As we stepped into the searing heat of Volcano Valley, I was glad that my suit had been made to protect from both low and high temperatures. Rouge's typical gear was much better suited for this Zone than it was for Diamond Dust, so she wasn't as miserable here as she'd been there. The gem on Tiara's scepter had changed to icy blue upon entering the area, keeping her plenty cool. And while they didn't seem to mind the oppressive environment as much as us, the Flickies still occasionally crowded around the bandicoot to help keep from overheating.

On the subject of the little birds, they broke away from us every so often to check on the nests of their kind here. It was both to see if other Flickies were safe, and if any of them was their friend that supposedly knew the best route. Unfortunately, they were having no luck with the latter, and worry was starting to show on their faces. Even the blue one, who seemed the most assured of Red's capabilities, was beginning to display some doubts.

"M-maybe he's further in," he suggested as he came in for another wave of coolness from the euclase and landed on one of Tiara's shoulders.

The pink one folded her wings and she rested her feet on the other side of the bandicoot, while the green one all but flopped on her head. I suppressed a smirk as she grew visibly annoyed, but she ultimately tolerated it. They had been flying for quite a while over the course of the day, so they deserved at least a short break.

"I'm sure your friend is okay," Tiara told them, trying to lift their spirits, "if this is his home, he'd know where it's safest."

Rouge hummed, eyeing the green crystals around us as we went along the solid path. "Mm, I bet he's fine, too. We shouldn't rush anyway with how hot it is here."

"I wouldn't touch those if I were you," I warned her, satisfied to hear her huff in exasperation at my seeing through her ploy.

Still, she had a point about taking things a little slower. Our diminutive companions were still tired, and the three of us had been quite active since we left the sanctuary. With that in mind, I found a spot to stop and broke out some of my rations, which consisted of dried meat, fruit, and supplemental capsules. I grimaced as I downed enough to be satisfied; they were designed to give plenty of nutrients despite the portion size, and they did fill the stomach, but they tasted terrible. Rouge had her own that weren't as heavy on the calories and tasted much better, not missing the chance to rub it in my face and giggle at my brief misery. Tiara settled on a protein bar for herself, while also taking a few berries out of another pocket to give to the Flickies. They weren't any I'd seen before, so I assumed they were native to the island; whatever the case, the birds liked them.

Once we were all good, I took to the air to cross over a chasm of lava flowing down from fiery falls, keeping an eye out for any potential trouble. The Flickies stayed a little lower, guiding us southwest around a few bends in the path, Tiara having to leap to cross the molten river at a couple of different spots. Close to the end of the route, a few spots in the ground suddenly opened up, revealing blaster turrets that trained their barrels on us. I rocketed above them to draw their fire, soon finding a gap in which I could unload two separate Shocking Blasts. This gave Rouge an opportunity to Screw Kick one while Tiara used a Spin Dash on the other, the latter following up with a blast of lightning from her scepter on another. I came down upon a fourth with an Aerial Stomp, then finished off the last one with an energy blade just before it had a chance to shoot me. Once the adrenaline of combat had worn off, I stopped to survey the wreckage, my eyes widening after several seconds.

"Well, that definitely means we're close," Rouge remarked. She noticed my stunned expression and grew concerned. "Ace? You okay, Sp–"

"They're nigh-identical," I interrupted her. I clenched my beak and fists as I rose to my feet. "The materials and make of these turrets are almost exactly the same as those that were used within the Battle Fortress. Whoever this Al is must have schematics of the Empire's tech."

I didn't want to believe it, but it wasn't impossible. Remnants of the old order, or perhaps relatives or associates of them, may have been the ones behind what was going on here. It may have even been the work of fanatics, for all I knew. What bothered me was how secretive their leader was compared to the proud and boastful nature of my father and the doctor. There was also the matter that he seemed to know me, since he specifically wanted me out of the way. Was it someone that I'd perhaps met once? I was struggling to think of anyone at the moment, so I shook it off; I'd get to see for myself who he really was soon enough.

