Miles groaned as the early morning sun hit his eyes, moving one arm up to shield them. Once his pupils had adjusted to the light, he let out a yawn and stretched his arms and legs, blinking a bit as he brought himself to sit up. He was in a deep woodland forest with impressively tall and thin brown trees that had rich green moss growing at the base of their trunks, and thicker trees that helped make up the expansive canopy. The forest floor was covered in dewy grass, shrubs and bushes, with the path further on being studded with huge vines that were entangled with smaller ones. The soil was an odd sandy tint, tinged with some odd ovular stones here and there, perhaps the natural minerals of the region.

But, most notable of all were the bountiful, colorful, and seemingly bouncy mushrooms of various shapes and sizes as far as the eye could see. He was currently beneath a decently tall one that had a red cap with orange spots, which he'd used as shelter for the night before. It hadn't been perfect, as there was a bit of mud that had stained his fur while he rested and had dried overnight, but he didn't mind so much.

There were more important things to worry about, anyway, and at the top of that list was Fuchsia's abduction by Dr. Fukurokov's hands. The others had informed him after their respective battles had ended, not too long after he himself had managed a safe landing. She had most likely been taken to the Battle Moon, and due to the storm, no one had seen where the station had crashed. The comm that they had given the cat had either been destroyed or its signal was being suppressed, as they couldn't track its location. Even if they could, the Tornado had suffered some pretty serious damage, so it wouldn't be a simple or quick task to retrieve her.

Despite that, Miles didn't allow himself to get lost in his emotions. He was angry, perhaps even furious, if he was being honest with himself. His worst enemies were holding one of his longtime friends captive. But, he wasn't about to let it get to him, as a calm and rational mind was needed to devise the best course for rescuing Fuchsia, not to mention figuring out where the Battle Moon had fallen. Even so, the fox couldn't help but feel sympathetic for his older brother. He imagined it was more difficult for Gadget to keep his cool, given what Fuchsia was to him.

'Gad was afraid something like this might happen, too,' he recalled with some guilt as he got to his feet. He shook his head and rubbed at his eyes, getting the sleep out of them and fixing his gaze on the forest with a determined look. 'But don't worry, Bro, we will get her back!'

Before he set out, Miles dug into the small stash of food that he'd foraged last night, thankful that many of the wild berries, fruits, and some of the mushrooms were edible. Having spent most of his life gathering food in and around his home on Cocoa Island had come in handy for recognizing such. Once he was properly satiated, he did a couple of stretches to get himself limber, then double-checked all of his belongings. His supply of bombs and Dummy Rings was almost exhausted, but the Miles Electric and the Elemental Shield Projector both had enough Rings to keep going for quite some time. He also took stock of the four Emeralds he had: cyan, green, white, and blue. The yellow, magenta, and red ones were in the others' hands, and though it was on his mind, he would worry later about whether or not all seven needed to be present for their restoration.

After he was all set, the teen sprinted down a gentle slope, passing beneath the caps of similar fungi like the one he'd been resting under, as well as many smaller ones to his sides. He came to a huge and steep rocky hill that had a passage carved into it, which brought him to the edge of a short cliff. The fox was about to jump down when his keen ears picked up the sound of shoes against stone coming from below. He dropped to his stomach and crawled forward so that he could peer over the side, keeping mostly hidden in the grass. A few seconds went by where nothing happened, and Miles was about to write it off as him just hearing things. But then, the shadow of a studded glove appeared from an opening in the rockier part of the cliff below, and a familiar face followed.

'Knuckles!' the fox exclaimed internally, inching up a tiny bit further to see the echidna more clearly, 'he survived the fall after all. I'm actually a bit relieved, but, why is he here?'

Miles would have assumed that the Guardian was searching for him, but the monotreme's behavior suggested otherwise. He was being cautious, looking around to see if anyone was watching him, which made the hero duck back into the foliage when those purple eyes turned his way. There was a long pause, then Knuckles eventually stepped out of whatever tunnel he'd just been in. He pushed up the cuff of one of his gloves and revealed a Kukku comm, pressing the one button it had and bringing the device closer to his face. Miles leaned in once again and strained his ears to listen for whatever he could pick up from the echidna.

"Doctor, can you hear me?" Knuckles inquired into the mic.

The crackling of static filled the air for a couple of seconds before a response came. "Knuckles! What happened yesterday!? I thought you were going to confront your fated foe!"

"And I would have, had something else not stopped me," the Guardian answered irritably, puffing out his chest, "I am enough for that fox. Whatever pushed me aside clearly was not."

There was a moment of silence where the engineer absorbed his words. Once he'd let it hang for a bit, Dr. Fukurokov came back on the line.

"Ah, I understand now, my boy," the owl told him, with Miles not liking the sudden change in tone, "and I do apologize for how my creation treated you. However, it was for your own good."

Knuckles scoffed. "Are you saying I could not have beaten him? I handled him well enough when we met at the shore."

"You may have fared positively in your first encounter, but he adapts like none other," the engineer countered, with some disgust in his voice for giving any praise to his enemy. He coughed and cleared his throat to get the bad taste out of the back of it from doing so. "Moving on. The operation with the Dragon's Egg was a bust, as you've surely figured out by now."

There was a grunt of acknowledgment from the echidna. "Yes, the underside of the Egg is now visible from within the Lava Reef Caverns, as well as from the Master Emerald's shrine. We are fortunate that it landed in such a place, otherwise the damage to the island could have been far greater."

