Sonic X: Season 3: Shuffle Edition

by KatherineTheMoth

When Sonic had accidently discovered a mysterious board game, he soon asked his friends to play it with him. Little did the gang realize that the board game is cursed and that they are now forced to finish it for the curse to be over. This resulted in a crazy adventure where they have to play the game in order to save their planet, their lives, and the entire universe. Now Game On!

8. The Scavenger Game

Sonic X: Season 3: Shuffle Edition

The Scavenger Game

KACHING!

Tails had already made his next turn on the board game after traveling through space for a couple hours now. Even though he was confident that he and his friends will find another planet soon, he decided to test out Sonic's theory that the board game will help move things along faster by just playing it. He may still be a bit skeptical that a board game could be powerful enough to manipulate the timing of situations effortlessly, but he does admit that there have been quite a lot of coincidences lately that might show a connection between the board game and the reality that is happening now. So, he is justifying his actions as "researching" on this strange phenomenon by taking his turn on the board game.

"Woah, I got an 8! Maybe this turn won't be as bad as the others were," Tails commented as he took out the white card from the card slot. His orange spaceship is now on space 20. He then read the card. "'An easy win may come at a cost. So, are you prepared to search for those whom you've lost?' Hmm...that doesn't bode well by the sounds of it," Tails read the card before talking to himself for a bit.

"What doesn't bode well?" Amy asked as she turned her head to look at Tails. She can see that Tails had the board game on his lap.

Tails replied with a frown on his face, "The part where the card says, 'are you prepared to search for those whom you've lost?'. I'm starting to worry that we might lose someone soon. I hope that doesn't mean we will get a game over because of that".

Amy frowned as she exclaimed, "Well, I hope not! And it better not be Sonic because I don't want to lose my precious baby due to some bad luck on your part, Tails!".

Your "precious baby"? What are you? His mother? Tails thought sarcastically with an annoyed look on his face. He then replied back, "Hey! Why do you have to blame all the bad luck on me?! What did I do to deserve it?!".

"Well...unlike Sonic, you have a tendency to make things worse for all of us, Tails," Amy replied with an annoyed look too.

"But isn't that the case for most of us here? At least one of us had made the situation worse for everyone at one point. You can't just pin the blame on me and say that I'm the one responsible for everyone's misery, Amy. Besides, that's something that Knuckles would do," Tails countered while rolling his eyes at Amy.

Amy sighed and shook her head as she replied, "Well, you're not wrong there. But I'm serious, Tails. If you somehow screw this up and get Sonic lost in some way, then I'll-".

"Woah! Am I seeing things or is that Metarex poacher taking a Planet Egg away from that green planet?!" Tails exclaimed as he cut Amy off mid-sentence once he took a look back in front of him. Amy looked in front of her and gasped at what she saw. Even she can see the Metarex robot flying in space with a Planet Egg in his hands.

"Oh no! This is an emergency!" Amy exclaimed as her eyes went wide in shock. Tails immediately pushed the emergency button to get everyone's attention. The others took notice of the emergency buzzer and listened to Tails as he spoke through the speaker.

"A Metarex poacher had been sighted dead ahead of our ship! This is not a drill! I repeat! This is not a drill!" Tails exclaimed through the speaker. Cream, and Cosmo quickly ran towards the bridge of the ship after hearing that emergency. Chris ran towards the main engine room. Knuckles was in the control room part of the main engine room. He focused onto the speaker for any further instructions from Tails. Sonic was standing in the middle of a hallway in the ship. He was ready to run towards the Sonic Power Cannon if he was given further instructions from Tails to do so.

Tails was now focusing onto the screens in front of the ship to focus onto the Metarex. "My enemy scanners had spotted two Metarex poachers a few miles north from us," Tails said with a serious look on his face.

Amy added as she pointed, "Yeah, and by the looks of it, it seems that one of the Metarex robots had a Planet Egg in its hands". The two Metarex robots flew farther away from the green planet. One of the robots was a tall one while the other was a small one.

Cosmo gasped as she exclaimed, "It's the smaller one that has the Planet Egg in its hands! We must stop them!".

"Definitely! We need to work fast if we are ever going to filch that Planet Egg from the poacher's hands and return it to the planet where it belongs! Everyone! Get ready for combat!" Tails exclaimed as he looked determined now.

"Okay!" Everyone exclaimed in agreement. Immediately, after that, Sonic and the others had felt the spaceship shake a bit since the tall robot had decided to attack it. The robot had trapped the spaceship with its tentacles.

The robot then said, "You players are foolish into thinking that you have a chance to beat the board game. Now, you shall perish because of that".

Chris then exclaimed through the speaker since he's now at the control room with Knuckles, "Alright, guys! Enough fooling around! We've got to fight now!".

"I agree! Sonic! Get to the cannon pronto!" Tails exclaimed as he spoke into the speaker.

Sonic then exclaimed back, "I'm on it!". Sonic then ran towards the Sonic Power Cannon immediately.

Tails then ordered, "Let's stall this guy for a few more seconds! Fire the laser cannons! Now!".

Amy got the message and pushed several buttons to bring up the laser cannons. She then fired the cannons at the Metarex robot. The lasers had hit the robot, but the robot's armor had deflected the lasers.

Cream exclaimed in shock, "Oh no! It's not working! That robot is stronger than the lasers!".

The robot continued to tighten the tentacles' grip onto the spaceship. Although it was slow, but the robot certainly was making progress into breaking the ship.

Amy exclaimed in worry and in shock, "We're running out of time! If we don't beat this robot now, he'll destroy the wings on this ship! Tails! Is Sonic in the cannon now?!".

"I'll ask! Sonic! Are you-" Tails exclaimed as he spoke into the speaker again.

"Way ahead of you, buddy!" Sonic answered as he ran inside the Sonic Power Cannon.

"Oh! Uh...okay! Knuckles! Chris! Charge up the Sonic Power Cannon with the Master Emerald!" Tails exclaimed in surprise before ordered Knuckles and Chris through the speaker.

"Got it!" Knuckles and Chris exclaimed once they heard the order from Tails. They prepared to use the Master Emerald again. Knuckles typed a few buttons as he then said, "The cannon is powering up!".

"Get ready, Sonic! Only a few more seconds, and then we'll launch the cannon!" Chris exclaimed as he spoke into the speaker.

As Sonic heard this, he jumped into the center of the cannon and said, "I'm ready when you are, Chris!". He then went into his spinball form. A few seconds later, his spinball move was powered up by the Master Emerald's energy. Thus, blue electricity surged through Sonic's body again. Tails soon targeted the Metarex robot on his screen and locked onto him with the cannon.

"It's time to say 'goodnight', you lousy poacher!" Tails exclaimed as he pointed at the robot before pushing the button to fire the cannon at him.

BOOM!

Sonic was then shot out of the cannon and went straight at the tall robot. He was able to hit the robot at its chest and went through it like paper. The robot then yelled, "Noooooooo!".

KABOOM!

The robot exploded after that strong attack. The explosion was very bright as it was nothing but a white light. Unfortunately, the explosion was so bright that the smaller robot had accidently dropped the Planet Egg from its hands. The robot was even knocked back very hard from the explosion and went down to the green planet below. Soon, the white light had disappeared. Tails and the others focused onto their screens to see if the Metarex robot was gone completely. They can see the remains of the tall robot falling down into the green planet below.

"Well, this is good news. We were successful into taking down that Metarex robot. Not only that, but I think that we even managed to make those poachers drop the Planet Egg too!" Tails said with a smile.

"What a relief!" Cosmo exclaimed with a smile as she folded her hands.

"Mr. Sonic had saved the day again! (Chao!)" Cream exclaimed brightly as did Cheese.

"Oooh, my baby boy is just so strong! So heroic at times! And so...uhhhh...far away from the spaceship? What?!" Amy exclaimed with a huge grin on her face before she looked worried as a sweat drop formed on her head. Cosmo and Cream both took notice of this too and had turned their heads to look at Tails. Amy also looked back at Tails for an explanation. However, Tails ignored their looks as he looked ahead of him with a frown on his face. He had a sweat drop on his head as he thought. Please come back. Please come back. Please come back. …...He's not coming back, is he? Oh nooo...

Meanwhile, Knuckles was confused as he turned to look at Chris. He then asked, "Umm...Chris? Do you have an explanation as to why Sonic is not coming back to us?".

Chris replied as he turned to face Knuckles, "Well, you see, Knuckles, with the speed and trajectory that Sonic naturally has when he's in his spinball form, he can easily maneuver himself to turn around and go to another direction whenever he wishes...". Chris then looked sheepish as he had a hand behind his head when he continued with, "Unfortunately, with the combination of the Sonic Power Cannon and the Master Emerald's energy, Sonic's speed and trajectory had doubled. So, in other words, whenever Sonic is shot out of the cannon, it is very difficult for him to maneuver around in that state".

"I see. So, what you're saying here is that Sonic can't be like a boomerang and come back to us because he's basically acting like an actual cannonball right now. Right?" Knuckles replied as he looked back at the screen with his hands on his hips.

"Yep. You hit the nail right on its head, Knuckles," Chris replied with a sheepish grin on his face. Boy, I bet that Amy is rather ticked off by this right now. Chris thought as he felt bad for Tails now.

"WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU, TAILS?! I JUST SAID DON'T SCREW THIS ONE UP!" Amy screamed in fury as she watched Sonic flew straight down towards the green planet below.

-Meanwhile On The Green Planet; A Few Minutes Later-

The planet was like a gigantic jungle filled with tall trees, grass, flowers, and lots of other plants everywhere. There was even some mountains in the planet too. It was a rather peaceful planet with no noisy disturbances anywhere...except for a screaming blue hedgehog that is falling from the sky.

"Wooooooooaaaaaah!" Sonic screamed as he flailed his arms around while he fell from the sky.

THUD!

Sonic then landed hard on the ground on his back. He cringed in pain as he felt the hard ground with his back and head. He slowly sat up while holding his head with his hand. He rubbed his head as said to himself, "Boy, it's a good thing that I'm a hedgehog. My quills had saved me again from an even more painful landing. Is it any wonder that I always...huh?".

Sonic soon took notice of his surroundings as he looked at the side to see Dr. Eggman, Decoe, and Bocue on the ground with Dr. Eggman's hovercraft and a wrecked yellow ship. Sonic's eyes went wide as he immediately stood up in surprise.

"What the-?! Eggman's here?! Just what happened to-hmm?" Sonic said in surprise and confusion before he looked down to see something even more surprising.

It was a green Chaos Emerald.

"Woah! If this isn't the biggest jackpot I had ever stumbled upon, then I don't know what is!" Sonic exclaimed in surprise before he bent down to pick the green emerald up. As he held the green emerald in his hand, he then said, "No doubt about it. It's a real, genuine emerald. Heh! It seems like my good luck keeps getting better and better!".

He then exclaimed happily, "Haha! I'm the luckiest hedgehog in the universe!". After saying that, Sonic ran away with the green emerald in his hands.

Meanwhile, on a different part of the planet, the small Metarex robot was staring at the remains of the destroyed robot, lying on the ground. Smoke was coming out of the broken robot. The small robot looks like an orange monkey by its design. This monkey robot had its hands on top of the broken robot's chest.

