(Two weeks before Christmas...)
Things hadn't been going quite as planned for the quirky, yet jolly human known as Ovi the Tinkerer. Given what had happened during the West Side Incident, word had spread around about the actions of his other personality, Ivo Robotnik. It had gotten all the way back to Christmas Island, where many of the folks that knew him well now regarded him warily. Not that they didn't know about Ivo beforehand, but the revelation of just what he had done and attempted to accomplish was enough to rouse their suspicions further. They could not, in good conscience, allow him to construct the amusement park he'd planned to make for everyone to enjoy.
Ovi had since gone to different parts of the Emerald Archipelago and the nearby mainland, but it had all been the same. The folks on South Island preferred to keep the Star Light Zone and Spring Yard Zone as their sole developed spots. Station Square already had glitzy attractions in the form of Twinkle Park and Casinopolis, and neither were keen on competition. Central City was tied up in red tape and fine print, while places like Emerald Town were too small for a venture like his to see much success. He didn't even bother going back to try at West Side Island, as it was pretty obvious they'd reject him outright.
Thus, he'd decided to try his prospects a bit further away, using his rebuilt hovercraft to carry him across the vast distance to his next destination. But it had only been a couple of hours into his journey when he happened across a peculiar sight. There was a positively verdant paradise that, if his mental calculations were correct, would be more than large enough for his ideal theme park. Even putting that aside, he felt compelled to go down and take a look for himself. It wasn't often that one came across an entirely unspoiled bit of land in the middle of the ocean, given how far humans and Animals had expanded.
When he touched down, he saw for himself that the view from the air didn't compare. Rolling hills of dewy grass, a dense jungle of towering trees, and lengthy beaches that wound around much of the island. Curiously, while there was plenty of flora, Ovi saw no signs of any sort of fauna, not even the sorts of tiny insects that would thrive in such a climate. It was just a tad unsettling, but other than that, the man felt no sort of danger as he wandered around. In fact, a part of him rather enjoyed the serene tranquility that came with being alone in a place such as this.
After a while, however, Ovi discovered that the area wasn't entirely deserted. On the sands of the western side of the island, the man came across a cloaked figure that appeared to be staring out at the ocean. The clothing was so heavy that he couldn't distinguish whether an Animal or a relatively short human was wearing it, nor could he guess its true mass, only that it was smaller than himself. He initially believed it to be a hallucination, at least until he heard the fabric flapping in the wind as it blew in from the sea.
Despite the suspicious presence, the eccentric engineer didn't feel inclined to run, nor did he prepare to fight. Ovi was more curious about who this person was and how they could have gotten here. He hadn't seen any other kind of craft docked or parked on the island when he was flying in his pod, and his ground search hadn't revealed anything either. Did it have special abilities like those young men he'd met or that hedgehog he knew? He was curious to find out, but not enough to just walk up and approach this stranger.
"It's beautiful, no?" came a deep and craggy tone over the sounds of the surf.
Ovi was surprised he could hear the voice, but even more that he could understand. His ears had clearly heard Spanish, yet it was as though the speaker had asked the question in English. At least, that's how it seemed to his brain. It was very peculiar, as he only had minimal smatterings of any knowledge regarding the language.
"The island?" inquired the man.
"Yes." The figure raised a finger which, to Ovi's horror, was entirely skeletal, not a trace of flesh, muscle, or sinew. And yet, it was capable of bending its joints just as easily as if it still possessed those. "But, there's not much to do." The rest of its bony hand showed itself, tilting in a ponderous manner. "Can you fix that?"
The human was surprised by the statement and the question that followed it. Did this fellow know who he was and what he wanted to accomplish?
"It's true that options are rather limited in these conditions," Ovi replied, "but I'm not sure what I can do, sir."
The unknown person reached into his robe, then hurled an object at the man's feet without turning around. Ovi bent down to see that it was a golden Ring much like the ones strewn about the world, albeit more faded and tarnished. Upon closer inspection, though, he saw that it was inscribed with ancient texts which seemed rather familiar to him. In fact, the more he stared at the characters, the greater his understanding of them became.
