"Our visit with Knuckles gave us quite a revelation. One that, in theory, should be easy to look out for. Sonic has been missing for about a week, but Knuckles had seen him before his disappearance shortly after encountering a purple cat with the power to control fire. That ability by itself would make her easy to find, but we'd need to coax her to unleash that kind of power. As such, we've opted for a different plan… Simply ask around if they've seen a purple cat with a red gem on her forehead. But what was that jewel she got from Knuckles? And what significance is it to her that she'd fight him for it? A mystery onto itself to be sure…"

In the skies over Mobius, an airship is seen flying over the clouds. The airship was blimp-like, though instead of cloth, the outer part of the ship was made of metal coated in red as the main body. The front resembled a hawk-like beat, with the tip of the front being painted yellow; on the back, sides, the back of the living quarters portion of this ship were a series of propellers keeping the ship moving. On the sides of the propeller was a symbol - a bird in the shape of a genie lamp in front of some kind of sun, forming an almost perfect circle. Within the living quarters part of the ship, a green Mobian hawk with a yellow beak and red shoes with white soles is seen relaxing as he had his feet propped up on the desk he was sitting on. But as he relaxed…

Loud, angry, female voice: "JEEEEEET!"

…a voice calls his name, startling him into falling over. When he gets back up, he sees a purple Mobian swallow walk in, wearing white bell bottoms and a white tank top, with a white bandana and a pair of orange shades resting on top of her head. She was carrying a green board under her arm, which had a few dents in it. Jet rolls his eyes as he dusts himself off.

Jet: "Ever heard of knocking, Wave? Pretty cool concept, you should try it."

Wave: "How about I knock a few bumps onto that skull of yours for breaking your board!? That I work hard doing maintenance on!"

Jet: "What? So I got into a bit of turbulence and ran into a few trees. Big deal. Storm does way worse with his board."

As if on queue, a big, gray Mobian albatross with considerable girth pokes his head in, eating a sandwich that he made.

Storm: "Uh… Someone call me?"

Wave: "Storm's a major blockhead! And I give him crap for wrecking his board too!"

Storm: "Hey… I'm trying my best not wreck my board! Besides, Jet's the one who said I couldn't slam myself though that big rock thing! I sure showed him."

Wave: "Ugh…"

Wave could only just facepalm as she puts the green board aside.

Wave: "Seriously, Jet. You're usually not this reckless with your board."

Jet: "Accidents happen, Wave. The sooner you learn that, the better-"

Jet is stopped by an incoming message on his holo-computer. Raising an eyebrow, he accepts as he adjusts himself to look more presentable. The screen display shows a man bathed in darkness, with the only details shown being his stoutness, his mustache, and the glasses invoking a very mean glare.

Doctor: "Greetings, Babylon Rogues."

Jet: "Who's this? Who's callin' the baddest group on this side of Mobius?"

Doctor: "A simple man of a simple business. And speaking of business, I have heard you three are a group of very talented individuals."

Storm: "Hehe. Not to brag or anything…"

Storm starts to flex at hearing the compliment from the doctor, but Wave quickly elbows him on the side.

Wave: "Can it, brick for brains."

Jet: "We are talented, but we don't need some mustachioed weirdo to tell us. Either get to the point or shut up and hang up."

Doctor: "Very well. I'll not waste your or my time then. I am calling to hire you three to hunt down someone… Someone of great importance."

Wave: "What do we look like, a bunch of bounty hunters? Hire that jerk-boa then."

Doctor: "Ah, but what I look for is someone who can cover a great distance in a shorter amount of time. And I figured a few racers highly trained and skilled in Extreme Gear would be sufficient enough."

Jet: "Yeah, but we're treasure hunters, not person hunters. So unless you have something to pay us with, why don't you just-"

Doctor: "Oh? Then perhaps… this will convince you?"

The camera showing the doctor moves as he adjusts it to show Orbot and Cubot open a treasure chest filled to the brim with gold, jewels, and all manner of treasure. Jet sees this and dollar signs appear in his eyes as his mouth goes wide open.

Doctor: "By my estimate, this amount of treasure would equate to… $10,000,000,000… and 39 cents, at least. Will that do or should I get my servents to fetch more?"

Jet: "Th… There's more!?"

Doctor: "Loads more. I could double, triple, or even go as high as multiplying the pay by a hundred times. Money is no big deal for a business man like myself."

Jet had to pause for minute. He could just decline and go about his group's treasure hunting and thieving ways. But with this amount of money… he could stay rich until he grew old. Jet's mind was greatly swayed by the prospect of money.

Jet: "Alright, weird guy. Who's this person you want caught?"

The doctor smiles, his pearly whites showing despite the rest of him still being coated in darkness.

Doctor: "A light blue tenrec… One who can use powers beyond comprehension. Find her… And you will be rewarded."

Jet: "That's it? Easy. Consider it done."

Jet then hangs up the call before hopping off his seat. Wave gives him a look that basically read 'Are you sure?'.

Jet: "What? You look like you wanna say something, Wave."

Wave: "I know you were thinking with your money-loving mind, Jet. But that guy had vibes that told me he was not trustworthy."

