News on Mobius travelled in strange and mysterious ways. A few weeks later, rumors started to get around that Dr. Eggman was up to something crazy in a distant mining operation, and that's why he hadn't been seen lately. Pretty soon the whispers of evil intent grew so strong that Sonic figured he'd better go check the story out. He brought Tails and Knuckles with him.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Sonic," grumbled Knuckles. "If I had to leave the Master Emerald alone for a whole day just because Bob told Joe he'd heard Mary telling Mark something, I'm gonna be—"
"Relax, Knucklehead," scoffed Sonic, trotting ahead impatiently. "You needed a good jog anyway!"
Knuckles muttered something and squinted up at the sky, which was thickly overcast.
"Guys," said Tails anxiously, hovering alongside with his tails whirring. "What if we have trouble getting in? I heard the mines are really high-security."
"I'm sure it'll be fine," said Sonic confidently. "What's so special about these mines anyway?"
"They're built into an old volcano!" said Tails, who as usual had done his research. "It went extinct hundreds of years ago, but it left a huge hollow crater. Now all that's left is a thick circular wall of stone, surrounding a big empty space. The walls of the volcano are still full of diamonds carried up from deep inside the earth, and lots of rare and precious metals. It's one of the most valuable mining districts in Mobius!"
"Cool," said Sonic noncommitally, still forging ahead. "Heh, too bad they couldn't just mine up a few extra Chaos Emeralds!"
Tails' face grew serious.
"I don't know, Sonic. What if that's what Eggman's doing there—mining for Chaos Emeralds?"
"Ah, I was just kidding. There have to be only seven Chaos Emeralds, or the Master Emerald would get confused. Right Knux?"
"The Master Emerald does not get 'confused,'" retorted Knuckles, miffed. Sonic laughed.
"Lighten up, Knuckles. You know you were just dying for a chance to get out, have a nice run, see the sights and get a little fresh air . . . "
Abruptly the sky seemed to cleave open, and a deluge of rain slapped down at the three travellers. Knuckles gave Sonic a silent glare, to which Sonic grinned ruefully.
"Hey, you'd be getting wet on Angel Island too, right?"
Knuckles sighed and shook his head in resignation.
"There's the volcano!" cried Tails, pointing. And indeed, there it loomed through the curtains of rain, a vast mass of dark stone with a jagged top edge rising a good couple hundred feet above the ground. The sides were sheer and clearly slippery, glinting with the sudden rainfall even from a distance.
"There's some buildings next to it over there!" Tails added, and they all sped up a little until they could dive under the shelter of a gas station roof.
"Whoa," remarked Sonic, as Knuckles tried to wring out his dreadlocks. "It's pretty huge! How do we get in?"
"I think I see a tunnel," said Tails. "Let's try that."
A road led right up to the tunnel's darkened maw, and trucks and buses splashed Team Sonic with oily water as they dashed towards the volcano's side. A high chain-link fence topped with loops of barbed wire ran all the way around the volcano, except at the point where the road led into the tunnel.
However, when Sonic and the others tried to run through the gap in the fence, a man in a uniform suddenly popped out of a little booth and shouted "Hold it there!" They all skidded to a stop obediently when they saw the man holding up a rifle. He didn't look angry, or even unfriendly, but he still looked like he meant business.
"Sorry chums," he called. "Can't let you through here."
"But we need to get in!" Sonic called back. "Is there another door?"
The man laughed.
"Heck no. Only authorized road traffic is allowed through here, we can't have people just sailing in and out." He noticed Sonic's eyes straying to Tails, who was hovering in midair. "And don't even think of trying to fly in. The security over the volcano is even stronger, they have it set up with motion-sensitive machine guns. Poke your nose up there, and it'll be shot off."
Sonic grimaced. Tails tried in turn.
"Look, please mister, we've got to investigate—"
"Don't try anything," said the man wearily. "I wouldn't want to shoot you even if you made a dash for it, but you can bet I'd call the folks in charge. You might make it in, but you'd either be shot or arrested. Or both." He jerked his head back towards the little cluster of buildings nearby. "If you're really desperate to get in, go to the little white clapboard building up there and talk to Riley. He can give you a permit to ride a bus, if you really have a legit reason for entering."
"Got it!" said Sonic, brightening. "Thanks, mister!"
"Yeah, yeah, now get lost so I don't have to stand in the rain anymore," retorted the man, and kept a wary eye on the Mobians until they were a good distance away.
"Man," said Sonic, shaking his head. "That is some high security, even for a diamond mine!"
"It's not just the diamond mine, though," said Tails. He pointed at a large road sign that read "Merkel Peak: Mines and Nature Preserve."
