Chapter 3
As the three mobians stared out of the small room, their eyes took in a sight that they hadn't expected to see. A vegetation of sorts was covering a fair amount of the large room with shallow water pooling in the middle of the room. Stone pillars kept the roof stabilized, each one sporting a lit torch that illuminated the room with a rather large entrance to a hallway on the other side of the room where a warm orange glow was pulsating from further down the hallway.
"How could any plant life survive down here?" asked Kirrand as the trio walked out into the room.
"I'm betting the fire from the torches lets them use their photosynthesis, but the water being here is a little odd," said Sally. Suddenly, a drip noise sounded from the middle of the pool of water, causing the three of them to look over in its direction. They waited silently, waiting to see if their suspicions were correct. About twenty seconds later, they heard another drip and saw the pool ripple, realizing that water was dripping from the ceiling.
"And that's where the water's coming from," said Sonic. Suddenly realizing how far down in the ground they probably were at that point, he gave a frown and looked back at Sally. "Where do you think it's coming from?" Sally merely shrugged her shoulders.
"Could be anything really. An underground lake is the most likely culprit though," she said. By now, Kirrand had wandered over to the entrance to the hallway leading out of the room, intrigued by the glow. Taking one look down it, she suddenly realized what the glow was coming from.
"Uh…Guys. I don't want to alarm anyone, but the hallway's um….on fire," said Kirrand, looking back at the two other mobians. Both of them looked over at her with a confused look on their faces.
"What do you mean, 'on fire'?" asked Sonic as he and Sally walked over to where Kirrand was, glancing down the hallway. But when they glanced down it, nothing but clear stone walls greeted their eyes. "I don't see any fire," said Sonic, looking over at Kirrand with a questioning look. But Sonic's doubt was tossed to the side as suddenly several blocks of the hallway's stone walls quickly jutted out from their resting places, each one ablaze as each covered nearly two-thirds of the passageway. "Never mind." The blocks stayed in place for several seconds before they randomly retreated back into their spots in the wall. The three waited and watched till only ten seconds had passed before different blocks emerged from the walls, each one of them also blazing with fire.
"How are the rocks on fire?" asked Kirrand before another, more important thought crossed her mind. "Never mind that, how do we get past them doing that?"
"I'm guessing this is the first trial," said Sally. She then noticed a small amount of ancient text craved into the stone wall next to the passageway's entrance. "Hey Kirrand. Can you read this?" she asked, pointing at the script.
"I should be able to," said Kirrand, walking over to look over the text. A few seconds later, she turned back around to face them. "All it says is 'The Trial of Speed and Agility'."
"So that would explain the passageway's setup. You apparently have to be fast enough to get to the other side before the blocks come back out of the walls," said Sally.
"Man…The ancient echidnas don't mess around, do they?" said Sonic. Curling his hands into fists, a frown etched its way across his face. "We should go for it."
"Sonic, we don't know how long the hallway is. They could come back out before we reach the other side," said Kirrand. Sonic only grinned as he looked over at Kirrand.
"Trust me. This trial won't get the better of my speed," said Sonic.
"I trust you Sonic," said Sally, walking up next to him.
"I know you do Sal," he said as he looked over at her. He then glanced over at Kirrand. "But we won't make it through this place if we have any doubt about us getting out of here alive."
"I can't trust you blindly like Sally can," said Kirrand, a frown etching its way onto her face.
"I'm not asking you to blindly put your trust in me, Kirrand," said Sonic. "How about I get Sal to the other side and then come back for you? Would you feel better knowing I can make it across this passageway?"
"Not really, but I don't think I have much choice in the matter. Either we die to this trial or we wait here and starvation eventually kills us," said Kirrand.
"Or I get us all across here without anyone getting hurt," said Sonic. Kirrand closed her eyes and sighed.
"Alright. I can't do much but trust you to get us through this," said Kirrand. Opening her eyes, she looked over at Sally. "But do you mind if Sonic takes me first? If I'm going to die, I'd rather it be in a single moment than just being trapped in this room."