Miles counted his lucky stars that he just happened to be here to hear this conversation. From the name, he assumed that the Lava Reef Caverns were part of the massive volcano he'd seen near the center of the island. If the station was there, then Fuchsia should be, too. The problem was that if he took a more direct approach, they would likely do something to her that would get him and the others going. Not to mention, if that was close to where the Master Emerald was, running into Knuckles again might be unavoidable. Perhaps if there was another way to approach the Battle Moon, he could get in there and bust the cat out before the echidna noticed and the birds tried anything.

"Where are you now, Knuckles?" the doctor asked, his question snapping the fox back to attention.

The echidna did a quick survey around him, seeming to just miss the peeping fox as he went back to his comm. "The Mushroom Forest east of the Sandopolis Desert. I shall use a path through the ruins there to make haste through the Caverns to the Hidden Palace. That way, the fox has no chance of making it there before I do."

"Then let's plan to meet where the two Zones border," Dr. Fukurokov offered, "I remember the route through the Red Mountains you showed me. See you soon, my young friend."

Knuckles said nothing more and closed the comm link. He made one final scan of the place before reaching over and pressing something in the rock. Miles caught the sound of sliding stone coming from the cliff side, which eventually ended in a gentle thud as something made contact with the ground. That certainly was curious. Afterward, the echidna breathed in, let out a sigh, and then left the area through a tunnel that was supported by two large wooden posts.

When he was certain that the other Animal was gone, Miles leapt down from the ledge and inspected where he had come from. A few minutes of diligent searching rewarded him with a section of stone that pressed inward when he applied a bit of pressure to it. More of the rugged cliff side receded into the bulk before lifting upward, revealing a chamber at the end of a relatively short passage. Miles wandered inside, not finding anything remarkable until he got to the very back of the place, where he found a giant Ring mounted on the rear wall. Unlike any others he'd seen, this one had writing etched into the circumference, and although he couldn't read any of it, he did recognize their form and style.

"It's the same script that Sonic and I saw in the ruins beneath the Mystic Cave Network," he said aloud, moving up to the Ring and running a finger across the characters.

He was startled when the thing suddenly lit up with a golden light, the runes shining with an emerald green hue. A shimmering film of white filled the space in the Ring, which rippled like a disturbed pond when he experimentally tapped it with a digit. Curiosity got the better of him and he slipped his hand inside. It felt just like sticking it into water, and the teen's eyes widened when his arm most certainly went beyond the wall on the other side. Miles pulled his limb back and examined it, finding nothing amiss other than a mild tingling running up to his elbow.

"Whoa, is this how Knuckles got around the island and scattered the Emeralds so quickly?" he questioned. He flexed his fingers, finding them still perfectly functional, and the funny feeling eventually wore off. "I remember reading about something like this being present on South Island; the existence of supposedly giant Rings that could transport people to different and sometimes strange places. If that's the case, I wonder what's on the other side of this one?"

Taking a page from Sonic's book, he decided to leap before he looked, diving feet-first into the apparent portal. His vision went entirely white, and his body felt as though it was melding into the void beyond the Ring. He was filled with the sensation of being lighter than even air, and a noise unlike any he'd heard seemed to go on for ages. Whatever composed his existence was yanked in an unknowable direction, the rush greater than anything he'd achieved by himself, aided or not.


"Froggy!" Big cried out joyfully as he lifted the little green amphibian up in one hand. The cat placed him on one of his shoulders and gave him a gentle stroke, then beamed at the group. "You found him just like you promised, Giselle!"

The teal wolf beamed and put her hands on her hips. The remaining members of the gang had taken shelter in one of the buildings closer to the treeline, and were now enjoying the gleam of the morning dew and the smell it brought. Big had found his way over to them, drawn by the scent of his companion, so Gizmo had seen it fit to surprise him after getting Sonic up to speed on who he was. Seeing the look on his face, she certainly thought it was worth it, even considering their situation.

"Glad I could get your little friend back, Big," she told him, her smile falling away a moment later into a worried frown, "but now, one of our friends is missing."

"Yeah, I don't see that lady cat with you," the hefty feline said, now concerned himself, "where did she go?"

Sonic pointed at Froggy. "The same guys that nabbed your pal took her away."

"You were kidnapped, Froggy?" Big asked his companion, who gave a few ribbits and croaks in response, "that old owl that Knuckles keeps talking to?" The Critter bobbed its body as if to affirm the cat's guess, with the latter slowly adopting a more serious expression. "I knew there was something fishy about that bird."

Over in a corner, Gadget was monitoring and messing with his comm. He hadn't spoken at all since they woke up, but had spent the entire time working with his device, wordlessly munching on some dried meat and fruits every so often. Despite his vigilance, nothing had turned up when it came to tracing Fuchsia's position. Even the chatter he was eavesdropping on through the Kukkus' channels wasn't mentioning anything about her, nor the direct whereabouts of the Battle Moon. Still, he kept at it, logging what he believed were coded terms for the Empire's operations.

"Fuchsia is really important to Gad, Big," Gizmo explained to him, glancing over at her twin brother sympathetically, "they're in love, so seeing her in danger like this and being unable to help right away...I can only imagine how he's feeling right now."

The cat tilted his head and scratched his chin, seeming to struggle with the concept. But when it seemed like the wolf would have to lay it out for him, he appeared to get it as he let out a low hum.

"So, it's like Knuckles' parents," Big concluded, "or the Flickies and Pockies when they get together."

As dire as their friend's plight was, Gizmo found herself briefly picturing Fuchsia and her brother together with kids of their own. Would they be puppies, kittens, hybrid children, or even a mixed bag of all three? When it came to Animals, any of those were possible, and to the she-wolf, all of them were adorable in her imagination. She suppressed a squeal at the thought of being an aunt to such a pack, briefly covering her face in embarrassment. Much as she tried to be a little more like her two siblings, she couldn't help loving cute things like that.

