As the slopes of the snowy mountains drew closer with each second of his fall, Sonic positioned himself so that his makeshift "board" would land at an angle favorable to making a smooth transition. While he'd never gone snowboarding before, he figured that it was close enough to skateboarding that he could figure it out as he went. He also knew that he was far from properly prepared for the environment here, but he figured that Miles had something to help warm him up. If not, he could always just bundle up in the fox's fur for a short while, assuming the big guy would allow it. Maybe the Flame Shield could heat him up in case the teen wasn't feeling so amenable.
The hedgehog was nearly thrown from his ride as it hit the powder, the grinding of metal against snow filling his ears, along with a rush of air as he shot downhill. The wind whipped in his face, just as frigid as his new surroundings, though it felt good despite the biting cold. He squinted his eyes so that they wouldn't water so much, but also kept them open enough so that he could take a gander at his surroundings. As he'd often seen in pictures and entertainment, there were many other tall, snowy mountains around him, boasting steep slopes and dotted with numerous white-capped trees. Further down and out, he could make out a huge river flowing through the range, carrying many ice floes along with it. All of this was rather picturesque with a fresh layer of flakes coming down.
He sped down the path, weaving this way and that through a series of trees that had shed their leaves as the decline became less extreme. It even out some more further down, but not so much that the speed-loving hedgehog couldn't appreciate the ride. When given the choice to take a detour and enjoy the scenery a bit more or heading straight for a cliff, the thrill-seeking boy naturally went for the latter. Sonic jumped off the edge of the frosted rock face and jerked his body back as he held the front of his board. He counted a few dozen back-flips, twists and rolls before he had to come down, nailing a perfect landing. He imagined he probably broke several sports records with that one jump alone, and wished that he had an audience besides the fox that was undoubtedly trailing behind him.
The hoglet went off a second jump, going into a cartwheel-style flip this time while grabbing the broken door's heel edge with his lead hand. He saw a third cliff up ahead and was ready to freestyle some more, only to back off on that when he saw the sudden drop just beyond it. To his delight, he picked up even more speed, not minding that the whipping wind was making his muzzle tingle and sting a little. What didn't thrill him was that as this route neared its end, there were sheer cliffs on all sides, and a great big hole past the bottom of the slope. He did his best to try and slow down by steering his improvised board in wide turns, but it did little to stop him from sailing over the final jump.
The kid swung his board into the oncoming wall, grimacing as he was thrown off his ride and into a pile of snow below, which was subsequently added to because of his crash. His natural knack for burrowing got him out in a snap, shaking off everything but the goosebumps in his skin. The sound of a shoe tapping against the snow met his ears, and he turned around to see that Miles was waiting for him just a little deeper in the cave. He was leaning against one of the walls with an outstretched arm, one foot crossed over the other as it padded the ground, pretending that he was examining his claws through his gloves.
"How'd you beat me to the bottom?" Sonic couldn't help wondering.
The fox peered down at him with a grin as he adjusted his shades. "Same way as when we first raced: I'm just faster than you."
"For now," the boy grumbled, dusting the remnants of his snowy bath off.
The teen chuckled and reached into his pouch to grab the Miles Electric. "At least you got to go snowboarding, like you said you wanted to. Did you have fun?"
"For how short it was, it was pretty cool, no pun intended."
Miles hummed at that, his attention more focused on the Emerald Radar. Aside from the four gems that they already had, the nearest one was due west from their current location, likely close to the river he'd spied while descending. While that was a little ways off, there was one much further than that in roughly the same direction, which the fox assumed was the one the Kukkus had. And the last one was southwest, almost as far as the previously mentioned stone, though it was steadily moving northward. Maybe Gizmo and their new acquaintance had managed to get their hands on it?
With their course set, he put his multitool away and swiveled around to face the interior of the cavern, finding a decently thick wall of ice in front of him. Sonic came up to his side and eyed up the obstacle, nodding his head after a moment.
"Looks like there's a way forward on the other side," he observed.
Miles rapped his knuckles on the frozen barrier. "We should be able to plow through this with a good Spin Dash. Ready to get going?"
"Better sooner than later," Sonic remarked, hugging himself and rubbing his arms, "the more I stand around, the more I feel the cold."