"It's up to you, but Sonic won't let us die in here," said Sally.
"You know what?" said Kirrand as Sonic scooped her up in his arms. "Part of me believes that, if only just a small bit."
"You ready?" asked Sonic, looking over at Kirrand, who merely nodded in response. As Sonic got set to take off, a thought crossed his mind. "Might help you not freak out if you close your eyes."
"Yeah…That's probably not a bad idea," said Kirrand, closing her eyes tight. Sonic waited at the edge of the passageway, waiting till the next set of blocks had jutted out of the wall. Watching them closely, he got into a set position. As soon as the blocks started to retreat into the wall, he took off, speeding down the hallway as he maneuvered around the blocks as best he could. The passageway was actually curvy, slanting up and down at varying degrees while twisting and turning left and right. Spotting the exit as he reached the bottom of a slope, Sonic poured on the speed, barely missing getting clipped by one of the stone blocks as they sprang forth from the walls again as he ran out of the passageway and into another large room, screeching to a stop just before he went over the edge of a massive pit lined with spikes.
"Whoa!" cried Sonic, barely stopping in time and being glad he was only going about half speed.
"What happened!?" asked Kirrand, her voice filled with fear.
"It's alright. We made it," said Sonic. Kirrand opened her eyes, but as she looked in the direction of the pit, she gasped loudly as the two looked down at the death trap below them. Looking around, Sonic spotted three small pillars barely a few feet in diameter at equal intervals leading to the other side of the nearly hundred foot wide pit. On the far side of the pit was what appeared to be a snake's head carved out of the stone itself, its mouth wide open as if to swallow anyone who dared enter the doorway inside its mouth. Realizing that they'd have to make very precise jumps to get across the pit without falling to get to the door on the other side, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. One thing at a time Sonic, he thought to himself. Setting Kirrand down, he placed his hands on her arms. "You did good. Now stay here while I get Sal." As he turned to head back up the passageway, he felt Kirrand's hand grasp his wrist, causing him to turn back around.
"I'm sorry I doubted you. I promise I won't act like a scared little child anymore," said Kirrand.
"You didn't. A lot of people wouldn't have had the courage to go first like you did. I'd say that definitely counts for something," said Sonic. Kirrand smiled as she let go of his wrist.
"I'll try and remember that," said Kirrand as Sonic returned his attention to the task of getting back to Sally. Now that he knew the path that the passageway took, he knew it would be much easier going through it. Waiting till the stone blocks were once again retreating into the walls, he took off like a shot, speeding through the passage with ease till he emerged on the far side, once again barely missing getting hit by one of the burning stone blocks.
"Is Kirrand okay?" asked Sally.
"Doing much better than before," said Sonic, a smile on his face as he thought about it. "I think she's finding her courage."
"I was hoping she would," said Sally.
"Ready?" asked Sonic as he pulled Sally up into his arms.
"As I'll ever be," she answered. Sonic took his starting stance as he watched the stone blocks emerge from the walls again. As soon as they started to retract, he took off, racing through the stone passageway as fast as he could while remembering the pit that was at the end of the tunnel. As he spied the exit, he poured on more speed, this time easily beating the stone blocks as they shot forth from the wall right after the pair had made it through the end. But unlike last time, Sonic didn't stop as he sped past a surprised Kirrand and leapt forward, landing on the first pillar that spanned the pit below them. Without even slowing down, Sonic bounded across the other remaining pillars before reaching the far side only a few short seconds later. Landing on the far side, he set Sally back down to her feet, though the ground squirrel looked over at the hedgehog with an angry glare.
"What?" asked Sonic, realizing Sally wasn't happy with him.
"You know you could've warned me that you were going to go over a pit like that as soon as we got out of the tunnel!" she cried at him.
"Sorry. I didn't think it mattered," said Sonic, raising his hands up in defense.
