In the seedy town of Oriental City, Kat and Knuckles were riding on a small freight boat across a canal. Kat was flipping through a guide book on the region as Knuckles stood at the bow, his arms crossed as he looked out at the city.
"Are you sure we can trust this guy?" Kat asked. "I mean, how do we know this 'Hawk' guy even has what we're looking for?"
"Hawk is a lot of things, but a liar isn't one of them," Knuckles reassured.
"Yeah, also, how do you know Hawk?"
"I met him a few months back, before I ended up with you. I was searching around on the south side of the continent, looking for one of the Chaos Emeralds when I came across this old stone temple…"
…
South Continuent, Two months ago…
Knuckles made his way through the dense jungle, eventually reaching a clearing. At the center of the clearing was a fair sized temple. It's structure was very similar to the ruins he was used to back on Angel Island. Curious, he moved in for a closer look.
"Help!" a voice cried out from inside. "Somebody! Help me!"
Knuckles quickly ran through the temple and quickly smashed through a wall, seeing a slightly out of shape oriental man trapped between two walls closing in on them. He took one look at the man's predicament, then smashed right through the trap, freeing the man. He crawled through the hole back out into the sunlight, flopping onto the grass in relief.
"Thanks little guy," the man said. "I thought I was going to be turned into a pancake."
"Don't mention it," Knuckles replied.
"I'm Hawk. What's your name?"
Knuckles contemplated answering for a moment, then sighed.
"Knuckles."
…
"Turns out, he and I were looking for the same thing," Knuckles remarked.
"And he finally found it?" Kat asked.
The boat came up to a dock, where the two disembarked, walking down the street.
"He said he did. We need to meet him at somewhere called Jack's Place."
"Great… and where is Jack's place? I don't think I'll find it in my guide book."
"I'm sure one of these people knows." he walks up to one of the citizens. "Excuse me, how do we get to Jack's Place from here?"
"Hey, I know you," the man let out. "You're that Sonic guy, right?"
The question seemed to set Knuckles off.
"You must be crazy! I don't look anything like Sonic! I'm Knuckles!"
Kat quickly stepped between the man and the irate echidna.
"Sorry about him," she apologized. "Jetlag, you know?"
The man gave a nod.
"Right. Not a problem."
"So, can you help us get to Jack's Place?" She asked.
The man nodded again, this time more enthusiastically.
…
After traversing about half a dozen dirty alleys, the duo were led right up to the doors of the dingiest, dirtiest, and possibly seediest shop in town. Kat took one look at the door and pulled her bat off of her back.
"I don't like the look of this place," she muttered.
"Well this is where Hawk told me to meet him," Knuckles replied. "If you want, you can stay outside."
"Screw that. You're not leaving me alone."
"Alright. Just stay close."
The two walked inside the shop, all of the patrons turning to look at them. All of them were rough and tumble looking, though there was a strange man in a trench coat in the corner that didn't seem to move. Knuckles and Kat walked up to the counter, gaining the attention of Fwan, the man behind the counter. Knuckles hopped up onto one of the stools as Kat leaned on the bar, both of them acting like they were the toughest customers in the room.
"We're looking for a man by the name of Hawk," Kat told him.
Fwan just stared at the duo, especially Knuckles. The echidna let out a glare, pounding his fist on the counter.
"There something on my face, buddy?"
"Sorry, we don't get many visitors like you around here."
"Just answer my friend's question," Knuckles insisted. "Have you seen Hawk or not?"
"No, not familiar. Sorry, wish I could help ya."
"You sure you don't know anything?" Knuckles asked.
That's when the other patrons of the establishment began to rise from their seats, all save for the trench coated man. They formed a semi circle around the counter, boxing in Kat and Knuckles. They both turned, facing the group as one of the men spoke up.
"Hey. The man told you he hasn't seen your friend. Now you can either thank him and get out, or me and my friends can show you the way out."
