Author's Beginning Notes: Hey, all! I just wanted to profusely apologize for taking so long to make this chapter, as 1.) I had been having issues making this up to my set standards, not only in quality but in terms of actually advancing the story. And 2.) Two words. College. Sucks. So far, I'm now done with my Junior Year, and the entire Spring semester was nothing but constant work. It took a few all-nighters and some messing up of my sleep schedule but I made it.

I hope you enjoy, hopefully, I'll be less wishy-washy with this story.

I also thought about changing the title of this story (Reborn is such a cliche title, that it hurts me.) Anyone who has any ideas are welcome to comment them down below!

On with the chapter, already!

—

CHAPTER 4 - NEW FRIENDS, NEW HEIGHTS

Maurice hated hospitals. He didn't know if it was the sterile smell that made his sensitive nostrils scrunch up in unease, the irritatingly bright white paint on its walls, or the constant noise. The backstreets of Central City had a calming ambiance to them sometimes, while the hallways of Central City Hospital beeped, murmured, and yelled constantly. Even Nack's little corner of the world didn't have this much going on.

As the hedgehog looked around for the front desk, his ears twitched; the building was overstimulating, at least in a way that he wasn't used to. His eyes zoning into a desk with a somewhat attentive attendant there at least gave him enough peace to occupy himself away from the noise.

"Hi, I'm lookin' for a Miles? About yay-high, two tails?" he asked as he put his flat palm to about his chest to show the attendant the fox's height.

The attendant yawned as she typed a few keys on her keyboard before rolling in her chair over to a filer to slowly work on her nails. "Are you family or a friend?"

"A friend. Please, I just wanna see 'em for just a minute."

The attendant, who Maurice saw was named Ginger due to her nametag, reached over for a phone, dialing a couple of buttons before putting it up to her ear. "Yes, I have a…"

Ginger stopped, before nuzzling the phone into the crook of her neck to mute the microphone inside as she asked in a whisper, "What's your name, hun?"

"Oh! Maur-..." he stopped himself. "Sonic. Tell 'em' it's Sonic. He probably knows me by that more."

The attendant cocked her eyebrow at the nickname. The utterance of that word seemed to have brought confusion to her. Maurice just shrugged softly, chuckling nervously to brush it off. He figured that saying that word would possibly have some sort of effect, all things considered.

"I have a… Sonic here? Is the patient available to receive any visitors?"

Maurice, although the phone's speaker mode wasn't on, could hear the other voice almost clear as day; hedgehogs like him had a very distinct set of senses, mainly smell and hearing, that was only matched by bats and the like. He didn't even need to lean in to hear the woman on the other end of the phone say that the fox was still in need of some rest. The hedgehog shook his head, and Ginger noticed.

"Yes, thank you," she said as she hung up the phone. "I'm sorry, sir, our patient is going to need some more rest before he's able to receive visitors."

"Ma'am, without trying to make things difficult, I need to talk to him like… yesterday."

"Whatever you have to tell him can wait, I'm sure."

Maurice started to speak again, before Ginger interrupted him with a quick draw of her finger, pointing toward the waiting areas. He sighed and walked over, sitting in a chair, defeated. He crossed his arms and grumbled, peeking over at the door where he needed to go. 'I need to get in there without her knowing, but how?'he thought.

Suddenly, his ears picked up on a nearby device vibrating; it was Ginger's personal cell phone. He saw the woman pick it up before walking through a nearby door with a brown paper bag in hand. It was her lunch break.

Maurice cleared his throat and nonchalantly stretched himself before speeding out of there, causing a whirlwind of papers to fly everywhere near the front desk. Through the doors were nothing but hallways. Through the hallways were nothing but rooms, and through the rooms showed no sign of the little fox.

"C'mon, kid, where are…" he mumbled to himself as a bright flash of rajah color zoomed by his vision. Sonic gasped and skidded to a halt. Looking into what he thought was the right room, through the window, he saw Tails, curled up in a ball on the bed, sound asleep.

He sighed as he quickly opened the door and shut it quietly.

—

Tails' eyes slowly fluttered open, his perspective seeing a door, a table, and a rolling office chair through much of the blur.

"Finally. Took ya' long enough, kid." he heard a sudden voice say.

The fox yelped as he scrambled out of the bed and turned, seeing the hedgehog that had helped him earlier laying on a nearby couch. He was reading The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. Quickly, the hedgehog put the book down and held a hand out.

"Woah, woah. It's okay, kid, it's just me. Remember? The guy who helped you out at the Expo!"