The monkey robot then said as he stood up, "Oh no, no, no! This is bad! Oh, so very bad! The chief is down and out! Ooooh, how did this mission had gotten bad this quickly?! It was supposed to be a simple mission! Just go take the Planet Egg as instructed and don't let the players beat you! But look what happened! Those players had taken out the chief, and I'm the only poacher left that could stop them!".

He then continued by saying, "Well, this is just great. How am I going to prevent those players into getting the Planet Egg? The chief was supposed to be the one fighting them! Not me! Look at me! I'm just a simple monkey, and I don't even have a rifle on me either! Those players will just chase me with their ship and destroy me too! Ugh. It seems that I'm the prey now while they are the poachers. What am I going to do?".

The robot looked to his side to see the green Planet Egg floating a bit before looking up to the sky. He panicked even more as he saw the Blue Typhoon flying downwards slowly to the ground from the air. The monkey robot then exclaimed, "(Gulp) Th-Th-They're getting closer! If I don't act fast now, then they'll surely find the Planet Egg and maybe kill me if they found me! Quick! Think! Think! What can I do in this situation?!". He quickly grabbed the Planet Egg as thought of a solution. He then had a brilliant idea.

"Ook! Ook! That's it! Since I'm the prey now, I'll just act like what any prey would do in this situation! Find a way to elude the predators! Its' perfect! That'll show those players not to prey onto the real poachers! Ook! Ook! OOK!" the robot monkey exclaimed gleefully as he held the Planet Egg in his hands.

-Meanwhile Back On The Blue Typhoon-

"For the last time, Amy, I said that I was sorry!" Tails exclaimed as he had a sweat drop on his head. He was sitting in the X-Tornado in the pilot's seat. Knuckles was sitting behind him. Amy was still fuming as she stood next to the plane.

"Sorry won't bring Sonic back, Tails! Let me join you guys too! We can find Sonic together!" Amy exclaimed as she had her hands at her sides.

"Amy, there is still a poacher in that planet. We don't know what this poacher is made of. He can kill you. So, we're doing you guys a favor by having you, Cream, Cosmo, and Chris to stay back and to guard the Blue Typhoon while we search for Sonic," Tails argued calmly.

"But that poacher is small, Tails! He is no threat to me! You shouldn't be afraid of a little poacher, Tails! We had faced even larger Metarex robots than that one before! So, let me join you on your search for Sonic! I want to find Sonic and make sure that my baby boy is safe!" Amy exclaimed in frustration as she waved her hands up and down.

Knuckles did his best to not smile at the nickname that Amy has for Sonic. "Baby Boy" huh? Oh, I'm so gonna tease Sonic by calling him that when we find him. Knuckles thought as he stared at Amy with a neutral expression on his face.

Tails just frowned as he argued back while trying to be patient, "Listen Amy, I know how much you want to find Sonic, but I don't want to lose you or the others to the Metarex if you guys go out there and find Sonic with us. Just because a poacher is small, that doesn't mean its harmless. We don't know what kind of tricks that small Metarex robot has in his sleeves. He could have a bomb inside of him and could kill you in an explosion or something! So, please be reasonable Amy and stay inside the Blue Typhoon, okay?".

Amy pouted as she then said after being quiet for a bit, "...Do I need to remind you whose fault this is for that sloppy aim, Tails? Or whose bad turn it was on that board game?".

Tails then frowned as he replied quietly, "Amy...it's not my fault. It's the board game that did it".

"Don't you dare use that excuse, Tails! You owe me BIG TIME! I want to come with you and find Sonic! Now, let me ride with you, Tails!" Amy exclaimed in anger as she jumped up and down childishly.

Tails looked sheepish as he didn't know how to respond to that. However, before Tails could reply, Knuckles then said with some annoyance in his tone, "Amy, I'd rather need you to listen to what Tails had told you to do. Tails just basically said if you go out there, you're gonna die. Plain and simple. So, don't follow us".

Tails then looked nervous as he stared at Knuckles while having a sweat drop on his head. He then thought. Knuckles! Really?! Do you have to be so blunt about it?!

"WHAT?! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT I'M INCAPABLE OF DEFENDING MYSELF, KNUCKLES?! HUH?! DO YA?!" Amy shouted in fury as she glared at Knuckles. How rude! Does that bone-head not see how strong I am in battle?! Grrrr! Amy thought as she glared at Knuckles.

Knuckles rolled his eyes as he answered curtly, "Oh, yeah? Well, how many times had Dr. Eggman captured you with one of his robots and that either Sonic or me had to save you from them? I dunno about you, but that number is pretty high up there in my opinion".

Amy simply growled in frustration as she was shaking her fists at her sides. Did he HAVE to remind me of those embarrassing moments?! Amy thought as a vein had popped in her forehead. Knuckles simply sighed as he said, "I rest my case. Tails, we better leave now and find Sonic before Amy throws another hissy fit at us for not finding Sonic faster".

Tails nodded to Knuckles before he looked to Amy. He could see that Amy was about to yell again. He then had an idea to try to distract Amy for a bit. "Say uh, Amy?" Tails asked awkwardly.

"WHAT?!" Amy shouted angrily. Tails flinched before he opened the window of the plane for a bit. Knuckles was about to reply what Tails was doing before he saw Tails holding the board game in his right hand. Apparently, Tails just had been holding the board game the entire time while in the X-Tornado. This time, Knuckles can't hold back a smirk as he can see what Tails was about to do next.

"Here. Play with this board game!" Tails replied quickly as he threw the board game down to the ground near Amy's feet. Tails then quickly closed the window and had started the engine of the plane.

Amy then yelled, "Tails! Tails! Don't you dare fly away from me! Tails!".

However, Tails ignored this as his plane had started the take-off sequence. After his plane was ready to fly, Tails then pulled the steering wheel towards him to make his plane fly upwards. He can hear Amy shouting, "TAILS! I BLAME YOU FOR THIS! YOU OWE ME BIG TIME! YOU HEAR ME?! BIG TIME!".

Amy was still shaking her fists at her sides as she glared at the flying plane in the distance. She kept on growling for a few moments before she stopped and sighed deeply. "Ugh. They always leave me behind. Great. Now what am I going to do?" Amy said with irritation in her voice before she looked down at the board game at her feet. She then had an idea. She smirked as she thought. Well, if those two think that I can't handle the Metarex by myself, then I'm just going to bring a little luck with me on my search for Sonic. She then bent down and grabbed the board game from the floor. She carried the board game under her left arm and walked towards the entrance of the Blue Typhoon.

Meanwhile, Cream and Cosmo were walking out into the jungle for a bit. They were near the Blue Typhoon, so, they could easily go back safely if they saw something dangerous along their walk. Cream then happily said, "Teehee! Exploring is fun! Isn't it, Cheese?". Cheese replied happily, "Chao! Chao! Chao!".

"I agree, Cheese! These new planets are something else, huh, buddy? Who knew that playing a board game will give us an opportunity to explore new places like this? Boy, if we weren't being threatened by those scary Metarex poachers, then visiting these planets would have been a more pleasurable experience!" Cream replied happily as she looked at the trees and the grass of the jungle. Cheese nodded his head in agreement.

While Cream was looking around with a smile on her face, Cosmo was sighing in sadness. Cream turned to look at Cosmo. She can see Cosmo having her hand on a tree. Cosmo shook her head as she said, "The trees are still weakening. It seems that the Planet Egg hadn't returned to its proper place yet. If we don't find the egg soon, then this planet will die. We need to save it. We need to save the jungle before it dies".

Cream frowned a bit in sympathy for Cosmo. She then smiled as she walked over to Cosmo and replied, "We can save the jungle, Cosmo. Maybe we can go try looking for the Planet Egg. I'm sure that'll make you happy".

Cosmo turned her head to look at Cream and nodded to her in agreement. "Yes, that will make me happy. Very much so. I appreciate your kindness, Cream," Cosmo replied with a little smile on her face.

Cream smiled brightly as she replied with a nod, "I always like to make people happy, Cosmo! It just feels good to do so!".

Yeah...it sure does. Cosmo thought wistfully as she took her hand off of the tree. A few seconds later, they soon heard Amy exiting the Blue Typhoon. They turned around and saw Amy carrying the board game under her left arm. Cream tried to reply to her by saying, "Oh? Miss Amy? What is it? Did you try convincing Tails to...uh...umm...Miss Amy? Are you even listening to me?".

"Hmph!" Amy grunted as she walked right past Cream and Cosmo. Amy brooded while still having a frown on her face. Oooooh, those two idiots will certainly feel foolish for underestimating me! I'm like a hammer-wielding warrior over here! How dare they underestimate my skills as a fighter when I can CLEARLY break their skulls into two with my hammer! They are so going to regret leaving me behind when I find them! After I find Sonic of coarse! For once, Sonic's the only one who didn't say anything dumb to me today! And that is saying something!

Cream frowned in worry as she said, "Miss Amy seems to be very mad about something. Probably about Mr. Sonic if I had to guess".

Cosmo then bravely spoke to Amy, "Amy, can you please tell us why you're mad?".

"I'm mad because Knuckles and Tails, but mostly Knuckles, thinks that I can't defend myself against the Metarex! I want to go look for Sonic too, but they both denied me into going with them in the X-Tornado!" Amy exclaimed in frustration as she stopped and looked back at Cream and Cosmo.

Cream frowned in sympathy for her friend, but she replied with, "They probably did it while thinking about your safety, Miss Amy. They said 'no' because they care about you".

"Well, did they have to say that I can die while fighting a tiny Metarex robot?! They have absolutely no faith in me! I'm just going to have to prove them wrong by finding Sonic first before they do! Hmph!" Amy exclaimed even louder while shaking her fist and waggling her finger in a haughty way. She then continued to walk ahead of her in frustration.

"But! But Miss Amy!" Cream exclaimed as she watched Amy walking away.

Cosmo then looked at her hand as she replied, "It's amazing how much effort one can do to prove one's worth or capabilities to others even when others think they don't have what it takes to do it. Hmmm...if Amy can do it, then so can I! I'm going to find that Planet Egg first before anyone else!".

Cosmo then walked ahead to follow Amy. Cream was surprised by this. She then exclaimed, "Cosmo! Miss Amy! Wait! We can't just...leave Chris behind". However, Cream's pleas were ignored as both Amy and Cosmo kept on walking further into the jungle. Cream looked towards the Blue Typhoon and back at the girls. She did this several times as she thought. Umm...should I stay behind with Chris? Or go help the girls out? Chris? Or the girls? Hmmm...

She then made a decision.

"Forgive me, Chris! But the girls need me now!" Cream exclaimed as she ran ahead towards Amy and Cosmo.

-Meanwhile With Chris-

Chris was busy tuning up several generators in the ship's engine room. As he worked hard, he thought to himself. Hmm...it has been pretty quiet lately. I hadn't even heard a word from Amy, Cosmo, or even Cream. Maybe I should ask them if they want to help me fix this generator.

"Amy? Cosmo? Do either of you want to help me fix this...huh? …...They're...They're not even here," Chris asked before he turned around and was surprised to find no one behind him. Chris frowned as he said, "No wonder it's been quiet lately. They're not here in this room. Hmmm...they didn't leave me behind, did they? Shouldn't they stay here at the ship? I better go contact them and order them to come back here in the ship so that they're safe from the Metarex!".