"Whatever. Just bring Kirrand across so we can keep going," said Sally, turning away from Sonic as she walked towards the pit room's exit inside of the serpent's mouth.
"Now's not the time to get mad at me Sal," said Sonic as he turned back towards the pit. But Sally ignored him as she continued walking away from him. Sighing as he shook his head, he started back across the pit, easily making the jumps before landing next to Kirrand.
"I knew you were fast, but I didn't know you could jump like that as well," said Kirrand.
"Had a lot of practice during all the years of our war with Eggman," said Sonic. He then offered his arms to the echidna girl. "Shall we?" Kirrand couldn't help but grin as she let Sonic pick her up in his arms. Turning back towards the pit, Sonic took off for the far side again, once again making the jumps like they were nothing. Landing on safe ground, Sonic let Kirrand back to her feet again, the two of them following after Sally who had reached the exit and was waiting for them with a concerned look on her face.
"What's wrong?" asked Kirrand, noticing the look on Sally's face.
"Nothing…I just know Sonic's not going to like this next room, that's all," said Sally as the other two reached her. Kirrand arched an eyebrow at the response, looking over at Sonic, who just shrugged his shoulders.
"What do you mean?" asked Sonic.
"You'll see," said Sally, walking through the exit to the pit room. Sonic and Kirrand followed after her, the light from several dozen torches lighting up the entire next room which towered several hundred meters high and was easily a city block in diameter. But the size of the room wasn't what sent a chill coursing down Sonic's spine, but rather what was in the room. Aside from the small platform they were now standing on, the room housed a vast underground water reservoir that was dozens of meters deep. Resting at the edge of the small platform in the water was the head of a stone serpent that was several stone blocks in length, stretching nearly fifty feet long and a few feet wide with a segmented body. Located on the back of each segmented section was a handle that could be grasped by both hands with relative ease. At the end of the platform was what looked to be a stone plunger of sorts sticking out of the platform.
"What in the name of Mobius is this trial supposed to test?" asked Sonic.
"I think it says on the floor. Give me a sec," said Kirrand as she spotted some ancient text written into the floor of the platform, kneeling down to get a better look at the text.
"So…Where's the way out?" asked Sally, looking around the room for some sign of the exit.
"Alright…So this is supposed to test our strength and endurance from what it says," said Kirrand.
"Test it how?" asked Sonic. Kirrand gave a small sigh as she looked up at Sonic.
"Well…To start the test, we simply push down on the stone trigger at the end of the platform. We then have ten seconds to get into position on the back of that serpent," said Kirrand.
"Why do we need to get on its back?" asked Sally.
"Because after ten seconds have passed, release valves holding back enough water above us to nearly fill this room will start to flood it," said Kirrand. Sonic visibly shuddered as that thought passed through his mind. "The water will rise too fast to keep up with it merely by swimming. The only way to safely make it to the exit door five hundred yards above us is to ride on the back of the serpent."
"That doesn't sound so bad," said Sonic, a little bit of relief showing on his face. But in contrast, Kirrand's face turned to worry.
"It's not that simple. According to the text, the serpent will circle about the water, diving underwater several yards about every fifty yards or so that the water rises for several seconds," said Kirrand.
"Okay…that part I don't like," said Sonic.
"It gets worse," said Kirrand. "Each time it dives underwater, it'll pick up speed, making it harder to hold onto the handles on its back as the water pushes at you and give you less time between rest periods."
"A true test of those attributes," said Sally. She then looked over at Sonic. "Are you going to be able to handle this?"
"Why would he have such a problem with it?" asked Kirrand, her curiosity finally more than she could bear as to why Sonic would hate this trial.
"It's…embarrassing," said Sonic, turning away from the girls and looking down at the floor.
"What is it?" asked Kirrand. Sonic then mumbled something she couldn't hear in the least. "You what?" she asked again. This time Sonic turned around, anger clearly burning in his eyes.
