As Eggman takes off in his Eggmobile, Tails notices what it's carrying suspended on a cable underneath. "Eggman, dead ahead, and he's got the Mobini in an Egg Prison!"

"I see him, bud!" Sonic replies. "Stay on him!"

"Already on it!"

Ignoring the fleeing Witchcarters, Tails turns the Tornado and pushes the biplane as fast as he can to catch up with the Eggmobile. However, the top speed isn't as high as Sonic expected. "I thought this thing could fly faster than this?"

"Only with the rocket booster attached," Tails explains. "I left it on Sky Patrol, remember?"

Oh yeah, I remember now; I said we wouldn't need it. "Hindsight, huh? No worries, we'll catch him anyway," Sonic assures.

A couple of minutes behind, Clara continues to follow in Jenna, sickened by the sight of the Egg Prison dangling below the Eggmobile. Don't worry my animal friends, I'll make sure you get home safely.

Eventually, the Tornado catches up to the Eggmobile.

"Drop the Mobini, Eggman!" Sonic demands.

Just as I planned. "If you insist," Eggman replies, grinning malevolently as he presses a button.

The claw at the end of the cable opens, dropping the Egg Prison.

"Poor choice of words," Sonic groans to himself. "Tails! Get me in position!"

"On it!" Tails replies, pitching the Tornado into a steep dive, quickly catching up to the plummeting Egg Prison. "Go for it!"

Sonic dashes to the far end of the biplane's top wing, quickly charges a Peel Out, and speeds off the wing towards the Egg Prison's release button. However, sudden turbulence knocks the Tornado off course, causing Sonic to miss the button by less than an inch. "Tails!"

"I got ya!" Tails banks the Tornado hard and catches Sonic on the top wing. "I'll bring you round for another shot!"

But Eggman has other ideas. "Get a load of this!" he cackles, pressing another button.

A laser cannon emerges from under the Eggmobile, aims at the Tornado, and opens fire.

"Woah!" Tails exclaims, forced to make evasive manoeuvres that drive the biplane away from the Egg Prison. "I can't get close!"

"Just keep trying!" Sonic encourages.

Pushing both himself and the Tornado to the limit, Tails tries once more to get close to the Egg Prison‑

Three laser bolts shred the upper starboard wing, pitching the Tornado into a violent spin that allows another laser bolt to puncture the lower port wing.

"Hang on!" Tails yells as he wrestles with the controls, recovering level flight just in time to see the Egg Prison disappear beneath the clouds. "Phew! Sonic, you still there?"

"Sure am bud, but we're not catching the Egg Prison now," Sonic replies. "Stay on Eggman; I'll let Nicole know what happened." Sonic activates his wrist communicator. "Bad news Nicole: Eggman dropped an Egg Prison over the ocean and shot out one of our wings."

"Stay on Eggman," Nicole replies. "We'll send Antoine and Bunnie to find the Egg Prison."

"Tell them to guide the Mobini that survive the drop back to Westside Island," Tails requests.

"You get that?" Sonic asks Nicole.

"Already on it," Nicole acknowledges.

Sonic closes communications. "How much longer can we stay airborne?"

"A few minutes," Tails replies. "We need to land ASAP."

"Darn it!" Sonic exclaims… then notices something in the clouds. "Wait, what's that?"

Tails peers through the clouds and sees what Sonic sees. "It's… No, it can't be!"

"But we're nowhere near Never Lake," Sonic replies.

"It's not Little Planet," Tails corrects.

"Then what is it?"

"It's the Lost Hex!"

"What's that?"

"I'll explain once we've landed," Tails promises. "Now hang on, it's gonna be a rough one!"

A few minutes behind, Clara witnesses the entire battle. Initially, she thinks about chasing the Egg Prison, but she quickly concludes there's no way she can save the trapped Mobini as Jenna wouldn't be able to catch the Egg Prison before it slams into the ocean, nor is it built to land on water.

And then the engine splutters. Uh‑oh. A quick check reveals Jenna still has plenty of fuel. Just what I need: a breakdown. Better find land before she conks out.

That's when she notices something emerging from the clouds. Wait… Is that what I think it is? But it can't be! The Lost Hex is just a legend!