Tails nervously let his guard down, leaning against a wall to catch his breath. "S-Sorry! I thought you were a doctor about to ambush me with another shot!"

Maurice chuckled, "Nope. No needles here, bud. Just me."

"How did you even get in?!" the fox whispered the last part.

"I snuck in when someone wasn't lookin', it's fine! The important part is, first off, are you okay, kid? They takin' care of you alright here?"

"Yeah. They've been giving me painkillers, and I should be able to come out tomorrow."

Maurice let in a long inhale and exhale. "About that, the other important part has something to do with maybe gettin' ya out a little early. I… need your help."

"My help? With what?"

"That guy who got ya' stuck. He went off with that gemstone, and I was wondering if ya' could help me and a couple of other buddies out."

"You kidding?"

Maurice felt a twinge of disappointment at that moment, not that he could blame the kid. Asking him just as he seemed to be recovering in a hospital after nearly dying via maniac attack? It would be too-

"I'll do anything you need me to do, as best I can!"

The hedgehog's eyebrow cocked as he heard the second half of the fox's response, "M' sorry?"

"That doctor hurt a lot of people today! Forget my ribs, they're fine, just a little fracture. They'll heal up in like, a week or so."

"Are… ya' sure that's healthy to think that way?"

Tails chuckled as he hobbled over to a small leather bag in a corner. He quickly picked it up and went through it, seemingly trying to find something. Soon, his eyes lit up. "I'm sure! Look."

His hand pulled out a device of his. It was a tablet, complete with yellow accents and a sticker of a logo with two tails. Embossed text named it the "Miles Electric."

"Woah…" Maurice whispered, eyes widened in awe, "What is that?"

Tails chuckled nervously as he diddled with the knobs and controls on each side to go through the dozens of programs the Miles Electric had. "Oh, this? I swiped a motherboard off an old Earth tablet from a junkyard and put it in something more close to my speed. Whatever you want it to do, it can do."

"Is that why ya' were at that Expo?"

"Not really, I was just trying to get some new Allen wrenches since I keep losing mine. Got a little something different than what I bargained for… thanks again."

Maurice scoffed softly, "Don't worry. Look, don't feel like ya' owe me anything and that's why yer' saying yes."

"You said so yourself. You hate bullies, and so do I."

The hedgehog stayed silent before nodding. "Okay, then."

A few knocks on the door alerted the two.

"Security!" a booming voice said from behind the door, "Mr. Sonic, we're here to escort you off the premises."

Tails looked in shock, before his face slowly fell, looking at the hedgehog. His face then contorted to an even harsher shock as he whispered, "You trespassed security to see me?!"

"I was tired of waiting!" Maurice whispered back.

The doorknob wobbled egregiously, causing the two Mobians inside to look around. Maurice saw a nearby window, zipping over. He grunted as he put his hands all around the frame, looking for a way to open it. No such luck; not even a hinge or latch. Being a window only on the second floor, he figured it wouldn't have been that easy.

"You down to go now?" Maurice quickly asked the fox.

"What?" The fox asked, eyes widened, his mind racing due to the chaos.

"Going now. Like, leaving. Now!"

The noises behind the hospital room door transitioned from the door knob wiggling to the jingling of keys. Maurice looked for Tails for an answer, who was still silent. He looked back at the door, then to the window, shaking his head.

"Screw it," he whispered, "Just lemme know when yer' out!"

Quickly, the hedgehog took the rolling office chair in his hands, running over to the window. Before the fox had a moment to finally respond, the window was smashed out in one swing. Maurice swiftly brought himself to stand in the frame. He turned.

Maurice gave the kid a thumbs up, "Just gimme a call when yer' out, alright? Get better, kid!"

"Wait—!" Tails yelled out.

Tails gasped as he ran over to the frame just as he saw the Blue Blur jump out.

Maurice was already prepared; he was thankfully aiming for a nearby pole to hang onto, knowing that a fall that high would be hurtful. The two-second plan would've gone smoothly if he didn't feel himself get grabbed mid-air! He let out a gasp as he looked down, seeing the cars and people below him going about their day.

Looking up, he saw the fox, leather bag strapped to his shoulder, grabbing onto his arms. Maurice's eyes widened when he realized; Tails was carrying him!

"Don't worry, my ribs are strong enough for t-this! I gotcha!" Tails said with a smirk, straining to carry all of the hedgehog's weight at first.

"Y-ya got me… but, who's got you?!" Maurice yelled out.