"I said I can't swim! Happy!?" he shouted at her. Realizing immediately he had snapped at her, he calmed down and closed his eyes, giving a sigh. "Sorry..."
"It's alright," said Kirrand.
"He never learned. He never had the time such was the distraction of the war," said Sally.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," said Kirrand.
"But someone like me falling apart because of a little water…It's just not right," said Sonic.
"Everyone has something they're afraid of," said Kirrand. She laughed a little as she thought of her own. "I for one can't stand spiders at all. I see one I freak out something terrible. Last time I saw one in my room I ran out screaming and refused to go back in for nearly four hours." Hearing that made Sonic laugh a little himself.
"So then, you okay to do this?" asked Sally again. Sonic took in a deep breath, then let out a long sigh.
"I'm not gonna like it, but I have to do exactly as the trial says and endure it," said Sonic.
"That's the Sonic I know," said Sally. She then walked over next to the plunger. "You guys get on first. I'll push it down when you're ready."
Tails sighed as he closed Nicole's casing, having finished his repairs of her screen. He knew it would take a lot longer to finish repairing her holographic interface, but for now he was content to see if her screen was indeed fully repaired. Punching in the small computer's start up sequence into her keypad, he waited with baited breath as Nicole's power indicator light came on, her screen coming to life as it shined brightly with light.
"How's that Nicole? Able to see clearly now?" asked Tails. But as the seconds ticked by and Nicole didn't answer back, Tails began to wonder if he might have done something to damage her audio functions when he was fixing her screen. "Uh…Can you hear me Nicole?"
"Yes…I'm sorry for not answering when you first asked…" said Nicole after a few more seconds of silence. "It's just…I've seen the world countless times and yet…I've never seen it this way…It's breathtaking." Hearing this caused a smile to spread across Tails face.
"Can you describe it?" asked Tails.
"I wouldn't know where to begin," said Nicole. "Having our conversations before was already a lot to take in, but actually seeing the world…Seeing your face for the first time like this…"
"It's alright. Take your time with it Nicole. I know it's a lot to take in," said Tails.
"You have no idea how much processing power I'm using right now. Every shape, color, and lighting. Even counting every strand of fur on you just to get the visual image down in my AI matrix," said Nicole.
"You can see that much detail?" asked Tails, arching an eyebrow at Nicole's comment.
"Yes I can. And I've just finished processing what I can see right now," said Nicole.
"Want to see more?" asked Tails.
"More than anything," said Nicole.
"Alright. I'll take you over to Cody and Lily's hut. I'm sure they'll want an update, plus it's lunch time. You can take in Knothole between here and there," said Tails.
"I would love that," said Nicole as Tails reached over and picked the small computer up, holding her in both hands in front of him with her screen facing forward.
"Ready?" asked Tails, looking down at Nicole.
"As I'll ever be," said Nicole. Tails then walked over to the door leading out of his workshop, turning the doorknob and opening the door as the late morning sunlight filled the workshop, giving both of them a great view of the forest surrounding the pathway leading into the main part of Knothole.
"I'll take it slow so you can process everything you're seeing, okay?" said Tails. Not getting a response from Nicole, Tails only smiled as he realized she was probably completely preoccupied taking in all the surroundings. He then slowly started walking up the path, taking his time on purpose to allow Nicole to see everything for as long as possible while still making the trek towards Lily and Cody's hut. As Tails reached the end of the path and entered the commons area of Knothole, several dozen residents, mostly mobians with a few robians whose minds had been freed, were bustling about as they went about their daily activities while Tails ventured through the masses. His slow pace drew a few curious eyes, but no one questioned why the young fox was walking as slow as he was while holding Nicole in his hands away from his view. News of his heroic deeds in Emerald City had reached Knothole well before he and Sonic had returned, and with it a large degree of respect had been imprinted on the people of Knothole. As Tails reached the residential section of Knothole, a smile worked its way across his face as he saw Lily headed towards him coming from the direction of her hut.
