Both Sally and Bunnie were making their way to finishing a pathway that directs to one of South Island's portions called Jungle Labyrinth. It was an enormous lush rainforest with treacherous waterways, snaking vines, and giant trees. Not to mention a massive waterfall that included rocky outcroppings and floating wooden boughs.
With Sally handling Nicole in her hand, they must travel across this area before getting to the submerged maze part of the ancient ruins. As the name would suggest, the environment remains adorned with stone statues, fauna, and flora galore. The sky above has a little more of a green tint, and bits of floating lush green jungles persisted, littering in the background. The foreground platforms were nothing but slabs of rock with statues and vines decorating many of them.
"What the heck kind of strange place this is, Sally-Girl?" Bunnie questioned.
"I don't know, Bunnie, but according to Nicole, there must be a Chaos Emerald over yonder," Sally mentioned, putting away her hand-held computer. "And we're not getting any closer to one of Robotnik's Super Badnik if we stand here. Let's go!"
The two ladies began to observe the wildflowers and exotic plants surrounding them in the damp, dark jungle. Especially the turbulent waterfall that they will have to watch their step when they reach it. One false move and they are gone for good. True to her word of coming along, Bunnie had followed Sally into the first section of Jungle Labyrinth, and they saw more Badniks crawl around the place like metallic bugs.
Frowning at the variation of Badniks that the evil genius must have included in this area, Sally and Bunnie followed each other's lead into the fray. Bunnie paused, then experimentally bounces into the air like she was a literal jump spring, giving a spin kick onto one of the Newtrons as Sally aimed her bow to shoot an arrow through a Crab-Meat.
Bunnie barrel-rolled down to the ground, yelling back while running forward. "Come on, Sally-Girl! Time's wastin' for us!"
Trusting her best friend's judgment, Sally sprang forward and jumped as high as she could up the platforms, shooting an arrow and breaking open the next Badnik she sees. In enough time, she ran to catch up with Bunnie, who stretched her robotized arm to punch one of the mole-based Badniks called a Burro-Bot, cracking it open and releasing a tiny critter.
Nicole had clarified to Sally and Bunnie that these robot types preferred underground areas, which are well suited for their unique talents. The two women will have to be on the lookout as Burro-Bots have a habit of jumping out of the ground. Speaking of which, two Burro-Bots suddenly popped from ahead to attack Sally and Bunnie, only to receive either an arrow or a robotic foot to each of their faces, destroying them both.
After getting back onto the main pathway, the female duo continued on their merry path of destruction, liberating more animals and doing some Badnik-busting. The sounds of nature glistened around Sally and Bunnie for a moment, only for the sounds to be cut off by a loud cry for help. Their eyes snapped towards the direction of the noise, and they hurried off through the area to find out whatever there was in Jungle Labyrinth.
They stopped short to hide behind the bushes and trees as Sally spotted a patrol of Swat-Bots delivering a prisoner transport. Meanwhile, several other Swat-Bots were digging around through various holes in the ground. All of this was by order of a Swat-Bot model that's almost identical to the standard Swat-Bot, except for a blue and black color scheme with yellow streaks and more pronounced body armor. This unit went by the name of Commando-Bot, acting as a military officer under Dr. Robotnik's control and coordinating lesser Swat-Bot footsoldiers.
The Commando-Bot turned to one of the Swat-Bots. "Have you located any indication of a Chaos Emerald yet?"
"Negative, Commando-Bot." The Swat-Bot shook its head, followed by a suggestion. "Should we perhaps move on towards the ancient ruins?"
"Affirmative," The Commando-Bot admitted. "The Chaos Emeralds are not burrowed within this section. The units shall continue onward while we still have captured woodland creatures."
Sally's jaw dropped at the mention of the Emeralds, as well as the critters they have captive, taking a step back alongside Bunnie.
"They're looking for a Chaos Emerald, but they also have animals inside that carrier," Sally whispered to her best friend.
