Trust is hard when you're a hero

by jacquisup

How many fights had we done? 4? 5? Maybe more? I lost count over the years. Even though he's a knucklehead, he's still my best friend and teammate.

2. There's more than one Emerald

"When it comes to Chaos Emeralds, there's really only three people that really understand them and three people that can use them together. Me, my biggest rival Shadow and Knuckles understand it while me, Shadow and our friend Silver can use them together. Silver may be able to use them like me and Shadow, but he doesn't quite understand what they can do. When all seven are together we can transform into Super, our strongest form. Well, not mine, I have multiple transformations but there's one transformation that's stronger but I'd rather not get into that…"

Sonia sighed.

"This is the life! Sun, surf... and no old Buttnik to worry about. We needed a little rest and relaxation..." she said and a frisbee soared past. "Huh?" she said then Sonic sped along. "Hey! You're getting me all gritty!"

"Uh!" Sonic said and yawned. "Hm. Okay, gotta go!" she said and caught the frisbee. "Do I really think I can beat myself? Course I do! Try catchin' this one!"

"Phew! Whoa, jackpot! My day has just been made in the shade. Can you dig it? Two Mobiums!" Manic said strained. "Ahh!" he said while Sonic approached fast.

She wolf whistled.

"Fan-cy!" she said and the frisbee hit her in the head. "Oof! Hey, who's the wise guy? Oh yeah, I'm the wise guy." she said and a shadow covered them. "Okay, who turned out the lights?"

"Uh-oh! Something tells me we've got a Buttnik on the horizon." Sonia said.

"Bail, sibs!" Sonic said, got covered in sand and coughed. "Looks like our vacation's just been sandblasted!"

"Well, at least it's not a total loss." Manic said.

"Heads up! They're getting ready to fire again!" Sonia said.

"Blast Sonic and her siblings back to the pre-Mobian age!" Robotnik said and laughed heartily.

"Excellent shooting, your rotundness. Dingo and I should have no trouble scooping up those hedgehogs for you." Sleet said.

"Oh, why bother? My Fortress of Altitude can take care of a trio of troublesome hedgehogs without your help!"

"We'd better grab the van and vamoose outta here!" Sonic said, got in the van and drove into a forest. "This forest oughta give us some protection. No way they can see us under these trees!"

"That did it! Nobody messes with the forest!" Sonia said.

"Whoa, the armor on that thing must be solid mobibindum!"

"Mobibindum? That weighs a ton! How could Buttnik make it fly?" Manic said.

"Maybe it's time we find out just what makes that Buttnik-ugly thing tick!" she said and stood on a bent tree. "Ready for launch!" she said and Manic and Sonia sent her flying. "Blast off!" she said and flew through a cannon barrel and trapped a SWATbot in it. "Hey, get a load of this!"

"FIRE!" Robotnik said.

"If I could just find the energy reactor to this jalopy, then I could stop Buttnik in his tracks! Hmm... now if I were a reactor, where would I be?" she said and ran around. "Hmm." she said and ran again, seemingly lost. "Hm... must have taken a wrong turn."

"What is that blurry camera on Deck 212?" Sleet said and Dingo pushed him down. "Hey!"

"Maybe it's busted." Dingo said.

"Maybe you're defective! My fortress is perfect. It must be! I designed it myself." Robotnik said.

"That explains the round shape." Sleet said and Dingo sniggered.

"What are you laughing about?!"

"Nothing, sir!" Sleet said and Sonic rushed past on the monitor. "It's blurry again!"

"You must be seeing things! But just to show you what a nice guy I am, we'll just do a little house-cleaning, just in case." Robotnik said and pushed a button. "I designed my fortress with an invincible defense system. Watch and learn."

Sleet and Dingo gasped.

Dingo gasped.

"That doesn't sound friendly." Sonic said and saw the energy field. "Huh?" she said and gasped. "It looks even worse!" she said and ran away towards a wall. "Uh-oh! Dead end! How about a little Sonic Super Spin?" she said and broke out of the fortress; screamed as she found herself plummeting. "Out of the frying pan and into mid-air!"

"Huh?" Manic said and grabbed his hoverboard. "I'll get ya, bro!"

"Manic! Goin' my way, bro?" she said and collided with him. "Uh!"

"Hang twenty, bro! You finished fast. Did you disable that tin can?"

"Uh, not exactly." she said and SWATbots emerge from the fortress. "And we've got company!"

They gasped.

"Incoming! Hang on, bro!" Sonic said and a SWATbot blowed the board away. "Whoa!"

"Wipeout!" Manic said.

"MANIC!"

"Hop on, sis!"

"Aaargh!"

"We may need to hide in that cave!" Sonia said and shot down two SWATbots. "Come on! Buttnik's getting ready to fire again!" she said and the fortress approached and she screamed.

"Incoming!" Manic said.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh!" Sonic said.

"Cease fire! There's nothing left to destroy. Least of all Sonic and his meddlesome siblings." Robotnik said.

"This is horrible! That Buttnik's destroyed everything!" Sonia said.

"Yeah! All we got now is a lifetime supply of toothpicks." Manic said.

"The Resistance won't stand a chance unless we knock Buttnik's flying fortress out of the sky." Sonic said.

"Okay, but how? You were up there and you couldn't stop him!" Sonia said.

"I know, but we gotta crash that flying fortress before Mobius is trashed!"

"Yeah, but man, we don't even know what makes that thing fly." Manic said.

"I was run out of there by a big wave of green energy. Oh yeah, emerald green! Maybe Buttnik's gotten his hands on a Chaos Emerald!"

"Can't be! If he did, then that would mean..." Sonia said.

"The Floating Island will have fallen from the sky!" Manic said.

"And if Buttnik had destroyed the Floating Island, we'd have heard about it. Could there be another Chaos Emerald?" Sonic said.

