Even this early in the day, the Sandopolis Desert was already scorching. While Miles had been thankful for his fur when traveling through the Ice Cap Mountains, it was definitely more of a burden in this area. Fortunately, he and Gadget hadn't run into any Badniks during their trek so far, but for all they knew, they could have been lying in wait. It was also entirely possible that Dr. Fukurokov and the rest of the Empire thought that no one, aside from the island's resident echidna, would be determined enough to cross the expanse. That aside, there had been some rather deadly mechanisms that nearly crushed or impaled them, so they had to keep their wits all the same.
"Ugh, it's hard to concentrate when it's so hot," the fox grumbled as he tinkered with the Miles Electric. He'd been trying to adjust the Radar so that it could detect Great Rings, but the heat was making it difficult to focus. "Are you having any luck, Gad?"
The wolf panted while he messed with his own comm. "I think I'm getting something, but it's still quite a ways north."
"That could be the Master Emerald," Miles proposed, "and I don't know about you, but there's the faint smell of something unpleasant wafting through the air." He stopped when he glanced over at the wolf, who was gazing at him with a grin. "I don't mean me!"
Gadget chuckled for a moment, then turned serious, his nose wrinkling a bit. "No, I know what you mean. It's perspiration, but that underlying musk isn't from any Animal I've ever had a whiff of."
"Most likely our antagonist echidna." The two of them cringed at that, but then it was Miles' turn to smirk. "He did say that he knew a shortcut to the Hidden Palace, so if we follow our noses, and the Radar, we should be able to find it."
With the plan set, the two canids took off from the top of the hill they'd stopped on. The sand flowed downhill much like a river would, carrying the two of them to a bumpy slope and gap that the two had just enough time to jump over. They cleared the top of a sandstone loop as they did so, coming to a platform that moved in an overhead semi-circular fashion to ferry folks over a pit of quicksand. After using it, Miles flew up to an even higher ledge attached to a thin tower of pale blue stone, while Gadget used his grappler to follow. A timely hop over a spike trap in the center of the structure nearly made the both of them fall many meters, but the fox was fast enough to grab onto his lupine brother and fly them to safe ground.
As they touched down and continued, Miles mulled over the plan he and the others had come up with during an early conference on their comms. After getting the rest of the Chaos Emeralds back in shape, he and Gadget would infiltrate the Battle Moon from within the Lava Reef Caverns. Meanwhile, Big would guide Sonic and Gizmo through and over the Red Mountains so the two could try and enter the station from the top side of the crater. With any luck, Fuchsia was working on a way to escape, or at least buy them time to get to her before the Kukkus did anything terrible. Once she was rescued, they would deal with the doctor and the Emperor directly, and then put the super-weapon down for good. And if Knuckles got in their way, Miles was willing to knock some sense into him if it came down to another fight.
When it came to the Emeralds, Miles' thoughts made him pause in the shade of one of the ruins. Gadget had almost gone on ahead of him when he noticed that the fox had suddenly stopped. He backtracked to the amber teen's position and decided to take shelter from the sun as well.
"What's up, Miles?" the wolf inquired, "you look like you've got something heavy weighing on your mind."
Miles took the cyan Emerald from its pouch and stared distantly into its facets. "I want to restore the Emeralds, but I'm worried, Gad."
"How come?" Gadget asked him with his head tilted and his face showing concern.
The fox clasped his other hand over the stone and looked down toward the ground. "Well, what if the Kukkus made something that we can't beat without them?"
The wolf hummed, seeing the other canid's point. "Like a weapon powered by the Master Emerald, for instance."
"Yeah." Miles raised his head again, peering up at his sibling with fearful eyes. "What if I have to use them, and I end up turning into that monster again? What if I have no control over it this time, and I end up hurting you and the others, or worse?"
It was an understandable fear. Gadget and the others had only gotten a glimpse of the dark form after all was said and done, but it had been enough to intimidate most of them. Seeing the carnage and destruction in the footage that had been recorded of the fox's fight with the GBK had only made the group even more uneasy, though none of them told the hero that. He'd be lying if he said that they weren't afraid of the prospect of Miles completely losing control. They knew that if it reached the point where not even Sonic could bring him to his senses, the lot of them, and possibly the rest of the world, would likely be doomed.
But then, Miles had only achieved that state because he'd used the Emeralds while he was caught in a whirlwind of negative emotions. That had been something that the old legends of the gems had warned about, but given what had triggered those feelings, the teen couldn't be blamed. Theoretically, all he had to do to avoid that was to utilize their power without relying on anger, sorrow, or anything like that. Of course, it was probably easier said than done, as the wolf had no idea how drawing in such massive stores of energy functioned, much less how it felt. Still, if there was anything he could do to help his brother, even telling him things he already knew, then he wouldn't hesitate. They needed their group's leader in good spirits if they wanted to pull off their plan, after all.
"Even if you have to transform, you know that you've got us, right?" Gadget told him reassuringly, coming over to give his shoulder a squeeze, "We won't let you lose yourself. Just remember what Dad told you, and what you know from reading that old story so many times!"