"Well, they're not quite at that point yet," she clarified, letting out a nervous laugh, "but he'll do anything for her, which is why he's trying so hard to find her right now."

The three of them sat there, listening to Gadget continue his efforts as they thought of something. Following a few minutes of racking their brains, it was Sonic that broke the silence.

"Gizmo told me that you know where the Hidden Palace is," the hedgehog stated to Big, winking at the wolf.

The portly fellow perked his ears and nodded. "Yeah, I've been there a lot. You think that's where your friend might be?"

"No, I get what Sonic's saying," Gadget spoke up for the first time that day, catching everyone else's attention. He stood up and walked over to them, his eyes fixed on the cat. "The Empire is no doubt after the Master Emerald. They've just been waiting to make a move on it, likely to keep Knuckles on their side until the time is right. If we can beat them there, we might be able to stop them, find out where the Battle Moon is, and save Fuchsia!" He clasped his hands together as he maintained his gaze on Big. "Please, if there's any fast way to get there, can you show us?"

Big stared back at the red wolf, an air of understanding about him. He nodded again more firmly, his free hand clenched in a relaxed, yet somehow determined manner.

"Sure. You guys helped me find Froggy, so I'll help you find Fuchsia," he informed the other three, "if I remember right, there should be a Giant Ring close by." Seeing that it was their turn to give him confused looks, he chuckled softly. "Don't worry, I'll tell you how it works when we get there."

Following Big's lead, the Animals made their way out of the now-defunct Kukku base and into the forest that lined the mountains around the valley. The Critters were much livelier than they had been the previous day, or at least the cat thought so, since the others had been too busy dealing with the Empire's machinations. The Flickies, Rickies, and other creatures greeted them with the typical calls and cries, seeming to recognize Big as he passed through, and being intrigued at the presence of Animals that some of them had never seen before. If they had more time and less urgency, the gang would've stopped to enjoy the wildlife and the surrounding scenery.

Several minutes later, they arrived at the base of the mountains on the eastern side of the range. Big brought them up a path that either he, Knuckles, or the both of them had gradually worked into the ground, as it was notably less rough in that patch than anywhere else along the way. The trail split off in two directions, with one going further into the rocky peaks, and another, obviously less-traveled one veering off to a sparse gathering of pines. Nestled in the rocks in the back of these woods was a modest cave with stone that was too smooth and even to have formed naturally, the heroes assuming it was hewn by the ancient echidnas. And when they went inside, the trio were stunned by the fact that there was, indeed, a rather huge Ring with archaic characters and symbols that was propped up in the back of the cave.

"Wow, you weren't kidding, Big, it is giant for a Ring!" Sonic commented as he walked up to it and took a gander. His brow perked up when he noticed the script that was on the thing. "Hey, I've seen this kind of writing before! It was back on West Side Island, when Tails and I were way underground and found that place where the white Emerald was!"

"Too bad we don't have a translator or interpreter handy," Gizmo remarked, casting a glance at the cat, "unless you know how to read it, Big?"

The stout Animal shook his head, getting a sigh from the other three. "Nope." Despite that answer, he still had that usual smile. "But that's okay. I know what it says because Knuckles told me."

The others were relieved to hear that and waited on him to elaborate. Both Sonic and Gadget found themselves getting a little impatient when Big didn't follow up right away, but Gizmo merely held up a hand to signal for them to wait. She'd gotten used to the cat's...unique penchant for dropping and continuing conversations at odd moments.

"It was really long and fancy, so he had to shorten it for me to get it," Big resumed, tracing around the rune with the tip of his fishing pole, "it says something like 'Chaos will open the way'." He shrugged and turned back to the others. "Then he just touches it, and it starts working. I dunno how he does it, since I've never gotten it to."

Gadget went up to the Ring and examined it for himself, pressing his hand against the surface. As he expected, nothing happened, leaving him to rest his chin in one palm as he mulled over what he'd been told.

"I'd wager that Knuckles meant that Chaos Energy is needed to activate the Ring," he theorized, looking back at Sonic, "he can probably do it unaided because of his connection to the Master Emerald, but maybe there are alternatives. Rings are made from small, concentrated portions. I've got about fifty of them on me at the moment, so let's try that. If that fails, we can use one of the Emeralds."

The wolf retrieved the pouch that held the Rings, then touched it to the much larger one. The golden light spilled out of the top of the bag, and in turn, the Giant Ring brightened up as its symbols came alive with a green glimmer. The hole in the center was filled with a white brilliance that mesmerized everyone, save for the teenage cat.

"Yeah, that's how it looks after Knuckles does his thing, then he just jumps on in," he confirmed, then frowned a little, "but we'll have to find another one if we all wanna get there."

Sonic let out an annoyed grunt. "Why's that?"

"Knuckles says only two people can use a Giant Ring at a time," Big answered, "and you can use one of 'em only once a day."

Which meant that two of them had to stay behind. Given his familiarity with the island, it was the logical choice to leave Big so that he could shepherd the remaining member of their group to the next Giant Ring. Sonic was probably eager for action, so they knew that there was no way of talking him out of going. Thus, it came down to which of the twins would accompany the hedgehog, though there was no need to debate.

"Gad, you go on ahead," Gizmo said as she clapped her brother on the shoulder, "I'll catch up later."

Gadget nodded and gave her hand a gentle squeeze with one of his own. "Thanks, Sis, see you soon."

He stepped up to the gate next to Sonic, then tossed his Rings back to his sister so that she could use them for her future trip. With that, both the red wolf and the blue boy Jumped into the center of the Giant Ring. The portal dissipated seconds later, and the whole of the large object was dark once more.


