"Hold on, I'm not here to cause any trouble," Miles told the echidna across from him, his body on alert for any sign of him making a move, "I just want answers."
The spiny Animal scoffed, his brow deepening with further indignation. "The doctor has warned me about you being deceptive. Admit that you are here to take the Master Emerald, just as my people had predicted!"
The fox was taken aback at the accusation. Was that what the Stone of Power was really called? If that was the case, then he wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. While the echidna wasn't exactly wrong about it being part of the reason he was there, he didn't mean any harm by it. The other Animal had made it quite clear that he wasn't about to listen to him, though, and he doubted he'd entertain any questions he had. For instance, the identity of the doctor that had tipped this guy off, which the fox had a pretty solid hunch about.
A gentle thud on the sand nearby caught his ears, turning to see that Sonic had set down the backpack with most of the Chaos Emeralds. The hedgehog was wearing his seldom seen angry face, working the kinks out of his neck as he extended his arms and did the same with his fingers. Miles hoped he wasn't about to try anything, but it looked like that would be asking a bit too much.
"He's not gonna admit to something that isn't true!" the boy shot back, drawing the echidna's attention, "besides, we only just got here. We haven't done anything!"
The bigger spiny mammal pointed at the bag that the hedgehog had set down, now even more irritated. "The state of the Chaos Emeralds is proof enough that he has abused their power. As Guardian of this island, I cannot allow ones such as him to get close to the Master Emerald!"
"The biggest reason we're here is so we can make them bright again, you knucklehead!" Sonic shouted, planting his legs and raising his fists.
The Guardian's expression shifted to confusion. "No, my name is Knuckles the Echidna."
A brief, but howling breeze blew in from the sea as the quintet absorbed his words. Were this the desert, a tumbleweed might have rolled on by during the silence. Both hedgehog and fox found themselves lowering their hands a little as they stared at Knuckles. At least the question of whether or not he really was an echidna had been answered.
"That's...rather on the nose," Miles mumbled, then shook his head and shot the echidna a more pleading look, "but, my friend is telling the truth. We just want the Emeralds to be the way they were before, and I don't want to fight if I don't have to. Please, if there's a way we can make that happen, then as soon as that's done, we'll leave."
There was a short, yet seemingly sluggish period where the monotreme molded over his words. But, to the fox's disappointment, he shrugged it off and reaffirmed his guard. It was apparent that Knuckles was a stubborn guy.
'Kind of like a certain cool blue hedgehog,' Miles thought to himself.
"I cannot grant that request," Knuckles said, shifting one foot further forward, "if I am to save my home from disaster, you must be felled."
Miles bowed and shook his head, heaving a sigh. He glanced back at his siblings and friends, then returned his gaze to the echidna.
"Since you insist on getting violent," he growled, his own stance changing to a more offensive form, "I have no choice but to defend myself." He saw Sonic start to move out of the corner of his eye, so he held up a hand. "No. I'm the one he wants, guys, so leave this to me!"
Knuckles grunted in what sounded like respect for the decision to keep their battle one-on-one. "Let us fight then, fox!"
The echidna started things off by rushing forward with a lunging jab. Miles blocked it with one of his tails, grimacing as he felt a bit of pain, followed by the tingling of numbness in much of the appendage after that. This guy was seriously strong; if he'd taken that unguarded, it would've done major damage. It figured that someone claiming themselves to be a Guardian wouldn't be a pushover.
With that in mind, Miles shrugged the fist away and swung his other tail around in a swift whipping motion. Knuckles grunted, but barely budged from the Tail Attack, moving to counter with a hook directed at the fox's chest. The teen kicked off the ground and twirled his tails together to hover and put some distance between them. To his surprise, Knuckles boosted up into the air with a Rolling Jump, then stuck both fists in front of him as he began gliding after him. He closed the gap so quickly, Miles was given hardly any time to catch those hands with his own. The force and weight pushed them both back to the ground, the fox's shoes pushing through the dirt as the echidna tried to overwhelm him.
Miles let himself fall back onto his rear limbs and repositioned his feet so that they drew near Knuckles' chest. He then let go of the smaller Animal's fists as he used his tails to bounce back and reinforce a good double kick. The Guardian went flying back, though he managed to right himself and land on his feet well enough. He crouched down and curled up into a ball, the familiar screech of a Spin Dash charging up reaching the fox's ears. Although he was stunned that someone else knew the technique independently from him, Miles wasted no time in doing the same. A few seconds went by before the red and amber spheres blitzed forth and crashed into one another, but the outcome was not what the heroes expected.