"He'd be able to tap almost unlimited power! We'll need help getting to that fortress's engine room." Sonia said.

"And there's only one person I know who can handle a Chaos Emerald." Manic said.

"Time for a little post-vacation trip." Sonic said.

"Floating Island to unknown aircraft. Identify yourself." Knuckles said and looked at the radar. "Hm, looks like a Robotnik-built flying SWATbot!"

"Oh, I can't believe I let you talk me into flying in this patched-up bot!" Sonic said.

"Chill, bro! It'll get us to the Floating Island, no prob." Manic said.

"Arm all anti-aircraft systems. Fire at will!" Knuckles said.

"Whoops! Problemo, sibs! They've locked on to us. Wish this bot had a radio."

"Just fly friendly. They won't shoot us down if we're not hostile."

Sonic, Manic and Sonia gasped.

"I don't think they know that." Sonia said.

"Whooaa!" they said

"I've got an idea." Sonic said.

"Oh, like your last one was just so good!" Manic said

"Cease fire - they're friendlies!" Knuckles said.

"Phew!" Sonic said.

Sonic, Manic and Sonia gasped.

"It's good to have solid ground under my feet." Sonic said and looked over the edge. "Almost."

"Sonic? Manic? Sonia? What are you doing here? You could've been blasted to bits!" Knuckles said.

"Yeah, thanks for almost blowin' us outta the sky!" Sonic said.

"The round dude's built himself one seriously bad flying fortress!" Manic said.

"And we think it may be powered by a Chaos Emerald." Sonia said.

"A Chaos Emerald?!" Knuckles said.

"Yeah, is it possible that more than one Chaos Emerald exists?" Sonic said.

"They're rare, but if Buttnik's got his hands on one, he could be unstoppable!"

"That's why we need your help, big guy!"

"I'd like to help, but my first duty is to protect the Floating Island. I can't go chasin' all over Mobius! I gotta take care of my own people."

"Hey, wait a minute! You're a part of Mobius. If it goes, so does your precious island!" Sonia said.

"True, and you're the only dude who knows the skinny on Chaos Emeralds." Manic said.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do." Knuckles said.

["No One Is An Island" plays]

"All right, enough! I'll do it! I'll help you." Knuckles said.

"I knew you couldn't resist a good Buttnik kickin'!" Sonic said.

Later.

"Flaps: check! Rudder: check! Tires: check! Oil: check!" Knuckles said.

"Knuckles..." Athair said.

"In a minute. Extra little bags of in-flight peanuts: check!"

"Knuckles, listen to me."

"All right, already! I'm all ears." Knuckles said and turned around. "Great grandpa Athair! Is that you?"

"You must not leave the Floating Island."

"Why? But I promised my friends! Buttnik has to be stopped!"

"Great grandson, you have been warned. If you leave the Floating Island, all of Mobius could be destroyed. The fate of Mobius is in your hands."

"Great grandfather, what can I do to protect both Mobius and my friends?"

"There may be a way. The future can be changed. The fate of Mobius depends on your decision."

"Great grandfather-" Knuckles said and Athair vanished. "Wait! Don't leave!"

"Yo, who are you talkin' to, Knuckles?" Manic asked.

"Ah, er, no one. Hope I'm doin' the right thing!"

"Then let's haul haunch!" Sonic said.

"Prepare to obliterate Port Mobius! They'll see what happens when they turn against Robotnik!" Robotnik said and headed towards SWATbots. "Stand by for bombardment on my command!"

"Y'know, those Port Mobians only sided with you because of us." Dingo said.

"Yeah. We rigged up that fake sea monster." Sleet said.

"You two have had so many failures, it's hard to keep them all straight! Interrupt my work again, and I'll have you tossed off the fortress while we're still in the air!" Robotnk said and returned to monitors. "Ah, now where was I?"

"Robotnik thinks he doesn't need us anymore. And you know what happens to people he doesn't need!"

"Er... no, what?" Dingo said.

"He roboticizes them. Where have you been? It's time for us to act."

"Okay. But I won't wear a girly costume."

"Come on, you flea paradise!"

"What is it now? An unidentified aircraft?! How dare it approach my fortress!" Robotnik said.

"Request emergency landing. Request emergency landing. Request emergency landing." Knuckles tape recording said.

"Certainly. We'll give you a warm welcome - a very warm welcome indeed!" Robotnik said and pushed a button. "BLOW HIM OUT OF THE SKY!" he said and the turrets shot the plane down. "Welcome to my Fortress of Altitude!" he said and sinister laughed.

"Ready to dig in?" Knuckles asked.

"We're behind ya all the way." Sonic said.

"Now all we have to do is find the Chaos Emerald."

"What's that thing do?" Manic asked.

"This is a Chaometer. It tracks the energy from a Chaos Emerald, and there's one on board all right! Follow me."

"That's impossible! How did they get aboard my fortress?!"Robotnik said.

"Whoa, this Chaometer's going crazy! Something's coming..." Knuckles said.

"Uh-oh. Could be that green stuff that chased me before. We gotta get outta here!" Sonic said.

"Stand back!"

"Whoa!"

"There's a Chaos Emerald under us... through about a Mobius mile of mobibindum."

"So what are we waitin' for? Do your stuff, Knuckles!"

"I never knew blowing up SWATbots could be so much fun! With the Chaos Emerald in our hands, Robotnik won't dare try to get rid of us!" Sleet said.

"Good thinking, Sleet!" Dingo said .

"If nothing else, he won't have his precious fortress anymore, and he'll need our help again!"

"This is bad! Residual energy's high, but it looks like somebody's already swiped the Emerald!" Knuckles said.

"Whoooaaa!" Sonia said and Manic gasped.

"Without the Chaos Emerald, this fortress is sunk! We'll drop like a rock into the Mobian Sea!"

"Into the..." Sonic said and gulped. "sea?"

