Chapter 7

Mushroom Hill

"Well Tails," said Slasher cheerfully, "looks like you aren't hurt as bad as I thought."

They were sitting under a spreading oak tree. It was near noon, but the sky was dim and overcast, for the forecasted storm was approaching. True to her word, Slasher had landed in Mushroom Hill. It was warm and muggy, and a fine mist hung in the hollows in the ground. Fungi grew everywhere-the tree above them had stair-step growths up its trunk.

Slasher had brought a first-aid kit, and was finishing up the bandage on Tails's shoulder and upper arm. The fox was leaning wearily against the tree, eyes closed. Sonic sat a few feet away, chin resting on his knees, miserable. The big velociraptor noticed him. "Don't look so gloomy, Sonic. Tails'll be fine. It's just a scratch, really."

Tails gingerly touched the bandage. "It will?" he asked.

Slasher nodded. "Yes. It will be sore for a while, and I wouldn't recommend an airlift anytime soon, but it will heal quickly. I've seen worse, you know." She closed the first-aid kit and stood up. "You guys feel like lunch yet?"

Tails sat up and nodded vigorously. Sonic said, "Why, do I look like it?"

Slasher stepped away, reached behind the tree and lifted a plastic bag with two sandwiches in it. She opened it and handed them out. Sonic and Tails dug in without a word.

Slasher watched them for a moment, then said, "Gee, you two are as cheerful as half a mile of bad road. Robotnik won't get far with a ruptured fuel line. Don't be pessimists."

Tails looked up and asked innocently, "What's a pessimist?"

"The opposite of an optimist."

"Well, what's that?"

Slasher winked at Sonic and crouched between them. "Let me tell you a story that explains the difference between an optimist and a pessimist. An optimist bought a hunting dog, and was told it could walk on water. So he went hunting with his pessimist friend. He shot a duck, and it fell into the middle of a lake. He told the dog to get it. Sure enough, the dog walked to the lake, sniffed, and walked across the water to get the duck. The optimist was amazed, but the pessimist said nothing. Again the optimist dropped a duck into the lake, and again the dog walked across the water to retrieve it. Not wanting to brag, the optimist said nothing to his friend until they were in the car, driving home. Then he looked at him and said, 'Notice anything unusual about my dog?' 'Yeah,' the pessimist replied. 'He can't swim.'"

Sonic and Tails groaned appreciatively. "Where do you hear this stuff?" Sonic said.

Slasher shrugged, her green eyes twinkling. "Oh, the odd places you hear jokes."

As the hedgehog and fox finished their lunch, there was a distant rumble of thunder. Slasher reared up and scanned the sky. "We're in for a storm," she remarked. There was a brief silence.

Sonic broke it with a question. "Hey Slash, make any headway with that weird language?"

She shook her narrow head. "Not yet. It's quite old, and the dialect seems unknown. Give me another day or two-I'm sure I can find some translated manuscripts, somewhere."

The big velociraptor turned and lifted her head high, sniffing at the faint breeze. Sonic and Tails watched her. After a moment she shifted her wings against her sides and said, "Knuckles is here."

The two jumped to their feet. "Where?"

"Upwind somewhere. C'mon, you two, and try not to make any noise." She glided away into the scattered trees, and Sonic and Tails followed.

Slasher led them to the edge of a dry ravine, where she dropped flat behind a stand of tall mushrooms. Sonic and Tails joined her and peered through the thick, soft stalks.

The ravine was little more than a creek, ten feet wide and five feet deep. As they watched, a section of the dirt wall across from them swung outward, revealing a doorway in the bank. Knuckles stuck his head out and scanned the area. His gaze swept their hiding place, lingered, then moved on. Deciding the area was clear, he stepped outside, revealing that the cave behind him was illuminated with an unnatural flickering light. He glanced around once more, then kicked the door shut and dashed down the ravine.

The three watched him until he vanished around a bend, then looked at each other, curiosity burning.

The door appeared airtight when closed, and unless they had known it was there, they would not have noticed it. It opened easily under Sonic's tug and swung outward, revealing an earthen passage beyond. The strange light was burning in a room at the end. The three walked through the moist passage and stepped inside.

"Oh wow," Tails breathed.

It was a ring teleporter similar to earlier ones, but was as white as snow. Its center was filled with sparkling gold light. "What's wrong with it?" Sonic asked Slasher.