The fox yelled as he was knocked out of his Spin Dash and sent sprawling across the sand. The echidna pounced after him and attempted to drive his spiked gloves into the prone teen, but Miles rolled out of the way and quickly got to his feet. He threw a few punches of his own, only to have them blocked and redirected by his opponent's skillful maneuvering. Knuckles slapped his arms away and wound up one of his own, delivering a powerful straight that his target was unable to get away from in time. The hero coughed up a bit of red as he was propelled backward from the blow, dull pain flooding from his head down his spine after slamming into a palm tree. Not only that, but the impact caused it to topple over, producing a mighty crash and kicking up a large cloud of sand and dirt.
Not a moment later, Miles blasted through the debris in another Spin Dash, which Knuckles managed to catch using both of his hands. He was forced back a few meters, but ultimately managed to anchor himself, where he then threw the amber ball high into the air and jumped after him, spiking the fox back to the ground with a double ax hand. Miles picked himself up once more, panting a bit as he eyed over the scrapes and bruises inflicted on him. By comparison, he'd not done any meaningful damage to his foe, who bumped his fists together and looked ready to charge him again.
'He's a skilled fighter, and on top of that, his raw power is immense,' the teen observed, brushing his fingers over the pouch that had his gem, 'I felt power like the Chaos Emeralds coming from him, too, but it seemed more...pure. Could that be from him passively absorbing energy from the Master Emerald like I have with my own stone?'
Whatever the case was, he knew he wouldn't be able to win with his own strength alone. Miles reached into a different pocket and pulled out a trio of tiny bombs, flicking them the echidna's way. Knuckles avoided the explosives by slamming his fists into the ground and hauling up a chunk of stone bigger than himself, using it as an improvised shield. It broke apart from the blasts, and while the echidna was no worse for wear, it gave the fox the opportunity to close in. He swiveled onto his hands and spun as though he were break dancing, both legs and tails colliding with his opponent. Knuckles growled as he was sent flipping through the air a few times, though he caught hold of a vine and looped around a broad tree trunk. He let go and went into another glide, only to dive and dig down into the ground as though it were water.
Thinking quickly, Miles took to the air, rising up until he felt he was at a good altitude. He noticed the ground beneath where he'd just been starting to shift, and in response, he went into a Drop Attack, letting gravity do the work. Knuckles popped up out of the ground to deliver a punch, only to be confused when the fox wasn't there to take it. He once again ate dirt, though not by choice this time, as Miles bashed him in the back of the head from above. He wasn't down for long, however, vaulting from all fours and charging at the fox with a flurry of punches. It was answered with a barrage of kicks and tail swipes, with neither party managing to deal more than some glancing blows to each other, even after several seconds.
The two parted and circled one another in a sprint, trying to spot any kind of opening. Knuckles was faster on the draw, throwing one arm back and then bringing it forward, his fist just missing his target. Or so Miles had thought until the tip of the balled up glove glowed a brilliant orange. A huge boom filled the air as the space between Knuckles and Miles exploded, making the vulpine hurtle backwards into the brush. He tumbled and tossed through brambles and vines until he splashed into the river he'd heard when feeling out the area earlier. The fox erupted from the surface and touched down on the shore seconds later, shaking himself off and glaring as the echidna stepped through the greenery to get to him.
"You are tenacious, fox," Knuckles remarked, "I suppose that is to be expected from what the doctor told me and what my ancestors' mural showed."
There it was again, his supposed prophetic role in whatever was going on with this island. How did this guy even know he was correctly interpreting an image left behind by his people? The mention of that doctor also bugged Miles.
'It has to be him,' he concluded, 'who else could it possibly be but that damn old owl? He must have tricked Knuckles into thinking I'm the bad guy in all of this! If only I could get through to him.'
His deliberation was rudely interrupted by the echidna shoveling and then tossing a big block of earth his way. Miles skipped to one side, then drew out a palm-sized golden ring and tossed it to Knuckles like a frisbee. The Guardian caught it almost reflexively, puzzled at why his opponent would do something like that. He was given no time to ponder it extensively before the trinket glowed a hot white and then blew up in his face, showing it was one of the fox's patented Dummy Rings. Knuckles kept proving he was made of tough stuff, though, as the blast left him with little more than some scorching and a few scuffs that he shrugged off seconds later.