"I was just coming to get you for lunch, but looks like you decided to come to us first," said Lily as she walked up next to Tails, spotting Nicole in his hands. "I take it Nicole's fixed?"
"Not entirely. I still have to fix her holographic software, but I thought that could wait for a short time while I take her sightseeing through the village while on my way to get lunch with you and Cody," said Tails.
"She can see us now?" asked Lily, kneeling down in front of Nicole so her face was just a couple feet away from her screen.
"She can, though she's been quiet ever since I've left my workshop," said Tails.
"I'm sorry for that, I really am," said Nicole, speaking for the first time since they had left the workshop. "I just…I've never realized just how beautiful the world is till now. I've been too busy processing it all to talk." Lily smiled as she continued to look into Nicole's screen.
"So what's it like to see the world through a different point of view than before?" asked Lily.
"It's hard to describe," said Nicole. "Everything I've seen so far is as familiar to me as any simple algorithm I've ever processed, yet…it's like night and day comparing what I've seen before to what I've seen in the last several minutes."
"You'll get used to it in time," said Tails.
"Tails is right," said Lily. Suddenly a fairly loud grumble came from Tails midsection, causing Lily to laugh slightly and Tails to get a sheepish look on his face. "But I think there'll be time for that later. Right now I think Tails needs a good meal."
"Is that what a stomach sounds like when it growls?" asked Nicole.
"Yeah…" said Tails, a little embarrassed by what had just happened. "I kinda skipped breakfast to start working on you."
"Which, if I may remind you, I told you not to do," said Lily, looking over at Tails with a frown.
"Sorry, but you know how I get when I'm working on something, especially when it's important," said Tails. Lily's gaze softened somewhat as she stood back up.
"I know. Just promise me you won't skip any more meals, at least till Sonic and Sally get back and then they can chew you up for doing it instead of me," said Lily.
"Promise," said Tails.
"Okay then. Let's get back to my hut," said Lily as the two mobians started walking back into the residential area of Knothole. "I made sandwiches and…"
Sally and Kirrand watched as Sonic, for the fifth time, stepped one foot out onto the serpent nervously.
"It's not gonna bite you," said Kirrand, watching from her spot seated on the third segment of the serpent just behind its head.
"You try getting over your worst fear in only a couple of minutes," hissed Sonic, looking down at Kirrand with a glare that could kill, causing the echidna to merely throw up her hands and look away from him.
"She didn't mean anything by it Sonic," said Sally softly, drawing Sonic's attention. "But she's right, you stalling won't help anything."
"I know…I know…," said Sonic as he gave a sigh. He then put his full weight down on the smooth stone surface of the back of the serpent with the foot that was on it. When the serpent didn't budge, Sonic realized he was in no danger of falling off it before he got into position and the trial had started. Finally walking out onto the back of the serpent, he quickly made his way to the second segment of stone that made up the serpent. Gripping onto the handle with both hands as if his life depended on it, beads of nervous sweat began to appear on his brow.
"You two ready?" asked Sally as she positioned herself to press the plunger and start the trial.
"As ready as you'll ever get me to be," said Sonic, his voice wavering a little.
"Okay. I'm starting it," said Sally. She then pressed down on the plunger, the stone switch activating as a rumble noise started to sound in the giant room. Not wasting any time, Sally climbed onto the first segment behind the serpent's head. The rumbling noise continued to get louder as the ten second countdown ticked away till right at the eight second mark the cause of the noise became apparent as water began to pour out of the walls near the very top of the room, falling down to add to the amount of water being held in the reservoir. As soon as the first bit of falling water hit the surface of the standing water, the serpent suddenly took off like a shot, spiraling around the room at twenty miles per hour. As Kirrand had read, as soon as the water reached fifty yards deeper than it previously was the stone serpent dove its head under the water's surface, dragging the three mobians along for the ride as it went down several meters. After nearly ten seconds had passed, the serpent rose back out of the water, the three of them still holding on as it snaked its way across the water's surface.
