Chapter 7

Shadow quickly went over to the others. Knuckles was sitting up and rubbing his eyes, but Tails and Amy were out cold. Shadow helped Knuckles up.

"What...what happened?" Knuckles muttered. "Is Eggman gone?"

"Yeah."

"What about..."

"He's gone too."

Knuckles sighed. "Somehow, right before I went unconscious, I knew it would end like this."

Then he glared at Shadow. "You weren't unconscious, were you? Something caused you to let them go!"

"Yeah," the black hedgehog growled. "It was called 'do something and he dies'."

"Oh." Knuckles looked ashamed. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking. But what happened? Knowing you, it must've been life or death for Sonic. Am I right?"

Shadow nodded. He looked more depressed than usual.

"Come on. Help me carry Tails and Amy inside."

With that, he picked up Amy and walked back in the house. Knuckles followed with Tails.

"How are we gonna wake them up?" Knuckles asked after he set Tails down on a chair.

Shadow laid Amy on the couch (the same one Sonic had been on) and said, "I've got it."

He went into the kitchen and grabbed a cup. He filled it with cold water, walked back into the living room, and threw it on Tails.

"Ahhhhh!" he yelled. Then he groaned. "Oh, I feel like I got trampled!"

Knuckles chuckled. "You did!"

Then he turned serious again. Shadow had filled the cup again, and threw the contents on Amy.

She shrieked and shouted, "Shadow! What was that for?!"

"I needed you both alert! Don't you remember what happened? Eggman got away..." he gritted his teeth. "...with Sonic."

"What?!" Amy and Tails yelled in unison.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU GO AFTER HIM?!" Amy shrieked. She had started crying, and looked like she wanted to attack someone. Namely, Shadow.

"Woah, Amy! I did everything I could! But Eggman planned ahead. He told me the cage was wired with explosives, and if I so much as moved in their direction, he would blow Sonic sky high! What was I supposed to do?!"

She took a deep breath, but her eyes were still teary.

"Listen, we need to come up with a plan. We can't leave Sonic on his own."

They all thought for a minute.

Then Knuckles got an idea. "The chaos emerald! That's what Eggman's after. That's why he kidnapped Sonic. What if we found it and used it in a trade? The emerald for Sonic."

"No," Shadow said. "Eggman would just take the emerald and keep Sonic."

Then Tails got an idea. "We could still use the chaos emerald, though."

"Yeah, but if Eggman can't find it, how can we?" Amy asked.

"Sonic said he was the only one who knew the location of the last emerald, right?" Tails smiled. "Well, he was the one to hide it. He is the only one who knows the exact location. But I was there too, and I could probably lead you guys to the general area. Now, listen closely. What is the one thing Sonic hates the most? What is the only thing he fears?"

"Water," Amy said immediately. "But-"

"Just listen," Tails interrupted. "A couple years ago, Sonic and I were looking for the chaos emeralds with one of my inventions. It finds the emeralds by tracking their chaos aura. Anyways, one signal was coming from, literally, the bottom of the planet."

"The North Pole," Knuckles said.

Tails nodded. "Once I landed the Tornado, we headed in the signals' direction. We came to a cliff, and I realized that the signal was coming from under us. From under the water. So, I told Sonic to go fetch the scuba gear I keep in the Tornado. He came back, we suited up, and jumped into the water. As soon as we were under, I spotted an underwater cave, and we swam into it. As it turned out, we didn't need the scuba gear after all. The ceiling was sloping upwards, and after swimming about 20 feet, we surfaced. And I saw the most beautiful thing ever."

He paused. The other three were listening intently.

Tails continued. "In side this cave, there was a small beach made of fine, white crystals, like sand. The walls and ceiling were covered in identical crystals, but these were huge. And sitting on a crystal alter, was the white chaos emerald. There was light coming off it, and it reflected in hundreds of rainbows on the crystals. For a couple minutes, we just floated in the water, staring at the sight. After we overcame the shock and beauty of the place, Sonic walked up to the emerald. It glowed a little brighter as he stretched his hand out to it. He stopped, and the emerald floated into his hand. Then he said, 'Tails, close your eyes. I need to hide this.' So I did, and a second later, Sonic led me out of the cave and back into the water. I opened my eyes, we swam to the cliff, and climbed back up. We got to the Tornado, and set off. On the way back home, I asked Sonic if the emerald would be okay, and he answered, 'Yeah. No one will be able to find that emerald, except for us. It will always be the last chaos emerald.' That's why, when Sonic said he knew the location of the last chaos emerald, he meant the white one."

Tails took a deep breath. The others looked at him, wide-eyed.

Amy broke the silence. "We still don't know exactly where the emerald is. Sonic could've hidden it anywhere!"

"That's the thing, though," Tails said. "I don't think Sonic moved it at all. I think he just placed it back on the alter, and that's why he led me back outside before letting me open my eyes. I'm pretty sure it's still there."

Shadow nodded. "That does sound like something Sonic would do. He wouldn't harm that cave in any way. I think that's what we should do, guys. We need to find that chaos emerald, and fast. Who knows what Eggman could do to Sonic in a single day, even."

"Get your stuff together, and meet me by the Tornado. We've got an emerald to find!" Tails ordered. They set off, determination on their faces. They were going to save Sonic. No matter what.