Knuckles ran through the Mushroom Forest at a measured, but still impressive pace. He reached a section of earth that went under a part of the forest floor where the grass and leaves became brown as they do in autumn, and the mushrooms had blue caps with either black or white spots. The echidna reached into a recess of the rock and grabbed a hidden lever, pulling it down to open a door that was camouflaged by the cliff side. He went through a short tunnel to a wide open space that he'd studded with spike traps in the event anyone discovered it. With practiced ease, he glided over the hazards and landed at the bottom of the shaft, then punched away a layer of fake walls he'd set up.

The Guardian wasn't back out in the open for long before he went up a curve and swung around the other side of a vine into another tunnel. He used his fists to scale the wall, going under a pair of loops formed from the mighty floral tendrils found throughout the area, then grabbed hold of an umbrella shaped fungal cap to gently descend to the next section. One more underground passage allowed him to catch a spring and propel himself out into the open to a pair of toadstools, one of which had a huge stone on it. He landed on the opposite cap, causing the first one to pop up and launch its cargo, only for it to come back down and send Knuckles flying from his position. The young adult gracefully touched down on the grassy cliff above, but wasted no time in getting a move on.

As he continued his trek, he couldn't help but be bothered by Dr. Fukurokov's seeming lack of confidence in him. Claiming to be doing him a favor when his creation had so rudely shoved him to the side was also strange. Sure, it might not have been the most honorable thing to fight the fox when he was exhausted, but the chance was there. It wasn't as though he hadn't employed some more underhanded tactics on advice from the owl in an effort to, at the very least, impede the vulpine. He could have ended the threat on that deck before it even got the chance to reach the Master Emerald.

Now, not only was the Dragon's Egg once again on Angel Island, but the two-tailed fox was likely aiming to try and locate the Hidden Palace. Knuckles would have liked to believe that the security he'd set up would be sufficient in leading him down a false path, but that was wishful thinking. At best, the invader would be momentarily sidetracked, if his swiftness in reaching the Egg was anything to go by. Even the added muscle from the doctor's inventions did not inspire faith in the well-being of the great shrine. He found their performance wanting after everything he'd seen and heard up to this point. Not that he wouldn't accept the help if it was given, but he had to wonder just how much, or how exactly, the Kukkus were aiding him.

'The only thing I can truly rely on to protect the Master Emerald is my own strength,' he thought as he picked up the pace, 'I must act if I am to prevent my peoples' prophecy from coming to pass!'

At any time before now, that thought would've been enough to steel his conviction for what needed to be done. But at the moment, he instead found himself questioning that same reasoning that had driven him. He'd had the chance to act several minutes ago; the fox had probably believed himself hidden, but Knuckles had known that he was present. The echidna had sensed his Chaos Energy, as well as that of the four Emeralds in his possession, all of which were hard to miss at that distance and with his level of ability. Both of them were fresh and rested, too, so there would have been nothing dishonorable about clashing there and then.

And yet, he'd simply moved on, rather than confronting his destined foe. He didn't fully understand why he did, only that a part of him believed that fighting Miles at this point didn't feel right. It honestly didn't make any sense, not with the threat that the two-tailed fox posed to his home. Maybe it was fate compelling him to delay it, or his sense of pride as a warrior telling him that this wasn't an appropriate place for their battle. Whatever the reason, he had allowed his enemy to listen in on his conversation with the owl, then left as if nothing had happened.

'I only hope he does not find the entrance to the Great Ring Chamber I was near,' he mused, 'or, if he does, that he will not know how to activate it.'

Speaking of, he bounded off a second spring and whipped along the width of a vine, slipping into a tunnel hidden within the hill it was wrapped around. Within it was another one of the giant golden Rings that were spread throughout the island, many of which he could locate by second nature now. It was currently inactive, which he gave a nod of approval, then moved on through a narrow slit in the wall next to the object.

From there, the flora all around had become frostier in color, even though there was no snow, and the mushrooms were now a rich green with flesh-toned stalks. Even as a native, it fascinated Knuckles how the Mushroom Forest seemed to have this seasonal progression the closer one approached the desert, and he could certainly appreciate the variety of hues. But, there was no time to be admiring the landscape when he had somewhere to be.

Knuckles used a pair of mushrooms as makeshift trampolines to reach a spring, giving him the height and head start he needed to go into a lengthy glide. He drifted over several loops in the vines to a towering rise in the terrain, digging his namesakes into the wall and climbing up the sheer cliff. He reached the top within seconds and once again used his gliding ability the moment he reached the other end, crossing into the last stretch of the forest. The wintry glaze gave way to 'Spring', with the verdant greens, reds, and oranges from further back in the forest making a return.

It didn't last for long, however. Knuckles reached the point where the ground had flattened, traveling through the center of numerous wood arches until reaching one of the thicker trees in the woods. He ran through a hole that had been carved in its trunk, then hopped on top of a vine just on the other side, curling up into a Rolling Attack and letting gravity do the rest of the work. The end of it curved upward like a ramp, which the echidna used to launch into the air yet again, shooting beyond the edge of the forest. With a tactful application of his skill, he broke his fall without expending too much energy, gently touching down on golden sand.

There were miles of semi-flat and empty wasteland all around, only broken up by the occasional pyramid. Further in the west, there were massive dunes that served as a border to the valley the Dragon's Egg had been. Palms sparsely dotted the landscape, proving that at least some plant life could be sustained out here. All of this was painted by the morning sun behind him, the sky still more of a purple with bright yellow as one got closer to the horizon.

'Now to make my way to that tomb,' he thought to himself, suppressing a shudder.

As brave as he was, even Knuckles found himself uncomfortable with the idea of taking this particular shortcut. But, if he was to beat the fox back to the Palace, and not keep the doctor waiting, it couldn't be helped. With a deep breath, and a reluctant sigh, he resumed his trek and started racing across the sands to his destination.


