CHAPTER 3 - The Intertwining Highway

A green flame, slowly burst to life a row of flames lighting up the hallway one after another. The stone on the walls seemed brittle and about to collapse at any given moment, yet the visitors paid no mind to the condition the place was in.

"It appears the temple has seen better days, and hopefully it doesn't get any worse than this"

"You need to stop being so paranoid all the time Espio! How are we gonna do a job if we don't get our hands dirty"

"Yeah Espio! Think about the money we could get! "

Three individuals following the ignited flames, all of them on edge by the unknown territory they were going through. All three were a part of the infamous Detective agency known as the Chaotix who are without a doubt great detectives, but are currently in debt after a hard case.

"Unlike you two, I am a ninja, meaning I like to know what I'm getting into. Don't you find it a tad odd that the client just told us to investigate these 'temples' while giving nothing else, I don't like it Vector"

The one labelled Espio was in front leading the pack, his body language smooth and calculated, seemingly alert. His gauntlets housing Shurikens, ready to dispense at a moments notice

"Espio you just gotta learn to trust the company's policy, after all we've gotten this far in our careers. Right Charmy?"

The crocodile exclaimed, his hands behind his head, with a lack of regard for his surroundings and his teeth showing a grin stretched further than what seemed as humanly possible, his headphones never falling off his head and his chain bouncing in tune with his steps.

"You can be such a downer sometimes Espio. Hey, why don't we have a race to the end then? C'mon it would be so much fun!"

A bee was zooming around, laughter following the hyper entity. His black helmet and orange vest vibrating with his wings. Only for him to finally settle onto the floor next to the group, his eyes harboring stars in the irises of the bee.

"Pull it together Charmy! We have a job to do, at least keep it professional"

Vector had grabbed Charmy, stuffing him under his arm struggling to keep him in check while Espio simply grunted and continued to lead them to the end of the hallway, tension slowly filling the room. As they reached the end an altar appeared, runes etched in the stone, glowing as if the temple had a heartbeat. Hieroglyphs shown above the altar, depicting a small creature among the many arms of an unknown creature.

"What is this...a pedestal of some kind?"

Espio mulled over the stone, his brow deepening.

"Look Vector! It's glowing"

Charmy said, mesmerized by rhythmic glow.

"It appears to be able to hold something, and somehow my gut instinct is telling me i've already seen it." Vector's hands now rested on the altar, his maw hovering over the hole in deep thought, until suddenly he snapped back into reality. "How many temple's like this were there in the report, Espio?"

Espio sharply replied "seven in total"

Vector grinned and folded his arms "A pedestal with glowing runs, a small hole to hold an item, and seven of them around the world. How convenient."

Chramy buzzed and flew right into Vectors face, his gaze locked ontos Vectors own eye's

"What, did you already figure it out?"

Vector took out his camera, snapping a pic of the scene in front of him multiple times, before bringing his attention to the bee "There's no way this is a coincidence. Pack your bags boys because we're going emerald hunting, and I have a hunch that we're not the only one's looking if these temple's appearances have anything to say about it."

Espio and Charmy nodded at Vector and turned to leave with Vector following behind, leaving him with one thought; How deep is this rabbit hole gonna go?

"I'm requesting an audience with the commander, it concerns the visual appearance of these cracks"

"Standby Shadow...audience has been approved, head on through"

"Very well"

Shadow the Hedgehog, considered a master at chaos control, has matured after the events of black doom and the comet. Following him are his teammates Rouge and Omega, all of them in the ranks of G.U.N (Guardian Units of Nations) making them a very valuable asset for the organisation. Rouge the bat has her usual attire on, except only black dons the outfit not white. Omega has not changed much at all, except for some communication devices installed into the robot for G.U.N. Shadow while not changing much either has had his restraints altered and customized to aid him in missions.

Shadow, along with Omega-123 and Rouge quickly turned from the receptionist and went into the room, rows of screens and people frantically picking up and putting down phones. No one within was calm, except one man.

"Commander, any luck with the situation so far?"

Rouge asked, her hands now landing on her hips

"If the control center is any indication, I believe that would be a no"

Shadow exclaimed, his attention stolen by the panic in the room.

The Commander simply grunted and turned his face to the screen overlooking the operation, now gliding over the keyboard and bringing images and reports for everyone to see. Cracks in the sky shown in every single one of the images, with many soldiers having either fainted or had a seizure upon exposure to the cracks in the sky.

"This was the response that the scout team had from the exposure of the fissures after 36 minutes of the anomaly appearing. 12 of them fainting and 27 of them acquiring a seizure. Rouge, you and your team need to regroup with the remaining scouts on the field and get to the bottom of this"

Shadow upon hearing this simply scoffed before responding "Commander, assistance really is not necessary for us. We do just fine on our own"

Rouge rolled her eyes, her foot tapping the ground to get the hedgehogs attention. "Listen here hotshot; you knew we would have to work with others eventually when joining G.U.N, it was not a matter of 'if' but 'when' so suck it up, otherwise I'll have Omega here drag you instead. This is big Shadow and you know it. Trust me."