Despite his dip in mood, Miles smiled as he recalled a fond memory with his adopted family. Technically, it was well before they took him in, but even back then, they were treating him like one of their own pups. The first time he'd read the story about the Chaos Emeralds according to the people of West Side Island, Gob had sat the kit in his lap and followed along with him. He'd been impressed at how expansive the little fox's vocabulary had been, seldom asking how to pronounce words as they read. Humorously, though, Miles had fallen asleep before they could finish, which had led to the boy spending the night in another's home for the first time.
They'd gotten around to finishing it the next day, and came back to it every so often for a while. Each time, Gob had reminded him that the Emeralds did not discriminate between those who would use them for good or for ill, responsibly or irresponsibly. All that mattered was the strength of the user's heart, which could be as discordant as the gems themselves. He may have faltered when he called on their power in the last conflict, but if he needed it again, he wouldn't let that happen a second time. He wouldn't betray the confidence that his friends and family had in him, and if he needed their help to keep it together, he wouldn't hesitate to call for their aid.
"Thanks for reminding me, Gad," he replied softly, some faith in himself restored, "with you guys here, there's no way I'll become a monster again."
The wolf's hand on his shoulder moved up to fondly ruffle his bangs. "Just try to think of positive things if you really do have to use them." He frowned a little and clenched his other glove into a fist. "I know that's harder than it sounds, given everything the Kukkus have done."
"Yeah, but you're right," the fox concurred, "now, let's get going. Fuchsia's waiting on us, and I bet Sonic's already caught up with the others and is growing impatient."
The two of them shared a small laugh at that, then moved out of the shade to resume their run across the sands, using both Knuckles' scent and the Radar as their guides.
Fuchsia let out a moan as a dull pain in her neck snapped her awake. The cat immediately noticed several other things that made it evident she was in a truly bad situation. She was bound and gagged, her hands having been forced to curl up in an odd pair of mittens, and those had been shackled together with some cuffs linked by a kind of strong, flexible cable. Her feet were in pretty much the same situation, bound up so that she could stand and walk if needed, but would most likely trip if she attempted to run. Some sort of muzzle was clamped down around her head, keeping her from opening her mouth and crying out for help. All of the accessories that Gadget had given her to help give her a fighting chance and keep her safe had been confiscated, leaving her with nothing but her clothes, gloves, and boots.
While there wasn't much to take in from her surroundings, she knew she had to be on the Battle Moon. The gaudy gold and purple details outside her holding cell were something the others had told her that the Battle Fortress had sported as well. The jail itself was composed of a hallway that contained primarily chrome quarters with flat blue beds that folded out from the walls, porcelain white sinks, and a toilet. In place of iron bars, there were electric blue beams of light that kept her contained, ones that looked like they'd deliver a pretty nasty shock if she tried touching them. All of it was illuminated by sterile white fluorescent light, which dampened Fuchsia's already dwindling spirits.
She thought about how her lover had advised against bringing her along, and how distraught he must have been to have his fear realized. The cat still heard his anguished calls after her when she was taken away, and the image of the Tornado going down from the cheap shot by Dr. Fukurokov. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and brought herself in an upright sitting position, only to hang her head a moment later. There was nothing she herself could do in her current position, and the reality of that was difficult to stomach. While she had faith that Gadget, Miles, and the rest would come for her, she was afraid of what the Kukkus might do to her.
'Don't be afraid,' she thought to herself, though she couldn't help shaking, and a few tears spilled down her cheeks despite trying to will herself not to. She wiped them away with the mittens, then laid back down and curled up a bit. 'There'll be an opportunity to get out of here. I just need to keep cool until it pops up.'
As if on cue, she heard the door at the end of the hallway slide open. A few pairs of boots thudded her way, one set notably slower and more uneven than the rest, but she didn't bother to turn and see their occupants. She could tell from the occasional gasp for breath that the old owl was among them, though why he'd come personally was a mystery to the cat.
"Open it up," the doctor ordered his subordinates.
A few blips rang out as one of the combatants messed with the panel next to the cell, and the bars of energy fizzled out a couple of seconds later. Fuchsia flicked her ears as a pair of soldiers came up next to her bed and prodded her to get to her feet. She did so reluctantly, shuffling her feet as best as she could as they brought her over to Dr. Fukurokov, who gave her a condescending sneer.
"You must feel like quite the fool for tagging along with that infernal fox," he said derisively, "though not as much as that wolf. He really thought he could get the better of me and protect you all the while? What a stupid boy!"
That made the cat growl and lunge at him, and while she ended up falling like she expected, she did manage to tackle the owl to the floor. He screeched in fear as despite her restraints, Fuchsia kept him pinned and started to smack her bound hands against his face. She only regretted that she wasn't doing a lot of damage, thanks to the padding. The few grunts that had accompanied him moved to wrestle her off of their superior, taking a few tries before they managed to pry her off and keep her restrained. Gasping for breath, the doctor got back to his feet and glared daggers at their prisoner.
"If I didn't have other pressing concerns, I would punish you properly," he snarled at her, straightening his coat, "but I will be sure to save that for once I return. Your treatment should be complete by then, and you'll be fully willing to accept what's due." He glanced at the Kukku troops. "Make certain to keep a close eye on her during transfer. Disabling her is permitted if the situation calls for it, but His Majesty wants her alive and intact. I'm expecting to hear good news when I return."