The flurry of yellowish-orange and white above him answered his question. His tails were spinning at such a high speed that they were like helicopter rotors. Maurice's agape mouth turned into a smile, letting out a hard laugh. "Holy crap! You can fly?!"

"Ha, yeah! My friend saw me do it one time, and that's how he came up with the name," he replied cheerfully, despite the obvious tensity in his voice as he tried not to drop his new friend.

"Ya know what, kid, ya' ever think about writing about all this? Your life seems perfect for a novel." Maurice half-joked.

Tails laughed back, "No, but ya know what I have written when something happens to me, good or bad?"

"What's that?"

"Letters." he replied, "Sometimes for people, sometimes for me. Never gets delivered, and it helps me let anything bottled up out! It's really therapeutic!"

Maurice stayed silent, thinking of the idea.

"Letters…"

—

A frustrated scream echoed throughout yet another one of the mad doctor's hideouts, followed by a metallic bang. If it weren't for the padded white gloves, the sides of Robotnik's hands would be thoroughly bruised, but they weren't.

"I got one, but I couldn't get the other. And now, that rat, that pesky rodent has two?! I'm never going to get enough energy!" he whined, using his arm to swipe a few assorted items off the top of his desk in a rage.

Cluck stood there, again, still as a sculpture can be.

"Be quiet, Cluck… I need to think."

Robotnik bit back a grumble as he looked down at his gloves, then past his desk to see the army of badniks before him. The Crabmeats sat with their claws out, the Choppers laid flat. "I know, children. All of you will see the light of day soon enough. If it wasn't for that fast, blue…"

As if sideswiped by a missile of his own design, a memory presented itself to the doctor, hitting him so hard that he paused himself.

"Blue…"

A blue hedgehog with super speed.

While the kid speeding off as fast as he did during the Expo surprised him, the chaos and the adrenaline for snuffing the flame out of little Snively's existence distracted him too much. Even the sneakers.

"You idiot!" he yelled at himself. "But… there's no way… There's no way he's actually-"

Robotnik pulled up a screen on his computer monitor, typing a few keys into his keyboard. He was hacking into a CCTV database, looking for any camera angles that may have gotten a clear look at the pest. The doctor mumbled as he looked through each file, almost three hundred gigabytes each.

Finally, he had found one that had a perfect angle of the Expo chaos; with Snively and Robotnik almost perfectly center frame, having a one-sided standoff. Then, that fiend showed up as well. He paused the footage and with a few more taps of the keys, let the image print out of a nearby slot.

The doctor grasped it and looked it up and down.

The first thing he noticed had to be the blue color. He, at first, brushed it off as plenty of Mobians, even hedgehogs were sometimes blue. It was a side effect of the evolution of the Mobian, or rather the mutation from simple Earth creatures. The appearances and pollution of the bright, saturated colors were the first to show, with the proportions and slow learning of languages coming later.

It was the sneakers. The green eyes. Not to mention the speed. Each sign brought more and more strain on his muscles, his teeth gritting more and more against one another, practically feeling the enamel being crushed into dust.

"Cluck, do we have anything to do with genetic testing?" Robotnik whispered.

Nothing from the metal scrap statue, as always.

"Of course… it's completely fine." he said as he once again went for the audio recorder and pushed the button, "Entry 1556D; This… distraction has the same physical features and even the old sneakers that I saw on him. Not going to assume anything yet, though."

He pressed the button and tossed it aside, taking a moment. Inside, he really wasn't willing to accept that the hedgehog that ruined his life had gone and died, leaving him with an even more hellish offspring to deal with, like an infestation of wasps. The doctor grumbled again as he went onto the computer and typed for Sonic the Hedgehog; anything and everything related to him.

Articles came up.

Sonic the Hedgehog Found DEAD in Home!

Wife Turns Self In, World-Class Athlete Killed

Robotnik read each word carefully. He could even imagine the scenario as he took in every single bit of information, a slight smirk twitching into existence at the corner of his mouth as his mustache followed suit.

—

Jules was laying there.

Sonic the Hedgehog laid there, mumbling in his deep sleep, his legs twitching as a pool of crimson spread close to them. His iconic hairdo was stained. His eyes were shut.

Towering above him was Aleena, shuddering with a broken bottle in hand. "What have you done?…"

"What have you done, Aleena?" she whispered to herself, tears in her eyes. She shook so much that her blonde and deep purple hair of hers bounced with each vibration.

Finally, the woman let out a pained scream, pointing the broken bottle at her husband, "I told you not to do that, you dumb son of a…!"