"That one Swat-Bot looks as strong as an ox, Sally-Girl. But there's no way we're lettin' Robotnik get any of the little critters!" Bunnie told back in a quiet voice.
Both Sally and Bunnie heard enough to know they had to make a plan for this and quickly. With that, Bunnie casually hopped out behind the tree, getting the Swat-Bots' attention before she stretched her robotized leg and kicks in a wide circle, striking many robotic foes. Sally positioned her bow and tried to focus her aim on the Commando-Bot, as the arrow flew outward fluidly, but she becomes shaken when the Commando-Bot caught it in a swift motion with no problem.
The Commando-Bot began to speak, "Princess Sally Acornia, surrender now or be terminated-!"
Suddenly, the tip was secretly one of the bomb arrows as it blew up in the Commando-Bot's face, sending it flying throughout and crashing into a tree. Sally then had a smug smile formed on her face as soon as the Commando-Bot fell for that trick but drops it once she saw the military Badnik manifest a small segmented steel gun, retract out of the forearm, extended at the front, and then fired lasers.
Bunnie dodged left and right to avoid and then charged forward at full speed before throwing herself into a flying kick, slamming both feet into the Commando-Bot's chest. The military Badnik barely flinched at the impact and sent Bunnie flying with a flick of the wrist. The southern belle slammed into a tree with her back before sliding down, shaking her head.
"Hoo-wee! Even the toughest metal has some chinks in it." Bunnie wiped her chin with a grunt, getting back up. "Sally-Girl, you get the big shipper, and I'll handle ol' tough-as-nails over here."
"Be careful, Bunnie!" Sally shouted as she runs her way over to climb the prisoner transport.
With that arranged, the Commando-Bot swung at Bunnie, forcing her to leap to the side before lashing out with a spinning punch that pushed the robot back. The Commando-Bot just shot at Bunnie again, prompting her to bounce out of the way. The southern belle's dodging game continued for a while until eventually, Sally had now freed the small animals, watching them jump and flee from the prisoner transport in fear. Just as Sally went to aim and shoot at the other Swat-Bots, some of them strangely began to make a retreat afar. And the same went for the Commando-Bot, who Bunnie looked back over to fight, only to find the military Badnik already gone too.
"The heck...? I guess we must be gettin' good at this easy, but maybe too easy...?" Bunnie raised an eyebrow at the Swat-Bots abandoning their post all of a sudden.
Surprisingly enough, the last captive to emerge was a young and sweet-looking female bear wearing a yellow polka dot dress with a bow on her head.
"Oh, thank you so much! Are you guys the Freedom Fighters that I've heard so much about?" The bear girl asked with a cheerful smile on her face.
Surprised for a moment, yet suspicious, Sally looked at the bear girl. "Um, yes, we are. Are you the only mobian that was inside the prisoner transport?"
"Oh, I am, yes! But thanks to you, Princess Sally, I'm free!" The bear girl answered, causing Bunnie to raise an eyebrow at that statement.
"How'd you know that Sally-Girl here's a princess? Who are you anyway, sweetie?" Bunnie asked.
"My name is...uh, Sunny! Yes, Sunny is like sunshine, happiness, and cheer! I've heard from a few settlers before that a secret resistance leader was a princess somewhere until I found this weird gem that glowed in a cave somewhere nearby. But then I was attacked and put into this prison along with those critters before. Until you showed up and saved us!" Sunny described the events of her story carefully.
"Wait, do you still know where this gemstone is, Sunny?" Sally asked with interest. "That's a Chaos Emerald, and we're trying to find it somewhere around here."
"Ooh, yes, yes, YES!" Sunny bounces off the prisoner transport. "I can show you where it is right now-!"
Bunnie then cuts in, "Whoa, simmer down now, darlin'. I need to talk to Sally-Girl first before we start lookin' for that Chaos Emerald."