Knuckles just smirked in response as Fwan ducked behind the counter.
"Maybe… or maybe you guys should be the ones to leave."
One of the men snorted, then charged at the pair. Kat sidestepped, swinging her bat at the man's legs. He fell forward, right into Knuckles' fist before being knocked back. The man collapsed to the ground as the duo turned to the rest of the men.
"Anyone else?" Kat challenged?
"Take it easy, friends," a new voice insisted.
Everyone paused, turning to see a large, rather muscular man entering the establishment. He had to duck to enter the building, his form towering over the tallest of the goons.
"I have a feeling these two are tougher than they look."
"Mr. Li Yan?!" one of the men let out.
The men then parted, bowing in respect as Li Yan approached. Knuckles jumped down from his stool, making sure he was in front of Kat as he looked up at the man. Li Yan looked down at him, giving a somewhat malicious smile.
"Welcome to Oriental City. What business do you have here?"
"A guy named Hawk said we could find him here," Knuckles answered. "He has something I want."
"Ah yes, Knuckles and his little friend. We've been expecting you. Hawk's waiting for you, so just follow me. I'll take you right to him."
"Lead the way," Knuckles urged.
Li Yan walked out of the shop, Kat and Knuckles following right behind. As they left the trench coated man lifted his head, revealing himself to be Orbot.
"Did you see that?" He said quietly. "It's Knuckles and his little friend."
"Oh man," Cubot let out, poking his head out of the middle of the trenchcoat. "We need to report to the doc!"
…
Meanwhile, Li Yan led Knuckles and Kat into a seemingly abandoned house in one of the more rundown parts of town. Kat looked around, leaning in closer to Knuckles.
"You know we're most likely walking into a trap, right?"
"We don't really have any other choice. Just stay close, alright?"
"Don't need to tell me twice."
As they went inside, they walked down a set of stairs towards another door. Li Yan opened it, holding it for them. Neither Kat nor Knuckles moved to go through.
"Age before beauty," Kat quipped.
"What she said," Knuckles remarked.
Li Yan smirked as he walked inside, closing the door behind him. Almost immediately, a trap door opened up beneath them, dropping them down a long, narrow chute. Thinking fast, Knuckles slammed his fists into the sides of the chute, planting his feet. He managed to stop his descent, then Kat landed on top of him. He slid down a good foot, then stopped, grunting hard.
"You okay?" Kat asked quietly.
"I'll live…" Knuckles grunted.
The two glanced down below them, seeing no deadly spikes or traps of that nature. Deeming it safe, Knuckles released his grip on the chute, dropping both of them down. They found themselves in a bare, concrete cell, along with another prisoner. Said prisoner had his back to the two, and didn't even bother looking up from his meal tray as he addressed them.
"I'll share this cell with you, but don't think I'm gonna share my food. If you want to eat, you're gonna have to wait until tomorrow. Got it?"
Knuckles smirked, recognizing the man instantly.
"Is that anyway to treat a friend, Hawk?"
Hawk perked, turning around and grinning from ear to ear.
"Knuckles! It's you!" He set the tray down, crawling over towards the pair. "Who's your friend here?"
"I'm Kat Winters. Knuckles sleeps in my house and eats my food, so I've grown attached to him."
"Heh, nice deal. So how did you two get down here?"
"Let's just say we decided to drop in," Knuckles remarked.
…
On the outskirts of Oriental City, still bobbing in the ocean, Robotnik met with Orbot and Cubot, the latter trying to untangle himself from the trench coat.
"You're certain it was them?" Robotnik questioned. "I find it hard to believe Knuckles would frequent a dive like that, much less with his violent little pet in tow."
"It was them, Doctor," Orbot confirmed. "They were looking for someone named Hawk."
"Yeah!" Cubot called out, accidentally flying into a supply cabinet. "They must be looking for something big to risk going there! That place was crawling with cockroaches!"