"I forgot to mention, there's also a really famous nature preserve inside the volcano's crater. The volcanic soil in there is really rich, and the climate is—well—rainy." Tails chuckled, shaking his damp hair-scruff out of his eyes. "There are a lot of really amazing and rare plants growing in there, so they have the area specially protected. They probably don't want people wandering in there and trampling or picking the plants."
"So they have a nature preserve, and a mining operation, all inside one volcano?" said Knuckles dubiously. Tails shrugged.
"It's a really big space, for a volcano crater. Besides, the mining mostly goes on around the inner walls of the caldera, while the nature preserve is right in the middle. Somehow it must work."
"Well, we'll see for ourselves once we get those permits," said Sonic optimistically.
They found the clapboard building and went inside, trying not to drip on the wooden floor. It was something like a souvenir shop, with shelves full of trinkets and tchotchkes and little books about the history of the volcano. There were also some samples of rocks, minerals, and gemstones from the mine, kept behind glass, and a checkout counter with a little "Bus Permits Here" sign dangling above it. Sonic, standing on his toes to see above the countertop, cleared his throat.
"Ah?!" Riley, a balding man in a checkered shirt and suspenders, had been dozing in his chair behind the counter. Sitting up, he straightened his glasses and squinted at the Mobians.
"Well, what can I do you for?"
"Hi; we need bus permits to get into the volcano," smiled Sonic. The man twisted his mouth dubiously.
"Bus permits? What for?"
"Because . . . we need to get in?" began Sonic lamely, but Riley waved him into silence.
"Obviously, obviously, I know that. You've got to have a better reason than that, I can't let just anyone in there."
"We're here for research purposes," spoke up Tails suddenly. Sonic and Knuckles just barely avoided giving him surprised looks.
"Research purposes? You?" Riley chuckled. "You're not the first kiddos who've tried to sneak into Merkel Peak, but that's got to be one of the better excuses I've heard."
"It's not an excuse!" Tails looked righteously affronted. "I'm a registered research fellow at Spagonia University! I came all the way out here to study the Brassica variants growing in the nature preserve."
"Oh, did you?"
"Yes, it's part of my thesis. Sonic and Knuckles here are my assistants," said Tails glibly. Sonic bit his tongue hard so he wouldn't burst out laughing, while Knuckles twitched in annoyance.
"Assistants, eh?" Riley looked amused too. "So then, kid genius, what are these brassicas of yours like?"
Tails launched into a detailed analysis of multiple species and subspecies, enumerating the various charms of plants that sounded oddly like cabbages and brussels sprouts. He did it so scientifically, however, that Riley was won over.
"Well, you win, kid," he chuckled, digging under the counter. "I don't know if you're with Spagonia University or not, but anyone who knows that much science has got to know some respect for nature too. You keep those assistants of yours in line now, you hear?"
"I'll make sure they behave," said Tails seriously, as Sonic made a peculiar sneezing sound.
"Now, these permits will let you ride any ingoing bus," said Riley, handing three plastic cards across the counter. "The next one's coming through in ten minutes. Hang onto the permits while you're inside, okay? You'll need them to board an outgoing bus too."
"Got it!" said Tails. "Thanks, Mr. Riley."
"Sure thing, kid genius."
Tails calmly led Sonic and Knuckles over to the other side of the store to wait. As they pretended to examine a glass case full of gold ore, Sonic punched Tails lightly in the shoulder, still struggling to contain his amusement.
"Get out Tails, that was awesome! Where did you come up with a story like that?" he whispered.
"I didn't really make it up," grinned Tails. "At least, not all of it. I really am a research fellow at Spagonia University, and I'm sure some wild Brassica must grow in the nature preserve."
"Still, that was pretty cool," Sonic chuckled. Tails folded his arms and rocked back on his heels, smiling crookedly. He loved it when his smarts came in handy.
"Hey," said Knuckles abruptly, peering out the window. "There's a bus at the bus stop down there. It's not ours, is it?"
"Oh feathers, I forgot!" called Riley from across the room. "The buses are running early today. The next one doesn't come for two hours—"
"Yikes!" The Mobians all bolted out the door.
Outside, the rain was still pouring. Sonic led the way as they pounded down the long slope towards the bus stop, where a large blocky bus still rumbled idly.
"Wait, wait for us!" called Tails, waving the bus permits, and abruptly slipped on the muddy incline.
"You okay?" laughed Knuckles, glancing over as he dashed past. The lapse in concentration cost him though, as he promptly splashed down right next to Tails.