The commander coughed in his hand, all eyes now on him. "Omega please download the reports, Rouge and Shadow you two need to work with the rest of us, whether or not you think otherwise. Do I make myself clear?"

Shadow went to speak only to be promptly cut off by Rouge "Perfectly, sir"

"Excellent, get to it then"

Omega finishing the download spoke for the first time since arriving, his voice having no difference than when he was created "The Reports document that the closest one is near Westopolis, I recommend attending to that anomaly first"

Shadow motioned for the two to come closer, his hand producing a chaos emerald. "Then let's not waste any time. Chaos control"

And just like that, the Commander was once again left to focus on the disarray that is the command center. He brought a palm to his face and sighed. "I really need a drink"

Metal sonic was gliding through the air, the wind whistling past him and his metallic quills when his HUD started to flash, drawing his attention to a detected energy signal down below. He abruptly stopped hovering in the area, his eyes scanning the area for a link to the reading until stopping over what seemed to be a lake in a dense forest. Upon his descent into the forest he noticed Chao, at least fifty of them surrounding the lake blissfully unaware of the incoming visitor.

But what shocked Metal more than the Chao, was another presence he did not pick while in the air, seemingly content with sleeping underneath the many leaves of the forest. Metal landed with caution his eyes looking over the sleeping figure, scanning him for a potential profile within the archives.

"Target identified - subject known as Light Gaia"

Light Gaia merely mumbled in his sleep, turning away from the supposed light he assumed was the sun, but he never quite remembered the sun being a bright red. Opening his eyes, now half awake, said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Sonic...?"

"Negative"

Metal now stood over the small creature, his red eyes reflecting off the orb he had on his neck. His static voice now noticed by the many chao occupying the area.

"Wha- then who are you?"

Light Gaia, now awake was stunned at the newcomer now noticing the similarities between sonic and this...robot?

Metal Sonic stood in place, his metal claws clenching and unclenching in place before his voice finally escaped from the Metal variant.

"Elemental"

Light Gaia blinked, then blinked twice

"Ele-what?"

Metal without missing a beat responded again

"Elemental, is what you shall refer to me as"

Light Gaia now getting up from the ground started to fly up to eye level with the robot, his arm outstretched.

"My name is Light Gaia, but you can call me Chip!"

Now known as Elemental he looked down at the hand before grasping it, shaking the hand up and down, giving the flying critter a ride. Chip's eyes now swirling in a comedic fashion before grinning ear to ear.

"Nice to meet you too. Say what are you doing here anyways, this isn't exactly a public place you know? There's gotta be a reason, maybe I can help"

Chip stared into the red eyes of Elemental, his gaze shouting curiosity for the Blue machine. Which in turn reminded him of his current mission. He opened a compartment on his body, pulling out an emerald that radiated power, and Chips eyes opened with familiarity before returning a smug look to the machine.

"A chaos emerald aye'? Well it just so happens that I may or may not know where one is in this lovely forest"

Elemental's head snapped to stare into the creature's eyes, the red neon glow almost blinding the flying critter.

"Where is it"

Chip chuckled while as if lying down on air, his finger waving from side to side

"Ah ah ah...if you want that emerald, you're gonna have to give me something in return y'know?"

Metal voiced his opinion on the matter by grabbing the nuisance from the sky, his face now dangerously close to the point where one might be able to count the pixels on the robot's visor.

"Where. Is. The. Emerald"

Chip in a instant paled, now frantically waving his arms in front of him

"Wait wait, it's in the tree stump...next to the Chao"

Metal dropped Chip, landing with a thud he groaned and rubbed his head. Looking up to the robot now walking towards the group of Chao, completely ignoring them and heading for his target.

Elemental's hud indicates a power source similar to the one present in his chest, until reaching in the stump to reveal a bright green emerald. He stashed it and prepared to take off his, his jets glowing purple

"WAAIT-"

Thud

Metal launched himself into the air, the forest now a blur, his mission now complete he sets his sights on the fleet once more. One emerald for the Doctor should get him off his back, at least for a little while.

"Ugh...where am I?"

A familiar blue hedgehog quickly sat up, his hand clutching his head as his eyes traveled along the unknown terrain.

"Wait, this is not uncharted territory...I've been here before, yeah those trees I definitely know"

Sonic could be seen scratching his head, a confused expression visible on his face. As he scouted a little more, it finally hit him.

"These are palm trees, this is Little Planet!"

At the sudden revelation on where the hero is, he hopes to his feet ready to tackle yet another unknown except this time he knows exactly where he's going. This marks the beginning of the end of the Highway.