At the same time, however, Ovi felt something else begin to stir within himself. It was all too similar to when Dr. Fukurokov had experimented on him with his Conversion Therapy using the energy of a Chaos Emerald. It wasn't as overwhelming as back then, but he could feel that presence clawing up from the depths to haunt him. To drag him down and replace him as the one in control of his mind and body, and use his designs for more nefarious purposes. It must have been Ivo that could determine the significance of the symbols; it was the only explanation he could think of for suddenly being able to translate them mentally.
He dropped the object and clutched his head as he fell to his knees, mumbling fearfully. It was too late now. Even if he ran away from the source of the energy afflicting him, his alternate personality had already been roused. And before long, the kindly face of Ovi the Tinkerer morphed to the sneering visage of Ivo Robotnik.
"Hoohohoho!" he chortled triumphantly, "finally, I'm in control again!" He looked down at the Ring, then over at the hooded figure with an unamused expression. "So, what's the deal with you? I assume you didn't bring me out just for the heck of it."
Finally, the person turned around and lowered his hood, and the sight made Ivo recoil for a moment. Staring back at him was a decidedly canine skull with two eerie blue lights where its eyes would be. The bones were painted with decorations seen in certain macabre holidays, such as orange flower petals around the eye sockets, and black lines along its jaw and above its teeth to give the illusion of lips. Other garish designs like vines, gemstones, and hearts were printed here and there, with a golden cross situated between its eyes and above the hole where its nose would be. A pair of blue ectoplasmic ears also flopped from the top of its head, unaffected by the breeze blowing in from the water.
"I want to help you," the skeletal dog responded simply.
Ivo scoffed at the notion. "You want to help, huh? Just point me to where I can find the right materials, and I'll have a solid stronghold built on this barren rock within a week!"
"I will do better than that."
With that, the creature beckoned for the human to follow as he rushed into the dense jungle without another word. Already irritated at having to exercise, the portly scientist grabbed the Ring and ran after the calcified canine, managing some surprising speed despite his bulk. A few minutes later, he arrived at what appeared to be the center of the island, where his jaw nearly dropped at the sight that awaited him. The seemingly undead Animal had led him to a vast, ancient quarry with a repository of metal ore just waiting to be unearthed once again.
And in the center of it all was a blue, giant floating Ring that was humming with almost palpable power. Ivo peered between the object in his hand and the one levitating before him, studying the runes on them more intently. From what he could determine, this island had once been part of a long gone civilization that had watched over the "Stone of Power" from the myth of the Floating Island. He also remembered stories about large Rings similar to this one, and how they served as gateways through a bizarre dimension that, when traversed wisely, would bring one great power. In many interpretations, the smaller Rings played a part in navigating these corridors, which had brought up a multitude of questions. For the doctor, the most prominent of those was: how much of it, if any, was true? It was certainly something worth looking into, given the very real power of the Chaos Emeralds.
"Hmm, I suppose you've got my attention," he said as he glanced back at the skeleton. He gestured at all of the plentiful ore around him. "It's a start, but I still don't have the tools I need to make use of it all. Not yet anyway."
As if calling a pet, the dog clapped his snowy hands together a few times. The thud of heavy metal in rhythmic footsteps followed, prompting Ivo to turn his head and identify the source. He couldn't help the devilish grin forming on his face when he realized just what had been dropped into his lap.
"Well now, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" he chuckled darkly, folding his arms behind his back. He swung on one foot and faced his mysterious benefactor. "Alright, you freaky mutt, I'll admit that you've been a little helpful. If you tell me the true reason you're doing all of this, I'll do something nice for you like, I don't know, make a statue of you as part of a seasonal Halloween attraction."
The strange Animal laughed, the noise like two massive stones grinding together. "That's not necessary." The edges of his jaw split wider in a smirk, as if they were made of cartilage rather than solid bone. "And my real reason? I just want to have fun."
Robotnik was quite amused at that answer. That could certainly be arranged, and not just for him. Ivo recalled that his other half had extended a certain offer to a few members of the group that had foiled his efforts back in Metropolis...
