Knuckles had to leap up to keep himself from being crushed by the branches that clapped together.

Gliding onto a higher part of the tree, he had to stay on the move just to dodge the missiles shot in bunches from underneath the false bark.

The ant-boy's annoyed voice screeched over whatever intercom he was using. "Stop moving around and hold still!"

Did Knuckles have to even dignify that with a response? He knew of a certain hedgehog that would've done that and then some…

Now then, how to damage this thing?

The echidna had to think on the move, which, contrary to popular belief, he actually could do.

Soon enough, he got his answer. As he climbed around to investigate further, he got a good look at three nasty-looking cannons as they were revealed from their hiding spots in the middle of the tree. They'd attempt to fire on him if he got close, but they had to charge before doing so, glowing orange as they did.

They looked big enough to do serious damage if they were trifled with. He would have pitied the poor kid for his mistake...if Eggman wasn't constantly doing the same thing.

Must be an evil genius thing, he thought.

The more he hit upon the weak spots, the more frustrated the boy became. Strangely, though, he didn't seem that interested in killing him per se.

He was yelling at Knuckles as if he was beating him at some video game.

"Stupid little... GIVE UP!"

A few more failed attempts at crushing him later, all three lasers jammed.

"What? Why?!"

With this opening, Knuckles was free to beat on it until it was destroyed.

The "tree" didn't actually explode, however. It just sparked and fizzled out as it sat there. He dropped to the ground, arms crossed.

"I won. Now where's the Emerald, kid?"

"I'll never tell! She'd be mad if I did anyway..." The boy continued to sulk as another portal formed around Knuckles out of thin air. "Away you go!"

"What the... Ahhhh!"

Meanwhile, Rouge was busy alternating between running and flying as she searched for a hiding spot deeper in the ruins.

Unsurprisingly, more than a few traps here, like rolling boulders (how cliché could you get) and crushing pillars made getting in alive a lot more inconvienent.

Rouge was kind of ashamed to admit to herself that she had to force herself to look away from the piles of gold she came across om her trek deeper into the cave.

Old habits, she guessed... Or more honestly, continuing habits, and all that.

Coming upon a dead end, she wondered just how big this place was.

"Probably enough to fit two or three of that sand monster in..."

Suddenly struck with an idea, she smirked deviously.

Digging into her belt, she unearthed a couple of capsules, but they weren't explosive.

She waited until the monster roared in announcement of its coming and averted her eyes as she threw the capsules.

BANG!

The flash lit up the room and was bright even towards her closed eyes, but it had the desired effect.

As she found a place to hide, she couldn't help but giggle as she heard trap after trap go off and harass the thing...

...until the rumbling started.

Panic was clear in Tails' voice over the earpiece. "So much seismic activity... Rouge, what are you doing?!"

"Oh, nothing, Fox Boy. Just bringing the house down on ol' Rocky here. With me in it of course."

"Are you crazy?!"

Having been reprimanded by her superiors for much worse, the bat's voice was a verbal shrug."Hey, what's life without a little risk, huh? I would've thought Big Blue would've taught you that."

He had nothing to say to that. "Just get out of there alive, Rouge!"

That's the plan, she thought before hanging up. Swallowing a tiny bit of fear she'd never admit to, she started flying as it became clear not only that the golem had been smashed to pieces mere feet away from her, but that she was about to share its fate...

She would have, if she hadn't dodged a bunch of falling debris to escape through a developing crack in the ceiling just big enough for her to fit through.

Naturally, she was just that good.

It was a shock to her, though, when the light she flew out into suddenly went dark.

She lost control of her flight entirely and was enveloped in the shadows...