"Those hedgehogs must have stolen my Chaos Emerald! SWATbots! Reach for a crash landing!" Robotnik said and saw Sleet and Dingo on the monitor, fleeing. "Ooh, those rats! Deserting the sinking ship!" he said and the fortress started its fall. "Someone is going to PAY FOR THIS!"

"Arrrgh! Aaaarrggh!" everyone said and the fortress hit the ocean. "Whoooaaa, oof!"

"Man, that was some ride! At least Buttnik's overgrown beach ball was trashed and crashed." Manic said.

"But we didn't take the Chaos Emerald!" Sonia said.

"Yeah! So who did?" Sonic said.

"Now we've got the power, instead of Robotnik!" Sleet said.

"Yeah. Just wait 'til we're in charge!" Dingo said and they laughed.

The Fortress of Altitude was afloat and ruined with sparks flying as Sleet and Dingo escaped using their magic carpet.

Sleet chuckled.

"Let's get out of here, Dingo. No, it's coming after us!" he said holding a Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Emerald. So long, Robotnik!" Sleet said and Dingo chuckled.

"Yes!" Dingo said and the fortress exploded.

Meanwhile Robotnik heard a siren blare and flinched as one explosion was caused near him. Then he was hit by a second explosion sending him flying backwards. He slid and hit his head on the wall. Then he heard a rumbling sound and ran inside the ejection rocket.

"Abandon fortress!" he said and the door of the ejection rocket closed.

The rocket flew out of the fortress up in the air. Its wings open and it steered across the sea.

Meanwhile Sonic, Sonia, Manic and Knuckles were still trapped inside the rumbling fortress.

"Whoa, we gotta get out of here!" Manic said.

Then torrents of water crash through the edge of the fortress and cover their feet.

"Water! We landed in the sea! Let's all hunch!" Sonic said, zoomed across the water and found an inlet. "This way!" she said and unlocks the inlet.

As more water tried to barge through, she tried to keep it closed.

"Uh... Maybe not. Argh!" she said and the inlet came off.

The water gushed through and dragged her back to where Knuckles was standing.

"Man!" she said and cleared her nose but Knuckles grabbed her arm. "Why's it always gotta be water?!"

Then Sonia found a clear inlet.

"Quick! In here!" she said and Sonic and Manic fell through while Knuckles looked before he jumped in.

"But, this is a garbage disposal! No way I'm gonna be diced up like a plate of leftovers!" Knuckles said angrily.

"Robotnik would never recycle his garbage. He's just dumping. Now" she said and pushed him. "get down." she said and fell in too just before another explosion was seen behind them.

Everyone screamed as they fell down the chute. They flew through the outlet and into the sea. Sonia, Knuckles and Manic float above water and looked for Sonic.

"Where's Sonic?" Sonia asked.

Then Sonic floated briefly and thrashed her arms about in the water.

"Ow! I can't swim!" Sonic said and brought her arm out as she sank back into the sea.

"Sonic!" Sonia said.

"Hold on, Sonic!" Knuckles said and swam towards Sonic.

Then Sonic's hand disappeared and Knuckles dove down.

"Sonic! Knuckles!" Sonia said.

A moment later Knuckles pulled Sonic above water and was holding a rope.

"I pulled this off the wreck!" Knuckles said and tied the rope around Sonic. "Hold on to this!" he said and they held on to the rope.

Then he bit into it and started swimming Sonic to the shore.

"Hey! What?!" Sonic said and felt the rope tug. "Argh!"

"Yikes!" Manic said.

"Whoa!" Sonia said

Sonic managed to stand on the water and started surfing.

"Hey! Way cool!" she said, stretched her arms out and wobbled.

Manic: "Yo, check this out!" Manic said and they talk over each other while they were taken to an island.

Later at the island campfire was made. Sonia straightened her hair and whipped it to shake off the water.

"Ah... That's much better. The weight look is definitely over rated." she said.

Sonic poked around inside her ear. It popped and water poured out.

Manic chuckled.

"Sis. Hope there's not a fish in there." he said and laughed.

"Very funny." she said and cringed.

Then Knuckles walked in.

"There is no time to argue. Robotnik's Chaos Emerald is still missing. We've gotta find it before whoever took it tries to use it." Knuckles said.

"We need the van." Manic said.

"No prob lo, I know where to go." Sonic said and prepared a Super Peel Out. "Be back as fast as I can drive a van." she said and peeled off.

Meanwhile Sleet and Dingo were flying their carpet.

"What are we gonna do now that we got the Chaos Emerald?" Dingo asked.

"We attack!" Sleet said and showed the Emerald to Dingo. "Use the emerald's power to overthrow Robotnik and make me the ruler of Mobius!"

"Can we do that?"

"Chaos Emerald, we can do anything!"

"You mean all it takes to become ruler of Mobius is the Chaos Emerald?"

"The last time, yes!" Sleet said angrily and Dingo stood up.

"That's what I thought you'd say." Dingo said and grabbed Sleet's arm that was holding the Emerald.

"Huh?" Sleet said and Dingo held the Emerald and looked at it.

"Then, I'll be ruler of Mobius!"

"You?" Sleet said and scoffed. "Ruler of Mobius?" he said and let go of Dingo's arm. "You can't even drink a glass of water without using two hands!"

"Yeah, but I don't spill as much as I used to. So long, Sleet!"

In possession of the emerald, he jumped off the carpet and Sleet reached out for him.

"Wait! The Emerald!" Sleet said and the carpet lost control.

"When I'm ruler of Mobius, Sonia can be my queen!" Dingo said, opened his parachute, was pulled up by the resistance of the parachute and lost the Emerald which eventually touched the ground and caused a bright green flash of light.

Two shards broke apart. Dingo landed on the ground safely, lied down face first with the parachute covering him and mutterd to himself.

Meanwhile a zooming Sonic stood near the Camper Van.

