In Robotropolis, in the nighttime, four shadows were in front of a window. A flash of red appeared from a pair of eyes, creating a large circle with their lasers. Once they were finished and the panel moved away, it was revealed that it had been Sophia who made the hole in the glass. She was on a mission with Sally, Sonic, and Antoine. They peeked in through the hole.

"Sacre bleu! It is hu-fungus!" Antoine whispered as they were looking at a large structure down below, ships moving past.

"You mean, humongous, Ant. Hu-mun-gus," Sonic corrected while emphasizing, Sophia rolling her eyes.

"I learned language through my mind, and even I understand the word," She murmured to herself.

"It has to be...to handle all of Robotnik's traffic-" Sally suddenly gasped, not finishing her sentence as she looked to the side. They all ducked their heads as a ship flew past them. They peeked again to see the ship heading for the structure and landing in front of it. A Swat-bot stepped up to the door and used a device on its wrist for something.

"What's with all the wrist action?" Sonic asked in confusion as he had never seen that from a Swat-bot before.

"I think I know," Sally narrowed her eyes, using a pair of x-ray goggles over her face to examine the building. "Just as I thought! An alarm grid!" A large grid was over the building to prevent any intruders from entering.

"Whoa! That is nasty!" Sonic commented as the others also had their goggles on.

"I am thinking that not even a little moose can get through that thing there," Antoine whimpered a bit as he pointed downwards.

"Where do you get these phrases from?" Sophia wondered to herself, since it was mouse, not moose.

"A little moose? No," Sonic shook his head. "But a hedgehog, no prob! Where there's a hedgehog, there's a way," He threw down some rope for all four of them and they slid down. Sophia was only using the rope because she didn't want to give herself away by flying. They all landed on the catwalk, Antoine slipping and hanging onto a bar while dangling in the air.

"Oh MY!" He exclaimed, managing to pull himself up. He sighed in relief once he was safe.

Sally took out Nicole. "Nicole, boot up holographic overlay!"

"Proceeding, Sally. Overlay complete."

"Color code each square and increase to five times normal size," Sally ordered, and a bunch of colored squares appeared from the goggles.

"Are you sure you can get through there, Sonic?" Sally asked in worry, taking off her goggles.

"Oh, please don't get him started, Sal..." Sophia pinched her nose knowingly.

"Sal, are you asking if I can get through there?!" He bragged, taking off his goggles and then crossing his arms. Now she knew why Sophia had given her a warning. "Sal, is the sky blue? Is dirt dirty? Do bears-"

"Sorry I asked," Sally deadpanned, turning away.

"Juice and jam time!" Sonic sped up his feet and jumped through some squares. He called underneath one and then spin dashed, leaping through another. He landed on the ground with his hands, propelling himself into the and flipping to the other side safely. He then started to bow even though his friends weren't there.

"Thank you! Thank you! Come on, guys, how 'bout a round of applause? Even a square of applause?" He called out to them.

"Sonic," Sally silently rolled her eyes. "Just get the circuit interrupter ready. Nicole, scan for an injector slot."

"Scanning, Sally." Sonic took out a DVD from his backpack. "Injector slot located."

"Time to fry some of the ol' brain cells, pal!" He inserted the DVD into the slot, and the circuit interrupter did its job as the machinery started to overload, and it sounded like fireworks honestly. He stepped back a bit.

"Sonic, get out of there!" Sally called out to him. He ran back to his friends, taking Sally's hands, and she laughed happily.

"We did it, Sonic! All of Robotnik's traffic is paralyzed!" She started in excitement, Sophia smiling at their victory.

"Another score for the Freedom Fighters!" She cheered at this.

Antoine turned the trio, a little nervous that they hadn't been seen yet. "Then we should better be speeding?" He pointed down the catwalk.

"Yeah! We'll use the tunnels," Sonic suggested with a small smile and they ran down the platform. Sonic pressed the red button and it opened up a door. Sally led the way as they went in, the door closing behind them. They came to a stop as there were three pathways.

