Chapter 10 of "When Worlds Collide" is here at last! I apologize to anyone who was waiting a long time for this story to update. I've been working on my other story, "Legend of Zelda: Inside Out". Nobody has been reviewing this story, so I guessed people lost interest. Hopefully someone out there is still reading this story.

Okay, enough of my rambling. On with this story! And remember to review.

Chapter 10: The Spirit Temple

The Spirit Temple was a place of worship for the Gerudo desert people. It was also where they hid their treasure; the Gerudos were known for their thievery.

As Link and Sonic entered the temple, Sonic saw a familiar figure; a red echidna. "Knuckles?" Sonic called out to it.

The red echidna turned around to face Sonic. "Sonic!" he called back. "What brings you here?"

Sonic and Link walked up to Knuckles. "That's what we were going to ask you, Knux!" Sonic said.

"Well," Knuckles began to explain, "I overheard those Gerudo women talking about some kind of treasure hidden in this temple. So I came to check it out!"

"Was it the 'Gems of Chaos', by any chance?" Link asked.

"Yeah," Knuckles answered. "That name feels very reminiscent of Chaos Emeralds."

"Knuckles," Sonic said, "have you considered that they could be the exact same thing? Remember, the people of this worlds don't know what Chaos Emeralds are."

Knuckles snapped his fingers. "You're right, Sonic! They could be the same thing after all!"

"Could you help us find them?" Link asked.

"Of course!" Knuckles answered eagerly. "I was just about to search for them before you and Sonic got here!"

"Great!" Sonic said. "Then let's get on with it, Knux!"

Knuckles stood still briefly. "My senses tell me that there's an emerald..." he walked up to a wall, "...behind this stone blocking the doorway." He stood in front of a giant block of granite that was blocking a pathway.

"That should be easy," Link said. He approached the block and tried to push it. He pushed as hard as he could, but the block refused to budge.

"Here, Link," Sonic said. "Let me help you out!" He joined Link in pushing the block. Even with their combined strength, they couldn't move the block.

"Move over, you two!" Knuckles said. "Let me give it a try!"

Link and Sonic stepped aside to let Knuckles approach the block. Knuckles curled up his fists and, as hard as he could, punched the stone block. Miraculously, the block slid down the hallway it was blocking and fell down a hole, creating a complete and open hallway into the next room.

"Nothing to it!" Knuckles chuckled.

Link was once again rendered speechless.

"C'mon, you two!" Knuckles said. "No time for dawdling! Follow me!" He went down the hallway into the next room.

Link looked down at Sonic. "You and your kind continue to amaze me," he said.

The two heroes followed Knuckles down the hall.

As they explored the temple, the trio came to a large room. At the other end of the room, a large suit of armor blocked the other door, holding a giant axe in its hands. Knuckles walked up to the armor in curiosity. "What is this thing doing in the way?" he wondered. "There has to be a way we could move it..." He reached out to touch it.

"DON'T TOUCH IT, KNUCKLES!" Link yelled.

He was too late. Just as Knuckles touched it, the suit of armor moved its head and looked down at the red echidna. Then it raised its giant axe and prepared to swing. Thinking fast, Sonic grabbed Knuckles and pulled him away from the armored monster just before the axe could hit him. The monster pulled its axe out from the ground and slowly marched toward the heroes.

"W-what IS that thing?!" Knuckles said in horror.

"It's an Iron Knuckle!" Link explained. "They're slow, but they're strong!"

"It's blocking our path to that door!" Sonic said. "We have to defeat it!"

"Let's do it together!" Link said.

As the Iron Knuckle slowly approached them, Link was walking right up to it. Sonic watched in horror as Link approached the monster. "Link?! Are you out of your mind?!" he yelled in disbelief.

"I know what I'm doing!" Link reassured him.

The Iron Knuckle slowly raised its giant axe, ready for the kill. Sonic shielded his eyes; he couldn't bear to watch Link get slaughtered. But just as the beast was lowering its axe, Link jumped out of the way, causing the axe to stick to the ground. As the Iron Knuckle tried to pull its axe out, Link jumped up and struck the Iron Knuckle with his sword. As the sword struck the beast, some of its armor fell off.

Sonic opened his eyes. He was amazed to see Link in one piece. "H-how...?"

Link looked at Sonic and chuckled. "I took advantage of his slowness."

Sonic looked up at Link. "Then I should do the same!"

"Count me in, too!" Knuckles chimed in.

So the three heroes worked together to fight the Iron Knuckle. Knuckles kept the Iron Knuckle distracted while Link and Sonic chipped away at its armor. However, as more and more of its armor fell off, the Iron Knuckle moved faster.

The Iron Knuckle ran up to Link and Sonic. The monster had cornered the two heroes; it raised its axe and prepared to strike. Just then, the monster cried out in pain and fell to the side. As the beast fell to the ground, they saw Knuckles standing there holding his fist out.