"Funny. It doesn't look like rain. Oh well." she said and tried pulling the tree. "Hmmm..." she said and spin attacked the tree.

She moved inside the van and tried starting it up but it failed.

"And not a tow-truck in sight." she said.

Meanwhile, the energy generated by the emerald increased in Dingo's sight.

"Uh oh. Oh..." he said and hid behind the parachute. "...no! What am I gonna do?!" he said and the emerald increased energy and exploded in a brighter flash of light which spread across the area.

Meanwhile Sonic repeatedly pressed a button in desperation.

"What a time for the battery to kill dead." she said and kept pressing the button.

Eventually, the emerald's energy reached the van and it started up.

"Whoa! Talk about a jump start! Let's go!" she said impressed.

Then the van took off. It drove until its wheels got stuck under a log. A few seconds later Sonic managed to drive over the log.

Meanwhile Manic was sleeping by the campfire while Sonia and Knuckles walked along the sand.

"Oh it's so peaceful out here, you can almost forget about Butt-nik, about everything." Sonia said.

"I can't forget about the Chaos Emerald. We've got to find it." Knuckles said.

"Don't worry. We'll find it."

"Maybe I should have stayed on the floating island. Great-grandfather Athair warned me that something bad would happen if I left the island."

"It's not your fault we didn't get the Chaos Emerald."

"I know, but Athair is never wrong!"

They gasped and watched in the distance. The Emerald's energy approached them at high speed.

"Energy!" he said and it struck the ground.

They stood back and dodged the attack. Sonia lost her footing and fell on her back.

"Oh my gosh!" Sonia said as cracks form through the land underneath her and was forced to keep her balance. "Help!"

"Look out!" Knuckles said.

"Knuckles!" she screamed as she fell down through the cracks.

"Sonia!"

After a while, Sonia landed on a rock and breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, she looked up and heard more crumbling noises.

"Sonia, hold on!" Knuckles said.

"Well, duh." Sonia said, braced herself by leaning next to her wall and the cracks cave in. "Elp!"

Suddenly, a piece of land broke underneath her foot.

"Help! Hurry, Knuckles!" she said and more land crumbled beneath her.

Knuckles jumped to the other side of the crack and spun downwards. Then Sonia saw a tunnel in front of her and gasped when Knuckles appeared and offered a hand.

"Sonia?" Knuckles said.

"What took you so long?!" Sonia asked and the land broke under her feet.

She fell but Knuckles grabbed her just in time. He tried to pull her up but struggled and looked at the falling rocks coming down.

"Uh oh." he said and pulled her to safety just before the rocks fell on them.

They made their way to the top on dry land and Manic arrives at the scene.

Manic: "Man. I'm like "What happened?"." Manic said.

Then the ground shook underneath them and they started wobbling. The cracks kept caving in. As soon as the cave closed, a giant thud sent them up in mid-air and they all land on their backs. Knuckles rubbed his head.

"Something must have released the chaos energy inside the Emerald." Knuckles said.

"But the emerald makes them fly." Sonia said.

"Yeah, man. It doesn't shake them apart like a pair of crazy maracas." Manic said.

"The Chaos Emerald is a source of power. You can harness it for all kinds of things, like levitating the floating island, or Robotnik's fortress. But if the energy is released without any control, the result is..." Knuckles said but was cut off.

"Chaos?" Sonia said.

"All over Mobius." he said quietly.

Meanwhile Sleet searched the area on his carpet and groaned.

"I'll teach that free resort Dingo to bail out on me. When I get that Chaos Emerald back, I'll-" he said but was attacked by two trees thrown upwards by the Emerald's energy.

The carpet lost control, but Sleet kept it steady. He saw spiked trees growing around the area and shooting off.

"What chaos!" he said.

A minute later, he lost control again and somersaulted a couple times.

"Yikes! Fool Dingo must have unleashed the chaos energy trapped inside the Emerald. I'll need help if I'm gonna get that Chaos Emerald back under control, and there's only one person I know who can do that." he said and zoomed off.

At Robotropolis the energy hit a building, causing it to sparkle and cover in smoke. The smoke covered the screen.

Meanwhile Robotnik banged his fist on the desk.

"My Fortress of Altitude I could have devastated all of Mobius! But now it's ruined!" he said upset, as a pillow was put behind his head. "All my plans. All my dreams." he said and sighed. "How's the tyrant supposed to tyrannize without his most powerful weapon?" he said and rest his head on a pillow.

However, his entire room shook thanks to the emerald's energy. He fell off his chair and landed on his front.

"Wait til I get my hand son Sleet and Dingo. It's their fault Sonic took my Chaos Emerald!" he said and realized what it was. "Unless they took it! They did. I'll make those rats wish they'd gone down with the ship!"

Outside Dingo was standing with the two Emeralds generating energy puzzled.

Dingo: "I gotta fix this thing, but how?" he said, picked up both shards and clipped them together.

It electrocuted himself showing his skeleton and the entire planet.

Meanwhile, the Camper Van drove its way across the land, with Sonic on the controls.

"I got a whole hunch out of here." Sonic said and pressed a pedal.

Suddenly, the ground rumbles and the van lost control. Geysers of emerald energy pop out randomly around the land with a large glowing tornado up ahead. Sonic saw this and stopped the van.

Sonic: "You gotta be kidding me. Man, this is turning into one crazy road trip!" she said, braced herself and put her foot on the gas.

The van struggled but shortly started moving. It drove away from the tornado, which moved towards the camera and broke up even more land.

At Robotropolis, the tornado burst water from one of the buildings.

Robotnik: "Ooh, you flea-infested over-achiever! You got a lot of nerve coming back here." Robotnik said.

Sleet sat on his knees with arms behind his back in between two Swatbots. Then Robotnik approached him and grabbed his shoulders.

