Hey everyone! It's been a while since I did one of these, but I'll make it quick. First of all, I just wanted to apologize for my inconsistency with my chapter posts. I don't like making this excuse, but there was a lot going on for me the last couple of weeks. Finals, holidays, family. I'm sure you guys can understand. But I'm back from all of that, and I will be a little more consistent than I was. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story, and I cannot express my gratitude enough for all the support that's been given. This is by far my most successful story, and we're not even close to being done yet! With that out of the way, please enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 6: The Ambassadors-Part 2

Robotropolis: War Room

Rain was pouring outside for the first time in months. Droplets tinked rapidly against the metal dome shielding the war room. Robotnik despised the sound. It reminded him that his mission in controlling all life was still an ongoing battle. If there was rain, even the slightest amount, then that meant there were pockets of water somewhere nearby. "Sir?" Snively approached the tranced man. "Our spy has new intel for us."

"The report can wait. I'm busy." Robotnik said as he continued to stare aimlessly forward. He kept his thoughts centered on the deafening rain. His mind, isolated within the emptiness of the storm, recalled an irking voice. It taunted him–laughed at him. It was the voice of a man who he thought dead. Robotnik tightened his metal hand around a sullied golden chalice. He sipped the rest of the drink. His hand trembled as the false gold touched his lips. The voice kept mocking him with the same phrase over and over again: 'Nothing…but a man too desperate to escape the chains he's put on himself. You'll never live a life of contentment.'

"Sir?" Suddenly, Robotnik stood up from his chair, hurling the chalice across the room until it smashed against a window, cracking it instantly. In a fit of rage, he was out of breath. Snively cowered behind the chair as the round tyrant glared at him.

"Make it quick," Was all he said. Snively emerged from behind the chair, anxiously scratching his neck.

"Um, yes, of course. Our spy contacted us a little over an hour ago. The princess is planning to lead an exploration into the lower city. But that's not all. Our spy also reports the appearance of two benefactors to the freedom fighters. You won't believe who it is."

"Do not test me with dramatics. Who is it?"

"A certain two-tailed fox we misplaced, along with an old associate, Dr. Starline." Robotnik froze as he averted his glare at Snively. His eyes quivered with a mix of emotions—confusion, anger, and delight.

"So he finally shows his face again. If he's around, then she is too." Robotnik lightly chuckled. "Wait for the fighters to enter the city. Let Shadow lead the attack. And make sure our informant is paid well. You know her usual price." Snively nodded as he left the war room, leaving Robotnik to gaze at the cracked window. Water started to build up from the rain, which seeped in through the seams of the broken glass, dripping onto the cold floor below. "Let it all in," Robotnik said to himself. "Let it all die tonight–the old world is coming to an end."

Lower City

They moved in under the cover of night. The rain pouring on the surface masked their approach as Sally had led a small group of freedom fighters through the city's tunnels and into the large cavern. She was advised to take this mission slowly by Starline. It was a simple scouting party, nothing more. The doctor accompanied her, who insisted on showing her around the lower city. Sonic, Miles, Bunnie, and Antoine were also present, acting as protection just in case things got hairy. Sally hammered a metal stake into the edge of the cliff facing the city. She quickly tied a rope around and tossed it over the side, allowing them to descend safely. Sally and Starline reach the ground first, kicking up dust as they land. Starline wipes off the dust on his suit while Sally continues to advance. "You're in a hurry," Starline commented as he watched Sally move along.

"No time to waste, right? You said it yourself. These emeralds cannot fall into Robotnik's hands."

"Do not mistake urgency with recklessness," Starline responded.

"I've already made that mistake recently. Don't worry, I know the distinction now–" Just as Sally walked along the rocky path, a chunk of the trail suddenly broke apart and collapsed right beneath her feet. Sally tumbled and lost her footing, helpless to escape the endless descent that awaited her.

