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!

13. The Spelunking Game(pt 2)

Sonic X: Season 3: Shuffle Edition

The Spelunking Game(pt. 2)

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"...Tails...Tails, wake up. Speak to me...Can you count to three? Or...Uhh...something?" Cosmo muttered quietly with a worried look on her face as she stared at Tails.

"Ugggh...Five more minutes, Mom..." Tails muttered weakly with a grimace as his eyes were blurry and were coming into focus. He cringed in pain when his head started have a huge migraine. Geez, I felt like I had hit a truck. Just where am I? And where are we? Ugggh...The pain...It hurts...Tails pondered calmly yet tiredly with a little frown as he cringed some more in pain. He slowly sat back up while wincing in pain.

"Oh, Tails. You poor thing. You were out for a long time. It's a good thing that I had landed on top of you or else I would have-" Cosmo muttered calmly with a worried frown as she sat on her knees while looking at Tails.

"What?! You were on top of me?! Owwww!" Tails exclaimed in shock as he stared at Cosmo with a shocked and embarrassed face before cringing in pain over the migraine. He covered his head with his hand as he kept cringing in pain.

"Oh, dear. You're in terrible pain. What have I done? I've hurt you. I'm so sorry," Cosmo replied in sadness and in concern when she noticed the injury on Tails' head.

"It's not your fault, Cosmo. It's mine. I was the one who had leapt at you to save you. I knew that there are going to be consequences for doing good deeds sometimes, and this is just one of them. Ugggh...Even though I don't like it..." Tails replied calmly with a frown as he cringed a bit. I even got a migraine along with this injury. This is going to be a pain to recover from. Ugggh...Tails pondered with a grimace before he looked up at the dark cavern above.

"...Boy, we sure did fall a long way down, and by the looks of it, I don't think that I can fly us up out from this cave. It's all blocked by rocks. …(Sigh)...I guess that we have to get out of the cave another way," Tails continued calmly with a frown and a sigh as he stared at the tons of rocks above him.

Cosmo frowned a lot from this as she looked down to the ground. "...I guess that we got an unlucky turn after all..." Cosmo muttered sadly with a frown.

"Wait. Huh? What are you talking about?" Tails asked in confusion as he stared at Cosmo.

"I'm talking about the board game, Tails. Remember? You had used the board game to try to give us some good luck, but what we got was bad luck instead. I ended up sabotaging the mission by pressing that button and now look at where we are. We're trapped in the bottom of the cave with no way out. So much for having good luck. With me around, I'll turn any good luck into bad luck. I'm the unluckiest girl in the universe," Cosmo replied sadly with a frown as she looked at Tails briefly before looking at the ground again in shame.

Tails blinked as he stared at Cosmo after hearing that. He was stunned that Cosmo had said that about herself like that. He had always thought that he was the only one with the worst luck, but it seems that he had found someone who's luck is on par with his. Because of that revelation, Tails can't help but smile very hugely at that.

"...Huh? Tails? Why are you...smiling?" Cosmo asked in confusion as she stared at Tails again.

Tails bit his lip and had his head down as he tried to keep his laughter inside him. "Pfft...You think that...you're the only unlucky person here? Heheheh...Well, look in the mirror, Cosmo! I'm the unluckiest fox in the universe!" Tails replied calmly yet amusingly with a fixed smile as he tried to hold in his booming laughter.

"What?! You too?!" Cosmo exclaimed in shock as she covered her mouth with her hands.

Tails started to chuckle after hearing that response. "Hahahahaha...Yes, it's true! I mean...Have you seen my turns thus far?! Hahahahaha...They were all bad! Hahahahaha...I...I'm not sure if I had told you this, but...Heheheheh...I am terrible at board games! Hahahahaha...It's always about luck!" Tails exclaimed in amusement as he chuckled a lot.

"Ah! R-Really? You're bad at...Hehe...board games?" Cosmo replied in amusement with a snicker as she started to smile a lot at this.

"Yeah! I am! Hahahahaha...I've lost at every game that my friends played! Like...78 times! Hahahaha...It's embarrassing! Hahahaha..." Tails exclaimed with a huge smile as he chuckled some more in amusement.

"Wow! Hehehehehe...That bad, huh? Hehehehehe..." Cosmo replied in amusement as she started to giggle now.

"Ooooh, it's so bad! Hahahahaha...I can make the best strategies and the best laid plans in the world. But! Hahahahahaha...I'll always be beaten by bad luck! Hahahahahaha...H-Hey! Hahahahaha...I just realized something, Cosmo!" Tails exclaimed in amusement with a huge grin as he chuckled even more.

"Hehehehehe...What is it, Tails?" Cosmo asked curiously with a smile as she giggled a bit. Tails stared at Cosmo with a grin as he had stopped chuckling for a moment. The realization had hit him so hard that he can't help but burst into full-blown laughter.

"Pfffft! Ahahahahahahahahahaha! I just realized that life is no different! Hahahahahahahahahaha! I mean! Think about it! Hahahahahahahaha! We can plan our futures, our dreams, and our desires in our lives! But! Hahahahahahahahaha! We'll always be blindsided by unexpected events and horrible luck! Ahahahahahahahahaha! How come it took me this long to realize it?! Heheheheheheheheh! I'm supposed to be the genius here! Hahahahahahahaha!" Tails exclaimed in amusement as he laughed a lot.

Cosmo soon started to join Tails in laughter too after hearing that. "Hahahahahahaha! Oh, my goodness, you're right! Hahahahahahaha! Even I didn't notice that! Hahahahahahaha! And I'm your guide here! Hahahahahaha!" Cosmo exclaimed in amusement as she laughed a lot.

"Hahahahahahaha! I know, right?! Ahahahahahahahaha! We're pretty smart, but we can be pretty slow too! Hahahahahahaha!" Tails exclaimed in amusement as he laughed some more.

"Hehehehehehe! I guess that we need to take some notes from Sonic and speed up! Hahahahahaha!" Cosmo exclaimed in amusement as he laughed a lot.

"Oh, don't you dare start with that! Hahahahahahaha! I've heard it enough from Sonic! Hahahahahaha! I don't want to hear it from you too!" Tails exclaimed with a grin as he laughed a lot.

"Sorry! Hehehehehehehe! I couldn't resist!" Cosmo exclaimed happily while giggling a lot.

"Hahahahahaha...It's okay, Cosmo. I'm just joking. Hahahahahaha..." Tails replied calmly while chuckling as he calmed down his laughter a bit. He cringed again in pain as he held his head.

"Hahahahaha...It's hurts to laugh sometimes. Hahahahaha..." Tails added calmly while chuckling a bit.

"Just...Hehehehehe...Just take it easy, Tails. Slow down," Cosmo replied calmly with a giggle as she had her hands near Tails.

"Heheheheh...I thought that you wanted me to speed up," Tails joked calmly with a grin as he chuckled a little.

"Hahahahahahaha! That's not what I had meant! Hehehehehehe!" Cosmo exclaimed in amusement as she laughed again.

"Heheheheh...I know that. I just wanted to hear you laugh again," Tails replied calmly with a chuckle as he smiled a lot at her.

"Hehehehehehe! Well...don't do that! Hehehehehehe! I told you that I don't giggle a lot!" Cosmo exclaimed playfully with a smile as she lightly pushed Tails' arm a bit while giggling.

"Heh...You know what, Cosmo? I think that you should try to keep giggling and laughing because..." Tails replied calmly with a smile before he looked warm as he added, "...you look much happier that way".

Cosmo stopped giggling and smiled a little at Tails while blushing. She felt touched that Tails wants her to giggle and laugh just to see her be happy with herself. She had never heard anyone say that to her. Not even her old friends. I wonder if Galaxina wants me to be happy. Perhaps she would. After all...she was my older sister. Cosmo pondered calmly with a shy smile as she had her hands together near her chest.

Tails smiled calmly at Cosmo as he pondered. Heheheh...I think that I had finally cheered Cosmo up a little. I'm glad that I was able to cheer her up. She must've felt so alone with herself and with her own misery that...she needed someone to make her laugh again. I'm just relieved that she is feeling better now, and I hope that I can keep her spirits up with my optimistic attitude and humor.

"...You know, Cosmo. Since we're the unluckiest people in the universe, I guess that we don't have sulk about being the only ones with the bad luck anymore. We can take comfort in the fact that we had found another unlucky person in our lives. We're not alone anymore. We have an unlucky friend at our side! And that is you and me!" Tails said calmly with a smile after being quiet for a moment.