After that, Chris stepped down some stairs and went to the bridge of the ship. He got towards his seat and sat in it. As he typed into his computer, he then said to himself, "Okay, first, I need to check with Amy to see if she got her communicator with her". He put on his headphones and tried to contact Amy.

"Amy? Are you listening to me? This is Chris Thorndike speaking. Please get back to the ship! It's too dangerous out there!" Chris said while typing onto his computer some more. Unfortunately, he can't get into contact with Amy. "Oh, great. Amy didn't even bring her wrist communicator with her. I can't tell her to come back to the ship! It's the same thing with Cream too! Arrgh! This is so frustrating! Alright, that's it! …...Tails? This is Chris Thorndike speaking. We've got a problem here. Over," Chris said in slight frustrating before trying to talk to Tails through the X-Tornado's radio.

"This is Tails speaking here. What's the trouble, Chris?" Tails asked over the radio on the X-Tornado.

"Amy, Cosmo, and Cream are not on the ship just like you and I had ordered them to. They're gone!" Chris replied with a frown on his face.

Tails was shocked once he had heard this. "What?! They're gone?!" Tails exclaimed in shock.

Knuckles grunted in slight irritation before he spoke to Chris, "Did they really go into the jungle by themselves?! Sheesh, and I thought death threats would've been enough to convince that crazy, pink hedgehog to stay put!".

"Wait! What?!" Chris exclaimed in surprise by that comment from Knuckles. What did he say to Amy anyway? It's probably because of that comment that had encouraged her to go into the jungle in the first place! Chris thought with wide eyes.

"Knuckles! What did you do?!" Chris exclaimed in frustration as he frowned deeply.

"Nothing! I just warned Amy that she can die to those Metarex poachers! I was just trying to convince her to stay in the Blue Typhoon so that she can survive!" Knuckles exclaimed while crossing his arms and looking away from Tails.

Chris just face-palmed after hearing that defense from Knuckles. He sighed deeply in frustration. He can hear Knuckles say over the radio, "What? I'm not wrong, am I?".

"Just...Just please search for the girls as well as Sonic, okay, guys?" Chris requested tiredly.

"Um, okay then," Tails replied with a nod. Suddenly, Tails' eyes had widened at the blue emerald's reaction. The blue emerald started to shine brightly to indicate that another Chaos Emerald is nearby. Tails gasped as he exclaimed, "Look! Another Chaos Emerald is nearby!".

"That's great! Better get that emerald now or else those poachers may snatch it! We won't let them try to get any Chaos Emerald as long as we're around! Right, Tails?!" Knuckles exclaimed as he looked over at Tails' shoulder and smirked confidently as he felt determined to find the new Chaos Emerald.

"You're right, Knuckles! Chaos Emerald, here we come!" Tails exclaimed brightly yet determinedly.

"Now, that's the spirit, Tails! Let's go search for that emerald!" Knuckles exclaimed seriously.

"Guys! Guys! Have you guys completely forgotten about Sonic?! What about the girls too?!" Chris exclaimed in irritation as he can't believe that Tails and Knuckles had been completely side-tracked already.

"Sorry, Chris, but the emerald is more important now! We need to search for that first!" Knuckles replied.

"Yeah, sorry, Chris, but Knuckles is right. We need to find the emerald before the Metarex can. I'm sure that Sonic is fine. The same can be said about the girls too. Anyways, bye, Chris! We'll let you know when we made some progress in our search! Tails, out!" Tails replied before he turned the transmission off.

Chris sighed in frustration after hearing that. He then took the headphones off of his head and placed it down on the chair rest. He then yelled in frustration, "Aaaargh! First, the girls left on their own without telling me! And now Tails and Knuckles ignored my requests to search for the girls even though their lives could be in danger! How can they be so irresponsible?! So childish?! So selfish?! So...So like me when I was their age...Sigh...".

Chris frowned in shame as he held his head down. He brooded while still sitting in his seat. Was that how I was like when I was twelve? Letting myself get in danger despite my parents or authority figures telling me to not to go somewhere where it's too dangerous? Or trying to place my own life in danger just to get the Chaos Emeralds because I wanted to be useful to Sonic and his friends? Or even...even getting everyone in trouble because I care about Sonic more than anything else? …...Wait a moment. That is why Amy had left the Blue Typhoon in the first place, wasn't it? She would do anything for Sonic, including ignoring orders from others. I don't know why Cosmo or Cream had disobeyed the orders they were given, but if I had to guess, they probably did it because they wanted to help others so that they could feel useful too. Everyone wants to help because of Sonic or because of someone else. …...Yet at the same time, they do it without thinking about the possible dangers or consequences that their actions could bring to others or to themselves. Hmmmm...so that's the real reason my parents feel so overprotective of me then. They really did feel worried about me, and...and I just failed to realize it until now. Mom...Dad...I'm so sorry for putting you guys in complete agony and anxiety because of my selfish actions. Now that I'm an adult, I should start being responsible in my actions to others and to myself!

After thinking for a few minutes, Chris stood up from his chair and went back to the engine room to fix the repairs in the Blue Typhoon.

-Meanwhile With Amy, Cosmo, And Cream-

"Sonic! I know that you're out there somewhere! Sonic?! I know that you're scared to face me but please speak up to let me know that you're close!" Amy yelled out while walking through the dense jungle. Cosmo and Cream were walking behind her too.

Cream then suggested, "Maybe the board game could give us a clue to where Mr. Sonic is at".

Amy smiled brightly as she looked behind herself to face Cream and Cosmo. "Good thinking, Cream! I was thinking along those lines as well! That's why I brought the board game with me just in case! Might as well try it now while we're here!" Amy exclaimed enthusiastically. Amy then carried the board game in her hands while walking through the jungle. She opened the board game and pushed the red button. The roulette wheel started to spin as it took Amy's turn now. Amy smiled with hope in her heart that she will get a lucky turn. Ooooh, maybe I'll get a good card this time! Amy thought brightly. The wheel then stopped at a certain number.

"So, it's a 5 this time, huh? Aw man. It's certainly not a great roll. Although I am right behind Sonic's spaceship. Maybe this is a sign from the board game that I'm close to him!" Amy said with a little frown before she smiled widely at that hopeful idea. Amy's spaceship is now on space 21.

"Eh? Do you really think that the board game can do that, Miss Amy? Cosmo, can the board game give us a message like that?" Cream asked curiously.

"I don't know, Cream. I had never seen the board game do something like that before. I don't think it could tell you if you're close to someone or not," Cosmo answered as she looked back at Cream for a bit before looking back to Amy.

"Well, we're just going to find out now!" Amy exclaimed with a grin on her face.

KACHING!

And just like that, another white card popped out of the card slot. Amy took the card out and began to read it out loud. "'Watch your step, players, because danger is always lurking. So, be careful or else, you will be hurting'. Wow, it's a slant rhyme this time, huh? But on another note, this doesn't sound very good. I thought that we might find a clue into finding Sonic. Not a warning. Sigh. I guess that we're just gonna find Sonic the old-fashioned way without any hints or clues to help us find him. This sucks!" Amy read the card before speaking out loud with a frown on her face. She felt disappointed that the board game didn't help her at all. So much for a little luck on my side. I guess that I'll have to rely on my instincts and my heart again. Just like I always do whenever I'm searching for Sonic. Ugh. If only the search was much easier than this, then I would've found Sonic much faster! Then Sonic and I would be reunited at last and it will be romantic. Oooooh, Sonic...Amy thought with a frown before having a dreamy look on her face as she thought about Sonic again. Cosmo and Cream frowned a little once they heard that the card didn't give them a clue to where Sonic was at. They stepped up their pace a little to keep up with Amy.

Suddenly, as Cosmo passed through some bushes, her dress was then snagged by a vine, and the vine immediately thrown her up into the air. Cosmo yelped in surprise as was caught in a trap. Amy and Cream immediately stopped walking and turned around to look up at Cosmo being suspended in the air on a vine.

"What happened, Cosmo? How did you get stuck in a trap like that?" Amy asked in confusion. Whew! At least it wasn't me this time! Amy thought in slight relief.

"Chao! Chao!" Cheese said with concern before he flew up towards Cosmo to try to get her out of the vine trap. Cosmo was hanging upside down as she was suspended on a tree branch. She was doing her best to hold her dress down so that her underside won't be seen. Cheese was able to take a bit of Cosmo's dress off of the branch to free her from the trap. Cosmo was slightly surprised by this, but she was grateful of the save. She then floated back down to the ground after being saved by Cheese. I never thought that a little creature such as Cheese could be even more useful than me. This is quite humiliating. Cosmo thought with a frown.

Once Cosmo got down to the ground, she then replied calmly, "I...I really didn't see that one coming. Honest. That was...umm...my bad".

"I'm starting to think that maybe adventuring may not be your greatest strength, Cosmo. For someone who is supposed to be a 'guide', you really do need a lot of 'guidance' from us players," Amy replied teasingly as she winked and held up a finger cockily.

"Miss Amy..." Cream muttered with a frown as she found Amy's comment a little too harsh.

Cosmo frowned as she now looked serious. She suddenly felt the courage to keep pressing on despite the setbacks she had lately. Cosmo then replied solemnly, "Regardless, Amy, I am still your guide, and I will help you through your journey as you and your friends keep on playing the board game. I will complete my task in the end, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Now then, let's keep on searching for Sonic and for the Planet Egg".

Cosmo then walked forward ahead of Amy and Cream. The girls looked at Cosmo with some surprise on their faces. They can tell that Cosmo was determined in this search now. So, they followed her. Amy then commented, "If you really are serious, Cosmo, then I won't stop you".

Cosmo frowned sadly as she brooded. I had seen countless planets get destroyed while I as a "guide" had only stood back and watched. Even when all of the players were dead, I did nothing to stop the Metarex. All I ever do is run away and never fight back. But that ends now! If Sonic and his friends will keep on fighting despite feeling afraid of the danger that they are in, then I can too!

Cosmo then pushed back some tall grass and was somewhat surprised at what she had found. She was now in an open area in the jungle, and in the middle of the empty area, there was the green Planet Egg. Amy and Cream had caught up to Cosmo and stood by her.

"There it is. The Planet Egg," Cosmo said calmly.

"Huh. I never thought that we would find it this quickly. Sonic would be proud of us for that!" Amy replied with a slightly surprised look on her face.

"Still, would it really be this easy to find it? I mean. We usually have to fight a Metarex poacher to get it. We did fight one earlier, but wasn't there two Metarex poachers? Where is the other one?" Cream replied as she looked around the open area for the Metarex robot.

"You have a good point, Cream. It's usually hard for us to obtain a Planet Egg from the Metarex. So, either the poachers had actually lost the thing or this is some kind of trap they had laid upon us," Amy replied while holding the board game to her chest this time.

"But couldn't we at least try to get it?" Cosmo asked as she felt eager to get the Planet Egg.

Amy then quickly grabbed Cosmo's arm as she replied, "That's not a smart plan, Cosmo! It's that kind of thinking that would get us stuck in a trap!".