A sentiment that the teen certainly agreed with, even though he was more suited for this sort of environment. Both knelt down and revved up in sync, then barreled through the ice like it was soft dirt. Part of the ceiling collapsed behind them, caving in that entrance as they Rolled off a ledge and into the place, where they got a better look at what awaited them. Cold blue and black walls with pillars of hoarfrost were strewn about, as well as strange blue and green decorations with other colorful blocks set among them. A mostly enclosed blue platform connected to a green link of chain rested against the end of the stretch of rock they stood atop of, something Miles would have thought was out of place if it weren't for a certain echidna inhabiting the island. What could it be used for, though?
Sonic didn't wait for him to posit its purpose before going ahead and dashing into the thing. Rather than break through the back of it, the platform took his momentum and swung upwards, giving him the height needed to make a jump over a short drop over to a sheer outcropping. Miles was quick to follow when his ears picked up the sound of fracturing ice, flying over and getting his partner to more solid ground just as the ledge crumbled away. A pile of ice blocks acted as a step ladder for them to reach the cliff beyond it, continuing until they came to a dead end.
They weren't left trying to find a path for long, though, when the floor broke under their feet. They fell a few meters into a slippery decline, which they rode down to some flatter ground and went through a brief tunnel. At the other end, the path went even further down into the cavern, and there was a sizable bowl-shaped platform attached to one wall. Sonic jumped over to it without waiting for Miles to see if it would be safe, his weight dislodging the block from the surrounding ice and causing it to carry him along as it descended further. The fox went down after him, using his arms to keep steady as he "skated" and jumped to keep his footing, until the platform with the hedgehog crashed through a thick layer of frost.
From there, they narrowly avoided more ice caving in on top of them, exiting into a chamber that looked like it reached just as high as they'd gone down so far. Miles spotted a few of those swinging platforms like the one they'd seen just a couple minutes ago, but also figured he could fly up on his own. Sonic decided to make the journey without him, giving himself a running start and springing up high to kick off a wall towards the first one. It shot up enough for him to reach the second, where he had to use a Spin Dash to build up the proper speed and momentum to get to the third platform. He and the fox reached the top of the room at roughly the same time, where they came upon a new sort of Badnik.
There were a pair of penguins about half the size of Miles in height, with black bodies covered in blue armor. They also had long plated arms, silver bellies, thin orange feet, and glowing cyan eyes that sat above a sharp yellow beak. Upon spotting the pair of heroes, the robots waddled their way over with their optics narrowed, trying to look intimidating. This had the opposite effect, getting a good laugh from both boys, who only stopped when the birds charged forward with a belly slide. The attacks didn't stand up to a Spin Dash, though, which the Animals used to take out their foes. They stayed curled up as they bounced down several small rises in the ground, ending in a short drop down a chasm onto a snowy ledge. A trip down a nearby slope gave them the chance to avoid a pitfall and leap to an outcropping, though the ground there wasn't as stable as it appeared.
The sudden drop made Miles and Sonic Roll up to minimize any damage they took as they skidded and tumbled down the declines in the ice. After a few seconds, they found themselves going back uphill and were stopped when they ran into a similar block that Sonic rode earlier. Considering that one opened up a passage, this gave the kid an idea.
"Let's push this down and see where it takes us!" the hoglet suggested.
Miles hopped to it, getting on the other side of the platform and pushing into it with both hands and one shoulder. Sonic moved next to him and did the same, their efforts getting the thing to budge after a moment. Once it started gaining its own momentum, the two jumped aboard and held on as best they could as it slid down the slope. It served as a shield as it carried them over icy stalagmites, bounced and shot down a few more rocky shelves, and eventually broke down several thin walls in their way. The platform ultimately broke apart when it struck a cliff that was too thick for it to smash through, leaving them with little choice but for the fox to use his flight to carry them up to the next leg of the journey.
Miles and Sonic ran down a few more "steps", momentarily startled when they rose upward and tried to crush them against the cavern ceiling. After getting out of that danger, they traveled down a ramp over another set of terraces, dropping into a narrow shaft to the top of a powdery hill. The teen spotted one of those swinging platforms at the bottom, along with a few more penguin Badniks. The duo ran and went into Rolling Attacks, letting the slope build up their speed enough that they destroyed the robots and sent the chained hunk of metal lurching upward. At the peak of its rise, Miles flew the two of them onto the cliff above, where he found that the chamber went higher still. And from up there, they could see sunlight pouring in from the end of a passage just across a wide gap.