With his signal, the men escorted Fuchsia out of her chamber and down to the end of the cell block. As they left the area and headed to wherever they were taking her, she saw for herself how huge the station was in person. Through the tubing that connected countless passages, there was a surprisingly hollow space where she could see the back "wall" of the satellite. The floors and ceilings were patched with vertical lines, alternating between gold bars and black spaces of equal width. The ground beneath was buzzing with activity, full of small cogs and generators vibrating and gyrating constantly. All these gubbins were segmented into a grid of large square windows across the whole board, made up of strips of bolted down metal to form the edges of the squares.
The large chunks of cylindrical transport tubing are made up of a series of silver shutters, with the acronym "BKE" printed on them at the tops and bottoms in bold black letters. The conveyor belts and elevator sequences were controlled by a large, spiraling contraption going down their centers. The "background" got darker as it came closer to the core of the Battle Moon, where there was a colossal pillar with hundreds of lights on and around it. The menacing nightly purple and blue colors combined with the ambiance made the place seem more like an alien mother ship than something built on their world.
However, that was the least of her concerns as far as this place went. After several minutes of moving up lifts and being herded through quite a few checkpoints, the group arrived in a more open area. There was a sickly magenta luminescence that filled the space, only just bright enough that she could make out the equipment that was set up. They were transparent, egg-shaped pods with a large pipe at one end, and some sort of helmet with an oxygen mask near the top of the other. They were a little different than how Gadget had described them to her, but the cat knew without a doubt that they had to be Conversion Therapy machines.
'No, not that!' she tried to say, but the muzzle prevented her from uttering anything other than muffled cries.
Knuckles ran through an arch composed of old stone blocks like those of the pyramid, spinning around and yanking two levers down once he cleared it. A door made of volcanic rock like the passage he'd just hurried into slammed down to fill up the formerly open space, while a click sounded on the other side. He let out a breath that he barely noticed he'd been holding in, then wiped the back of one glove across his forehead.
"Damn those restless spirits," he swore as he began to resume his journey, "they attack anything alive that disturbs their slumber, even people that try to protect their resting place."
Part of him wished that they would give the fox hell, but then he thought better of it. Those specters had tormented him every time he had been forced to travel through their tomb, and as used to it as he could be, it was always harrowing. He wouldn't say that they scared him, though they were certainly unsettling, to say the least. Even his fated enemy didn't deserve to be hounded by those things.
"Why should I care, though?" he asked himself out loud, "he is the beast in the mural."
That's what he kept telling himself, but Knuckles couldn't deny the thoughts that had gone through his head. And as he exited the tunnel into the spacious subterranean environs of the Lava Reef Caverns, Miles' words echoed in his mind. How the Dragon's Egg wasn't the colossal object currently occupying the crater of the island's biggest volcano. That standing against him was foolishness, and implying that the doctor and his superior weren't being honest with him. He wanted to believe that the fox had been deceitful with his words, but his actions belie that framework. Even when hesitant to fight, the vulpine had stepped up, and his determination made the echidna recognize that the amber Animal firmly believed in his own words.
As much as Knuckles didn't want to consider it, what if Miles was telling the truth? What if what crashed into Angel Island wasn't the Dragon's Egg? And if that was the case, what were the true intentions of the Empire, if not to help him? What if the fox really had just come here to restore the Chaos Emeralds and not cause him any sort of grief?
These distracting ruminations nearly caused him to run into a pair of ball and chain traps he'd set up in the walls, reflexively gliding in the space between them. The Guardian felt himself really start to sweat as he landed on a bit of earth that was sticking out of a large lake of magma. Using his ability and recalling his many trips through this route to the Hidden Palace, he made it to the distant shore and dashed beneath a huge spike trap as it was going back up. A series of vents in the cavern ceiling above opened a bit away from him, molten rock coming down in a horrifically hot ooze before it closed up again. It was a system in place that his people had built to help relieve pressure in the volcano, greatly reducing the risk of a future eruption.
Timing it so that he could get through the chamber safely, Knuckles rode down one of his spike traps to the next tunnel while his mind wandered back to Miles. If his role in the mural wasn't what he thought it was, or what Dr. Fukurokov and the Great Battle Kukku insisted that it was...then what was the meaning of it? Was it like Big had told him that one time he'd asked, about how the great bird-like creature in the image was the more likely threat to the Master Emerald? That would suggest that the fox was actually trying to help keep the stone out of the wrong hands. And also, it would mean that he'd attacked that she-wolf without any justification, when all she'd wanted was for him to hear her out.
Knuckles shook his head, clearing it so he could circumvent some more magma vents and drop down a narrow shaft. He flipped a switch to open a section of rock to a hidden path, gliding over spike-studded iron balls and ducking beneath falling stalactites as he went on. The Guardian sailed over a fiery pit and climbed up the side of a cliff, breaking down several thin walls to enter a room full of Rings. He ignored them, just as he was trying to put any further contemplations about his foe out of mind. After several more twists and turns that gradually ascended up into the mountain, Knuckles arrived at a spot where the lava had cooled and the terrain was a dark blue and purple rather than brown and green like what he'd seen so far. A thin layer of turquoise flooring was layered over the volcanic rock, allowing him a smooth surface to better run on.