(One week before Christmas...)
Sonic found himself a bit bored that afternoon, all things considered. Miles was away on his trip across Little Planet with Cream, and wouldn't be back for at least another day or so. Gadget was hanging out with Fuchsia, the two having gone exploring in Poroi Forest and insisting on it just being them. Meanwhile, Gizmo had holed herself up in the submarine lab, muttering that she was close to finishing her latest project and didn't want any disturbances. He could get more practice in on trying to beat Miles' continually improving record around the island, but he wasn't in the mood.
He wanted something more exciting than just taking a jog. Aside from his hilariously brief encounter with the ex-Witchcarters, the hedgehog hadn't really seen any action in the couple of months since the adventure on Angel Island. A part of him was getting restless, almost eager to go look for the next big thing on his own. However, he didn't really have an idea of where to go, nor did he think that Miles would be too pleased if he just up and flew off without a plan. Still, the temptation was very strong.
As he sat there trying to come up with something, the communicator that the fox made for him lit up and began playing a funky, but pretty rocking piece. Sonic peered down at the screen and saw the stylized icon that had been made for Knuckles in the event he was trying to contact them. Without a second thought, the blue boy answered the call and brought the echidna's face on screen.
"Did I get it to work properly?" he heard the Guardian of the Master Emerald mutter, one hand partly blocking his end of the feed.
"Yo, Knux!" the hoglet hailed him, "long time no see!"
Knuckles pulled back from the built-in camera on his device and gave Sonic a curt nod. "Indeed, it has–I mean, it's been...a while."
"Nice to see you're making progress with the speech lessons I gave you." He smirked when he got an indignant grunt in response. "I'm just messing with you, Red. So, what's up?"
The older Animal adopted a more serious demeanor. "In the past couple of weeks, I've felt an odd disturbance in the energy emanating from the Master Emerald's shrine. It's as though something is amplifying it, much like the Chaos Emeralds would, but I do not currently have any."
That did sound a bit weird. Miles would probably have a better idea about what the cause could be, but he wasn't here to help right now.
"Hmm, have ya noticed anything else strange going on lately?" Sonic asked him.
Knuckles grunted affirmatively. "I sensed a large volume of Chaos Energy coming from far to the south of Angel Island. I have already gone on ahead to investigate, and would appreciate it if you and Miles could lend a hand."
"I can come check it out, but the big guy's not here right now," the hoglet explained with a helpless shrug, "he promised to go spend time with another friend of his, and he's keeping to it."
The echidna clicked his tongue. "I suppose it can't be helped. Do you have a way to find me?"
"All I gotta do is punch in your comm freq to the Tornado's system, and I'm good." At the blank stare he got, Sonic rolled a hand over his face. "Just keep your comm with ya and I'll be able to find ya, okay?"
"Very well. I'll see you soon, Sonic."
The transmission was terminated, leaving the hedgehog grinning from ear to ear. To him, it sounded like the start of something big, and even if it wasn't, it gave him a chance to get away from Cocoa Island for a little bit. Whatever the case, if Knuckles was involved, then it was probably at least a little serious.
In no time flat, Sonic gathered up much of the same gear he'd used during the last outing, then headed to the beach just south of Miles' cabin to where he'd parked his plane. He considered pinging the twins or leaving a note for them, but decided he'd just hail them later. If everything went well, he would be back before the end of the day, or perhaps the next, so he felt there was no need. So, without any fanfare, he hopped into the cockpit, started up the Tornado, and taxied her away towards the reef before taking to the air.
For a good couple of hours, Sonic followed the signal from Knuckles' comm south-southwest, the complete opposite direction of where Angel Island was a couple of months ago. How had he managed to get over there so quickly when he didn't have something like a plane or those Extreme Gear things? The hoglet wasn't given time to contemplate the question when his own comm rang out with another incoming call. He transferred it to the plane's console and pressed a button, putting it on speaker.
"Can you hear me, Sonic?" came a familiar chipper tone, albeit less so than normal, and sounding like it was being fed through an old radio.