"Which way, Sal?" Sonic wondered since they didn't know which way was out.

"Go right!" She took the lead, but then as they were walking down, a door at the end opened to reveal Swat-bots waiting of them. Sally, Antoine, and Sophia gasped sharply upon seeing them.

"You were kidding about going right, right?" Sonic asked quickly with a sarcastic look on his face.

"Right."

"You mean left, right?" He questioned just as quick.

"R-Right!" Sally pushed Antoine down the hall, Sophia running after them.

"I knew that!" Sonic rolled his eyes to the back of his head in exasperation. "We'd like to hang out with you guys, but we've gotta motor!" He turned around as the army got closer, going all the way to the left with the others. They skidded to a stop as they were met with a door that they didn't know how to open. "You didn't mean left, right? You meant middle?" Sonic sounded more annoyed this time.

"Middle. Right...right!" She corrected herself as they scrambled for the middle tunnel, only to be met with more Swat-bots. They turned around to see that the first army was approaching from behind. There was no way they could take on that many Swat-bots on their own...

"Oh, this is terrible!" Antoine cried out at their situation.

"We're stuck here!" Sophia grunted, clenching her fists.

"I'll get us out of this! Trust me!" Sonic said in determination.

"You mind telling me how exactly?" Sophia glanced at him. Antoine cowered and suddenly a secret door opened behind him, and he was pulled backwards by a furry arm. He yelped and they turned around, seeing the secret passageway. "Ant! Juice time!" The three quickly crawled inside just as the robots started shooting.

"Uh, need a hand?" Someone extended out a hand to them after they've had a moment to take a breath.

"Oh, yes! Thank you for the help," Sally said gratefully as they were saved by a goat.

"We really appreciate it," Sophia sighed in relief, dusting off her skirt as she stood up.

"Yeah, you saved us the trouble," Sonic added in with a smile.

"I'm Sally, this is Sonic, and that's Sophia," The chipmunk introduced the trio, the pink-haired princess waving when her name was said.

"Hello, I'm Griff."

Antoine suddenly woke up, as he had fainted from the events that happened. He rubbed his head in pain. "Ohhh my goodness...where am I going?" The door to the secret entrance was being banged on and they stared at it.

"Swat-Bots. Follow me!" He ran off and they followed after him, Antoine lagging behind them.

"Wait for moi!" Antoine cried out just as the Swat-Bots managed to get through the secret passageway. The alarm kept going off as Griff peeked around a corner, squeezing through a tight space.

"Where are we going, Griff?" Sally wondered as she got through and he turned to her.

"Lower Mobius," He explained simply, letting her and Sophia take the lead.

"Lower Mobius?" Sonic asked as Antoine went next.

"Yeah, we escaped Robotnik's Swat-bots and built an underground city. There's about thirty of us," Griff said as the passage was a pipe to slide down.

"We've heard about you guys!" Sonic called out as he went, landing next to Sally. He turned around as Griff landed in front of him. They gave a look of awe at the pipes around them. Griff went over to a panel and pressed some buttons, and the door opened to reveal seats of some kind.

"Welcome to the pipeline express!"

He drove a vehicle at a high speed, Antoine having his eyes covered as he pulled a lever, and they heard a noise.

"What was that?" Sally glanced behind her.

"Well, I think the gear box needs a little work," He chuckled a bit.

"I am thinking it needs very much of the work!" Antoine argued back and they kept going through the tunnel. After doing some swerving, Antoine peeked out from behind the front seat, flinching a bit in fear. "Sacre bleu! We are going crashing into pieces!" He screamed at a seemingly dead end.

"Don't worry, Antoine," Griff took what looked to be a small pen and fired a laser from it, opening up the door. "It's to keep the rat-bots out," He told them as the door closed behind the vehicle.

"R-r-r-r-rat bots...?" Antoine stammered slowly, sweating a little.