"Sally!" Sonic yelled as he ran to reach for her, but she had already fallen too far, as he just barely missed her hand. She was now in free fall. Her back was turned to the ground as she watched her friends scramble around the edge, horrified and in shock. It was then that an orange glow encircled her, and within a split second, she had landed back on the trail with the others.

"Are you alright?" Bunnie asked as she knelt beside her. Sally nodded in bewilderment. Her eyes were wide open as her friends gathered around her, making sure that she was fine. Beyond the huddle that surrounded her, she spotted Starline wriggling the warp topaz while it still resided in its socket. She noticed a level of discomfort in his face as the gemstone dimmed. He held his hand behind his back as he approached her.

"It's a fine line, Ms. Acorn. I wouldn't expect anyone to walk it well the first time." Starline turned his back to her as he led the way forward.

Later, the six of them were nearing the border of the city. There was a large stone wall, chiseled from the same rocks that made up the cavern. There was no gate or entrance along the wall, but that was no problem for Starline, as he opened another gateway for them to cross over. On the other side were small huts made from straw and petrified wood. No one seemed to be home though, as there were unlit lanterns filled with ash hanging within each hut. Bunnie quickly noticed footprints stemming from the huts' doors, which all conjoined into one wide path that led to a clearing ahead. "Where's everyone headed?"

"Same place they're always meant to go…" Miles spoke up. He cast a worried frown as his ears drooped. "To work." They all followed the footprints to the edge of the clearing, peering over the side with intrusive eyes. Before they even looked over, there was a choir of metal clanging and machinery below. As they looked down, they saw the legion of miners working through the deep quarry, proctored by bipedal drones colored in robust steel. The quarry's walls were dense with colorful crystals, both on its surface and within. The miners painlessly excavated each crystal they could find with their hardened tools–automatic drills that cleaved the way forward like a hot knife against lard. They worked while barely breaking a sweat. They didn't look too troubled at all, interestingly enough. The drones too were passive in their supervision, as if they had little worry about.

"There's so many," Antoine muttered. "How does Robotnik keep such a staggering population in line?"

"He barely has to try," Miles responded, pointing at the very center of the quarry, where carts were filled with the shoveled gems. They were soon examined by two drones, who stiffly scanned the entire cart, approving its shipment. The drones wheel the cart up the incline, bothered not by the steep passage. "The cavern is full of gems like that. It's where we found the first Chaos Emerald. They load up whatever they can and send it out for processing in Robotropolis."

"Yeah, we were lucky we got out alive with the one we found," Starline added. "Safe to say we're not welcome here anymore. With you guys here as well, we'd be asking for a lot of attention."

"Then we shouldn't wait much longer," Sally chimed in. "I can organize a force to liberate this site. We'd stop this operation and free these people."

"There's a lot you're not considering." Starline retorted.

"And what's that?"

"Robotnik isn't just going to let you raze this place. He's invested as much time and resources into here as he's done in Robotropolis. As soon as you attack, he will unleash everything he has on you. If this was before Shadow's reawakening, I might be more obliged to your methods."

"Still, we have to get these people out of here."

"Even that I'm unsure about," Starline said with confliction in his eyes.

"You'd let these people continue to be tools for Robotnik?"

"They're the only thing keeping this mine going. Without them, our chances of finding an emerald diminish. It's a tough pill to swallow, but we can't go charging in here."

"How can you be sure that there are any more emeralds here? Does the kid's scanner pick it up?"

"Unfortunately, its desired use only works in close proximity."

"So we just have to wait until they find one? What if there are none left here? What if they have scattered throughout the world, and we've been sitting here waiting without even knowing?"

Sonic quickly tuned them out as his senses started to pick up on something strange, yet familiar. A spark tingled in through his arm and hand. It was being pulled from within his veins toward something similar to it. He felt an invigorating presence attracting the sparks in his body, much like how he felt when he first experienced the power of Chaos. He felt it before this scouting mission. The green emerald the platypus brought also resonated with a similar presence. What he was feeling now was faint, but ever so there. "There's one here," Sonic commented out of nowhere.