Jet: "Ah, you worry too much. If the guy turns out to be a liar, we just smash up his things and steal what we can."

Wave: "And you think he won't see that coming or somethin'?"

Storm: "Uh… So wait… What are we doing?"

Storm asks, scratching his head.

Jet: "Ugh… We're going to look for a pretty little girl, grab her, and get some shiny money. Or smash things up."

Storm: "Oh! Now I get it! Count me in!"

Wave: "Ugh… Guess I'm outvoted by the idiot duo…"

Jet: "Wave, get our Extreme Gear ready. We're goin' on a little hunt."

Jet smiles as he stares out towards the horizon outside his window, excited at the idea of an easy payday…

Meanwhile in another part of Mobius' skies, flying over a large expansive mountainous wasteland, the Tornado continues its flight towards the nearest city, both for the heroes to rest and to check up on fuel, as well as gather information. Tails checks his pilot computer to check the nearest city location.

Tails: "Good news, everyone. Within a few hours, we should be at Gale City. Once we're there, we can get a stretch break, restock, refuel, and find out whatever we can."

Amy: "Thanks, hun~"

Amy says as she blows a kiss to Tails, causing the fox to nervously blush. Maria and Cream give her a sly smile.

Maria: "You two have gotten awfully cozy."

Cream: "Yeah. You two even live together."

Amy: "Well yeah. Tails is pretty cool. He's got all of Sonic's best traits plus his own. The whole package, plus more."

Maria: "Hehe. You two honestly make a cuter couple than me and Sonic."

Amy: "Nonsense. Sonic is very charming, he's got a go-getter attitude, very willing to protect others, and he's a super hunk. You're very sweet, pretty, and very capable with your abilities. And that's on top of worrying about others."

Maria blushes at all that before the two then turn their attention towards Cream.

Maria: "What about you? Any boys catch your eye, Cream? Or girls, if you swing that way?"

Cream: "Sorry… Running a cafe takes up a lot of my time. I don't have a lot of free time to go on dates."

Amy: "Well you got us to help around the cafe. Plus… uh… We're not at the cafe now."

Cream: "I'm just not interested in dating right now! That's all!"

Cream huffed as she blushed, turning away from the giggling girls. After a second of calming down, the rabbit returns her gaze to Maria.

Cream: "Oh yeah. The other night after I brought you home, my mom called. She had a question in regards to you, Maria."

Maria: "Me? Uh… What's up?"

Cream: "Well… She wanted to ask if you would be a mediator for human and Mobian kind. Since you're both a human and a Mobian, she figured you would be a perfect negotiator for peace treaties."

Maria simply wagged her finger.

Maria: "Correction: I'm not a human anymore. I may be artificial, but I'm now a Mobian - through and through. And I'm not trusting of any human leaders, especially not the president. After that… jerk from two years ago, I can't say with a good conscience that I trust any person outside of our friend group. I know that's not a good attitude, but what they tried to do-"

Cream: "We know. Sorry… I just figured I'd ask…"

Maria saw Cream's expression change to sadness and disappointment, mainly for ruining the good mood. She let's a sigh before calling to her.

Maria: "Tell you what… We'll talk it over a cup of tea. I respect Vanilla enough to at least hear her out and see what case she makes for wanting to involve me. I'd rather concentrate on finding Sonic right now. If nothing else, I kind of miss seeing her around the cafe anyway."

Cream: "Thanks, Maria."

Cream says, a smile reforming on her face as she nods. As the conversation dies down, there was a sudden shake.

Amy: "Uh? …Tails? That was turbulence, right? …The engine isn't on fire, RIGHT?"

Amy's increasing panic brought attention to the smoke coming out of the front of the Tornado, with Tails unable to control the plane as it started to dive.

Tails: "E-EVERYONE! BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

Maria's vision blacked out as there was a massive crash sound, the Tornado hitting the ground with such force… Thankfully, when Maria opened her eyes, she only felt sore, but was seemingly unharmed. As was Amy and Tails when she spotted them.

Maria: "Ugh… Everyone okay?"

Amy: "Define okay…"

Tails: "We're okay…"

Maria: "Wait… Where's Cream?"

The tenrec stood up, still reeling from that brief bit of excitement. After shaking off the dazeness, she looked around before spotting Cream, who had been launched a bit further away. Aside from feeling dizzy, she too was okay. The group took a moment to recollect themselves as Tails checked what went wrong with the Tornado.

Amy: "How're you feeling, Cream?"

Cream: "Like we just survived a crash…"

Maria: "Yeah… Do you think this desert heat became too much for the Tornado?"

Tails: "Not likely. This plane has been through worse and survived worse. A simple heat wave shouldn't knock the engine out like that."

Amy: "Then what brought her down?"

Voice: "So you guys did survive after all?"

This sudden voice caused the group to stand up. They looked around for the source of the voice before Cream spotted two figures standing on a tall stony structure. One figure was a Mobian armadillo with black fur and a red shell; the other was a yellow flying squirrel. Both were male.

Maria: "Uh… Hi. Who might you two be?"

Armadillo: "The name's Mighty. And this here is Ray."