"Okay! I officially hate this!" shouted Sonic.
"Bear with it Sonic, we've got a long way to go!" shouted Sally back to him.
"Don't remind me Sal!" he shouted back. A few seconds later, the serpent sped up another five miles per hour just before diving back under the water again. Once again, nearly ten seconds ticked by before it resurfaced as the water from above continued to fill the room. The pattern continued as the water level continued to rise. By the time they had reached the three hundred and fifty yard mark, they had been able to spot the exit platform above them, but the serpent had also sped up to almost fifty five miles per hour and it was becoming extremely difficult to hold on because now the serpent was diving only five seconds after it resurfaced by this point.
"That's it! I can and will make that jump up there myself after this next dunk because I can't take this anymore!" shouted Sonic. Sally tried to tell him not to do it, but she couldn't get a response out before the serpent dove under again. This time, as the serpent rose out of the water at the four hundred and forty yard mark, Sonic leapt to his feet and prepared to make the necessary jump. But there was one thing he hadn't taken into account when he had decided to make such a move. The stone surface of the serpent was incredibly smooth and now that it was sopping wet it was also very slippery. As Sonic was almost to his feet, his left foot slipped out from under him, causing him to falter and then fall over the side of the serpent.
"Sonic!" shouted Sally as she saw him take the tumble. With nearly fifty yards to go till the water stopped rising, she knew she couldn't go in after him. She was a good swimmer, but with that kind of distance to cover underwater with a person dragging her down, she knew that neither of them would make it. But what happened next caught her completely by surprise and caused fear to grip her even more so than it currently was.
"I'll get him!" shouted Kirrand as she dropped off the back of the serpent, the rising water instantly swallowing her up before Sally could even protest that she'd never make it. Realizing all she could do was ride out the final part of the trial, she gripped the handle for all she was worth as the serpent dove underwater for the last time. As the seconds ticked by, Sally's mind raced as she tried to think of anything she could do to help the situation. The drag of the water all but broke her hold on the handle, but she endured. As the serpent broke the surface and slowed down, she looked back down into the area she had last seen the two of them, knowing it was beyond her ability to help at the moment. The serpent lazily snaked its way over to the exit platform, coming to a stop as Sally immediately got off, rising to her feet on the stone surface of the platform. By her estimate, it had been nearly twenty five seconds since Kirrand had dove into the water, and nearly twenty eight since Sonic had taken the plunge. As the seconds ticked by, tears started to form at the edges of her eyes as the realization that the two of them weren't going to make it hit her. As soon as the fifty third second hit, however, the calm of the water right in front of the platform was shattered as Kirrand broke the surface, Sonic in tow as both of them started hacking and coughing, trying to clear their lungs of the water they had inhaled from being under longer than they could hold their breath.
"Take…Sonic…" coughed Kirrand, Sally instantly dropping down to help pull Sonic from the water. As soon as the blue hedgehog was out, Sally then helped Kirrand climb onto the platform. Both of the waterlogged mobians sat on all fours, trying to get their coughing under control. After a short time, both of them had managed to get their coughs under control enough to take a seated position on the platform, Sally joining them.
"I can't believe you actually got both you and him out of that alive," said Sally, still a little stunned at the outcome of Kirrand's actions as she looked over at the young echidna.
"I knew I could hold…my breath for a good forty five seconds…from experience," said Kirrand, giving a few more coughs between words, finally clearing the last of the water from her lungs. "Still…I was a little off on how long it would actually take to get us back to the surface."
"Well I'm glad the two of you are alright," said Sally. She then noticed that even though Sonic had gotten his cough under control, he was still staring off into space. "Sonic? Everything okay?" Hearing his name get called brought Sonic back to reality, finally looking over at the two girls. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Yeah…I'm sorry girls," said Sonic. "I just…I thought that was it as soon as I slipped over the side of that serpent." Here he looked more directly at Kirrand. "And you…I've never seen such a reckless course of action in a long time." Here he paused, but at the same time a smile crept onto his muzzle. "But sometimes reckless is just what a situation calls for…Thanks for saving my life." Kirrand smiled, reaching a hand over and placing it on Sonic's shoulder.