The engine splutters again. Darn it! Legend or not, I have no choice but to land on it.

Eggman watches as the Tornado drops towards the Lost Hex. "That should buy me enough time," he remarks to himself as he turns towards a different part of the Lost Hex. "Orbot, have you found them yet?"

"I'm detecting six high‑energy lifeforms in the volcanic region," Orbot replies.

"Excellent," Eggman grins in anticipation. "Time to pay them a visit."

"Are you sure that's wise, sir?" Orbot asks. "Those manuscripts weren't the most comforting read."

"That's why I have the Cacophonic Conch," Eggman explains. "You did pack it, didn't you?"

"Of course, sir," Orbot confirms.

"Are you sure? I thought we packed that scary‑looking purple seashell instead?" Cubot asks, confused.

"That is the Cacophonic Conch," Orbot clarifies, facepalming in frustration.

"Oh," Cubot replies. "What does it do?"

"You'll see soon enough," Eggman answers.

The peaceful tranquillity of the verdant pastures of the grasslands of the Lost Hex is pierced by the sound of a biplane approaching for a crash landing.

"We're coming in too fast!" Sonic yells.

"I'm trying everything I can!" Tails replies. "Hang on: we're about to hit!"

The Tornado slams into the ground, carving a shallow trench as to grinds to a halt. His seat harness keeps Tails in the plane, but Sonic is thrown clear and tears through a nearby bush, tumbling a few dozen feet before coming to rest.

Silence falls, both Sonic and Tails knocked unconscious by the crash.

A few minutes later, Jenna's engine fails completely before Clara can make a safe landing. Left with no choice but to glide, she tries to avoid crashing into a cluster of trees, but without power, she stands no chance. This is gonna hurt. "I'm sorry Jenna; I did my best."

Jenna strikes the treetops, losing its landing gear and flipping before slamming into the ground, where it digs in and tumbles several times before finally coming to rest upside‑down, Clara suspended unconscious in her seat.

Half an hour later, Clara stirs awake, her body sore and aching from the accident. Owwww… At least I'm alive. Opening her eyes, all she can see is grass above her. Huh? What on‑ Oh, I'm upside‑down. Clara takes a moment to gather herself, then braces against the frame with one hand while releasing her harness with the other.

The instant the harness is released, she drops straight onto her head with a yelp and collapses in a heap. That was dumb. Dazed, Clara crawls out of the broken wreckage of Jenna, rolls over, and lays on her back, staring up at the sky. Gonna rest until the sky's stopped swirling.

A few minutes later, the sky stops swirling. Wincing as her stiff limbs refuse to fully co‑operate, Clara gets to her feet, sways a little as she gains her balance, then looks around her crash site. Where am I? And where are Sonic and Tails? As she looks around, Clara spots her backpack thirty feet away. Must have fallen out during the crash.

Clara's first step falters, dropping her onto her knees. However, her second attempt to stand and walk is more successful, and she manages to stiffly limp to her backpack before dropping to her knees again. I hope everything's intact in here…

Ten minutes later, after bandaging the few scrapes and cuts she received in the crash, Clara finishes her bottle of water and protein energy bar, the aches and pains throughout her body beginning to fade as its healing mechanisms work their magic. Looks like I won't be taking off anytime soon: she's a total write‑off. And even if I could rebuild her, she'll be too weak to survive the flight home… Guess I'll have to get a lift on the Tornado… if it survived.

After returning the empty bottle and wrapper to her backpack, she pushes herself to her feet, slings the backpack over her shoulder, returns to the wreckage of Jenna, and quickly confirms it's completely unsalvageable. Placing her hands tenderly on the buckled frame, she closes her eyes and hangs her head. "Farewell Jenna, my dearest friend and most faithful companion. As short as it was, I'll never forget the time we had together."

After a minute's respectful silence in tribute to her wrecked ultralight, Clara takes a deep breath to compose herself, quickly gets her bearings, and sets off in the direction of where she's sure the Tornado crashed, limping slightly.

