Chapter 9

It was around midnight.

Tails sighed in relief. They had finally arrived. He had been flying the Tornado nonstop. They'd been in the air for about eight hours straight, and everyone else had fallen asleep. Fortunately, although it would've been funny, Shadow and Knuckles didn't fall off the wings during the trip.

Now that they were back on the ground, Tails gratefully passed out too. They slept for another few hours.

Shadow woke up first. He shook Knuckles awake, and then got Tails and Amy up too. They all ate a little food from their supplies, and set off.

Tails was leading. He was holding the chaos emerald tracker, and, like before, it led to the cliff.

"Okay, guys. Here's the drop point," the fox said. Then he jumped in the frigid water, followed by the other three.

Immediately, they saw the cave. It was circular, about six feet in diameter. Tails made sure the others were following him, and then swam into the cave.

The group continued swimming the 20 feet, and then surfaced. They all gasped. Even Tails, who had seen it before.

The cave was even more beautiful than Tails described. The fine, tiny crystals that made up the beach glittered a million colors. As did each of the large crystals, which were at least five feet tall. And the crystal alter, right in the middle of it all.

There it was. The white chaos emerald. Even more brilliant than any crystal. It glowed a strong, white light that reflected around the cave. Everyone stared in silence, taking in the sight.

Then Amy said, "Wow. It's more beautiful than I ever imagined!"

"Yeah," Knuckles said.

"Yes!" Tails shouted. "We found it!"

Even Mr. Dark and Dangerous looked happier, and more at ease than he'd ever felt. He even smiled.

But then his expression was lost, like he had remembered something unpleasant. Which, of course, he did.

"We have to take it," he said.

The other three looked at him blankly, before remembering why they were there. "Oh," Amy said, looking down.

"What will happen to this place after we take the emerald?" Knuckles asked to no one in particular.

"I guess... it will go dark." Tails replied. "Maybe we can bring the chaos emerald back afterwards, but right now we really need it."

Shadow walked up to the alter. He reached out, and, like it did for Sonic, the emerald floated to his hand. He put it in his quills.

"Come on. We should go," he said in a low voice.

Tails nodded, feeling determined. "Alright, gang. Back to the Tornado. To my house, and then to Sonic!"

They all took one last look at the cave, and then swam back out. They climbed the cliff and got back to the Tornado. Tails prepared for takeoff. He looked at the others.

"Ready gang?"

"Ready," they replied in unison.

They took off. It took them about seven hours to get back to Tails' house. Once they landed, they all headed into the kitchen. Shadow set the chaos emerald in the middle of the table, and they surrounded it. They stared at it, trying to come up with rescue plans. None came.

Tails grew restless. "Is anyone hungry?"

"Tails! How could you think that? We need a plan!"

"Amy, calm down! We'll figure out... something."

Knuckles sighed. Shadow just stayed silent. He was deep in thought. Then he looked up. "I've got it!"

"A plan? Spill it!" Amy ordered.

"First, I need a schematic of the fortress. Does anyone have one?"

"Yeah," Tails said. He ran up the stairs and came back down a minute later. In his hand was a scroll. He spread it out on the table next to the emerald.

Shadow explained his plan. "Okay, listen. We'll break in through the main doors here." He pointed to the doors. "Once we get in, I'll lock on to Sonic's chaos signature using the chaos emerald. We'll bring this floor plan, and then I'll try to pinpoint where Sonic is. Then, we'll split up down the four paths here, here, here, and here." He pointed at the four hallways. "Each of us will have a copy of this map to know where to go. Eggman would then send robots to stop us. We'll take down as many as we can in order to make his forces smaller. Less guards with Sonic, then. We should all be able to find Sonic, and that's where we'll meet up again. Then we break Sonic out, and maybe grab the other emeralds, too."

Then the midnight hedgehog folded his hands. "So? Could it work?"

Tails nodded. "It's possible. It might give us the upper hand against Eggman with less robots to deal with."

Shadow turned to the others. "What about you two? What do you think?"

Amy smiled. "I think it'll work. Count me in."

Knuckles stood up. "Me too."

"Now, the question is," Tails started. "when?"

"As soon as possible," Amy said.

"How about tonight?" Shadow suggested.

The others agreed. "Let's get ready," Tails said.

XXXX

Eggman knew exactly what to do. Sonic could see it in his eyes. The villain was standing at the control belt surrounding the prison. He pressed a button.

There was a gurgling sound near the top of the tube. All of a sudden, a small stream of water hit Sonic on the head. It was ice cold. Sonic shivered.

"What's this, Eggman? You gonna drown me?" Sonic asked. "I thought you wanted information on the last chaos emerald!"

Eggman cackled. "Not anymore, rodent! Somehow, your little friends will find it. They always do, so I'll let them. Then, when they come to rescue you, I'll take the emerald for myself. You know the rest. I'll drain all of the emeralds' power, and then I will drain you! Or, more accurately, your power. And I can't wait!"

"So, what's with the water? You don't need me."

"Oh, I'm just annoyed at your friends for damaging my air ship. And I plan on taking it out on you!"

Eggman pressed another button, and the small stream turned into a waterfall. In no time, Sonic was soaked. But it didn't stop there. Pretty soon, the water level rose above his knees. Then, his waist. Then, it went over his head. Sonic panicked. He couldn't swim!

At least, not well. The hedgehog was able to tread water and stay afloat, which is what he did now. Fortunately, Eggman shut off the water, and it quickly drained out of the tube.

Sonic stood up again, now chilled to the bone. "What's wrong, Eggman? Didn't want me to suffer?"

"No, that's exactly what I want. And I have an even better idea than drowning you." He pressed yet another button on the control belt.

At first, nothing happened. Sonic smirked. "What? Did something else break down? It always seems to happen..."

He was cut of by a buzzing noise. Then, what appeared to be a bolt of lightning hit Sonic dead on. He yelped in surprise, but did not make any other sounds.

Eggman was disappointed. "Hmm. Let's try that again."

The next bolt hurt even more. Since Sonic was wet, the shock traveled through his body. However, the blue blur still didn't scream. He still stayed on his feet.

Now Eggman was annoyed. "Still not enough, rodent! Again!"

This time, he didn't stop the bolts. He just let them pound Sonic over and over again. Finally, Sonic fell to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. The villain enjoyed the whole thing.

"Time to put him out of his misery. Almost," Eggman muttered. He pressed one more button, and Sonic was hit with one more, extra strong blast. He fell unconscious.

Eggman smiled. "Until tonight, Sonic. I'll let you rest, and then I'll be back." And with that, he swept out of the room.