He was getting close to the entrance of the Hidden Palace, and where what he believed to be the Dragon's Egg had come back down. To be honest, he wasn't sure whether he wanted Miles or Dr. Fukurokov to be right. With the latter, it would mean he was taking all the necessary and correct actions to try and rid himself of what he'd been forewarned about. But if the former was true, then...
"Hopefully the trap I set for him in the pyramid won't slow him down for long," he finished the thought out loud, making his way to where he'd agreed to meet the owl. The echidna scoffed and shook his head once more. "I should not be showing such leniency. Regardless of his intentions, he is an outsider, and duty demands that I must defend the Master Emerald." He nodded resolutely. "I shall hear what the doctor has to say, and then I will return to the Shrine."
And if Miles managed to get all the way to the Hidden Palace itself, he would be waiting for him. Whatever the fox wanted with the Master Emerald, Knuckles would fight, whether to protect it or just to assuage his concerns.
"You know, you should be honored that His Lordship chose to make you serve him," one combatant commented as he typed away at a console next to one of the pods, "he could have just ordered you dead, or worse. At least this way, you get to be useful to the Empire. And hey, you get to be the first non-avian volunteer of our newest version of the Conversion Therapy Pod! The doctor did away with a lot of the old methods we used, and he's curious to see how this 'novel approach' will develop. He'll be happy to get results, even if you end up as a zombie trooper."
The three Kukkus had a jeering laugh at that, then proceeded to get on with things. One kept hold of her wrists while the soldier behind her reached up and undid the back of her muzzle. That was the opportunity she had been waiting for.
Taking advantage of the fact they were ordered not to kill or maim her, Fuchsia whipped her head forward and clamped her fangs down near the neck of the grunt in front of her. He screamed and let go of her hands as he fell back and clutched at his wound, giving her the opportunity to tear at the material surrounding her paws with her teeth. The other grunt attempted to restrain her, only to get a nasty bite right near the eyes on the bridge of his muzzle, making him drop his keys.
"This is the Conversion Lab!" the third combatant announced into a microphone on the console, "I need backup! The prisoner has just injured two and is attempting to flee!
Now on a tight timer, Fuchsia tore into the material that kept her hands bound with her teeth, breaking it just enough so that her claws could shred it the rest of the way. Much as she didn't want to damage her gloves, she didn't have the luxury to worry about that with more troops on the way. She flipped through the key ring and found the one to undo her shackles first, turning around to see the uninjured grunt sprinting her way. With her legs free, she got up and booked it, her greater agility allowing her to slip out the door just before it closed. She smirked with some satisfaction as a loud thud came from the other side, no doubt the fool colliding into the metal.
The cat continued to run as she awkwardly fiddled with her cuffs, klaxons blaring and red lights flashing to let others know of her escape. After several tries, she managed to get the dang things off and tossed them aside, keeping the keys with her just in case she needed them to get out. She exited downhill from the chamber, having to jump down from a considerable height to get further away. Her hair stood up as a missile whizzed above her head after landing, scaring her into running even faster. She descended from one high ledge after another, panting a bit when she finally reached a tunnel that continued away from both the Conversion Therapy Lab and the core of the station.
"Sheesh, this place really is for the birds with the way these paths are built," she complained, taking in a few breaths and then forging on.
On the other side of the tube, she stepped onto a set of red and gold blocks that rose up to form stairs, scaling them and coming face to face with a Badnik. It vaguely resembled a woodpecker, though it was missing its feet and its wings seemed to be just for show, using an engine pack on its back to get around instead. It had a black top cap with two glaring eyes beneath it, while their oversized beak was fashioned similarly to a gray drill, which had a spiked ball orbiting around it. The deadly orb came flying at her the moment the robot noticed her, which she avoided with a well-timed pounce. Said jump put her in position to vault off of the thing and keep up the pace, springing up to an outcropping to get away.
She flew down a few flights of those moving blocks, then hopped onto a purple platform that was connected by a chain of orbs, using it to cross over to a tunnel. Fuchsia came out the other side and barely dodged a spike that came down from above. It retracted into a hovering blue orb with a crimson red eye, as well as three other spines at cardinal points on its body. She tried to run away, but it zipped in front of her in a blink, giving her a second close call with its extendable weapons. The clatter of boots and fluttering of wings began to close in behind her as well, making her panic a bit. She yowled as she forced herself past the Badnik and took a slash across the back of her shoulders.
Staggering for a moment, the cat utilized another of the platforms to get down and continue around a bend, grabbing hold of a blue and red device with a bar on the bottom. It carried her over a set of long and flashing electric blue tubes, energy crackling from them and nearly singing her tail. After getting down, she was about to go one way when she nearly ran into a squad of Kukku combatants, immediately backpedaling and taking off in the other direction. With her speed, she was able to lose them after a short while of ducking around several corners and hopping down a number of ledges and platforms.
Hope welled up within her as she saw that she was approaching the outer wall of the Battle Moon. Fuchsia didn't care that she would likely have to traverse yet more unfamiliar ground to truly escape. She was confident that her boyfriend and the rest of the group would be able to find her, even if they couldn't rely on her comm signal to locate her.
That was all dashed when a figure that was about a head taller than her crashed down on the catwalk. Not just anyone, but a figure whose face was known the world over thanks to his exploits and the broadcast of his duel with Miles. Except, now he had cybernetic parts that made him look all the more intimidating than she remembered. Without fully realizing it, Fuchsia's legs stopped her a few meters away from the Emperor, now unable to do more than shake.