While the bear girl began nodding rapidly in understanding Bunnie's point, the southern belle and her best friend got together into a soft and quiet discussion with each other.
"I don't know about this one, Sally-Girl. The youngster's gettin' to be a tiny bit hinky about us lookin' for the Chaos Emerald. You think we can trust her?" Bunnie whispered, to which Sally responds with a mere sigh.
"I can see that you're worried, and I get it, Bunnie. But we need to see if this girl holds to her word when we find another Emerald before Robotnik does. And besides, Nicole will be able to track down a Chaos energy signature and its location if what this girl says is true. I need you with me on this one, okay?" Sally replied as she turned her head towards Sunny, who emitted an innocent yet strange behavior.
"Okay, Sally-Girl, I'm with y'all as always." Bunnie sighed, slightly feeling uneased, and the tension from Sunny's stalkerish smile.
With that said, both Sally and Bunnie each gave Sunny a nod of approval as she happily motions the two Freedom Fighters to follow her. Sally kept hold of Nicole while she and the group began pursuing the next Chaos Emerald, hoping that this bear girl stands out from being something dangerous. As for Bunnie, though, she only narrowed her eyes skeptical towards Sunny as the bear girl's naive smile seemed out of place and forced rather than simply pure.
There stood a wide shot of a racetrack set up with bizarrely designed maneuvers and tricks as an obstacle course. The immediate surroundings were far more arena-based. Though, everything became a big mix of structures and surfaces. The race included orange blocks in various forms and enhanced in a pattern of tiny circles, plus pillars and see-through virid meshing.
The internal corridors around the event feature a background pattern of circles carved into the maroon wall. The pathways of the same color stayed decorated with abstract-looking pillars on top. Some are purple or blue, and their sizes vary. Angled chunks of ground near the tops of the acts have become supported by brown pillars and resemble almost casino-like.
Rows of flashing neon lights are laid above straight areas of the ground and usually in pinball bumper areas. Loudspeakers have become arranged around it, and huge bleachers packed with crowds of mobians all around it. Right from above, sitting in the air sparkled away the word "COPE" in bold capital letters. It had neon lights flashing and glass blocks with a bright light rotating inside them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome, one and all, to the COPE obstacle course! Right now, this is Breezie the Hedgehog, coming live to you folks in Spring Yard with the greatest thrills, chills, and spills! Now the racecourse is marked off with arrows, and it ends right back here, where it started from originally. The first racer to cross the finish line will receive a genuine, gold-plated, cubic zirconium-encrusted trophy with an enormous cash bonus! As well as the prize of a Chaos Emerald!" Breezie's voice boomed out of each speaker unit.
As Breezie continued explaining the rules for the obstacle course, backstage inside one of the restrooms, Sonic stayed busy looking at himself in a mirror. His spines have gotten styled into one huge spike pointing upward for the disguise from Dr. Robotnik's troops within the area. And clearly, Sonic looked ticked off about this.
"Ugh, why did I let myself think of doing this sort of mess? I look like a freaking moron with this hairstyle!" Sonic complained, crossing his arms in a loud huff. "But at least I won't let any of those Swat-Butts see me around-!"
A sullen-looking monkey-based Badnik behind Sonic speaks up. "Oh, SURE. At least you're not the one cleaning the toilets in this place. Why hire a robot to clean toilets? Robots don't USE toilets!"
Sonic turns around to face the monkey-based Badnik. "Uh, do I know you?"
"The name's Coconuts. I work for the Big R himself, though, mainly as a janitor." Coconuts introduced himself. "But I'm looking for a big promotion soon! I've heard that Robotnik is after a blue hedgehog and those Freedom Fighters that have been causing him a lot of pain."
"Riiiiight. If I see them, I'll let you know."
Sonic looked bored yet secretly annoyed talking to Coconuts until the monkey-based Badnik thankfully left the backstage restroom. Though, Sonic wasn't the only person left inside as a familiar young two-tailed fox exits one of the stall compartments to approach a sink next to where Sonic stood.