"Stop fooling around, you guys!" Sonic called, already almost at the bus stop. He slip-slid to a halt and glanced back. "Come on, come on, we've gotta—oof!" Somehow, what had meant to be a quick turn and jump to the sidewalk had misinterpreted itself as a series of frantic skids and a brief trip to the ground. Sonic shook out his head startledly and looked back to Knuckles and Tails, who were laughing so hard it was impeding their efforts to get back to their feet.
"Hey, can I help it if gravity hates me?" he hollered back, smirking. "No seriously guys, hurry up, the bus driver isn't going to hang around to watch our clown act."
Luckily though, the bus driver did wait long enough for the Mobians, still breathless and laughing, to scramble aboard. He nodded when Tails showed him the permits and waved for them to move towards the back of the bus.
"Thanks for waiting, mister," grinned Sonic, and led his teammates back. Knuckles saw an empty seat and moved towards it, but Sonic grabbed his shoulder.
"Nah, better not, Knux," he advised quietly, nodding back towards the bus driver. "The guy was nice enough to wait for us, least we can do is not get his bus seats all muddy."
"Hey, I'm only muddy in front," protested Knuckles good-naturedly.
"Oh, well, if you want me to fix that," Sonic grinned, scraping a handful of mud from the back of his ear.
"Don't even think about it!"
Tails laughed at the others' clowning, then gave a stifled yelp as the bus started up and he found himself sitting on the floor. Sonic hoisted him cheerfully to his feet, as Knuckles also staggered slightly. Buses, especially large ones, tend to sway a lot with every acceleration and deceleration.
"Whoa!" protested Tails, staggering again as they went around a curve. Sonic and Knuckles grabbed hold of the looped straps hanging from the ceiling, some of which were hung low enough for Mobians. Tails, however, was a small Mobian, and thus couldn't reach.
"Want a hand?" asked Sonic, as Tails strained to reach the nearest strap and almost fell over again.
"No, I've got it," said Tails stubbornly, reaching as far as he could. No dice. He sighed in resignation. "Oh, all right, maybe I could sorta use some help—"
"No problem, little buddy!" said Sonic, and lifted Tails up lightly so he could grab the strap.
"Oh, ha ha," said Tails, his feet now dangling several inches from the floor. Sonic struggled not to laugh too hard; Tails aimed a playful kick in his direction.
"Guys," hissed Knuckles, fighting back a grin. "Cut it out. It's only a matter of time before the other passengers start complaining about rowdy teenagers."
"There's rowdy teenagers in here? Shame on them!" deadpanned Sonic. "Somebody should kick them out!"
Still, he and Tails looked a little guilty and stopped whooping it up. Luckily, the other passengers didn't even seem to notice. They were a stolid sort of bunch, all wrapped up in high-collared raincoats and topped with miner's hats. Now that the Mobians stopped to look around, they were a little creeped out all of a sudden. Nobody was reading a newspaper or listening to music or anything; they were all just sitting and looking straight ahead. As the bus entered the tunnel through the side of the volcano and the interior was plunged into darkness punctuated by an occasional sickly-yellow light, nobody shuffled or coughed or scratched his ear. It was unnerving.
"Why's everyone so uptight?" whispered Sonic.
"Maybe the mines are really bad," said Tails, his suddenly worried face highlighted by a shifting glow as another light streaked past. "Maybe they're scared or unhappy."
"Or maybe the weather's got them down?" Knuckles suggested through the following darkness.
"Hmm," Sonic replied. As another light flashed by the windows, he stepped over to the nearest miner and tapped him on the shoulder politely. The bus plunged into darkness again as Sonic began, "Hey mister, 'scuse me, my friends and I were just wondering—hey!"
There was a muffled thud.
"Sonic?!" cried Tails through the darkness.
"Geez dude, what was that for?" protested Sonic's voice. "You didn't even hear the question yet, did you just feel like socking someone in the jaw today? Listen, I just—"
There was another thud, and an angry exclamation from Sonic. Tails was getting rattled now; unconsciously he drew closer to Knuckles, since he didn't know where Sonic was.
Just then the bus reached the end of the tunnel. As the black faded to gray and then burst into cloudy daylight, Sonic was revealed clutching the jacket arm of the fellow he'd been trying to speak with. In his attempts to pull free, the guy lost his hat—revealing a faceless ovaloid metal head.
"What the—?!" Sonic let go of the raincoat at once. "You're a—a robot!"
The bus rocked to a halt as the robot stood up and shed its raincoat, revealing a sleek metallic body. All up and down the aisle, the passengers and even the bus driver began to stand up and throw off their coats, revealing similar humanoid forms. Team Sonic was soon surrounded by a passel of tall robots—all with the Eggman ensigna emblazoned on their chests.