All the people on the road were now freed of the ice and knew of a certain blue hedgehog that saved them. Knuckles watched each of them full aware that he would never be noticed for any heroics that he would do no matter what he does. Sonic has his own way of being flashy while taking care of trouble, whether he knows it or not.
One small child, holding his mother's hand asked, "Hey Mom, what happened to Sonic? I saw him a little while ago but now I don't see him." Another middle-aged man said, "Now that he mentions it, I haven't seen him either. What about you Frank?" His pal next to him shook his head, "Nope. I have not seen him since he pulled me and my wife out of our car." The people gradually grew into a panic. Their great hero has disappeared.
Knuckles thought there was probably nothing to be concerned about. Sonic has a strange way of showing up and leaving whenever he felt like it. Knowing him, he had no doubt seen something interesting and went to check it out. Shrugging he walked away I had better search for the rest of the emeralds. The sooner we find them, the sooner we get home. I don't care who finds it so long as we could reproduce chaos control to send us home.
Taking his leave, the lone echidna had set out to once again look for the seven keys to a safe passage home. Along the way through the uncivilized woods, wreckage of Eggman's freezing machine began to show. Pieces of blasted metal were caught in several places like the tree branches or in between giant rocks. His sharp eyes next happened upon where the blast was fired and a great big burned hole in a good sized metal chunk. Crouching down next to it, his hand touched something made of the sort of cloth that people wear in their uniforms. It dangled on the metal's sharp edge.
Snagging it off the metal, he carefully unfolded it. On the label was an image of a purple flame with an arrow piercing through it. This image…
Peering up, more pieces of destructed robot laid before him. Still clutching that cloth, he figured that since it could be a clue to the identity of the attacker he should hang onto it. Whoever did this was not Sonic.
He then heard a grunting sound come from behind the bushes. Pulling aside the leaves and branches, they revealed Sonic attempting to pull his limbs free. Sighing, he muttered, "Hedgehogs…"
After much pulling, Sonic became annoyed with the ice and vibrated his body so fast that he materialized through the captivating ice. In a blink of an eye, he performed a backflip onto the non-frozen grass. Stomping a couple times on the ground, it was evident that his legs were no longer trapped.
Like a lighten bolt, he sped around the highway, wondering at the same time how he could get rid of the ice. The spots that he melted with his speed had already frozen over. There was a good chance that Tails would be able to tell him the answer. He was a scientific genius after all. Picturing this as an unfailing plan, he raced to Station Square, careful to avoid the fast freezing cement.