Even though he knew Shadow and Rouge very well, Sonic figured that a fresh perspective or two couldn't hurt. He returned to the cabin and fired up the Tornado 1. Within minutes, he was at Angel Island. After exiting the plane, he proceeded to the middle of the island, where the Master Emerald's shrine was located. Sitting at the top of the stairway leading to the shrine was Knuckles.

"Knuckles, my man!" said Sonic. "What it is?"

"Same old, same old, guarding the Master Emerald," said Knuckles.

"Decent! Now anyways, I guess you're wonderin' why I'm here…"

"Let me guess, ya thought I was lonely and ya decided to come visit me?"

"Well…that's only half of it…"

"So what's the other half?"

"See, tomorrow is Shadow and Rouge's birthday, and I was wonderin', what did ya get for 'em?"

"Well, I got a Chaos Emerald for Shadow and some wine for Rouge."

"Knux, I think Shadow already has a Chaos Emerald."

"He…WHAT!?" Knuckles sprang to his feet and brought his ham fists to bear. "I see it now! He was using me so he could give the Emerald to that crazy bat! Thanks for the heads up!"

"Er…yeah…you're welcome."

So, Sonic headed back down to the planet's surface. After landing the Tornado, he got to Emerald City fast, but then he took things slow. He had good reason, too…

"SONIC!"

Glomping him was none other than Amy Rose.

"For once, I'm glad to see ya, Ames!" said Sonic.

"Oh Sonic, don't pretend you're not interested!" said Amy. "I can smell your fascination from a mile off!"

"Oh-kay then." Sonic rolled his eyes and gently pushed Amy away. "Now that you're here, I got a problem…"

"What's wrong?"

"Ya know about Shadow and Rouge's birthday, right?"

"Yes?"

"So what did ya get for 'em, then?"

"I got an ice cream maker and a Crock-Pot!"

Sonic tilted his head. "Ames, are ya sure that they like cookin'?"

"Well, I've heard that they don't usually have time to cook, so I figured that they could use something that would do all the cooking for them, plus they could have a tasty treat to follow it up!"

Sonic stroked his chin. "Hmmm…good point. Anyways, nice talkin' to ya!"

"You too, Sonic!

Sonic's next destination took him deep into the heart of the Great Forest. He ended up in Knothole Village, which served as a retreat for the Royal Family and a sometimes base for an irregular group of Freedom Fighters. He hoped that the village would be occupied at the moment, and as he entered, he found his hopes fulfilled. He ran to the nearest group of people.

"Sal, Bunnie, Ant, Rote!" exclaimed Sonic. "Boy, am I glad to see you guys!"

"Always a pleasure, Sonic!" said Sally Acorn.

"Glad to see y'all!" said Bunnie Rabbot.

"Yes, we are sad to be seeing you!" said Antoine D'Coolette.

"What's up, Sonic?" asked Rotor Walrus.

"Guess what?"

"What?" said everybody.

"Tomorrow is Shadow and Rouge's birthday and I don't even have a gift to give 'em!"

"And let me guess…you're wondering what you should get?" said Sally.

"Actually, I was kinda wonderin' what you guys are gettin'."

Sally giggled. "Come along, I'll show you!"

So, Sally led Sonic to the laboratory, located on the north side of the village. As they entered, the Blue Blur caught sight of a strange cylindrical device with a bevy of gauges, knobs and switches attached to it.

"Whoa, that is funky!" said Sonic. "What does it do?"

"It's a fusion generator," replied Rotor. "Ever since Rouge got that mansion near Rusty Ruin Zone, she's been looking for a safer power source than the nuclear reactor that's currently powering it."

"OK, I can dig that. Smell ya later!"

"You too!"

Sonic and Sally hugged each other before parting.

Sonic's next destination took him back to Azure Lake Zone, albeit on the north side. Another cabin was present here. This one bore a good resemblance to Sonic and Tails' cabin, albeit smaller and without the garage. Ol' Blue wasted no time in knocking on the front door.

"Yes, who is it?" asked a female voice.

"It's Sonic!"

"Just a moment!"

Soon, the door opened. Standing there was Vanilla the Rabbit.

"Good afternoon, Sonic! What's on your mind?"

"Can I talk to Cream?"

"Certainly!" Vanilla turned around. "Cream, Sonic is here!"

"Coming!"