"So, I've been pretty quiet about this since Rusty Ruins," Tiara said as she addressed me, "when Bean called you 'Speedy.' You're that guy that was with the BKE, aren't you?"

I'd been wondering if she'd figured it out. I wasn't so sure if this was the appropriate moment to be bringing it up, but there was no point in playing ignorant now.

"I was, yes," I replied evenly, hovering close to the ground as I resumed following the Flickies.

Rouge was of a similar opinion to the one I had in the back of my head. "Ace, is this really the time?"

"Best to be forthright with her, Rouge." I tilted my body so that I could keep one eye on the Flickies while the other was focused on the girls. "Besides, even if Bean wasn't here to blab, she would've figured it out sooner or later."

"Yeah, I thought you looked familiar," Tiara confirmed as we went through a passage that led us to the other side of a small lava lake, "I don't really watch the news, but my father does, and I remember seeing a report with him that had you in the main story." She chuckled a bit. "Can't say a lot of the things they said about you were nice."

I nodded lightly. "I've seen more than a few, and to their credit, most of what they broadcasted was true."

"Is that so?" the bandicoot said curiously, "well, you seem like a decent guy to me. Not exactly the nicest, and you could probably stand to chill out a little more, but you're alright otherwise." She flashed me a grin. "Might be a while before most everyone else starts warming up to you, though."

I shrugged indifferently and faced forward again. "Doesn't matter much to me if they do or not. I just want to live my life how I want without having to worry about things like that, or ghosts of the past."

I heard both of my companions hum thoughtfully at that, but that was where the conversation ended. We wound around a pool and scaled a couple of short cliffs before we passed through another short tunnel. I flew on over to the next outcropping while Tiara Rolled down a slope and cleared a large jump over more lava, her and Rouge catching up with me before long. Scaling several more slopes, we came to the mouth of a cave that was situated between two lava falls.

Just a few meters inside the passage was another one of those grunts, back turned to us and speaking into their wrist. Seeing this as an opportunity to potentially gain some more information, I sent Rouge to go eavesdrop, since she had the best hearing among us. Tiara and I took cover, watching as my bat partner took out her comm and angled it so the receiver would catch the conversation. I made sure to tune my own into our usual channel so that I could hear and record everything on my end.

"So, it sounds like the boss finally found what he's been searching for," I heard the trooper say.

There was a brief crackle, and then another voice. "Yeah, the Hooligans managed to track it down after searching the other Zones. Turns out it wasn't far from HQ."

"Right under our noses, huh? Go figure." I heard the guy in our proximity heave a sigh. "So, what're we gonna do now that we've got the thing?"

"I don't know if you got the memo, but the boss belayed the kill order on that Kukku guy and his two lady friends. Now he wants us to bring them and the other folks to the base like we did with Professor Boobowski."

I heard Tiara gasp quietly. "Oh no, my gut feeling was right!"

Not the worst news in the world, but still, things had gone from bad to much worse. If Al really was in possession of what both our parties had been trying to find, then we had to pick up the pace. It was even more pressing now that his group was making preparations to capture the other people at the sanctuary, and us along with them. We also had confirmation that Tiara's father had been abducted and was being held by them, and

"What about that other woman?" the masked minion went on, "the one that showed up in the ice caves and whooped several of our boys?"

"Same deal as the rest," the one on the other end replied, "boss says she's lower priority than Kukku, but above the other folks since she's actually doing some damage."

A part of me was thankful someone else was giving this group headaches. But, the rest of me was more concerned about who she was and where she came from, not to mention for whom she was working. The Commander doesn't always tell us about everything, but sending in another agent on a mission without informing those currently assigned wasn't something I'd ever heard of him doing. Whoever she was, even though I didn't know very much about her, I had my doubts that she was involved with G.U.N.

(So who is Gunner Green, really?)

(Just keep listening, Prower. I would prefer to make sure we cover everything on the same day, so quit stopping me every so often!)