Sonic grinned. "Hey, Charm! How's it going?"
"Uh, not too good at the moment, buddy." Given that the transmission was audio-only, the hedgehog could only imagine a concerned look on the bee's face. "I could actually use your guys' help. Like, really use it!"
The mirth on Sonic's lips fell. "Shoot, go figure that the big guy steps away for a few days, and stuff starts going down." He turned his attention to the radar. "I'm the only one available, but don't worry. Just relay your position and I'll be there ASAP!"
After a couple of moments, Charmy's frequency showed up on the scanner. Curiously, Sonic noticed that it was actually very close to where Knuckles was supposed to be meeting him. Maybe whatever had coaxed the Guardian into leaving his home and the issue the Chaotix member was facing were related. Even if they weren't, it was a bit of an odd coincidence, in the hedgehog's opinion.
It was a short while later that Sonic was met with a rather unexpected sight. There was a massive amusement park that took up nearly the entire space of an island just sitting in the middle of the sea. In one corner, there was a tower that extended to dizzying heights, while another had scores of cruise liners set up in an expansive harbor. A giant greenhouse-like structure took up a sizable portion of land, as did a neon roller coaster that was clearly made for speed. A large silver dome was also present, as was what appeared to be a relatively relaxed area to rest from the excitement located in the center of it all.
A few kilometers north of the fun-filled resort was a smaller island with rolling green hills and scattered forests. There were also rows of rock formations that resembled crystals from a distance, and quite a few tall cliffs on one side. And according to the readings Sonic was receiving, both Charmy and Knuckles should be there. It took him a bit to find a good spot to land, but the boy eventually settled on the western shore, where the elevation was lowest. Here, he could see a sort of blue clay-like soil beneath the grass, interspersed with more traditional reddish brown. But just before he jumped out of the Tornado, the signal from the bee's unit disappeared without warning.
'That's weird,' the boy thought, 'better get a move on.'
Now a bit more on alert, Sonic disembarked and took off towards the nearest hill, his pace causing the greenery to bend with the gale he created. He didn't get far when he spotted a red figure that stood out from everything, one that he'd recognize anywhere. It made him feel a little better now that he knew that Knuckles was alright.
"Knux!" he called out to the echidna, screeching to a stop just a meter away from him.
Knuckles turned around and gave him a curt nod. "Good to see you, Sonic." He frowned a bit and crossed his arms as he peered back at the park. "I've determined that the swell of Chaos Energy is coming from that strange island. As for what is causing it, I'm still trying to figure that out."
"And ya thought you might find something around here?" Sonic asked, being met with another nod, "well, turns out a buddy of Tails and I is here, too. Sounds like he needs help real bad, though."
The Guardian hummed at that news. "Then let us hurry. If there is something malicious going on here, I cannot risk it getting back to Angel Island and the Master Emerald."
Considering what happened the last time something did, they were in agreement there. With his comm at the ready, Sonic raced towards where he'd last picked up Charmy's signal, with Knuckles trailing close behind. Along the way, the two were a bit unnerved as they realized the lack of Critters on the otherwise vibrant island. It didn't feel right for a place like this to be so empty.
Descending past a moderately tall hill, they stopped when they came across something that definitely spelled trouble. There was a blue cylindrical capsule with a red cap and glass dome on top. It was held up by yellow prongs and a gray foot panel, while the front of it had a clear rectangular window that allowed a view of its internal circuitry and lights. The most concerning part was that a yellow squirrel Animal was inside the bizarre machine, unmoving and with his face frozen in shock. And standing next to the capsule with a wicked grin was someone, or rather a side of someone, that Sonic hoped he wouldn't see again anytime soon.
"Now I have all of you!" Dr. Robotnik crowed, "that's what you get for snooping, you gliding rat!" He paused to deviously rub his hands together. "This works out well, though. Now I have more than enough bait to draw that fetid fox and his other friends here!"
Sonic and Knuckles ducked behind a bush, just barely keeping out of the man's sight. The hoglet clenched his fists tightly, wanting to jump in to help his partner's old friend, but he knew the big guy would try and formulate a plan of attack.