"You are not the only one with tricks, fox," he claimed, an oddly mischievous smile on his muzzle.
He rushed his foe with another series of punches, which Miles narrowly managed to slip between. Knuckles then used a Rolling Jump to get behind the other Animal and wound up a second meteoric strike. The teen spun on his heel and brought up both arms and tails to defend against what he assumed would be a repeat of earlier. However, at the last second, the echidna redirected himself by spinning around and then driving his fist into the ground, producing a localized quake that caused not only Miles, but everyone else aside from the Guardian to lose their footing. In the instant the fox was falling, Knuckles delivered a true explosive punch, sending him flying yet again. The hero had still been blocking and so hadn't taken as hard a hit, even managing to spin his twin limbs around to halt himself before he could smack into anything else. The Guardian's grin reappeared as he did so, as though he'd been expecting the fox to do that.
"Lightning Arrow!" he roared, pointing one of his fists at his adversary.
There was a crackle from the clear blue skies, and a green-tinted bolt arced straight down into Miles. The fox yelled and spasmed, white hot pain lancing through every fiber of his being. It felt like it struck not only his physical body, but his inner self, or perhaps more accurately, the Chaos Energy that flowed through him. Though the experience seemed long, it was only for a brief second that he was shocked. Even so, it was too much, causing him to lose control of his flight and plummet to the ground.
"Tails!" Sonic cried out, gritting his teeth and wheeling around to face Knuckles, "that's it! I'm not gonna stand around and let you pummel my pal any longer!"
He ran at the echidna as fast as he could without causing serious collateral damage to the surrounding plant life. A few meters away, he bounced into a Jump, which Knuckles prepared to receive. He grunted in surprise and slight pain as the hoglet exponentially increased his rotation speed for an instant, causing the air around him to slash like a blade. Once his feet touched the ground, Sonic immediately went into a Spin Dash and barreled into the bigger guy's chest, knocking him back a few meters and making his shoes skid in the dirt. In retaliation, Knuckles pounded the ground to make it shake once more, but the hedgehog hopped over the shockwave and wagged a finger at him.
"That's not gonna work on me anymore!" he taunted, dashing in and using his speed to deliver his own storm of blows.
Stunningly, the echidna was able to keep up with most of them and block accordingly. Those that he failed to avoid did meager damage, giving him the fortitude to slowly force the boy back. He attempted to sneak in an explosive punch, but the fact he had to significantly slow his arm gave Sonic ample time to skip away before the blast went off. Annoyed at the kid's speed and antics, Knuckles assumed the same pose he did when he struck Miles down.
"Fast as you are, you cannot outrun this! Lightning Arrow!" he called out once more.
The same crash of thunder came again, as did the arc of Chaos Energy. Sonic had randomized his running pattern, even slowing and accelerating to attempt to avoid it, but it was no use. The bolt redirected itself and overtook the boy before long, delivering the same painful shock to him as the fox had received. It caused him to lose his balance, rolling and tumbling across the ground until he was stopped by a loose boulder, cracking it into pieces.
Knuckles had hardly taken another step to engage his grounded foes when he found himself dancing out of the way of blaster rounds and bolts that weren't under his control. Gizmo laid down suppressive fire while Gadget switched his lightning baton to whip mode and used his grappler in tandem to try and snatch the other guy. This kept the echidna from getting any closer to either the fox or the hedgehog, and he was too preoccupied staying on his toes to be able to counter them with that odd technique. When the opportunity presented itself, the teal twin used her own wire to tug Sonic over to her side, then let Fuchsia look after him as she moved closer to Miles, who was starting to get back up.
Aggravated that his duel had become an effort to gang up on him, Knuckles weighed his options. The hedgehog had proven a bigger thorn than the doctor had said, and the fox was proving to be resilient as well. And though comparatively slower, the volume of attacks from the twins made it difficult to focus and get close. The two-tailed one may have been an enemy, but he could acknowledge the loyalty the others seemed to have for him. If perhaps he could separate them somehow...