"Yes, Robotnik created them as tunneling rats years ago then abandoned them. Now...they run wild in here."

"EEEP!" Antoine yelped as Griff used a scary tone, especially on the word wild.

"The rats are all dangerous, but there's one in particular. You see, he's a mutant, and he's much bigger than the others."

After hearing that, Antoine cowered, hiding his eyes and shaking. Sophia just shook her head at him, since she was also sitting in the back.

Griff stopped the vehicle and the roof opened up. The others looked around with smiles, Griff standing up and gesturing to his right.

"Welcome to Lower Mobius, Freedom Fighters!" He stated and he let them go first, and they stopped once they saw the underground city of buildings, as well as a light source over the whole area.

"Oh my gosh. It's beautiful!" Sally exclaimed in awe.

"Yeah! Past cool!" Sonic agreed with her.

"I can't believe this place is down here," Sophia gasped, her eyes shining a little. Someone walked up to them as the lights were dimming, and he was a warthog wearing a Royal Guard uniform.

"Welcome back, Griff! Have a successful trip?" He greeted his friend, who shook his head in return.

"No, not really, Dirk, I'll tell you later. But I did meet some Freedom Fighters," Griff gestured to the others, and Dirk saluted.

"We're honored!"

"Oh..." Antoine briefly saluted back. "Merci! Merci!" The lights flickered again as Griff gestured to the lights, Sophia staring at it in confusion.

"This is our energy chamber. It supplies all the power for Lower Mobius," Griff shook his head as it wasn't easy dealing with it just like right now...

"Man, we could sure you something like that in Knothole!" Sonic remarked at it.

"Without it, we couldn't survive down here," He started walking down the platform, followed by the others. The lights went out completely for a few seconds, and Griff noticed it before he continued walking. Sonic suddenly stopped, sniffing the air.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Is the ol' nose playing tricks, or do I smell a..." He licked his lips in delight. "CHILI DOG! Pig out time!" He sped right past them, Sophia rolling her eyes in amusement.

"Of course..."

He tapped his fingers impatiently at the counter, licking his lips eagerly. The pig vendor puts chili on one of them, staring at the hedgehog. "Are you really gonna eat all twelve of those chili dogs?" He wondered to Sonic.

"Yeah! But those are just snacks. I'll do some serious eating later," Sonic answered and the plate of chili dogs were handed to him.

"Enjoy!"

"Pinch me! I must be dreamin'," He held one up and was about to dig in when an alarm went off. Everyone around him ran off, and the vendor suddenly closed his shop. "Yo, what's up?" He wondered in confusion.

"Sonic! Sonic!" Griff ran up to him, with Sophia in tow. "I need your help! Ratbots are trying to penetrate the pipe system!"

He took the four down the tunnels with his hover sled, and they were suddenly met with a Rat-bot in their path. Griff slammed on the brakes, pulling on the lever as there were two of them now, and they had electrified tails to top it off...

"We're trapped!" Griff exclaimed as the Rat-bots got closer. Griff tried pulling on the lever again and again, but nothing happened. He then turned to Sally. "I can fix it, but I need some time!"

"Not a prob! I'll handle the rat-butts!" Sonic jumped out of his seat and Sophia leaped out of hers.

"Don't think I'll let you have all the fun!" She ran after him.

"Sonic! Watch their tails!" Griff warned the two, standing up.

"Hey rat-butts!" Sonic faced one bravely, but then the Ratbot swung its tail. Sophia grabbed her friend from behind and flew into the air. "Whoa!" The Ratbot flung its tail so that it was heading towards them, but she quickly dodged and the tail hit a pipe instead, breaking it.

"Nice try, ratso! Actually, it was a weak try! Really weak!" Sonic gestured for Sophia to back up and she did so. "Come on, give me your best shot!" Suddenly there was another Ratbot behind the two of them, which they didn't notice.

"Sonic, Soph, behind you!" Sally warned the both of them and they glanced behind them to see another tail heading their way.