But when it came to the echidna, he didn't have such patience. Seeing what he rightfully perceived to be another Animal in peril, Knuckles leapt into action with his namesakes at the ready. Ivo halted his gloating just in time to see his assailant flying at him, letting out a startled yell and diving off to one side. With one mighty punch, the outer casing of the container was busted to bits, releasing the squirrel from the mechanical prison. Fortunately, the guy was unharmed by the carnage, though he still appeared to be rather out of it.
"You wretched red rogue! Look at what you've done!" Ivo berated Knuckles.
Sonic dashed out in front of the echidna, giving him a brief glare before frowning at the egg-shaped fellow. "Didn't think you'd be causing trouble again so soon, Eggman."
"It's Robotnik, you blue buffoon!" the man growled. He threw up his arms and let out a huff. "Bah, I don't have time for you right now! Your interference has caused me to move the schedule up a bit, so I have to go and make adjustments!"
Ivo put two fingers against his teeth and let out a shrill whistle, then ran off to the east as fast as he could. Sonic was about to try and head him off, only to be cut off himself by a volley of yellow energy balls. While he avoided them, Knuckles tried to pick up the pursuit, but was smacked to the ground by an amber blur. Neither of the spiny guys could believe their eyes at the perpetrator of the attacks.
There stood a metallic fox with a likeness to Miles, albeit one decidedly more sinister. Its face was sleek and streamlined, the optics were black with cyan-blue rings acting as irises, and it possessed a long and spiky black nose at the tip of a mouth-less gray muzzle. It had a relatively bulky chest and arms compared to its legs, with wires, tubes, and circuitry all exposed along its form. It sported tall and sturdy "boots" in the same style as Miles' shoes, with what appeared to be exhaust ports close to the heels. The hands ended in vicious steel claws, and appeared as though they could be swapped out for other means of attack. There were also other things mounted on the arms, but neither Sonic or Knuckles were sure what they could be. A trio of amber and tawny bangs made of very convincing faux fur were situated above the middle of its forehead, and two tails shimmering with thin layers of plasma along the edges were fanned out behind it.
The design may have been somewhat different from its previous iteration, but both red and blue Animals could never forget this vulpine doppelganger.
"Mecha!?" Sonic exclaimed in shock.
"I thought I had dealt with you for good, robot fox!" Knuckles snarled as he raised both fists in a fighting stance.
Mecha Miles regarded them briefly, then swiftly moved to lift Ivo into both of its arms. It fired up the thrusters in its boots and took off towards the resort island, leaving the three unable to do much but stare as it went. Once the pair were out of sight, the squirrel went over to the others and let out a relieved sigh.
"T-thanks for saving me," he said gratefully.
"No problemo, bud," Sonic replied, getting a good look at the guy. Seeing his blue scarf, shoes, and those goggles reminded the hoglet an awful lot of his partner. He put it out of mind for the moment to focus on the more important issue. "Can you tell us what happened?"
The mammal nodded slowly, his big bushy tail moving around for him to grip onto. "I was just traveling with my little buddy when we c-came across that place over there." He motioned towards the park, taking a deep breath to try and calm down. "We thought it'd be f-fun, so we went to check it out. But when we got there, it t-turned out to be a fortress for that weird old guy you just saw."
"What happened to your friend?" Knuckles inquired.
The squirrel squeezed his tail harder. "We c-came across three other guys: a crocodile, a bee, and a chameleon. Two of them were already t-trapped like I was a moment ago, but the bee was trying to get away while talking with someone."
Sonic grimaced at that. That had to have been when Charmy called him. Hearing that Ivo got to Espio and Vector already by the time this other guy got there, prospects didn't look too good for the insect boy. It was likely that the loss of his comm reading earlier meant that the doctor had gotten to him as well.
"That's w-when that thing showed up," the teen stuttered as he went on, "the fox robot, I mean. It attacked me, but my buddy took it on and told me to r-run." He lowered his head shamefully. "So I followed the bee to t-try and get help. But the robot got to us right when we came here, and it went after the other g-guy. The old man ambushed me later, and then I d-don't remember anything from when he put me in that machine to when you rescued me."