That's when he noticed the bag that the boy had left on the ground. Though faint, the echidna could feel the energy of the Chaos Emeralds emanating from it. He ducked beneath more blaster shots and whip arcs, digging into the soil to escape the mess. The group assumed he would emerge near them, but he instead veered away in the direction of the pack. The ground erupted next to the bag, which was then seized by the opportunistic echidna. He didn't linger long enough to do more than loudly chuckle as he sprinted and leapt into the dense jungle.
"Get back here!" Miles called after him, not getting far himself before Knuckles was out of sight.
He fished out the Miles Electric to try and track him, only to find that the Emerald Radar was somehow unable to pick up the signal from the others aside from his own. The fox narrowly kept himself from crushing his fingers around the device, though the temptation was strong.
"Damn it!" he swore as he put it back in his belt, then glanced at his partner, "come on, Sonic, we've got to go after him!"
"Don't hafta tell me twice!" the hoglet exclaimed, hopping back to his feet and shook out the aches and grains of sand and dirt.
Both of them were stopped and pulled back by a hand on their shoulders. They looked to see Gizmo giving them a disapproving expression.
"Hey now, don't run off without your new invention," she told her brother in particular.
The teal wolf dropped a disc-shaped amber widget with a blue button in the center into his hand, then gave another one to Sonic. In addition, she also provided the latter with a belt like the fox's, given that his pack was now gone. Her frown flipped to a smile, and she gave both of them a fist bump, as well as a pat on the head for her vulpine sibling.
"Go get him," she encouraged them, "just give us a call if you need help."
Gadget nodded and showed off his comm. "We'll stick around the Tornado for now, but if we find anything, or if we get in trouble, we'll let you know!"
"Got it," Miles affirmed, pocketing the device his sister gave him and gesturing for his little buddy to follow, "let's go, Sonic!"
"Right beside ya!"
With that, the duo made their way into the jungle, moving past a pair of falls that tumbled down an earthy brown cliff. There was an upward slope that went downhill after a second, the two stopping near the foot of a palm tree and coming across a new face on their travels. It was a monkey-like robot with a heavy, metallic blue body, a thin silver tail, and arms made up of four segmented spheres that each ended in a clawed hand. It had a dark face with cartoonish eyes and a yellow beak-like mouth, and it didn't appear to have any legs. It was simply clinging to a palm tree with its tail and one of its arms, while the other hand held a coconut.
"Looks like the doc made some new toys," Miles remarked, clicking his tongue and shaking his head, "not what I would call quality work, though."
The synthetic simian cocked its arm back and then hurled the coconut in a moderate arc at the two Animals. Miles and Sonic watched it fall towards them, then lazily moved out of the way well before it could hit them. The monkey robot reached up to restock its ammo, but to its dismay, there were no fresh, hard fruits left to pick. It nervously peered down at the pair, the taller one letting out a sigh and chucking a bomb to put it out of its misery.
"Yeah, definitely junk," Sonic concurred with the fox's earlier assessment.
The fox and hedgehog carried on, moving back uphill and skipping over a short rise in the terrain, coming to a stop beneath another palm tree. There, at the crest of the hill, was a Badnik reminiscent of a rhinoceros that had an overall gray body with orange lines and a few ventilation holes. It had a single wheel below its body, two horns on its orange face, a pair of mean black eyes, and sharp triangular ears. Upon spotting the heroes, it revved its wheel and peeled out a second later, its horns aimed at Sonic. The hoglet smirked and jumped right over the Badnik, leaving it to try and go for the teen, who had already taken to the air. More visibly irritated, it whirled around to attempt another go at the blue blur, but it was too late to prevent an oncoming Spin Dash from smashing it to pieces and releasing the Ring that had been powering it.
Just past where the Badnik had been, the path came to the edge of a cliff, where Miles spotted a second monkey bot below, a trio of vines that could be used to reach a ledge across from him, and one of those mysterious loops made from the rocks and grass around the region. Sonic opted to travel the high road while Miles stuck to the low, the hedgehog letting out a whoop as he used nature's "ropes" to swing to the other side. The fox Jumped into the Badnik before it could detect him, snatching up its Ring and hovering up to the top of the decline near the loop. With a quick burst of speed from his tails, he pushed through and went sailing off of a stony ramp over a portion of the river, brushing through a small waterfall and landing on the other side. He weaved out of the way of a coconut from a third monkey, dispatched it with a Dummy Ring, then sprang up a cliff and propelled himself onto the path of a loop that was higher above him. At the same time that he went up the curve, Sonic reunited with him and matched his steps as they succeeded through yet another ring in the earth. An immense tree with a hollow opening at the base of the trunk was at the end of the path, where they changed course and ran up the bark on the inside in a spiral. Sonic and Miles reached an exit that had been carved further up, coming out onto a flat stretch with a few more tiny waterfalls off to the side.