"Those hedgehogs didn't steal the Chaos Emerald." Robotnik said and shook his shoulders. "You did, didn't you?!"

"It was Dingo's idea." Sleet said.

"Oh yeah right. Like Dingo's ever had an idea!" Robotnik said, released him, talked to the computer and the Swatbots grabbed his shoulders. "Take him away, and roboticize him twice!"

"You need help to get the Emerald back?" Sleet said, was dragged, put inside the Roboticizer.l and the pod rise. "I know where Dingo is!" he protested and the pod stopped.

"Lucky for you, we have to get that Emerald back and under control before Mobius is torn apart." Robotnik said while Sleet tried to push the chamber down. "But if you try to double cross me this time."

"Never, your rotunda. I've learned my lesson. You heard the boss."

"Just make sure you remember that!" Robotnik said to the computer. "Release him."

At Floating Island Sonic, Sonia and Manic were trapped inside a plethora of chaos energy.

"We gotta find the Emerald and see if..." Knuckles said.

They all gasped and watched a tornado slowly approaching them.

"Oh no!" Sonia said.

"Whoa, dude!" Manic said.

"Look out!" Knuckles said and they all moved away from the twister.

They hid in a pit and the twister moved away.

"Man, that was close." Manic said and the boys and Sonic gave themselves high fives, while Sonia watched the tornado.

"Well, we missed it alright... but... is it heading straight for Port Mobius?!" Sonia said scared.

Manic touched his Medallion which turned into a drum set. He banged the drums with all his might while Sonia and Knuckles cover their ears and eyes. Soon, Knuckles screamed as the Emerald's energy flashed. It shown a huge light which covered the screen then turned into a firework display of purple, yellow and green bangers. Manic's drums bang to a beat as hurricane-symbol shaped works appear either side. A meteor shower covered the screen and touched the ground. The fireworks disappeared and the energy stopped.

"That should do it!" Manic said.

The Camper Van arrived and parked next to the trio. As it did so, sand was whipped up in their faces, causing them to cough. Sonic opened the pod on top and lost her temper.

"Hey! While you guys have been relaxing on the beach, the rest of Mobius has been falling apart!" she said while Sonia rubbed sand off her skirt.

"Tell us something we don't know." Sonia said in a sassy voice.

"Oh... Somebody's release the energy from the Chaos Emerald." Manic said.

"No wonder things have been so... uh..." Sonic said.

"Yank?" Sonia said.

"Yeah. Thanks, sis." Sonic said and cringed.

"Oh no..." Knuckles said.

"Hey! We're not beaten yet Knuckles! Don't let Chaos get you down!" she said confidently.

[The song "Learn to Overcome" plays.]

Sonic, Sonia and Manic were alongside each other.

"It's like I say. When faced with disaster, just move a little faster." Sonic said.

"You're right." Knuckles said and thumbed up. "We're not beaten."

"Yes." she said and they nodded their heads.

"There's one person who might be able to help us now: My great grandfather Athair, the ancient sage of the Echidnas."

Meanwhile a thunderstorm struck the area while the Camper Van drove along. Sleet put his hand in the middle of a map.

"Dingo jumped out over these mountains." he said and pointed ahead. "He's got to be here somewhere."

"Good. We'll split up and try to find that fool and the Emerald." Robotnik said.

Then Sleet separated from Robotnik with two Swatbots while Robotnik's vehicle left and took off.

"Yes!... Emerald... Better find it first. Finders Keepers." Sleet said.

Meanwhile the Camper Van was parked next to a stairway. The heroes moved out.

"Athair lives in a cave at the top of the mountain." Knuckles said.

"All the way up there? Yeah, what is it with you echidnas in height?" Manic asked and they walked up the stairs.

"To think I paid good mobiums for exercise classes to do this!" Sonia said annoyed.

"Look on the bright side, sis. After climbing these stairs, at least you'll get somewhere." Sonic said.

"Very funny, Sonic!" Sonia said annoyed.

During a thunderstorm, Sleet looked around with his binoculars.

"Dingo must be around here somewhere." Sleet said and looked all the way to his left while thunder struck again.

He saw the four heroes walking up the mountain.

"Farewell. Dingo can wait." he said and snickers.

Then he talked on his transceiver, with Robotnik on screen.

"Robotnik, I found the hedgehogs." he said.

"Ooh?!" Robotnik said and laughed. "This is turning into a good day after all."

Meanwhile the heroes mad it to the top of a stairway. Sonia and Manic were sweating and trying to catch their breath.

"Oh man." Manic said and panted. "I think Athair could've really used" he said and panted. "an elevator."

"He's a hermit. He doesn't have many visitors." Knuckles said.

"No surprise there."

They carried on walking and arrived at a cave. At the end of it was Athair, facing away from them.

"Great-grandfather Athair. There's been a terrible..." Knuckles said.

"The Chaos Emerald has been broken. I can feel the chaos swirling around us tearing Mobius apart." Athair said, picked up the Canister and showed it to Knuckles. "Take this, place the pieces of the emerald inside the canister."

"And then what?" Sonic asked annoyed.

"That is the only one way to stop the chaos from destroying Mobius. You must make an alliance..." he said and gaced them. "with Robotnik."

"Oh no! Robotnik?!" she said shocked.

"Oh seriously bad news, dude." Manic said.

"Are you serious? Chaos is bad enough but Robotnik? Oh we're talking trouble."

"It is the only way." Athair said.

"But Robotnik? Knuckles, he can't be right." Sonic said bawling.

"Athair has spoken." Knuckles said holding the canister.

A few minutes later they walked back to their Camper Van.

"I'm with Sonic. No way I trust Butt-nik round that Chaos Emerald." Manic said.

"Sonia?" Knuckles said.

"Well, maybe, maybe Athair's wrong? Even wise men make mistakes." Sonia said.

"Looks like I'm outvoted."