She couldn't even finish the sentence as she collapsed onto her knees, leaning on the nearby table. The hedgehog let out a few gasping cries as she tried to even comprehend what she just did. She felt dirty.

But, it was in self-defense, right?

That was the justification.

He came at her, and she told him not to, so she retaliated. While she didn't lean down to check his pulse, the twitching and the fact that she saw his green eyes roll into the back of his head said that he was, at the very least, very hurt. Her breath was broken, delivered only in shudders as the realization continued to sink in.

She killed him.

But, it was in self-defense. Right?

—

Robotnik's black eyes continued to skim through all of the articles until one peculiar section popped up. Each word that passed by slowly caused his hands to grip the table below him, making it tremble.

When the address was investigated, authorities found many children's toys, baby food, diapers, and enough supplies for an estimated three children. Hedgehog has denied any existence of a child in their family, saying that both she and her husband were wanting to have a child but they didn't have any luck. The Child Protective Services branch has stated that while some may buy baby or child-related materials or supplies to fill in 'some gap in their heart,' the Hedgehogs may have even more secrets.

Whether they will be taken to the grave or be exposed while Aleena serves her sentence, or be found out by authorities, is anybody's guess.

For more, click here.

Robotnik had heard enough. He flipped the table, causing yet another setup to be trashed in his rage. The doctor seethed at the images that flashed through his head.

"Well, Jules. Seems you and the old lady had been through a lot since I went underground… and got busy!" he yelled out into the darkness, with only echoes of himself to respond, "Unfortunate you're no longer shuffling around this mortal coil, Jules."

Besides Snively, Jules was the second, sometimes swapping first, person on the mad doctor's hit list. Always wanting a chance to get back from causing the mess of insanity that he was in now. Figuring that the man beat his wife, there was a small sliver of light inside the husk of a man he labeled himself as that said he was glad that he paid for his violence against the woman.

Since the celebrity was not around to give Robotnik that satisfaction, however, and with his plans of using his badniks against the world, however, something inside changed.

If Jules wasn't around to let Robotnik get even more of that sweet taste of vengeance, someone else will be more than capable.

Robotnik walked over to grab one specific badnik; a Burrobot, a mole-based robot capable of underground ambush or excavation work. On its nose was a large cone-shaped screwing mechanism, made out of iron. He figured that even though they weren't as strong as his monocoque titanium exoskeletons and armor, but for their purpose. They would do nicely.

As the doctor gripped the drill bit, he pulled, and with a little elbow grease, he ripped the nose out of the Burrobot. Robotnik walked over to the other Burrobots and began dealing the same to them as well.

He put the noses in an assortment, five of them with a scrap of titanium left over, forming a hand.

A small whispering voice flickered in the back of his mind and Robotnik turned to the chicken sculpture again, "Why, yes, Cluck. Yes, indeed, I'm gonna go after the kid. He's being as much of a thorn in my side as his father was, it's only fitting. Poetic. It rhymes…"

Titanium piles built up around him. Motors from badniks who would be better off with other systems. Robotnik gathered as much as he felt was needed. In the near-darkness with his sight only on the idea in front, his slow chuckles became cackles.

"Unfortunate indeed, Jules." Robotnik heartedly cheered as he raised a hammer to slam down onto the titanium, "But, I am the Good Doctor after all. I'll see what I can do!"

The hand made of drill bits practically stared at its creator as it began forging what it would be owned by.

—

"Are you sure that device is working properly, fox?" Knuckles frustratingly asked as the fronts of his shoes kicked a pebble forward.

Tails scoffed, letting out a half-shrug. "Listen, redhead, this is about the best I can cobble together with as little time as possible. I'm only eleven, after all."

"Wait, what?" Maurice quietly asked.

"Dude, I'm eleven."

"You brought this child into our battle?! I knew you were stupid, but this?" Knuckles stared Mauric down, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Do you want to see the doctor get a second chance at killing the pipsqueak?!"

"What?!" Maurice said, "No! Of course not! We need as much brains as we do brawns to beat this guy."

Knuckles let out a small chuckle before pounding his two fists together. "Find the other Chaos Emeralds, find out what this… Robotnik needs them for. A toy won't help us any more than these fists, your legs, and the princess's little robot friend. Even that royal pain won't be needed, really. Don't get me started on you, hedgehog."