"However, if we don't get the Planet Egg now, then the Metarex will get it. We need to take it now!" Cosmo argued back calmly before she walked forward towards the center of the empty area. Amy and Cream kept on looking at Cosmo with worry on their faces. She is a brave girl for trying though. I'll give her that much. Amy thought with a frown on her face. Cosmo soon reached near the Planet Egg and had knelt down towards it. She then cautiously put her hands towards the egg as she prepared herself to pick it up from the ground. Amy and Cream walked towards her and stood behind her. Even they were surprised that a trap hadn't sprung upon Cosmo yet.

However, that thought only lasted for like three seconds.

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!" the girls screamed as a net was formed under them and had lifted the girls off of the ground. They were trapped inside the net and was suspended in the air. They were struggling to move inside the net but couldn't get very far since they were stuck together. It also doesn't help that the board game was with them too.

"Argh! I knew that we would get stuck in a trap! Why did I have to fall for it too?!" Amy exclaimed out of frustration. To think that I could've been the one to stop the girls from getting captured like this! How annoying! Amy thought with a frown on her face.

"Well, well, well, it seems as if the tables had turned on you, players. Think that you can hunt me down and kill me since I'm the remaining poacher left? Well, too bad! Because you three got captured like the little prey that you are!" the robot monkey said as he walked towards the middle of the empty area and stared at the captured girls.

"Please don't kill us! Give us a chance to escape!" Cosmo pleaded as she felt scared again. This fear came back to her as she remembered a horrible memory about herself trying to escape from the Metarex to avoid being killed. I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Cosmo thought as she closed her eyes and shook in fear.

The monkey robot brought Cosmo back to reality as he spoke, "Well, little missy, you and the players are lucky that I can't kill you now. However, I'm just going to let you stay caught in that trap while I take this Planet Egg and leave this planet for good. Hmm...I guess I'd better capture the rest of the players as an extra precaution so that I can leave the planet successfully. Ook! Ook! That sounds like an excellent idea!".

Cosmo sighed in relief for a bit before gasping in shock at the little Metarex robot's plans. "No! You can't!" Cosmo exclaimed with worry in her eyes.

"What did you say?! You dare to try capturing my Sonic?! My baby boy?! Let me out of here so that I can rip that head of yours and smash it with my hammer! You better not touch my Sonic or else you're going to regret it, poacher!" Amy yelled in fury as she wiggled a lot in the net, trying to get out of it.

Cream also joined with Amy by exclaiming in determination, "Miss Amy is right! There is no way that we will let you capture Sonic or his friends! We will stop you! In fact...". Cream then quickly moved her arms to grab the board game. It was a little difficult since Amy's and Cosmo's bodies were in the way of the board game, but Cream still managed to get it and hold it in her hands.

Cream continued to speak while opening the board game and took her turn, "We can use this board game to stop you! With this, luck is on our side!".

"Ook! Ook! This is gonna be good!" the robot monkey taunted since he isn't afraid of the board game.

Cream then pushed the red button and the roulette wheel began to spin. There was an awkward silence now since the girls and the robot monkey waited for something to happen next after Cream saying that.

"Anytime now..." Cream muttered awkwardly while staring at the roulette wheel. The wheel then stopped at a number. "Oh! I got an 8! I'm on space 23 now! A high roll must mean a good card, right?" Cream exclaimed brightly with a smile. Cheese exclaimed brightly too, "Chao! Chao! Chao!".

Cosmo and Amy both shrugged at that since they don't know if that's true or not. The robot monkey commented cheekily, "Don't count on it, little prey. Not all high rolls will lead to good luck. Think of that as a small tip for you, you naïve, little girl".

Cream growled a bit in irritation before she heard a card being popped out of the card slot.

KACHING!

Cream then quickly took the card out and read it. "'Once fallen into a trap, it is tough to get out of the wrap. And further and further you go down into the rabbit hole, you have no hope left in your soul. So, why don't you stay caught and let all your effort be for naught?' Hmmm...something tells me that this is a bad card," Cream read the card before frowning in disappointment as she spoke her thoughts out loud.

"Gee, where did you get that idea?" Amy asked sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, girls, it looks like that card did nothing. So, I'm just going to sit this Planet Egg back down to the ground and fetch my other capturing tools for my new traps. The other players will have a field day for what I have in store for them!" the robot monkey said as he placed the green Planet Egg back down and walked a bit away from the girls.

THUMP!

With that sound, the robot monkey turned back around and was surprised that a wooden cage had appeared in front of him. The girls were surprised too as they all had shocked looks on their faces. The robot monkey tilted his head a little as he said, "Huh...Well, that's convenient. Most convenient indeed!".

The girls frowned as they did not like the sound of that. Cream then muttered in disappointment, "So, it was a bad card after all".

-A Few Minutes Later-

The robot monkey had lowered the net into the wooden cage and had closed the lid so that the girls can't escape. He has to admit that this was a lucky move for him. He had already captured two of the five players in this game. If he gets the last three, then the leader of the Metarex will have to acknowledge his accomplishments into securing another Planet Egg and for capturing the five players for him to kill. And maybe I'll get promoted into the higher ranks of the Metarex! This is turning out better than I had imagined to be! The robot monkey thought as he took the Planet Egg with him as he walked away from the caged girls behind him. He decided that it was probably better to take the Planet Egg with him just to further taunt the girls of their failure.

Amy then exclaimed, "Hey! Get back here, you moronic monkey! Let us out now!".

The robot then stopped and turned around to talk to Amy a bit more. "Don't blame me that you were the one who failed to notice my traps. Besides, I'm just doing my job as a poacher here. I can't release you since you are involved in the game. It's all part of the game, little missy. So, if you don't like the rules in this game, then you're just better off crying in the corner in that cage instead of participating in the game as a player. In other words, either you tough it out or give up and whine about it!".

Amy then growled furiously, and she gripped the wooden bars of the cage in anger. I will not give up as if I'm some sort of quitter here! I'm not a spoiled child! I can play the game too you know! Amy thought with a grimace on her face. Cream smiled weakly as she tried to calm Amy down.

"N-Now, Miss Amy...um...Take it easy there. There has to be a way to escape this. We can find it. You'll see," Cream replied nervously yet sympathetically.

"I don't think so, player three. Since it was your card that had gotten you into this cage, then it's highly unlikely for you guys to escape from it. Heh! Not like you'll ever figure out an escape route anyways! Ook! Ook! Ook!" the robot monkey taunted haughtily while holding the Planet Egg under his arm. He then turned around and walked away after saying that.

"Grrrr! Just you wait, monkey-brain! We'll get out of here faster than Sonic could free us out! We won't lose to a pathetic poacher like you! You couldn't even try to kill us! That's how pathetic you are!" Amy yelled as she gripped the wooden bars tighter before she tried to break out of the cage with her punches and kicks. Unfortunately, she is not strong enough to break out of the cage by doing that.

"Miss Amy, I get that you're frustrated but please stay focused here! We won't win if we get too mad at that robot. What are we going to do to get out of here then?" Cream replied quickly as she tried to reason with Amy here.

"(Sigh)…...You're right, Cream. We do need to figure out a way to get out. But what is it though?" Amy replied with a sigh as she started to calm down and think.

Meanwhile, Cosmo was holding the board game in hands and frowned sadly at it. It's really due to my existence here that has caused trouble for everyone around me. All because I'm a huge part of this game here. Players will continue to struggle through the game due to bad luck...and yet, they don't realize that I'm a part of their bad luck. How can I be a useful "guide" to these players when I can cause such agony and frustration to them? They are all doing this for me, and yet, I'm betraying their kindness with my bad luck. I'm such a terrible friend to them. Cosmo brooded in sadness.

"I'm so sorry, gu-huh?" Cosmo said softly before she heard Amy grunting and the cage banging as Amy swung her hammer at the cage and all around her. She turned around and saw Amy breaking the cage down with her hammer. Cream was happy yet surprised that Amy would simply brute force her way through the cage. Well, when in doubt, just brute force it, I guess. I'm sure that Mr. Knuckles would be proud of Miss Amy for choosing that method. Cream thought with an amused grin on her face.

"Take this! And that! And this! Hiyah!" Amy exclaimed loudly as she smashed through the wooden cage and broke it completely. After Amy was done, she turned to Cosmo and asked, "You were saying, Cosmo?".

"Uhh...umm...nothing, Amy. Thanks for freeing us," Cosmo replied with a smile as she held the board game closer to her chest.

"You're welcome, Cosmo. But anyways, ladies? Follow me! We got a poacher to catch!" Amy replied with a determined look on her face. She immediately walked out of the cage and went towards the same path that the robot monkey took. Cream and Cosmo looked at each other and nodded in agreement before following Amy into the jungle.

After ten minutes of walking and searching, they spoke to each other while traveling through the tall grass of the jungle.

"Grrr! Just where could that monkey poacher be?! He better not be successful into capturing Sonic because otherwise we're gonna have a problem here! And I intend to solve that problem by slamming my hammer into his face!" Amy exclaimed in frustration.

Cream, who was walking behind Amy, replied calmly, "And what's worse is that we've already made our turns on the board game. It's Mr. Sonic's turn now. Therefore, we couldn't try to save Mr. Sonic and the others by using the board game. Hmmmm...maybe we should try asking for Tails' and Mr. Knuckles' help on this. If we all searched for Mr. Sonic as a team, then we can save all of them from the poacher's traps".

"What? And let them prove it to us that we should've listened to their advice from the beginning? No way! This is personal now! I'm not going to get humiliated like that again! We're going to find Sonic, get the Planet Egg back, and stop that stupid monkey poacher once and for all! We can do this together as a team! Who needs those boys anyway?!" Amy exclaimed with determination in her tone.

"I'm gonna be honest here, but I agree with Amy. We can't just sit back and watch others do all the hard work for us. We need to work together if we're going to stop the Metarex and win the board game. I need to help out too if I want you guys to beat the game. We've got to keep trying!" Cosmo replied solemnly while carrying the board game with her.

Amy looked back and smiled at Cosmo. Amy then replied, "Now that's what I like to hear Cosmo! You're right! We've got to keep on trying if we're going to succeed! I'm glad that you're being bold about this, Cosmo! Now let's keep on moving!". Cosmo smiled back and kept on walking through the tall grass.

After getting through the tall grass, the girls kept on walking through the jungle path again. Amy then decided speak to break the silence. "You know, I just realized something, Cosmo," Amy said while walking through the dirt path in front of her.

"Hmm? What is it, Amy?" Cosmo asked curiously.

"I'm not sure if we had learned the name of this green planet yet. It's like an entire jungle in here. Even our planet isn't covered completely in a dense jungle. I wonder what this planet is called," Amy replied with a little frown on her face.

Cosmo was a bit silent on that before she then said the name of the planet. "The name of the planet is called Jumanji. Planet Jumanji is nothing more than a giant, dangerous jungle," Cosmo answered solemnly.

Amy's eyes went wide after hearing Cosmo describe this place as dangerous. She then looked even more serious than before. She then replied, "Well, if you put it that way, then we must find Sonic much faster than this. I don't care if Sonic is capable of defending himself or not! I'm going to protect him no matter what!".

Cosmo gasped in surprise but had nodded in agreement. She really does care for Sonic that much. It's rather admirable. Cosmo thought with a calm expression on her face. After walking for two more minutes, Amy then stopped and said out loud, "Hmph. Talk about déjà vu".