She shook her narrow head. "Wrong? I don't know-it's a different color." The velociraptor carefully stepped around the glowing ring, examining it. "It looks the same as the old ones. You earned all the chaos emeralds, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Why don't you see where it takes you? I'll stand guard in case Knux comes back."

Sonic looked at Tails and lifted his eyebrows. "You want to?"

Tails smiled. "First time we saw these things you didn't even stop to ask. I'm game if you are."

Sonic, realizing he was acting timid, grabbed Tails's good hand. "C'mon, then. So long, Slash." And dragging Tails behind him, he leaped through the center of the white ring.

They were surrounded by yellow light as it travelled at warp speed, funnelling its power through time and space. It was like flying through a dream, or looking inside the sun-

Their feet touched down. The light drained down on them like pouring sand. The brilliant gold turned green, then faded away, leaving their surroundings firm and solid. Dazzled, they stood still and looked around.

It was a great underground cavern. The ceiling vaulted up hundreds of feet to become lost in darkness. Everything-walls, floor and distant ceiling-was black basalt. They stood on a green, polished marble deck built over a section of the rough, jagged volcanic floor, as if meant to eventually fill the whole cavern. The air was cool and musty compared to Mushroom Hill. It was completely silent, and their breathing seemed noisy. Glowing crystals grew from the walls and lit the cave with a cool blue brilliance.

Sonic and Tails began to notice their immediate surroundings and realized they were standing on a gigantic crystal lens. Whatever this place was, teleporters were the preferred method of transportation.

As they stepped down, Sonic pointed across the the room and murmured, "Tails, lookit those!" Thirty feet away, built into the marble floor, was a collection of crystal pedestals. They approached on tiptoe, for it felt as if the cave was watching them.

Seven pedestals were arranged in a circle, and the biggest of the pedestals stood in the center. Each pillar was made of a different color of rock, and intricately engraved with strange writing. But the seven were empty.

The central pillar held their attention. It was three times as large as the others, and held up by clear crystal supports. Its sides were covered with writing and abstract pictures. In the top, embedded firmly in a bed of sharp green seed crystals, was the Master emerald. It was deep green, cut skillfully and four feet across. It glowed with fire in its fathomless depths.

Sonic and Tails looked at each other and breathed, "Whoa!" Sonic stepped away and turned in a circle, scanning the dim room. A light was dawning on his face. "I know where we are," he said, aware Tails knew but needing to say it aloud. "This is Knuckles's Hidden Palace. That's the Master emerald, and he's its Guardian." He whirled to Tails. "This is bad news, little bro. He might have told Robotnik where it is, already. If so, then it's a matter of time until it's stolen and the island's wrecked."

"But what if he hasn't?"

"Then he will."

"But what can we do? He's not gonna listen to us."

"Then let's go for the kingpin-Robotnik. We can slow him down, at least."

"About as much as before, which has been zip."

"Don't be a pessimist. His favorite pastime is attacking us with his boss ships. If we go on the offensive, then he'll be too busy."

"That means we'll be busy, too. He might just send in that robot Sonic to get it for him."

A shadow passed over Sonic's face, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "You got a point there." He returned to the Master emerald's pedestal and stood over it, absently gazing into its green depths. For some reason, he lifted his hand, and slowly touched the Master's smooth top.

There was a flash of light, and a thunderclap shook the cavern. Tails was flung to his knees, and covered his face with his arms. Sonic, though startled, was unaffected. He had jerked his hand away immediately, and was now standing perfectly still. A beam of light flashed from the Master emerald. He threw up a hand to shield his eyes, and it faded at once. The beam had risen and was illuminating a group of floating, gleaming objects; the chaos emeralds. It had dragged them away from him. They were rotating in a tight circle, which they had done when Robotnik had taken them without the balancing green.

"Look, Tails, look!" Sonic shouted, eyes never leaving his precious emeralds. "I see," came Tails's faint reply. The emeralds shot upward, illuminating the shadowy ceiling with their light. They hovered for an instant, then evaporated into the beam surrounding them.

A lightning bolt struck one of the empty pedestals. It vanished, leaving a grey, dead super emerald. This process was repeated six more times, each pedestal suddenly bearing an emerald. Then the light vanished, and total silence resumed.

Tails picked himself up off the floor. Sonic was frozen to the spot with his mouth open. Tails walked up to him and murmured, "What the heck was THAT?"

Sonic shook his head, eyes resting on the nearest dead emerald. "I donno. It took my emeralds and-and-" Words failed him.