"Don't worry, Knuckles. It'll be cool. We just gotta find that juice." Sonic said and the door of the Camper Van opened.

They stepped back as Sleet was at the other end.

"Going somewhere?" Sleet asked evilly.

"Sleet?" Sonic said and the Swatbots approach her, Sonia and Manic.

"I've got you this time!"

Sonic pressed the button that closed the door, locking sleet in. Knuckles was still holding the canister but spun and dug a hole while the Swatbots load their guns.

"In here!" Knuckles said and the Swatbots open fire.

Sonic jumped in the hole while Sonia held her nose as she jumped in and Manic dove in. Bullets were shot around the hole, then the shooting stopped. The Camper Van's door was being banged repeatedly.

"Get me out! Let me out!" Sleet muttered.

The door opened and he fell flat on the ground. The Swatbots ignore him, walk and stood beside the hole and started shooting again. Sleet grunted in anger. He caught up to them and pushed them aside.

"Lost 'em!" he said.

A hole had been dug next to the Camper Van and Manic jumped out and hurried inside.

"Argh!" Sleet said and pointed to the van. "They're getting away!"

The Swatbots fire between the hole and the van. Sonia and Sonic made it to the van. Inside, Manic was the controller.

"Let's hold!" Manic said and the Camper Van got away.

Then they celebrated and laughed at themselves. Sonia suddenly realized something.

"Hey, where's Knuckles?" she asked and she and Sonic looked around.

"He was right behind me." Sonic said.

Meanwhile, Sleet pushed the swatbots over in frustration.

"Out of my way!" Sleet said. "You?" he said shocked and saw Knuckles still holding the canister. "But what are you doing here?"

"I need Robotnik's help to find the Chaos Emerald and save Mobius." Knuckles said and offered the Canister to Sleet. "Take this to Robotnik." he said and the canister glowed.

Later.

"Boy outside one thing, chaos ain't all it's cracked up to be." Dingo said and got electrocuted after connecting the emerald shards. "Whoa!" he said, had a spasm, flew backwards, hit a mountain and watched the two shards separate again and sighed. "Whoa!" he said as a big green light expanded and blinded the entire area as Sonic and her siblings drove in their Camper Van.

"Whoa! We're really rockin' and rollin'!" Sonic said.

"We've got to find Knuckles before Robotnik does!" Sonia said.

Sonic had a concentrated look on her face and pushed the gas pedal down. The green lighting flashed and chased them away. Thunder and lightning struck. The van was parked and the trio moved out.

"Knuckles!" Sonia echoed.

"Yo dude!" Manic echoed and lightning struck again. "Sleepless badger." he said and she gasped.

"Knuckles wouldn't have surrendered without a fight. He could be hurt, or worse..." she said and started crying.

Meanwhile lightning struck a couple more times, and soon stopped. Sleet and Knuckles walked towards Robotnik, whom smiled.

"Well, what have we here?! Knuckles the Echidna. Good work Sleet," Robotnik said and walked to Sleet and patted him. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"He doesn't. I'm here on my own - To make a deal." Knuckles said.

"I don't make deals." Robotnik said and lightning struck. "And even if I did... Why would I make a deal with you?"

"To save your precious Robotnik Empire. I know how to contain the Chaos Emerald. If we join forces, we have a chance to stop this Chaos." Knuckles said and lightning struck again.

"Hmm, I'm always open to saving myself, but if I'm going to help you then you've got to help me." Robotnik said firmly. "I want the hedgehogs..." he said and lightning struck again.

"You've got to be kidding! I'd never betray my friends!" Knuckles said shocked.

"Then I guess the destruction of Mobius will be your fault." Robotnik said and laughed. "Too bad."

"You don't mean that, Robotnik. You're bluffing!" Knuckles said and Robotnik laughed.

"If I can't defeat Sonic," Robotnik said harshly. "then I hope Mobius is destroyed!" he said and Chaos energy struck the area.

Knuckles was forced to cover his head as debris fell around the area.

"He means it. He'll let Chaos destroy Mobius if you don't help us capture the hedgehogs." Sleet said and Knuckles put his head down in sadness while Robotnik laughed louder

"If you do capture them, Sonic, Manic... Sonia... Would you roboticize them?" Knuckles asked.

"Roboticize them? Of course not! I'd keep them as prisoners so I could taunt them with my victory." Robotnik said.

"But I, I can't betray my friends!" Knuckles said and turned around to think. "But I can't let Mobius be destroyed... Alright! I'll do it!" he said and started crying. "For the good of Mobius."

"I knew you'd make the right decision. Someday, all of Mobius will thank you, well... almost all." Robotnik said and laughed.

Later.

"If Knuckles is captured, we've got to rescue him." Sonia said.

"We've gotta save Mobius first or it won't matter - Know what I mean?!" Sonic said.

"No problemo sibs. How do we contain the Chaos Emerald without Knuckles? He's got the canister... Oh boy!" Manic said and the green light came their way. "Run for cover!" he said and they hid underneath the van.

Some bolts fell off the Van and landed on their heads.

"Ow!" Sonia said and the mysterious light came over them.

"Funny thing about chaos - You can't predict it." Sonic said.

"Knuckles!" Sonia said and Knuckles arrived. "We though you were Buttnik's prisoner!" she said and he put his hand out to halt her. "Oh I thought we'd never see you again!"

"Well I... I managed to get away from Sleet." Knuckles said.

"Alright, I'm glad you're back!"

"Sleet didn't get this."

"Great. Now all we need is to find the Emerald." Sonic said.

"Well, I think I figured out where it is. But, I'm gonna need your help."

"Well, what are we waiting on?! Let's jam!"

Later Sonic, Manic and Sonia were inside of the van.

"You know Knuckles, Sonia was ready to give up Mobius for you. Haha!" Manic said.