The two didn't waste any time in getting over to the tunnel and running through it to find a hill just outside. They had wound up much closer to the river with the ice floes that they'd spotted when they initially entered the area, and the sun was dipping lower towards the western horizon. While there was still plenty of light left, the warmest part of the day was behind them by now, meaning it would only get colder there as time went on.
"Hey, Tails, how close are we to the Emerald?" Sonic asked him, leaning in against his companion.
Miles adjusted the Radar on the Miles Electric and subconsciously draped one of his tails around the younger Animal. "Just a bit further, kid. From what I can see, if we follow the path of the river, it'll lead us to where it should be."
"Then it's a clear shot to the Kukku HQ, so let's go!" the boy proclaimed in his ever energetic tone. Although, he didn't move from his position with the fluffy limb wrapped around him. "Just gimme a couple seconds."
The fox chuckled, but didn't move his tail away. "Sure thing, partner."
With that guy that gave her brother and young friend a bit of roughing up right in front of her, Gizmo was tempted to reach for her blaster. However, given what Big had told her about Knuckles, and not wanting to exacerbate the Guardian's already negative opinion of her group, she thought better about drawing her weapon. She figured she wouldn't have been able to contend with him anyway, seeing as Miles was unable to do so on his own. And all that aside, she had plenty of questions for him, though she wasn't expecting him to be the most cooperative sort.
"Hey, Knuckles," Big happily greeted his friend, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the air.
A ghost of a smile flashed across the echidna's face, though it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "I am relieved that you are unharmed, Big. Now, step away so that I may deal with her."
"Whoa now, can't we be civil about this?" the teal wolf proposed, her hands raised with her palms up, "I'm just trying to help find this fellow's friend, nothing nefarious."
"You lie!" Knuckles spat with an accusatory edge, "I can sense the depleted Chaos Emerald in your possession!"
Gizmo flinched at both the sting of his tone and the fact that he knew about the blue gem. If he had his own natural form of the Emerald Radar, then it meant that he likely knew where Miles was. That could prove quite the potential problem if they couldn't win his trust. Meanwhile, Big's own smile faded into a frown of concern as he put one of his burly arms in the space between the other two Animals.
"I think talking to that old owl's gotten to you, buddy," he told the monotreme, "I don't like it when you're like this, and this is worse than normal."
Visible irritation flowed across Knuckles' face. "You have always been too lax about everything, Big. And it is clear this temptress has taken advantage of that."
"Now now, let's all settle down," the cat said evenly, now placing himself more firmly between the both of them, "no one needs to get hurt."
The wolf bit back some choice words, knowing they wouldn't help her. She could tell from the look in the echidna's purple eyes, however, that he wasn't about to abide by this.
"She is working with the two-tailed fox to bring ruin to our home," he insisted, pointing at her with one fist, "do not be taken in by her deceptions!"
"Oi!" Gizmo protested, her fur bristling and fangs showing, "I don't take kindly to being labeled a liar and other unflattering, untrue things! Besides," she carried on, her scowl shifting to a smirk, "why are you wasting time on me? I thought you were worried about my little brother."
Before anyone else could chime in, a deafening boom sounded from the direction of the mountains. While they couldn't see the source of the disturbance, the three Animals could make out a few large plumes of smoke rising over the range. Simultaneously, a heavy metal ringtone went off from Gizmo's comm and Knuckles' own unit from the doctor started blaring at him. And, at the same time, both attended to their respective calls while still glaring at one another.
"Sis, where are you right now?" Gadget's voice called out once the wolf picked up.
"Knuckles, come in!" squawked Dr. Fukurokov, sounding notably more frantic than the lupine on the other line.
Gizmo chose to take this moment to slink off to the side while Knuckles was busy with his own dealings. Much as she didn't want to leave without helping Big accomplish his goal, she considered she would likely have to flee if the Guardian got any more aggressive.
"I'm on the plateau in the middle of a place called Azure Lake," she replied, "it's on the south side of the mountains around where the Battle Moon landed, north of the jungle. I might need you for a quick escape; Big and I found one of the Emeralds, but then Knuckles showed up."
"Oh no! We gotta go help her, Gaddy!" Fuchsia exclaimed over the radio.
The teal twin covered her mouth to muffle a snorting snicker, but the growl on Gadget's end made it clear he heard her. To her further amusement, it trailed off into an embarrassed groan after a couple of seconds.
