Jet found herself standing before the four adventurers on the couch, saying, "So you're telling me that Prison Island blew-up!"

Sonic nodded, "Exactly."

Silence followed as everyone took time to let this sink in. The only sound that could be heard was the shower, which Krystal was using, and the storm which was dying down.

Darkness stood up. "I have a feeling that this is deeper than it seems," she said.

"In English?" Maya Eva inquired.

"There is a missing piece to the puzzle. And I think Sonic knows the answer," Darkness accused.

"Why you looking at me!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Yeah, why IS she looking at Sonic?" Shani whispered to Maya Eva, who was sitting beside her.

The teal echidna shrugged while Lee, also sitting beside the two, answered, "I think she is meaning that, 'you know how the story goes.'?"

"But that still doesn't explain it. Everything has been flowing well!" Shani protested.

"Not exactly. Remember the beginning?" Lee asked.

Shani gave an 'o' expression. Maya Eva gave the same.

"Sonic, has something happened that you haven't told us about?" Darkness inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.

She'd make a great lawyer, Tails thought.

"Sometimes having friends that know what is going to happen and what has happened is a pain….yes, something has happened, and it probably will explain the GUN semi that was chasing you…." Sonic went on to explain his first encounter with GUN.

He gave every detail: the helicopter, the getting free….and even went on to say that while he was running away, he found Jet. That's why GUN knew that Jet, Maya Eva, and Shani were friends of Sonic.

The whole group nodded as everything fell together.

"Did I miss anything?" asked Krystal as she stepped into the room, clean and all.

"Only the beginning part. Sonic was explaining what happened at first that started everything," Darkness explained.

Krystal gave an 'o' expression and sat down on the floor beside Lee, Maya Eva and Shani.

"How come you guys know everything?" Sonic asked.

"Haven't we told you that before?" Lee inquired.

"Yeah, I know, but it's…" Sonic was interrupted when Amy blurted out: "ANNOYING!"

Sonic then waved a hand in the pink hedgehog's direction, saying, "What she said."

"Well, there is no use sitting here! We've got to find Eggman!" Krystal informed.

"How?" Amy asked.

"Well, would it be any fun if we told you?" Darkness inquired.

"Guess not…" Sonic muttered.

"I got it! We can find Eggman by his transmission! Eggman is talking with the president in his limousine! All we need to do is catch that limousine and get the source of the signal and presto! We know where Eggman is!" Tails exclaimed.

"Tails! You're a genius!" Shani exclaimed.

Everyone in the room stared at her.

"What?" she replied, "He IS a genius!"

"Then what are we waiting for!" Maya Eva exclaimed, "We have a limousine to catch!"

……………

MJ hobbled around, confused. Why was everyone hustling and bustling around? She tried to stop Rouge.

"Rouge! What in the world is going on?" MJ wondered.

"We are trying to talk to the president," Rouge informed.

MJ was surprised. Not because they were going to talk to the president, but because she originally wasn't expecting an answer.

"Besides," the bat added, "Eggman wants to speak to you."

MJ was confused. What would that Egg-head want?

"Come on, I'll take you to him!" Rouge offered, MJ nodded and followed as the white bat lead her to a center room.

MJ surveyed her surroundings. It looked like one of those high-tec control rooms…but actually, it was just an old room to with a password-guarded computer.

The constant buzzing of the screen caught MJ's attention.

"GAR! Why won't it work!" Robotnick yelled.

MJ saw Rouge casually walk over. "Maybe if you push this button," she informed with her infamous charm.

MJ literally saw Eggman sweat-drop as the screen went to a normal blue, ready to receive the president's signal.

The seal tried to keep from laughing. The famous mad scientist with an over-the-average IQ had just been defeated out of smarts by this government agent.

Wait! Something in MJ's mind clicked. Rouge told her everything because…they were on the same side!

"Are you okay?" asked a familiar voice that showed no emotion.

MJ turned around, startled. It was Shadow with his arms crossed.

"I'm okay…" MJ nodded, and could feel her cheeks get warm. She immediately turned around.

Why did she feel hot all of a sudden?