"Close, but no cheese, slime-wad!" Sonic taunted as Sophia flew up higher. All three ratbots swung their tails upwards at the same time, but she ducked underneath them and went invisible.

"Huh?!" Griff exclaimed in shock as the ratbots turned around, not seeing them anywhere. The two reappeared behind the ratbots, Sophia flapping her wings.

"Come on, creep-os! I'm not even working up a sweat here!" They advanced towards the duo, both of them hopping around to avoid the swinging tails at their feet.

"Now you're cookin'! Yeah!" They took off and then landed at the other side. Sonic flinched in pain, jumping up into the air as he was near a heating pipe. "Ow! That's hot!" He beamed and looked at Sophia. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Ready when you are, Sonic!" She nodded and activated her wings again.

"You rat-heads in the mood for a lil Hedgehog-kabob?" Sonic hid his hands behind his back. "Come and get it!" He waved them forward.

"Yoo-hoo! We're waiting all nice and tasty!" Sophia teased as she flew behind Sonic, who leaped out of the way. The ratbots fell for it and swung their tails. Sophia soared to the ceiling, watching as the tails hit the pipe, causing it to emit steam, and they shut down right then and there.

"I had to blow off a little steam," Sonic stated as the two returned to the Hover Sled.

"I-I-I am thinking you're going to need more steam, Sonic Hedgehog," Antoine shook more as he pointed forward, revealing a giant ratbot so big that it almost didn't fit through the door.

"It's the mutant!" Griff told them.

"Griff, what about the gear shift?" Sally wondered as there was no way they could fight it off right now.

"No! I-I've tried everything!" He pulled as hard as he could on the lever, but it was stuck. "Stuck solid!"

"You guys hold on!" Sonic and Sophia got out of their seats. "We'll push you out of here!" They both slid down the front.

"Push us?! How?" Griff wondered and the girl simply removed one of her rings. Sonic took one out from his backpack, the large ratbot getting closer.

"A power ring..." Sally murmured in realization, the two glancing backwards.

"Grab your socks, we are gonna juice!"

"Hold on tight!" Sophia warned with a small smile.

"A power ring..." Griff eyed the rings as the ratbot was readying its tail.

"Bailing! Warp-7!" The two speed backwards before the tail could touch them, and they headed for the metal door. Griff pointed his pen at it and they managed to escape. The two skid to a stop safely into the underground city. Sonic and Sophia gave each other a high five.

"Sonic, Sophia, that...that was absolutely incredible!" Griff said in awe, standing up. "How does these...power rings work?"

"Only my Uncle Chuck knows for sure. He made them for me and Soph before he was captured and roboticized," Sonic answered to him.

"He was friends with my parents, and so he made these as a gift for me, I didn't even know there were more until I met my friends," Sophia smiled, gesturing to her friends.

"So if Soph has two...you mean there's more than one?" Griff asked slowly.

"Yes, we receive a new ring every 12 hours," Sally told him. "And the ones that Sophia has never run out of energy."

"Fantastic! I've never seen so much condensed energy! Can I see it?"

"Sure!" Sonic tossed it into his hands while Sophia held out the ring she took off. He held them in his hands, getting an idea... "Listen, we have some unfinished business! Catch ya later!"

"Save me some chili dogs!" Sophia called out teasingly.

"Yeah, right!" He responded back with a laugh.

"Fantastic..." Griff murmured at the rings, tossing Sophia's back to her.

Sonic was back at the booth, tapping a finger against the counter. The chili dogs were given to him and he smiled, taking one. "All right!" But once again he was interrupted because the lights were flickering again. "Huh?!" The light source was dying, and it was worrying both Griff and Dirk.

"I doubt it will last another 24 hours, Griff," Dirk told him, and they both knew that once the energy source died out, they'd have to find somewhere else to live.

"We have to do something. The Freedom Fighters have an incredible energy source, but they're very protective of it."