(Alright, sheesh.)

We listened in for another minute or so, but there was ultimately nothing more to glean from what the grunts were talking about. With that, Tiara took the initiative and rushed into the passage, whacking the trooper over the head with her weapon and knocking him out. Unlike the rest of the ones we'd disarmed, the bandicoot took his sidearm and holster for herself, then gave us both a hard look.

"Come on, we have to save my father and stop these guys," she told us as she clenched the scepter in both hands.

The Flickies could feel her determination and distress, and so they put in even more effort to lead us as quickly as they could through Volcano Valley. We might have been out of time to prevent Al from getting his hands on the treasure, but we could still thwart whatever he intended to do with it.

"So, how do you know so much about these guys, anyway?" I asked Green as I used the holes of a basalt wall to climb down after her.

She gave me a hand and had me follow her around the perimeter of a lava lake. "Sorry, all I can tell you is that I have my sources."

I suppose that's fair, since she was using a code name to maintain cover. Still, that Ace guy and his partner made it no secret about who they were working for, so I had to wonder who her "sources" were. Especially if they give her things like that platform...what even was that? And why didn't we just ride it the rest of the way through this dangerous place!?

"Hey, cave guy," Red chirped in my ear, snapping me out of my head space, "you doing okay?"

I laughed and nervously scratched at my ears. "Uh, yeah, just been thinking."

"About the lady, right?" A perceptive Flicky, this one. "I get a weird feeling from her, too. Not a bad one, but something feels off, you know?"

Now that he mentioned it, there was something else about Green that seemed strange, but the question was what. Something to worry about later, I guess. A little further on, she helped me get past a lava river by...chucking me across and then rushing over to catch me before I hit the ground. I mean, I wouldn't have been able to jump the gap by myself, but she could've called that platform or something. After that, we followed a narrow bit of twisting igneous rock that contained traces of muscovite and what looked like green feldspar, which ended at a cliff that was several meters high. Red took the lead and flew to the top while I found cracks and fissures to climb with. Green followed my example, except that she could handle larger gaps in hand and footholds; I swore I also saw claws momentarily poke out of her gloves to help her scale the wall.

Anyway, once we got to the top, go figure that we had to climb down the other side almost immediately, where we found three lava falls emptying into a fairly big lake. I took a deep breath and once again imagined myself in the shoes of my favorite platforming hero, then made a running jump. My feet touched down on a bit of obsidian between the molten tributaries, where I once again took a leap of faith. I kept up the moment as I landed again, crossing one more stepping stone before reaching a safe bit of land. The adrenaline wore off and I fell to all fours, one hand on my chest to try and calm my pounding heart while I panted and coughed. I really didn't want to think about how many times I could've died just then.

"Hang in there, Mr. Barry," Green said kindly, leaning down to pat me on the back, "we shouldn't have too much further to go."

Red bobbed his head affirmatively. "Yeah, the fire bird's just past this next bit." A worried look crossed his face. "But, uh, I just thought of something."

"What's that?" I asked, not liking his change in expression.

"Well, if the crown the lady mentioned is the shiny thing he's been guarding, he'd be mad that it's gone, and the whole place would get even hotter." He peered around the Zone for a brief moment. "But, it's just as hot as usual. I hope nothing bad happened to him."

I wasn't sure what to make of that, but it was the first time I'd seen the Flicky this concerned. Once I'd caught my breath, Green and I followed Red as he zipped above a hill and over more lava to an identical slope on the other side. We went around the perimeter of yet another lake and into a series of catacombs where Red whipped around every other corner. I was starting to wonder if he really knew we were supposed to go after a couple minutes, but my doubts were soon put to rest.

We entered a massive area that, from the looks of its composition, was once an active magma chamber. Now, though, there was barely any lava present, mostly around the edges, while the rest was a mixture of stone, silicates, and other earthy minerals. In the center was a rocky pillar that was several meters high, with a broad bowl-shaped peak that could probably fit a few people in it. Further back was some sort of pedestal made of the same elements, hewn at the top for the purpose of holding something.