Ray: "Hey!"

Mighty: "We heard your plane crash so we figured we'd check if everyone was okay."

Amy: "Oh how nice! We're fine though."

Tails: "Our plane though… Not so fine…"

Ray: "I know. I shot it down using a pulsar cannon."

This caused a pause in the conversation as the group took a moment to process what Ray said.

Maria: "Wait… You shot us down?"

Mighty: "Yep. You guys were intruding on the Hard Boiled Heavies' territory. And the Heavy King wasn't going to allow that. Nothing personal, but we have to clean up the mess."

Mighty slams his fists together to pump himself up before slamming one fist into the rock he and Ray stood on, cracking it down the middle as a showcase of his strength.

Tails: "Wh-Whoa… This guy looks just as strong as Knuckles…"

Amy: "Wait. We were just passing through! We have no intention of messing with this Heavy King!"

Mighty: "Sorry. Orders are orders. Let's go Ray!"

Ray: "Right on!"

Mighty and Ray jump off the now cracked rock, lunging down to greet the heroes. Mighty slams a fist on the ground near Amy and Maria, forcing them to jump back as a small crater forms from the impact. Ray swoops over Tails and Cream, landing a hard punch under Tails' chin and knocking him to the ground.

Cream: "Tails!"

Tails: "I'm alright… But if these two want to play rough, I say we play rough."

Cream nods before she and Tails jump into the air, starting to fly after Ray - Cream using her long ears to maintain flight and Tails using his trademark tails. Maria and Amy meanwhile stared down Mighty as he cracks his knuckles.

Maria: "Listen to us! We don't want to fight! Just let us-"

Maria ducks under a punch swing before kicking her leg up to Mighty's chest, sending him back a bit.

Amy: "I think talk time is over. If he isn't listening, then we'll just have to make him listen."

Amy jumps towards Mighty, aiming her hammer to swing at the armadillo. However, he manages to catch the hammer mid-swing with his palm. He then closes the distance and slams fist right into Amy's gut, causing her to reel back. Before Mighty could follow up on his strike, Maria takes off an Inhibitor Ring and quickly uses Chaos Control, grabbing Amy and pulling her away from their attacker, much to his confusion.

Amy: "Ugh… Thanks, Maria."

Maria: "This is not how I saw today going… But fine. Let's go!"

Maria and Amy get ready as Mighty lunges at the duo, ready to strike them down. Ray, Tails, and Cream meanwhile begin a game of chase as the flying squirrel showed his superior flying abilities. He lands on the ground, keeping his momentum before jumping backwards over Tails and Cream, slamming his tail on Cream to knock her to the ground.

Cream: "Gh!"

Tails: "Cream!"

Ray lands on the ground before leaping at Tails in order to swing his tail at him next. Tails clashes this attack with his own tail swing, but with double the tails, his attack pushes Ray away. Cream recovers as she glares at Ray. Ray smiles before getting a running start and jumping, returning to the air before beginning a fly-by strike, almost hitting his foes.

Cream: "This officially sucks! He's faster in the air than us!"

Tails: "But not tougher…"

Tails then pulls out an electrical plug and begins to swing it around like a lasso.

Ray: "You'll have to catch me if you want to hit me with th-"

A sudden ray blast almost hits him as he is forced to stop and land. Cream had a little pistol laser blaster in her hand, smiling at Ray with a bit of a smug look.

Cream: "Mom wouldn't let me have a real gun so… I opted for a laser pistol instead."

As Ray glared at her, Tails leaps in and tosses the plug at Ray, zapping the flying squirrel into unconsciousness. Mighty, though, sees his friend fall and assumes the worst, letting out a roar in anger.

Mighty: "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY FRIEND!?"

Mighty grabs Maria's incoming punch and slams her to the ground with incredible force before then using her to knock Amy aside when she lunged at him. He then rushes at Tails, grabbing the fox by his tails before proceeding to slam him on the ground. Cream shoots her laser pistol at Mighty, but this did very little to slow him down as he then rushes at her next; his rush lifts her up as she's pushed right into the rock from before, the impact knocking her out on the spot.

Maria: "Tails! Cream!"

Amy: "Maria! We need to regroup!"

Maria looks at Amy, then at Mighty, before then turning her attention to Ray. Making a bold move, she uses Chaos Control to warp over to Ray's side and grab him. Mighty spots this and lunges at Maria. At the last second before she is struck, she manages to warp away, taking Ray with her. When Mighty looks around for her or his friend, he notices Amy was missing too. His anger only built up even more.

Kingly voice: "Enough already, my puppet."

As Mighty huffs, his body suddenly calms down as his eyes begin to glow. A large robotic figure descends down, landing on the ground with a staff in one hand. A long flowing cape rests on the back of this kingly robot as he looks down to glare at the fallen heroes that were left behind.

King: "It matters not that those two got away. If they care about their friends… They will come to rescue them. All in due time…"

The king lifts up his staff, the orb on top glowing a bright light as Tails and Cream are lifted up from the ground by some mystical force. He then leaves with Mighty, taking their new hostages with them… What is to become of Tails and Cream…?