"Big, indeed," Robotnik pondered. "Perhaps it's time to put our little plan into action."
…
In the cell, Kat was feeling along the walls, trying to find any weak spots to attempt to escape. While she did this, Knuckles and Hawk kept talking and getting caught up.
"And you're sure it was a Chaos Emerald?" Knuckles asked.
"Absolutely," Hawk nodded, holding out his hands to estimate the size. "It was about this size, was diamond shaped, and was bright red and glowing."
"It is a Chaos Emerald," Knuckles confirmed.
Kat wasn;t done searching, so she urged them to keep talking, giving them a "keep going" motion with her hand. Hawk gave anod, then spoke up again.
"You know, I don't think you ever told me why these Emeralds are so important."
"Collecting all seven will allow us to go back to where we came from. For me… that's Angel Island… paradise…"
His mind began to wander to memories of him on Angel Island, guarding the Master Emerald.
"Just me guarding the Master Emerald without a care of the world… hour after hour… day after day… just dreaming and watching…"
"I've said it once and I'll say it again, that sounds like the most tedious life I have ever heard of," Kat quipped. "I mean, I know the Master Emerald is your people's treasure and all that, but haven't you ever wanted more than just the life of a guard?"
"Not really. It was the only life I knew, until Sonic and Eggman brought their little squabble to my paradise."
"Well, if that's what you want the Emerald for, more power to you," Hawk declared. "I'd assumed you wanted it for money like I did."
"It doesn't matter now," Knuckles lamented. "I assume they took the Emerald when they put you here."
"Not a chance. I was smart enough to hide it before they came for me."
Knuckles' eyes lit up.
"Where is it?"
Before Hawk could answer, Kat suddenly started speaking.
"Who cares?" She announced. "Between you and me, this place isn't so bad."
Both Knuckles and Hawk turned to her, to which she silently gestured to a small listening device that was embedded in the wall.
"What do you think, Knux?" she prompted.
"You know, I didn't think I'd like it at first," Knuckles replied, playing along. "but I think it's really growing on me. How bout you, Hawk?"
"Yeah, you guys are right. As far as jail cells go, this one's first class all the way"
Kat began making motions for Hawk to talk softer as both she and Knuckles moved to either side of the device. Hawk quickly caught on and started to drop the volume of his voice slowly.
"I'll tell you something else, the food's not half bad either! The baked beans they serve are pretty good. Even though the other day they were as cold as ice and a little dry, but you didn't hear it from me."
…
In another part of the building, Li Yan was listening in on the conversation, turning up the volume on his earphones so he could understand what was being said.
"While we're on the subject, they could change the menu once in a while. I mean, baked beans day in and day out, you'd think they'd never heard of steak or fried chicken or even a cheeseburger with fries. Wouldn't that be something?"
…
Back in the cell, Knuckles and Kat both approached the listening device and took a deep breath.
"IT SURE WOULD!"
…
Li Yan screamed, yanking the earphones off of his ears as he went falling out of his chair.
…
"Alright, I don't think we have long before Li Yan comes to make us pay for that," Kat remarked. "Knuckles, mind getting the door?"
"Not at all."
Knuckles then punched at the wall so hard, it broke apart instantly. The three former prisoners quickly made their escape before Yi Lan's men could reach them.
…
Outside, the three ran out of the building and onto the street.
"Taxi!" Hawk called out.
A rickshaw came rolling up to the trio, the cyclist giving a small tilt of their straw hat. Hawk and Kat got in first, Knuckles sitting down on Kat's lap as Hawk addressed the rickshaw driver.
"Start pedaling!" he instructed. "I'll give you directions as we go."
The cyclist just nodded as they rode down the street. As they did, they were unaware of Rouge following them from the air.
"Take a right at this next corner," Hawk instructed, the driver doing as requested.
…
A bit more driving later, the rickshaw driver brought the trio to another section of town. This area was full of boarded up buildings and graffitied structures. Hawk paid the driver, who tipped their hat again before pedaling off.