"You seem lost, young lady," the GBK said to her with a tone that contrasted with his malicious, tooth-studded grin, "come along with me, if you would."
The cat slowly raised up her claws, more in a defensive manner than a threatening one, trying to get her legs to move. They did, but only to deepen her stance, the subconscious part of her recognizing that she wouldn't be able to run. Not unless she could disable him long enough to give him the slip, but she wasn't sure how she would do that.
"And I was going to treat you fairly," the big bird remarked, his dark smile only broadening, "but if you insist, I shall take you by force. This will provide a good template to compare your post-treatment capabilities to, anyway!"
"So the shortcut is through here, huh?" Miles said as he stepped through an ominous doorway.
He and Gadget had found a huge pyramid at the base of some sandy falls, and the signal on the Radar appeared to be coming from deeper inside. The ground was composed of dirty yellow and brown blocks with plenty of grains between them. The walls of the pyramid were illuminated by many torches, which were mostly arranged in threes. The building's blocks varied in size and shape, but they're all visibly ancient, and crumbling, though some were still intact enough to have legible symbols. They appeared to be hieroglyphs upon closer inspection, suggesting that, perhaps when it was still part of the mainland, that Angel Island had been visited by the Egyptians at some point.
As they ventured further in, an unsettling feeling ran down the back of Miles' spine. It was much like the nervousness that he used to feel whenever a thunderstorm was on the horizon, only the reasoning was more irrational. A tomb wasn't exactly the best atmosphere for anyone, but the fox especially felt uneasy just being there. Gadget picked up on Miles' tense behavior, but he didn't say anything. Much as he was trying to be brave for his brother, the place was giving him the creeps, too.
The pair made their way down a bumpy hill and Rolled into a stony loop, following the curve a few times before finding an opening in one section. They both landed with an ominous crunch, the two of them peering at each other and then at their feet. A pile of dusty old bones belonging to some Animals they couldn't readily identify had been what broke their fall, and the two felt rather sick at the discovery. But to make things worse, at least for one of them, a small spherical being with black eyes and a sheet-like white body popped into view behind Gadget. When Miles caught sight of it, his own eyes widened and he raised a finger to point at it.
"G-G-G-Gad," he stuttered, unable to get anything else out as his other hand moved to clutch at his chest fur.
The wolf turned to see what had the fox so startled, and he had a much different reaction.
"A real ghost?" he wondered with a boyish grin, watching it list about in the air and lifting a hand as he contemplated petting it, "I admit, it's not what I expected. It's actually kinda cute."
The lights in the pyramid dimmed not long after he made that remark, and two things happened. The first was that another specter appeared, joining the first in a seemingly directionless bout of hovering. The second was that both of them grew in size, sprouted a pair of stubby little arms, and adopted a more menacing expression. At that, Gadget lowered his arm and stopped smirking, while Miles clutched at one of his tails in fright and bit back a whine.
"I take back what I said, they're not cute anymore," the wolf amended, taking a few steps back to stand closer to his sibling and grab his other arm, "let's go!"
The two of them made a break for it, though no matter how fast they ran, the ghosts were able to pursue. They slipped and skidded down a few sand slides, flying into the air from a sharp upturn in the terrain. They found an obsidian black cylinder settled into an equally dark groove on the floor, which they both pushed to the other end. A pillar moved out of the way up on a ledge above, which the fox brought them to before it could close back up. A pale stone tower in their path was one of a few that served as central support, which they descended in their own ways until coming to an opening near the bottom. Miles pressed a black slab in place to open up another door for them, dodging several traps as they navigated the ever-darkening hallways.
Once out in the open again, the torches were extinguished entirely. Thanks to their sight, and the little bit of light coming in from the entrance, they were able to adjust to the darkness well enough to see a bit around them. They both froze when above them, they saw that there were now three ghosts that were even bigger than before. Pairs of sharp horns had appeared atop their heads, and their eyes were furrowed in a scarily angry manner. One of them tilted itself so that it was facing the fox with those horns, then charged at him full speed!
"Waugh!" Miles screamed, all but flailing as he ducked beneath the spirit, hearing it crash into the stony ground just beside him. That thing could have actually gored him!
Another one tried to go for Gadget, who used his grappler to jerk to the side. He went for a Rolling Jump and felt himself hit something as the body of the ghost disappeared. However, a new ghost, or perhaps the same one he'd just "defeated", showed up almost immediately to take its place. The wolf tried fending them off with his Lightning Baton next, but he was met with the same results as trying to strike them unarmed.
"Fighting them is no good!" he informed the fox, "we've got to–"
The teen vulpine didn't even let him finish that sentence as he grabbed the wolf and bolted away. Gadget's vision spun as he was dragged through two loops and a pair of sand waterfalls almost before he could blink, guided into an even deeper passage before long. It was thanks to their dark vision that Miles narrowly avoided a few traps on the way, though he couldn't avoid striking a section of ceiling as he escaped the tireless assault of their departed stalkers. Sand poured into the catacombs, turning the situation into both an attempt to get away from the ghosts as well as a race against him. Whether it was the spirits, the sand, or the traps in the tomb, none of them sounded like a particularly fun way to go, and all of them were making things too close for comfort.