"Hun, I thought we agreed you'd only call me that when we're in private together," the red twin grumbled over the frequency, then sighed after a moment, "anyway, Sis, we'll be over there soon and fill you in on what's happened."
"Hang tight, Gizzy!" the other cat cheered her on.
As for the doctor and the Guardian, their conversation had gone on at pretty much the same pace.
"Miles Prower and his hedgehog companion have taken down my main supply ship!" the owl informed the echidna, clearly upset by the major loss, "not only that, but they're en route to my base via the pass in the Ice Cap Mountains that you showed us!"
As pressing as that sounded, Knuckles couldn't help but keep a wary eye on that sneaky wolf. "I regret to say that the elusive presence remains so, doctor. However, a member of the fox's group is right in front of me, along with a Chaos Emerald."
"Leave them," Fukurokov commanded him, "I need your muscles back at the main facility. You don't want to see what will happen if the two-tailed fox reaches the Dragon's Egg, do you?"
Knuckles was having none of it, though he was concerned by the possibility the doctor brought up. "Apologies, doctor, but you had me wait when I could have faced them down at the Marble Garden. It has proven unwise to hesitate when there is an opportunity, if your latest misfortune is anything to go by. It will take only a moment to deal with this one, and then I shall come help you."
"Bah, fine," the old engineer compromised after a moment, the reluctance evident in his tone, "but be quick about it! By my estimates, that dastardly duo will reach the outer limits of my facility within the next twenty minutes!"
The echidna switched off the comm and pounded his fists together as he returned his full attention to his quarry. "It will not take me long."
Gizmo adopted a more defensive stance as she saw that Knuckles was finished with his conversation as well. She had expected him to be stubborn, but she didn't think he would be this unwilling to work things out, nor so single-minded in fulfilling his supposed duty. Sure, Big was here with her, but he didn't seem like much of a fighter, and the echidna made it apparent he wasn't about to be talked down by the cat as he just slipped right by him. Honestly, she was a bit scared at the prospect of having to throw down with this guy, but she wasn't about to let him walk all over her and do her in. Besides, it wasn't as though she had to defeat him; she merely had to keep him busy long enough for the others to swoop in and give her an out.
"Do not think I will restrain myself simply because you are a female," Knuckles warned her as he put up his dukes.
The teal wolf scoffed and shifted her footing a bit. "Much as I don't want to fight, I'd be insulted if you did."
The Guardian started off proceedings by dashing in for a straight from his right, which Gizmo managed to avoid by pivoting to one side. Using her longer legs, she tried to sweep him from the edge of her reach, but he saw it coming and jumped over the attempted attack. Thinking fast, she curled up while she was still low to the ground and charged the echidna with a sudden Spin Dash. He brought up his hands to block her, skidding back a few meters in the dirt before shifting his arms and throwing the teal sphere high into the air. With no place to grapple that would help slow her fall, the wolf felt herself helplessly drop, hoping that the Dash would mitigate most of the damage. Instead, Knuckles Jumped up and knocked her out of the balled up state, leaving her tumbling across the grass and stopping just short of slipping over the side of a cliff.
Seeing how out of her depth she was physically, Gizmo drew her blaster pistol and set it to stun, leaving it at a high setting to account for the assumed durability of her foe. She took careful aim as her other hand stayed behind her, then gave a few quick squeezes of the trigger. Knuckles weaved and dodged around the energy shots, one glove drawn back and starting to spark over the front. The explosive punch would have hit the wolf, had she not used her cable to snag a bit of earth and yank herself away just in time. Getting back to her feet, she let loose another burst of rounds while she reached into her pouches, digging around for anything that might be useful. Once again, she couldn't hit her mark thanks to the Guardian's speed and fine-tuned reflexes, at which point, she decided to holster her weapon. She reasoned if it couldn't even slow the guy down, it wasn't going to do her any good to keep it drawn.
Taking a daring approach, the she-wolf sprinted at Knuckles, her right hand finally picking something she thought would work against him. He slid forward and prepared to meet her with a one-two combo, but was left swinging at air when she pounced over him instead of striking back. When she landed, she somersaulted over to Big's side and flipped her goggles down over her eyes.
"Big, close your eyes and cover your ears," she told him just loud enough for him to hear while her opponent could not.