Eventually, there was a keening blare as Miles' body recomposed itself and was sent into a fall that was like an amusement park tower ride's inevitable drop. His feet touched down against a surface that felt like solid glass, and when he opened his eyes, they sparkled with wonder at what he saw.

He was inside what appeared to be a beautiful castle-like stronghold that was nestled deep underground, with massive crystalline rocks stretching up like pillars to an incredibly high cavern ceiling. The walls around him were composed of a multitude of bright neon colors, and the floor was much the same, save for a teal sphere beneath his shoes. There were also seven flower-like platforms that were arranged in a rough circle around a bigger, more circular central structure with lime-green globular baubles hanging from its similarly colored edges. Many green crystals were arranged in the top like the points of a crown, with the most prominent of all being a huge brilliant-cut emerald that was visibly pulsing with light that waxed and waned like a heartbeat.

At the sight of it, and the power that was emanating off the giant gem, Miles had no doubt what it was.

"That must be the Master Emerald," he said, in awe of the stone's beauty as well as the incredible energy he felt radiating from it, compelled to step closer.

His admiration was interrupted by a white beam of light descending from above and striking the very spot he'd just been standing on. Wheeling around, the fox found that as suddenly as it had appeared, it went away, leaving behind two more figures in its wake, ones that made his muzzle split into a wide smile.

"Gadget! Sonic!" he exclaimed, laughing a bit at the happy coincidence, "I guess you guys found a big Ring, too!" His smile faltered when he looked between them. "Where's Gizmo?"

"She stayed behind so we could come through," the wolf replied, crossing his arms, "turns out there are certain limitations to using the Giant Rings, such as a two-person capacity and a 24-hour cool down period."

"Yeah, but she'll catch up soon enough," Sonic said confidently as he scoped out the place. His eyes stopped squarely on the enormous gemstone that was occupying the center of the chamber, letting out a low whistle. "That's a big Emerald. But, is it the Emerald that Knucklehead says we're trying to take?"

Miles hummed as he went back to checking out the mineral in question. "Given where we are and the fact that it's visibly pulsing with power, I can't imagine it's anything other than the Master Emerald. What I wonder is whether it can bring the Chaos Emeralds back to how they once were."

"It can indeed, kitsune," came a fourth familiar voice.

The trio's heads whipped around to one of the flower-like crystal platforms around the shrine, finding a tall and powerful human male sitting on the insides of its petals. Neither wolf nor hedgehog recognized him, but the fox let out a gasp after examining him for a moment.

"Gil?" Miles asked in a shocked tone, "what are you doing here?"

"Oh, so that's Gil," Sonic said, as though everything now made sense. He waved up to the man and grinned. "Nice to meet ya!"

The imposing fellow let out a soft, but booming chuckle that made their chests vibrate from the bass. His deep blue eyes trailed up to the Master Emerald, then fixed themselves on the teen's own cyan-blue set.

"The feeling is mutual, hedgehog," Gil replied to the boy, then turned to Miles, "and to answer your question, kitsune, I am here to keep the world in motion."

Gadget tilted his head at the cryptic response. "And...what does that mean, exactly?"

"Should we continue to cross paths, perhaps you shall know one day," the human told him in no less vague terms.

The Animals regarded one another, shrugged, then gave him their attention again. A lot of odd events had transpired in the past couple of weeks, so this was just one more added to the pile, as far as they were concerned.

"As previously stated," Gil went on, "this grand gemstone is capable of what you seek." He held up a finger. "However, you must prove that you are worthy of wielding the Seven Chaos once they have been reawakened. Thus, before their luster can return, you will have to complete a series of trials, one for each Emerald."

He got up from his seat and leapt to the edge of the platform that the Master Emerald rested on. With a wave of one hand, all seven of the Chaos Emeralds flew from their places in the pockets of the Animals and gathered around the shrine in a large, loose circle. They made several rapid revolutions around the circumference of the chamber before grouping together in a line. The human raised that same hand towards the ceiling, and the stones let out a shrill keen as they scattered high into the air, while the Master Emerald's pulsations reached an apparent peak brightness. Seven pillars of light touched down in the center of each crystal flower, fading away to show the Emeralds floating above their stigma. Whereas they at least had some vibrancy before, they were now almost entirely achromatic, being a dark and drab gray with the barest tinge of their original colors.

"Yo, Tails," Sonic whispered to him as he leaned over, eyes glued to the action, "I missed the part where you said this guy could do all that."

"Hey, I didn't know myself," Miles replied crossly, "I told you he gave off a signal like a Chaos Emerald, but I didn't see him do anything out of the ordinary when we met on the battle Moon."

It was at that moment that the fox remembered the very important news he hadn't had the chance to tell the others. He tapped Gadget on the shoulder, who looked like he'd been lost in thought, as he jumped a little at the touch. He did the same to Sonic, who glanced over his shoulder at his partner.

"Sorry, I got distracted by what's going on," Miles said, giving the Emeralds a brief look, "but before I ended up here, I happened to find out where the Battle Moon was. It's actually really close, so we can make a plan to rescue Fuchsia!"

The fox choked out a bit as he was swept up in a crushing hug and swung around by the wolf. The hedgehog snickered at the display, seeing that Gadget had picked up his parents' habit of nearly squeezing the life out of their vulpine kin when showing their love and appreciation.

"Finally, some good news!" he told the teen earnestly, "you don't know how happy I am to hear that, Bro!"

"I have a pretty good idea," Miles gagged, squirming in the embrace, "now please let me go before you break me in half. I swear, this is a tighter grip than that mobile suit had on me!"