By Shadow's reply, she could tell he didn't take her answer for the truth, "You're hiding something…"

MJ tried to have a laugh come out, "Who said I was hiding something?" MJ silently kicked herself. Stupid answer, Mika! She thought.

The black hedgehog walked passed her without saying anything more and MJ let out a sigh of relief as her cheeks went back to their white color.

"What's wrong with me?" MJ quietly wondered to herself. Why was she acting strange around Shadow? It couldn't be….oh no.

MJ's mind clicked once more as the TV showed the president's face. She realized one important fact: she had a crush on Shadow.

……………..

"Are we there yet?" an over-bored Lee asked from the back seat of the TORNADO.

A certain, irritated brown animal replied, who was sitting in the seat in front of him, "Tell me, Lee. Do you see a black limo?"

"No…" Lee said, sheepishly.

"THEN WE'RE NOT THERE YET!" Jet exclaimed.

Tails sighed. Why did he have to be paired with them? Sonic got Shani and Maya Eva to look for Knuckles while Amy got Darkness, Tia and Krystal to look for any signs of Eggman himself.

Something beeping got the young fox's attention. Tails looked down on his radar. Bingo, the president's limousine.

"Hang on, guys! I think I found where the president is!" Tails exclaimed.

"Great!" Lee agreed, sitting up straight.

"Did you mean literally hang on?" Jet asked, curiously.

As her answer, the TORNADO sped up increasingly.

"I'll take that as a yes," Jet muttered, hanging on to the sides of her seat.

"WHOA!" Tails exclaimed as he turned a sharp corner.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! TAILS!" Jet screamed, being rammed to the right by the pressure.

"Sorry! But I did say hang on!" Tails apologized.

"But you didn't say to hang on for dear life!" Lee retorted.

Jet screamed as once again, she rammed into a side. Sighing, she pushed away from it. Man, this was going to be one rough drive.

………………

Maya Eva's fur was, if I may say, puffy. After their brief but fast ride that Sonic had given them, Shani couldn't help but laugh at her friend's condition.

"What's so funny?" Maya Eva wondered, hands on hips.

"You!" Shani pointed and continued laughing.

The teal echidna looked down at herself and nearly screamed. Her hot pink eyes immediately looked up for Sonic, but that hedgehog was looking around for Knuckles and whistling, acting as if he hadn't done anything at all.

"Grr…" was all Maya Eva said in reply, brushing down her fur with a single hand. She didn't want to get in a fight, but mister Sonic over there was almost literally asking for one!

Suddenly, Sonic looked at Maya Eva and laughed, "Don't look at me like that. It's not my fault! Blame it on the wind!"

"Sure…the wind…" Maya Eva said, sarcastically with a smirk.

"What? It's the only excuse I can come up with!" Sonic protected himself.

Maya Eva and Shani burst out laughing.

Sonic gave a short laugh, but then decided it was time to continue their search, "Come on, guys. We need to find Knuckles."

Maya Eva and Shani nodded, after settling down a bit, and continued their search.

……………..

"Can we be any unluckier?" Amy whined.

"Why do you say that?" Tia asked.

"We have to search for that stinking Eggman…" Amy muttered in disgust.

"Great…." Darkness agreed.

Silence followed as the group continued walking.

"Well if this isn't boring, then I don't know what is!" Krystal exclaimed, throwing her arms up.

Suddenly, a beeping sound from Amy's wrist caught everyone's attention. The pink hedgehog flipped open a wrist-communicator, and instantly, the screen was split so then they could see Sonic and Tails.

"Tails, what happened?" Sonic asked.

"We've found the president," Tails replied as he took a brief glance to see the black limousine they were trailing.

"Great work, lil' bud!" Sonic praised.

Tails smiled. "Thanks, I thought you guys would like to know before we get the location of Eggman's base."

Suddenly, a cry from Tia caught their attention, "Hey, guys! Look what I found!"

Amy looked up as Sonic and Tails….well, Tails more like, Sonic isn't very patient….waited to for the explanation.

The pink hedgehog walked over beside the half-mechanic girl and gasped. There before her was a desert, and off in the distance was an odd pyramid.

"Amy, what is going on?" Sonic asked, impatient.

"Well, I think we found one of Eggman's bases, or the only one," Amy replied.