"This calls for drastic measures. Can they help us?" Dirk glanced behind him to look at his friend.

"I don't know yet if we can trust them...But I know what to do."

Sonic took a chili dog and was about to eat when-

"Son-eek! Son-eeeek!" Antoine ran over to him. "Oh, this is terrible! Terrible! I can't believing it!"

"Can't believing what, Ant?" Sonic wondered, as well as thinking that he'd never get to eat a chili dog at this point.

"Greef! He is stealing the heart of my princess!"

"Say what?" Sonic flinched in alarm upon hearing that.

"No no no! Coming along, I show you!" Antoine pulled the hedgehog away from his chili dogs, dragging him across the dirt.

"Whoa!"

The two peeked over and Sonic gasped. "Ah, sacre bleu! This is most terrible day of my young and handsome life." They watched as Griff picked up a flower for Sally, who smiled at him. Sophia flew by and landed between them. She sighed at the two, crossing her arms.

"Don't you think spying on Sally isn't something you should be doing?" She raised a brow at the both of them.

"Yeah?! Well anything he can do, I can do better!" Sonic ignored her and jumped off the small cliff.

"Oh, thank you for the flower, Griff," Sally sat on a bench and he stood behind her. "It's beautiful!"

"Not as beautiful as you, Sally," He told her and she blushed at him. Sonic suddenly appeared with a flower of his own, two of them.

"For you, Sal!" He presented them to her.

"Why Sonic! How sweet!" She smiled, since he had never given her flowers before. If it wasn't for Griff, though, he'd still be trying to eat his chili dogs...

"I wrote a poem for ya..." He got closer with a smile.

"You...wrote a poem?" She was shocked and slightly concerned, since he was definitely not a poetry person, and she had the feeling that he was doing this to get between her and Griff.

"Hold onto your socks, cause this is gonna blow you right out of your shoes!" Sonic cleared his throat. "When it comes to speed, I can't be beat! I'm faster than lightning, faster than heat! I'm so fast, I'd burn up this street! Ain't that mondo sweet?" He sped over to the bench, looking up at her, but she didn't really know what to think of it.

"Aw no..." Sophia facepalmed, as that did not sound romantic in the slightest.

"For you, my princess!" Antoine came over with a bouquet, shocking Sonic.

"Oh, Antoine! Thank you, but I-"

"I, too, have written you a poome!" He handed her the bouquet, but she was mostly confused.

"I'm sorry, a what?" She wondered, Sonic glaring at him.

"A poome!" He then kneeled and Sophia groaned, hanging her head. This was going very bad, very fast...

"OH! Oh, a poem! Oh, I see," She chuckled a bit, Sonic clenching a fist at this.

"Yes, oui, that is what I said. Ahem," He cleared his throat, clasping his hands together. "I am a royal guard, brave and true. Who gladly would be laying down my life for you!"

"Scuse me while I chuck my chili," Sonic remarked, a bit disgusted.

Antoine stood up quickly, furious at the hedgehog's remark. "You are insulating my poome!"

"No, your poome insulates itself," Sonic stood up, glaring at him back.

"Well, it is much more romantic than your STUPID poome!" The royal guard member exclaimed back and they had a staredown.

"Boys, please!" Sally stood up, pushing them apart. "You're being very rude to Griff!"

"Who cares?!" Sonic exclaimed, Griff oddly not saying anything as he looked away.

"Oui! Who?!" Antoine yelled, angry at Griff for trying to steal Sally. If anything, it was something both rivals could agree on...

"I care! He saved our lives, and I think you owe him an apology," Sally crossed her arms.

"I'm supposed to apologize to him for trying to steal MY girl?!" Sonic exclaimed in disbelief, Sophia sighing slowly and looking away while rubbing her neck. She had no idea if it would be good or bad if she stepped in here...

"I am not your girl!" The chipmunk princess exclaimed at the hedgehog.

"Since when?" He remarked, hands on his hips.