"What?" Both Starline and Sally said at the same time.

"There's a Chaos Emerald here, I just know it." His head turned to the rest of his friends, spelling great gravity. "It's close too. We have to get it!"

"Are you sure, Sonic?" Sally asked sincerely.

"There's not a doubt running around in my mind."

Sally's tone mellowed as she took a deep breath. She looked back to Starline, admitting that he had the right idea. "Let's do it your way then. We'll hang around until they uncover the emerald, and then we'll make our move."

"I like it," Starline nodded. "Just give the word."

"Umm, maybe that's not such a good idea," Bunnie said, cowering below the edge to avoid being seen from the inside of the quarry. "Trouble just came knocking through." The rest gaze over the edge in horror as a familiar figure enters the site, backed by an army of Swatbots. Shadow was conversing with the quarry's drones, unaware of the freedom fighter's presence nearby. Having that hedgehog here was one thing, but an entire army with him would lead to a disaster in his wake.

"Oh, that's not good." Antoine whimpered. "What is he doing here?"

"He's brought a whole battalion with him. Do they know we're here?" Sally directed her gaze at Starline.

"What? This is hardly my doing."

"I just find it convenient that as soon as you arrived at Knothole, we had a leak of information."

"Me and Miles have been going down here for a while now, and not once has a force this size detected us."

"So what changed?"

"I don't know!" Starline said out of frustration as he backed away from the edge. "This complicates everything. If they're here when the emerald is uncovered, then we have no chance of getting it." Starline wrapped his fingers around the warm-colored gemstone inside his glove. He considered using it for a dire time such as this, but even he was unsure of how far he could push the topaz before it became unstable. With each use of it, it became a little more unpredictable.

"I have an idea," Miles spoke up, eagerly gathering everyone's undivided attention. "If we can draw them away from here, I can expedite the search for the emerald." Miles pulls out his chaos scanner: a rectangular device dyed a daffodil-yellow with a simple dial gauge. "If it's in there, I can find it with this."

"That is out of the question," Starline retorted. "You know why that is."

"But it's our only way…" Miles looked away from Starline and toward Sonic, asking him with his insistent eyes. Sonic's heart skipped a beat. His shoulders quickly locked up and relaxed all at the same time. They had just met the day before, and already this kid was looking up to him. Somehow, Sonic felt as if he could fully trust him–like he had a good plan in store. The hedgehog looked past the fox and at Starline, giving him an assuring nod.

Starline heavily sighed, "Very well. Just don't get yourself caught." Starline rose from the cold floor and signaled Bunnie and Antoine to follow. "This is going to have to be one good distraction."

Within the heart of the quarry, Shadow conducted his investigation across many members of the site. With every question and answer galling him. His task did not interest him, as he simply did not care to do the mad doctor's work. He scratched the side of his neck, recoiling his hand as he felt a spark pushing his defiance further away from his subconscious. The pain wasn't really there. It was just a fading sensation from the punishment of his failure. He couldn't finish off the blue blur, and his reward was a test of the regulator's limits. He was subjected to that throughout the night. But he didn't care about how much pain he endured. As long as he did what he could do to get closer to her, nothing else mattered to him. "You asked about any visitors?" Shadow chimed back into reality as one of the miners was speaking to him. He was a young hound. Very young. They all were. Each of their tempered bones chipped away the cracked walls around them. Their youth directed to wherever this horrible pit led them. There was no salvation in sight, yet they all worked as if there was something fond to look forward to.

"Have you seen any outsiders? Anyone who doesn't look like they belong here?" Shadow continued as he was set back on track. With each word not stemming from his own concern, he felt the chains grow tighter around him.

"Well, no we haven't, sir. We've been down here all day, and I haven't seen a soul enter or leave that I didn't know."