Higher and higher they climbed in the pyramid, although it was more accurate to say that the wolf was being taken for a ride by a frantic fox. The two came out near another of the support towers, navigating them in a hurry to get through their centers in the direction of the Radar's signal. Partway through, Gadget spotted a semi-circular bar hanging by a chain from the ceiling, which stoked his curiosity. He broke away from his panicky brother and leapt for it, using all of his weight to yank it down from its position. Once it could go no further, there was a loud click, and the torches around the pyramid lit back up again.
The ghosts that had been chasing them let out pained moans as they vanished almost immediately, though one of them did reappear a few seconds later. It was back in its harmless state from when they first encountered it earlier, unable to even glare at them as it once more flitted about. It wasn't good enough for Miles, who hopped onto the pull-switch himself and rapidly tugged at it, causing the lights to flare and repeatedly "banish" the specter.
"Go away!" he yelled, his hands locked in a death grip around the pole, "finish your business and leave!"
Gadget winced at the way the fox was acting, feeling a bit guilty as he tried to ease him away from the bar. It was so bad, though, that he had to use his cable to pry his brother off of the device, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him a few times.
"Miles, get a grip!" he shouted in the fox's ears. When that didn't work, one hand took hold of the younger Animal's chin and jerked it in his direction. "Look at me!" Those trembling eyes darted around a few times, then slowly focused on him. "As long as we find things like that to keep this place lit up, we don't have to worry about the ghosts. Do you understand?" The teen stopped shaking and his breathing slowed a bit, gently nodding his head. Satisfied, Gadget released his muzzle. "Are you gonna be alright?"
Miles let out a sigh and bowed his head. "Y-yeah. Sorry."
"Don't be," the wolf told him comfortingly as he gave him a quick hug, "maybe we'll work on your phasmophobia once we get back home." He released the fox and pointed to the comm on his wrist, then the presumed way forward. "But for now, let's get out of here."
No arguments there. After descending and passing through the bottom of the support tower near them, the two ran down the sandy hill just beyond it and moved through a loop. The opening of this one was at the top, though shortly after emerging, the canids found themselves slipping down the longest sand slide yet. The low friction combined with the angle allowed them to build up so much speed that they went rocketing through the air when they finally hit a divot. They landed near a narrow entrance that brought them into more darkened halls, but fortunately for the fox, there was at least one light switch for him to keep the ghosts away with.
Manipulating more of those obsidian door devices, the two discovered a deep shaft that brought them into a large chamber with a solid wall in the far back, and a tall opening in front of them. They passed through to a slightly smaller area that went back out into the open pyramid, with the only other path being a conspicuous doorway that had been carved into the surrounding stone. Through there, they could see that the rocks became more natural and unworked, and a heat unlike the desert sun was billowing out, along with the unpleasant scent of sulfur. After double-checking the Radar, they determined that the source of the signal they were following was somewhere beyond the tunnel.
"This must be the way to the Lava Reef Caverns," Miles deduced, rifling through his utility belt to feel over the Shield Projector, "we better get our Flame Shields ready."
Gadget nodded, making sure his own was at the ready. "And the bottom of the Battle Moon is somewhere in there, close to the Hidden Palace? I don't remember seeing it from where the Great Ring brought us."
"Maybe Knuckles meant the whole Palace in general when he said 'shrine'," the fox figured, "it makes sense that the Master Emerald wouldn't be out in the open. Still, if what he said is true, that means it wouldn't be terribly difficult to send a small aerial squad to the place. Maybe their meeting is just a distraction for the Kukkus to steal it!"
Stubborn as he was, and as painful as he'd made their journey, Knuckles had only been doing what he did to protect what his people had left him. Even if he got attacked for trying to help, Miles wasn't about to let the Empire lay their talons on the Master Emerald. Seeing that gleam in his brother's eyes, Gadget didn't even wait for him to make a move before they both started down the tunnel together.
However, they didn't get more than a few steps when an ominous click reached their ears. The fox felt the ground give way beneath his feet and reflexively put his two tails to use, avoiding the pitfall that had been left for him. His brother had not been so quick to react, getting his feet caught up in the rubble and the shower of rocks preventing him from aiming his grappler properly. Rather than panic, the wolf reached up with one arm and was rewarded with his faith when the teen caught hold of it and began lifting him back up.
"I've got you!" Miles assured him.
After pulling them both to safety, they took a moment to calm their hearts after that scare.
"Seems like he knew we would follow his trail," Gadget observed, frowning a bit, "so, now what?"
Miles went and peered over the edge of the pit, using his multitool to see if he could scan deeper. After a few moments, a crude topographical image of the shaft was relayed back to him, showing that there was solid ground and more beyond the bottom of the drop.
"Well, it looks like we can proceed if we descend safely," he informed the wolf as he pocketed the Miles Electric, "though it's likely an alternate route to the one Knuckles took. Still, if the Caverns are all connected, we should be able to make our way regardless."
With that change in plans, both of them activated their Flame Shields so that they'd be ready for the sweltering passages that awaited them. And once Miles had a good grip on Gadget, they began to hover down the long and dark pit, the heat steadily rising with every few meters.