"Where are we?" Knuckles asked.
"The old factory district," Hawk answered. "Come on, it's this way."
"What is?" Kat questioned.
"The Emerald of course. I hid it here where no one would think to look."
"I can agree with that." Kat looked around the empty streets and shuddered. "No one would think to look here. Or be here."
"That's why I chose it. Come on, the Emerald's down here."
He led them to an opening to a subway tunnel, heading down the stairs. Knuckles and Kat followed closely behind, watching their steps. Rouge landed at the top of the stairs, looking down into the gloom. Before she could follow though, she was suddenly struck from behind. She fell, her attacker none other than the rickshaw driver.
…
Down in the subway tunnel, the three made their way down to the tracks, following Hawk as he walked into the eastern tunnel. On the ground, they could see that there was a small message carved into one of the railroad ties. Hawk grinned, then bent down, sifting through some of the gravel before unearthing a brown, leather bag.
"Is that it?" Kat asked.
"See for yourself," Hawk replied, opening the bag and revealing a red Chaos Emerald."
"It really is one!" Knuckles gasped. "Then we have five of the seven now..."
"And it's all yours pal," Hawk reassured.
Before Knuckles could take it, the familiar sound of Robotnik's laughter reached their ears. The three turned to see Robotnik floating just outside the tunnel mouth on his Eggmobile.
"Well well, if it isn't my favorite Knucklehead, and his little pet too."
Kat growled, running forward with her bat and swinging it right at Robotnik. To her surprise, she ended up phasing right through him, nearly face planting on the tracks.
"A hologram?!" Knuckles snapped. "Too afraid to face us on your own, Eggman?!"
"More like too busy to deal with Sonic's b-team. Don't worry though, I've sent someone fully capable to take your lives and my Chaos Emerald."
Before they could ask what he meant, Hawk let out a cry of pain. The two turned, seeing that Hawk's arm was trapped in a rather painful position by a kusarigama. The other end of this weapon was in the hands of the rickshaw driver, who was smirking under her hat.
"The rickshaw driver?" Kat questioned. "What the heck is going on?!"
"Never judge by appearances, my dear," Robotnik chastised. "She may seem like a rickshaw driver to you, but she's so much more!"
The driver threw off her costume, revealing a robot with an obviously well endowed female body in a kunoichi's uniform and wearing a devil-like headpiece.
"Say hello to the Lady Ninja!"
Kat looked at the robot, blinking a bit.
"Really, Eggman? You've made hundreds of bots that didn't even look remotely human or animalistic, then the one bot you do, you make it a very robust female? Sheesh… you are one whacked out crackpot."
"Oh don't let her loveliness fool you. Under all that beauty is a beast of a warrior."
"You want a warrior Eggman?" Knuckles chimed in. "you got one!"
"Very well," Robotnik sneered. "Lady Ninja, retrieve the Emerald at all cost!"
Lady Ninja yanked the kusarigama hard, forcing Hawk to throw the Emerald bag her way. Thinking fast, Knuckles kicked a bucket right at the robo ninja, knocking her back. The bag fell to the ground, where Kat quickly dove for it. Before she could reach it, Lady Ninja grabbed her, throwing her back. Kat stumbled back over to Knuckles as the robo ninja removed the bucket, getting between the two and the Emerald bag.
"Let's throw a bit more weight behind things," Robotnik taunted.
The small weight at the end of the kusarigama began to swell up, rounding out and becoming a large, 16 ton steel ball.
"Oh come on!" Kat screamed.
Lady Ninja then began swinging the giant ball overhead, launching it at the two. Kat dove out of the way as Knuckles leapt over it, moving towards her. Lady Ninja threw the ball up at him, but he easily dodged it, making it hit the ceiling. Almost immediately, the subway began to crumble.
"She's gonna bring the entire tunnel down on top of us!" Kat shrieked.