Cosmo looked surprised at that but soon smiled warmly as she saw that Tails was right. "...Yes...You're right. I guess that there's no reason for me to keep saying that I'm the unluckiest girl in the universe when my equal's here," Cosmo replied calmly with a smile as she looked relieved.

Tails nodded in agreement as he replied, "That's right, Cosmo. We have all the bad luck in the universe, but despite that...we're going to keep pressing forward because...that's the only thing that we can do really".

Cosmo smiled sadly at that as she replied calmly, "...Yeah...It's the only way to keep surviving in this horrible game called 'Life'".

"Heh. Ditto," Tails replied with an amused smile on face as he stared at Cosmo. He and Cosmo were silent for a bit while staring at each other with smiles on their faces.

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"...(Sigh)...So, now what do we do? We're still stuck in this cave with no help in sight. I don't even know how we're going to get out of this cave alive," Cosmo said sadly with a frown and a sigh as she looked down a bit.

"Hey, don't be so down, Cosmo. It's not a total loss. Yes, we got really unlucky there, but it's not hopeless. See? I still have my wrist communicator with me. All I need to do is contact my friends, and they'll come here and rescue us," Tails replied calmly with a smile as he raised his arm towards Cosmo to show her the wrist communicator. He even opened it up while saying that.

"Oh, I hope that you're right, Tails. I don't want to stay here any longer. This cave creeps me out," Cosmo replied calmly with a worried look on her face.

"I know, Cosmo. I don't want to stay here any longer than needed to. Anyways, let's see if Chris or the others can get into contact with me," Tails replied calmly with a sympathetic smile as he tried to contact Chris first.

"Chris? Chris? Hello? Can you read me? Come in please," Tails said calmly with a frown as he stared at the static screen. He frowned further as he kept typing into the wrist communicator to try get into contact with the others.

"Amy? Can you read me? Sonic? Cream? Knuckles? Anybody?" Tails asked in worry as he saw that he still couldn't get into contact with any of them. But after trying for another minute, Tails sighed and gave up.

"Ugh. Our luck keeps getting worse and worse by the minute. I can't get into contact with anybody since we're very deep underground. Talk about between a rock and a hard place. Literally," Tails muttered tiredly with a disappointed frown as he stared at the static screen before at Cosmo.

"So, it is hopeless after all," Cosmo muttered sadly with a frown as she looked down in shame.

"Again, Cosmo, it's not. We've just hit another wall, but just like traveling through a maze, there's always an exit. In fact..." Tails replied calmly with a sympathetic smile as he typed into the wrist communicator again to change to its Radar Mode. He continued with a smile, "...We can use our time to search for the emerald first before finding an exit. If we focus on that first, then we might end up finding the exit too by accident. In other words...".

He then looked at Cosmo with a determined smile as he finished with, "...We're going to use luck to our advantage!".

"Ah! But! But! What if we run into more bad luck like getting stuck into more traps or getting caught by the Metarex?!" Cosmo exclaimed in worry as she had her hands out towards Tails.

Tails shrugged as he calmly answered with a smile, "...Then we'll just have to deal with it. I mean. We had gotten through a lot of bad luck in our past, and yet, we're still fine even after all that. If we can make it through our bad past, then I'm pretty sure that we'll make it out of this cave too!".

Cosmo's eyes twinkled as she stared at Tails in awe of that profound statement. He's...He's right. I may have gone through a lot of trouble, but I'm still alive and well. And...And...if I can survive through...my past...then this cave is no challenge to me! Cosmo pondered calmly with a stunned look on her face. She then looked solemn and nodded her head to Tails.

"Alright, Tails. I'll trust you to lead the way," Cosmo replied calmly yet quietly with a solemn frown.

"Good then. Anyways...I...Ooooh...My...My head still hurts," Tails replied calmly with a smile before he grimaced as he cringed again to the migraine. He covered his head with his hand and rubbed it a bit.

"Here. Let me help," Cosmo replied calmly with a little frown as she grabbed a bandage from her dress pocket and stood up a bit. She walked towards Tails and had readied her bandage.

Tails looked up at Cosmo and lets go of his head as he replied to her, "Umm...Cosmo, my head hurts more from the migraine than from my injury. I...I don't think that the bandage will make the migraine go away".

"Just because it can't make the pain go away, it doesn't mean that it's useless. Every bit of help works. Just like this bandage," Cosmo replied calmly yet wisely with a little frown as she wrapped the bandage around Tails' head. Tails was both stunned by Cosmo's wisdom and touched by her thoughtfulness. He stared quietly at her with twinkling eyes as he was in awe of her.

...Cosmo...You're much more wiser and caring than I thought...Tails pondered calmly yet fondly as he closed his eyes and blushed a bit in embarrassment.

-Meanwhile With The Others-

Chris was still flying through the sky in the X-Tornado while tracking down the emerald. He can see the radar beeping a lot, however, he still couldn't get a solid read on it since the energy is everywhere in the area. Just why are there so many emeralds in this planet? Are all of them fake? Or...is there one that's real within this planet? Chris pondered with a solemn frown as he stared at the radar screen.

"I've caught a baby bumble bee. Won't my mommy be so proud me. La-la-la-la-la-la-la!" Cream sang merrily with a smile as she moved side to side with Cheese on her lap.

"Cream, please stay focused. We need to figure out a way to find the real emerald in a sea of fakes in this planet. Got any ideas?" Chris replied calmly with a frown as he kept staring at the screen.

"No. But if anyone can figure that one out, it's Tails! He's the bright one of the group! (Chao! Chao!)" Cream replied brightly with a smile. Cheese chirped happily too with Cream.

Chris frowned a little at that and replied calmly while looking back at Cream, "...You know...I'm pretty bright too...".

"True, but Tails is still an eight-year-old genius! The reason that you're very smart now is because you're old!" Cream exclaimed happily yet innocently with a smile.

"Ah..." Chris muttered awkwardly with a frown and a blush as he looked back at the screen in front of him. He kept blushing in embarrassment as he pondered to himself. ...Oh, who am I kidding? I can't win whether I'm a kid or an adult. Tails is really lucky to be very smart at his age. I wonder how I would be like if I was as smart as Tails when I was kid. …Hmm...Then again...Tails was bullied a lot thanks to his genius, so...Ah. What do I know? There's no point into thinking what life could be like differently if I was this or that. I probably will still end up being who I am regardless of my past.

Chris then shook his head as he replied calmly, "Well, anyways, the only people who has a chance into finding the Chaos Emerald are Tails, Cosmo, and Knuckles. There are the ones who are going underground. I just hope that they don't run into trouble".

"But even if they do run into trouble, you can count on Mr. Knuckles to save them. He wouldn't give up on them no matter what. Isn't that right, Cheese? (Chao!)" Cream replied calmly with a smile before looking at Cheese. Cheese chirped happily again.

Chris smiled a little at that as he replied calmly, "Yeah, Knuckles has it covered".

"Heh. Are you really betting on Knuckles to cover their butts if something bad happens? Little does he realize that trouble follows him wherever he goes. I know that for a fact," Sonic replied coolly with a smirk as he walked up next to the plane's window and stood next to it.

"Huh? You think that something wrong had already happened to Tails and Cosmo?" Chris asked curiously with a frown as he looked at Sonic on his right.

"Chris...It was Tails' turn on the board game. You know that bad luck is bound to happen when you combine Tails and board games together. It's a combination so powerful that not even Knuckles can stop it," Sonic replied calmly with a smile as he held knelt next to the plane's window.

Chris frowned awkwardly at that as he replied, "...So, you're saying that...Tails and Cosmo are screwed either way...".

"Oh, they are most certainly are!" Sonic exclaimed with a knowing grin.

"Oh no...Now, what do we do?" Chris replied tiredly with a frown as he face-palmed himself.

"Chill out, Chris. All we need to do is go find them and see if they're okay or not. With my speed, we'll save them in a flash!" Sonic replied calmly yet optimistically with a smile.

"Well...You're right on that part, Sonic," Chris replied calmly yet amusingly with a smile as he looked at Sonic.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Chris? Do you read me? We have an emergency on our hands," Amy said through the X-Tornado's speaker after beeping for a moment.

"Let me guess...Tails and Cosmo are in trouble," Chris replied calmly with a frown as he looked ahead of him.

"I-Huh? How did you know?" Amy asked in confusion.

"Sonic and I were talking about it earlier," Chris replied casually with a shrug.

"Wait! Huh?! Sonic?! Did Knuckles contact you first?!" Amy exclaimed in shock through the speaker.