The thing that stood out most was what looked like silver powder littered on the ground around the column. I knelt down at the site and pressed my fingers into the substance, then brought them back and rubbed them together. It didn't feel grainy at all, and it fell away from my digits while leaving a shiny gray stain on my gloves.

"It's ash," I concluded as I wiped it off on my pants, "not any kind I've seen before, though. How is it able to shine like that without any mineral sediment?"

Green gave me a shrug and made an uncertain noise; it seemed that she was just as puzzled as I was. Red, meanwhile, flew up to the top of the pillar, momentarily disappearing from sight as he checked things out. It wasn't long before he came back down, wide-eyed and looking like he was on the verge of panicking. Oh no, what happened now?

"He's not here!" the Flicky squawked, "the fire bird isn't in his nest or anywhere in this place! There's just a lot more of that shiny stuff up there!" His head whipped to one side of the chamber, where there was a large hole that someone had bored into the rock. "And I don't remember seeing that the last time I was here! Oh gods, what if someone kidnapped him?"

Green crossed her arms and bowed her head in thought as she gazed down the recently made tunnel, then started walking towards it in a determined stride. "You two...stay here."

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked her, feeling a bit nervous at her sudden decision, "I thought you guys said it would be safer if we stuck together."

The lady peered back at me from over her shoulder. "This is probably the safest place right now, honestly. No reason for the NBA to come back here now that the Crown's in their hands and the fire bird is missing."

I guess that made sense; I still would've preferred having her here in case they did come knocking around again, for whatever reason. Also, I may have mentioned before that I wasn't exactly keen on arguing with someone that could handle a handful of people by herself. Red and I would've probably just gotten in the way, especially with how the Flicky was then. Best to let her handle things and come back for us, or allow Ace and his group to find us. They were supposed to be looking for the Crown too, so they'd probably come this way. Hopefully.

"Oh, this is bad," Red mumbled while he fluttered around in circles, "he never leaves, but he's not here. The shiny is gone, I can't find my friends, and there's all this weird stuff around."

It seemed the bird was still having a rather rough time of everything. It was a unique experience, I guess you could say, seeing an unusually brave Flicky in the grips of anxiety. Whoever this "fire bird" was, he sure seemed important for my little friend to be acting this way. Even though we'd been in a hurry to get here, he hadn't exactly explained why we were coming in the first place. No better way to pass the time, I guess.

"So, why did you want to bring me here, anyway?" I inquired.

Red quit his personal rant and dipped his head. "I thought that maybe the fire bird would want to help if you told him about those NBA guys. He's a bit snappy when it comes to his territory and the shiny, but he's not a bad guy."

"I see." I tapped at my chin. "I heard you mumbling about him never leaving. Can you think of any reason why he wouldn't be here?"

The Flicky pondered for a moment, only to shake his head negatively. "Not really. I mean, there are a couple, but I don't want to believe them."

I was about to ask what he meant by that, but I caught myself and figured it out before I could open my mouth. One possibility was that the NBA captured the fire bird and was holding him hostage wherever they were holed up. The other was that the fire bird was, well, gone gone. The latter possibility made me gaze down at the ash around the pillar with a new sort of unease bubbling up in my gut. Had I really just picked up and dusted off the particles of a dead guy?

I really hoped that wasn't the case, and that we'd figure something out soon. I was also pretty anxious for Green to get back, or for Ace and the others to find us; despite what the tall lady said, I wasn't so sure about the NBA being done here...

With the Flickies leading, we went down the tunnel towards a lava fall, where we could either ascend several steps carved into the stone, or go further down. The birds consulted with each other, deciding on the former after a few seconds and bringing us to an apparent dead end. A quick scan revealed cracks in the stone, which Tiara cleared away by using a Spin Dash. No sooner had she rushed down the newly opened passage when a few more turrets came down from the ceiling and let loose on us. Since we'd been expecting more after what happened earlier, they were easy to deal with, and the place was soon littered with metal scraps.