Fuchsia cried out as she was sent rolling across the hard metal floor and crashed into the edge of the ledge near where she'd nearly tasted freedom. The cat had known that trying to fight against the Emperor himself was foolish at best with her skills, but what choice did she have? It was better than simply surrendering or letting them catch her, but she wasn't sure how long she could hold out. The GBK wasn't using his full strength against her, not by a long shot, and every blow she took hurt something fierce. She'd accrued quite a few bruises and scrapes, and the dull, throbbing pain that coursed through her body made her not want to get up.
Her aching muscles protested as she did so anyway, albeit with much difficulty. Not even a few seconds after getting to her feet, however, she gagged as one of the GBK's massive mechanical hands closed around her neck. It wasn't enough to cut off her breathing, but she was helpless to fight back. Her claws merely made noise as she tried to scratch at his arm, her legs too short to reach his torso with any kicks she sent his way.
"You think that your gallant hero will ride in at any moment to save you?" he asked with a sneer. He growled and threw her in the direction he came from, making her slam into the wall above the exit. "Stupid cat! Even if that fox is on the way, you can't hope to hold out long enough for him to arrive. You'll be another one of his failures that he'll have to live with, just like the people he couldn't–"
The GBK stopped in the middle of his speech when he noticed that Fuchsia wasn't there to hear it! The cat had taken the opportunity to run out the door he'd flung her near, and even with her injuries, she was nearly out of sight. The Emperor grinded his teeth and went after her, his enhancements causing royal purple exhaust to emit from his heels. With that boost, he caught up to the fleeing Animal in no time, snatching her by the back of her head and pinning her against the wall with a rough shove.
"It's very rude to walk away when someone is talking to you, young lady!" he shouted at her, forcing a yowl from her as he banged her muzzle into the metal, "especially when I'm only trying to help you. You've a very important procedure that would be terrible to miss!"
Even though there was no way for her to escape now in her position, the cat still did her damnedest. She flailed, slashed, and even tried biting at him, though she regretted doing the latter immediately after trying. None of it mattered as the GBK brought her back to where she had fled from in much less time than it had taken her to get away. He spat to the side at the sight of his downed soldiers, as well as the one that had reported the issue, then threw Fuchsia down.
"You!" he addressed the combatant, who yelped at the ferocious tone that echoed through the lab, "is her pod primed?"
The grunt took a moment to register the question, then snapped to attention and saluted. "Y-yes, Your Highness! All that needs to be done is to prep her so–"
RIP!
Given how she had acted before, and the fact that she was his prisoner, the Emperor felt no inclination to act gentlemanly to the cat. With one swift motion from his huge hands, he tore the fabric of Fuchsia's clothes right off of her body, leaving her with one less layer to cover herself. She closed her legs and crossed her arms over her chest, feeling tears sting her eyes as she was left nearly naked on the cold floor. The shivers got even worse when she felt those chilly fingers seize her gloves and boots, yanking them off before grabbing her once again and lifting her up like she was rubbish.
"...so that she can best absorb the solution," the soldier finished, letting out an uncomfortable cough, "well then, we're ready to begin the first part of the procedure, Sire."
The cat's struggles renewed themselves, her sense of shame thrown to the side as she lashed out however she could. She managed to clip the assistant a couple of times, but the Emperor easily kept her at bay as he shoved her into the pod. While he kept her down, the smaller Kukku locked the helmet around her head, her mouth and nose covered by a breathing mask while much of the rest of her face was left exposed. The top of her head and her ears were protected by whatever material it was made of, presumably to keep the latter from getting flooded. Once that was done, the GBK punched the cat in the gut to stun her just long enough for them to seal the machine. A few seconds after, luminescent red water began gushing into the pod from the pipe by her feet, making her skin crawl under her fur as it filled the cramped quarters.
When the reality of her situation sank in fully, so did the panic.
"No! Let me out!" she wailed, hammering her bare fists and feet against the tempered glass to no avail, "I don't wanna be Converted!"
In less than a minute, the whole of her pod was filled with the strange liquid, causing her movements to become sluggish. A sweet smelling gas that was definitely not oxygen flowed into her nostrils and down her throat, and her screams started to taper off. The tingling spread throughout every inch of her, becoming a pleasurable sensation that coerced her into relaxing against her will. Her mind kept yelling at her that she shouldn't give up, but her body wouldn't listen.
'No, not like this,' she thought, feeling her grip on reality begin to slip more with each passing second.
She felt her eyes unfocusing, the figures of the GBK and the grunt with him fading out along with the Lab. Everything melted away into a place she was familiar with: the cozy little town back home, Puru Puru Village.
But it was all wrong. The sky was filled with black clouds that let loose torrents of rain, the wind whipping about as lightning flashed and struck the ground far more frequently than was normal. Dangerously high waves crashed against the cliffs near the village and churned up the sand of the nearby beaches, the water littered with debris. The mountains had been chipped away at, and slews of the trees in both major forests had been downed or torn from their roots. Buildings were in ruin, their roofs collapsed and their foundations undone as the rest of them were left smoldering and shattered. And worst of all were the bodies. Corpses of Animals and Critters alike were strewn all over the place, most of them with twisted or torn necks, and all the rest...she couldn't stomach looking at them.
It was as though the island had been hit head-on by a cataclysmic typhoon. In her attempts to shield her eyes from the carnage, she spotted the unmoving form of her father next to what she presumed was once their house.