"Not really. I had a hunch that they were going to run into trouble sooner or later," Sonic answered casually with a little smile.

"But...But ho-?" Amy asked again in confusion.

"Board game, Amy. Board game," Sonic replied calmly with a smile and with narrowed eyelids.

"...I...I should've known..." Amy muttered tiredly through the speaker.

"Anyways, Amy, what's the situation?" Chris asked solemnly with a frown.

"Well, Knuckles had told me through his transmission that Tails and Cosmo are trapped within the cave. He said that there are tons of rocks that are blocking the cave's entrance and that he is trying his best to get through it. However, he said that it might be best if we try to go underground ourselves and find them while he works on the cave's entrance," Amy replied solemnly with a worried frown as she spoke into the speaker while sitting in her seat in the Blue Typhoon.

"...Ah...Oh, this is bad..." Chris muttered in worry with a frown.

"You said it. We need to hustle big time," Sonic replied solemnly with a frown as he stared at Chris. I need to save my little bro. Who knows what dangers he and Cosmo are in now? Sonic pondered solemnly with a frown as he stared ahead of him.

"Oooh...Poor Tails and Cosmo. I hope that they are okay. (Chao Chao...)" Cream muttered in worry with a frown as she looked at Cheese. Cheese chirped in sadness as he looked worried too.

-Meanwhile With Tails and Cosmo-

"You know...I really thought that we would get ambushed the moment we had traveled five steps into this cave. But since nothing bad had happened yet, I'm considering it as good luck. I mean. Look at us! We're still safe and unharmed!" Tails said calmly with a smile after ten minutes of silence. He was a bit relieved that his migraine had settled down a bit after ten minutes.

"...I...I suppose..." Cosmo muttered quietly with a frown as she kept walking through the cave along with Tails.

"Hey, I'm being serious here, Cosmo. You think that with our combined bad luck that we'd be in huge trouble by now, but we're still fine!" Tails replied calmly yet optimistically with a smile as he looked down at his wrist communicator.

"Mmmhmm..." Cosmo mused with a nod and a frown.

"All we had so far were us experiencing an earthquake and us losing transmission on my wrist communicator. However, because of this bad experience, I now know that the wrist communicators need to be updated so that they can transmit communication even in deep underground. In a way, this also counts as good luck," Tails replied calmly yet optimistically with a smile as he stared at his wrist communicator before at Cosmo.

"...Why? ...Why are you so happy about this?" Cosmo asked quietly in confusion as she frowned a lot.

"Huh? What do you mean, Cosmo?" Tails asked curiously with a frown as he looked at Cosmo.

"What I mean is...Why are you trying to find something positive in my horrible mistake?" Cosmo asked calmly yet sadly in confusion while looking ashamed.

"What? Cosmo, I already told you that it's not your fault. It was just an accident. A stroke of bad luck," Tails replied calmly with a sympathetic frown as he stared at Cosmo.

"Yes...It is a stroke of bad luck...On my part anyway," Cosmo replied sadly with a frown as she looked away from Tails.

Tails frowned deeper at this and shook his head. She really believes that it's her fault this happened. I know that it's technically true that we're here because she had pushed the button. But I genuinely believe that it wasn't her fault. I just know that since...she wouldn't intentionally hurt me. Tails pondered solemnly with a frown as he stared at Cosmo.

"Cosmo..." Tails muttered quietly with a caring look on his face as he grabbed Cosmo's shoulder and stood still.

"Huh?" Cosmo muttered in confusion as she stopped walking and looked at Tails curiously as she stood next to him. She can see him smiling gently at her while holding onto her shoulder comfortingly.

Tails kept smiling gently at her as he replied calmly, "It's a stroke of bad luck on my part too. Remember, Cosmo. It was still my idea to use the board game in the first place. It's still my fault that we are here in this mess. It's not always about you, you know. Not everything wrong in the world or in the universe is your fault. People make mistakes and intentionally hurt others, and all of that is still not your fault. The only times that it is your fault if you had intentionally hurt others. Not when it's by accident".

"..." Cosmo was speechless as she heard Tails spoke such wise advice. But despite hearing his wisdom, Cosmo can't shake off the feeling of guilt in her heart. That...That can't be true. I always hurt the ones that I love. How could what I had done in the past not be unintentional? Cosmo brooded with a frown as she listened to Tails' speech.

"Good people will still hurt others by accident, but that doesn't mean that they're evil now because of that. It's only when you choose to hurt others, then that is when you are evil," Tails continued calmly with a smile.

"..." Cosmo was still silent as she stared at Tails. ...No...No, I can't be good. I can't be. After all, I...Cosmo brooded with a frown.

"Luck is just an uncontrollable force of nature. We can't help but get stuck in bad situations at times, but we can still make our own choices on whether to be helpful or harmful to others. It is us who can either make the bad situations worse or better. That is the one thing that luck has no control over. Just like the board game itself, it cannot control the players. It just controls the situations around us," Tails continued calmly yet gently with a smile as he rubbed Cosmo's shoulder a bit.

"...!" Cosmo gasped in shock after hearing that part of Tails' speech. She looked stunned as she pondered solemnly. My...My choices...makes things better or worse? Not my...Not my bad luck? So that means that it wasn't my fault that we're...stuck here?

Tails looked happier as he lets go of Cosmo's shoulder and walked in front of her while smiling widely. He then finished his speech by saying brightly, "Yeah! You heard me! Who cares if we got the worst luck in the universe? We can still make good choices in the end! It's only up to us to turn the situations around to our favor! Not by luck! We have that kind of power, Cosmo! We can turn any horrible situation around and make the best of it! That's why I chose to be positive about this! No matter what worst luck that comes our way, let's do our best to make the best choices in every bad scenario! What do you say, Cosmo? Are you willing to try to make the best out of this situation too? Because I sure am!".

"..." Cosmo was silent as she stared straight into Tails' happy expression on his face. The positivity in his expression and his tone were shown right in front of her. She felt rather inspired by Tails' optimism. I...I have always felt down and upset whenever something horrible or tragic had happened in my life. I was always pessimistic about it whenever that happens. I rarely look and feel cheerful during rough times. I couldn't help it. It's so easy to feel sad and weak during those times. ...Tails is really trying to stay strong by being optimistic. He must've gone through so much in the past and had dealt with a lot of hardships. ...And yet...he's here smiling at me with that grin of his. ...Huh? Hey...that grin...it kinda looks like...Cosmo brooded with a stunned look on her face as she stared at Tails' happy face. She looked even more shocked when her mind traced back to Sonic when he's grinning at her. She can see that in Tails' face too. That happy-go-lucky grin that Sonic expresses daily is shown on Tails' face...and Cosmo can't help but feel amused by that.

...Tails...You really are the splitting image of Sonic. I guess that it is true when Sonic had said that you two are like brothers because you're imitating him right now. ...And I'm...I'm glad that you are currently. I really do need some light-heartedness and positivity in my world view. I've been through so much...and...I want to be finally happy with my life. If you're going to keep on smiling like that, then...why should I be frowning all the time on my own? Cosmo pondered calmly with a little smile as she placed her hand on her chest.

"So...is that a 'yes'?" Tails asked curiously with a bright smile.

"Why yes, it is, Tails. I'll do my best to stay positive in this bad situation too. It's the only thing that I can do at this point," Cosmo replied calmly with a smile as she had her hands together into fists while looking calm and happy again.

"Great! Now, let's stay bright!" Tails exclaimed happily with a grin.

Just as when Tails had said that, dozens of mystical fireflies lit up and flew around Tails and Cosmo. They gasped in shock after seeing the bright lights on the fireflies.

"...Huh. Good timing, Tails," Cosmo commented with a surprised look on her face as she stared at the fireflies.

"Uhhh...Heheh...I...Uhh...I meant to do that," Tails replied awkwardly with a sheepish smile and a blush as he looked at Cosmo for a bit before looking back up at the fireflies. He then frowned a bit as he added, "Hmm...Since these plot-convenient fireflies are lighting up this dark cave, we can easily see where we're going next. Let's follow the fireflies and see where this cave leads to".

"Ahh...Okay," Cosmo muttered with a little frown as she was still in awe of the fireflies surrounding her and Tails. She looked at Tails again and saw him turning around and running forward to follow the fireflies. She wasted no time into following Tails as he went further into the cave. They both ran as fast as they could to follow the strange fireflies through the cave. They made some turns while following the fireflies.