Cream and Cosmo also stopped and looked to where Amy was pointing at. They saw the green Planet Egg lying on the ground again. It's even laying in the middle of an empty area again. Amy crossed her arms as she glared at the green Planet Egg on the ground. She's determined to not make a fool out of herself again by falling for another trap.

"Boy, that Metarex poacher is really testing us, isn't he? (Chao Chao)" Cream replied as well as Cheese. Cream had a suspecting look on her face. She doesn't trust this situation at all now.

"Yeah, he must be getting desperate into catching us as well as the others if he had bothered to make the same trap twice!" Amy exclaimed with a frown on her face.

"But what if this isn't a trap and that the Metarex poacher had accidently lost it? We might get lucky to snatch it before he even noticed that we took it. Let's try this again," Cosmo said before walking towards the green Planet Egg. Amy and Cream stared at Cosmo as she walked forward towards the Planet Egg.

Amy interjected with shock on her face, "Don't do it, Cosmo! That's what that poacher wants you to think!".

"But it's right there in front of us. Besides, as long we know what kind of traps that Metarex poacher could lay before us, we can outsmart him like this. See? You guys are safe as you stay in the back. I'll be the one to take the fall in case I get stuck in a trap. You guys can free me once you get the Planet Egg after my attempt at it," Cosmo replied calmly as she put down the board game to the ground. She then prepares herself to grab the Planet Egg. It really was a familiar situation as before...and sadly, the same situation had happened again like last time except a little differently.

Immediately, Cosmo's, Amy's, and Cream's ankles were then snagged together by a vine and had lifted them up into the air. They were hanging upside down in this trap. Amy and Cosmo had noticed that their dresses where going to come down. So, they quickly held them down to avoid having their undersides be revealed. Amy and Cosmo thought at the same time with frowns on their faces. This is really embarrassing.

"Hahahahaha! Yes! Yes! Yes! I caught more players! So, how does it feel to be outwitted by a—What?! You guys again?! How did you guys escape from that wooden trap?! There was no way that you guys could've done it!" the robot monkey exclaimed in excitement before in surprise.

"What are you talking about?! We're just playing the game is all! Is that so hard for you to understand?!" Amy exclaimed back with a frown on her face.

"Maybe. Considering how you looked furious when you were beaten by a mere monkey such as I. It's really pathetic that you keep trying to play the game even though all you're doing right now is losing. Ha! Ha!" the robot monkey teased as he looked at the girls. He was then surprised at what he saw on the far right.

Cream was now ticked off by the robot monkey's remarks. She was now flying by flapping her ears quickly and angrily. Even Cheese looked angry as he was crossing his arms. The monkey robot panicked at this as he exclaimed, "Uhh! Ummm! Good bunny! Nice bunny!".

"Cheese! Let's show this poacher that we don't intend to lose!" Cream exclaimed as she pointed at the robot. Cheese exclaimed, "Chao! Chao!".

Cheese immediately flew towards Cream's hand as he prepared to attack the robot. Cream then yelled, "Cheese! Shoot!". Cream then threw Cheese at the small Metarex robot.

"Chaaaaaaaoooooooo!" Cheese exclaimed loudly as he flew towards the robot with having one hand out in front of him. The Metarex robot didn't react fast enough to dodge the attack. So, Cheese was able to knock the robot down after punching it once. The robot fell to the ground after that surprise attack. Cream then took the opportunity to unwrap the vine from her ankles as well as the others' ankles. Once Cream had freed her friends, she dropped the vine to the ground and flew downwards to meet with her friends. Amy had fallen safely to the ground, and Cosmo had floated down gently to the ground. The girls can see both the board game and the Planet Egg on the ground next to each other. Cream quickly grabbed the board game while Cosmo grabbed the Planet Egg. At least we retrieved the Planet Egg back from the Metarex. Now, all that's left is to find Sonic. Cosmo thought as she stared at the Planet Egg. While the girls were staring at the board game and the Planet Egg, the robot monkey had made his escape by running away.

Amy had seen the robot monkey ran away into the northern direction. She growled as she saw her target running away. She was now serious as she ran ahead of the girls while exclaiming, "All right! Now it's time for you to meet my hammer, you poacher! I had warned you, and now you're going to get it!".

Cosmo and Cream had immediately run after Amy in order to chase after the robot monkey. Sadly, the robot had escaped in time so that the girls can't find him anywhere. After five minutes of searching, Amy then exclaimed, "Darn it! That poacher got away from us!".

"We were so close into catching him and stopping him from capturing Mr. Sonic and the others. Maybe Tails could've figured out a way to catch him and destroy him if we ask him," Cream replied while holding the board game in her arms.

"But we are not going to ask him! Have more faith in yourself, Cream! In fact, have more faith in the rest of us! We will catch him and beat him together!" Amy exclaimed with determination in her voice.

"Are you really sure that you can place your faith in me, Amy? After getting you guys into trouble with my bad luck, I don't think that it is wise to place your faith in me. It's my bad luck that I've gotten you all into my problems here. Anything I do will never turn out good with my luck," Cosmo replied with a frown as she held the Planet Egg in her hands.

Amy looked back at Cosmo with a bright smile on her face. She then said optimistically, "But in the end, you had retrieved the Planet Egg with us. You had just overcome your own bad luck, Cosmo. Just because we got into some bad luck, that doesn't mean we can't overcome it. And having you getting the Planet Egg back was proof that not all uncontrollable forces in the universe can stop you. Your determination was the real reason that you had overcome your own bad luck!".

Cosmo gasped before smiled proudly. "Do you really think that, Amy?" Cosmo asked with hope in her voice.

"Of coarse, I do! Even you should have more faith in yourself, Cosmo. You are more capable than you think. In fact, it reminds me of myself before I had gained some self-confidence in my own adventures. For every bad thing that had happened to me, I thought that I can never develop my skills into something more. But after overcoming my own trials and unlucky events in my life, I realize that I can do anything I had set my mind to. And that includes finding Sonic no matter where he's at," Amy replied as she felt sure of herself.

Cosmo nodded as she thought to herself. So, even I can stop the Metarex's plans if I set my mind to it. I hope you are ready for me, Dark Oak. Because it is time for this game to end!

Amy then stopped and said to Cream, "With that said, I would definitely need you to focus onto finding Sonic now. Alright?".

"Why of coarse, Miss Amy! I won't let you down! Let's find Mr. Sonic and tell him that it's his turn on the board game!" Cream replied happily. Cheese chirped happily, "Chao!".

Cosmo smiled calmly as she said, "And I'm helping out too. I do want to see if Sonic is safe or not. That is why I'm coming along too".

Cream turned around and replied to Cosmo, "Are you sure that you want to do that, Cosmo? It would be easier if you can go find a place to set the Planet Egg down than to find Sonic with us".

"No. I'm fine. Really. Besides, I...I like helping others. I want you and Amy to be happy," Cosmo replied with a gentle smile on her face.

Amy and Cream gasped as they were surprised at Cosmo's reasoning into going with them. They then smiled at each other and at Cosmo. Cream then replied, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's keep on searching!".

"Agreed!" Cosmo exclaimed cheerfully.

Suddenly! Out of nowhere, a vine ball was launched at Cosmo and had hit her!

"Ack!" Cosmo yelped as the vine ball hit her in the face. She was then knocked back into the air after that surprise attack. Cosmo had immediately dropped the green Planet Egg after being hit by the vine ball.

"Cosmo! No!" Amy and Cream exclaimed in shock as they stared at Cosmo flying away into the air.

"Cosmo! Yes!" the robot monkey exclaimed as he ran towards the falling Planet Egg and caught it in his hands.

"Ah! It's that troublesome poacher again!" Amy exclaimed as she pointed at the robot monkey.

"That's right! And I had easily snatched this Planet Egg from that weak, plant girl! So much for being a helpful 'guide'! Ook! Ook!" the robot monkey exclaimed cockily.

"Is that what you think, poacher? Then guess again!" Cosmo replied confidently. Amy, Cream, and the robot monkey gasped in shock as they looked up and saw Cosmo floating in the air. Cosmo then smiled as she floated down near some vines with fruit on them. Being cocky now since you've got the Planet Egg in your hands, Metarex? Well, let me shatter your confidence! Cosmo thought with a determined look on her face.

"Oh, shoot! Uh, actually, I didn't mean that! I was-Ack! Oof!" the robot monkey exclaimed nervously before he was pelted by red, round fruit. Cosmo was quickly grabbing the red fruit from the vines and throwing them at the small poacher. She kept on attacking while floating down to the ground.

"Die! Die you cowardly poacher!" Cosmo exclaimed seriously as she threw more red fruit at him.

The robot dodged a few fruits, but some of them had landed onto his eye. He immediately dropped the Planet Egg and exclaimed, "No! No! Not the eye! My beautiful eye! No!".

"Let me fix that eye! Hiya!" Amy exclaimed as she swung her hammer at the monkey robot.

The robot was hit hard by that attack and had spun around as a result. "No! No! You're not helping at all!" the robot monkey exclaimed while spinning around in place. After feeling dizzy, the robot monkey fell to the ground. As Cosmo had finally got to the ground, she ran to get the Planet Egg before running with Amy and Cream to get away from the poacher. They ran as fast as they can from the poacher. In this moment, Amy and Cream did feel like that they are the prey running from a poacher in the wild jungle. We must survive! We must! Amy and Cream thought at the exact same time.

Suddenly! The robot monkey jumped in front of them, blocking their path! Amy quickly turned right after running into the poacher. Cream and Cosmo did the same thing that Amy did. The robot monkey swung his arms down as he tried to attack Cosmo, but he missed since she ran away in time. The robot monkey then thought. Yes! They're heading for another trap!

Amy looked back to see whether the robot monkey will follow them or not, but before she could continue that thought, she stepped into another trap!

"Aaaaaaah!" Amy, Cream, and Cosmo yelled as they fell into a hole that was covered with green leaves at first. The green Planet Egg was in the air, and Cheese grabbed it before falling down into the hole too. "Chao!" Cheese chirped before he fell.

"Yes! It worked! It worked! Wow! That's three times in a row that you guys fell for my trap! Just give up now, players! Because I have you trapped! Ook! Ook!" the robot monkey exclaimed happily as he danced and clapped his metallic hands around.

However, to the monkey robot's dismay, the girls had planned to get back at the robot. Amy had quickly told Cosmo to grab her arms and had told Cream to grab Cosmo's arms. Cream got the idea that Amy had, but she did ask her what they are going to do with the board game. Amy smirked as she replied, "Let's just say that we don't need luck in order to solve all of our problems".

Cream shrugged as she began to hold Cosmo's arms and began to fly upwards from the hole. Cosmo had held onto Amy's arms as long as she could with her strength. Lastly, Amy held onto the board game in her right hand like a book...or a hammer in this case. Soon, Cream had managed to lift the two girls out of the hole in the ground and into the air. Cheese had followed them while still holding onto the Planet Egg. The robot monkey stopped celebrating once he saw the trio flying out of the hole and into the air.

The robot gasped as he exclaimed, "Uh oh!".

"Now, let's brute force it!" Amy ordered as she gripped the board game tightly in her hand.

"Let's do it!" Cosmo and Cream exclaimed in unison.

Cream immediately did her next attack as she swung the girls around very quickly. Cosmo did her best to hang onto Amy's arms and had lifted them as much as possible even when Cream swung faster than before. Amy then stretched her right arm out and had let the board game be her "hammer" in this instance.