"You did!" the other two Mobians exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yep. Take a look for yourself," Amy Rose tilted her wrist to the pyramid, so then they could see.

"Um, Amy?" Tails called.

"Yeah," Amy replied.

"It's upside down," the two-tailed fox said, and Amy quickly turned it right-side up with a quick, 'sorry'.

"Eggman's base is a pyramid!" Sonic exclaimed, not really believing it.

"Yep. Why else would there be a pyramid in a dessert that you can see? You think Eggman would be smarter?" Darkness mocked.

Krystal shook her head, "Not really…"

"Tails, now what do we do?" Amy asked, getting back on the subject.

"Well, you might want to start heading to the pyramid…Jet and Lee will get the information about where Eggman's real base is—" Tails was interrupted by Jet's voice.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute! You're saying that ME and LEE are going to find the information in that limousine? Not you!" she exclaimed.

Tails nodded, "That's exactly what I'm saying."

Jet sighed. She wasn't sure if she was glad or mad that she was the one to get the information. She knew that Lee was going to do it with her, but…she was the one that knew the game. She knew what she had to do, and she was scared. Nervous, actually.

"It's okay!" Tails said, "It isn't that hard. All you have to do is jump on the side walk and run with your speed to the limousine and jump in! Lee will take care of the rest…you just need to slow it down so then he can jump in."

"Okay…" Jet said slowly. Sure being the leader was tough, but now she has to get in the limousine to slow down the president!

Tails turned back to his communicator, saying, "Alright, we are all set. Amy, you wait until I call you back before you do anything. Sonic, keep looking for Knuckles. We'll need him for this…."

The two hedgehogs nodded.

"Okay, see ya, Tails!" Sonic replied, and got off the communicator.

"Good luck, Jet and Lee!" Amy wished before getting off it, also.

Jet sighed. I'm going to need that luck, she thought.

"Alright, Jet! We're ready!" Tails informed.

The brown animal nodded and took a deep breath, now crouching down on the side of the TORNADO.

Well, here goes nothing, Jet thought, and jumped off, running.

She ran with a burst of speed to the limousine and could catch part of the conversation that was being held…

"Mr. President, I know you are a very busy man, so I'll skip the details and get right to the point…." Dr. Eggman said leisurely.

The president nodded, feeling a great burden on his shoulders.

"Here's the deal…."

The rest was hushed, but Jet caught two words…. "…Eggman Empire…."

She just about laughed out loud. Eggman Empire? When will he give up?

Before she knew it, she was close enough to jump in. Taking a deep breath, she gathered up strength in her legs, and….inside she landed, perfectly in the limousine.

"Eggman Empire? Yeah right!" Jet laughed, crossing her arms over her chest, imitating Sonic from the game.

"What!" Eggman exclaimed, surprised at the interruption.

Jet stuck her tongue out, mocking that mad scientist.

"Hey!" Eggman yelled. Maybe she went too far….

Nope. The driver slowed down, allowing Lee to hop in.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!" the president yelled, confused.

"Hold on one moment, please, Mr. President!" Jet excused.

"What is the meaning of this!" the president calmed down a little bit.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, sir," Jet replied, shaking her head.

The president adjusted in his seat, still a little jumpy.

"Okay! I've got it!" Lee smiled.

"Alright, then let's head out!" Jet informed, jumping out of the black car.

"Hey, wait for me!" Lee called, also jumping out.

Each of them hopped back in the TORNADO, while the President stared, not knowing what to say of the unexpected event. Well, they always say to expect the unexpected….

………….

Shani yawned.

"What is it, Shani?" Maya Eva inquired.

"I'm, tired of searching for Knuckles! We're the only ones who haven't found something yet!" Shani complained, stopping over a manhole.

"Well, we can't give up! We'll have to keep looking!" Maya Eva encouraged.

"Wonder how long that'll be…" Shani muttered.

Suddenly, Shani was lifted off the ground!

"Whoa!" Shani wobbled around a bit on the raised manhole, and then looked under her.

"What in the—" she started, but Sonic cut her off.

"KNUCKLES!" he exclaimed, jogging over to the familiar red echidna.