Seeing this as a good place to take a breather, Miles pulled out his multitool and checked to see if anything had changed with the Emerald Radar. To his relief, the other six gems were visible again, but the bad news was that they'd all been scattered quite a ways from each other!
"What the? How did he manage to separate them so far apart in so little time?" the fox wondered aloud, showing the screen to his partner.
"Maybe he's got secret tunnels," the other boy theorized, "he could dig, after all, and he was decently fast."
It certainly was possible, but it still wouldn't have enabled the echidna to do so in such an expedient manner. There had to have been something more to it, but they could ponder that conundrum for later.
"Regardless, one of them isn't too far away from here," Miles deduced from the coordinates of the nearest signal, "let's go get that first."
The Radar pointed them to a cliff with a tunnel that brought them to a pair of large waterfalls. The footing on the cliff just outside the opening crumbled away the moment they touched it, but the boys reacted by leaping over the gap to the next outcropping. From there, Sonic noticed a vine that was connected from an overhang above to a palm tree at the other side of the second falls, almost like a zip line. The hedgehog whipped off his belt and sprang up to use it just like that, grinning as he slid down the length of it while the fox navigated the small bit of land sticking out from the water. They Rolled through yet another loop, then scaled a short cliff by way of Miles' flight, arriving at a straightaway much like the one they'd been at moments ago.
Out of nowhere, a diminutive red hummingbird construct flitted in front of the duo. Curious, the two looked on as its eyes glowed a neon red, and within a few seconds, a scarlet projection of a familiar owl came into view.
"Hoo hoo hoo!" chortled Dr. Fukurokov, "I knew it was only a matter of time until you came snooping, Prower!"
Miles crossed his arms. "I guess it was too much to hope the crash took you and Fifteenth down, doctor."
"Merely wishful thinking!" the old bird agreed snidely, his grin falling into a frown, "but you really did make a mess of things! You grounded my masterpiece, you've put His Majesty into a coma, and you convinced his son to abandon us when he's needed most!"
Out of context, he could admit it sounded less than flattering. But, being witness to everything the Kukkus had done themselves, it was a drop in the bucket compared to their actions.
"It's pretty hard to have any sympathy for you when you tried to atomize my home," the fox retorted, his own scowl deepening, "not to mention how you almost killed my friends and family!"
Dr. Fukurokov tsked. "I wouldn't dare ask for sympathy from a monster."
"That's funny coming from you," Sonic said smartly, "you're such a...what's the word for someone who calls other people what they are, or badmouths them for doing stuff they do?"
"Hypocrite," Miles supplied.
"That's what you are, Old Man Owl!"
That got the engineer's feathers ruffled. But, after a moment and a deep breath, the doctor calmed down, his prior smirk returning.
"Never mind your mudslinging, I've prepared several wonderful new creations to contend with you, while I attend to other matters," he announced in a dark tone, "they'll meet you when you least suspect it, unlike this deliberate attempt to reach out. Between them and my new ally, I suspect you'll be kept plenty busy, boys."
The projection deactivated and the hummingbird bot flew off, leaving the two to ponder his words.
"He better not try anything with the others," the fox growled, clenching a fist.
The hedgehog gave him a pat on the lower back. "Don't worry, they said they'd let us know if anything bad happens."
Sonic was right. He had to have faith that they would be able to hold their own, and that they'd ask him if they couldn't. For now, it was better to focus on the Emeralds, as well as other threats promised by his old enemies.
It appeared that the cliff in front of them was a dead end, but Sonic's keen eye as a burrowing mammal told him otherwise. Miles watched as the hedgehog knelt down into a Spin Dash and broke through the rock, revealing a passage that they could get through in their Rolling states. They did just that, coming out the other end above a section of the same river they'd passed over earlier. Fortunately, they landed on a section of land that was only ankle deep, treading through it and leaping to a crude wood bridge to a dry spot. The fox's partner discovered a space in the second cliff they came across, the both of them punching through the stone and taking out a rhino bot while they were at it. Their speed and momentum allowed them to run over the surface of the water until it came to a cliff, which they both jumped up onto.