"Hawk!" Knuckles called out. "The Emerald! Hurry!"
Hawk made a break for the Emerald, but Lady Ninja brought her wrecking ball in for the attack. She missed Hawk, but did strike the wall next to him. Rubble buried the bag, much to Hawk's dismay. He tried to dig, but the area was getting more and more unstable.
"Knuckles, if we don't get out of here, we're gonna become greasy spots on the tracks!" Kat insisted.
"Right!" Knuckles agreed. "We'll come back for it later! Let's go!"
…
Outside, Rouge was beginning to come to. She rubbed where she had been struck, grimacing in pain.
"Sneaking up on a girl and hitting her from behind… That's no way to treat a lady."
Suddenly, a large dust cloud started rising from the tunnel, accompanied by a loud rumble.
"Well, this certainly looks ominous."
That's when she noticed the Egg Fort flying above the city, right over her head.
"And with that, I believe it would best to retreat."
She then flew off, hoping to avoid any unnecessary altercations.
…
Back down below, Lady Ninja continued her reckless destruction of the tunnel. The three treasure hunters were forced deeper into the tunnel, debris falling all around them.
"What do we do?!" Kat exclaimed. "If the tunnel doesn't kill us, she will!"
"Unfortunately, she's blocking the only exit!" Hawk pointed out.
Knuckles then looked up and saw chunks of the ceiling falling down, revealing an opening.
"Not anymore. Both of you, grab on!"
Kat grabbed Knuckles' right arm as Hawk grabbed his left. Using all his strength, the echidna jumped up, using some of the falling debris as springboards to get the three of them out of the subway. Once they were all back on the surface, they took off down the street as it literally caved in behind them. The Egg Fort also flew away, finding that staying around would be fruitless.
…
The next day, Knuckles, Kat, and Hawk were hunkered down at the latter's house. Hawk turned on the news, which was covering the subway collapse.
"In regards to last night's subway collapse, eyewitnesses say they saw the Egg Fort floating overhead. The government believes Dr. Robotnik was involved and are launching a full investigation."
Off to the side, Kat was on the phone, talking with her dad.
"I'm fine dad. Not so much as a scratch. Unfortunately, we didn't get the Emerald." She paused for a bit, listening on the other end. "Alright, love you too dad."
She hung up, flopping onto a small cushion by the breakfast table.
"How's your dad?" Knuckles asked.
"Worried, but he's just happy to hear I'm alright."
"I'm just sorry we lost that Emerald," Hawk lamented. "I know how important it was to you guys."
"Don't sweat it, Hawk," Knuckles insisted, eating some rice and eggs Hawk had made for breakfast. "It's not a big deal."
"Yeah, chill out," Kat agreed.
Hawk blinked in response, confused by the calm demeanor of the duo. He stared at them as they just ate their breakfast, neither of them looking nearly as angry or worried as they should have been.
"Uh… aren't you guys even a little angry?" Hawk asked. "I mean, with that Emerald buried and all?"
"Nope," Kat answered bluntly.
"Not really," Knuckles agreed.
"Wh-... Why not?!"
"We're just waiting for the heat to die down on the area so we can go back and dig it up," Kat explained.
Now Hawk was really confused.
"Dig it up? But it's buried under tons of concrete and stone! You'd need some serious equipment to get it out!"
Knuckles smirked, reaching into his fur and pulling out the Shovel Claws.
"Meet our serious equipment."
…
Later, the three arrived at the wreck, with Knuckles finding a good place to dig. He instantly started cutting through the concrete, moving further down.
"Careful down there!" Hawk cautioned.
"Relax," Kat told him, leaning on her bat. "Knuckles has this in the bag."
Down in the rubble, Knuckles landed in a bit of a clearing, looking around at the fallen debris.
"I know it's around here somewhere…"
Knuckles kept digging in a certain spot, until he suddenly struck something. Brushing the surrounding dirt away, he found the Chaos Emerald and picked it up. With a grin, he slid it into his fur and climbed back out of the hole.
