After being unexpectedly involved in the conflicts of Gordana, Sonic and team finally arrived back at Sonic's domain, though everyone but Sonic didn't stay put for long; Amy took this opportunity to bolster her archery skills by going to a forest to practice-using some apples as her targets. Cream took this opportunity to show Bunnie around Emerald Republic, visiting the many shops and hotspots; Tails used this time to go and make upgrades to the X-Tornado as well as help out with some of the shops in the town nearby.
Sonic was the only one who decided to rest, knowing he pushed his body past the usual limits this time around; for Sonic, everything he was doing was the opposite of what he'd do when he was younger: settling down in a home, taking rest days, taking it slow and staying in one place instead of running around. But he understood that times were different, no longer could he carelessly aim to just be infinitely fast, he had to take care of his body, and though he loved adventuring, he had to give his body proper rest for the strenuous daily exercise he'd do. Sonic laid down in his bed looking up at the ceiling, thinking about everything that'd happened and what significance it had on the future; soon, he began to think about Knuckles and the Chaotix and how they must be holding up with tracking down Dr. Eggman in his stead.
Somewhere above the heart of the deep blue sea, a giant ship flew at Sonic speed creating ripples of water under it. They were in pursuit of the large egg carrier ahead of them by 350 feet, and slowly losing pace. Knuckles slammed his fist on the chair he was sitting in, yelling orders to Julie-Su and Vector who were both piloting the ship; the Chaotix had been in pursuing Dr. Eggman ever since he fled back on the abandoned naval base.
"Damn! We can't let him escape! We've been on his tail for weeks now!" Knuckles yelled violently; Julie-Su looked to be on her last nerve with Knuckles.
"Captain, we're in our reserves for fuel…at this rate we'll begin to lose altitude in another thirty minutes." Vector said reluctantly, reading all the gauges.
Knuckles made a face, "Tch…fine! But we can't lose track of him; Charmy, Saffron, can I count on you both to follow his tracks while we turn around to fill up? Grab a headset on the way out and keep communication with us, got it?"
"Aye!" Charmy and Saffron responded together, leaving immediately.
Espio crossed his arms, "We can hyper speed to the nearest airport…I'm sure they'll understand once they recognize who we are."
"The key is to hope those two can continue tailing him long enough for us to return…will they be fine?" Mighty asked with concern for the two bumblebees.
"They'll be fine, they're members of the Chaotix after all." Knuckles smiled with conviction.
As the Chaotix made their U-turn to go and get gas, Charmy and Saffron pushed forward to continue pursuit of Dr. Eggman. It was a bright clear afternoon, so the sun was burning right on their bodies in the middle of the ocean; at times, it felt tempting to drop into the water and cool off they thought, but they knew that if they did that they'd be as good as dead since they can survive in water. Charmy kept focused, knowing this was crucial since Dr. Eggman had become so talented enough to mask his presence in anything, should they lose track of him here, they might never see him again until it's too late-when he's possibly taken over a country.
Julie-Su came over the headset, "Testing, testing, can you hear me?"
"Yup, loud and clear!" Saffron said.
"Good, we'll need you guys to keep pursuit of Dr. Eggman-don't get too close or anything of that nature; We know that he can't stay in the air forever, so it's possible that he'll be landing soon. Where he chooses to land could very much be his secret base, so use this opportunity to do recon on the area so we can plot a strategy of infiltrating and taking him down from both the inside and outside.
"Copy that. We'll do the best we can!" Charmy said giving the thumbs up to Saffron.
They followed, keeping low and distant so that they wouldn't be spotted; this went on for about 45 minutes until they arrived at a giant jungle island that had an egg-shaped mountain. The island was in the middle of nowhere with nothing but the deep blue sea being the only visible thing for miles upon nautical miles; as they got closer to island, they noticed just how large the jungle was. The ship continued all the way to the egg mountain before landing, but Charmy and Saffron had landed further back at the shore of the island. They knew that if they continued to tail Dr. Eggman that they'd find themselves in grave danger, therefore their safest bet was to stay by the coast where their comrades could pick them up.
Charmy felt restless knowing that so much valuable information was just waiting for him, he looked over at Saffron-who was taking a rest from the long flight. She could see how eager he was to keep exploring, but knew it would be risky to keep this pursuit while in enemy territory. Charmy looks at the shore and radioed in his team: "Charmy here, Saffron and I have made landfall on an island that is currently northwest of where we last met. So far it seems like Dr. Eggman isn't aware of our presence here on the island. As such, I request permission…"
Knuckles radioed in, "What's permission to what?"
Charmy's face turned serious, "Permission to perform recon and gain as much knowledge as possible. I understand it's a huge risk, but we have an opportunity to gain intel about this place."
"Hmm…"-Knuckles went mute for a moment- "Permission granted. But have Saffron send your coordinates; we're on our way. If you feel like your life is in danger at any moment…flee the scene and head to safety."