More Spin Dashing sent them sailing up a slope to a high ledge, dodging out of the way of a charging Badnik and subsequently breaking it with a mini bomb. Minding a bamboo spike trap, no doubt set by that echidna, the pair leapt over the top of a waterfall, then up to an even higher outcropping, and a third just beyond there that required Miles' two-tailed flight to scale. There, they ran into what appeared to be a large tulip flower, though a second glance showed them it certainly wasn't natural. It had a large red and closed bud with small spikes around its surface, and a gray stalk connected directly below to a bulb, which was covered by four gray spiked armor plates. Its petals twitched as it sensed the approach of the heroes, and with a "pon", it launched a pair of spiny mines similar to those the GKMS used, albeit not as large. Despite the random pattern, they were easy to avoid, and in the interim between lobs, Sonic Jumped over its bulb and used that same air slashing technique from their fight with Knuckles to take it out.
From there, they Rolled down a decline, hitting a brief drop and then continuing on through two loops. They crashed through a second flower bot, then went over a groove and flew by the tallest waterfall they'd seen yet. But, rather than keep going, Sonic skidded to halt just as they landed on the other side.
"Hey, Tails, check your Radar," the hedgehog told his partner as he went back to the edge of the cliff and looked down, "I think I saw something while we were speeding by the falls."
Miles did as his friend suggested, and sure enough, the Chaos Emerald they'd been tracking was close. In fact, according to the Radar, they had almost missed it, as it was right below them! The fox flew down the cliff face, catching sight of a hole that was just wide enough for him to hover through, leading him into a tiny cave. Leaning and glimmering softly against the back wall was the green Emerald. For a hot second, his first meeting with Sonic flashed through his mind, bringing a warm smile to his face. He picked up the gem and placed it in one of the pouches on his belt, then made his way back to the hedgehog.
"Good eye, Sonic!" he praised his partner, giving him a fist bump, then checked the Miles Electric again, "the next one is located...huh?" He pulled up the geographical data on this region of the ocean and compared it to what his multitool was showing him. "It's below sea level, but still on the island, according to these readings. I wonder if there are underground tunnels like in the Mystic Cave Network, or maybe those ruins we found?"
Sonic shuddered a bit at the mention of the latter. "I just hope there isn't a lot of water where it is."
"I doubt it'll be very dry," Miles commented, then patted him on the shoulder, "but don't worry, I've got your back. And if we need it, we've got that new device of mine, too."
The hoglet shook off his momentary discomfort and regained his confident grin, shooting a thumbs-up to the fox. The path forward took them up and around the cascading water, knocking out a few more Badniks along the way. They busted down a third rocky patch, traveling through the tunnel until they shot up out of the ground. They sprinted across a long, flat plain and passed through a small wooded area, coming out before a roaring waterfall that put all the rest before it to shame. A pair of bridges connected to an outcropping from the falls, as well as an overhanging cliff, but what was below made both boys pause.
The currents plummeted into a cavernous hole, one that went so deep, Miles and Sonic couldn't see the bottom. The pit wasn't entirely dark, but the mist from the tumbling waters made it impossible to discern what was down there. The fox didn't marvel long until his sensitive ears detected a difference in the movement of the currents, whipping his head in the direction of the disturbance. A shadow pierced the wall of water and landed upon the cliff above the second bridge, shaking itself off and turning around to show it was none other than Knuckles!
"It's that red knucklehead again!" Sonic exclaimed, rushing out onto the second bridge to gaze up at him.
Not so taken with the hedgehog's humor, the echidna leered down at the two of them from the ledge. "I am impressed at your swift recovery."
"I've been through worse," Miles replied. As if to rub matters in the other's face, he momentarily popped the green Emerald out and showed it off before pocketing it again. "I don't know how you scattered them, but we found one already. We're going to get the rest back and restore them, without or without your help, Guardian."
Knuckles' brow visibly twitched at the proclamation, his fists clenching as if ready to go another round. But instead, he took in a breath and put on that same mischievous smirk from their prior fight.
"If that is the case, then I must change my approach," he said ominously.