"Daddy!" she cried, running over and kneeling by his side. It didn't occur to her that she should have been unable to, given where she really was. She nudged him a few times, bowing her head and covering her face when that yielded nothing. "No..."
The cat was given no time to grieve when a deep and menacing growl set her hair on end. Fuchsia raised her head, slowly turning her teary eyes towards the source, and she felt dread fill every fiber of her being. It was Miles, but not the one she knew and loved as her boyfriend's brother. It was that form of him she had seen in the footage during his battle against the GBK at the climax of the West Side Incident. That wispy black aura that rose off of him like smoke, those pure and wild white eyes, the knife-like ears and tails, the torn and tattered gloves and shoes, and those terrible claws and fangs. To her horror, much of his body was stained with blood, but especially his hands and muzzle.
It became clear to her in that moment what had transpired. But before she could even entertain the thought of running, the monstrous Miles was already in front of her. His lips curled into a sinister smirk as he reached for her throat with his crimson-coated claws, the cat too stricken with fear and sorrow to move. Those digits dug into her neck, a sharp and fiery pain spreading from there throughout her whole form as the smoke seeped into her wound. In spite of the agony, she didn't scream or thrash. Instead, Fuchsia weakly grasped at his arm with both of her hands, gazing at her friend through watery eyes.
"No, Miles, please," she begged, "don't do–"
There was a sickening crack, and then everything went white. She couldn't see, hear, taste, or smell anything, and the pain she'd been experiencing had ceased entirely. She felt nothing but the sensation of drifting aimlessly, unable to do anything but think, and even then, most of her thoughts were of the same thing: rest.
'Am I...dead?' she wondered.
"No."
The presence of another voice, and the fact she could hear it, startled Fuchsia. In the white space, she suddenly caught sight of her body again, though she was quick to cover herself in the presence of whoever else was there. Apparently, one did not get to keep their clothes wherever she was, but she found that she was able to float and move just by thinking about it. The cat willed herself to face the source of the voice, and her eyes started filling with tears yet again.
However, they were not shed out of despair or sadness. Hovering across from her, just as bare as she was, was the vermilion wolf she loved.
"Gad!" Fuchsia exclaimed as she rushed over to him, his arms already spread wide to receive her. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her head beneath his chin, sniffling when she felt him embrace her. "Oh, Gad...I was so scared."
The wolf stroked over her back in soft circles. "It's okay, Fuchsia, you were just having a nightmare. None of what you saw was real."
"I-I thought so," she stammered, still a bit shaken from the experience, "but it felt so real."
Gadget's smile flipped into a frown, and he reached down to cup her chin in one hand. "I know, love. It could become real, though."
That made the cat pause. Had she heard him right?
"W-what?" she asked, blinking in confusion.
The wolf grabbed her shoulders and stared at her right in the eyes. "What you saw could happen, Fuchsia. Miles lost control of himself once before when he used the Chaos Emeralds. What if we can't stop him next time? Wouldn't it be better for everyone to keep that from becoming a problem, even if we have to do some things we might regret?"
"Gad, what are you saying?" Fuchsia inquired, now a bit unnerved, "he's your little brother! He's saved all of our lives!"
"You saw what he did!" her lover shouted back, making her ears fold in fright, "and what he's capable of doing! I don't want to have to do something drastic, but is it worth the risk to let him keep those things? He might have saved us, but he could very well end up killing us, and without even realizing it!"
Much as she wanted to keep arguing, he did have a point. Fuchsia really wasn't sure whether or not Miles could handle the full power of the Chaos Emeralds without going berserk. If he did end up snapping again, and if Sonic couldn't bring him to his senses like the first time, they didn't stand a chance. Even so, she couldn't stomach the thought of doing something extreme to keep that from happening.
"What can we do, Gad?" she mumbled with her head hung, "how can we prepare for that?"
As if he'd been waiting for that very question, the wolf gave her one of his devilish grins. "You won't like it, but we'll need the Empire's help."
Fuchsia could certainly count on her boyfriend to be right about most things when guessing her reaction. She sure as hell didn't like the sound of that! And yet, much as she wanted to berate him for even daring to suggest such an idea, she didn't. There was something about it coming from him that made it less unpalatable.
"But, you know what they've done," she said with uncertainty, pulling herself closer to him again, "are you sure we can trust them?"
"You trust me, don't you?" he retorted, his tone sounding a little hurt.
The part of her that was saying she was making a grave mistake grew quieter as she mulled it over. Much as she didn't like the idea, she did have faith in Gadget. If he truly believed they had to resort to decisions like this to keep everyone safe, then she would support him. And as more time passed, being held securely in his arms, she found herself becoming more and more agreeable to it.
"Of course I trust you, Gad," she whispered, nuzzling at his neck, "I love you."
As real as it seemed to Fuchsia, she was unaware that she was experiencing an elaborate hallucination. The chemicals in the fluid were affecting her perceptions while the gas being pumped into her lungs kept her docile. The voice that she believed to be her lover was coming from a microphone that was being filtered through a machine to distort the audio. And holding the receiver was none other than the Emperor himself, who cackled to himself when he heard the speakers picking up her faint mutterings.
"I'm so glad to hear that," he crooned into the mic.