Maurice paused, putting a single hand on top of the echidna to make him stop walking as well. He let out a sharp exhale.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear ya' about the royal pain part. Ya know what, some of that may be true. Go after Robotnik yerself' and see where that gets you. That still doesn't give ya' the validation to talk about him like that!" Maurice said at first softly, before yelling the last sentence loudly.

His hedgehog eyes met the fox's who too paused his trek through the forest to watch. He saw the kid clutch onto the radar device closely. The fact that instead of Tails, he saw a little Maurice instead, he at first questioned why. Then, he knew.

Maurice grumbled before he continued walking, side by side with Tails, "Besides, that radar's getting us seemingly closer than your 'sense' has."

"I overlook similar power on my island, thank Chaos Robotnik didn't know. I would've thought that maybe it'd work on the emeralds too."

As they reached the top of a specific hill where the treeline dissipated, Maurice and Tails stopped, eyes widened at the sight before them. Behind them, Knuckles still rambled, "Not because there's another emerald, but… what are you two gawking at?"

Knuckles joined the duo and stopped as well. He let out a small whistle; in front of them stood a large stone temple, decorated with carvings of large beasts and darkness, images of the planet splitting open and mist covering its atmosphere. "What is that?"

"A Gaia temple. Built-in six other locations around the world, they are used as a worshiping beacon for Light and Dark Gaia." Tails explained, "Two gods who keep the balance between the safety of day and the darkness that's unleashed at night. Self-explanatory there, though, I guess."

As he felt the other two look at him, he stared back. "I had lunch with a professor over at Spagonia one time. Was weird, but I learned a lot from him!"

"Yes, yes, anyways. Let's go in and get that Chaos Emerald!" Knuckles said, raising his hand to rally the two troops of his.

"Hold on, there could be… traps…" Tails yelled after the echidna, who was already running head-first toward the temple with no sign of stopping, "Is he always like this?"

Maurice patted the kitsune's back a couple of times with his open palms gently, letting out a small laugh as he shook his head, "Dunno. I met the guy less than twenty-four hours ago, so who knows?"

Soon, he too followed, kicking dust up as he ran. Tails smirked softly as he yelled after the hedgehog, hand cupped against the edge of his mouth to amplify his meeker voice. Seemingly, it worked as his voice reached the hedgehog. "Hey! Where are you going?!"

"C'mon, we're makin' this a race! The last one to the Chaos Emerald is a rotten egg-man!" Maurice called back, before turning back around to zip into the main entrance in a blue, thunderous streak.

Tails sighed, still smiling brightly, as he walked calmly toward the temple.

The route that both the warrior and speedster chose seemed dangerous. As the two looked on at all the obstacles that laid before them, all they did was look at one another. Maurice was barely able to keep up the excitement, while Knuckles seemed

"You know, perhaps I will indeed have my chance to beat you, hedgehog. Just not in the way I hoped." Knuckles scoffed.

Maurice smirked, "C'mon, warrior, ya' gotta focus."

"Focus? Says the one who so obviously has something wrong with his head."

"...Did you just call me slow?" Maurice whispered, his aura changing from excitement to offense in milliseconds.

The echidna's muzzle flushed red as he realized what he had just said to the hedgehog, "W-What? No! I did not mean…"

"You're an ableist!" Maurice cried out.

"Q-Quiet! I… I did not mean that you are slow! You're just…"

"Gotcha." Maurice whispered, before zooming to the first section of hallways. Arrows behind him flew as pressure plates that let them out were activated, piercing the stone walls on each side.

Knuckles scoffed as he figured out that he had once again been tricked.

"Little did he know, he's setting off the traps for me to pass by safely!" he said to himself, letting a smirk draw upon his muzzle, "The warrior must work smarter, not work harder… but they must still work hard!"

—

Large steel axes swung, missing the tiniest furs on the top of both the echidna and hedgehog's heads. They both yelped as they had to duck in order to avoid becoming roasted holiday dinners via flamethrowers. Maurice avoided the water pits by wall-running while Knuckles tried to run past the crookedness of some of the halls.

"Not all of these are perpendicular!" Knuckles yelled as he crashed his fists upon a statue that spat sharp rocks, "It's messing with my head!"

Maurice, trying to keep up, panted as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "Ya know, as exciting as this is, I'm just about ready to see that Chaos Emerald!"

As soon as the two felt like they could, they both stopped to take a breather, grasping their knees for any support they could muster. The two looked at one another, before taking a look at their surroundings.

"Ya know, there's a bunch a' spikes about to pop out at ya?" Maurice said in between grunts and pants, his voice now raspy from the constant arguing with the echidna.

