If Sonic thought it was cold before, he certainly did now after being buried underneath an avalanche of snow for five minutes. If it wasn't for Knuckles, those five minutes would have instead been an eternity.

What a miserable way to go... Sonic thinks, unsure if it's his thoughts or the unbearable temperature that's causing him to shiver.

Fortunately, he and Knuckles have long since made it from the mountain and have currently found themselves once again in the middle of nowhere. Knuckles doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold, but rather, by something else. It doesn't take much for Sonic to guess what it is. A taste. One that might as well be ingrained in his and his friends' mouths. The bitter taste of utter defeat. Except with Knuckles, it must be even worse.

It's not as if Sonic can't completely relate to his struggle. With all of the emeralds under Robotnik's possession, Angel Island has no chance. But the fate of all of Mobius won't be any different. Everyone will answer to one ruler. Everything will be made to reflect one's image. No one- absolutely no one will have any freedom. The hedgehog remembers the high amount of casualties and destruction caused by the Metal War. He can never let anything like that ever happen again. Not if there's anything he can do about it.

"Sonic, look," Knuckles says to his exhausted ally, making him perk up in curiosity.

Knuckles points straight ahead, at a structure way off in the distance. Sonic squints his eyes and leans forward on one foot, trying to make out what it could be. It almost looks like...

"A cabin?!" Sonic blurts out, surprised to see any sort of residential building in such a harsh, unfriendly climate. "There's nothing out here for miles! Does someone actually live here?"

"Let's find out," Knuckles suggests as he walks forward. "Maybe whoever is inside can point us in the direction of civilization."

"Wow, that's actually a smart idea, Knux," Sonic says, grinning. "Here, let me save you the walk."

Before Knuckles can even open his mouth to protest, Sonic dashes forward at unseeable speed and grabs the echidna's back, pulling him along for the two-second sprint toward the cabin. Now at its doorstep, Knuckles stumbles back, slightly dazed and still not used to going so fast. The gaze he gives his grinning blue ally is intense enough to melt steel, and yet, it only makes the grin on Sonic's mouth widen.

"After you," he says as he grabs the door handle and opens it-

"SONIC!!!" Amy screams, charging through the cabin at the petrified hero and tackling him to the ground in an inescapable hug. "I knew you'd be okay! But when we saw the avalanche, it was so scary and-!"

"Can't... breathe..." Sonic gasps as the pink hedgehog's arms wrap around his neck.

"Thanks for saving me the walk," Knuckles says with a devious smirk as he stands up, satisfied with the work of karma.

"And here I thought I was a fan," an elderly voice says from within the cabin, making everyone turn to its source.

A gasp escapes Sonic's mouth upon seeing the human man standing at the doorway. He wears a hulky, furry leather coat that makes his skinny frame appear much bigger. His wrinkled face sports large grey eyebrows, and his smile is the only warm thing in this environment.

"Greetings, war hero," he says, waving. "This is most certainly a surprise I wasn't expecting."

To his relief, Amy gets off of her hero and stands up, allowing Sonic to make a proper introduction.

"Same here," he says as he gets to his feet. "I never thought I'd see a human this far in the Outskirts... especially HERE of all places."

"Neither did your lovely friend here," the man says, motioning to Amy who responds with a cheery smile. "It's a shame things haven't changed much since I've been gone... oh well. We can talk more inside."

The elderly man recedes back into the cabin, followed by Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles. Inside, for what it is, the man's home is simply cozy. At the back of the small cabin is a lively, cackling fireplace that gives pretty, natural light to the entirety of the building. Along the walls are pictures of the man, except much younger. Likely in his thirties or forties. One showcases him standing over a dead deer, rifle in hand, smiling proudly at the game he hunted. Displayed on the top of the left-side wall is a Moose head, which Knuckles stares at with slight interest.

"Is that real?"

"Why, yes," the man nods. "Not a lot of game come 'round here, but I found that big fella two years back. That was quite a meal."

"I see you're quite the hunter," Knuckles responds. "I respect that, old man."

"Please, call me James," he clarifies as he sits down on an old mattress at the side of the room.

Sonic turns around to Amy.

"Hey, where's Tails?"

"Out looking for you," she explains. "We both stumbled on this cabin and he dropped me off."

"Knowing him, he'll stay out there all night," Sonic thinks aloud. "Hopefully he sees our footprints and puts two and two together."

"You have quite some interesting friends, Sonic," James remarks. "That lil' boy could fly!"

"I appreciate your hospitality, sir," Sonic says with a grateful smile. "But if I may ask... what are you doing all the way out here? Most- pretty much all humans live in Station Square."

"Don't remind me of that dump," James says, rolling his eyes. "That was my home for years. I loved that place... until GUN took it over. And with the way most people viewed you Mobians... I had to get out of that prison sooner or later. At least here, there's no discrimination. No politics. Just peace and quiet."

"It's impressive you even made it out here!" Amy says wide-eyed. "How are you not always freezing?"

"Must have gotten used to the weather," James shrugs, earning an approving nod from Knuckles. "If I may ask, what are YOU doing here? Ain't no famous people usually 'round these parts."

Now caught with a loaded question the impatient hedgehog doesn't feel like answering in full, he shakes his head and defaults to:

"It's a long story. To sum things up, we're... sort of lost."

He scratches his head awkwardly.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the nearest city is, would ya? We're kind of in a hurry."

"Starlight?" James asks, tilting his head. "Sure. It's quite the distance though. A six-hundred-and-seventy-four mile drive. I occasionally ride there for supplies using my RC-900 X."

The three Mobians each stare at the old man as if he just spoke some long-forgotten ancient language. Noticing this, he grins a little and goes into further detail.

"My snowmobile," he simplifies. "Since Ice Cap has no roads, there's a special model of car you can buy only in Metropolis and Starlight that's built for snow traversal. Had to sell a large portion of my valuables to even come near affording one."

Hearing that sentence, it's like a ray of sunlight from the heavens pierces the gloomy clouds and shines down with all its glory on the hopeful blue hedgehog. It can't be. But it appears so. Finally, after all these hours... a break.

"How many people can this RC-whats it seat?" Sonic asks, with Amy and Knuckles turning to him and catching onto what he has in mind.

"I'd say its max capacity is about eight," James thinks, rubbing his head. "Could be a little cramped though, hehe."

"Sir, would you mind-"

"Giving you a ride?" James finishes with a smile. "How could I refuse the savior of Mobius? Let me get my-"

SLAM!

Standing at the entrance to the cabin, with the door wide open and all eyes on him is Tails, who's breathing rapidly with his eyes closed. After catching his breath, he looks forward with worry.

"I couldn't find-!"

The young boy's sentence gets caught in his throat once his eyes fully adjust and his brain has time to process the sight in front of him. Sonic crosses his arms, a humorous smirk on his face.

"'Sup, little buddy," he says. "How do you feel about road trips?"

...