"Since forever!"

"I can wait!" He looked away, crossing his arms. "Just ask Soph, she's probably older than she looks," He jerked a thumb to Sophia, who was waving her hands to indicate to him NOT to tell anyone she was there. She then glared at his remark and used her laser eyes to fire at his feet and he yelped in pain. "Ouch!" He exclaimed, giving the pink-haired princess a look.

"Sonic, I'm not trying to steal Sally! Honest," Griff walked over to him.

"Yeah right," Sonic muttered, not believing him for one second.

"Look, let me drive you back to the surface. It's the least I could do," Griff offered them.

"We can walk!" He told him, wanting to leave from him as soon as possible.

"You can drive ME back, Griff!" Sally hooked her arms around his and they walked off together. "And Soph too, I'm sure she finds this ridiculous."

"I'd like it if you guys would stop talking about me like you already don't know I'm here!" Sophia called out, flying down to them.

"Huh?! HEY!" Sonic and Antoine chased after the both of them.

Griff took the Hover Sled out into the open, glancing back as Sonic and Antoine did not look happy with him. They went into the Great Forest. "Wow. This is really, really beautiful," He murmured, landing them in a clearing. "Home sweet home."

"Heh!" Sally chuckled a little. 'Would you like a...Knothole tour?"

"Thanks, but I should-I should get back."

"Best idea you've had yet!" Sonic jumped out of the Hover Sled, Sophia rolling her eyes at his behavior. "You coming Sal?"

"Bye Griff," She kissed his cheek. "Thanks for everything."

"Yeah, we really appreciate it," Sophia smiled at him and Sally was about to step out.

"Allowing me, my princess!" Antoine offered his hand to escort her down and she took her hand back.

"No thank you, Antoine," She remarked thinly, still angry at them for earlier. They stared at her in shock while Sophia just hummed knowingly, agreeing with Sally on this one.

"I'll help you, Soph," Griff jumped off and offered his hand to her.

"Oh! Well, thank you," She took his hand and he helped her down. Unknown to Sophia, however, he only did that so he could plant a tracking device on her back behind her hair.

"Well, I hope we meet again, Freedom Fighters," He then pulled out a wire and 'attempted' to start up the Hover Sled.

"Griff? What's wrong?" Sally wondered to him.

"It's this darn engine acting up again," He shrugged a bit.

"Oh! Well, um, why don't you spend the night here? We have plenty of room and you can just fix it in the morning!" Sally offered with a smile.

"Well, that's very kind, but...alright, I accept!" He stepped off the Sled and they headed for the lake together.

"Halt! Please do identify your own selves!" Antoine stopped in front of them, trying to get Griff and Sally away from the lake.

"Relax, Antoine. You know it's us," Sally tried to assure him.

He crossed his arms with an indignant look. "I am sorry, my princess. But a royal guard is never taken anything for granted. Hmph! Especially when they are strangers jerking about!" He looked specifically at Griff.

"Antoine...you are being a toad!" She told him as they left and he just looked confused.

"A toad? What is a toad?" He murmured and his question was left unanswered.

"This is where we get our power rings," Sally stated as they reached the end of the log.

"Well, it's very nice, but...I'm not sure I quite understand." She let go of him and pointed as the water bubbled.

"Great! We're in luck! A ring is coming!" They watched as the ring floated out of the water and she held it up for him to see. His eyes widened as he gasped.

"It's magnificent!"

Antoine was sleeping by the tree at night when a shadow walked past him. They jumped and dove into the water, Antoine muttering in his sleep while scratching himself. The diver went all the way to the bottom, finding the power rock for the rings, and it was Griff who had dived in. He reached out to the rock as Antoine yawned, stretching and going back to sleep. Griff went past him without being seen at all. Then he ran over to Bunnie's house, peeking into the window. All the lights were out as Sophia was sleeping peacefully in her room. Griff then opened the door while Bunnie was sleeping as well, and stepped up to the pink-haired alien's bed, looming over her...