His lupine brother did so, leaving him to catch his breath for a second. Once he was good, he looked back up at Gil, who had been sitting there patiently.

"It is pleasant to see such good spirits," he commented, "now, you may tackle the trials in any order that you desire," he went on as though the brotherly show of affection hadn't just happened, "but you may only do one for each of you. Afterwards, you shall be sent back to where you entered the Hidden Palace from."

The three of them balked at that news. That wasn't something they wanted to hear at all!

"What? That's not fair!" Gadget protested, obviously the most upset, "the woman I love needs my help! I can't go back when she's so close!"

"I am no stranger to matters of the heart, wolf," Gil responded evenly, "but the Great Rings were not made with outsiders' convenience in mind. They were constructed by the Guardians so that they could expeditiously resolve threats and other matters around Angel Island, while being able to return to this place at a moment's notice. Unless your worth is proven, the Master Emerald will not allow you to come and go from this shrine as you please."

Sonic gave the explanation a thumbs-down. "That stinks. Isn't there some way you can bend the rules or something, magic man?"

"I am not the one who devised them to begin with," the human said with a wry smile, "but I suppose I can attempt to pull a few strings, as they say. It would depend on what exactly you desire."

Miles wasn't sure what to make of this. He knew that prying for more information would just result in roundabout answers from the man, but what was more concerning was being sent back through the Ring he'd just used. Would that mean he'd have to make his way to the Hidden Palace the long way after all? He'd rather not have to, if it could be helped. That said, if Gil was willing, but more importantly able, to do something about the restrictions in place, then it was worth a shot to throw out suggestions.

"Well, we work together as a team," he said to the man, who regarded him more intently, "but if we have to be sent back the way we came, I'd like one of them to come with me."

Gil tapped the fingers of one hand against his chin while the other slinked over to rest on the Master Emerald. There was an almost imperceptible shift in its pulsations, but Miles wasn't sure the others caught it. Maybe he'd been seeing things.

"Yes, that is amenable," he informed the group.

In which case, that just left them to decide which of the two would accompany him back to the Mushroom Forest. Given how he'd accompanied him throughout most of the journey, Miles expected Sonic to jump at the chance. And while it did appear that the hoglet wanted to go with the fox, the expression on his face suggested he had second thoughts.

"If I go back the other way, I can catch up to Gizmo and Big no problem," Sonic said with a grin, "and between the two of you, you'll find the next Ring easily. We'll be back to light up the rest of those rocks in no time!"

Gadget sighed and nodded to his sibling. "If that's what he wants, and we can't stay here, then there isn't much choice. I hope I don't slow you down, Bro."

"Not at all!" Miles assured him, offering a smile, "we can't approach the Battle Moon too hastily anyway, or else we might put Fuchsia in further jeopardy. We can come up with a plan on the way and keep the others posted."

With that, the three were in agreement. Recalling that they were each allowed one trial, the boys took up positions around an Emerald of their choice. Miles went with the cyan one that he'd always carried, Sonic chose the green stone, and Gadget decided on the yellow gem. Seeing that they were ready for the next step, Gil gestured to the minerals themselves.

"If you are prepared, you may initiate the challenge by touching your respective Emerald," he instructed them, "once you have done so, you shall be transported to the proper location to begin your ordeals."

The trio did as directed, and the instant their fingers met the Emeralds, they were engulfed in a blinding white flash.


When Miles regained his vision, he was quite perplexed by what he saw, which was saying a lot considering what he had seen on his adventures. Under a bright night sky filled with countless sparkling stars was a cyan and magenta checkerboard pattern that went on as far as the eye could see. To what he perceived to be north and south, there were two three-by-three clusters of blue spheres, while to the east and west, there was a border composed of white spheres with red stars painted on them. Further beyond these features were many, many red spheres, which made him feel uneasy for reasons he couldn't explain.

"So you have chosen this trial, kitsune," came Gil's voice, though the human was nowhere to be seen.

Miles bent his ears this way and that as he surveyed his surroundings. "What is this place, Gil?"

"This dimensional space was charmingly termed the 'Special Zone' by the Great Civilizations of old," came the reply, "your trial, as well as those your friends are undertaking, are all being held in different pockets of the Zone. Yours is known as 'Blue Sphere'." A projection of each of the three objects he'd seen so far came into view, along with a fourth yellow sphere. "Your objective is to transform every blue sphere on the planetoid into a red sphere. However, there are several things to keep in mind."

A simplified version of Miles blinked into the display as well, coming across a group of blue spheres like the ones near the real fox. Rather than blindly run through all of them, it touched the orbs on the outside, and the moment it closed the square, all of them transformed into Rings!

"While not required to accomplish this challenge, you are free to keep any Rings you come across," Gil explained.

The next demonstration showed the chibi fox running into a red sphere, which resulted in an explosion of white light. Miles felt himself go a bit pale at that, which was answered with a deep, disembodied laugh from the human.

"Apologies, you will not perish if you fail the trial," he guaranteed the fox, "but you will immediately be ejected if you make contact with a red sphere, so take caution."

A graphic then appeared of the mini-Miles bouncing off of a star sphere he ran into, making him walk in the opposite direction. A yellow sphere, on the other hand, bounced the little fox in a high arc, much like the springs he'd come across.

"While you may reverse course when touching the former, you can force yourself to walk forward again," the human said, "and on the subject of movement." A large cross-out sign appeared over an image of Miles doing an 180 on the spot. "You will be limited to moving forward and making a 90-degree left or right turn, after which you must take one step before being able to alter your direction again. Only by the previously mentioned method may you move in reverse." The ground under the projected fox moved like a treadmill, with the energy vulpine steadily sprinting faster to keep up with its quickening pace. "Once you begin, you will constantly be in motion, and after certain periods of time, your speed will notably increase. This will continue until you either succeed or fail the challenge."