"What in the world?! Oh no! No! No! Nooooooo!" the robot monkey exclaimed in shock as he noticed that the girls were getting closer to him. Before he could react quickly and run away from the attack, Cream had swung the girls very close to the monkey poacher. Once the board game had hit the poacher, he was then sent flying to the air due to that hard attack. Once the girls saw that the poacher was gone, they went down to ground. Cheese flew down to meet with the girls while holding the Planet Egg in his hands. Amy still held the board game, but now she had it under her right arm. Cream and Cosmo had huge smiles on their faces as they saw that the poacher was gone.

"What a great plan, Miss Amy! You knocked that poacher away with that board game! I guess that you were right that we don't need luck to solve all of our problems!" Cream exclaimed brightly with a smile on her face.

"Yeah! All we need is some good old-fashioned brute force! Speaking of which, why don't we search for Sonic by using that very same method, girls!" Amy exclaimed with determination as she looked back at the girls.

"We got this!" the girls exclaimed together as the high-fived each other in victory.

-Meanwhile With Sonic-

Sonic was still running through the vast jungle while holding the green Chaos Emerald in his hand. He kept on running while monologuing to himself in his head. Here we have a lone, fast, yet cool hedgehog who had spent at least thirty minutes looking for his friends. As he continues to venture through this thick, vast jungle planet, he wonders if going back to Dr. Eggman and ask him if he knows where his friends are would be an easier strategy into finding said friends. Although the idea is tempting, yet he declines it because he loves searching for others the old-fashioned way...running throughout the entire planet multiple times over and over and expect different results. Some may call this insanity, however, it is regarded as a method simply known as...Bru-

"Hey! Sonic! I finally found you!" Tails exclaimed in the air as he flew the X-Tornado closer to where Sonic is at.

Sonic stopped and looked up. He smiled as he exclaimed confidently, "And thus, brute force had saved the day yet again!".

"Sonic! You really are okay!" Tails exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, I'm okay! Even better than that, I have a Chaos Emerald with me!" Sonic exclaimed to Tails as he lifted up the green emerald into the air for Tails to see.

"Sheesh, his luck really does show no bounds," Knuckles muttered to himself as he stared down at Sonic.

"I'm glad that you're alright, Sonic! I'll fly the plane down so that we can take that emerald and put inside the X-tornado for safe keeping!" Tails exclaimed brightly as he looked down at Sonic as well. Tails then pushed a button that transforms the X-Tornado into its walking form. As Tails hovers the transformed plane down, some metallic tentacles swiped the green Chaos Emerald away from Sonic and had wrapped around the X-Tornado's legs. The plane is now trapped within the metallic wraps.

"Huh?! What's going on around here?!" Sonic exclaimed in shock. Tails and Knuckles gasped and grunted at this surprising event too.

Sonic then saw who was the one responsible for this. He saw a claw holding the green emerald behind the devious Dr. Eggman. The robot was a bit huge and looked vaguely like a bug with tentacles and with huge green eyes. Dr. Eggman chuckled evilly as he flew in his hovercraft.

"Heh! Dr. Eggman, I presume? And I thought that I was actually facing a poacher for a second there considering that we're in a jungle currently," Sonic said cockily with a playful grin.

"Aww, thank you for the attempt at flattery, rodent, but you see, I'm not going to fight you this time. I'm just here to take that green emerald back to me. Yes, the very one that you stole from me!" Dr. Eggman replied with a devious smirk as he looked back at his robot to see that it had still captured the X-Tornado in its grasp.

"Hey, it's not my fault that you were too slow to get up. I just assumed that you took a nap after finding it yourself as a part of your victory! Not considering that you have that many to begin with!" Sonic teased as he shrugged his shoulders and grinned at him. Decoe and Bocue snickered after hearing that comment from Sonic.

"It's sad because it's true. Hehehe!" Decoe snickered quietly.

"But it's too bad that the Doctor won't recognize that as the truth. Heheheh!" Bocue added while snickering.

They both stopped snickering once they heard Dr. Eggman exclaim, "Well, look who's talking! Apparently, you're too slow to realize that I had taken that emerald from you with my robot! You were busy talking to your friends to notice the theft! What do you say to that, Sonic?!".

Sonic scoffed as he replied playfully, "Pfft! At least, I have friends that get me distracted, Eggman! What's your excuse whenever you get distracted, hmm?!".

Dr. Eggman growled as he hated that Sonic had a point in that argument. It's a little embarrassing when you get distracted...by your own speech sometimes that your opponents get away or make a counter-attack at you. He then looked away as he exclaimed childishly, "Whatever! But do you know what you don't have?! Another Chaos Emerald! You could have two emeralds if you weren't so slow into noticing me! So there! Hmph!".

"Emerald Retrieval Operation was a success! We did it, Doctor! We finally got an emerald! Our very first one!" Decoe exclaimed proudly as he controlled the clawed hand to put the green emerald into the little slot inside the robot.

"If only collecting the other emeralds were this easy. Aw well. Time to raise this robot's defenses!" Bocue added before typing into the control panel of the robot. The huge robot then began glowing as the Chaos Emerald's energy was being transferred into the machine. Tails and Knuckles frowned at this as they saw the robot getting stronger.

"Well, this is a bust. Knuckles, you go help out Sonic. I think we're in deeper trouble now," Tails said as he pressed a button to open the window of the X-Tornado.

"Right," Knuckles replied simply as he quickly unbuckled himself and jumped out of the plane to join up with Sonic.

Soon, the huge robot changed its color from yellow and brown to red and orange since it was done being charged up with Chaos energy. Sonic and Knuckles grunted in disapproval as they prepared to fight the robot. They can't afford to be distracted now.

"Go away, you stupid poacher!" Amy yelled in the distance.

Well, so much for that plan.

"Huh? Amy?" Sonic said in confusion as he looked behind the huge robot.

"Please! Give me the Planet Egg! I promise that I'll leave you alone if you do! Just please give it to me! Please?!" the robot monkey yelled out as he ran towards the girls. Amy, Cream, and Cosmo were running away from the robot monkey. Amy still had the board game under her right arm. Cosmo was now carrying the Planet Egg in her hands and refused to let it go. The girls soon jumped up to avoid getting caught by the robot monkey.

"No!" Amy yelled as she jumped off from Dr. Eggman's head. Dr. Eggman cringed at the pain from Amy attacking his head.

"No way! (Chao! Chao!)" Cream and Cheese exclaimed as they jumped off from Bocue's head.

"Never!" Cosmo exclaimed as she jumped off from Decoe's head. Decoe and Bocue cringed in pain from the girls attacking their heads.

"Just what is going on-OWWWW!" Decoe and Bocue exclaimed loudly as their heads were being smooshed by the robot monkey.

Just what the heck is going on anyways?! Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles thought at the same time as they stared at the girls with either shock or confusion. They kept on looking at the girls as they ran past them.

"Quick! Girls! We must-Wait a second!" Amy yelled out before she skidded to a halt as she realized something. She looked back with a smile as she said, "Sonic?".

Oh, crud. And here's the real reason why the jungle can be such a scary place sometimes. You always have to survive on your own. ...And fend off wild creatures sometimes for survival sake. Sonic thought with a sweat drop on his head.

"Sonic! Yipee! I did it! I finally found you!" Amy squealed in happiness as she turned around and ran towards Sonic. Amy was so excited to have found Sonic that she had accidently dropped the board game as she ran towards Sonic. Cream and Cosmo stopped and turned around to look at Sonic and the others. The robot monkey stopped in his tracks once he saw the other players with the girls.

"Oh, this is terrible! Now all five players are gonna destroy me! Me! The lonely poacher who tried to finish his job! This is so unfortunate! The poacher had become the prey!" the robot monkey exclaimed in sadness.

Amy then jumped towards Sonic and wrapped her arms over Sonic's neck in a hug. Sonic cringed in slight agony as he was stuck in another one of Amy's glomps. Amy exclaimed happily, "Ooooh, Sonic! I thought that we just lost you to the jungle forever! I'm so glad that you're safe!" Amy then began kissing Sonic on his cheek with such glee.

"I'm not safe anymore! Away wild beast of the jungle!" Sonic exclaimed in protest as he tried to pry Amy off of him while Amy kept on smooching him.

Cosmo ignored this by exclaiming proudly, "Guess what guys?! We even found the Planet Egg! We did it! We won! We won!".

Cream also joined with Cosmo, "We definitely outsmarted that monkey poacher this time! Don't you ever mess with us girls again! Go team!".

"Okay! Okay! We get it! You're just as capable in fending for yourselves as we are! Now calm the heck down already!" Knuckles exclaimed while awkwardly waving his hand at Cosmo and Cream. And please don't make another speech about treating others equally too. We are already trying to do that! Knuckles thought with an annoyed look on his face.

"ARE YOU GUYS LISTENING TO ME?! I'M BEING A TOTAL THREAT HERE, AND YET YOU GUYS ARE MORE BUSY WITH EACH OTHER INSTEAD OF ME! FEAR ME ALREADY! I HAVE A CHAOS EMERALD HERE! NOT TO MENTION, DOES ANYBODY CARE HOW I CAME TO OBTAIN IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?! OR BETTER YET, HOW I CAME TO THIS PLANET AT ALL?!" Dr. Eggman shouted in frustration as he was clearly being ignored by Sonic and his friends.

"Nobody cares, Eggman!" Sonic yelled back with a slightly smug grin as he finally got Amy off of him.

"Grrrrr! Fine! I'll make you care after I do this!" Dr. Eggman yelled back as he shook his fist at Sonic and his friends. Decoe and Bocue pushed some buttons after they heard this signal from Dr. Eggman.

Suddenly, all of the metallic tentacles with clawed hands came after Sonic and the others. Before they all tried to escape, the large claws quickly snatched them up and trapped them in it. Sonic and the others yelped and screamed in surprise as they were being carried up into the air.

"Yes! Yes! Now, this is how you catch animals in the wild! By complete surprise! Ohohohoho! I'm sure that now you care immensely about this situation! Mwahahahahaha!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed with wicked glee on his face.

Sonic and Knuckles grunted as they tried to squeeze themselves out of the trap, but the claws were still squeezing their bodies tightly so that they can't get out. "We can't get out!" Sonic exclaimed while grunting.

"We've got to try!" Knuckles exclaimed while grunting too.

"Why me?! I'm the poacher here, not the prey! I'm supposed to be the one to capture Sonic and the others into my traps and kill them myself!" the robot monkey exclaimed in sadness as he was also trapped by the clawed tentacle of the robot.

"Oh, please! You as a poacher?! You're about as threatening as a puppy being upset that he doesn't get a chew toy! I can do your job as a poacher any day of the week if I had to!" Dr. Eggman replied back with a smirk on his face. Hmmmm...actually, that doesn't sound that bad of a plan. Maybe I'll consider that option whenever the chance arises. Dr. Eggman thought with a devious smile on his face.

While Sonic and the others kept on trying to get out of the trap, Cosmo was pondering in her mind while holding the Planet Egg. I can do anything I set my mind to. That is what Amy had taught me. And now...now all I want to do is to free my friends in return of their kindness. In that case...please...please help me...I beg of you...