At first, Miles thought that he was supposed to be scavenging for a Chaos Emerald under Snively's order, but he never thought that he would be entering an obstacle course for the mobians to see how much of a freak he looked like now. It all happened way too fast when a trio of his bullies thought beforehand that Miles entered Spring Yard's obstacle course. Solely for them to guilt-trip Miles into thinking that somehow or someway he COULD win if he managed to register himself for the race.
But alas, the bullies only laughed it off like Miles was nothing in their eyes, an abomination that can never win and deserves it too. They all thought that Miles wasn't going to achieve anything in participating in this obstacle course, but Miles was ready to prove each of them wrong about him. With a determined look in the mirror and a smile like the speedy hero he cherishes, Miles knew that he could believe in himself to do anything when putting his mind into it. Before the two-tailed fox could ponder some more, Sonic's childish groaning soon alerted his ears.
"Are you okay, sir-r-r-r...?" Miles tried to ask before his eyes widened at the person, breathing in and out in rhythm with his excited heart.
"Eh, I'm cool," Sonic reassured, attempting to adjust his hairstyle. "Man, this hairdo feels so cheap and underwhelming that I'm not even going to look natural to impress the peeps out there. Be real with me, man! You think this style looks like crap, right?"
By the time Sonic turned his eyes towards Miles, who already looked too frozen with a shocked, joyful expression on his face. Sonic could see two of the fox cub's feet tapping insistently and was muttering a seemingly endless stream of thoughts.
Miles seemed torn between wanting to speak to his idol and not trying to get himself caught because of his two tails, but right now, he couldn't help his reaction.
The intensity of Miles' thought process and the sheer thickness of his verbosity weighed down the air around him. Sonic saw the boy was floating in mid-air above his head, spiraling out of his mind with no restraint. Sonic earned himself a closeup from the two-tailed fox when zipping in front of him, to his shock.
"You're the Blue Blur! Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh! I never thought this would be happening! I can't believe I'm finally meeting you! You're fully awesome!" Miles shouted out with his gaze stuck rigidly to Sonic, who blinked in surprise from this young fanboy.
"Hey, what's the big idea getting in my face? And where'd you get those two tails from anyway?" Sonic raised an eyebrow, his palm pushing the embarrassed Miles back to the ground gently.
"I-I'm so sorry, mister. B-But when I saw you all of a sudden, I couldn't help myself! I never thought that I would meet the fastest, coolest thing alive here of all places. I've heard so much about you being a guardian of South Island too!" Miles replied with joy, despite that he failed to keep his twin-tails hidden from Sonic.
Miles saw that the blue hedgehog was staring at both of his tails, and his nervousness came back worst than ever. The fox's ears fell flat against his head, and fingers were tapping his teeth. His left leg swung back and forth while both his tails twisted around the other tightly as if hoping to morph into one. Sonic saw all of these and felt pity for how the fox behaved.
Sonic couldn't help but scratch his head, snickering for having a recent fanboy this young. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've established that. I get that I'm awesome and all, but why are you hiding your two tails, Mr. Number-One-Fan-In-The-World?"
Miles gulped a bit when he turned bright red and startled babbling. "W-Well, the t-thing is...that I-!"
"It's because you're a freak of nature as always, small fry!"
Suddenly came a perpetually angry and foul-mood voice as Sonic turned around to see a large and chubby grizzly bear come up to them, causing Miles to become incredibly terrified. The grizzly bear had brown fur, white chest hair, crimson eyes, sharp teeth, a notch in his right ear, and a light brown muzzle. He wore a dark orange puffer vest with a plain beanie hat, white gloves with red and green cuffs, and blue shoes with red stripes and white soles.
He was one of Miles's bullies named Bearenger the Grizzly.
Sonic eyed Miles as Bearenger continued shouting angrily. "So you ignored my warning for joining in the race, huh?!"