"Thanks, Knux." Sonic said. "That guy almost finished us!"

"No problem, buddy!" Knuckles said. "Always happy to help!"

Link looked at the floor. Something shiny and light-blue appeared where the Iron Knuckle once fell. Link picked it up. "It's a Chaos Emerald!"

"So that monster was guarding a Chaos Emerald all this time?" Sonic said.

"This makes six emeralds so far." Link said. "Only one left!"

"And it's somewhere in this temple." Sonic added.

"Let's go find it, then!" Knuckles said.

They continued through the door that was previously blocked by the Iron Knuckle.

After battling the many enemies that got in their way, the three heroes found themselves in a gigantic room full of sand.

"We should be careful in here." Link told the others. "In a room like this, anything could come out at you..."

Just then, they felt the ground shaking under their feet. A giant mound of sand formed in the middle of the room. Suddenly, something popped out of the ground: it looked like a giant robotic centipede with sharp pincers and huge eyes. It let out a giant, mechanical-sounding ROAR!

Robotic Arthropod: Moldorm

"A robot!" Sonic said. "Eggman must have built it!"

"It's...It's HUGE!" Knuckles said in fright.

"Don't be so scared, Knuckles!" Sonic told him. "We can take this thing down. Right, Link?"

"Yes we can!" Link agreed.

Moldorm dug back into the sand. It burrowed underneath the heroes.

"Get outta the way! It's coming up from below!" Link yelled. The three of them ran out of the way just before Moldorm poked out of the sand. It crawled its way out of the sand and toward the heroes. Link looked at the creature and saw a jewel on its tail.

"The tail!" Link exclaimed. "The tail's his weak point!"

"Good eye, Link!" Sonic said. He quickly ran around Moldorm up to his tail. He jumped up, curled up into a ball, and smacked the arthropod's tail.

"GROARRR!" it moaned. Moldorm turned around and reached out at Sonic with its head. Moldorm snapped its pincers, but not before Sonic ran out of the way.

"Catch me if you can, wormy!" Sonic taunted. Enraged, Moldorm snapped and snapped at Sonic, continually missing. The monster had forgotten about Link and Knuckles.

Seizing the opportunity, Link ran up to the beast's tail and slashed at it with his sword. Moldorm moaned again in pain. Before Link could react, Moldorm grabbed Link with its pincers. Link couldn't move; he couldn't even reach for his sword. "Help!" he shouted.

"I'll help you, Link!" Knuckled answered. Knuckles ran up to the arthropod's tail and punched it with his fist. Moldorm cried out in pain, releasing Link from its grasp. Link started falling to the ground, but Sonic caught him.

"Thanks, Sonic!" Link said.

"No problem, buddy." Sonic replied.

Link turned toward Knuckles. "Knuckles," he said, "keep Moldorm distracted while I go behind it."

"Got it!" Knuckles answered. "Hey, insect!" he yelled at the beast. "Come and get me!"

Moldorm chased after Knuckles, not paying any attention to Link or Sonic. Link ran behind Moldorm's tail, raised his sword, and sliced so hard he chopped off its tail completely. Moldorm cried out in agony. The beast exploded from head to tail.

"We did it!" Sonic cheered.

"We make a good team!" Link agreed.

As the room cleared, Knuckles saw something shiny buried in the sand. He ran over to it and dug it out.

"A Chaos Emerald!" he announced.

"The yellow emerald!" Sonic commented.

Knuckles handed the emerald to Sonic. "You deserve this emerald, guys." Knuckles said.

Link and Sonic admired the emerald. "Now we have all seven!"

"Let's go find Sheik and tell her the good news!" Link said.

So everyone left the temple, with all seven Chaos Emeralds reunited once more.

Just as Link, Sonic, and Knuckles exited the Spirit Temple, they saw a red bi-plane flying towards them. Sonic recognized it in an instant: it was The Tornado, and Tails was piloting the plane.

The plane landed just in front of the temple entrance. Tails climbed out of the plane and greeted the trio. "Link! Sonic!"

"Tails!" Sonic said. "How did you know where to find us?"

"That wrist communicator I gave you had a tracking device in it as well," Tails explained. "But never mind that. I have to tell you guys something."

"What is it?" Knuckles asked.

"Sheik wanted me to tell you guys to meet her at the Temple of Time, near Hyrule Castle," Tails explained.

"Is that so?" Link asked. "Can you take us there?"

"Certainly!" Tails said. "I've expanded the plane to seat two more people."

"Great!" Knuckles said. "Count me in, too!"

Link, amazed by the strange piece of technology, climbed aboard the plane. He and Knuckles sat behind the pilot's seat. Sonic climbed on top of The Tornado's wings. Tails revved up the engine and prepared for takeoff. "Hang on guys!" he said.

The plane flew off to the Temple of Time.