It hasn't been long since I started this fanfic, but I can't believe I'm already on my 10th Chapter! Thanks for your support, guys!

Chapter 10: Prevention

"Um, Sonny," Miles said approaching Sonny as he was doing warm-up stretches.

They were standing next to the rock structure that looked like a loop-the-loop where Miles was kidnapped by Dr. Eggman's robots last year.

"What is it, Miles?" Sonny finished stretching and got into a starting position for running.

"We might have a problem. You see, I went to find one of the Chaos Emeralds just to be sure that it was still there. But then I fell into this deep man-made hole that was covered by palm tree leafs, and so I had to transform into Tails to get out. By the time I got to the Emerald's hiding place, it was gone."

Sonny's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"

"Who's kidding?" Amelia said catching up to Miles from behind.

"It's not a joke, Amelia. Someone has stolen one of the Chaos Emeralds."

Amelia gasped. "Oh my god! Do you think it could be Dr. Eggman?"

Miles shook his head. "No. He would not have bothered to set up a trap before grabbing the Chaos Emerald and that hole I fell in was man-made, so it couldn't have been his robots either."

"Then who did?" Amelia shuttered suddenly. "I thought we were the only other people who know about the Chaos Emeralds."

"I guess not anymore," Sonny said. "And if this person found one Chaos Emerald, then it won't be long before he finds the others."

Sonny then took off in a blue blur, leaving Amelia and Miles behind.

"Where did he go?" Amelia asked.

"I'm guessing to get the other Chaos Emeralds before this thief gets to them first," Miles replied.

"Then shouldn't we go after him?"

"But I can't transform into Tails as easily as Sonny can into Sonic, and that's the only way I can catch up to him."

"Yeah, and it's not like I can transform into Amy right now either." Amelia sighed. "Why is Sonny more in touch with his spirit than us with ours?"

Miles scratched the back of his head for a few seconds before answering. "Well, Sonny told us that when the Chaos Emeralds came together he suddenly found himself in a white space where he met Sonic and they talked a while before coming to an agreement. Maybe the energy coming from the Chaos Emeralds was so overwhelming that Sonny retreated into his own mind, hence the white void, and that's where Sonic was lodged in. Then when they agreed to help each other that separated the mental barrier that kept Sonny from transforming into Sonic willingly. So if you and I could somehow communicate with our spirits, then maybe we could control them better."

"I guess that makes sense, but how does that help us in our present situation?"

"Right now, all we can do is stay here and wait for Sonny to come back. In the meantime, we'll continue practicing our abilities and hopefully I'll come up with a solution to our problem during the Tailspin Moment."

###

Elsewhere, Sonic was speeding through jungles of palm trees when something suddenly caught his foot and he was lifted into the air. He hung upside-down with one foot tied to a rope that was hidden underneath a patch of dirt and attached to a tree. Irritated, Sonic tried to break free but the rope held his foot firmly. So then he swung himself back and forth and attempted to spin into a ball, but the momentum wasn't strong enough.

"Wow, Sonic, you've changed quite a lot."

Sonic looked down and saw a teenage boy staring up at him from the ground with long red hair, slanted pupils that were purple, abnormally large white boxing gloves, and a red zigzag tail.

"Knuckles!" Sonic cried. "You're alive. Quick, help me get down from here."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the boy with the zigzag tail replied. "Otherwise, you'll get in my way."

"How?"

"You'll try to pry this from me," Knuckles said as he pulled the Cyan Chaos Emerald out of his pants-pocket. "And I won't let that happen."

Sonic gritted his teeth. "So you were the one who stole the Chaos Emerald and dug the hole Miles fell into."

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure who this 'Miles' guy is, but I did set up a hole-shaped trap before grabbing the Purple Chaos Emerald earlier today."

"Why are you doing this, Knuckles?" Sonic said as he tried to reach the rope with his hands. "I hid the Chaos Emeralds so Dr. Eggman couldn't find them. Now he'll go after you when he gets out of prison."

"Then let him," Knuckles responded. "I'm only interested in finding the Chaos Emeralds so that I can locate the Master Emerald, which I sense is somewhere in this new world, and I must protect it at all costs."

After putting the Cyan Chaos Emerald back in his pocket, Knuckles jumped into the air and glided away.

###

Several hours later, Sonny was greeted by Miles and Amelia who came running towards him.

"Sonny, what are you doing up there?" Amelia asked.

"What does it look like?" Sonny responded irritably.

"He must've caught his foot in a trap," Miles said. "Don't worry, Sonny. I'll get you down."

Miles walked over to the base of the tree and untied the rope that was attached to a root at the tree's base. Once that was done, Sonny came crashing down on his back. Amelia rushed over as a pink aura briefly surrounded her. Then once she knelt down, Amy stood in her place.

"Are you hurt, Sonic?" Amy asked.

"I'm not Sonic," Sonny said wearily.

"Oops, I meant to say, 'Sonny,'" Amy said correcting herself. "It's just that you two look so similar now."

"Now?" Miles walked over to Sonny and helped him up. "You mean Sonic didn't always look like Sonny?"

Amy shook her head. "No, he looked different before, but I can't remember—

Then Amy suddenly passed out. The same pink aura surrounded her, and after a few minutes Amelia woke up. She sat up clutching her head in agony as the pink and yellow hammer Amelia held suddenly vanished.

"I almost had it," Amelia muttered. "Summoning the 'Piko Hammer' was the right idea, but it wasn't enough to connect me to Amy."

"Do you remember anything, though?" Miles asked.

"Sort of," Amelia responded. "I remember Amy saying something about Sonic, but the exact words are fuzzy."

"So my theory is right. The more we master our abilities, the closer we come to getting in touch with our individual spirits." Miles then turned to Sonny. "So what happened to you?"

"Well, apart from getting my foot caught in a trap while I was Sonic," Sonny said rubbing the back of his head. "I don't remember much else, which is weird because I've been able to retain my memories as Sonic recently."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Miles responded. "Maybe you and Sonic were not in sync this time. Now we should probably get home before the sun goes down."

"Right," Sonny said, and helped Amelia up.

Then as the three walked through the thick jungle back to town, a trio of figures watched them leave.

To be continued…