"Roger that…" Charmy nodded, having Saffron send the coordinates as he made his preparations.
Charmy decided to traverse the shore first to see if there might be any security nearby, wanting to make sure that Saffron was safe. After making a huge "U" across the island shore, they were assured that there was no security as far as the shore; this left only the jungle and the egg mountain. Charmy looks at the jungle-feeling a heavy breeze hit him in the face, I should avoid flying since my wings make a lot of noise and this wind…I still have the advantage because of my small size, so I can blend in with the scenery if I move slowly. And since I'll be in a jungle, I should probably turn off my headset to avoid any trouble since I won't have a connection; radio frequencies will probably go crazy and get static. Charmy began his walk, slowly and carefully traversing into the windy jungle; he's careful not to step on and branches or twigs, looking down at his feet periodically to be sure.
A few minutes pass by as Charmy gets deeper into the jungle; he begins to hear machinery and the voices of automated machines. Charmy crouches down behind some trees that concealed his presence, but he could still see a little of what was going on. He saw some egg pawns along with some new badniks that he'd never seen before all working diligently and even having a conversation while doing so.
"It's pretty amazing what Lord Eggman has done for us." One of the orange egg pawns said while working on picking fruit from some nearby trees.
"He's come such a long way, creating us to a point where we can even make decisions for ourselves. He truly is our savior…" said one of the new badniks in a chillingly plain voice.
"The defense of this island is also incredible. Thanks to the sensors located all across the island, we can sense when any ship comes with five hundred feet on the island." A third badnik said.
"It's able to fire multiple homing missiles that can sink even the largest or fastest of ships in one shot. This island is nearly impenetrable, and it's only the fi-"
"Don't mention those yet. We must first be vigilant, for there could be an enemy listening to us."
Charmy froze, wondering if he might've been caught. After all, if there were sensors everywhere, that'd mean the Chaotix couldn't rescue them; He thought about returning to notify them, or to continue onwards to get more information. He chose the latter, sneaking forward to avoid alerting the badniks. He knew the information he just got was quite useful, but it'd help if he could at least snag a map or gain more intel about this island. He crouches through the jungle, bypassing many camps of badniks that were all doing regular labor.
He reached an area where there appeared to be a camp of badniks packing up boxes of goods; Charmy scoped the area, finding some maps all the way at a table that had 6 badniks there, playing cards on the maps. Charmy knew the only way he could snag that map was if he created a distraction. He picks up a rock and takes aim at one of the badniks, throwing it and landing a hit on the badnik; the badniks immediately become alert with their eyes glowing red and a small siren going off, luckily it wasn't the kind to alert the whole island, only the badniks that he'd already saw a nearby him in the area. Quickly yet lightly, he shuffles over as the badniks pinpointed where the rock was thrown and all swarm there; Charmy grabbed the map and took another way instead of the route where he came from, knowing that route was gone. He hid behind some trees, hearing from the badniks to return to what they were doing; they thought that the rock must've been carried by the wind. Charmy gathered what he knew from everything that just transpired, piecing together what the situation was likely regarding Dr. Eggman. It's dangerous if I continue to infiltrate…it's better if I regroup and think of a solution to escape. We'll be dead otherwise, and the Chaotix will be at risk if they get targeted by the homing missiles…that ship can't dodge multiple missiles at once.
Charmy took an alternate route; it was a lucky thing that Charmy explored the shores, because now he knew he didn't have to worry about any guard being there, regardless of where he entered through. He knew more than likely those badniks resumed their normal work-suspecting that his actions earlier were probably something random from the wind. He powered through the windy jungle and returned to the shore where he saw Saffron waiting for him; she'd been on communications with Julie-Su, guiding the Chaotix to their location.
"Wait…! Don't come near the island yet!" Charmy said as he hurried over turning on his headset.
"How come?" both asked.
Charmy explained, giving them all of the details he acquired on his infiltration; the Chaotix were lucky Charmy showed up when he did. Charmy decided that the only way for escape from the island would be to fly away from there since the sensors only detected objects like ships and submarines. Charmy and Saffron flew low by the ocean shore, gradually picking up altitude the further they got away from the island. Once they boarded the ship, the Chaotix decided to meet up at Sonic's home, knowing they'll need his help for this mission.
As they make their exit, a monitor displays the live footage of them leaving; Dr. Eggman sat in comfy chair watching them escape, surrounded by his minions. Orbot and Cubot were confused about his reasoning for allowing them to leave, but Eggman simply watched them leave-laughing. "They think they might've found my hideout base here but they'll have a surprise encounter when they finally get here again." He said as though he was scheming something. More than likely they'll bring Sonic and company to help them…they'll meet and unfortunate revelation… Dr. Eggman's glasses shined, and he gave a guffaw.