They moved forward, staring at the colorless super emeralds. Each one was one-third the Master emerald's size. All were an ashy grey. If they had not been so beautifully cut, one might have thought they were quartz crystals.

"I'm afraid to touch one of them, after what just happened," Sonic whispered, for the silence of the cave seemed to dislike being broken.

"I know," Tails agreed. "Maybe we should go back."

Sonic's eyes flashed. "Not without my emeralds. I lost 'em once, and I'm not about to let Knuckles or Robotnik get their hands on them. There's got to be a way to get them back." Contrary to what he had said a moment before, Sonic touched a grey emerald.

A whoosh of air, a flash of light! Tails shielded his eyes. The beam of light that had taken the chaos emeralds had surrounded Sonic again. He pulled his hands away from the gem with an effort, as if it were difficult to move. Then he was yanked off the floor and floated two feet above the emerald. He couldn't struggle or move-all he could do was close his eyes against the brilliance.

The whiteness changed to a blue bubble around him. Then a bolt of electricity, like a power arc between a powerline and a branch, formed between the bubble and the top of the super. Sonic yelled in pain. If felt as if he were being stung by hundreds of wasps. He thrashed in the bubble, panicked, but to no avail. The power arc grew brighter, and a faint light began to shine inside the emerald. The cavern resounded with a buzzing ring.

Tails watched in a helpless horror. He could do nothing else. He saw the glow in the super emerald increase the more Sonic fought. It was draining the hedgehog of his energy.

After what seemed like an eternity (Sonic was too exhausted to struggle anymore), the arc vanished and the bubble faded out. The noise quieted, and Sonic landed on top of the gently glowing emerald, but lacked the strength to stand. He collapsed in a heap and closed his eyes. Tails ran to him. "Good grief, are you okay?"

Sonic lifted his head. "It tried to kill me," he groaned. "No, I'm not okay. I feel like I'm gonna barf."

He did not. After a moment he felt his strength returning and was able to climb down off the emerald and pedestal. Aside from feeling a bit loopy, he was all right.

It was a few minutes before they noticed the super emerald. It was green, like the Master emerald, and glowed with the same muted fire. "Where'd its color come from?" Tail demanded.

Sonic, a bit stoop-shouldered, said, "It got it from me, the stupid thing. It took my energy and put it in the emerald. You couldn't get me to touch another one with a ten-foot pole. Let's get outta here."

The glowing teleporter ring appeared and was hovering invitingly above the receiver dish. Sonic and Tails walked up to it, Sonic limping on both feet. As they reached the dish, the cavern vibrated. A rumble met their ears, coming from somewhere beyond the far wall of the cave. They gazed in its direction. The sound and slight shaking continued, sifting dust from the distant ceiling. "Wh-what's happening?" Tails ventured.

"I donno," Sonic whispered, afraid a loud word would bring the whole place down. "I hope it isn't anything wrong-with the island, I mean. Let's get outta here. I don't feel like being buried alive after being fried to death."

Slasher was standing in the hidden entrance, looking out, when they teleported in. "Come here, guys," she said. "Quick, it's almost gone." They hurried to her and followed her gaze.

A great plume of dark smoke rose above the trees, dim and distant. As they watched it faded into nothing. "What's on fire?" Tails asked.

Slasher shook her head. "Nothing. The Death Egg crashed on the island somewhere. I watched it go down. The smoke was from its engines."

Sonic looked at Tails, eyes brightening. "Hey, that's what made the cave shake! We must have been close to where Death Egg crashed!"

Slasher looked down at him. "Where did you go-and WHAT happened to YOU?"

"Hidden Palace," he replied, running a hand through his rumpled spines. "The Master emerald was there ..." He and Tails recounted their adventure.

"Hmm," said Slasher, green eyes twinkling. "I thought you'd put your finger in an electric outlet."

They stepped into the ravine and were met by a thunderclap. The sky was dark with clouds, and a cool wind was stirring. "It appears," Tails said, making his voice high and feminine, "that we are in for a small rainshower." He and Sonic exchanged snickers-it was his impression of Thelma Needlebark, a snobby nature expert.

"Small shower, ha," said Slasher. "Try big thunderstorm."

"Maybe we should stay in the cave," Tails said.

"No," Sonic protested. "What if Knux comes back?"

"I doubt it," Slasher replied, "but this ravine could flood. On my back, you two, and let's find some shelter."