Shadow took a deep breath and sighed. This is a waste of time. He thought as he turned his back on the hound and went on his way to question another. But before he could, the hound zealously tugged on his arm and gave way with his joyous words.

"You're from the surface, right?" He smiled sincerely but unusually. "We've been told so many stories of how beautiful it is. How once we're done, we'll walk harmoniously together across it. Tell me, is it all true? Will we be rewarded in paradise?" Shadow was almost visibly in shock. He hadn't realized how deluded these people were until now. Did they have any idea what was above them? What perversion of the world was left? Shadow wanted to spit it all out, let him know the truth. But something kept his mind from speaking. Something that prevented him from shattering this young man's beliefs. There was a string of kindness sewn into his inflamed being–sewn from someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

"I don't go out much. I can't say." Was what he mustered. Shadow left the young man back to his devices as he moved through the quarry. He looked at the miners, then he looked at the drones and the Swatbots. If it wasn't for that regulator, he'd be able to cut through all of them and show the people down here what the world truly looked like. If only he wasn't bound by these chains.

Suddenly, a loud thud echoed across the cavern. Everyone around the quarry stopped what they were doing and stared into the dark horizon. Their eyes harbored fright with each passing second as another thunderous bang rocked the settlement. "It sounds like someone is tearing down the wall!" One of the miners exclaimed. Shadow growled as he signaled both the Swatbot and the Drone Supervisors to follow him and inspect the noise. He figured that this was the freedom fighter's assault. He raced out in an instant, with the Swatbots not far behind. Before they left, the Drone Supervisors ordered the miners to continue their work until they got back.

Most of them were still in shock in response to what was happening. Never in their lives had conflict reached their walls. Many were frozen, anticipating things to only escalate from here. Some tried to get back to work, but their performance drastically dropped as they couldn't settle their minds. They were so preoccupied with themselves that they failed to notice a twin-tailed fox entering the site. "Hello?" He openly stated to those around him. As the miners turned to face him, Miles meekly lowered his head. "I'm back, everyone"

"Miles!?" The hound dropped his equipment and ran briskly at the fox. Miles' body shriveled as the hound placed his hands upon his shoulders. "Where–where have you been? We all thought you were lost."

"I…uh…needed to get some things." Miles shows the hound his scanner, which the hound was amazed by. "I made this to help our search. I would've made it here, but I didn't have the proper materials…so I had to go for a bit."

The hound took the scanner from his hands, remaining in awe at the device. "You did this for us?" Miles internally winced. He hated lying, but he couldn't tell them everything. He knew these people well. They were devoted to their cause to Robotnik. It wasn't their fault, but all they ever knew were the glorified stories that Robotnik told them, and a hollow promise of freedom. He couldn't tell the truth of it all–not now. As much as it pained him, he had to play along with this charade. Miles nodded to the hound.

"I bet this one's a dud." A condescending voice arose from the crowd of miners. A trio of opossums emerged with darting looks and sharp smiles. The lead opossum, who sported significantly denser muscles, flicked a toothpick out of his greasy mouth. "But I reckon that sums up all of your little tricks."

Miles' ears hang low. His heart banged against his chest–slowly but intensely. This was why he was hesitant to come back down here in the first place. These three constantly tormented him for his second tail. Not only that, but they also took immense pleasure in breaking and teasing whatever he made. They always mocked him for trying too hard. But that wasn't the worst of it. Without fail, they'd always find a way to turn the rest of the people here against him. They'd spin a story making the others believe he was trying to leave them behind–that his inventions were meant to grab the attention of supervisors in hopes that one day they would allow him to escape this place alone. With how fanatic this group was about the surface, they took these lies as absolute. "That's not true! I can help all of you. You have to trust me."