The hedgehog grit his teeth. "Robotnik's got the Chaotix and your buddy, huh?" He shifted his expression to his usual assured grin and flashed a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, we'll help you out!"
"Do not forget why we're here, Sonic," the echidna reminded him.
Sonic waved him off dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Chances are that Eggman is probably here for the same reason, and you heard what he said earlier. He's trying to lure Miles and I here anyway, along with everyone else that whooped his butt before."
"Wait, is it the same Miles I know?" the squirrel wondered, "an orange-yellow fox with two tails? I know it sounds kinda c-crazy..." When he got nods from both of the other Animals, his smile broadened significantly. "Talk about a small world. He and I helped each other and our little buddy get out of a jam a few years ago!"
Sonic searched his memory for the stories that the fox had told him, and after a little bit, he snapped his fingers. He had a good idea of who this guy was.
"Oh yeah, he told me about you. Ray, right?" he asked.
The yellow mammal beamed and nodded firmly. "Yep, Ray the Flying Squirrel! Nice to meet you!"
"Right back at ya! Name's Sonic the Hedgehog." He gestured to the Guardian. "And this bundle of sunshine is Knuckles the Echidna."
Knuckles simply bobbed his head in greeting. With the introductions out of the way, both of the younger Animals were ready to leave and head over to the main island in order to save their friends. The echidna, however, felt his attention being drawn to the eastern side of the one they were currently on.
"What's up, Knux?" Sonic inquired, "there something over that way?"
The Guardian shut his eyes for a moment to suss out what he'd sensed. Sure enough, his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.
"Yes, there's a large amount of Chaos Energy in that direction," he informed them, "not as great as on the other island, but still significant."
"Then let's check it out," the blue boy decided, already beginning to sprint away.
Ray wasn't sure what was going on and what they meant by "Chaos Energy", but he was quick to follow once Knuckles started going after Sonic. The trio ran up a curve to the top of one hill, which steadily went down for a ways until they reached a tunnel that snaked through the next significant rise in the earth. A short stretch of flat land soon brought them to another, even longer passage that dropped out back into the open at the foot of a cliff. The squirrel used his patagium to catch a draft and fly to the top, while the echidna boosted the hedgehog up before climbing the rocky wall with his namesakes.
They repeated this several more times until they cleared the highest part of the island and descended towards the forest, scaling a few more hills along the way. Once they'd reached the easternmost edge of the island, the three came across a giant Ring much like those found around the echidna's home. This one, however, was more of a bright yellow like the respective Chaos Emerald, rather than the usual shimmering gold like all the rest. And while Sonic wasn't as sensitive to the energy as Knuckles was, even he could feel the power thrumming off the object at this distance.
"Whoa, w-what's that?" Ray murmured.
Knuckles stepped towards the floating Ring, casting a glance back at his companions. "Let me handle this. I can feel that its appearance isn't the only thing that is different from the ones on Angel Island."
He stopped in front of it far enough away that he could reach out and just manage to touch it as it flipped his way. For a brief moment, there was something like a static jolt, and then he felt the fingers of his right hand being forced open. Faster than he could react, the giant Ring shrunk itself down so that it was the same size as the garden variety found around the world, right into the Guardian's grip. Knuckles tried to toss it away, only to discover that his digits refused to open up enough for him to do so. His body was fighting against what he was telling it, keeping the thing in a deathly grasp.
"What's going on!?" he shouted as he stubbornly and futilely tried to chuck the Ring away, "it won't let me let go of it!"
Sonic impulsively ran up to his friend and grabbed onto the other end of it. "Dunno when you developed your sense of humor, Red, but now's not the time to be playing around!"
He tried yanking as hard as he could, letting out a yelp as he went flying backwards, almost as if Knuckles had let go the very moment he tried to tug it away. But after getting up from the spill, the hoglet discovered that the bigger guy still hadn't relinquished control of it. Even more concerning, there was now an identical Ring in his hand that he felt compelled to hold onto. And when they looked between each other, they saw a band of white star-like sparkles that connected the two yellow circles like a chain. They both gave an experimental tug, soon finding out that even though the connection wasn't entirely solid, it still had a rubber-like elasticity.