Where are these things going? Towards more plot? Tails pondered in curiosity as he ran forward. He and Cosmo soon both stopped and gasped at the strange new area that they had found. They watched the mystical fireflies fly upwards towards a mechanical power plant and flew inside of it.

"Holy plot points, Cosmo! We have found an incredibly suspicious trap! ...Let's go inside of it anyways. Because what else we're going to do in this dull cave? Dig our way out? That's Knuckles' job!" Tails said calmly yet enthusiastically with an intrigued look on his face as he stared at the power plant.

Cosmo nodded in agreement while asking curiously, "Indeed. Speaking of which, I wonder what Knuckles is doing right now?".

-Meanwhile With Knuckles-

"Dig! Dig! Dig! Dig! Dig, you stupid rock! I command you! Dig!" Knuckles yelled in frustration as he tried to dig through the rocks with his Shovel Claws. He kept the board game under his left arm while he dug as fast as he could. You know, this would've been easier if I didn't have the board game with me! However, I'm not going to be the one responsible for having it being crushed by rocks and sediment! Grrr! Tails...You just HAD to drop it down towards the ledge, didn't you?! You want to make my life harder, didn't you?! Well, guess what?! Knuckles brooded with a grimace as he kept breaking and digging through the rocks and sediment within the cave.

"I'M GOING TO WORK MY BUTT OFF TO FIND YOU WHILE HAVING THE BOARD GAME WITH ME! THAT'LL TEACH YOU! HEY! TAKE THIS, ROCK! YEAH! I'M TALKING TO YOU! RRRRGH! AAARRRGH! GRRRNGH!" Knuckles shouted in determination in the cave as his voice was echoed outside of it.

"...(Sigh)...Moron..." Amy muttered tiredly in annoyance as she sighed a bit while glaring down at the cave with her hands on her hips. Sonic and Cream were also staring at the cave with Amy while having little frowns on their faces.

"Oh, Miss Amy. Give Mr. Knuckles more credit here. At least, he's trying his best to find Tails and Cosmo. He just does things more straightforwardly than us," Cream replied calmly with a frown as she stood next to Amy at her right.

"But does he have to be as straight as an arrow?! Would it ever kill him to be more flexible?" Amy complained with an annoyed frown as she kept staring at the cave below.

"I think that it would, Miss Amy. I mean. We have never seen Knuckles do a split before. Maybe his legs are like twigs," Cream replied calmly with a frown and a shrug. Cheese nodded his head too at that.

"Pffft! Knuckles doing a split! Heheheheheh...Now, that's something that I'd like to see! Heheheheheh..." Sonic exclaimed in amusement while chuckling a lot as he had his arms crossed.

Amy and Cream looked at Sonic at their right and smiled in amusement of that thought too. They soon joined Sonic by giggling in amusement.

"Yeah, I also kinda want to see that too! Hehehehehehe!" Amy exclaimed in amusement as she giggled a bit.

"Hehehehehehe! It does sound very amusing the more that I think about it! Hehehehehehe!" Cream exclaimed happily in amusement too as she giggled a lot.

"Guys! Guys! Could you stop giggling and laughing for one minute?! Need I remind you that Tails and Cosmo are in danger here?! We need to stay focused!" Chris exclaimed solemnly with a frown on his concerned face. He kept staring into his wrist communicator while typing into it to bring up the emerald radar.

"Aww, don't be such a spoilsport, Chris! Everything is going to be fine! We'll find Tails and Cosmo in no time! Besides, Tails got this under control! He's probably busy searching for the Chaos Emerald underground as we speak! So, don't sweat it, Chris! It's all cool!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a smile as he looked at his right to see Chris standing away from the group.

"How can you be so laid back about this, Sonic?! Your adopted little brother is in big trouble along with Cosmo, and you're not worried that he'll get captured or killed by the Metarex?!" Chris exclaimed in concern as he looked at Sonic, Cream, and Amy with a shocked look on his face.

Amy and Cream soon stopped giggling after hearing about that and had looked worried. They can see Sonic frowning solemnly at this while staring calmly at Chris. Sonic then walked slowly towards Chris while being quiet about it.

Chris took notice of Sonic's change in behavior and asked tentatively, "Umm...Did I say something wrong?".

"Chris..." Sonic muttered solemnly with a frown as he walked around Chris and stood behind him at his right. Chris looked back at Sonic while looking concerned.

"Sonic?" Chris asked in curiosity and in concern as he stared back at Sonic.

Sonic was silent for a moment before he asked solemnly, "...Do you really think that I'm not concerned about Tails?".

"...! Uhh..." Chris gasped in surprise before he muttered awkwardly with a gaped mouth.

Sonic stared calmly at Chris as he continued solemnly, "...Listen. Just because I'm being cheerful and upbeat in this bad situation, it doesn't mean that I'm oblivious to Tails' plight. I know that he is in danger. I know that he's in a risky situation that could go worse at any minute. And I know how important it is to find him. I'm not saying that because we need him to advance the game we're in or that we need him to pilot the Blue Typhoon. ...I'm saying it because I care about him. He's family to me. He's my only brother...".

"..." Chris was silent as he stunned by Sonic's serious speech. He can see how determined and serious Sonic looks while saying this speech, and it's very obvious that he had meant it.

"...The only reason that I'm staying positive here is that I believe in Tails. I have my faith in him that he can take care of himself and protect Cosmo too. Think about it, Chris. We have seen Tails go through so many crazy, dangerous situations in past. He had fought Dr. Eggman lots of times and had defended himself from his robots. He had saved Station Square before by deactivating Dr. Eggman's missile, and he had stopped Dr. Eggman himself after I was shot out from Space Colony Ark. He even fought for himself in that little battle tournament! Sure, he may have struck out from the tournament, but believe me when I say that the Tails I knew when I had first met him would never fight back! He would rather run away and cower in fear while crying his little eyes out!" Sonic continued calmly yet solemnly with a frown before being a little passionate in the end.

"..." Chris was still stunned as he listened to Sonic's speech. What Sonic had said so far was very true. He had seen Tails doing a lot of brave stunts in the past and had wished that he could do some of the stuff that Tails had done for himself. In fact...one of the reasons that he had wanted to learn to pilot planes and master science and technology was because of Tails. He found Tails to be the bravest one of all in Sonic's group of friends.

...Tails...You really are brave...Much braver than I gave you credit for...Chris pondered calmly with stunned look on his face.

Sonic still looked solemn as he continued his speech by saying, "...Tails had been very reliable to us. We wouldn't be in space if it wasn't for his tinkering skills and his genius thinking. Heck! He's the captain of his own ship for crying out loud! ...Seriously, Chris, Tails can handle himself now. We can still be concerned for him, but we can take solace in the fact that he can survive on his own. He's both smart and capable now. He'll figure out on how he'll stay alive while protecting Cosmo as well...".

"..." Chris was still silent but had nodded to Sonic in agreement of that statement.

Sonic then smiled a little while staying calm yet solemn as he finished his speech, "...Besides...I'm not going to look after him forever. Someday...he's going to take my place as the Hero of Mobius and defend the planet from evil. It may not be now...but I know that someday it will happen. He may have been 'player two' for the longest time, but...he's going to become 'player one' very soon. Just like how...he is now in this game".

"..." Chris was speechless after hearing that last part. ...W-Wow...I really hadn't thought of it that way. Tails...Being the new hero of Mobius...It's very hard to think of it if Sonic is gone, but...I suppose someday it will happen...And...I'm...I'm not sure how I'll feel about it when that day comes. Chris pondered calmly with a stunned look on his face.

"...I...I understand, Sonic. Sorry for...accusing you for being uncaring," Chris replied calmly with a frown and a nod.

Sonic smiled even more at that and had nodded too. "Don't sweat it, Chris. It's not your fault. I'm glad that you care about Tails and Cosmo too," Sonic replied calmly with a smile.

Chris smiled back at Sonic before looking solemn again as he turned on the radar function on his wrist communicator. Chris then said calmly with a frown, "Anyways, we need to try to find the Chaos Emerald's exact location. At the very least, we are close to the strongest energy source of this planet. But finding the correct spot of its energy source is going to be the hardest. It's like finding a needle in a haystack".

Chris then pushed a button that projects the green screen of the emerald radar above the wrist communicator. The green projection showed the entire area of the underground passageways in the area. Chris continued calmly, "For now, it's best if we split up and cover more ground here in order to find just one passageway into the underground area. If Tails and Cosmo find the Chaos Emerald first, then all we have to do is track them down with the emerald radar".