"Why should we trust a deserter?" The opossum in the back rasped. "Where were you when the emerald was stolen?" Miles couldn't possibly fathom to answer. He was there when it happened. Both he and Starline took it right under their noses. They took their one ticket to the surface away. How was he supposed to explain to them that he was responsible for their continual labor and subjugation? But it wasn't like they understood what they were into anyway. As far as they were concerned, they had every reason to support Robotnik. They grew up down here. They had no bearing on what the world was truly like. Robotnik gave them food, supplies, homes, and a promise to enter a better existence if they didn't fail him. It was Miles keeping them down here, and he was here to prolong it again. As soon as they found the emerald, he would take it away from them, just like the last. But it was this time that they would find out, there was no way out of it.

"Please, just give him a chance." The hound spoke up for Miles. "He can lead us out of here. What's the harm in letting him try?"

"I'll show you why." The lead opossum lifted up his sleeve, exposing a nasty burn starting from the top of his shoulder and down to his elbow. "You remember this, runt? Remember that new drill you gave me? You said it would help me dig through the conglomerate. You said it was safe. Why did you lie!"

"You kept overclocking it! I tried to warn you!"

"All the other drills don't have problems like that. Face it. You hated me. You wanted me gone, but you couldn't ever possibly take me out on your own, so you tricked me, and I bet you would've done the same for my boys given the chance." It was suddenly apparent that the opossum's words were reaching the majority of the miners. Their diluted minds quickly turned on the fox, seeing him as nothing more than a hindrance. The opossums lead a chant against him, rallying to get rid of him for good, while the only person who stood between them was the hound. He didn't want to believe what they were saying, and that the kid only meant good, but their overpowering numbers pushed the hound aside and swarmed Miles. The fox's tails were tucked under his legs, and he cowered beneath the mob, shielding his head with his frail arms.

However, the mob stood in their place as a gust of wind divided the space between them and Miles. The fox, too scared to raise his head, felt a glowing presence shining above his recessed body. His eyes opened warily upon a valiant beacon. He stood before Miles, silencing the ballistic roars around him. He saw the blue hedgehog face down the crowd without fear or doubt. "Who are you?" The lead opossum quivered. As Sonic handled the mob, another presence raised Miles to his feet. Their grip was firm yet comforting, and the fox felt oddly secure. His trembling eyes faced a stern Sally, whose confidence gave the kid an invigorating sensation.

"Your time to shine, kid." She told Miles as she helped escort him through the middle of the mob. They parted for them as the three approached the walls of the quarry. Many of the miners murmured amongst themselves, wondering what to do. They thought of reporting the newcomers to their supervisors, but after Miles started to use his scanner along the crystal walls, many of them started to question if the kid was telling the truth. Miles held the device against the wall, sliding it across any smooth surface in order to utilize its capabilities to the max. He keenly watched the gauge with every second and with every move. Any semblance of Chaos energy would be enough to trigger it. At that moment, his eyes caught something. It was small, but he swore that he saw the dial tick slightly up. He stilled his arm and held his short breath as he tried to pivot the scanner back where he saw activity. His attentive eyes soon noticed a minuscule jump in the gauge. There was something there.

"Dig here!" He turned and hollered to the miners, who were still unsure where their motivation stood. All except for one: the hound moved past the crowd, revving his drill as he approached the wall. He started to dig without question and his act of resolve soon inspired more to follow. They tore through the rock with haste, and soon, only the opossums stood idly by. Through their unified effort and progress, the hound's drill clinked against something much sturdier than any old rock. As he removed his drill, a bright yellow light shot out from the hole, dazing the horde of miners. Miles eagerly stepped forth and reached his hand inside, prying the light from its solace refuge. His scanner immediately skyrocketed to the max, and in his hand was a beautifully cut gem, glistening a honey-yellow hue. Everyone was in disbelief at the sight of the Chaos Emerald.