Miles looked both nervous and ticked off, swallowing hard and nervously at Bearenger's unpleasant grin. "H-Hiya, Barry! L-Look, you're mistaken. I-I'm joining the race b-because I want t-to show how g-good I can be! N-Not everything I-I do has something to do with you, Barry-!"
Bearenger then cuts the poor fox's words out by snatching him by the throat before smashing him into the nearby wall. Miles got pressed in hard against the sturdy surface as if it would magically let him through for a perfect escape, but not even life would give him that chance.
Miles could try to fly away, but that took time, and he didn't have that chance either. Sonic watched with agitation as Bearenger set himself on the poor boy like a mad dog. His sharp teeth gleam under the lights above, making the grizzly bear more frightful than he usually was when angry.
Bearenger lifted Miles off his feet against the wall, grinning viciously. "YOU'RE GETTING SMART WITH ME AGAIN, AREN'T YOU?! How can a reject like you breathe in the same air as me?"
"N-No, wait, Bearenger! I-I'm trying to fight you or anything worse." Miles trembled, holding his arms out defensively as he choked, leaving him with no escape from the grizzly bear's rage.
Miles coughed a bit more, lowering his gaze to the floor as he speaks in his usual meek tone. "It's just that I wanted to be friends with you guys, Bearenger. And you won't know me unless you try."
As a shaky smile comes onto Miles' face, daring to make eye contact with his bully, Bearenger's aura becomes even darker than before, radiating off of him in waves as his appearance grows more sinister. "Try?! TRY?! What do you mean unless I try? To think I would be friends with a TWO-TAILED FREAK WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO BE NORMAL?! Maybe if you quit now and take your last chance to dive off a cliff, THEN YOU WOULD BE ACCEPTED!"
And that's when Sonic had enough.
"So what?" The blue hedgehog spoke up, refusing to let this go on any longer as he crossed his arms.
Bearenger whips around, narrowed eyes widening as he realized who it was that butted in of all people, and of course, it had to be Sonic. His heart wrenched at the proximity, but he successfully covered it all with an angry scowl that did not affect Sonic. The blue hedgehog merely gazed back with those apathetic eyes that had a furious glint to them. Even now, Sonic takes a wide stance, placing himself as a barrier between them with folded arms and a cocky smirk.
"What did you just say, you hairdo punk?!" Bearenger snarled.
"So what if he has two tails instead of one?" Sonic challenged, eyes ablaze as he stared the grizzly bear down and daring him to bite back. "He wants to find some friends where he can feel genuinely accepted, just like I do. He's got two tails that can grant him the ability to fly, which is awesome and something your fat, furry butt cannot do for yourself. Plus, it's not up to me or you on choosing what he should be in his life, so why are you letting yourself get so pissed off?"
"Why are you defending this freak? He makes everyone look stupid with him showing off his braininess!" Bearenger grinds his teeth together in his usual rage, but in actuality, Sonic's comment had stung.
"Because you are annoying. Just leave the kid be, and mind your own business, dude." Sonic deadpanned, tone like a serrated knife waiting for him to lash out.
The backstage room falls into a crushing silence as the two of them faced off, Bearenger's eyes trembling with rage while Sonic's remained calm, and it was evident that he would not be backing down. Bearenger then releases Miles against the wall, with him watching Bearenger advance towards his hero. Miles winced onto the floor and tried his hardest not to provoke the unstable grizzly bear, who cracked his knuckles and stepped toward Sonic.
"Oh, you're asking for it now, blue freak!" Bearenger snickered just as he lunged to drive a fist after Sonic, who only sidestepped in silent response.
Bearenger was confused and tried to punch Sonic again, but one of his feet slipped in a small spill of mop water and fell heavily to the ground. At that, Miles' eyes shimmered, lighting up with so much awe and fascination upon Sonic's speed. Showing a look of fury about as fierce as Bearenger's face could allow, he bounced right back to attack Sonic with more punches.