"I was not! You just keep your mind on finding that Emerald!" Sonia said protesting.

"Yeah, Manic. Nothing's more important than saving Mobius... No matter what it takes." Knuckles said.

Later.

"The Chaos Emerald is just on the other side of this canyon." Knuckles said.

Robotnik and two Swatbots were watching from high above, and saw their van.

"Open fire!" Robotnik said and the swatbots shot out some glue.

The van drove over it and got stuck.

Sonia gasped and they all left the van.

"Huh?" she said.

"We're stuck!" Sonic said and lightning struck again.

Suddenly Manic saw Robotnik from up high.

"Bad news sibs - Buttnik!" he said and the Swatbots aimed their guns again.

"Don't leave! Stick around!" Robotnik said and the Swatbots fire again.

Sonic, Manic and Sonia got stuck in huge dollops of glue. Sonic strained and tried to get the glue off, but they stuck on both hands instead

"Sonic!" Sonia said.

"Knuckles, quick! Help!" Sonic said.

"I'm sorry... But... It's for the good of Mobius." Knuckles said and Sonic, Manic and Sonia gasped.

Robotnik lowered and parked his vehicle.

"Surprise, surprise! It was your friend Knuckles who led you into my trap!" he said.

"Knuckles?!" Sonia and Manic said and Knuckles looked at them guiltily then looked down.

"No! I don't believe it!" Sonia said.

"I had to." Knuckles said. "I kept my part of the bargain, Robotnik. Now we find the emerald!" he said angrily to Robotnik.

"Yes! The Emerald. But first thing's first - Bring out the portable roboticizing chamber!" Robotnik said and Knuckles gasped.

"A perfect ending, your roundness. Only you could trick Knuckles into betraying the hedgehogs." Sleet said.

Then more lightning struck.

"You said you wouldn't roboticize them." Knuckles said and Robotnik gasped.

"Not roboticize them?! Did I say that?" he asked.

"Not that I recall." Sleet said and Knuckles gasped.

"I didn't think so. Start with Sonia!"

"Don't touch me you butt-head!" Sonia said and the swatbot grabbed Sonia. "Wha! Hey! Ow!" she said and screamed as the Swatbot carried her towards the Roboticizer's chamber.

"No!" Knuckles said and prepared a fist attack, scaring Sleet behind the building.

Robotnik also took steps back. As a swatbot came in and blocked the entrance, Knuckles came in with his fists and destroyed the swatbot. He grabbed the Swatbot's gun and started to shoot..

"No Knuckles..." Robotnik said and the gun was fired at the Swatbot holding Sonia, setting her free.

"Yeah! Get 'em Knux!" Sonic said.

"Ah yeah, get 'em Knux, let 'em have it! Ha, ha... Nice going!" Manic said.

Knuckles shot the glue gun repeatedly at it, causing it to fall into the roboticizing pod.

"No! You can't roboticize a robot, you'll overload the system!" Robotnik said.

As the roboticizer overloaded, Sonic struggled to break free of the glue.

"Whoa!" Sonia said.

The Roboticizer exploded, blasting Sonia high while still attached to the glue and making her scream. She was pulled into a particular spot and her eyes roll in dizziness.

"Now to dissolve that glue." Knuckles said and used a different gun on Sonia, removing the glue that was on her.

"Ah!" Sonia said.

Then he shot at Manic and Sonic, dissolving the glue and breaking them free.

"Good to have you back, dude." Manic said and they hopped inside their van.

Knuckles destroyed the glue around the Van and the Van drove away.

"He destroyed my roboticizing chamber! Get him!" Robotnik said angrily and Swatbots chased after them.

"Hang on! Manic man stops for no bot!" Manic said and the van drove through two Swatbots, knocking them over.

Lightning struck again and Manic looked away while driving and exhaled in relief.

Sonia gasped.

"Manic!" she said and Sonic immediately tapped Manic, making him alert again.

Lava spread towards them from ahead and Manic gasped.

Then he put his foot hard on the brake pedal and the van started skidding.

"No!" he said.

"That chaos wave must have set it off!" Sonic said.

"Better back it up - Or we're hedgehog stew!" he said while Swatbots and Robotnik's vehicle chased from behind and lightning struck again. "Yo, we can't go backwards!"

"Follow me!" Knuckles said, jumped out and broke a huge hole through a wall.

They advance through the hole with the lava following them. The lava also headed for Robotnik's vehicle and his swatbots.

Robotnik gasped.

Sleet pressed a button repeatedly, but the vehicle didn't move.

"Huh?" Sleet said.

Instead the vehicle's tail-fin kept hitting the terrain above.

"What are you waiting for, you fool?!" Robotnik asked.

"I'm reversing, I'm reversing!" Sleet said and the vehicle started reversing away from the lava.

Meanwhile Sonic, Sonia and Manic made it to the ground above.

"Quick thinking Knuckles!" Sonia said.

"Yeah - I really dug what you did!" Sonic said and laughed.

"Good one Sonic!" Manic said.

"I never should've trusted Robotnik." Knuckles said miserably.

"You were desperate to save Mobius. I might have done the same thing in your place." Sonia said.

"Hey, are you forgetting something? We still gotta find the Emerald!" Sonic said.

Later they drove in their Camper Van. Sonic saw the bright green light up ahead.

"Hey, what's that!? That's gotta be the Emerald!" Sonic said. "Give me the canister and I'll check it out!" she said to Knuckles and more lightning struck.

Dingo while shielding his eyes ran toward the Chaos Emerald, but Sonic dashed ahead and saw him.

"Hi guy! What's the prob?" Sonic asked.

"You are, hedgehog!" Sleet said and he and the swatbots arrive and she gasped. "...But not for long!" he said. "Get the Emerald!" he ordered to the Swatbots and a swatbot grabbed the Emerald.

Dingo chuckled.

"Sleet! Am I glad to see you." he said.