She crouched and let Sonic and Tails climb on her back, then leaped gracefully out of the ditch and into the trees.

The clouds were so heavy by this time that it looked like late evening. Lightning split the sky, followed by the accompanying rolls of thunder. Once in a while lightning would strike the island with an ear- numbing crack.

The three took refuge in the lee of a leaning rock. Red and brown mushrooms circled it, some big enough to sit under. "We could use them as umbrellas," Sonic said, pointing at one.

"Yeah," Tails said, "but they're too heavy to-"

A bright flash and nature's percussion interrupted him. They clapped their hands to their ears. Once it passed, Slasher said, "That was close. Must have hit a tree."

"Or a big mushroom," Sonic quipped.

They sat in silence, watching the wind lash the trees into submission. Suddenly something like a snowball struck the ground nearby, shattering into fragments. "Hail," Slasher said. "Glad we have this rock over us."

Another hailstone struck the ground, and another. Soon they were raining down in an avalanche, striking the ground and bouncing. Most were the size of golf balls, but some were as big as baseballs. One bounced into their shelter. Sonic picked it up. It was nearly round and melted a little in his hands. Wordlessly Slasher took it from him and struck it against the ground. It split into two pieces. She lifted one. "Look, it has layers, like an onion."

"Cool," Sonic said. "Can we eat it?"

"If you want to."

Tails grabbed the other helf and began to suck on it, as did Sonic.

Rain began to slice down with the hail. They watched in silence as the storm battled it out above the island. The lightning in particular was fun to watch. It would start at one point, then branch out and ripple across the sky. "Nature provided the entertainment and the refreshments," Slasher remarked. Sonic and Tails nodded, eyes on the world around them.

What a storm! I hadn't seen one this good in years. The only storm that beat it was the hurricane I had been caught in a while back. The wind was drifting the island a bit, but I wasn't worried. As long as we weren't headed toward the mainland it was okay.

I had found shelter under a stand of five-foot mushrooms. I didn't find out until later, but I was only three hundred feet from where Sonic, Tails and their friend had holed up. I was a further from the ravine than they were, but I knew it had to be filling up. I knew from experience it wasn't a safe place to be during a storm, which is why I hadn't stuck around the teleporter chamber.

A gust of cold air struck me in the face, carrying the scent of rainwashed trees, earth and air. Ah yes, the Floating Island needed a good soaking. But no matter how hard it rained, nothing would ever grow in Sandopolis, the mini-desert of the Floating Island. Rain never made any difference to the sand ...

A roar of water interrupted my thoughts. I glanced toward the ravine. Through the grey haze of the rain, I saw the crest of a wave as it swept down the channel. Flash flood. I watched the brown water tear through the streambed, overlapping its banks and tearing at the surrounding brush.

After a moment, a figure wandered into view. At once I assumed it was Sonic or Tails, but reminded myself that they were on the Death Egg. The person was just poking along, oblivious to the rain and storm, following the stream-turned-river.

Who was that, and what was he doing on my island? I jumped to my feet, peeved and territorial. I stepped out from under the mushrooms and felt the rain bite my face and arms. Great, now I'd get soaked. My anger rising like the tide, I shielded my face and jogged toward the figure.

He didn't notice me at first, as his attention was focused on the water. He was a lizard with a long, skinny tail and a spike on his nose. He was the grey-green color of the rain. "Hey," I called over the noise of the storm.

He jumped and looked at me, then brightened up-literally-into a hot neon orange. "Hi!" he said. He grabbed my hand in both his icy ones and pumped it up and down. "I'm Espio. I'm lost. Can you help me?"

He seemed so friendly I felt the ferocity drain out of me. "Sure," I said. "C'mon, let's get out of the rain."

He followed me back to the mushrooms and sat down beside me. Both of us were drenched and shivering. I flung my wet hair out of my face and looked at him. His orange had returned to grey-green. I learned later it was the color he turned when he was cold and miserable. He wiped water out of his eyes and said, "Do you live here?"

"In Mushroom Hill?"

"Huh? No, I mean the Floating Island."

I nodded.

"Do you know-um-Knuckles?"

"Sure." I'd let him talk without telling him who I was. Maybe he was a friend of Sonic's.

He shivered and shook water off his arms. "I'd like to meet him."

"What for?"

"To ask him if I could stay here."

"How long?"

"You know. Live here."

That surprised me. "Live here? Why would you want to do that?"