"STAY STILL!" Bearenger roared, charging forward in an attempt to strike once again. "I'LL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!"
But Sonic dodges all of Bearenger's attacks until the blue hedgehog then trips the bully's step, and his face accidentally sticks into one of the stall's toilets. After hearing the toilet flush, as well as Bearenger's grunts and yelling, Sonic and Tails heard somebody giggling at the sight of Bearenger giving himself a swirlie.
Standing by the door was another bully named Falke the Wolf.
He was a tall, slim blue wolf with four small tufts of fur protruding from both sides at the back of his head, pointed ears that curved upward, and a darker furry patch on his chest and the tip of his bushy tail. Other features included tan skin with blue eyes, a bright red nose, and sharp teeth with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Falke wore a black leather vest with a collar, and his gloves and shoes were navy blue and mustard yellow.
Falke clapped his hands over his mouth as if to stop himself from laughing. But he couldn't hold it anymore, and he let loose another hysterical fit of laughter.
The last bully that came in was Carrotia the Rabbit.
She was a white rabbit with a peach muzzle, a small black nose, buck teeth, and green eyes. Carrotia had teal eyeshadow and markings at the ends of her long ears. The fur on her head flares out into two points at the back. Carrotia wore two large red ribbons on each long ear, a teal outfit with red highlights and matching teal gloves, a red sash around her waist tied in a large bow at the back, and dark teal and red shoes with white soles. Her gloves have red cuffs and a golden cufflink.
"What is going on here-? Bearenger?!" Carrotia looked over with a huff at the grizzly bear, who became stuck in one of the toilets in bathroom partitions.
Just as Bearenger finally released himself from the toilet, he still had the toilet seat around his neck while drenched, causing Falke to fall to the ground, cackling loudly.
"Hey, shut up!" Bearenger growled.
But Falke kept laughing. With a fierce snarl, Bearenger pounced on Falke as the two started wrestling on the bathroom floor.
As Sonic and Miles gave each other a glance at the scene, Carrotia scolds her two goon friends. "Will you knock it off?!"
The two broke away from their fight, leaving Falke to start gnawing on his leg.
"I'll crush you bunch of sissies!" Bearenger growled, pointing at Sonic and Miles.
"Shut up, Barry." Carrotia sighed in exasperation and walked up to Miles, sounding insincere. "We're sorry we made you take that dare, Miles. My friends don't know when to be quiet!"
Sonic blinked as he looked at the white rabbit. "Whoa, wait! What dare?"
"They dared me to join the obstacle course when they thought that I was here to do that in the first place. But still, though, maybe I could continue to participate with you guys-" Miles tried to say.
But Carrotia waved a hand dismissively. "You can forget about it and forfeit while you still can, foxy. Lunch is on us for next time. You wouldn't want to get a boo-boo or do anything pitiful as always. Now, let's go, boys!"
Miles wanted to counter back at Carrotia for saying something like that, but the bullies had already exited the backstage bathroom. The last thing Bearenger did before he left was to present a cold scowl towards the twin-tailed fox.
"You're dead if you even think about it," muttered Bearenger before he made his way after Falke and Carrotia.
"Jeez, who the heck were those guys, kid?" Sonic turned his head over to Miles, who tried to regain control from a coughing fit earlier.
Miles cleared his throat to speak further. "S-Some of m-my friends, but they didn't mean it-!"
"Friends? With them? After one of them just tried to attack us and the other one scolded you for being dared to race?" Sonic smirked, shaking his head. "Nuts to them altogether if they think you're not going to race them alongside me. Because I think that's going to change today, my friend."
"I-I...I am a friend, to you? But why? Why did you save me? I'm just a freak like everybody says!" Miles asked with a shocked look, where his eyes seemed too worried and hazy.
