup. ALL of us." He giggled.

Back in Amy and Cream's hometown, everything was slowly going back to normal among the adults. Much of the damage from the fire had been repaired, as all the farming, business, and the like went on, only without all of the children, which still lingered in all of their minds as they worked.

Bur this particular day was a special one, as a few who were working along the beach, suddenly looked out, and saw the Plane carrying Sonic, Tails, and Amy, back from their journey, with a single chaos emerald in tow. As they exited the plane soon after landing, the adults gathered in anticipation, wondering what news they would bring about their children.

The answer soon came as a brand new large submarine suddenly breached the surface of the ocean, bearing the seal of the kingdom of Lamah Jat! It landed on the sand, the large front hatch opening, and creating a ramp as an army of youngsters suddenly ran down from it, towards their estranged families! The Adults all cheered and wept for joy as the children ran to their families, greeted with loving hugs and kisses as entire families were now reunited for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime. Amy looked on with a big smile as Cream's mother smothered her daughter in kisses, before looking up and seeing Ranjit standing behind her, unsure of what to make of him at first, but something in his smile seemed to melt her heart, as she suddenly pulled Ranjit into all of the hugging and kissing, seeming to accept him as her son right then and there, which took him by surprise as his eyes widened at first, before settling into a level of motherly affection he never knew existed, thinking he could get used to it.

Tails smiled at the sight as he looked over a jittery propeller on his plane, while Amy walked around Sonic a bit. "This just made our whole ordeal all the more worthwhile, I think." Sonic nodded. "Yup. And we got one of the emeralds back. Now if anyone wants to own all seven of them, they're gonna have to go through us this time." Amy thought a bit. "Well, now that Eggman's gone, do you think your adventures might get a little boring now?" Sonic shrugged as he took Amy's hand "I don't know. It's a long way to the next city." Amy quickly jerked her hand away. "Oh no, Sonic. No more adventures with you for a while." Sonic chuckled and looked to her. He couldn't believe it, but he actually thought he'd miss her from this point on. "Amy…after all the fun we've had?" Amy scoffed "Fun? You call being served Iguana, before having your heart ripped out and lowered into a hot pit FUN? Well let me tell you…" she gazed at Sonic, remembering her old crush on him as things were returning to normal now. "It was…kind of fun…I guess" She giggled as Sonic looked at her in a sort of fond way. The two gazed at each other, and examined themselves, wondering what the future might hold for both of them.

However, that was quickly interrupted when tails finally got his plane propeller and engine to work correctly, spraying out some trapped dirt and sand onto Sonic and Amy! The two sputtered and glared at him as he chuckled and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry guys."

The two quickly forgave him though, as all the children and many of the adults came out to thank the young heroes. Captain Khan stepped out of the submarine to greet the adults as well, the seeds of a new alliance beginning. What the future held for them all was anyone's guess, but they were all ready to take the way Sonic always took life, and got through his trials and tribulations: one day and one adventure at a time.

THE END