"I got it!" he shouted. "We're good to-!"
Much to his shock, neither Hawk, nor Kat were anywhere to be found. All he could see was Kat's baseball bat lying on the ground, abandoned. He picked up the bat, then began looking around frantically.
"Hawk! Kat! Where are you?!"
Suddenly, Bokkun came flying down, laughing his signature laugh.
"Hi ya, Knuckles!" He greeted. "I have a special message from Dr. Robotnik. So pay attention!"
Knuckles growled as Bokkun pulled out the tablet, displaying Robotnik's face.
"Greetings, Knuckles. If you want to see your friends again, you'd best mosey over to New Town, and make it snappy. And don't even thing about trying anything funny. Bokkun's been studying the martial arts. He's getting... better."
"I know Karate!" Bokkun warned, doing various kicks and chops in the air.
Knuckles just rolled his eyes in response.
"I may not know karate, but I know crazy."
Knuckles then took a hard swing with the bat, knocking Bokkun into the air screaming.
…
That night, Kat and Hawk were tied back to back and dangling from a crane at a construction site. Lady Ninja was standing guard over them, balancing on an I-beam as she waited. After a bit more waiting, Knuckles approached on the I-beam, Kat's bat on his back. His approach gained the attention of the prisoners.
"Knuckles!" Hawk called out.
As Knuckles walked towards them, a hologram of Robotnik appeared.
"Greetings Knuckles. I trust you brought me my Chaos Emerald?"
"Don't give it to him, Knux!" Kat snapped. "The fat tub of lard doesn't-"
"Enough! The Chaos Emerald! Now!"
Knuckles reached into a small leather pouch and held up the Emerald.
"Now give it to the little lady."
Knuckles put the Emerald back in the bag and chucked it at Lady Ninja. As she moved to catch it, Rouge swooped in out of nowhere, tossing some of her signature calling cards at the bag. One hit its target, sending it falling down into the street, prompting Rouge and Lady Ninja to dive after it.
"Egg ninja technique: Kite!"
A kite then suddenly appeared on Lady Nina's back, allowing her to glide towards the Emerald. Knuckles meanwhile leapt to Kat and Hawk, freeing them from the crane.
"Forget about us, get the Emerald!" Kat insisted.
Knuckles just cut them free and carried them to the ground.
"Let's get moving!" He yelled.
MeanwhileLady Ninja continued pursuing Rouge through the streets below.
"Give me back the Chaos Emerald!" the robotic ninja demanded.
"Sorry sweetheart," Rouge replied. "But this beauty's staying with me."
Rouge quickly turned around and fired a laser at Lady Ninja's kite, destroying it. The ninja fell, pulling some shuriken from her belt and tossing them at Rouge. One sliced right through the bag, spilling its contents down into the street.
"No!" Rouge shouted.
Down below, Knuckles, Kat, and Hawk were running along the streets, watching the skies carefully. When they saw the emerald fall, they were forced to do a 180.
"Over there!" Knuckles pointed.
"Egg ninja technique: flying squirrel!"
Lady Ninja then expanded new wings under her arms, allowing her to fly through the air and continue the chase. Knuckles had the Emerald in sight as he ran through the street, leaping up to try and grab it. However, he just ended up colliding with Lady Ninja, smashing through an awning and right onto the table of some patrons at a small food stand. Meanwhile, the Emerald bounced across the ground, where Kat quickly snatched it up.
"We got it!"
"Good! Now run!" Knuckles shouted.
The two humans quickly ducked down an alleyway, Lady Ninja circling in the air to give chase. Hawk led the way, weaving through the crowds to try and get to safety. Lady Ninja pulled out her kusarigama, trying to grab at them, but Knuckles quickly intervened. He tossed a plate at the robot, connecting with the weighted end of the chain. It went flying back into Lady Ninja, sending her back into another stand.