Past that, I was forced to the ground as swinging spike traps in the walls revealed themselves and nearly turned me into fresh paste. Tiara ducked beneath a few fireball shooters, and was ready to cross a gap with a small magma pool, only to be stopped by the blue Flicky. A good thing too, as a huge column of lava surged down and soon overfilled the pond, making Rouge have to bail the bandicoot out. We flew around the sudden hazard and continued on the way our small companions had been taking us, emerging into the caldera once again.

"It shouldn't be too much farther to the fire bird," the pink one announced, "although we'd already be there if Red was with us."

My partner wiped her brow and let out a huff. "Good, I really don't like working up a sweat like this."

"You should be ready for an even harder one," I retorted, "we have quite the problem to deal with, and we don't know just how formidable it really is."

Tiara pointed forward with her scepter. "Let 'em come. There's nothing that's gonna stop me from saving my father!"

Her spirit was admirable, I'd give her that, but I wasn't going to have her act reckless on my watch. Especially not after she'd nearly gotten herself killed more than a couple of times since we picked up on that grunt's intel.

"Save some of that for the real fight," I advised her, "best to keep a cool head until then. Even so, we need to move, and I'm afraid that our guides aren't the most agile."

The blue Flicky frowned at me. "Well, what do you want us to do then? We're still a bit tired from all the flying before we got here!"

A fair point, but I already had something in mind. I took the little bird and grasped him tight in one hand, though not enough to hurt him.

"Keep your eyes open and tell me where to turn," I ordered him, then glanced back at the others, "stay close if you can."

I didn't give the Critter any time to argue before I shot off like a jet, flying straight over a broad molten lake to a tall and steep hill. The Flicky managed to get a "left" out just as I approached a fork, making a sharp turn and nearly running into more of Al's troopers on the way. I spared them nothing more than a swipe from my free arm, blowing them both away with an energy blade. Past a cliff, more cannons revealed themselves in the scenery, forcing me to contend with them for my sake and that of my allies. An Aerial Spin Dash here, a Shocking Blast there, with a Stomp or two for good measure, and that set of defenses were dealt with.

This gave Rouge and Tiara enough time to get me in their sights again, but I was off once more before they had the chance to fully catch up. I leapt to the top of a nearby outcropping and zipped over to an area with another sizable pond and two smaller falls feeding into it. My companion told me to take a detour into a deep drop, bringing us into a long and winding space where large and sharp stalactites were shaken from the ceiling as I passed by. I ignored his concerned cheeps and avoided fiery plumes that erupted here and there, eventually making our way out to the crater once more.

Even though I'd been going pretty fast, the others still weren't that far behind, and from the looks of it, had been directed down a different path. They made their way around one side of a lava lake's rim while I hovered above the other, meeting them at the top of a cliff just past where our routes joined. There was only one way forward from here, and the Flickies all started to clamor at the sight of it.

"Whew, we made it," the green one said with tired relief.

"Still no sign of Red, though," murmured the pink bird.

I released the blue Flicky, which took in several deep breaths as he rested on my shoulder. "I, ugh, I'm sure he's fine." He glared at me, then motioned at the cave mouth. "Anyway, we made it. The fire bird's nest is just on the other side of that tunnel."

"Then let's get going," I urged everyone, "we need to confirm his status and that of the artifact."

And indeed, we found ourselves in a very spacious chamber before long. What we didn't expect, however, was that someone other than the fire bird would be there waiting for us. Moreover, that that someone would be an Animal I didn't find suitable for the kind of work we'd been putting in.

"Barry?" Tiara shouted in disbelief, "what're you doing here!? I told you to handle things at the sanctuary!"

The quokka winced, and just as he was about to answer, a red Flicky flew between the two and started chirping at the bandicoot. "Ease up on the cave guy, lady. I'm the one that brought him out he–"

"Red!" the other three little birds exclaimed as they swarmed around him.

