-Chess-

I hate dark tunnels. Especially like this one, where the roof is made of earth and drops stuff on your head at the slightest provocation. Oh, don't get me wrong, no way I'm backing out of here, not now. It'd be better if only some light filtered in, but we've been up and down and around so many turnings now, the only way I can tell which wall's the floor is that gravity pulls me to it! I hope Amy knows where she's going, because I certainly don't! And that torch she has is not good for much, even when she isn't turning it off for fear of robots.

Amy? Yes, she's with me. Or rather, I'm with her. Not that I wanted her, of all people, out here with me. No way, not our leader, she's not supposed to get in danger, but by the time she'd finished listing who couldn't go, we'd all been manoeuvred into saying she could. Of course Trick and Gaze couldn't come, not them, they're too young still. Blaze and Crossfire, well, Sonic wants to keep them working together, and Knuckles has never so much as met either one, and we all know what Crossfire can be like, and how Blaze can seem if you aren't used to him. Then there's Tails, but he has to stay working on his Emerald detector and goodness knows what else. Sonic has to stay out of sight until we're ready for Robotnik to learn he's still here, or we lose a large advantage, and Shadow is supposed to be staying out of the way to make sure he's at his full strength for… well, whenever he's needed.

So that left Amy. And me, of course, to accompany her. How does she do that? If she'd come out with wanting to go straight off, we'd all have given a flat-out 'No!' But put like that, you agree before you know it, and it seems perfectly reasonable! That's why she's leading, I suppose. She's leading, and we're all following along just as she wishes.

She's turned off her torch again, but - is that a light up ahead? Very dim, like a nearly-dead torch bulb about to go out. I nudge her and point ahead; she nods and moves to the wall, flat against it behind a jutting boulder. Silently, with all the natural stealthiness I can summon from my feline heritage, eyes wide to catch even the tiniest detail, I creep forward. The passage comes to a rise, then slopes down again, and the light is behind that rise.

I raise my head carefully, no higher than I have to, ears flat to make me as hard to spot as possible. The light is - is - is… Not possible. Absolutely, totally, completely not possible. I take another look, but it's the same as before. This light is hovering, moving slightly up and down, in empty air in the middle of the corridor. Which is not exactly reassuring.

I'd better tell Amy, anyway, she can see for herself if she doesn't believe me. So I duck back down and turn about, not quite running but moving as fast as I can while still being quiet.

"Amy," I whisper as soon as I reach her, "I've found… something. That light… it… it looks like it's hovering in empty air. Maybe it's some kind of trap? And it really is hovering, you know I'd see if there were anything else there!" I might be whispering, but it still comes out more forcefully than I intend. She'd better believe me.

Amy looks across at me. She almost seems - amused? She'd better not be laughing at me! I open my mouth to speak again, but she cuts me off.

"Wonderful! We've found what we're looking for, then! Come on!"

I frown at her in bemusement as she steps out and walks towards this light, as if an old friend is waiting over that rise with it. But Amy seems to know what she's doing, so with a sigh, I follow. Never thought I'd be doing anything like this, back when the only way I'd heard of Robotnik was by reading the papers and stuff. Back when I sold newspapers on a corner of the city street, just because it was something to do, on my own, to show I could be independent. Boy, did I learn. An independent kitten on a street corner with her papers, trying to prove she didn't need anybody else to hold her up… until the city collapsed around her, and she got a first-off chance at being really independent. Not to say that I did a good job of it. I sort of wandered around lost, couldn't find my family - they're still alive out there, they have to be - then, after a while of living rough and dodging the robots that were already taking over, I ran into Amy. And, much as I hate to admit it, I think she brought me with her because she felt sorry for me and thought I needed looking after. I've managed to take care of myself well enough since, and Trick and Gaze as well, if somewhat erratically. And I'll find that family of mine, someday, when all this is over and done and searching for them won't just bring more trouble on their heads.

We crest the rise. The light's still there, and I pull up short, but Amy heads down like there's nothing at all to be worried about. And then she starts talking to it, and for a moment I wonder just how strong my grip on reality is.

"Tikal! Is it safe? We must find Knuckles - can you take us to him?"

I look at her like she's gone mad, but only for a second, because I could swear I'm hearing that light speak!

"I'll tell him you're coming. Keep going ahead."

Then it whisks off, down the passage and straight through a solid earth wall. I think I must have fallen asleep or something, I must have!

"A-Amy? What was that?" I'm trying to keep my voice calm, not my style maybe, but she seems to think this is quite normal!

"I'm sorry, Chess. I should have warned you we might meet her. That was Tikal." Amy hesitates a moment before continuing. "She's… she's an echidna who died several hundred years ago, to seal Chaos within the Master Emerald."

Now, Chaos I remember; that wasn't exactly something you could forget in a hurry, wherever you were. But Tikal? And I don't believe in ghosts, anyway. I mean, come on, that's just silly! I say as much to Amy, but she just gives me a funny look, as if to say that I don't know everything about the world yet, and carries on. These tunnels were playing with my sense of direction, but I know this is real… even though it doesn't seem it. Next time, somebody else can come with her, and good luck to them!