He lifted one of his feet and stomped down close to the tip of the rocky ledge. Miles hopped from his position and took to the air, keen on interrupting the other Animal's scheme. He was almost on top of the echidna when a cry from his companion made him halt. Looking back, the teen's eyes widened as the planks and rope tangled up with the hedgehog as it all collapsed, taking him down into the depths of the falls.
"No, not again!" he cried out, recalling when he'd just barely saved the boy from drowning, "hang on, Sonic!"
He repositioned himself and used his tails to boost downward, going into a Drop Attack so that he'd fall faster towards his partner. He knew he wouldn't be able to reach him before he was swallowed by the water, but he was certain he could stop him from being swept away and succumbing to the depths. Whatever the case, it looked like they would be seeing what was at the bottom of the waterfall after all.
Witnessing the fox risking his hide to try and save the hedgehog boy, Knuckles wasn't sure what to think. Going by the doctor's words, the teen had enough sense to try and keep his more useful subordinates alive. But on the other hand, it wasn't too dissimilar a display to the concerns he sometimes had when Big found himself in trouble.
'No, it must be a ruse,' he tried to reason, 'the doctor warned me he would use whatever means to fool me. He would save the hedgehog not because he cares for him, but because he believes him useful to his ends.'
Convinced of this, Knuckles hit a second hidden switch in the grass, opening up a chute that went underground and hopping right inside. He had to try and head them off in the event they survived the dangers of the next region.
Gadget dusted off his gloves and nodded in satisfaction at the job he'd done. He'd set up the tent for the younger boys, amber like the fox, and one for himself and Fuchsia, which was a cool blue. The original plan was for the boys to share one while the girls slept in another, with a spare in the event one was damaged. The cat had insisted that they have one to themselves, which had made him blush profusely. Gizmo had seconded the idea, as the teal twin would be getting her own personal space out of the arrangement. And within a few minutes, they had their shelter for the evening and however many more nights they'd be spending here.
With that done, the red wolf scanned around the campsite to see what the others were up to. Gizmo was piling wood into the fire pit she'd made, while Fuchsia was checking the foliage for anything that could be potentially edible. He was wary about the latter, given what had happened only a short while ago, but he didn't want to come off as too overprotective. So, he approached her with a more relaxed posture, hands behind his head, while his ears were still perked for any odd noises. She noticed him when he got close, looking back to flash him a smile before returning to her search.
"Find anything so we don't have to rely on rations the whole time?" he asked in a joking way.
The cat hummed. "Aside from coconuts, I haven't had much luck. I think I'd be better off trying to fish for something."
"Oh, that sounds nice."
Gadget and Fuchsia blinked at the third voice, which certainly hadn't come from the other wolf that was with them. It had been far deeper, distinctly male, and had a much slower drawl. Not so much to suggest the speaker was lacking in intelligence, but more that he was very relaxed, perhaps even lazy. The pair of them glanced towards the brush, where they saw a bulky purple cat, bigger than most humans, gazing down at them with yellow eyes. He tilted his head at them and briefly shut his eyes, putting on something of a dopey smile and waving to them with his free brown glove, the other holding a fishing rod.
"Agh!" Fuchsia shrieked, swiftly moving behind the wolf and holding onto his sides.
Gadget pulled out his lightning baton and held its sword form in front of himself defensively, his arm shaking a little. He couldn't help but be a bit intimidated at the size of the bigger Animal. Briefly peering back showed him that his sister had been alerted as well, hurrying over with her firearm drawn just in case he needed the back up.
"Stay back!" he warned the other feline, his own voice a little higher than he would've liked.
"Don't make us use these!" Gizmo threatened, motioning with her blaster.
The larger cat backed up and held up his free hand in a placating gesture, clear alarm on his face.
"Wait, I don't wanna hurt you," the big guy tried to explain, waving his hand pleadingly, "I was just looking for my friend and heard something about fishing. I thought it sounded fun."
The innocent demeanor made Gadget want to drop his guard, but he wasn't entirely certain. After all, they'd already had a hostile encounter within minutes of landing, and that came from someone smaller than most of the gang! Who knew what to expect in a place like this? What if that echidna was the friend this guy was talking about?
Fuchsia was far more trusting of her kin's word, though, coaxing her boyfriend to lower his weapon arm as she slowly came back into view. He resisted for a few seconds, but ultimately did so when the newcomer showed no signs of aggression, with Gizmo doing the same soon after.