"Uh…" Rouge let out. "Think maybe I'll come back later when things have calmed down a bit."
Hawk and Kat continued running down the alley, only to find themselves at a dead end.
"Damn," Kat let out. "Why did you lead us to a dead end?"
"I thought this was safe!" Hawk defended.
As the shadow of Lady Ninja appeared on the wall in front of them, the two turned around only to see there was nobody there.
"What the…" Kat let out, unaware of the shadows moving behind her.
Lady Ninja actually came out of the shadow and snatched the Chaos Emerald out of her hands, much to their surprise.
"Thank you," She replied before darting off.
She made it to the mouth of the alley before Knuckles cut her off.
"Not so fast," he snarled.
"What took you?" Kat quipped.
Lady Ninja stored the Emerald in her outfit as Knuckles charged forward, unleashing a flurry of punches at her. She easily dodged them and threw several shuriken at him. He quickly leapt out of the way and onto a nearby wall, running across it before kicking Lady Ninja in the face. As she stumbled back, Kat ran up and swung her bat right in Lady Ninja's face, knocking her to the ground.
"Tell Eggman he's got lousy taste in bots."
She then reached into Lady Ninja's outfit, fishing for the gem. Before Kat could pull it away, Lady Ninja grabbed her wrist and kicked her aside. Knuckles tried running over to her, but Lady Ninja shot out some red cables at Knuckles, tying him up in them as they began electrocuting him.
"Egg ninja technique: Electric Bind!"
Knuckles began crying out in pain, writhing in his bindings.
"No!" Kat cried out. "Let him go!"
In a moment of sheer panic and stupidity, she swung her bat right at Lady Ninja. When she connected, the current traveled up the metal bat, zapping her as well. Looking around for a way to help, Hawk saw a fire prevention box in the alley. Working fast, he grabbed the bucket of water and splashed it onto Lady Ninja, causing her systems to short out. The electric bindings fell away, both Knuckles and Kat panted.
"That… was painful," Kat muttered.
She reached once more into Lady Ninja's outfit, this time grabbing hold of the Emerald and pulling it out. Once she stepped away with it, Knuckles reeled back his fist and punched Lady Ninja with all his might, knocking her into the sky.
"You two alright?" Hawk asked.
"I am now," Knuckles replied. "You, Kat?"
Kat grinned, holding up the Emerald.
"Perfect."
…
The next morning, the three friends were gathered at a dock as Knuckles and Kat said their goodbyes to Hawk.
"Well... I know you have to be on your way... but maybe you could come back sometime to visit. ...'Cause I'm gonna miss you, Knuckles."
"Gonna miss you too, Hawk," Knuckles replied.
"Nice meeting you Hawk," Kat said with a happy wave. "I'll make sure to wave you down next time I'm in Oriental City."
"See ya around, Kat!"
With that, the two sailed off, Knuckles holding the Chaos Emerald in longing.
"We're one step closer to home…" he realized.
"Mind if I hold onto it?" Kat asked. "I know you've got some room in that fur of yours, but I want to be useful."
Knuckles shrugged as he handed it to her. The second she took it though, the Emerald started glowing, engulfing them in red energy.
"What on earth…" Kat let out.
Suddenly, the two appeared in front of the shrine of the Master Emerald, looking more repaired than what Knuckles was used to.
"Knuckles… is that-?"
"The Master Emerald… This is Angel Island..."
"Why are we here?"
As they continued to puzzle over their current predicament, a female voice echoed all around them.
"The servers are the seven chaos…"
The two looked at each other in confusion
"What does that mean?" Knuckles asked
Suddenly, the energy of the Master Emerald engulfed them both, causing them to close their eyes. When they opened them again, they were back on the boat with the Emerald in hand.
"What was that all about?" Knuckles asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Kat replied, looking down at the Emerald. "Is that normal?"
"No… this is something else… something new."