At the same time, Shadow had already reached the settlement's wall. By then, the banging had ceased, and there was no one in sight. He ordered his troops to search the houses while he examined the integrity of the wall. He immediately noticed signs of an attack, as the center of the barrier had a web of cracks across the stone, which all led to one central point where it seemed like someone was repeatedly punching the wall. The most curious thing about this discovery was that it was coming from inside the settlement, not outside. It was then that Shadow figured it out. He was played. The sound from the punching was made to distract him. "Head back to the quarry! Now!" Immediately, the Swatbots took off in the opposite direction, leaving Shadow to continue his investigation here. If his theory was correct, then the bulk of the freedom fighter's forces were back at the mine, but that still left the culprit of this distraction here.

And there, indeed, they were. Bunnie and Antoine hid close by behind one of the huts. Bunnie held her breath as she kept Antoine's shut. The coyote was trembling out of control. Shadow was on to them, and nothing good would come to them if they were discovered. Antoine's muffled voice squeaked through Bunnie's hand, prompting her to carefully remove it as she gestured to him to keep quiet. "We need to go," Antoine whispered.

"I'm not seeing any way out." The slight murmur in their voices briefly echoed through the cavern, seizing Shadow's notice. The black hedgehog snapped his neck to one of the huts, soon hauling his way over. Shadow flexed his fingers away from his palm, unveiling Chaos energy right from his hand. As he turned the corner to the other side of the hut, he threw the newly formed chaos spear without hesitation, striking the ground in front of him. No one was there. Shadow was still on edge, as he kept patrolling the ends of each hut. Bunnie and Antoine had narrowly switched hiding spots, now stationed behind a cracked boulder. Bunnie had both her hands occupied, not only keeping Anotine's mouth shut but also her own. She didn't even trust herself to not make a noise. Antoine gingerly removed her hand as he talked quieter than before.

"Where is that snot-nosed platypus anyway? He could get us out with no problem. I knew we shouldn't have trusted him."

"I don't know where he went," Bunnie replied. "He must've slipped away when I was hitting the wall." Bunnie was conflicted about how to feel about Starline leaving them. Not a word's notice, and he was gone, leaving them to fend for themselves. But maybe, and she really hoped this was the case, maybe he had a plan to get them out of here.

However, the situation was more nuanced than it seemed. Starline was still nearby, but he was not formulating a plan of escape. While Bunnie and Antoine were preoccupied, he snuck off further into the town, tracking down a hidden entrance beneath the slanted surface of the rocky ground. Below the layer was a staircase that the platypus descended. Candles illuminated the way down as he pushed through a dusty and old wooden door. He entered a cramped hideaway, stuffed with file cabinets that contracted cobwebs. He went through each cabinet thoroughly, scrambling through papers and sheets in a hurried attempt to find something.

"Looking for this?" A woman's voice called from behind him. Despite the sudden introduction, Starline wasn't startled in the slightest. He sighed, fairly displeased as he turned to see his partner, still cloaked and obscured, holding a beige folder up to him. "I don't blame you. I wouldn't want them to see this either." Starline didn't speak, for he only grunted in defeat as the cloaked woman tossed the file across the ground and next to his legs. Starline took this opportunity to activate the warp topaz, sending the file to a place far from here. "Do you expect to hide the truth forever?"

"Do you?" Starline responded.

"We already discussed the purpose of my absence. It's better for them this way."

"And keeping my past sealed isn't? This alliance with them won't work if they figure out what I've done." Starline faced the ground, ashamed. "What I've allowed that monster to do."

"This was your idea. If there are complications, that's on you."

"I know," Starline stood up and walked past the disguised woman. As he opened the door to leave, he muttered one final thing to her. "For once, things are finally moving along. Turns out we were just missing pieces of the grand puzzle. If you want this needless war to end, then make your move." Starline slammed the door on her, leaving her contemplating as she stood in the center of the room.

Back inside the settlement, Shadow was just about ready to give up his search. He scoured every hut and every corner he could see. He figured that they must've escaped a while ago. Bunnie and Antoine lean over the top of the boulder, watching as Shadow slowly starts to walk away. Although, the hedgehog kept his eyes wide, just in case.

