[Mobius, Chaos Dimension]

"About time!" Sonic grumbles as Knuckles and Sally join him at the shrine. "I've been waiting almost a minute!"

"Alright, keep your spines on," Sally sighs in amusement. "Knuckles will get to work as soon as you stand back a safe distance."

"Actually, he's fine right where he is," Knuckles assures. "Now, both of you promise you'll stay right here until I'm finished."

"We promise," Sally replies.

Knuckles nods his acknowledgement, then approaches the Master Emerald and places his hands reverently on the massive gemstone. "'The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the Chaos.' Master Emerald, I ask of you, locate our missing friend Amy Rose, and show us that she is safe and well."

Sonic and Sally watch in silence as Knuckles communicates with the Master Emerald, but after a few moments, it's clear it's not going well. Sonic makes to approach Knuckles, but Sally places a hand on his shoulder and shakes her head. "Trust him," she whispers.

"It's taking too long," Sonic whispers back.

"Not everyone moves at your pace," Sally reminds. "Keep that in mind."

A few moments later, Knuckles stumbles backwards with a yelp. "Of all the times for you to be difficult…"

Sonic and Sally exchange concerned looks. "What happened?" Sally asks.

"The Master Emerald is refusing to show me where Amy is," Knuckles explains. "I'll try again."

As Sonic and Sally watch, Knuckles places his hands on the Master Emerald again. "'The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the Chaos.' Master Emerald, I plead of you, locate our missing friend Amy Rose, and show us that she is safe and well."

This time, there's no hesitation: the Master Emerald discharges and throws Knuckles clear of the shrine.

Sonic and Sally dash to the echidna's aid, Sonic arriving first thanks to his superior speed. "Knux! You OK, buddy?"

Knuckles sits up, clutching his head with one hand and growling. "I'm fine," he assures. "But the Master Emerald clearly doesn't want to help."

"How come?" Sally asks.

"Eclipse," Knuckles answers.

"Good thing we're here then," Shadow interrupts.

Surprised, Sonic and Sally turn to see Team Dark has just arrived, their shuttle parked a short distance from Sky Patrol. However, before they can greet the new arrivals, Knuckles leaps to his feet and storms right up to Shadow. "I'm not letting you take the Master Emerald anywhere!" the echidna growls angrily.

"I suggest you listen to what we have to say before accusing us of anything," Shadow growls back, locking eyes with Knuckles.

"And we all remember how well it went last time you two meatheads had an argument," Rouge reminds. "And quite frankly, I've suffered enough already."

At this point, Sally notices Rouge's new wings. "GUN technology?" she asks the bat.

"Necessary after Eclipse fried the ones I was born with," Rouge confirms. "Any luck finding Amy?"

"All we know is she's in the Sol Dimension," Sonic answers.

"I'm sure she's handling herself perfectly well," Rouge assures. "Now, you two," she continues, turning back to Shadow and Knuckles. "Are you going to talk like adults, or are me and Sonic going to have to literally beat the sense into you both?"

"You want to talk? Talk," Knuckles instructs Shadow. "On one condition: no‑one but me touches the Master Emerald."

"Condition accepted," Shadow replies. "Especially as that was our intention in the first place. Not that you bothered to ask."

"Shadow!" Rouge snaps.

"Very well," Shadow relents. "We're here to ask your assistance in locating the Chaos Emeralds," he informs Knuckles.

"Good luck: we've not managed to find a single one," Sonic informs with a hint of bitterness.

"If I help you, what do I get in return?" Knuckles asks Shadow.

"Nothing," Shadow answers.

"Then forget it," Knuckles decides.

"You would gladly risk this world because the deal isn't sweet enough?" Rouge asks, surprised at Knuckles' actions.

"Not in the slightest," Knuckles assures. "Mobius is more than protected thanks to GUN and the Knothole Freedom Fighters, not to mention all the other Freedom Fighter groups around the world. And if Eclipse does eventually pose a significant enough threat, the Chaos Emeralds will make themselves available to Sonic and Shadow, as they have done every time a threat has escalated beyond the capabilities of GUN and the Freedom Fighters. However, when it comes to Angel Island, that's my responsibility, and I take it very seriously. And that means I need something in return for helping you."

"If you insist." Shadow looks to Rouge. "Tell him."

"No," Rouge refuses.

"We both know you want to," Shadow hints, allowing himself the tiniest hint of a smirk.

Knuckles raises an eyebrow. "Shadow, what exactly are you suggesting?"

++I am detecting an elevated heart rate and marginally increased skin temperature again,++ Omega informs the others.

"No, you aren't," Rouge denies.

++My sensors do not lie,++ Omega asserts.

"Is it just me, or did Omega sound offended by Rouge's remark?" Sally asks Sonic.

But Sonic's attention is on something else. "Wait… It's true‽"

"Sonic, I swear to Gaia, if you don't shut up right now, I'll wipe that stupid smirk off your face!" Rouge growls.

Now it's Sally's turn to realise what's going on. "Oh… Oh! Well, I must say I'm surprised: I never would have called it myself!"

Rouge glares angrily at Shadow.

Shadow simply shrugs.

++I wonder if Nicole finds you meatbags this entertaining?++ Omega asks rhetorically, earning a disapproving look from Sally.

Knowing she can't hide it any longer, Rouge sighs in resignation. "Fine… Not like it matters anyway: he has Relic already."