To the twin-tailed fox's further shock, Sonic shook his head before he moved his way to offer Miles a hand to help him up. "Oh, puh-leeze! Who the heck would ever tell you something like that when you're not? Besides, you were in trouble, kid. The name's Sonic the Hedgehog, by the way. You can tell me yours if you like."
"Miles." His voice said quietly, accepting Sonic's hand until he stands right back up. "Miles Prower, but sometimes, I'd like to be called Tails by my friends."
The fox was worried that Sonic would make fun of his name or may have heard about him. Fortunately enough, the blue hedgehog didn't believe to be that way like all the others.
"Tails, huh? Nothing wrong with a name like that, right?" Sonic said when he got the young fox's attention.
"You think so?" Miles asked with a small smile.
"Yep, and I think Tails fits you way better than just Miles Prower. Jokes aside from that one, so don't be ashamed. I bet those other guys are just jealous cause they don't know what they're missing from you, kid. You've got plenty of talent, and I know it! So how about we go out there and show the world who you are from here on out." Sonic finished with a smirk.
With that becoming said, Miles Prower, who had just now gotten renamed Tails, began to boost his confidence and smiled much more this time. The twin-tailed genius brought a hood over his head, strapping his goggles before his eyes to show his racing persona. Tails nodded to Sonic with a hum, having the blue hedgehog turn to start heading off for the obstacle course.
"O-Oh, wait!" Tails cried out in his tiny voice. "W-Wait!"
It became spoken in desperation, one he was not familiar with at all. But it was just enough for Sonic to stop immediately and turn round, eyes glued to the two-tailed fox as he approached the speedy hero. Unsure of what Tails was planning, Sonic later finds out once Tails started fiddling with Sonic's disguised hairdo.
In just a few moments, the young fox was able to make a few of Sonic's quills look spiky around the edges to seem neat for Sonic to check in the mirror. After examining himself with the hairstyle Tails revised for Sonic, the blue hedgehog gave his new twin-tailed friend a thumbs-up and a wink.
"Now THAT is much better, big guy! Let's juice and loose, Tails." Sonic said when he smirks at Tails a bit while he smiled back at the blue hedgehog.
"Right behind you, Sonic!"
Afterward, the two of them began to rush their way out of the backstage bathroom and make it to where the race will commence shortly.
Meanwhile, back at Jungle Labyrinth, Sunny was skipping along joyfully to lead Sally and Bunnie to where one of the Chaos Emeralds would be. Bunnie walked along, looking intently for any sign of the populace here, but found only nothing more than a sense of isolation. By the time Sunny paused her next move, she then pointed directly ahead for the two girls to spot the spiked log bridge and falling logs at the waterfall down near the river.
"Nicole, search for the closest Chaos Emerald within range," Sally asked, pulling out her hand-held computer.
"Searching, Sally..." Nicole responded through a couple of beeps. "The closest Chaos Emerald is located in a small cave underneath the spiked log bridge."
"So, the girl was right all along?" Bunnie whispered to Sally.
She nodded. "I guess so. Right now, we'll need to be careful and find our way across this bridge to the Chaos Emerald-!"
"I can go get the Chaos Emerald for you, Princess Sally!" Sunny stated just before she zipped past the two girls, taken aback by her unexpected rush.
"Wait, Sunny!" Sally tried to call out but to no avail.
Sunny hopped across the spiked log bridge so that she could avoid the protruding studs coming out of it. Afterward, the bear girl skipped her way onto a log that fell from the waterfall and down below. Floating along the river, Sunny carefully stood in place before rolling. Sally and Bunnie could see that the log-roll was chaotic, where Sunny nearly fell a few times. But after a few seconds, Sunny smiled and continued onward until she finally made it to the other side, where the small cave remained.
"I made it!" Sunny cheered, running up inside the cave next.
"Hold on there, Sunny! We're comin'!" Bunnie called out before she hoists Sally over her shoulder and then seized the spiked log bridge with her robotic arm.