Antoine breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, his relaxed movement accidentally tumbled over a few loose pebbles on top of the boulder. As they clashed against the ground, Shadow abruptly stopped in his tracks. Bunnie and Antoine receded behind cover, holding their breaths as their hearts froze. Without any warning, Shadow turned to face the boulder, launching a chaos spear right into the flimsy rock. It shattered and exploded without fail, knocking Bunnie unconscious, and leaving Antoine coughing up dust on the ground. The coyote frantically tried to wake Bunnie up, but she was out cold, with no signs of getting up soon. Shadow made his approach, crushing any debris below him with his steps. Antoine tried to lift Bunnie up onto his shoulders, but he wasn't strong enough to carry both her and her robotic parts. His hands trembled as he raised his sword out of his sheathe, pointing it fiercely at the ebony hedgehog. "Stay back!" Antoine's hands were shaking beyond what he could manage. Shadow was unphased as he continued down his path. "I'm warning you!"

It was only a matter of time until Shadow reached Antoine. He stood before him, without fear, glaring at the whimpering coyote with menacing eyes. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be." It didn't take much, but Antoine gave up. He dropped his rapier, defeated and defenseless.

"I don't care what you do to me. Just don't hurt her." Antoine closed his eyes, embracing the end. Shadow let out a small, impressed grunt as he raised his hand above the coyote's neck. But as he was about to finish the job, an orange gateway formed below Antoine and Bunnie, taking them to safety as Shadow was left alone and confused as to what just happened.

"Been quite a while, hasn't it Shadow?" A voice spoke to him. Shadow turned to see the cloaked woman standing in front of him.

"I don't have time for you. Get out of my way!"

"Now, is that any way to greet an old acquaintance?" The woman raised her hands along her hood, pulling back and revealing herself to him. Shadow stepped back. His eyes widened. It was as if he saw a ghost.

"You?"

Meanwhile, back at the quarry, Sonic heard the sound of metal clanking and marching in their direction. "We've outstayed our welcome. We should leave." He told Sally and Miles.

"Leave?" The hound question, now skeptical as to what was actually going on. "What do you mean 'leave'? Miles, what is he talking about?" The fox, devastated to do this again, couldn't even bear to look at the hound.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry." Miles tucked the Chaos Emerald away, as he, Sally, and Sonic began to push through the crowd.

"What are you doing? Why?" The hound was bemused. It was then that something became apparent to him, and not only him but the whole legion of miners: Miles was abandoning them. "The first emerald that we lost before, please tell me that wasn't you." Miles didn't say anything. He was on the verge of tears. "You can't leave! We deserve to be on the surface! How could you do this to us!?"

"I knew he was no good." The opossum said. "He just wants the luxury all to himself, and to let us rot under our hard work. That monster…you deserve nothing!" It was sad, but Miles didn't disagree. He knew that what he was doing was cruel to them. He only hoped that the ends would justify the means. Just then, the Swatbots arrived, swarming the quarry.

"Over there!" The hound, furious at his friend's betrayal, pointed him out to the Swatbots. He stood up for him. He listened to him. And now he was leaving him in the dust. "He's got the treasure!"

"We gotta go," Sally said as they were trapped against the wall.

"Everyone grab on to me!" Miles held out his hands to Sonic and Sally. "Trust me. I can get us out." Without much choice, Sonic and Sally held on tight. The fox curled and wrapped his tails together, squeezing them tight until it resembled the look of a wrung-out rag. Without a second to lose, he let his tails unwind, causing it to form a rotor that picked all three of them off the ground. Miles scaled up the wall as Swatbots opened fire. He narrowly dodged the red lasers as they made it out of the quarry, leaving them on foot. Sonic took hold of both Sally and Miles, dragging them away at the speed of sound and further into the vast cavern where they could no longer be seen. They were on the run, and who knew how long it would be until they would make it out of here, for there were more mysteries awaiting in the cavern.

To be continued…

Up Next: Guardian-Part 1