Griff walked into the forest, holding the power rock in one hand, while holding the sleeping Sophia over his shoulder with the other hand. He looked back to make sure he wasn't being followed and walked off. Sally was looking out to the moon, sighing as she had a hand on her cheek.

"Yo, Sal!"

She gasped sharply as she glanced behind her. "Uh!" She sighed in relief as she saw it was just Sonic talking to her. "Oh, Sonic! You scared me!" He joined her side at the window.

"Sorry, I've been thinkin'-"

"Oh! Trying something new, are we?" She teased him.

"Funny," He muttered in a bit of annoyance.

"Thank you," She looked back to the moon, and they stayed silent for a few seconds. "Are you still jealous?"

"Me, jealous? Ha!" Sonic laughed it off.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She looked back outside, hands on her cheeks.

"Ha is short for you have no clue," He answered her, looking out to the sky as well.

"Ha ha! I have no clue?"

His eyes widen and he looks further outside. "I hear a parrot," He turned away from the window.

"I'll tell you who doesn't have a clue."

"Who?" He wondered as he stopped at her table.

"Look in the mirror," Sally prompted him and he looked at the handheld mirror in front of him, picking it up. He rubbed his chin as he admired himself.

"All I see is...hedgehog perfection!"

"Aww, brother," She stated in annoyance, shaking her head.

Griff looked around as he was taking the power rock and Sophia to his Hover Sled. Right then and there, Sophia was waking up, blinking her eyes open. "Huh?!" Griff flinched as she woke up, looking up at him. "Griff? What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," Is all he said before putting tape in her mouth. He took out some rope and put her in the back, tying her hands together. She glared at him and he sighed. "I know you're mad, but this is what I have to do so that Lower Mobius can survive!"

She dropped her glare, but didn't react further. He placed the power rock next to her and got into the Hover Sled. She stared up ahead and she watched as he plugged the engine back in. She gasped sharply as she realized that he faked the engine problem to steal their power rock! The Hover Sled started up and he took off, Sophia crying out for help as she tried to untie herself, but it was muffled behind the tape, so no one heard her. She glanced behind her and then shook her flower crown off her head, leaving it behind as a clue. The only person outside, Antoine, was still sleeping when he woke up in alarm. He gasped at the lake, stepping up.

"Sacre bleu!" He then rushed right over to Bunnie's house to alarm Sophia, but when he looked through her window, he saw that she wasn't there. He headed straight for Sally's hut.

"What does he have that I don't have?" Sonic asked her, leaning back in a chair while his feet was on the table.

"You mean besides a brain?" Sally teased him, hands on her hips. Then Antoine entered in a panic.

"Son-eek! My princess! Something terr-ebile has happened!"

"What's wrong, Antoine?" She wondered, Sonic annoyed that his rival interrupted their time.

"I do not know. The power ring pool, something is wrong with it, but I do not know what! And Sophia is nowhere to be found!" Sonic immediately sped out of his seat, papers flying by as they stared after him. He reached the lake and looked down as the water was rippling.

"Yeah, something is way past un-cool," He dove into the water, and reached the bottom, seeing that their power source was gone. He came out of the water, meeting Antoine and Sally. "The power rock is gone!"

"Gone?!" Sally exclaimed in disbelief. "But who would-"

"Guess," The hedgehog interrupted her as he emerged from the water.

He picked up something from the spot where Griff had his Hover Sled parked, with Sophia's flower crown on top of it.

"What is it, Sonic?" Sally questioned as he stared at the objects.

"Griff's Hover Sled is gone, and I found these!" He held out the items to them and Sally narrowed her eyes. She silently scolded herself for trusting Griff, and now he had both the power stone and her friend.

"Sacre bleu!" Antoine exclaimed as he recognized them.

"Griff took the Power Stone and kidnapped Sophia?" Sally asked slowly, not wanting to believe it.