Sonic stirs, vaguely aware he's being prodded repeatedly. "Mrrh… Not now Ames, I'm trying to sleep," he groans as awareness slowly returns, his eyes fluttering open a few moments later to see a pink blur in front of him. "Alright Amy, I'm awake," he sighs. "What do you want?"

The response is a series of confused squeaks.

Sonic blinks a few times to bring his vision into focus, the blur resolving into a pink orb with a single blue eye, five spikes on top, and three short tentacles hanging and swinging in the wind. "Wait, you're not Amy… Oh, of course: you're a Wisp!"

The Pink Wisp squeaks happily.

Sonic pushes himself into a sitting position, wincing as his stiff limbs refuse to co‑operate. "What are you doing here? I thought you all went back home after we saved your mother."

The Pink Wisp emits a series of squeaks while gesturing, attempting to mime the answer.

Unfortunately, Sonic cannot understand the squeaks and gestures. "Sorry buddy, but I have no idea what you're saying," he informs.

The Pink Wisp droops a little, squeaking quietly and sadly.

"Hey, don't worry, Tails has‑ Tails!" Sonic leaps to his feet and sprints to the Tornado, relieved to see his best friend is waking up. "Thank Gaia you're OK!"

"Huh?" Tails replies, dazed and confused. "Sonic, is that you?"

"Sure is bud," Sonic answers. "Are you hurt?"

"I… I don't think so," Tails replies, releasing his harness and trying to climb out of the cockpit.

Sonic helps his best friend climb out of the plane and onto the ground, where they rest with their backs against the fuselage. "This may seem an odd question, but is that universal translator of yours on board?"

"It is," Tails answers. "Why do you ask?"

The answer comes in the form of a series of happy squeaks from the Pink Wisp.

"I thought they all went home after we saved their mother?" Tails asks, confused.

"Guess a few decided to hang around," Sonic guesses, the Pink Wisp squeaking happily and nodding.

A few minutes later, the friends' silent rest is interrupted by wary squeaking from the Pink Wisp.

"What's the matter, buddy?" Sonic asks.

The Pink Wisp points towards a nearby cluster of trees and growls.

"So much for a rest," Tails sighs as he and Sonic get to their feet and prepare to fight off any attackers.

What neither expected to see is an amethyst polecat emerging from the trees.

"Clara‽" Sonic exclaims in surprise, he and Tails dropping their guard. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to guide the Mobini back home," Clara explains, lifting her aviation visor. "Kinda wishing I hadn't now."

"Antoine and Bunnie will get the Mobini home," Sonic assures. "Looks like you had a rough landing too."

"Jenna's a complete write‑off," Clara sighs sadly. "I spent six months building her…"

"I understand how you feel," Tails comforts. "I've repaired and rebuilt the Tornado so many times there's almost nothing left of the original plane, but it's still and has always been the Tornado, and I can't imagine life without it. Maybe once this is all over, I can help you build a new ultralight?"

"Thanks for the offer; I'll think about it," Clara replies, smiling slightly. "What's that thing?"

"A Wisp," Sonic answers. "We first met them when we shut down Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park that was actually just a cover for his attempt to use the Wisps' own powers to enslave all of Mobius with a planet‑wide mind control device, and it seems some of them decided to hang around."

"I did wonder what that was all about," Clara recalls, then turns to the Wisp. "Um… Hello?"

The Pink Wisp looks at Sonic and Tails with a worried expression.

"She's a friend," Sonic assures with a wink.

With a happy squeak, the Pink Wisp flies over to Clara and enters her body, transforming her into a spiky pink ball that spins rapidly, shooting across the grass and halfway up a brown checkerboard cliff before leaping off and speeding back just in time for the power up to end, forcing the Wisp out of Clara and leaving the polecat sprawled face up on the grass.

"What… was that‽" Clara gasps, her mind struggling to process what just happened.

"Oh, yeah, they do that sometimes," Sonic smiles in amusement as Tails tries his best not to laugh. "You get used to it. Are you OK?" he asks as the Pink Wisp hovers over Clara looking worried.

"Yeah, just… need a minute," Clara assures.

Relieved, the Pink Wisp flies away, squeaking happily in a manner that sounds a lot like a giggling child that's just played a harmless prank on an unsuspecting adult.