The cat was perplexed at the order, but didn't argue, doing as Gizmo directed. She chucked the silvery orb in her palm at Knuckles, then turned away and pressed her hands entirely over her ears. As he'd been wont to do this battle, the echidna dodged out the way of the projectile, smirking as it fell short and dropped out of the air. His expression promptly vanished when a sudden bang caused his eyes to burn as his vision went white. As if that wasn't enough, the sound that the blast emitted caused his ears to start ringing with the worst case of tinnitus he'd ever experienced. On top of all that, he was hit with a strong concussive force from the physical aspect of the blinding explosion. All of those sensations put together forced him to one knee as he clutched at his temple with a hand.
"Damn your tricks, she-wolf!" Knuckles swore as he tried pushing himself upright again.
Gizmo didn't hesitate to run at the Guardian while he was disoriented, seeing it as her best chance to inflict some sort of damage on him. To her surprise, when she came in for a spinning kick, he managed to easily block the blow with his other arm, and it didn't look like a blind attempt. Knuckles let out a short and airy laugh as though he could feel her shock, his arm not even quivering as the wolf pushed against it.
"You may have blinded and deafened me, but I can still sense your latent Chaos Energy!" he boasted, shrugging her boot off of him.
Knuckles proved very quickly that there was indeed some bite to his bark, springing back to his feet and tossing a few punches that were definitely aimed Gizmo's way. The wolf brought up her palms to block the fists, but even with both sets of gloves to cushion the blows, her hands down to her wrists flared up with searing hot pain. Not wanting to risk having her arms broken, Gizmo was forced to take a hit in the torso, her breath coming out in a harsh gasp as she was socked in the sternum. The full weight of the punch kicked in the next second, sending the lupine flying straight for several meters before she tumbled across the plateau like a rag doll. Once her world stopped spinning, the canine Animal groaned and let out a pained cough as she tried to catch her breath and get up.
The echidna was gracious enough to allow her to stand, but not so much that he would wait for her to be entirely ready. The moment Gizmo was on her feet, Knuckles rushed in again, even as her hands were still on her knees. He was ready to give her a nasty hook, but found it stopped by a brown leather glove before it could connect. Both combatants saw Big now standing between them, his arm shaking a little as he held back the Guardian's mighty fist.
"Out of my way, Big!" Knuckles yelled, the feline's fingers locking his hand in place, unable to pull free, "she must be dealt with!"
For the first time since she met him, the wolf saw a mildly angry expression on the cat's face. "No, stop it! You're hurting my new friend, Knuckles!"
"She is conspiring with a monster that means to destroy our home and take the Master Emerald for himself!"
Gizmo would have liked nothing more than to set things straight about why Miles and them were really here, but the echidna obviously wasn't keen on the idea. He used his free hand to rapidly dig up the earth beneath him, making Big let go of his other glove once he was in deep. The wolf recalled him doing something like this during his fight with Miles, and kept her ears and eyes open for any disturbances in the ground. She stumbled back as Knuckles popped up in front of her, knocking her away with a surprise Rolling Jump and going into a glide to try and get her with the spikes on his fists. He crashed into her and pinned her by the neck with one hand as he raised his other to deliver a coup de grace. Just before he could do the deed, he was yanked off of Gizmo and back through the air by a seemingly invisible thread, which the wolf saw was actually the line attached to Big's fishing rod.
"It's best if you go on, Giselle," the huge Animal told her as he struggled to genuinely reel in the angry echidna.
"But, what about you, Big?" she asked, concerned for what Knuckles might do, "I don't want you to get hurt on my account, and we still haven't found Froggy yet!"
Big gave her one of those dopey, but understanding smiles she'd come to see him use often. "It's okay, we'll find him later. Now get going, alright?"
Reluctant as she was to leave him like this, Gizmo nodded and bolted towards the end of the plateau. She couldn't run as fast as she liked due to the bumps and bruises she'd accrued, not to mention the pain in the top of her chest. To her relief, the wolf didn't have to keep it up for long when the familiar roar of the Tornado's rocket engine reached her ears. And just as well, for she heard a loud snap and a dismayed cry from Big, then the sound of shoes rapidly padding across the grass in her direction. She knew that Knuckles had broken free without having to glance back, and that he'd be on top of her if she didn't take a leap of faith. To that end, she decided to take that idea literally, pushing herself as fast as she could go in spite of the aches and soreness, and then hurling herself up and over the edge of the cliff.