"But are you sure that we can track them down while the emerald radar is going nuts the entire time?" Sonic asked curiously with a little frown as he looked up at the green projection too.

"Of course, we can. After all, these emerald radars can differentiate between the real Chaos Emeralds and the fakes. Even though the energy frequency is all over the place, the real Chaos Emerald is the strongest one of all as it has the highest energy frequency. So, if it moves somehow, then that is when we would know that Tails and Cosmo had found it," Chris explained calmly with a smile and a nod.

"Well, that's a relief. I guess that all we can do for now is meander around for a bit until Tails and Cosmo find the Chaos Emerald. We certainly got it easy this chap-err I mean-episode," Amy replied casually with a smile and a shrug.

"I feel bad that we're not much help to Tails and Cosmo. I hope that they'll forgive us for not being at their side when they had needed it. (Chao Chao...)" Cream replied sadly with a frown as she looked down. Cheese chirped sadly too with a frown.

Amy frowned a bit as she stared at Cream but soon smiled as she consoled calmly, "It's okay, Cream. We can just hug Tails and Cosmo once we find them and tell them that we love them. That will make the whole terrible situation worth it in the end".

"Ah! Really? Would that work?" Cream asked curiously in surprise as she stared at Amy with hopeful eyes.

Before Amy could reply back, Sonic spoke up for her while smiling and giving Cream a thumbs-up. "Of course, it'll work! I do it all the time whenever Tails had it really rough! Nothing like a good brotherly hug and saying affectionate yet comforting words to relieve a stressed-out fox! Cosmo could use something like that too after being in the dumps today! Once they're safe and sound, let's all give them a group hug and say 'I love you' to them! They need it!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a smile and a thumbs-up while winking.

"Awww, Mr. Sonic, that's so sweet! I'll do it! (Chao! Chao!)" Cream exclaimed happily with a grin while Cheese chirped happily too with a smile.

"I know! Isn't he the sweetest?" Amy replied happily yet adoringly with a huge smile and clasped hands as she held them next to her head while little hearts appeared over her.

"Uhh...Heheheheh..." Sonic chuckled awkwardly with a sheepish smile and a blush as he scratched his cheek while staring at Amy. Heh...Okay, maybe I'm not that sweet. Sheesh, Amy, you like to exaggerate my strengths out of proportion, don't you? Aw well...It's the thought that counts. Sonic pondered calmly in embarrassment with a sheepish smile. Chris looked at Sonic and smiled in amusement of that.

You really can be soft when you want to, huh, Sonic? Tails and Cosmo are lucky to have you to look after them. I just wonder what they're doing right now. Perhaps making an incredible discovery by now. Chris thought in amusement with a smile.

-Meanwhile With Tails and Cosmo-

"Man! This is one heck of a discovery! I didn't think that a power plant can be inside a cave! Just how is the underground cavern not completely polluted with its smoke?! It doesn't make any sense!" Tails exclaimed in surprise and in wonder as he watched the strange fireflies flying even more throughout the power plant. He and Cosmo looked around the inside of the mechanical power plant while following the strange fireflies.

"I don't understand it either, Tails, but we need to keep our voices down. We don't know if the Metarex are nearby in this power plant," Cosmo replied quietly with a worried look on her face as she looked right and left for any Metarex robots.

"Hmm...You have a good point there, Cosmo. But this place is so empty! I mean. What are the chances that we're going to run into-?" Tails replied calmly with a frown before he shrugged and smiled a little.

"Alright, maggots! If we don't make another emerald batch in the next hour, then I'm going to cut your salaries so much that it's in the negatives! Do I make myself clear?!" the loud, Metarex sergeant yelled sternly to the other Metarex lackeys. Tails and Cosmo gasped in shock as they stood still in the middle of a hallway while hearing more Metarex robots talk.

"But we don't even get paid, sir! Why do you want to-?" one Metarex lackey replied in confusion and in worry.

"I don't care if you get paid or not! We got orders from the big boss that we need to make thousands of these emeralds! We need all the power we can get to survive! You guys don't want to die, right?! So, get working or else you will die!" the loud Metarex sergeant yelled back angrily.

"Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" the Metarex lackeys yelled in unison before slithering in separate directions. Tails and Cosmo gaped in shock of this and had quickly ran towards one corner of the hallway to look at the next hallway at their left. They gasped quietly in shock when they saw dozens of Metarex robots slithering around in the hallway. The Metarex robots were blue, have blue crystal balls on the top of their heads, have yellow mouths and claws, and have really long tails.

"...I just had to open my big mouth, didn't I?" Tails muttered in slight annoyance as he stared at the Metarex robots with a frown.

"How are we ever going to get by them without being seen? They're so many of them," Cosmo replied quietly with a worried look on her face as she stared at Tails.

"It's alright, Cosmo. I'm sure that these Metarex robots are very stupid to notice us. We'll can easily sneak by them as long as we're quiet," Tails replied calmly with a frown as he looked at his wrist communicator again. He can see that the emerald radar is blipping much faster now than before. He continued by saying calmly, "Not only that, but I think that we're getting very close to the strongest energy source. The emerald radar is on fire right now! If we follow its source, then we might get away from the Metarex robots".

"Oh...It's that easy?" Cosmo asked quietly with a surprised look on her face.

Tails nodded while kneeling on one knee. He replied calmly, "Yep. The sooner we get closer to the source the sooner we're going to find the real Chaos Emerald amongst the fakes. At least, we now know why there are so many fake Chaos Emeralds here. The Metarex are making them! Hopefully, we'll find out more about their plan into using these fake Chaos Emeralds. But for now, let's move on...".

He then looked at Cosmo as he asked calmly, "...Are you ready to sneak away from here?".

"Yes. I'm ready. I just hope that I don't mess this one up," Cosmo replied quietly in worry as she nodded a bit.

"Don't worry, Cosmo. Just stay behind me. You'll be fine if you do that," Tails encouraged gently with a smile as he stood back up. He then looked around the corner again to see when the Metarex robots are leaving the area. Luckily for him, the Metarex robots had left the hallway by going into separate sections of the power plant. Tails looked at Cosmo and waved his hand towards himself to signal to her to follow him. Cosmo nodded and was ready to follow him. Tails then ran across the hallway and turned right to enter another hallway. Cosmo followed closely behind him as they snuck through the Metarex's power plant.

While they ran, they both thought at the same time. Wow. That was easy. They really are stupid.

"Bah. I hate my job. Why couldn't I become a poacher again like the boss and his crew? Being demoted sucks major balls! I'm totally fit to hunt down some life forms and rip them to shreds. Why couldn't the boss just give me and the others another chance?" the loud Metarex sergeant complained as he slithered straight through the other hallway. Tails and Cosmo gasped in shock before being quiet again and slowed down their running. They sidled against the right wall of the hallway while waiting to see if the Metarex robot had gone past them or not.

"This job is so boring. I wish that something interesting could happen right now. I may be tempting fate when I say that, but dang it, do I want some intruders!" the Metarex sergeant complained further as he entered another hallway in the northern direction. Tails and Cosmo leant against the hallway while looking at the Metarex robot as he slithered by.

"...Whew...That was close...Let's keep on moving..." Tails whispered with a solemn frown before he ran towards the southern hallway that the Metarex robot had slithered from earlier.

"Okay..." Cosmo whispered with a little frown as she followed Tails downwards into the other hallway. Tails and Cosmo kept running as fast as they could while looking around for any other Metarex robots. They were a bit relieved when they saw that there were no Metarex robots around, but they were also confused on easy this thing is.

Geez, you think that they would put up some sort of defense or something. But no! There's nothing here! Tails thought in confusion as he ran further.

I think that I'm overestimating the Metarex's intelligence. They're denser than rocks, and that's pretty pathetic. Cosmo thought with a frown as she ran behind Tails.

Soon, they arrived at a huge door, and it opened up immediately when they stood next to it. Wow! There is no locks or security to this huge door! It just opened very easily! Tails thought in surprise before gasping in shock when he saw what was inside the room. He and Cosmo saw dozens of Chaos Emeralds being inside of huge, glass capsules in the room. They gaped in shock by seeing so many of them in one place.

"...Man...The security in this place sucks...We just found the largest energy source in the planet with no resistance or defense being thrown at us," Tails said calmly with a frown as he stared at the capsule in the center of the room.

"I know...Maybe these Metarex robots aren't the brightest ones of the group. I certainly have never seen them before, and they're shoddy excuse of security is probably the reason why. Dark Oak must've hated these guys for being horrible poachers and had sent them to this desolate planet instead as a punishment," Cosmo replied calmly with a frown and a nod while having a hand on her chest.