A moment later, Cream the Rabbit emerged, as did her pet Chao, Cheese.

"Mr. Sonic! It's good to see you!" Cream hugged Sonic, who returned the gesture.

"Good to see ya, too!" said Sonic.

"Chao!" said Cheese.

Cream broke away from the hug. "What brings you here, Mr. Sonic?"

"Here's the breakdown:" said Sonic. "Tomorrow is Shadow and Rouge's birthday, see? So, I dropped by to ask what you're gettin' for 'em."

"Mommy and I always get flowers for people who have birthdays, but this year, we're also getting them chocolates! We're even preparing lots of food for them!"

"Chao Chao!" said Cheese.

"OK, that's bomb!" said Sonic. "Catch ya at the party!"

"Of course!" said Cream. "It was nice talking to you!"

"Chao!" said Cheese.

So, Sonic and Cream hugged again before going their separate ways.

Actually, Sonic never left Azure Lake Zone. Not far from the cabin was Big the Cat, who was on one of his daily fishing trips.

"Big!" said Sonic. "What's shakin'?"

"Oh, I'm just fishing," said Big.

"All right, awesome! Now, I got a question…"

"What do you want?"

"I wanna know, what did ya get for Shadow and Rouge's birthday?"

"Well, I like Froggy, so I got them frogs!"

Sonic had a blank expression on his face. "Right. Anyways, that's all for now! Stay groovy, ya dig?"

"You got it, Sonic!"

Unsure of where to go next, Sonic decided to go to the Emerald Place Mall, the largest shopping center in Emerald City. Big Blue hoped that based on what his friends told him thus far, he would find inspiration for a gift. Alas, no matter what ground he covered in the mall, no neurons fired in his brain. So, he decided to give up for now and hit up the food court. Sonic chose to order something from Meh Burger. The line was unusually long for the time of the day, but that didn't deter him.

"Good afternoon, Sonic."

Sonic nearly jumped out of his shoes. "Jeez, Espio! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I was right beside you from the moment you entered the mall," said Espio the Chameleon.

"Yeah…sure…whatever. Now that you're here, I gotta ask: What did you, Vector and Charmy get for Shadow and Rouge's birthday?"

"Come along, I will show you."

Espio took Sonic down to Redford's Auto Sales & Service, located on the East Side. Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee were already there.

"YAY! Sonic's here!" Charmy thrust his fist into the air.

"We've been waitin' all day for ya!" said Vector. "What took ya so long?"

Sonic shrugged. "Ah, not much. Just hangin' out at Uncle Chuck's shop and visiting friends."

"Sorry to hear about Chuck, by the way."

"Thanks, Vector. Condolences aside, where's Shadow and Rouge's gifts from you guys?"

"See those full-size babies over there?"

Vector pointed out a black 1972 Pontiac Grand Ville convertible and a white 1972 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight convertible.

"You're gettin' 'em those?" queried Sonic.

"Yeah, aren't they great?" said Charmy.

Sonic scratched his head. "Well yeah, they are, but…I was thinkin' Shadow might want a black Trans Am instead. Plus, Rouge keeps talkin' about wantin' a Vette…"

Vector crossed his arms. "No Sonic, we ain't gettin' thems two any high-performance machines!"

"Why not?"

"Don't tell me ya forgot about the Camaro!"

"So what?"

"So, I ain't gonna be screamin' outta my skull again!"

"Who said ya had to ride it? Besides, everybody knows that a Ram Air is a little too heavy for a big Boss Ford or a 350 Chevy!"

"Sonic is correct," said Espio. "I witnessed dynamometer tests of all those engines."

Vector threw his arms up. "I don't care if King Acorn is correct! They ain't gettin' no supercars and that's final!"

"All right, whatever," said Sonic. "I gotta go now. Nice seein' you guys again!"

"You got it!" said Vector.

"Likewise," said Espio.

"BYE!" said Charmy.

Sonic left the city again. This time, he flew the Tornado to South Island. True to its name, it was located near the southern tip of the country. Having found a suitable landing strip, the Blue Blur went to Green Hill Zone, where he sat down and reflected upon what his friends had told him thus far. He knew that there was a good chance that Shadow and Rouge would enjoy their gifts, and yet he wasn't feeling inspired. Just then, he caught a glint out of the corner of his eye, so he went to check it out. Standing there were the members of Team Mystic: Silver the Hedgehog, Blaze the Cat and Marine the Raccoon.