With Cosmo's thoughts, the Planet Egg began to glow brightly. Sonic and the others gasped in shock once they saw the bright glow of the Planet Egg. "The...The Planet Egg," Sonic muttered in shock while blocking the light with his arm.

"It's glowing! What is Cosmo doing?!" Amy exclaimed in surprise.

Amy got her answer when looked down and saw many vines growing upward towards her and the others. The others were also surprised by the vines growing near the metallic tentacles. The vines even reached towards the huge robot itself and wrapped around it. Even Dr. Eggman's hovercraft is being wrapped around in the vines.

"Huh?! Hey! What's going on now?!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed in shock and in irritation.

"Yeah! We don't want to be trapped either!" Decoe and Bocue exclaimed while holding each other in fear.

"The Planet Egg is the one that controls the planet's life! It can even make any life source on the planet grow faster! In this case, it's the vegetation that's growing overabundantly now!" Tails explained as he figured out why this is happening. He and Knuckles could see that the vines are opening the clawed hands that they're trapped in and are now wrapping them instead.

"I get that! But why are they taking us now?!" Knuckles yelled in confusion as he is now trapped in a vine.

"Maybe it was Cosmo who's controlling them! Cosmo! Please stop this!" Amy yelled as she was being held in a vine.

"Yeah! Make it stop, Cosmo! You're the only one who can do it!" Sonic yelled as he was also held in a vine.

"Um! I! I!...Umm! I'm sorry, but I don't know how to stop this! I've already made my mind to control the Planet Egg and asked it to keep at it without stopping! I...I was determined to help you guys out by freeing you from that robot's clutches that I had underestimated how powerful these Planet Eggs are! I'm so sorry everyone!" Cosmo yelled out as she felt guilty for being the one making the situation worse. Cosmo brooded in sadness. Oh no! It's all my fault that I had trapped them even when I'm trying to help! I made them get into another trap again! Why?! Why does this always happen?! Every time I've tried to help someone, I ended up hurting them or make the situation worse for them! I'm such an unhelpful "guide" to these players! That is why no one asks for my help whenever players try to figure out a plan or try to fight off the Metarex! They have always seen me as someone who brings nothing but bad luck to them. And...And I'm starting to think that Sonic and the others see me as that too. Ooooh, now what do I do?

Tails sighed for a bit before deciding to turn on his wrist communicator to talk to Chris.

-Meanwhile At The Blue Typhoon-

"Alright, I had fixed the repairs of the ship. That had got to be enough time for Tails to find Sonic right? I should ca—Huh?! Is that Tails calling?! I better listen!" Chris said as he typed onto his computer again before he stopped and put on his headphones again.

"Tails? Are you there? Have you found Sonic yet?" Chris asked Tails as he spoke into the speaker. Unfortunately, all of Tails' replies were being drowned out by the others yelling and screaming for help.

"Tails?! Guys?! What's wrong?! Is it an emergency?! It sounds like one!" Chris exclaimed back as he tried to listen to what the others were saying. But there were more screams and yells as a response.

"Ugh! And this is why you should've tried to listen to me in the first place! Whatever the situation was that has gotten you into this mess, it could've been avoided if you had listened to my instructions and/or requests!" Chris exclaimed as he felt frustrated again. He is going full-on parent right now.

"WE'RE SORRY!" everyone shouted besides Sonic.

Chris calmed down a little after hearing that apology. "Okay, now, let's try this again, and this time, only one of you guys gets to speak," Chris replied calmly over the speaker. Yep, now, I know exactly how a parent feels when speaking to their children. I really am getting what I deserve for my rash behavior as a child. Sigh. Chris thought with an exasperated look on his face while he listens to Tails explaining the situation to Chris.

-Back To Sonic And The Others-

"Will someone please get me out of here?! Bocue! Decoe! Get the hedge clippers!" Dr. Eggman yelled while struggling to get out of the vines.

"We don't have those, Doctor! But we're cutting the vines as fast as we can!" Bocue exclaimed as he cut another vine with a razor cutter.

"These vines just keep on going and going and going!" Decoe exclaimed with worry as he also cut several vines with another razor cutter.

"Cosmo! You've got to try again! Please! Use your mind to control the Planet Egg! You're the one who can free us now!" Amy exclaimed in a pleading tone. Sonic and the others were looking worried as they looked at Cosmo with pleading eyes.

"I'm so sorry! But I can't do it! I don't know why I'm not in control of my thoughts! It's like my own mind is under someone else's control instead of me! And because of that...there's no way for me to stop the Planet Egg!" Cosmo yelled while holding the Planet Egg in her hands. The Planet Egg kept on glowing brightly as it controls the vines even more. The vines even went higher to the air.

Luckily, these vines had helped Chris find where Sonic and the others are. Chris was flying in the white plane at the time. Chris then exclaimed, "There you guys are! I finally found you!".

"Would you look at that Cosmo! Having you controlling the vines had helped Chris to find us! I guess that was our lucky break, huh?!" Sonic exclaimed with a smile as he looked up in the sky.

"What?!" Cosmo exclaimed with a gasp. She had wide eyes and wide mouth after hearing Sonic's comment.

Tails then exclaimed while struggling to reach for the Chaos Emerald on his X-Tornado, "I almost...have it...just...a little...Got it! Sonic! Use this!".

Tails then threw the blue Chaos Emerald at Sonic, and Sonic had caught it. "Thanks for giving me the ticket out of here, Tails!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a wink before going into his spinball form. Sonic able to easily rip through the vines to free himself.

"Sonic! Want a gift?! Here you go!" Chris exclaimed excitedly before firing a special laser at Sonic's shoes. Sonic jumped up and kicked the laser with his feet. After that, Sonic's shoes had changed. He then jumped towards an approaching vine and grinded on it. His shoes have some razor blades under them so that he can easily stick to the vines without falling off. As Sonic grinded through the vines and did several tricks on them, he then monologued in his mind for the last time. Here we have the coolest, fastest blue hedgehog in his natural habitat. Watch as he coolly grinds on these vines not only for fun, but in order to save his friends. He is a daring individual who takes on any challenge in the wild because he is a wild boy who is born from nature. The jungle is a mysterious yet dangerous phenomenon indeed, but this hedgehog here is even more mysterious and dangerous than that. And...it is something that cannot be tamed. Sonic's log entry 50: Complete.

Dr. Eggman, Bocue, and Decoe are panicking since they can see Sonic getting closer to their robot. Dr. Eggman then yelled out, "Wait! Wait! Wait! Please don't defeat me yet! Don't you want to know how I got here?! How I got to this planet?! This whole chap-err I mean episode had never explained how I got here or how I obtained the emerald in the first place! Do you want to stop and ch-".

"NO ONE FREAKING CARES, EGGMAN!" Sonic and the others shouted in unison. Sonic smirked as he was glad that the others agree with him. Let's get this over with already! Sonic thought with a determined smile on his face.

KABOOM!

Sonic had easily destroyed Dr. Eggman's robot yet again. Dr. Eggman, Decoe, and Bocue were screaming as they flew through the high air above. Since Sonic had destroyed the robot, he was able to jump towards the falling emerald and grab it in his hand. "Aw yeah! Two for two, baby!" Sonic exclaimed victoriously. He then landed gently on the ground after doing a little flip in the air.

"Isn't it great, guys?! We got two emeralds now!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a smile.

"That's great, Sonic. I wish that I could be in a celebratory mood right now, however, I seem to be...what you call it...'trapped' in the moment," Knuckles commented sarcastically while looking at the vine with a grimace.

"Yeah, what he said, Sonic," Amy added with annoyance in her voice while frowning as she stares at her own vine.

"Sonic...please get us out already," Tails added with a small frown on his face.

Sonic smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "Eh heh heh heh. Uhh...sorry about that. I guess that I was too happy to be free to even notice that," Sonic replied sheepishly while holding the emerald in his hand.

I'm so sorry everyone...Please forgive me. Give me another chance to be useful. Anything...Please Planet Egg...Give me a chance to show them how sorry I am. Cosmo meditated to the Planet Egg. Again, with Cosmo's thoughts being heard, the Planet Egg glowed brightly. Sonic and the others were worried about what the Planet Egg will do now, but they were surprised that the Planet Egg had floated out of Cosmo's hands and had went down to the ground. Everyone gasped in shock of this. The Planet Egg soon returned to the ground and made the ground glow very brightly. With Planet Egg being returned to the soil, the planet had regained its energy and had restored peace throughout the land. Because of that newfound peace, the vines had released Sonic's friends. Sonic's friends fell gently down to the ground safely after being released.

"Whew! What a relief! We're finally free!" Tails exclaimed happy while holding a hand over his chest.

"Ugh. And this is why I need to stop getting myself stuck into traps! At the end of the day, you can feel the energy draining from you after being trapped like a rat," Amy replied with a frown as she wiped some grass stains on her arm. Besides, I hate getting grass stains on my body and my dress. Amy added in her mind.

"But what if you were in a trap with Sonic? Would that drain your energy?" Knuckles replied with a teasing smirk. He is still crouching on the ground after landing safely from that fall.

Amy then had a thinking face as she placed a finger under her chin. She then replied slowly after thinking for a while, "Well...if you put it that way...".

"NOPE! YOU'RE NOT ANSWERING THAT, AMY!" Sonic shouted in protest as he face blushed deeply.

Knuckles smirked even further as he replied to Sonic, "Oh, yeah, that's right. It's a good thing that you're okay, Sonic".

"Oh...ummm...thanks?" Sonic replied awkwardly as he has no clue where Knuckles was going with this.

Yet, he found out why in Knuckles' next sentence. "Because now you can go back into being Amy's baby boy. Heheheheheh," Knuckles added while snickering.

"WH-WH-WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" Sonic shouted in shock as his eyes went wide and his mouth was agape. His face turned bright red as he stared at Amy and Knuckles in stunned silence. Amy was blushing deeply too in embarrassment.

"I-I-It's not what it looks like, Sonic!" Amy exclaimed nervously while feeling embarrassed. Thanks a lot, knucklehead! Amy thought with a frown on her face. Knuckles then just laughed after seeing Sonic's and Amy's reactions on their faces.

While Sonic and his friends were busy, the robot monkey then said to himself, "Thank goodness that they're distracted! This my last chance to escape...but if I leave, then I won't fulfil my duties as a poacher. Oooh, the Master is going to be so disappointed when he hears that I had failed to kill the players and to retrieve the Planet Egg. What am I going to do...Hmm? Wait a moment".

The robot monkey then turned its head to see the board game lying on the ground. He then got an idea as he ran to pick the game off of the ground. "I've got it! I'll just make the players search for this board game when I hide it from them! That will give me enough time to try to trap them and kill them! Then surely, I will be promoted to the higher ranks of the Metarex league if I do that and succeed! Ook! Ook!" the robot monkey exclaimed with excitement.

"And just where do you think you're going with that board game, poacher?" Amy asked with annoyance in her tone.

"OOK!" the robot monkey shouted in fear as he turned around to see Sonic's friends glaring at him and had prepared to confront him.

Amy had her hands on her hips as she added, "Well?".

The robot monkey sweated as he looked nervous. He then slowly placed the board game down and replied awkwardly, "Oh, come on, guys. It's just part of the gaming experience. I had no choice but to do as I was told to do as a poacher. I had to try to trap you because that's part of the rules of this...uhh...board game. Yes! It's all part of the game! M-M-Maybe it's for the best to leave you alone and give you a chance to run away. Think of it as an act of mercy from us poachers".