She let out a little laugh as her brother swooped in like he was part of some grand escape scene at the end of a movie, lining himself up to catch her on the wings. The teal wolf grunted in further pain as she slammed into the top of the aircraft, clutching onto the edge and using her grappler to secure her to one of the support poles. All at once, the full weight of her injuries and the exertion she forced upon herself hit her in that moment. Weathering the heaviness that caught up to her after the fight, it took a bit to realize that the red wolf was calling out to her.
"Giselle!" Gadget shouted up at her.
She lifted her head up and peered down over the wing at her twin and his girlfriend with a weak smile. "I'm alright, Gad. Just a bit out of it after getting my arse handed to me."
"Yeah, I bet," he replied, hands tensed over the yoke as he steered them towards the mountains, "do you need us to land and bandage you up at all?"
Gizmo shook her head lightly, feeling just a tad woozy after doing so. "N-not right now. Besides, we still have to get the blue Emerald to our little brother."
"Are you sure, Gizzy?" Fuchsia inquired from the back seat, "you look like you could use it."
"After we give the gem to Miles, then you can worry about me all you want," the banged up wolf insisted, "let's go!"
Shrugging, Gadget did as she said and adjusted their flight path in the direction of the fox's comm signature. He hoped that the two were having a better time than they were.
"Okay, big guy, I'm good," Sonic said as he pushed the fox's tail off of him, "any longer and it would be awkward."
Miles snorted with amusement, but didn't feel like teasing his little buddy this time. "Well, if you're ready, then let's move!"
With a Spin Dash, they both blitzed down the other side of the hill and up a natural ramp in the snow, landing above a tunnel they saw on the way. The Emerald Radar indicated that the location of the stone was at about the same elevation they were, so now it was just a matter of distance. Further on, they found an arch of ice and snow that resembled part of those loops they occasionally came across, with a pair of penguin Badniks stationed atop it. Once those were dealt with, they found a purple platform suspended between a pair of chain links that were connected to the cliff in front of them and the edge of the half-loop.
While the older Animal flew on ahead, Sonic pounced onto the thing to see what its purpose could be, smirking when he found that the "chains" were more like bungee cords. With each bounce, the platform dipped lower and flipped him higher into the air, keeping it up until he could fly above the top of the wall, where Miles reached out and tugged him onto safe land. They ran through the curve of one loop, only to drop through another and launch off of another ramp onto a space next to a penguin. After getting past it, the pair flew across a wide gap to an arch on the opposite cliff, then leapt from there onto a loop and a ledge just beyond that. The boys went through an icy tunnel and found yet another loop, although this one didn't appear to go anywhere except into the ground. Recalling that they did something similar back in the Hill Top Peaks of West Side Island, they utilized their Spin Dash and followed the curve of the loop into the earth.
Twisting and turning through a tunnel only fit for their spherical forms, the fox and hedgehog launched out the other side of the cliff into a packed bit of risen snow that let them reach greater heights. Defeating the lone penguin present there, they moved on across an icy bridge to a second seeming dead end, repeating what they did earlier and burrowing through another passage. Miles stopped them short just before they could go off the ramp at the end of the path, as the signal on the Radar recommended they keep going straight from there. He and Sonic sprinted over a bridge, through a single loop, and then Rolled into a double loop, flying high when they came to the expected gradient in the terrain at the end.
The two landed atop another of those bungee platforms, using it to get to the ledge just a few meters above. To the boys' delight, there was a large store of Rings in this hidden nook between cliffs, but the real prize was just ahead. The Emerald Radar indicated that their target was within a small cave that was open on both sides. However, despite the device's track record for accuracy, the two couldn't find it when they looked around.
"That's strange," Miles mumbled as he tried tuning the device to better pinpoint the location, "the Radar says the Emerald is here, but I don't see it here."
Sonic zipped around the space several times, then came back in front of his partner and shrugged. "Maybe you can, I dunno, feel it out? You've had yours since you were really young, right? Try and find something like it."
The fox supposed that it was worth a shot. If Knuckles was able to sense Chaos Energy like his multitool could, then he should be able to as well, given his nearly lifelong exposure. He shut his eyes and concentrated on the familiar sensation he'd grown to associate with the cyan Emerald. Weak though it was, he soon felt the warmth of the mineral's essence from the pouch he kept it in, along with the other one he held. Like the hedgehog had suggested, he focused on trying to reach out and detect that same impression that the stones gave off. He picked up the presence of the other two Emeralds that Sonic was holding, and from there, he took a few steps around the area.