"No kidding. They even left the real Chaos Emerald right in front of us!" Tails replied calmly with a stunned look on his face as he pointed at the capsule at the center.

"Huh? How could you know that's the real one? There are so many Chaos Emeralds here," Cosmo replied in confusion and in surprise as she looked at Tails.

"Simple. Because it's in the center of the room. That makes it incredibly obvious that it's the real one. The Metarex here are so stupid that they couldn't even move the original emerald to a separate location to keep it safe," Tails answered calmly with a smile as he looked at Cosmo.

Cosmo stared at Tails in shock before smiled a little in amusement of that. "So, in other words...their means of camouflage is non-existent here, right?" Cosmo replied playfully with a little smile.

"Hahaha...You are absolutely correct, Cosmo! Hahaha..." Tails exclaimed in amusement as he chuckled a bit. Cosmo smiled even more at that as she saw that she made Tails laugh a bit. Huh. I didn't think that it was that funny, but I'll take what I can get. Cosmo thought with a calm smile before she looked at the white Chaos Emerald at the center of the room. She looked solemn again as she muttered quietly, "...I still can't believe that we found it...".

She then walked forward towards the real Chaos Emerald and stood next to its capsule. Tails walked with her towards the capsule too and stood next to it. Cosmo stared at the white Chaos Emerald as she continued calmly, "...We found the real emerald. It's right here...in front of us...".

"Yeah...I can't believe that these fake emeralds were being made like this. The Metarex probably copied this emerald to make dozens or hundreds of them. This explains why the emerald radar was going off constantly the entire time. The Metarex probably tried to hide the real emerald from us by creating these fakes and were probably hoping that we would take the fakes instead of the real one," Tails replied calmly as he stared into the white Chaos Emerald with a solemn look on his face.

"Ah...Do you really think that was what they were planning?" Cosmo asked in curiosity as she stared at Tails with wide eyes.

Tails looked at her and smiled a lot while shrugging casually. "Eh. It's just a speculation that I have. I can't say if that's the truth or not, but it's still a good guess," Tails answered casually with a shrug.

Cosmo blinked her eyes at Tails before smiling a lot in amusement. "If I'm being honest, Tails, that...that sounded rather brilliant. You really are smart, Tails. It almost sounded like a plan that you would come up with," Cosmo replied calmly in amusement as she smiled sweetly at him.

Tails blushed in embarrassment of that compliment and had rubbed the back of his head in sheepishness. "Heheheh...What can I say? I gotta stay prepared for any troublesome circumstances that comes our way. So, coming up with potential battle strategies is a good habit to have as the captain of the Blue Typhoon," Tails replied calmly with a sheepish smile and a chuckle while blushing in embarrassment.

"Hehehe...It certainly is. I can't wait to see what new battle plans you have for us, Tails. Seeing you coming up with clever battle strategies is always fascinating to watch. Your ingenious mind is very intriguing to me," Cosmo replied calmly with a giggle and a gentle smile.

"Uhhh...Umm...C-Cosmo? I think that we're being sidetracked here," Tails replied shyly with a deeper blush as he looked away from Cosmo and looked at the white Chaos Emerald instead. Cosmo...Now's not the time to make me blush...Tails pondered with a little, shy smile on his flustered face.

"Hehehe...I guess that we are..." Cosmo replied calmly with a smile and a giggle. I'm starting to think that Tails is a bit shy. He must be not used to girls giving him compliments like this. That's...rather cute...Cosmo thought with a smile and a blush as she stared at Tails before at the Chaos Emerald again.

"A-Anyways, we need to get this Chaos Emerald out of this capsule. But how..." Tails replied calmly yet solemnly as he looked serious again. He stared up above the capsule and saw the wires at the top with smoke going into the ceiling. He then finished by asking solemnly, "...How are we going to do that?".

"Hmm..." Cosmo mused quietly as she looked at right and left before running towards a row of capsules at her left. "Maybe we can find some sort of switch or a lever and open the capsules that way," Cosmo suggested calmly as she looked at the capsules for a moment before running back towards Tails.

"Hmm...You might be onto something, Cosmo. There's gotta be a switch or a lever somewhere. But where could we find one?" Tails replied calmly with a frown as he stared at the capsule.

"I...I don't know...(Sigh)…" Cosmo muttered in sadness as she frowned and sighed while standing next to Tails. I wish that I could help Tails out in this, but I have no idea how to do that. Cosmo pondered with a sad frown on her face.

Tails looked even more solemn as he replied calmly, "...Hey, Cosmo? I have a bad feeling about this...".

"Huh? What do you mean by that, Tails?" Cosmo asked curiously with confused eyes as she stared at Tails.

"I mean that I have a bad feeling about this whole game that we're stuck in. I'm starting to wonder if everything that the board game had thrown at us so far was not by chance or by coincidence...but by premeditation," Tails replied calmly yet solemnly with a frown as he stared at the white Chaos Emerald.

"H-Huh? 'Pre-Premeditation'?" Cosmo repeated in confusion as her eyes and mouth went wide.

Tails nodded as he continued solemnly with a frown, "Yes, premeditation. Like...this whole thing is prepared beforehand. Everything was ready for us, and the Metarex was ready to kill us at any time. It was like...we were being spied on the whole time and that the Metarex had come up with plans to get rid of us or try to prevent us from getting the Chaos Emeralds or the Planet Eggs. Perhaps...".

He then narrowed his eyelids as he finished dramatically, "...everything was scripted...".

"...!" Cosmo gasped in shock of this as she stared at Tails. "S-Scripted"? You mean that...all of those chance events were prepared beforehand? Like...all those turns were going as planned? Does this mean that I...I...Cosmo pondered in shock as her eyes were wide. She then grimaced when she brooded this thought.

...I...I'm...I'm meant to sabotage the players as a part of the game's scripted events? I...No! That can't be true! I'm supposed to be a help to others! I'm a "guide" for crying out loud! I don't want to sabotage anybody! I want to help others! I want to help...Tails...

Cosmo then looked down in shame as she muttered quietly, "...Tails...That...That can't be right...It has to be by chance. We're the unluckiest people in the universe. How can say now that all the bad stuff that had happened to us was premeditated?".

"Because of what happened on Planet Breezy," Tails answered calmly yet solemnly with a frown.

"Ah! Wh-What?!" Cosmo exclaimed in shock as she looked up again.

"Think about it, Cosmo. The Metarex must've already prepared the fake Chaos Emerald whenever any of us had rolled the turn that has the switcheroo card. Since Knuckles had gotten that card, they immediately switched the real Chaos Emerald out for the fake one just as if it's some magic trick. Because in a way, it is. The switch was so quick that it had made the emerald radar stop blipping for a couple of seconds, and the strangest thing about it was that the emerald radar didn't pick up the second emerald the entire time we were on that planet. It was like...the other emerald appeared from a different location," Tails explained calmly with a frown as he recalled the events in Planet Breezy.

Cosmo was very shocked by this as she replied in surprise with a hand on her mouth, "...R-Really? Is that true? It wasn't by bad luck that we couldn't get the emerald then?".

Tails shook his head solemnly as he replied calmly, "...Nope. In fact...I'm starting to think that we weren't meant to get that emerald after all".

"...Oh...Oh my..." Cosmo muttered in shock as her eyes were wide. Just what are the Metarex planning? Why are they messing with us like this? I want this to stop now! Cosmo pondered in worry with a frown.

...This can't be good. If I am correct into knowing that the board game is scripted, then we are obviously going to lose in the end no matter how well our plans are to stop the poachers from taking over the universe. No wonder that nobody had finished the game. Because it's completely scripted against the players. The game is rigged! It's not a fair game at all! Ugh...Just how are we going to beat the Metarex now if they had planned everything beforehand? How can we predict their moves or what the game is going to throw at us next? I...I'm just stumped at this. However, I think that it is best to get the Chaos Emerald now and get out of here before these Metarex freaks show up. I'll tell my friends about my speculations later. But for now, we need to leave! Tails brooded with a solemn look on his face as he stared at the white Chaos Emerald.

"Tails...Can we even stop the Metarex?" Cosmo asked in concern with her hands clutched into fists.

"I...I hope that we can, but let's not focus on that right now. Let's just get this Chaos Emerald out of its capsule first," Tails replied calmly yet solemnly with a frown before he shook his head and walked over to the capsule's control panel.

"But how are going to do that? I don't see a switch or a lever anywhere!" Cosmo replied in worry as she looked at Tails and around the room.