Barry shrugged and let out a nervous laugh. "Well, it's kind of a funny story how I ended up here."

One that we would have heard, had we not been interrupted by the sound of muffled coughing. It came from above, high up in the bowl on top of the stone pillar, which prompted me to investigate. There was a thick layer of that silvery ash up there, with a section of it stirring and rising up, only for some of it to fall away and reveal a pair of golden sunny yellow eyes. They found mine for a moment, and then disappeared back under the surface. In the next instant, the ash was suddenly swept up into a whirlwind that just as quickly ended in a brilliant conflagration that shot up from the nest, with an even brighter silhouette standing in the orange center.

The flames died away with the snap of a finger, and the figure revealed himself to me as a bird Animal with flame red and orange feathers over his entire body save for his chest and around his beak, which had white hot down. His head was round, with a tuft of "hair" on the back that stopped just above his neck, and a set of "bangs" that protruded from the middle of his forehead. His beak was similar in color to his eyes, and he had a trio of upright tail-feathers in the back. His form was sleek with little definition, and he was garbed in nothing but a pair of white gloves and white shoes that were orange from the middle to the toes. And to top it all off, he was enveloped in a translucent blue aura that made it appear as though it was constantly being fed by a gas fire. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the fire bird, or rather, the phoenix that we'd been looking for.

I involuntarily backed away as the new Animal hovered down so he was level with me, casting his gaze over everyone present. His eyes momentarily stopped on Tiara, then myself, and finally over at a pedestal meant to display some sort of object. Seeing that it was empty, the bird rounded on us with a displeased expression.

"I just got reborn and what do I find?" he asked rhetorically in a low tenor, his aura flaring up brightly and violently, "some trespassers, a familiar nosy bunch of Flickies, and the Crown of Delusion missing!"

The entire chamber lit up from his display, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me nervous. Barry huddled in close to Tiara, who held her scepter defensively as she glared up at the Animal. The Flickies shrunk back and hid behind them and Rouge, save for the red one that remained in the open. That one actually worked up the nerve to come up and flutter by my side, and while he did his best to put on a brave face, his eyes gave away how nervous he really was.

"D-don't get mad at them," he spoke up, "they didn't take the shiny, we brought them here to–"

"I can tell that much, Red," the bigger bird interrupted irritably, "I don't sense the Crown on their persons, but you know I don't like it when people come into my territory uninvited!"

Red winced and ducked behind one of my shoulders, no longer keen on facing the other avian. The phoenix turned his attention back to me, his frown deepening.

"Although it was only a matter of time before a Battle Kukku showed up on my doorstep yet again," he said with no amount of fondness in his voice, "the sixteenth one now, if memory serves right."

So he knew of my lineage just by the sight of me. That in itself told me that my forefathers had something to do with why he and the "Crown of Delusion" were here. I wasn't eager to square off against him, especially with the predicament looming over us, so I held up my hands while maintaining eye contact.

"I won't pretend to be a fool," I started, which caused him to cock a brow, "but truly, I knew little of this place and what my ancestors left behind. Terms such as 'Crown of Delusion' never left my father's beak, nor anything related to it."

The curious bird studied me for what felt like eons before he was satisfied. He folded his arms and adopted a more neutral expression, though I sensed that he still hadn't relaxed his guard in the slightest. I tentatively lowered my hands, but remained cautious.

"You know, considering who your dad is, that doesn't surprise me," he remarked with a tired sigh, "bastard tried taking the Crown without going through a trial. He's lucky I didn't incinerate him for pulling that stunt."

Yeah, that sounded like my father, wanting to seize power however he could. What caught my interest, though, was the other thing that he mentioned.

"Trial?" I questioned, "and who are you exactly?"

"My name is Tetartos, but I prefer Tet." The phoenix shrugged casually. "Anyway, that trial deal that your twelve-times-great-grandfather came up with after we forged the Crown? I won't bore you with the details; you just need to know that you have to pass whatever challenge I set out for you to be considered 'worthy' of wearing it." He tilted his head down to glance at where the object should've been. "But since the Crown's missing, you're out of luck on that front."