He looked down, sheepish. "Oh, not for any reason, I guess. It's just so neat here. I like it here." He looked up at me hopefully. "Think he'd let me?"

I pondered his request. If I let him stay, I'd have to share my island. But the other half of me jumped at the chance. Sometimes it was lonely out here. It might be nice to have someone to talk to for a change.

"Well?" Espio pushed.

I stalled. "I donno."

"But he let YOU live here."

Argh, he had me there. I must have looked cornered, because he gave me a funny look and said, "You're Knuckles, aren't you?"

I nodded.

To my surprise, the next thing out of his mouth was, "You have a pretty island."

Flattery, but it tipped the scales. "You can stay," I told him.

He threw back his head and laughed. "I compliment you, and you tell me I can stay." He shook my hand again. "I like you, Knux. Thanks."

The thunder and lightning had moved off, and the rain, although still coming down, was slacking off. The hail had ceased long ago. The clouds were thinning, letting the warm sun shine through.

Sonic, Tails and Slasher came out of hiding. The storm hung in the north like a silver curtain, black clouds flickering with lightning. The sun picked out a rainbow in it, bright as butterfly wings. Above were two fainter echoes of its color.

The water in the ravine was sinking, they noticed. Branches and uprooted mushrooms littered the banks, water-logged and wilted. "Be glad we didn't stay down there," Slasher remarked. "I doubt we could get that door open." They stood and watched the swirling, dimpled water for a moment.

Suddenly Slasher crouched and growled, "Uh oh. Listen. Hear that?"

Sonic and Tails pricked up their ears and listened. After a moment they heard it. Over the sighing of the trees and the patter of the dying rain, came an engine's whine. "Robotnik," Tails said. "His hovercraft."

"And he's hauling," Sonic added.

"Comin' straight at us," Slasher murmured. "Hide, quick. We can follow him." They darted to the cover of the dripping trees. After a few seconds they saw the round craft zip by through the branches overhead. Slasher crouched and dropped her wings, eyes fixed on the retreating ship. Sonic and Tails mounted her, then crouched low and gripped with their knees. They knew Slasher well. Her long claws dug into the thick sod, and she was off like a shot.

Riding a dinosaur at a dead run wasn't much different from flying. Slasher's gate was fluid and smooth, but was prone to swerving sharply in mid-stride. Sonic and Tails moved with her, watching for the slight motion of her head that meant 'turn'.

A clearing appeared through the trees ahead. Robotnik's craft slowed, and so did Slasher. She jogged to a big tree and peered around it, panting. Sonic and Tails sat up and looked with her. To their surprise, the clearing had been made recently. Fallen trees and white stumps littered the area. Parked in the center was the craft responsible.

It was a certain gigantic blimp. It was anchored to the ground by thick cables, floating twenty feet from the ground. The gas-filled bag was at least 2500 feet in length, the box-like passenger's compartment half that. On the bottom of the compartment were several long robotic arms with saw-blades on the ends.

"Tails," Sonic whispered, "That's the ship that tried to shoot us down yesterday!"

"He doesn't work small, does he?" Slasher commented. "I think that one's called Flying Battery. It's like Wing Fortress number two."

"What would he need another one for?" Tails asked, letting his eyes travel up the sleek violet sides of the zeppelin.

"Think about it," Sonic said. "He wants to take over Mobius. He needs terrorist ships."

Meanwhile, Robotnik's little ship had flown to an open doorway on the bottom compartment and was maneuvering inside. "Bet he takes off," Slasher said. "You guys want to see where he goes?"

"Yeah," said Sonic, giving Tails a significant glance. "We decided we needed to go on the offensive."

Slasher darted out of hiding and ran into the blimp's shadow. "Look," she said, pointing. "You can climb up that rope and get in through that hatch up there." She indicated a thick cable, which was lashed to a thick metal hook driven into the ground. "Head on up, guys, and be careful." Sonic and Tails slid off her back. "Good luck," she said to them. "Tails, no airlifts unless it's absolutely necessary. Sonic, you look out for him. I'll be on the island, so if you need me, whistle."

The zeppelin's engines began to hum.

"Go on up, and watch out for machinery."

Sonic and Tails shimmied up the cable like a couple of squirrels. Slasher watched as they reached the hatch above, pried it open and crawled inside. They looked down at her. She waved, and they waved back. Then the big velociraptor turned and bounded out of view. Sonic and Tails backed away from the opening as the blimp, stowaways and all, unhooked and lifted into the sky.