"Well...Perhaps the answer to that is actually right here. The control panel," Tails replied calmly as he stood next to the control panel and typed into it.

"Huh? You think that control panel can unlock the capsule? I thought that we need to look for a switch or a lever to open it!" Cosmo replied in confusion with wide eyes.

"Uhh...I did, but...umm..." Tails replied awkwardly with a sheepish smile as he looked at Cosmo before he muttered in embarrassment, "...I...I just failed to notice the control panel next to the capsule...Sorry...".

"Tails...I..." Cosmo muttered in amusement as she smiled a bit at this. She shook her head as she added amusingly, "...You can be quite silly sometimes. It's rather cute...".

"H-Huh?! 'C-C-Cute'?! You think that I'm cute?!" Tails exclaimed in shock and in embarrassment as he stopped typing while staring at Cosmo with a bashful face. He blushed very much in red as he looked shocked that Cosmo called him "cute".

"Ah! Uhhh...Umm...M-Maybe...Err...I think that you need to focus on getting that emerald out, Tails. T-Time is of the essence here..." Cosmo replied awkwardly yet shyly with a deep blush while looking away from Tails. Why did I blurt that out from my mind? I usually keep these things to myself. What's going on with me lately? Cosmo pondered with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Ah...Uhh...Right..." Tails muttered awkwardly with a frown as he kept blushing. He looked back at the control panel and typed even more into it.

"O-Okay...All we need to do is to hack into the mainframe of the capsule's computer program...and...and...uhh...the heck? What's up with the gibberish? I can't understand it..." Tails continued calmly with a frown before he looked confused when the green screen showed a strange, alien language. Cosmo walked up next to Tails and read it.

"It says, 'To unlock the capsule, press up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, start'," Cosmo said calmly as she read the language. Tails looked at her in shock when he heard her reading the alien language.

He then looked amused by this as he smiled widely at her while exclaiming in happiness, "Whoa! You can read this?! That's so cool!".

"Yes, I can. This is the native language of my people. I'm actually bilingual," Cosmo answered calmly with a smile as she looked at Tails. She then frowned a bit when she confessed, "However, I'm rather rusty with my native language I'm afraid. Like I can't decipher words that involves technology. It's like a whole different language to me".

"I...I...W-Wow..." Tails muttered in awe as he smiled widely at her. I didn't even know that she was bilingual. You learn something new each day. Tails thought in amazement before looking a bit serious again as he pushed the correct button sequence onto the control panel. "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, start," Tails said calmly as he pressed the buttons.

"ACCESS GRANTED," a monotone voice said within the control panel.

"Great! We did it! We unlocked it! Thank you, Cosmo. You were a big help to me," Tails exclaimed brightly before thanking Cosmo calmly with a smile and a thumbs-up.

"O-Oh...I...I was? All I did was reading the native language that I'm rusty with," Cosmo replied calmly yet awkwardly with a little frown as she looked down and had a hand on her chest.

"But it was because you had read it that we can decipher the capsule's code and enter it in! I couldn't do that on my own!" Tails exclaimed with a smile and a wink.

"Ah! ...I...I suppose that you're right..." Cosmo replied calmly yet happily with a gentle smile. I...I actually did it. I helped someone today! And it was...Tails that I had helped. Hmm...Cosmo pondered calmly with a smile.

...Cosmo...I owe you for this...Tails thought fondly with a warm smile before he looked at the capsule again. Tails then pushed the "Open" button onto the control panel and had gotten the capsule to open. Steam appeared as the capsule opened up, and Tails and Cosmo covered their faces with their arms as the steam went out. Once the steam was gone, they can see that the capsule was lifted and that the Chaos Emerald was ready to be taken.

"Finally, something good had happened to us..." Tails muttered calmly with a smile as he was about to grab the emerald.

"Wait! Tails! Don't!" Cosmo exclaimed quickly with a worried look on her face as she grabbed Tails' hand and held it away from the emerald.

"H-Huh?! Ack!" Tails exclaimed in shock and in embarrassment when he felt Cosmo's hand holding his hand tightly. He blushed a lot from this and had stared at Cosmo in shock. Wh-Wh-WHY IS COSMO HOLDING MY HAND?! Tails thought in panic and in embarrassment. He can see that Cosmo was looking calm as she stared back at him.

She then replied calmly with a frown, "We don't want to set off the alarms in this place. Even if the security in this place is weak, I highly doubt that the Metarex would let us leave with the real Chaos Emerald without any resistance. It's best that we keep an eye on it and figure out a way to deactivate the alarms. Okay?".

"Uhh...Umm...Y-Yeah, sure. L-Let's do that...I think that we can also benefit by downloading the Metarex's manufacturing information into my wrist communicator and learn more from its emerald production. It can definitely give us an advantage into knowing their fiendish tricks," Tails replied calmly yet awkwardly with a sheepish smile on his flustered face.

Cosmo smiled at that and lets go of Tails' hand. "I agree completely, Tails. Let's find out what they are planning to do with these fake Chaos Emeralds," Cosmo replied calmly with a smile and a nod.

"Heheheh...Yeah..." Tails muttered awkwardly with a chuckle as he blushed a bit. I...I can't believe that Cosmo held my hand. It's a silly thing to get happy about, but I can't help it. It felt...rather warm...Tails thought fondly with a smile and a blush. He then nodded to Cosmo before taking out the cord from his wrist communicator and hooked it into the control panel. After that, he walked a bit away from it before crouching down. He can see that the information is being downloaded slowly yet steadily as he waited for it to be finished. Cosmo was staring at Tails in silence as she waited for the information to be downloaded too. She looked around the room for a bit and looked outside the door.

"Hmm...No signs of the Metarex anywhere. It's amazing that the Metarex pays little attention to this place. I'm pretty sure that it's their job to make these emeralds. We had heard one Metarex robot say that it is. Why are they so nonchalant with people coming and going from this place anyway?" Cosmo said calmly with a confused look on her face as she looked outside for a bit before looking at Tails.

"I don't know. Maybe they are confident that no intruder can come in here? That's what I'm thinking anyway," Tails replied calmly with a frown as he kept staring at his wrist communicator.

"...I guess that makes sense..." Cosmo muttered quietly with a frown as she looked at outside again. It was silent again as they waited for the information to be downloaded.

…

…

…

"...Say, Cosmo?" Tails asked calmly with a smile as he broke the long silence.

"Huh? Yes, Tails?" Cosmo asked curiously as she flinched when Tails called out to her.

"You were great when you had deciphered that strange language. You had never told me that you were bilingual. It's rather fascinating to me that you can do that sort of thing," Tails replied calmly with a smile as he typed into the wrist communicator for a bit.

"Oh! Uhh...It's...It's not that big of a deal really. I rarely ever get to read my native language. It has been a while since I read something like that..." Cosmo replied calmly yet humbly with a little frown and a blush as she looked down at her shoes.

"But it's still amazing to me that you can do that! None of my friends are bilingual! Not even me! That just makes you special, Cosmo! You got something that none of us have! And that is knowing a second language!" Tails exclaimed brightly with a smile as he looked up at Cosmo.

"...! ...I...I..." Cosmo muttered in surprise as she gasped a bit while staring at Tails with a deep blush.

Tails then looked warm as he continued, "See, Cosmo? There will always be something positive in bad situations like these. Sure, we may have fallen into a cave and are currently stuck in it, but we still managed to find the real Chaos Emerald and have gained new information on the Metarex's schemes. And it's all thanks to you, Cosmo. It goes to show you that you can make the best out of the worst situations by helping others out. You certainly helped me out a lot today, Cosmo. I couldn't thank you enough if I had tried".

"Uhh...Umm..." Cosmo muttered awkwardly as she smiled a little in embarrassment.

"I hope that this experience will help you to be more positive in the future. It's not always about your bad luck, Cosmo. Your actions really make the difference in the end," Tails finished calmly with a smile and a wink.

Cosmo smiled even more at that and had a hand on her chest. She stared at Tails as she replied calmly yet politely, "You are too kind, Tails. Thank you for saying those kind compliments to me, and you're right. I guess that I did make a difference today. I had helped you obtain another emerald. I just hope that we can get the rest soon and stop the Metarex that way".

Tails smiled a lot from that too and replied calmly, "Yeah, I hope that we can get the rest soon. But first things first, we're going to need your deciphering skills once we get back to the ship. We need to know what the Metarex are up to. Do you think that you can help us with that?".