"Shoot," the hedgehog muttered. He shrugged and grinned after a few seconds. "Eh, it's not too bad, I guess. Won't have to worry about you going off and getting lost."
Knuckles gritted his teeth, one eye twitching. "My sense of direction is perfectly fine, and this isn't exactly a small matter, blue boy."
"Well, if you've got any bright ideas on how to fix this, knucklehead, I'm all ears!" When the echidna was unable to produce an answer, Sonic let out a "hmph" and crossed his arms. "Yeah, I thought so."
"G-guys, come on," Ray said, trying to break up any argument before it could get worse, "my little buddy and those other fellas need our help!"
Both of the others huffed and put their bickering to the side, though it was a chore to keep it that way. On the return journey to the Tornado, Sonic quickly learned that he couldn't just run on ahead, lest he get rebounded back into Knuckles, or vice versa if the latter started to lag behind. Similar rules applied for vertical travel as well, making glides, jumps, and climbs all the more awkward. They were thankful that Ray was there to help them through it, even if he was mostly acting as moral support. At least he was fast enough to keep up.
By the time they got back to the plane, the last vestiges of sunlight were starting to dip into the west. The carnival island stood out all the more against the oncoming evening, showing off the many structures in the likeness of Robotnik, including a giant analog clock with a face modeled after his own. None of them were sure that the doctor or his creation would be patrolling as the night went on, but they didn't want to risk it. Not that they'd be much less conspicuous during the day, but they would stand out even more thumbs against the artificial lighting. And much as Ray wanted to go help his friend, he didn't seem like the sort to go bravely rushing into that kind of danger.
So, the group set up a camp for the night, also doing without a fire so that they didn't give themselves away. Thankfully, due to the differences north and south of the equator, it was fairly warm here compared to the current nights on Cocoa Island. They passed the time with Ray first sharing his story about Miles, then asking the other two questions about how they knew the fox and what they'd gotten up to together. Sonic happily recounted how he'd met the two-tailed teen, and the ordeal that they'd shared when facing the Kukkus on West Side Island. He and Knuckles then took turns sharing their accounts of what happened on Angel Island, with the echidna reluctantly admitting to having been tricked into believing Miles to be his enemy, when the real foe had been right beside him. Once they were all caught up, there was a fair stretch of silence before the squirrel spoke up.
"I'm k-kinda scared," he admitted guiltily, "I might have helped Miles through a t-tough spot before, but that was years ago. I haven't done anything like that since..."
Ever confident, Sonic flashed him another thumbs-up with his free hand. "No worries, Ray, you've got Knux and I here to help ya out this time. And once we bust Mighty and the Chaotix outta there, Eggman won't stand a chance, even with Mecha!"
"And this time, I will make sure that fox robot cannot come back," Knuckles declared. With that, he leaned back against a nearby tree and got into a comfortable sitting position. "But let us rest for the night. We're going to need our full strength for the trials ahead."
So it was decided, and soon, both the hedgehog and the echidna were out, resting fairly close by so they didn't stretch the connection between their Rings too far. The squirrel stayed up a little while longer, nervous about what the next day would hold, and whether he'd be able to handle it. As he mulled it over, he caught a pair of blue lights in the corner of his eye, nearly startling him to the point of shouting. He thought that perhaps one of the doctor's creations had found them, but when he turned to confront the source, he saw nothing. Thoroughly unnerved, he stayed up for at least another hour or so before he finally calmed down enough to get to wind down. Perhaps his tired eyes had merely been playing tricks on him.
Had he gone out to investigate, he would have run into the same pale figure that had been with Robotnik. The bony being gazed out at the three sleeping figures and chuckled as he melded into the darkness of the surrounding land.
"I wonder who will have the most fun at the end of everything to come," the skeleton dog wondered aloud, "this band of young men, the doctor, or, dare I say, myself?"