"You traitor! I'll deal with you later. But first we've got to get the Emerald safe." Sleet said and used the Shapeshift Remote to turn Dingo into a box.

"Oh no, not that, Sleet!" Dingo said and the swatbot put the Chaos Emerald into the box.

"Keep your mouth, and your door shut!"

"That thing may keep me out, but it won't keep the Chaos in! This canister is the only thing that'll contain the Emerald." Sonic said.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Uh, Sleet..." Dingo said and Sleet gasped as Chaos energy tried to protrude through the box. "I don't feel so good!" he said and exclaimed in pain.

"Wuh-oh..." Sonic said.

Dingo grew radically and turned into a massive monster, making Sonic and Sleet panic.

Sonic and Sleet moved away as Dingo edged up on them and trampled over a Camper Van.

"Wait Sleet... Morph him into a kitten, a puppy, anything!" Sonic said and Sleet pressed the button on the remote several times.

"It's not working!" Sleet said.

"Keep trying! I'll be back with help!"

"Dingo! Oh... wow, partner... You don't look so good. Is there anything I can do for you? Is there anything you, you want?" Sleet asked nervously.

"I want... CHAOS!" Dingo said and blew Sleet away.

Meanwhile.

"Did you get the Emerald?" Knuckles asked.

"I think we're gonna need a bigger canister." Sonic said and Dingo approached.

"Chaos! I want CHAOS!" Dingo echoed.

"Dingo? Oh man, and I thought he was ugly before!" Manic said.

"Chaos definitely isn't his look." Sonia said.

"Rargh!" Dingo said and unleashed an energy blast to the top of a mountain, which erupted into a volcano.

He created brick-shaped fists and pounded the top of two nearby mountains, erupting more lava. He roared at the heroes, whom have shocked looks on their faces.

"He'll tear the whole planet apart!" Knuckles said.

"Not if we stop him!" Sonic said, gave the canister to Knuckles and shot at Dingo using her guitar but was unharmed.

"Argh!" Dingo said and smashed down on the ground so Sonic dashed away to avoid.

"Ah!" she said and Manic brought out his drums and banged them repeatedly.

"You call that an earthquake? This is an earthquake." Dingo said and pounded the ground so hard that Manic's drum set shatters.

Manic gasped.

"Whoa dude!" he said.

An arch broke off and another volcano erupted.

"He's too strong!" Sonic said nervously and Dingo casually walked away when Robotnik's vehicle arrived by the hedgehogs. "Robotnik! Oh just what we need."

"Get the hedgehogs!" Robotnik said.

"Wait! Dingo swallowed the Chaos Emerald!" Knuckles said.

"He's turned into a monster!" Manic said.

"He'll spread chaos all over Mobius!" Sonia said.

"And your point is..." Robotnik said.

"He's heading straight for Robotropolis! He'll turn you into rubble if we don't stop him!"

"Ooh, I'm scared! As if Dingo could do anything right." Robotnik said pretending. "Get up!" he ordered and Swatbots set off. "Ahh."

"But Dingo stole the Emerald from you! You gonna let him get away with that? You're the man, the Buttnik! The Butt my sir, you're gonna let Dingo make a monkey out of you? You'll be the laughing stock of Mobius!" Sonic said.

"Nobody steals from Robotnik and gets away with it. I do all the stealing around here!"

"That's the old Buttnik I know and don't love! Now picture this... I got a plan to put Dingo in his place." she said and whispered into his ears.

"Hmm... I like it!"

Meanwhile.

"Robotropolis! And it's all mine!" Dingo said and prepared to unleash chaos energy, but heard Manic's drumset playing and looked back.

Sonic, Manic and Sonia brought out their musical instruments.

[The song "Mobius Stomp" plays.]

The Swatbots used the glue gun to stick Dingo to the ground.

"I can't walk!" Dingo said while struggling and Sonic pushed Robotnik forward for a brief moment.

"W-What are you doing? What am I supposed to do now?" Robotnik said and Sonic gave him a thumb up.

"Just stand right there!" Sonic said.

"Why?" he asked and she zoomed off. "No wait!"

"I'm falling!" Dingo said, tumbled on top of Robotnik and spit out the Chaos Emerald.

The Chaos Emerald shards floated up in the air. Knuckles was holding the canister and ran as hard as he could. Then he dove and body surfed along the ground, keeping the canister upright. He caught all the shards and the canister glows. He closed the lid of the canister and Sonic, Sonia and Manic walked over to him.

"Nice catch!" Sonic said.

"Give the credit to the team!" Knuckles said.

Dingo shrunk away, still on top of Robotnik, who muttered. Dingo suddenly saw Robotnik and put his hands by his mouth.

"Uh oh." Dingo said, jumped off of the glue patch and tip-toes towards Sleet while Robotnik rubbed his sore head.

Sleet already had his hands on his hips along with an angry look on his face.

"Uh... Hi, Sleet." Dingo said.

"Dingo! I'm gonna roboticize you! First for stealing the Chaos Emerald, again for letting Sonic escape and a third time for flattening me! And then!..." Robotnik said angrily "No more Mr. Nice guy!" he said evilly.

Later.

"Athair, we brought you the Chaos Emerald for safekeeping." Knuckles said.

"The Emerald must be kept by you. On the floating island." Athair said.

"But you'll be coming with us won't you, to join the Resistance?" Sonia asked.

"Knuckles' duty lies on the floating island. Just as your duty lies with the Resistance."

"And finding mom!" Sonic said.

"But if you ever need a break from fighting Buttnik, there's always room on the floating island." Knuckles said.

"And you're welcome to sit in with a Band anytime!" Sonia said and kissed him.

"That was the second time Knuckles was tricked and after the war ended Sonia and Knuckles started dating. It took a while to get used to that though! They still are for some reason, why, I'll never figure out. Neither will Manic."