It all dissipated a moment later, leaving Miles with just the Zone around him once more. That was all there was to say about what he had to do, apparently.

'Well, let's not waste any time,' he thought, taking the first step forward and feeling his legs go into autopilot.

It was disorienting to be unable to move as well as he liked, but Miles soon got a feel for what Gil had outlined. He first cleared out the borders of the two groups of spheres near him, changing them into Rings and taking them for himself. The next set were beyond the bumpers, arranged in a cross pattern so that he would have to pass through twice to transform them all. As he did so, he minded the fact that he had to leap over the center orb on his second run, then searched for the way ahead. He found it by jumping on a yellow sphere, which set him up to ricochet off a bumper into two more blues, then repeated the performance to navigate the dangerously narrow path.

Just as he came into the next open area, he felt his legs pick up the pace automatically. There was a larger four-by-four set of blue spheres that were easy enough to mop up, though Miles was cautious not to take too much time. It had been a little less than thirty seconds after starting, by his count, when his speed increased, so he couldn't afford to dawdle. He exited that "room" in much the same way as the last, finding another cross setup in the following one. It differed in that there were many red spheres instead of bumpers in some places, but he needn't have worried about racking his brain to change them all into Rings.

One straight path through a side was enough to convert most of them, and left him with more room to maneuver as well. He ended up needing it, for his sprinting got even faster, almost twice as much as when he began. After gathering up everything, he went down one more tight passage between red spheres to a yellow one, using it to get to the final three blues. First, he bounced off a bumper to grab the two following his jump, then took a hard right when he could and leapt over the final orb to get himself what he also assumed were the last couple of rings.

The instant he did, every sphere on the planet shot up into the stars above with a sudden zoom. Miles' pace slowed to a crawl as he continued wandering the now empty planetoid...until he came across it. That long-cut cyan figure hovering in the air, getting closer and closer, his senses detecting the warmth of its energy that he'd known for so long. It felt like a dream, but even if it was, it didn't stop him from reaching out and grasping the Emerald tight. Not long after he did, his vision whited out...


Sonic let out grunts of discomfort as he was constantly falling and sliding against the ground. There were spheres that reminded him of peppermints, blocks of multiple colors, star bumpers like those in Casino Night, and Rings aplenty. The sky was composed of green and teal cubes that shifted every so often into a random Critter, usually ones he wasn't familiar with. Definitely the strangest place he'd ever been, and the kid had gotten around more than most his age, or even in general.

Gil had explained to the hoglet that his trial was akin to a giant, constantly rotating pachinko machine, and that he would be restricted to his balled-up state for the duration. His objective was to reach the center of the maze and touch the likeness of the Chaos Emerald, while also being wary of certain blocks that would change his course or boot him out entirely. Any Rings he found along the way were his for the keeping, whether he passed or failed, which was nice. It was pretty simple to understand, but actually trying to navigate the space was disorienting, to put it mildly. It didn't help that there were spheres that either sped up or slowed down the rotation of the maze, or ones that changed it from clockwise to counter-clockwise and vice versa. And since he couldn't physically unfurl himself while the challenge was in play, all he could do was Jump and pivot this way and that in the air.

He wasn't about to let something like this get him down, though, not when he had others counting on him to pull it off! After taking a few moments to get his bearings, or at least as best as he could in this bizarre dimension, he spotted a group of Rings that formed an arrow. Using a peppermint orb as footing to avoid flashing red and blue balls that screamed danger, the boy grabbed a few of them and went in the direction they were pointing to. The maze shifted to clockwise rotation when he impacted a black orb with a yellow "R" in the center, hopping over a second one before the motion could reverse. However, everything sped up as he hit a red and white sphere that read "UP" on it, and Sonic was once again taking a fall.

The kid let out an "oof" as a star bumper sent him into another block, though this fortunately prevented him from falling into some ejection spheres. He Jumped up and found a second guiding arrow made of Rings, following it through what seemed to be projections of peppermints rather than the real thing. But the moment he passed beyond them, they turned solid and locked him into the chamber. Red, yellow, green and blue diamond-shaped stones were gathered in a tight cluster, and between the gaps, Sonic spotted the green Emerald hovering at the core.

'Now, how to get to it?' he asked himself, 'maybe I can break these crystals somehow.'

His theory was proven correct when he bounded into one of the red diamonds, which vanished roughly half a second after making contact. He attempted the same with a yellow crystal, but discovered that instead of dissipating, its color changed to match the other reds. It dawned on him that each hue could only take a certain number of hits, so naturally, the ones closer to the Emerald would require more effort. He also noticed that while the maze moved him around, the sections of the barrier he chipped away at remained in place, and there were plenty of objects for him to continue breaking it down. After all, he didn't need to destroy all of the obstacles in his way, he simply needed to get to the Emerald.

A couple of minutes later, along with liberal use of everything at his disposal, Sonic managed to make a path just wide enough for him to reach the true center of the maze. He waited until the passage was below him, then dropped straight down, his Rolling form touching a few stones on the way. The hoglet initially missed his target, but the "cushion" of crystals kept him from falling out of the barrier. He wasted no time in Jumping for the gem, managing to touch it with his second attempt.

"Piece of cake!" he bragged.

Like what had happened before the trial started, when his body met the Emerald, everything went white soon after.