Finally, Knuckles realises what's going on. "So, it's not just my Emerald you want, then," he smirks.

"Can we get back to the mission now?" Rouge asks.

"Sure, I'll help you find the Emeralds," Knuckles decides. "If you say it out loud."

However, Rouge has other ideas: "Eclipse has a Sol Emerald."

Knuckles' smirk vanishes instantly. "Why didn't you say so‽" he snaps before dashing back up to the Master Emerald and placing his hands on it once more. "'The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the Chaos.' Master Emerald, I understand you are reluctant, but it's imperative that you help us at this difficult time. Please, I beg of you, assure us that Amy Rose is alive and well, and show us the locations of the seven Chaos Emeralds: the future of Mobius may be at stake."

Sonic, Sally, and Team Dark watch patiently, waiting for Knuckles to finish.

After a couple of minutes, Knuckles removes his hands from the Master Emerald. "Thank you," he mutters quietly before descending from the shrine.

"Well?" Sonic asks impatiently.

"Amy's alive and unharmed," Knuckles assures. "However, it seems her situation is not as pleasant as we'd hoped. She is indeed with Blaze and Marine, but there are three others I do not know with her, and it appears that, while they are friendly, they have also caused Amy considerable distress."

"Who‑" Sonic begins angrily.

"What about the Chaos Emeralds?" Shadow interrupts.

"The Master Emerald is keeping them hidden from everyone at this time," Knuckles explains, clearly unamused by the interruption. "Probably because Eclipse has three Sol Emeralds, not one."

"Thanks for the help," Rouge replies. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a word with Shadow. Sonic, Sally, I hope you can find Amy and help her."

Before anyone else can respond, Rouge unfurls her new wings and flies off, taking Shadow with her.

++I guess I will wait here for them to return,++ Omega decides.

"Just don't burn anything, OK?" Knuckles requests, then turns back to Sonic and Sally. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring better news."

"Amy's alive and healthy," Sally reminds. "Let's be grateful for that."

"Can the Master Emerald teleport us to her?" Sonic asks.

"Given how hard it was just to get that information out of it, I don't want to risk pushing it further," Knuckles answers. "However, with Nicole's help, we may be able to work something out."

Sally activates her in‑ear communicator. "Nicole, honey? Can you come join us at the Shrine?"

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes, my love," Nicole answers.

"Isn't Nicole normally clipped to your waist"? Knuckles asks, confused.

"Not since we officially became a couple," Sally explains. "Since then, she's spent as much time as possible in hologram form."

"Shows how long it's been since we last caught up," Knuckles chuckles.

"I don't know what's more surprising: Rouge admitting to having a crush on you, or you chuckling," Sonic teases.

"Seriously though, congratulations to both you and Nicole: you complement each other beautifully," Knuckles continues to Sally, ignoring Sonic's tease.

"Thanks," Sally blushes. "We took a long time to get there, but it just makes it that much more special."

"The destination is nothing without the journey," Knuckles replies.

"And the journey is nothing without the destination," Sally adds.

Sonic remains silent, thinking about those two last statements. Does my journey end at the destination I want more than anything?

A mile away, Rouge drops Shadow brutally to the ground, then lands beside him. "What on Mobius got into you back there‽"

Shadow picks himself up, dusts himself off, and only then replies to Rouge. "We needed leverage on Knuckles, and like I told you at GUN HQ, you're the leverage."

"I am not a bribe!" Rouge barks. "If we had led with Eclipse having a Sol Emerald, I wouldn't have been forced into that embarrassing situation in the first place!"

Shadow cannot help but smirk. "You said 'we'."

Rouge is about to argue, only to stop herself. I did… Damn. "I uh… I guess I'm a little to blame as well then," she admits quietly.

Shadow raises a quizzical eyebrow.

"Don't push it," Rouge warns. "You still stepped miles over the mark."

Shadow's smirk disappears. "Rouge, as you know, I neither have nor want friends, and I prefer to spend as much time alone as possible. However, you and Omega, you're the closest I have to friends: you both look out for my best interests, and in return, I look out for yours. Therefore, I apologise for putting you in that position. Know that I did not do it to hurt you, but to help you."

"Would you have done that to Maria?"

"That's a low blow."

"You deserve it."

"Agreed. Question is, are you happy that the truth is out now?"

Rouge lets out a sigh. "While the way it was revealed was cruel and embarrassing, the fact is… The fact is, I'm glad he now knows. Though I would have preferred to admit it in private, and especially not in front of Sonic."

"He is… unsubtle."

"An understatement."

Shadow simply nods. "Let's get back."

Rouge nods, then takes off, grabs Shadow's hands, and airlifts him back to the Master Emerald Shrine, landing just as Nicole arrives.

"Um… Did I miss something?" Nicole asks, confused about the presence of Omega, the fact that Rouge has just arrived with Shadow, and how Rouge can't look at Knuckles without blushing slightly.

"I'll explain later," Sally promises, greeting Nicole with a quick kiss on the lips.

++I am sure you will find the ridiculous actions of these emotional meatbags as entertaining as I did,++ Omega adds.

Nicole puts a little extra distance between her and Omega. "Sal?"

"Ignore him, he has… odd ideas," Sally advises. "In summary, Team Dark are here because they need to find Eclipse, who's in the Sol Dimension gathering Sol Emeralds, and he already has three."

"Then we have no time to waste," Nicole replies. "Knuckles, let's get to work."