"I did what I knew I had to do because I know you'd do the same for either of us," said Kirrand.
"Angel should be proud to have you as a best friend," said Sonic. "Risking your life for someone you barely know…That's the mark of a true hero."
"I'm no hero. I was just in the right place at the right time," said Kirrand as she looked away from the two of them.
"Don't be modest," said Sally. "Sonic wouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it." Kirrand turned back around to face them at hearing that.
"You really meant what you said?" asked Kirrand, causing Sonic to smile.
"I did. Kirrand, you're a brave young girl that I have no doubt in my mind would do anything to help others even at your own risk after what you just did," said Sonic.
"Thank you Sonic…To hear someone like you say that…It means a lot," said Kirrand.
"You're welcome. Now then…Back to the problem at hand," said Sonic, standing up as the two girls followed suit. "We've had our speed, agility, strength, and endurance tested. I'm stumped as to what the final trial could possibly test."
"Guess we'll find out once we enter the next room," said Sally.
"I suppose you're right," said Sonic. He then started in the direction of the exit, the girls following him. As they walked through the entranceway into the next room, they were greeted by a much smaller room than the last one, but still fairly big as it towered nearly a hundred and fifty meters tall and took up what appeared to be about half a city block. Like before, there was no exit to the room that they could immediately see. However, there was something about the room that stood out rather quickly.
"What in the world are these tiles on the walls for?" asked Sonic, spotting the roughly ten feet by ten feet light blue tiles arranged all over the sides of the walls. Each tile was connected to another one, but at various points the tiles split into two or even three directions from the direction the tiles were previously headed in.
"Never mind that, I see the exit," said Sally, pointing up to a platform jutting out from the far wall nearly a hundred and forty meters above them.
"Can you make that jump?" asked Sally, looking over at Sonic. Sonic frowned, then shook his head.
"Wish I could, but that's even beyond how high I can jump by a fair distance," said Sonic.
"So how are we supposed to get up there?" asked Sally.
"Actually…these tiles seem familiar to me," said Kirrand as she started walking over towards the one tile that was situated at the base of all four of the walls.
"Familiar how?" asked Sonic.
"Well, I've never actually seen one before, but the way they look reminds me of a description of an antigravity tile I've read about in one of the oldest books that actually belonged to the original Nocturnus tribe members that helped found my village," said Kirrand.
"You mean like the hover lifts that we have nowadays?" asked Sonic.
"Yes and no," said Kirrand as she reached the edge of the wall. "While the hover lifts we have today repulse the effects of gravity, they can't reverse and create the effects of gravity." She then placed one foot on the tile and started to walk up as she became parallel with the ground instead of the wall. She then looked up, her upside down head now staring at the other two mobians as she hung off the side of the wall. "See what I mean?"
"That's amazing," said Sally. "I had no idea the ancient echidnas were this technologically advanced."
"Well, most of them weren't. Only the Nocturnus tribe embraced technology. The others tribes dabbled in small amounts of it, but the Nocturnus based their whole way of life around it," said Kirrand.
"And in the end, they went to war with that technology, or so that's what we learned from Tikal's visions," said Sonic. "I wonder what happened? There are no records of anyone finding anything as advanced as these tiles before."
"Even I'm not sure and I've studied our history for years," said Kirrand as she walked back down off the tile and onto the floor again.
"Well, whatever the case, now we know how to get out of here," said Sonic.
"I don't think it'll be that easy," said Sally as she gazed at the layout of the tiles along the walls.
"Why not?" asked Sonic.
"Looking at the way the tiles are arranged on the walls…They run all over the place with intersections everywhere while some paths along them lead to dead ends. It almost looks like it's…" said Sally.
"A maze…" said Kirrand, finishing Sally's thought.