Gadget hadn't expected to genuinely hit the ground running the moment his vision cleared, but that's precisely what had happened. He was sprinting forward, completely unable to stop himself from doing anything else but moving side to side or jumping. Moreover, he was traveling headlong down a seemingly never-ending half-pipe structure that was primarily orange-gold with green stripes and yellow highlights, as well as green spheres that formed arches every several meters. The sky above seemed to get brighter the closer to the horizon he got, but it was clearly evening, wherever this was, if the presence of stars were anything to go by. There were also these diamond-like shapes and clouds up there as well, and peering further ahead, the wolf could see how his path would bend, dip, and twist.

"For this trial," came Gil's voice, "you must gather a specified number of Rings by the time you arrive at a checkpoint. There are three of these checkpoints in total, and meeting the amount required for all of them will mean success. However, should you be unable to do so with just one, it will result in immediate failure."

"No pressure, then," the wolf grumbled sarcastically.

"As you have already become aware," the human continued, ignoring the remark, "you are constantly in motion and, aside from maintaining the ability to jump, can only move laterally left and right." A few ethereal images of some spiked orbs showed up in front of him, with a super-deformed version of Gadget running into one and causing a big boom. "You will also encounter mines that will explode upon impact and cause you to lose ten Rings per hit. It goes without saying, but do your best to avoid them."

"Wait, what!?" Gadget shouted in alarm, "you didn't tell me there was a risk of death involved!"

That booming chuckle came once more. "Worry not, wolf. The explosives will not cause any actual physical harm, merely make you lose hold of some of your Rings."

Even if that was true, the Animal wasn't eager to find out if he'd still feel pain by triggering a mine. A small jingle that he didn't recognize played in his ears, and for a moment, he wondered if he'd imagined it.

"Now then, for the first checkpoint," Gil announced, "collect 50 Rings!"

Gadget prepared himself for whatever was to come, first following the path as it went to the left. It straightened out shortly after, bringing him into view of the first group of Rings. He swiped some from the ground in front of him, then ran up the side of the half-pipe to snag a few more, finding it easier to maintain momentum and traction here on the slopes than back in the real world. It was also interesting to note that despite the consistent slopes and hills in the terrain, his pace never increased or decreased. Not only that, but the Rings themselves let out a chime as he touched them, dispersing into sparkles that seemed to meld into his fur, though he didn't appear any different himself He used this to his advantage to go for a cluster of Rings in mid-air, dropping down into yet another group of them as he let gravity take hold.

Just after those, black spheres with spikes and red "eyes" began showing up to his sides, no doubt the mines he'd received prior warning about. The road took a right before going downhill and into a second curve, Gadget doing his best to weave between the hazards while running and leaping for Rings. He then went up and in the opposite direction, only to drop down once more as the half-pipe twisted further.

'Feels like I'm on a roller-coaster without the cars,' the wolf thought, 'at least I don't have to carry the Rings.'

One of the arches above had different colors than the rest, which Gadget assumed was the checkpoint. A bell rang out when he ran beneath the banner, and he was both momentarily amused and disturbed to see the image of a thumbs-up greeting him.

"Good work," Gil commended him, "now, for the second checkpoint, your Ring total must come to at least 90!"

A line of Rings was up next, which Gadget followed until it split into two separate directions. He went to the right and used the golden objects as a guide to move up and down the half-pipe, even going into a flip over the open top at one point. There were more mines along the center of the path, so Gadget had to stick to the sides in order to avoid them. It also happened to be where most of the Rings he needed were, so it worked out doubly well for the wolf. Granted, he had to hop from end to end to reach some of them, but with the way this place worked, that wasn't such a difficult feat. After several more twists and turns, everything once again straightened out, and that same arch that stood out came into view.

"Excellent," the human told him as the visage of a thumbs-up once again briefly popped into view, "for the final checkpoint, you must have gathered a total of 160 Rings!"

For the last third of the course, Gadget was on edge. He expected mines to pop up when he least expected it, as the road became more and more difficult to see ahead as the winding got worse. There were a number of opportunities where he could have gotten some Rings, but he hadn't reacted in time due to the way the half-pipe was structured. On top of it all, he was starting to get a bit dizzy from having to hurl himself up the sides and leap for the Rings, nearly tripping himself up.

Thus, when the last arch inevitably popped up, he felt nervous that he may not have been successful in the end. Gadget soon found that his worries were for nothing, as for the third time, he was given the sign that he had done well. The yellow Chaos Emerald suddenly appeared in the distance and floated his way before he knew. With a relieved smile, he reached out and took hold of it, reality being wrapped up in white light shortly afterward.


When he opened his eyes next, Gadget found that he was in a place wholly different from where he'd been before ending up in the Hidden Palace. From what he could tell, he'd ended up in the Mushroom Forest that he'd seen from the air a few times, which was where Miles had ended up yesterday after the big battle. A Great Ring was behind him, now inactive. Meanwhile, his fox brother was next to him, who seemed to be in a trance until his eyes refocused and blinked several times. He glanced over at the wolf and chuckled softly, holding one hand to his head.

"I was wondering if any of that was real, but here you are," Miles remarked, "and it looks like you passed your test!"

Looking down, the wolf saw that he was still holding the yellow Emerald like he had been at the end of the trial. And just as that mysterious man had promised them, it was back to its original vibrant self.

"Yeah, looks like it," he responded contentedly, pocketing the gem in his belt pouches, "how about you?"

The teen smiled and reached into his utility belt, pulling out his ever-trusty cyan charm.

"You know, it wasn't so bad," Miles admitted, "and while I'm eager to try again, let's just move on and devise a plan for when we have to infiltrate the Battle Moon."

The fox promptly put the Emerald back in his pocket, dusted himself off, and walked out of the chamber. Gadget followed after him, both of them in somewhat better spirits than they had been a few minutes ago. Perhaps this was the pep they needed to think about how to best save Fuchsia.