"Hey hey, good to see you!" said Sonic.

"Sonic?" queried Silver.

"Yes, it's good to see you," said Blaze.

"G'day, Sonic!" said Marine.

"First of all, what brings you dudes here?" asked Sonic.

"Oh, no reason," said Silver. "I was just enjoying all the amenities that the past had to offer."

"I anticipated Silver's arrival," said Blaze, "so I made the decision to transport here."

"What she said!" said Marine.

Sonic nodded. "All right, works for me. Now, I'm assumin' that you all got gifts for Shadow and Rouge's birthday, and I wanna know what ya got."

"Well, there's this new discotheque that's opening in Emerald City tomorrow," said Silver, "so I went back in time and ordered these opening night passes for them."

"I presumed that their lives could use some culture, so I purchased two tickets to a new play that will premiere next week," said Blaze.

"I got them boomerangs!" said Marine.

"OK, thanks for tellin' me!" said Sonic. "Silv, Blaze, Marine, you stay classy!"

"We will," said Silver.

"Yes, we shall do that," said Blaze.

"Gotcha!" said Marine.

The four of them parted ways. Just as Sonic was about to fly away, he was accosted by Team Dark's resident robot, E-123 Omega.

"GOOD AFTERNOON, BLUE MEATBAG," said Omega.

"Hey Omega, long time, no see!" said Sonic. "How did ya know I was here?"

"MY ANALYSIS OF YOUR PAST DOMICILES INDICATED A 75% PROBABILITY THAT YOU WOULD BE FREQUENTING THIS ISLAND AT THIS HOUR."

"OK, gotcha, whatever. Now, just tell me why you're here."

"SHADOW AND ROUGE ORDERED ME TO OBTAIN A PROGRESS REPORT FROM YOU AND THE ORANGE MEATBAG."

"If you're askin' if I got a gift for 'em, then let me lay it on ya like this: I'm workin' on it!"

"HAVING ANALYZED THE CONTENT OF YOUR ANSWER AND THE TEXTURE OF YOUR VOICE, I CONCLUDE THAT THERE IS A 100% CHANCE THAT YOU ARE TELLING A LIE."

"Moi, lying?" Sonic gestured to himself. "Man, I would never jive ya!"

"THEN WHAT IS YOUR EXPLANATION FOR THE INCIDENT WHERE YOU LIED TO ME ABOUT THE SUITABILITY OF RAMEN NOODLES FOR ROBOTS?"

"Hey, forget the Noodle Incident! It was a joke!"

"MY DATABANKS ARE UNABLE TO INVOLUNTARILY LOSE MEMORIES. FURTHERMORE, YOUR ALLEGED JOKE COULD HAVE CAUSED MY PERMANENT DEACTIVATION."

Sonic threw his arms up. "OK, I'm sorry, man!"

"APOLOGY HAS ALREADY BEEN DELIVERED. IT IS UNNECESSARY TO DELIVER ANOTHER."

"Right, gotcha. Before ya kill me, tell me what ya got for your two best pals!"

"I OBTAINED SOME CHOCOLATE FOR THEM. MY CALCULATIONS INDICATED THAT THERE IS A 100% PROBABILITY THAT THEY WILL LOVE IT."

"Ya sure?"

"OF COURSE. MY DATABANKS TELL ME THAT MANY MEATBAGS ENJOY THE CONSUMPTION OF CACAO-BASED CONFECTIONS."

"Omega, has it ever occurred to ya that maybe many meatbags also follow their heart rather than messin' with calculations and all that crap?"

"YES, I HAVE RECORDED SUCH A FACT BEFORE. HOWEVER, I DO NOT POSSESS A HEART, SO IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO MAKE DECISIONS BASED UPON SUCH AN ORGAN."

"If ya say so. Now before ya go, riddle me this: why did you come to see me rather than Shadow or Rouge?"

"THEY WERE OCCUPIED WITH A MISSION OF THEIR OWN, A MISSION THAT THEY DEEMED ME UNNECESSARY FOR."

"Understood. If you'll excuse me, I gotta get their gifts! Check you at the party!"

"AS YOU WISH."

Now that he'd checked with all his friends, Sonic headed back to the shop. Having received as much intel as he could, he hoped that he could find something on his own.