"Hey, sorry," she apologized on their behalf, "someone tried to attack us a little earlier, so we're a bit jumpy. You seem alright, though." She held out one of her gloves. "I'm Fuchsia the Cat. This is my boyfriend, Gad the Wolf, and that's his twin sister, Giselle." She pointed to herself and each of the wolves in turn before looking back to the stranger. "What about you, big guy?"
A smile returned to the other feline's face and he nodded his head as he shook Fuchsia's offered hand. "Oh, that's my name, actually. I'm Big the Cat." He scratched under his chin in thought after withdrawing his hand. "There sure have been a lot of new Animals showing up lately. They've all been birds and weird metal things, though, except for you guys."
That certainly sounded like the Kukkus, although it was more like their invasion of Cocoa Island, with how quiet they'd been here. There were a lot of places for them to hide, and a much bigger area to provide them with both cover and natural resources. It did explain why they hadn't seen any activity or troop movement when they'd touched down some minutes ago, and it sounded like their forces were prowling around, according to Big. Why hadn't they tried to capture him, then, since they had that Conversion Therapy the doctor was fond of using? They supposed that the question answered itself, if the cat's name and bulk were anything to go by.
"Um, have you guys seen my friend?" the large cat asked them as he gestured with the hand that wasn't holding onto his fishing rod, "he's a little green frog with orange stripes and yellow eyes."
Gizmo shook her head. "No, we haven't seen anyone that looks like that. Is he an Animal or a Critter?"
"Oh, he's a Critter," Big answered with a fond smile, "his name is Froggy."
Fuchsia leaned in and whispered in the other wolf's ear. "Do you think the Kukkus took him away?"
"It's unlikely, but possible, since Dr. Fukurokov's always got something odd he's working on," Gadget murmured back to her, then faced the taller male, "do you know if he was headed this way?"
Big rubbed the top of his head while he hummed. Several long seconds went by, and then he refocused his attention on the smaller Animals.
"I saw him go south from the lake," the purple feline recalled, "so I followed that path." He tilted his head. "Hmm, he must've gone another way after a little bit."
The pink cat gently nudged her boyfriend in the side with an elbow. "Well, maybe we can help you look for him."
"Oh no you don't," Gizmo said, hands on her hips, "I'm not letting you two leave me alone while you head off to who knows where!"
Fuchsia gave her friend a surprised look. "But, Gizzy–"
"Let me finish," the teal wolf cut her off, holding up a finger and smiling at Big, "give us a minute."
The fellow nodded and watched as Gizmo took Gadget and Fuchsia a good stone's throw away. She glanced back at him for a second, then brought the other two in for a huddle.
"I'm not opposed to helping him," she whispered, "but, I would like it if we had two people watching home base." She gestured at her brother and her friend. "So, how about you guys stay here while I help our new acquaintance? I'm sure it won't take too long."
While concerned for the safety of his twin, Gadget knew that Gizmo was capable of handling herself for the most part. If things got dire, he could count on her to call for his help, or at least run in the worst case scenario. There was also the prospect of having some alone time with Fuchsia. They'd have to be vigilant for any Kukkus that came their way, but it was still a nice opportunity. His chest puffed a bit at the thought of getting to show off in front of her and further cement that he was a different wolf than the one that left Cocoa Island not too long ago.
"S-sure, Sis, we can handle that," he swore to her.
He got a roll of the eyes and a snicker from her. Gizmo was more than aware of how motivated her sibling had become ever since he and Fuchsia started going steady. Despite his normally jittery and nervous behavior, he'd done well during the West Side Incident, and she was certain that the cat being on his mind had played a part. She hoped that he kept up that same vigilance, now that Fuchsia was around and very much subject to any dangers that came their way.
"Okay, you know the deal," she said as she broke their little huddle, "if anything happens, call me and I'll come running. I'll be back before sundown, at the latest."
Gadget nodded affirmatively, waving to her as she strode over to the huge feline and went off into the brush with him. It was certain to be an interesting experience, getting to see the sights for herself, as well as having someone around that looked like he could put up a fight and have a good conversation with.
"So, you're a lady?" Big asked her after a few moments into their journey, "I've never met a female Animal before."
'Okay, maybe I spoke a bit too soon about the latter expectation,' she mused, 'this is already becoming awkward.'