"What?" Knuckles asked, irritated. "Is it just me, or have manholes suddenly got heavier?"

Sonic looked up, where Shani stood, looking down, on top of the manhole.

"Eh heh…." Shani blushed.

Sonic looked back down. "It's not just you. Shani's on top of it."

"Oh…." Knuckles said as Shani hopped off.

He then got out of the manhole, brushing himself off. "Now, why are you guys so excited to see me?"

"We need your help!" Maya Eva blurted out.

Knuckles looked at her confused. "Help?"

"Yep. We need the world's greatest treasure hunter on our side!" Sonic informed.

Knuckles sighed. "Sonic, I'm not doing it this time! Every time I've helped you, I seem to be getting in worse trouble! AND I am always in life-threatening situations! I'm using my head and staying out of this!"

"Knuckles! PLEASE!" Maya Eva begged.

The red echidna shook his head.

Then, Shani pouted her bottom lip, watered her eyes, and tilted her head downward. The puppy face.

Knuckles looked at her. So cute….No, he wasn't going to give in. But just look at that face! Oh…..

"Fine!" Knuckles said.

"YAY!" Shani exclaimed, taking away the face and jumping up and down in victory.

Knuckles mumbled. He was going to regret this….

"Thanks Knuckles, I know I can count on you!" Sonic informed, patting his friend's back.

"Yeah. Sure…" Knuckles murmured.

"Well, let's get going!" Sonic said, leading the way to where Amy was waiting….the sight of the pyramid….

………….

"Okay, we're all here!" Sonic announced, stopping right beside the others.

"WHOA!" Shani exclaimed, seeing the pyramid.

"Yeah….BIG whoa to that!" Maya Eva agreed.

"But we can't just sit here!" Amy informed.

"No we can't! Which is why we need to get in!" Sonic said, about to run.

"Sonic, STOP!" Sonic stopped at Jet's voice. "We need to find a way in, FIRST! We can't make rash decisions!"

"Jet's right!" Darkness agreed, and the others nodded.

"Who do you think should go?" Krystal inquired.

Jet turned to Lee and Tails, both sitting in the TORNADO. "I suggest they bust a way in. There doesn't seem to be an obvious entrance."

Everyone nodded. It was a logical statement.

"Alright, then Lee and I shall bust us in!" Tails exclaimed, engineering the TORNADO towards the base.

"Hey, WAIT A MINNNNNNNNNNNNUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE!" Lee yelled, not getting a say in what he was going to do.

Before Lee knew it, he was called by Tails certain commands for firing the missiles. He found each one to blow up an enemy or a block in the way. He could remember how the course went in the game, he remembered everything.

Something was amiss. It was something inside him that he couldn't describe. It was something that would make him whole, to complete this mission. But what was it?

Suddenly, a song ran through his head, almost as if answer to his question. With each word sung, he felt stronger, as if the song was feeding him.

It was a song that Tails knew. Believe in Myself.

When all alone in my chair

I just go about wishing
Wanna be strong really wanna be trusted ohh
When all alone in my bed I just go about yearning
Wanna be cool

I also wanna be like him

But that's not something I can do so easily
This is not simply my way
My own style
Gotta get a hold of my life!


I wanna fly high
So I can reach the highest of all the heavens
Somebody will be waiting for me
So I gotta fly higher

When all alone in my sleep
I just go about dreaming

I see myself there having the same adventure

If I just follow you
I will never see the light
Now's the time to find my way
Through this life
Trying so hard to be strong

I gotta keep going
Everything is a brand new challenge for me
And I will believe
Believe in myself this is the only way (stop) for me

Many friends help me out
In return I help them
Certain things I can do
And there are things that only I can do
No one's alone

I wanna fly high
So I can reach the highest of all the heavens
Somebody will be waiting for me
So I gotta fly higher

Before Lee knew it, they had already made an entrance into the Pyramid. "Awesome, Lee!" Tails praised. Lee blushed.

"Great job!" Sonic commented as everyone ran up to the entrance.

"Well…now are we just going to dawdle here or are we going to go inside!" Shani asked, her hands on her hips.

"We're going inside!" Sonic replied, and everyone followed his lead inside the dark Pyramid, unaware of the battles ahead of them…