After a moment, there was a fifth presence that was distinct from their combined numbers. Miles followed it to one of the corners in the cave, then opened his eyes to see there was a small part of something sticking out of the ground that resembled ice, but he knew it wasn't. Dusting away a bit of snow on the ground, the teen uncovered the faded white Emerald and subsequently placed it into one of his belt pouches.
'I wish I'd thought of this sooner,' he admitted internally, 'if I can further develop this ability, I won't need the Emerald Radar function on the Miles Electric.'
"Alright, we're ready to go, Tails?" Sonic asked him, eager to move on to a warmer place.
Miles shook his head to clear it and smiled at the kid. "Yeah, we're good. The Kukku's base should be on the other side of the next ridge coming up, too."
"Awesome!" he cheered, "we can beat the birds, grab the last Emeralds, and be back in time for dinner!"
The teen wanted to share in Sonic's enthusiasm, but he doubted it would be that simple. Every adventure he'd had since his first encounter with the Empire had always ended up becoming bigger and more complicated, sometimes only by a little, and other times by a lot. The Battle Moon had been an example of the latter, but then, he doubted anyone aside from the avians had been expecting a fully armed space station. Some would say he had a knack for things like this, but really, it was just experience telling him it would turn out that way with this latest conflict.
All the same, the two of them continued, carefully navigating the cliffs back down. Once they were by the shoreline of the freezing river running through the chilly mountains, they spotted some fresh green in the distance just past the tops of the lower hills. Just a bit further, there was the imposing top of the Battle Moon's shape, the insignia of the Empire seeming to stare back at them from above the trees. And unlike most of the places they'd been so far, the boys didn't find any further opposition after acquiring the gem. They had a straight shot to their destination for once.
'Fingers crossed that this will finally be the end of it,' the fox swore to himself, 'that no one else will have to suffer like the folks of Cocoa Island and West Side Island!'
The pair of heroes took off in a blur, speeding through the snow towards the west. Neither had noticed the mess of metal parts floating along with the ice floes in the river, nor the figure sitting on the opposite bank that was closely monitoring them.
Dr. Fukurokov grumbled and held his jaw after clenching it so hard in sheer frustration. Not only had Knuckles questioned his abilities and forced him to compromise, but he'd received reports that his weapon in the Ice Cap territory had been dismantled before the fox and hedgehog had even reached it! The owl refused to believe that it had been the result of catastrophic failure, which led him to two conclusions about his robot. Either it had been destroyed by another ally of Prower, or there was a traitor in the midst of the Kukkus, one that would know precisely how to take it apart. The latter consideration, he admitted, was the more unlikely of the two, as most of their forces that had harbored second thoughts about their goals had fled or died when the Battle Fortress was shot down. Thus, the former one it had to be, though the engineer wasn't certain who it could be if Miles and his friends were already accounted for.
That was, until he remembered a detail he'd uncovered in the aftermath of the Battle Moon's crash landing. The first iteration of his Mecha Miles project had suffered an identical fate, having been cut down before it could carry out its purpose of combating its organic counterpart. Searching through the security footage had turned up nothing of note, as though whatever had reduced it to scrap had been too swift for cameras to trace. That, in and of itself, was much like the movements of that monstrous form the fox had taken; a lot of the action had been captured, but anytime Prower had moved at considerable speed, his tech had been unable to keep up. Perhaps this was related to that aberrant Chaos Energy signature that the station's radar kept detecting.
'If only I could figure out who or what it belongs to!' he thought as he wracked his brain, 'then I could establish some sort of connection.' He let out a sigh and went back to the more pressing matter of the approaching heroes. 'As things stand, I'll be forced to use Mecha earlier than I'd like. I would use my trump card, but it's not ready yet, and it still won't be by the time that troublesome teenager gets here.'
The owl's thoughts were put on pause when he heard the buzzing of his comm link. One of his combatants likely had something to report to him, or they wished to enter his lab. Either way, he waddled over to his desk and pressed the button to connect the line to whoever was hailing him.
"Requesting permission to enter the laboratory and deliver my reconnaissance report, doctor," came the voice that wasn't quite that of his hated enemy.