"'An act...of mercy'?" Amy repeated incredulously. Knuckles growled after hearing that. As if poachers could be anything but merciful to us! Knuckles thought with a grimace. He would definitely hate being in Amy's shoes or the girls' shoes since they had to deal with a tricky monkey robot all day.

The robot monkey sweated some more as he tried to come up with an explanation. However, his train of thought had stopped once he saw Sonic holding the shiny, green Chaos Emerald in his hand. The emerald was so beautiful and shiny that it had entranced the robot monkey. "Ook! Ook! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!" the robot monkey exclaimed excitedly as he ran to try to snatch the emerald from Sonic's hands. However, Sonic ran away from the robot.

"Huh?! Where did he go?!" the robot monkey exclaimed in shock as he looked around for the hedgehog.

"...Right behind ya, slowpoke!" Sonic replied cockily while feeling slightly annoyed. He stood right behind the robot's back and glared at him. The robot turned around and looked embarrassed.

"Umm...well...I...uhh..." The robot muttered awkwardly.

"And let me guess...you and the rest of the poachers want this emerald, right?" Sonic asked with a devious smirk.

"Well...it is part of my role in the game," the robot monkey answered nervously as he backed away.

Sonic then replied a little evilly, "Oh, really then? How would you feel if we are the poachers and you are the prey? Oh, and unlike you poachers...we'll just give you a chance to live as long as you don't cross with us again!".

The robot monkey sweated very much after hearing that threat from Sonic. The robot looked from right to left and saw Sonic and his friends being prepared to chase him and fight him. Aside from Knuckles and Cosmo, they all had devious smirks on their faces as they glared at the robot, waiting for his response. The robot then felt afraid...very afraid for his life.

He can't take it anymore.

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! ACK! NO! NOOOOOOO! OOOOOOOOK!" the robot monkey screamed as he ran away...only to be caught in a trap that Sonic and his friends didn't expect.

Sonic and his friends were shell-shocked at what they saw in a couple of seconds. They soon saw a humongous, sentient plant swung its vines at the monkey robot, wrapped him in its vines, and pulled it into its mouth. The mouth was a huge, yellow flower. If Tails were to wager a guess, he would say that plant was a giant Venus flytrap. The mouth opened and the poor monkey poacher was eaten by the dangerous plant. After ingesting the Metarex robot, the robot exploded and had killed the plant that ate him. In a way, they were all disturbed by the dangerous, large plant before it had exploded along with the robot. They all didn't know what to say, but they now held a deep respect for this planet now by how dangerous the jungle really is.

"And...And this is why this planet is called Planet Jumanji. It's named after the most dangerous jungle in the universe. People still fear that jungle to this day," Cosmo commented as she wanted to break the disturbing silence. Sonic and the others looked at each other and shrugged. They soon focused back at the matter at hand.

"Anyways, what was that, Cosmo? I didn't think that you had the power to control Planet Eggs like that," Tails said while looking at Cosmo with curious eyes.

Cosmo looked down once she saw the surprised yet concerned looks on her friends faces. She replied, "To be honest...that was the first time I had done something that. I never knew that I had that power before I had tried it today".

"How did you do that?" Amy asked curiously.

"Honestly...it's a little embarrassing on how I did it," Cosmo muttered sadly as she blushed in shame.

Sonic and the others felt sympathy for Cosmo as they saw she's not willing to talk about it. Sonic tried to encourage her by saying, "Even it was for an embarrassing reason, you still had managed to save us. True, we did end up being caught again, but it was enough for me to break out of it. We can see that you had tried to help us, and that was enough for us to be grateful for your assistance".

Cosmo gasped as she looked back up to Sonic in shock. "You...You really mean that?" Cosmo asked nervously.

Sonic winked at her as he answered, "It's true! We're all grateful for the help that you did today!".

The others agreed by either smiling or nodding their heads in agreement. Cosmo then smiled widely as she replied, "Thank you guys so much! I'm so glad that I had made you guys happy!".

Sonic nodded and smiled at her. "And we're glad that we made you happy too!" Sonic added.

Cosmo nodded and said, "Well then...if you really wanted to know...when I held that Planet Egg in my hands, all I can think about was wanting to be helpful to you all. I've felt like I hadn't been helpful at all today. So, I prayed to the Planet Egg to summon its power in order to help you all. Unfortunately...".

Cosmo frowned a little as she continued, "...Unfortunately, that only made the unlucky situation even worse than before. I've felt very guilty for being a nuisance to you today. Later, when I really tried focusing onto the Planet Egg again, I prayed to it so that I could have a second chance to be helpful to you guys, even after my mistake into using my powers. I wanted you guys to forgive me of my mistake. And maybe...because of that thought...that was how the Planet Egg got back into the planet. The egg had recognized the guilt in my heart and had accepted my apology for using it wrongly. I'm not sure if that is how the Planet Eggs work, but that is what I think had happened back there. If those Planet Eggs can hear my thoughts and prayers, then maybe I can use them somehow if the need arises. But...after what happened today...I'm worried of the consequences of uncontrollable power that the Planet Eggs have whenever I use them. I would like to harness the Planet Egg's power, but...it seems too dangerous for me to do so. In other words, I don't think I'll try that ever again".

Sonic and his friends were a bit speechless after hearing Cosmo's explanation. They were touched that Cosmo cared so much about them. So much so that she wanted to help them out too. They also silently agreed with Cosmo on her decision to not use her power onto the Planet Eggs. They were amazed on how powerful Cosmo really is if she can control a planet's energy with the Planet Egg. But they also feared of the irreversible consequences she could do unintentionally if she did had control of the eggs again. So, Sonic and the others looked at each other and nodded in agreement after Cosmo's statement.

"I think that you made the right call, Cosmo," Sonic replied with a calm smile on his face.

Cosmo smiled back as she replied, "I think so too".

"It's such a shame that you don't want to use the Planet Eggs again, Cosmo. I think that it's quite fascinating that you have the ability to do that! I really do think that I'm learning something new about you every day, Cosmo!" Tails replied brightly with a smile.

"O-Oh! Uhh...you really think so?" Cosmo replied a little shyly. She never heard someone speak so highly of her before or become fascinated with her and her abilities.

"Sure! I even bet that you're just underestimating yourself, Cosmo. You're a lot more stronger than you think! Even I can see that!" Tails exclaimed with a happy grin.

Cosmo blushed at the compliment. He...he thinks that I'm strong? Me? He's...He's too kind. Cosmo pondered with sparkling eyes.

"Th-Thank you, Tails," Cosmo replied as she bowed towards him in gratitude. Tails blushed a little as he's not used to anyone bowing to him in gratitude except for Cream.

"Err...y-you're welcome, Cosmo," Tails replied shyly as his tails twirled a bit. Sonic saw Tails looking shy, and he smiled at that. Aww...maybe my little buddy is starting to grow up. Sonic thought with a grin.

"Hey, guys! I'm here!" Chris exclaimed as he landed his white plane near the group. Cosmo and Tails were grateful that Chris broke through the awkward atmosphere that had appeared briefly. The gang soon turned their heads towards Chris walking towards them. They can see him carrying the board game with him.

"So, is everything alright? Is Dr. Eggman gone? What about the Chaos Emerald?" Chris asked as he stood next to Cosmo now.

Sonic answered quickly, "The Planet Egg turned the planet back to normal and had returned to the ground. Dr. Eggman is out of sight. And looky here. The second Chaos Emerald. Bada bing, bada boom! Everything is completely fine around here! Anything else that you like to ask?".

Chris smiled a little as he said, "Well, there is one thing".

"Then ask away!" Sonic replied with a grin.

"So, whose turn is it on this board game now? Last time I've checked, it was Amy's turn," Chris asked as he looked at Amy.

"Not anymore," Amy replied as she shook her head.

"Huh? Then whose is it now?" Chris asked in confusion.

"It's Mr. Sonic's turn now. I've also taken my turn on that board game too," Cream clarified with a smile.

"Wow! Really? Heh! That was fast! Guess that I don't have to wait anymore! Thanks, girls!" Sonic exclaimed happily as he gave a thumbs up to the girls. Amy's heart melted at Sonic thanking her.

She and Cream happily replied, "You're welcome, Sonic!".

Cosmo smiled a little before she frowned as she asked Sonic, "So, Sonic...are you planning to take your turn now?".

Sonic looked back at Cosmo and Chris. Sonic shrugged as he replied, "Nah. I think that we all had enough 'scavenger hunts' for today. I don't want to put you guys through another search party just because of me. I'm just going to hold off my turn just for a little while until the time is right. We do need some rest after all".

The others smiled and nodded in agreement. Today was certainly a stressful day. So, they were pleased that Sonic wants to take things easy for a little while.

"Well, in that case, let's go back to the Blue Typhoon and head off into space!" Chris exclaimed brightly.

"Yeah! (Chao! Chao!)" everyone exclaimed happily.

-10 Minutes Later-

Everyone was back onto the Blue Typhoon and are now traveling through space again. They were currently staring at the two Chaos Emeralds on the table. The board game was leaning on the side of the leg of the table, ready to be played again.

Tails then said confidently, "Even with just two emeralds, we can fend off more Metarex poachers than before! We'll certainly get all of the emeralds in no time!".

Cosmo smiled brightly as she replied, "And by having those emeralds, you will overcome the Metarex. You will even finish the board game too. I'm sure of that".

The others had gasped in shock at Cosmo's sudden confidence and assuredness, but they soon smiled at her. Chris then asked, "You really think we can beat the board game, Cosmo?".

"Of coarse, it's as Amy had said to me today. As long as we all set our minds onto something, we will be persistent enough to get it. I want this curse to be lifted from the board game, and if you guys want that to happen too, then we'll surely achieve that goal. I believe in you guys. We'll overcome all of the unlucky events that board game will throw at us and beat it. And today was no different thanks to you guys. So, let's finish this game...together," Cosmo answered solemnly as she turned around to stare at the stars in front of her. The others kept on smiling and had agreed with Cosmo's speech.

"Then let's go!" Tails exclaimed brightly as the spaceship went farther and farther into space.

The scavenger game had ended, and they got another Chaos Emerald out of it. Only more strange yet crazy adventures will happen next with Sonic and his friends as they continue their journey through space.

I survived the jungle! And I got another chapter to boot! Yeah, I kind of procrastinated again. That's twice in a row now. Because of this, I think that my regular uploads would take at least two weeks for now on. I'll be lucky if I had managed to upload a chapter earlier than that, but for now, new chapters will be uploaded for every two weeks. Sorry about that, guys. Hopefully, you'll be patient enough to wait for the new chapters. Regardless, I'm grateful for your support and love for this story. So, please keep on reading if you had enjoyed it that much! Anyways, episode 58 is done! Only 20 more episodes to go! And now onto the next chapter!

P.S. Yes, I just have to make a reference to Jumanji in this chapter because it's all about surviving the jungle. So, it was a perfect time to make that joke, especially considering what this story is based off of. I know that it wasn't the actual name in the show, but I've forgotten what the real name of it was. So, feel free to tell me what the real name was if you know. But anyways, enjoy the rest of the story when it comes out!