"Ah! Why of course, Tails! I'll be glad to help you and the others out! All of you are my friends! I'll do my best to help you guys win the board game as much as I can! After all..." Cosmo replied brightly with a grin before she added sweetly, "...I'm your guide! Teehee!".

"Ah...Heheh...Yeah..." Tails muttered awkwardly with a smile and a blush when he saw Cosmo's cute grin. She is really cute when she's happy like this. Tails thought in fondness with a blush before looking at his wrist communicator again.

"You know, I'm so glad that we're safe in here. With no Metarex around, this place is rather peaceful," Cosmo commented happily with a smile.

"I can say the same thing too but with no intruders," one Metarex lackey said coldly as he slithered towards the vault room.

"Oh, shoot! I just had to say it, didn't I?! Why did I have to jinx it?!" Cosmo exclaimed in worry as she looked at the Metarex robot at her right while covering her mouth with her hands. Tails glared at the Metarex robot with a frown. Hmph! It's about time they had showed up! I had a feeling that they'll show up sooner or later! But now, it's time to take some action! Tails pondered calmly yet solemnly with a frown as he's ready to get up from his crouching position.

"Cosmo! Now's a good time to take the emerald! We don't need to worry about setting off the alarms now since we got some security coming at us!" Tails exclaimed solemnly with a frown as he glared at the Metarex robot.

"Alright! I'm on it!" Cosmo exclaimed quickly as she ran to the get the white emerald.

Tails soon took the cord off from the control panel and put it back inside the wrist communicator. Talk about good timing. The download was fully completed when the Metarex robot showed up. Now, all we have to do is get the heck out of here! Tails pondered quickly as he stood back up while staring at the Metarex robot closely.

"Almost...got it..." Cosmo muttered as she carefully reached her arm to grab the white Chaos Emerald.

"Think that you can steal from us, players? Well, regardless of whether we're poachers or not, we will not let you win. Now, submit to us gracefully!" the Metarex robot said coldly before he lunged towards Cosmo.

"Never!" Cosmo and Tails exclaimed boldly as Cosmo grabbed the emerald and as Tails yanked onto the large power cord simultaneously. Tails managed to rip the large cord out from the capsule while glaring at the Metarex robot. Electricity sparked a lot after the cord was ripped out.

Tails then quickly threw the cord at the Metarex robot while exclaiming boldly, "Suck electricity, you jerk!".

"Oh, crud..." the Metarex robot muttered awkwardly in shock as the power cord got closer to him while still zapping in electricity. But once he got close to it...he got a real shock.

ZAAAAAAAP!

"BLAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGHHH!" the Metarex robot screamed as the power cord was stuck in his mouth and zapped him from the inside.

"Running! Running! Running! Running!" Cosmo exclaimed in panic as she ran out from the vault room while holding the white Chaos Emerald in her hands. Tails quickly ran out from the room too and followed Cosmo.

"We did it, Cosmo! Now, let's get a move on before the other Metarex robots noti-!" Tails exclaimed brightly with a smile as he ran along with Cosmo.

"You idiotic maggots! There is a fox and a plant running around within the facility, and you had failed to notice them?! Don't just stand there! Chase after them! If you don't, you're not having any breaks for a month! You hear me?! A whole freaking month!" the Metarex sergeant yelled angrily through the speaker as the red siren went off.

"Oh, great. Now, I've jinxed it!" Tails complained with a frown on his annoyed face as he ran.

"We really do jinx everything around us, don't we?" Cosmo replied with a frown on her worried face as she kept running.

"We really do..." Tails replied with a little smile as he looked at Cosmo before he added, "...But at least, we're jinxing things together, aren't we?".

Cosmo looked at Tails and smiled a little too as she replied, "I guess that's true. But anyways, let's get away from here!".

"Agreed! Follow me!" Tails exclaimed with a solemn frown as he ran a bit faster than Cosmo and made a right turn. Cosmo nodded to that and turned right too.

Meanwhile, the Metarex lackeys heard the emergency announcement and went in separate directions to find the intruders and trap them. The Metarex sergeant stared at the computer screen in the control room and said deviously while typing into the computer, "You may run all you like, players, but you can never hide from us. We'll trap you and call on the big boss to kill you himself. You shall submit to us. You shall submit to the dominant species of the universe! Hahahahaha!".

He stared at the computer screen while seeing the emerald blip moving quickly. Meanwhile, the Metarex lackeys swam through waters outside of the power plant as a means of a short cut to the power plant's entrance. Once they got there, they were surprised when they didn't see the intruders running out from the building. So, they figured that they had traveled further into the cave. They kept swimming along the stream and went further into the cave. After that...it was silent.

…

…

…

"...Are...Are they gone?" Cosmo muttered softly as she looked up behind the rocks next to the steam and looked at her right and left. She saw no more Metarex robots within the area and sighed a bit in relief. I didn't even know that there was a stream here. How did Tails and I not notice that the first time we got here? Sigh...Cosmo pondered calmly with another sigh.

"Well...At least, we lost them by hiding in a convenient yet obvious spot. Man, those Metarex robots are stupid. But I guess that we're lucky that they are stupid or else we would've gotten captured by them," Cosmo replied calmly with a frown as she looked at Tails while crouching with the Chaos Emerald in her hands.

"Yeah, talk about a lucky break! Eh? Eh?" Tails replied brightly yet playfully with a grin as he looked at Cosmo while crouching too.

"Tails...Now's not the time for jokes..." Cosmo replied calmly yet solemnly while fighting the urge to smile at that.

"You say that...but I'm seeing a smile coming on..." Tails teased playfully with a grin.

"Just...Just stop that...This is serious!" Cosmo replied calmly yet amusingly as she smiled a little while looking away from Tails.

"Heheheh...I know. I know. I'm just lighting up the mood a little. That is something that Sonic would do in this situation, and I thought it will help you to calm down," Tails replied calmly with a smile as he chuckled a bit.

"...Tails..." Cosmo muttered quietly as she looked back at Tails and smiled warmly at him as she was happy that he's cheering her up.

"Besides, Cosmo, we got this. I think that I have an idea that can fool those stupid Metarex robots. If they can create something fake, then we can do it too," Tails replied calmly with a smile as he grabbed some mystical fireflies.

"Huh? How are we going to do that? It's not like we have something convenient on hand or anything," Cosmo replied curiously with a confused look on her face.

Tails soon smiled smugly with lowered eyelids as he replied coolly, "...Or do we?".

He then released the fireflies after exposing them to the Chaos Emerald. The fireflies flew everywhere around Tails and Cosmo and went towards the cave passageways. Cosmo was curious yet at awe at this.

"You know, Cosmo. Just like regular bugs can carry bacteria or pollen, these bugs can carry particles of chaos energy. Even just the slightest touch on the Chaos Emerald can give off a lot of energy. Because of this, we can trick the Metarex robots to chase after the fake energy while getting them off our backs. Heh. They get what they deserve. Trick the prey, and we'll trick the predators," Tails continued calmly with a smile as he stared at the fireflies.

Cosmo was stunned as she stared up at the fireflies while listening to Tails. She was amazed on how clever that plan was. She then smiled very brightly at this and looked at Tails.

"Tails...You're not only smart but clever too! I wouldn't even thought of that if it were up to me! I...I...I don't think that anyone could...You're special, Tails. I mean it," Cosmo replied calmly yet brightly with a huge smile.

Tails stared at Cosmo in shock before he smiled sheepishly at her while blushing a lot from this. She...She called me "special". Just like...I had said it to her. Tails thought fondly with a warm smile on his flustered face.

Meanwhile, the Metarex sergeant was confused that there were multiple emerald blips on screen. "Just what the heck is going on here?! There couldn't be like twenty Chaos Emeralds here! Is the computer glitching out or something?! Please tell me what's going on!" the Metarex sergeant yelled in shock and in confusion as his jaw had dropped and as a sweat drop had fallen from his head. He then looked annoyed as he muttered to himself.

"...I think that I can see why the boss hates us so much. We really are lame poachers...".

Part two down! One more part to go! But then, there's the bonus game! What's the bonus game, you ask? Those will be chapters where some extra fluff can be in. It doesn't advance the story. They're more like little breaks between episodes. It won't happen after every episode, but there will be plenty of them within the rest of the story. And this bonus game centers around Sonic, Amy, Cream, and Chris as they try to search for an underground passage since we never saw that in the show. So, I think that it would be perfect for some light-hearted humor in that situation. But anyways, I hope that you had enjoyed this part, and I'll see at part 3 where we finish this episode!