The Marble Ruins, Sonic thought as he marveled at the gigantic pillars and towers that had long since been abandoned. A lake of fire flowed through the ruins, reminding its visitors why it was left behind.
Sonic had come to these temples to hopefully find the means to acquire the sacred Chaos Emeralds of South Island.
Prior to dropping out of high school, Sonic recalled a history teacher he had that had specialized in the mythology of various cultures. Among these cultural beliefs the professor seemed most interested in the Emeralds.
According to legend, an ancient civilization of echidnas worshipped a powerful deity called Chaos who protected the Emeralds. Then mysteriously the echidna tribe was wiped out. No one knew the why or how of the occurrence. Over time, the Chaos Emeralds became lost to the sands of time. The mystical charms became fewer in number and less often found. Many archaeologists believed that there were only seven emeralds, while others theorized that most of the planet's cultures had Chaos shrines to protect their own emeralds.
It didn't matter to Sonic. He didn't care to wrap his mind around such things, he had only came to investigate the possibility of stopping Robotnik early before anything worse could happen.
He ceased thinking on the subject upon seeing a large opening that led further into the bowels of the temple.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust as he entered. He could just barely make out some torch flames in the distance.
It then donned on him: Why is there torches lit?
A deep rumble announced the eruption of lava pouring down into the temple. Without thought, Sonic dashed forward, quickly accumulating in speed until the river of fire was far behind him.
A quick glance above him revealed a row of sharp spikes. Sonic managed to roll out of the way before the death trap could come crashing down on him.
The hedgehog gulped for air, "This trip to find the emeralds better not be for nothing."
Dr. Robotnik was working busily at his computer, typing up various equations and calculations. The Chaos Emeralds should be adequate to power my ultimate weapon. The only problem is…how do I find them?
After entering the equations, the computer revealed a possibility of locating the energy signature of a Chaos Emerald.
Robotnik read off the computer's information, a smile slowly forming on his lips. "Areas with high concentration of Chaos energy found in gold rings usually form an inter-dimensional hole that separates the emeralds from one existing dimension to another," he read aloud as he stroked his thick red moustache. "Interesting."
The doctor moved from his computer and spread a map across one of his many cluttered tables. He examined all the possible areas that could have high Chaos energy levels. One spot in particular caught his eye.
Dr. Robotnik pushed a button on his intercom. "Yes, Dr. Robotnik," his robot assistant replied.
"Deploy the buzzbomber squadron. We're going to the Marble Zone."