Dr. Fukurokov was relieved to know that, unlike many of the combatants under his command, at least this facsimile of his foe had the decency to check with him before barging in. "Permission granted, Mecha."
The door to the chamber slid open and in walked Mecha Miles, its feet causing heavy, mechanical thudding that echoed throughout the lab. Part of the engineer wished he'd made the double with lighter material, but it hadn't been built with grace in mind.
"Approximately five minutes prior to this unit's return," it began, "sensors indicated the presence of a red biplane of unknown make and model flying above the southern area of the surrounding mountain chain."
That immediately got the doctor's attention. "Were you able to identify the pilot and any passengers?"
"Affirmative, doctor," Mecha replied. Its cyan eyes brightened up and projected images for its creator, the first being a certain bespectacled red wolf. "Pilot identified as Gad T. Wolf, adoptive older brother of Enemy Number One." It then flashed to a similar teal lupine, then a fuchsia-colored cat. "First passenger registered as Giselle T. Wolf, biological twin sister of the pilot and adoptive older sister of Enemy Number One. No existing data present on the second passenger."
Dr. Fukurokov let out a huff. Those siblings had caused him and the rest of their forces some serious headaches during their previous invasion. It still made him seethe at how they had managed to obtain a copy of his Emergency Shutoff Device and use that stupid little robot to plug it in. If only Speedy had let him end those upstarts when they first had the chance, then things wouldn't have gone so awry. He briefly considered sending Mecha out to take care of those pests, but that might take too long, and he couldn't afford that with Prower on the way. He would just have to hope that his anti-air defenses could deal with them, or at least keep them busy enough so that they wouldn't be able to help the fox.
The lab comm link buzzed a second time, which the engineer promptly answered. "Speak."
"Doctor!" cried out a grunt on the other end that seemed to be in a rather emotional state, "please, come quickly to the royal chambers!"
The owl leaned in closer to the speaker. "Calm yourself! Has our leader's condition worsened?"
"No, sir!" the soldier informed him, sounding as though he was struggling to hold back tears, "His Majesty...His Majesty has woken up!"
Dr. Fukurokov couldn't remember the last time he'd bolted out of his chair and ran as fast as he was now. After all the terrible news he'd received today, this spot of hope lifted his spirits back above where they'd been before this mess started. He hurried to the lift, commanding Mecha to accompany him as they journeyed to the upper reaches of the station. After getting off the elevator and navigating a few hallways, they passed through a pair of ornate gold and purple sliding doors. Inside, much of the walls and ceiling were draped in the same colors, with plush red carpet and embroidered furniture making up the floor decorations. In the back, there was a colossal window that gave a grand view of the lake, the forest, and the mountains to the south of the Battle Moon.
And standing in front of it, looking out at the scenery, was the Great Battle Kukku. The bird heard his quarters being accessed and turned to greet the doctor, showing off all his changes. His green one-piece pants and high-heel shoes had been replaced with long and powerful cybernetic limbs that resembled his old garments. The same went for his arms, the upper parts now genuinely more solid, while from the forearms down, they were built like cannon barrels and maintained the ivory and gold trim of his gauntlets. He still sported his red coat and his black hat, though in place of his pince-nez glasses, he wore a similarly styled blue monocle over his left eye. The right was left bare, showing off how most of that side of his head was now composed of metal that matched the rest of his facial feathers, the eye itself a burning red ring in a pool of black.
"Ah, Dmitri," the Emperor addressed him, his voice carrying a note of mechanical reverb due to having to install artificial vocal cords, "I understand you are responsible for this state I'm in."
Dr. Fukurokov approached his superior and bowed his head. "I did all I could to save you, My Liege. I apologize if you find these synthetics lacking."
"Nonsense, old friend," the Kukku commander claimed as he clanged his fists together, "I feel stronger than ever before! More power, more durability, far greater visual acuity, and greater stamina! I also noticed you installed a few interesting functions in both my arms and legs."
The owl chuckled and rubbed at the back of his head. "Your praise flatters me, My Lord."
"Yes, now, please answer me this," the GBK said as his teeth audibly grinded under his beak, his eyes turning to Mecha, "what the hell is that?"
'Ah, of course,' the doctor thought to himself as sweat ran down his brow, 'I should have known that His Majesty would react poorly even to an imitation of Prower. Best I get him up to speed before the real fox arrives and makes his already souring mood even worse.'