"W-well, it's not missing, per se," Barry mumbled just loud enough for us to hear, causing us all to turn toward him, "it was stolen by those NBA guys."

Rouge perked her ears and leaned in with a smile. "Who now, handsome?"

I rolled my eyes at the quokka, as did Tiara, when he blushed from my partner's flirtation. After some spluttering on his part, Barry and the Flicky called Red got around to telling us what had happened to them prior to meeting up with us. Just as I had figured, the group we were facing had to have been remnants or "fans" of the Empire, what with a name like the Neo Battle Armada. Moreover, while it was briefly mentioned, the fact that he brought up the idea that they would brainwash him was in line with what the doctor used to employ.

(How's that possible, though? Every last machine was destroyed, and all data on their construction was erased!)

(So we thought as well. But as the saying goes: where there's a will, there's a way.)

When he brought up the "Gunner Green" person, Rouge and I shared a confused expression. Who was that, and how did she know so much about the NBA and Kukku history, much less a closely guarded secret of the imperial line?

"I don't know anyone by that code name," the bat said after picking at her brain, "do you, Ace?"

I shook my head in the negative. "Can't be one of our agents. If anything, it sounds more like a title we would've used in the Empire."

"So, she's a spy pretending to be against them?" Tiara pondered.

In an uncharacteristic move, at least from what I've seen of him, Barry frowned toothily and balled a fist. "I don't believe that. The way she talked about those guys, it sounded like she wanted to stop them at any cost." He paused and gave me a concerned look. "Even if that meant going through you, Ace."

So that's how it is, I thought. Whatever, that only meant one thing.

"And if she gets in my way," I retorted crossly, causing the quokka to shy away, "then she's another enemy, as far as I'm concerned." I sighed and came down to land. "In any event, we need to settle the matter at hand."

Tet hummed and stroked his chin. "I guess that could be your trial."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Yeah, why not? Go get the Crown and bring it back here from those guys that took it while I was dead. I think that should be good enough."

It was strange to hear him casually mention that, but given what he was, I suppose it made sense he'd be desensitized. My companions, though, weren't quite so thrilled at the prospect of a "trial" for us to conquer for varying reasons.

"Hey, I didn't ask to be part of this," Barry said reluctantly.

Too bad, I thought, you're already in pretty deep.

"Let me guess, you're not gonna help us," Tiara assumed of the bird.

The phoenix tilted his head this way and that. "I never implied I would."

True, otherwise why would he ask us to go get it?

"Well, how do you know we won't run off with it instead?" Rouge asked with a daring smirk.

"I don't." Tet's aura intensified as his face hardened. "But I'll be able to tell if you do. As I said, I can sense its energies, or more accurately, the energies of the gem slotted in it."

I wasn't eager to test what would happen if we did, nor was that my intention in the first place. But, if he could sense where the Crown was, I felt I could possibly use that and some other recently acquired knowledge to my advantage.

"Barry, you said that Gunner Green went down that passage over there, right?" I inquired of the quokka, who nodded back. I then met the phoenix's gaze. "And would you say the Crown is in that direction?"

Tet briefly examined the aforementioned tunnel. "That wasn't there before. But to answer your question, yeah, I feel it over that way." He floated back up to his nest and landed on the rim, stretching out before roosting comfortably. "And that's all the help I'm giving you. No hard feelings, just following the Old Man's orders."

"Right...we'll be on our way."

I would've questioned him on who this "Old Man" was, but with a statement like that, I knew he wouldn't answer. We had wasted enough time as it was, and now that we had an idea of where to go, it behooved us not to dawdle further.