While Sally held onto her best friend, Bunnie leaped off down below the spiked log bridge and just above the river, swinging with force to land her feet closely where the small cave persisted. Soon, Sunny came out of the small cave with a blue Chaos Emerald. Despite how much Sunny did to save both Sally and Bunnie the trouble, it was still reckless of Sunny to do something so strange.
"Look what I found, Princess Sally! I know I could do a good job in helping you since you're all Freedom Fighters! Maybe I could join you and help along the way, princess!" Sunny holds out the blue Chaos Emerald for Sally to observe, much to her uneasiness for the bear girl's safety.
Bunnie nervously smiles, crossing her arms in a sensitive tone of voice. "Well...sweetie, that's very kind of you to ask, but...!"
"Please! I promise I won't do anything bad, I could...!" Sunny tried to plead.
Only for Sally to silence Sunny as she stoops to her height to show honesty. "Sweetie, we know you mean well, but you should've gotten our permission to find this Chaos Emerald. You could've become seriously hurt if something were to happen to you. I'm sorry, but being a Freedom Fighter isn't about having fun or doing things that could bring trouble to the team. You understand, don't you?"
"I... I'll go... If you don't want me here anyway!" Sunny nearly sobbed at Sally's harsh but truthful words before running off with the blue Chaos Emerald in her hands.
"Wait, Sunny! The Chaos Emerald! I didn't mean to...!" Sally yelled out for her, but the bear girl had already disappeared into Jungle Labyrinth's trees.
"Now, now, Sally-Girl. I know you didn't mean to be insensitive to the poor gal." Bunnie said as she patted Sally's shoulder, followed by running off after Sunny. "I'll go after her to see if she's okay and that she'll give back the Emerald."
Bunnie then leaves to pursue after Sunny while Sally was left there frowning at what she caused, yet knowing that she had to tell the truth rather than deceive the bear girl. She'd have to make a point to apologize to Sunny for the way she had acted seconds ago.
Moments later, Bunnie was busy searching around Jungle Labyrinth for Sunny until suddenly hearing a weird static noise nearby. She makes her way through a few trees and bushes before the southern belle spotted Sunny hunched to a log with something else in her hand beside the blue Chaos Emerald.
"Hey, what's she doin'?" Bunnie pondered as she was hidden and began listening to Sunny's words carefully.
Sunny was making a call on a transceiver device to somebody cruelly familiar, her voice now robotic and baleful. "Dr. Robotnik, it's me! The mission is going perfectly! Those gullible fools will soon fall for my act. I will infiltrate Princess Sally's outlaw group, gain their trust, learn their plans, and DESTROY them!"
All of this was the conversation Bunnie had been expecting when she became suspicious. The southern belle pops out of her hiding spot, surprising Sunny in the process.
"Yeah, well, this 'gullible fool' won't! I should've known you're workin' for that nasty ol' Robotnik!" Bunnie said while she glared, approaching the bear girl.
"You've seen too much, mobian!"
And to Bunnie's unforeseen fear, Sunny turned to face the half-robotized rabbit with a creepy, wide shark-like grin and pitch-black robotic eyes. When Bunnie tries to attack Sunny, one of her arms elongates as it transforms into a claw, slamming Bunnie hard against a tree.
Bunnie felt her heart skip a beat or two fearfully when catching the sight of Sunny's freakishly changed arms. "Y-Your arms! What are you?!"
With the deception now discovered, Sunny's appearance begins to take on her original form. Now, starting to convert herself, Sunny's entire body reforms as she became a good foot taller with pinkish-purple body armor and a bobcat-like face. Her eyes remained pitch black with white pupils, which have now become slits, and her teeth were jagged and sharp.
"There is no further need to pose as some cute-looking brat. Now, I will destroy each of you Freedom Fighters as the latest in Badnik surveillance and infiltration..." The shape-shifting Badnik introduced herself. "...I am Meta-Morphia!"
TO BE CONTINUED...