"You as well…" Knuckles, voice raspy as well, pointed out.

Without looking, the two stepped a couple of feet to their side, barely dodging a sudden appearance of large spikes which popped out of each respective side wall of the room. Maurice, as he slowly caught his breath again, saw something that caught his eye; a skull impaled on the end of a specific spike.

"Ya know, these Gaia worshippers really protect their stuff. How did they even get to where they're going?" Maurice said.

"Are we sure that is not a… Gaia worshiper, like you speak of?"

"… Probably best we keep moving. I don't feel like addin' to this place's collection."

Slowly, the spikes retracted, the surrounding rock pushing the skull out of the spike and onto the ground. The two Mobians slowly got up, their bearings gathered.

"What's yer' name again?" the hedgehog asked.

"Knuckles."

"Sounds about right… Thank you for helping, Knuckles. And f' not killin' me as quick as you could've." Maurice replied back with a small smile.

"Trust me, if I had plans to kill you, you would've been… What's yours?"

Maurice sighed, knowing he had been silent. "I sometimes go by Maurice, but the kid sometimes calls me Sonic."

"Sonic… that kid can call you whatever, but if you do not mind, I think I'll stick with the many insults I have in my head. Ultramarine porcupine, dirty forest child, electric alley-rat…" Knuckles said, listing off even more names, each more creative than the last.

Maurice snickered, as he walked over to a large door. "Okay, okay, I get it. Just help me lift this door, and we'll be home free, I think."

Knuckles shoved the hedgehog out of the way, cracking his fingers with his boxing gloves before he leaned over to grasp at the bottom of the slab. With a little straining, he was able to move it an inch. Maurice let out a small cheer as he rolled over to help.

Above them, a loud thud sounded throughout the room. The two stopped their pulling to look behind them; another concrete slab opened slowly, revealing a dark hallway. Without budging, the two stared into the darkness, trying to see what was in it.

Maurice then felt it. Rumbling that did nothing but grow, to the point where little pebbles and bits of dirt vibrate and jump around. A tinge of fear struck his heart as he tried to look further, and his heart would sink to the ground when he saw it. It was a humongous, spiked boulder, and it was very quickly rolling its way down the hallway toward them.

"Knux… okay, c'mon, man, let's get this open, let's get this open!" he said, his breath and voice speeding up in fear.

The two struggled as they finally got the door up, not paying any attention to the incoming doom behind them, for good reason. Finally, with one push from Knuckles, the door was high enough to let them in.

"Hedgehog! Go!" Knuckles' voice boomed to his new 'companion.'

Maurice looked at him with a trusting nod, as he curled himself into a ball to spin dash toward the other side. Just as quickly as he came in, he got to the other side of the slab to grab it. He grunted, letting out as much strength as possible to keep it open. "Go, get outta there!"

Knuckles let one last pull keep the door open as much as possible, before he too rolled toward the other side of the slab. The second Maurice let go, the slab door slammed shut, followed by the large thud of the spiked ball hitting against it. Finally, the two Mobians were safe.

Maurice lifted a closed fist as they both leaned against the slab, catching their breath once again. Knuckles, of course, answered with a fist bump, which was a bit too harsh for Maurice's weaker fingers to handle. As the hedgehog let out a soft grunt of pain, rubbing the now probably bruised skin, it was only then that they noticed a shape in front of them.

"You two took a while." Tails said.

In front of them, the kitsune was tossing the Chaos Emerald in the air again and again, while gripping the Miles Electric in the other. The room itself was large, with an altarpiece of Light and Dark Gaia overlooking a small podium; possibly where the gemstone was.

"I dunno why you two took the hard route, I just came in via a small tunnel." he continued, " Apparently these guys knew how to make air vents back in those days. Neat, huh?"

The hedgehog and echidna looked at one another with whatever remaining strength was left, before passing out on the floor right there to get some not so well-earned rest.

—

Author Notes: Whew, I feel like I need a break after that temple run. Hey! TennesseanArtist/TeenageHedgie here again!

Team Sonic is officially here, albeit in the most infant form possible. They still have the makings to be just a small part of a large family, though. Unfortunately, with the more emeralds they find, it seems like they're getting closer to the end of the line, or rather, the end of Robotnik's rope. What does the mad doctor have planned, now that he knows who Maurice really is? Will our heroes have as much luck retrieving the remaining Chaos Emeralds? Stay tuned to find out next chapter!

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and as always, (constructive) criticism is always appreciated! See y'all next chapter!

Yours truly, TA/TH!