"A maze? Is that all?" asked Sonic. He smiled as he walked over to and up onto the same tile Kirrand was standing on. "I can figure this maze out in a heartbeat with my speed."
"I don't think that's a good-" started Sally before Sonic took off. But no sooner did he reach his first dead end fifty meters up did he suddenly get flung off the tile. Flipping around in mid-air, Sonic managed to get his feet under him just before he hit the ground, landing in a knelt position.
"What happened?" asked Kirrand.
"The stupid tile pushed me off for some reason," said Sonic as he rose back to his feet. Suddenly, a loud grinding noise sounded throughout the room as some of the tiles started to shift their positions on the walls. After nearly a minute, they stopped. Where there had been dead ends, new paths were now apparent while pathways that had once existed were now dead ends.
"What just happened?" asked Kirrand.
"It's the final trial. This one doesn't test physical ability, it tests one's mental ability," said Sally. "We can't just 'speed' our way thru this maze like Sonic was thinking we could. We have to solve the maze."
"But when Sonic made a wrong turn, it threw him off and then reset itself. So that means we can't make one mistake while we're navigating the maze or we have to start all over again with a completely new maze," said Kirrand, now realizing the true nature of the trial that was now before them.
"You're kidding, right?" asked Sonic. Sally just shook her head.
"I wish Kirrand was wrong, but seeing what just happened it makes perfect sense," said Sally.
"Then we're stuck, aren't we?" asked Kirrand, the fear she had kept under control since the end of the first trial now starting to show itself again.
"If we had Nicole with us, she could've easily mapped out the maze for us," said Sally, frowning as she turned towards Sonic. "But someone had to be impatient as always and not wait for her to be repaired."
"Hey! How was I supposed to know we'd need her for a life or death situation?" said Sonic, throwing his hands up in defense.
"Well, too late to be sorry about it now," said Sally angrily.
"Guys! This isn't helping!" cried Kirrand, catching the two mobians' attention. Both of them looked over to see her starting to give into despair.
"You're right…Sorry Sonic," said Sally as she pushed her anger down.
"It's alright…So how do we go about this?" asked Sonic. "I know I'm not smart enough to figure out something like this."
"Give me a minute," said Sally as she turned her gaze up at the maze around them. As the seconds ticked away, Sonic noticed Sally's eyes darting all over the place as she slowly turned in place, taking in the entire maze.
"Okay…The maze isn't terribly complex from looking at it, but there are still a lot of wrong turns from what I noticed," said Sally. She then looked back down at the other two. "Still, if you give me enough time, I think I can map out the safe route."
"You sure Sally?" asked Kirrand.
"No, I'm not actually…," said Sally. Sonic walked over to Sally, placing his hands on her shoulders as he looked her in the eye.
"Come on Sal. You're one of the smartest people I know. If anyone can figure out this maze out of the three of us, it's you," said Sonic.
"But if I don't, we'll die," said Sally.
"You will figure it out," said Sonic. "Sal, you've never let your belief in me falter even under the worst conditions. And I'll be the slowest thing on this planet before my belief in you or any of our friends was to ever be anything but absolute."
"I believe in you too Sally," said Kirrand, pulling her attention from Sonic. "Each of us has kept the others alive throughout this whole ordeal. Sonic got us through the first trial, I saved Sonic during the second, and now it'll be you that gets us through the final trial." Sally smiled at hearing their words, then gave a soft nod.
"Okay…I'll do my best to figure this out," said Sally. "But I'm going to need my full concentration to do so and probably a few hours to make sure I've got it all correct."
"Not a big fan of that timeline, but I can endure it," said Sonic.
"It's alright. You and I can go in a corner and talk while she's figuring it all out," said Kirrand. "I'd love to hear any stories about yourself you'd be willing to share with me." Sonic merely smiled at hearing the request.
"If that's what you want, who am I to disappoint," said Sonic as the two of them started for one of the far corners of the room.