Much as Barry wanted to protest coming along, and me agreeing that he shouldn't, with the intel we'd picked up, he was safer with us. Three of the four Flickies decided to stay behind with Tet, while Red made the choice to accompany us, sticking close to the two marsupials. A couple of minutes later, the path widened further and lights were strung up along the rocky walls, which had definitely been smoothed out by equipment. The walkable portion came to an end at what appeared to be a train platform, with four sets of tracks, two on the ground and two on the ceiling, that went in two different directions. On top of them were a few carts with seats and steering more akin to that of a motorcycle, and four flexible legs with what appeared to be superconductive magnets in place of feet.

"Wasn't R&D working on something like this?" Rouge asked me as she looked one over.

My own brief examination confirmed her suspicion. "They're similar in design, although if the ceiling rails are anything to go by, then this modified Extreme Gear might be more advanced than what G.U.N. is crafting."

In addition, the controls had been built in mind that even someone unfamiliar with the tech could figure them out with little difficulty. I demonstrated such by straddling the cart and turning it on by pressing the largest button on the steering device, then twisted the throttle on one side to get it going for several meters. Turning the other handle reversed the vehicle, and last but most certainly not least, there were the two smaller buttons adjacent to the center one. Pressing just one of them allowed the cart to "jump" off the track momentarily, while hitting both simultaneously reoriented it so that the magnets were attracted to the ceiling tracks. As it did so, braces emerged near my waist and ankles to help secure me while I was upside-down.

I returned to the lower rails, whereupon the cart released me so that I could get up and off of it. Mere seconds after I did, I heard Tiara cry out in alarm along with a quickly building roar of some sort coming from behind.

"Ace, look out!"

I jumped clear of the cart without bothering to look behind me, for if I had taken the time, I would've been hit by what was a massive incoming fireball. Even after missing me and destroying the craft, it hadn't fizzled out or died down, and flew back in the direction it came from. It disappeared down the barrel of a handgun that should've been too small to produce such a thing, wielded by an unidentifiable green figure atop an equally verdant floating platform.

"Speedy the Ace," she addressed me as her ride slowly brought her closer, "I won't let you have the Crown of Delusion."

I growled and readied the weaponry in my suit. "You must be Gunner Green. Barry has told me that you don't seem very fond of me."

"Never mind him or your other allies of convenience," Green answered back, cocking the slide on her pistol, "you and Al are the ones I'm after."

Tiara scoffed and twirled the scepter around. "He's the one trying to fix this whole mess! And guess what? You're not the only one that can throw fireballs, lady!"

With a swing of her weapon, the bandicoot lobbed three flaming projectiles at the mysterious woman. A light blue beam extended from the barrel of her firearm, and with hardly any effort, she slashed through the projectiles, which instantly dissipated when she did. We were more than a little stunned at that, even with Barry's prior information; seeing it first hand had more of an impact than just hearing about it, after all.

"Don't get in my way," Green said with a dangerous tone, "I have no beef with you or anyone else here besides the ex-prince."

If that was true, then she wouldn't pursue them if I were to split up from the rest of the group. And since she was so insistent on fighting me, I figured why not give her what she wanted?

"Get going, all of you," I ordered Rouge and the rest, "I'll catch up."

My partner looked at me as though I'd said something nuts. "Ace, we don't have time–"

"That's exactly why you need to go!" I cut her off angrily, "now get out of here!"

Rouge glanced between Green and I, then nodded, quickly urging Tiara and Barry over to the carts. I waited a couple of moments until I was sure they'd all driven away before focusing my attention on the current threat. Seeing her for myself, I estimated that her build was similar to that of Prower's, though she was overall bigger, albeit not quite as much as the Wolf twins.

"Why are you so set against me?" I questioned her, "we have a common foe, yet you confront me at the first chance. Who are you and what have I done to invoke your ire?"

There was another click as she drew back and released the slide on her gun, the inside of the barrel changing to cyan. "Who I am isn't important. And while what you have done isn't insignificant, what you will do if action isn't taken is the more prominent concern!"

How utterly cryptic. She thought she knew me that well, did she? Then I suppose it was only fair to compare against her expectations.