"Yup, and I'm gonna get them back! Juice time!" He took off towards the forest, heading towards Lower Mobius.

Griff had just arrived back to the underground City, placing the power stone in a control panel. "Let's hope this works!" He then flew upwards and placed Sophia gently down in a cage on top of the energy source. He took one of her rings and then used it around the rock, giving them even more power.

"Griff! The Rat-bots got through! They're coming!" Dirk called out, waving his hands.

Sonic went through the tunnel.

Dirk and Griff ran into the city, watching the ratbots terrorizing their friends, who were fighting back. One of them broke a chair, and the resident ran off. Griff and Dirk picked up clubs, rushing over to help. Griff swung back and forth, only to get his weapon knocked away by a tail. He then was knocked onto the ground, looking up with a gasp as the large robot screeched at him. Sophia looked down from her spot, a little worried for the others.

"Bailing, Warp-7!" Sonic picked up his speed as he reached the exit, landing near Griff. He ducked from a tail. "You cheese-bags are really starting to annoy me! My turn!" He ran around the three so fast that they couldn't see him. "Yo, no-brainers! Over here!" They looked over and saw him eating nearby. "Wanna give it up, or what?"

"Sonic!" Sophia called out, but he couldn't hear her, unfortunately. He gasped as a ratbot was right in front of him and he jumped up.

"Whoa! Guess not. Okay, see how you dig this!" He leaped and landed on the dirt, spinning around to dig himself. The ratbots jumped and looked down the hole, and Sonic emerged behind them. "Yo! You want me? I'm right here!" Their tails got tangled up as they charged at him, but he moved away, and this ended up electrocuting all of them. He landed in the middle of the robots.

"Thank you, Sonic..." Griff spoke up, the hedgehog turning to him. The goat offered his hand, but Sonic came for two things only.

"Forget the thanks, Griff. Where's the power stone and my friend?" He growled a bit.

"I used them to keep our energy crystal alive," Griff admitted, Sonic placing his hands on his hips. "Without the crystal and her, we...we couldn't survive!"

"That doesn't give you the right to steal from us or kidnap a friend of ours!" Sonic shook his head. "She's already been a prisoner of Robotnik, she doesn't need a reminder of that." He could still remember the frightened alien girl he encountered that day...

"I'm sorry...I was desperate," Griff looked away in guilt. "And I never meant to scare or hurt your friend, honest."

"Where are they?!" Sonic demanded so that he could get his friend out of here as soon as possible.

Griff guided him to the power stone and to Sophia, taking out the rock and handing it to Sonic. He then flew his Hover Sled upwards to reveal Sophia in the cage. She was sitting down, her eyes closed as she was looking downwards. Sonic jumped out of his seat, running over to her.

"Hey, Soph!" Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. "Missed me?" He asked playfully as Griff opened up the gate to let her out. The two of them freed the girl and Sophia glared at Griff, fists clenched.

"How...dare you!" She hissed at him and he looked away.

"I...deserve that."

"You okay, Soph?" Sonic asked her and she hugged herself.

"Yeah...it wasn't as bad as being in a dark and scary prison, but I still didn't like it," She told him.

"Look, Griff. What you did was wrong," Sonic told him as he took the power stone, and they walked back to the Hover Sled. But we're all in this war against Robotnik together!" He split open the rock, handing one half to Griff. "This should keep you crusin' for a while!"

"I...I don't know how to thank you," He admitted to Sonic.

"Maybe you oughta turn the lights back on," Sonic stated as he looked to the dark city. Griff placed the rock into the panel, and the lights came on again. He shook hands with Sonic.

"You're the best, Sonic."

"I know," Sonic smiled at him and Griff turned to Sophia.

"And I'm truly sorry for what I did to you...I thought it was the right thing."

"My planet was destroyed, so I understand where you're coming from," She explained, crossing her arms with a wink. "But maybe don't kidnap alien princesses next time you need help, okay?"

The three all laughed in unison at that.