"Protector"
Flying between mountains, heading toward a large mountain, surrounded by a violently strong cyclone of wind.
A giant dragon head emerges from the mountaintop in the same direction as the cyclone, and roars.
Dulcy, hanging upside by her tail, falls down with a small yell. She sits up, rubbing the top of her head.
"Ouch, never had a bad dream like that before," Dulcy says, before she starts to stand up.
Sonic, Sally, and Knuckles are in a hut, with Sally holding out NICOLE.
"Knuckles and I had managed to determine the location of the next wonder," Sally starts, as a hologram of a large mountain appears above NICOLE.
Dulcy pulls her head through the hut's window, when she notices the hologram, "Hey, that's the mountain from my dream."
"You dreamed about a mountain?" Sonic asks Dulcy.
"It was really intense, and almost real," Dulcy says.
"According to the Scrolls of Maga, it is called Dragon Mountain," NICOLE explains. "Further legends, while vague, claim it is the ancestral home of dragons."
"Mmhm, ancestry home," Sally says. "I wonder if there's a connection to your dream, Dulcy.
"I still don't believe there's still a dragon on Mobius," Knuckles crosses his arms. "I thought they all were either destroyed or roboticized."
"I'm not the only unroboticized dragon," Sally softly admits.
In a Robotropolis base, Naugus is looking at the floating Scroll of Maga, surrounded with energy, as Snively approaches.
"You seem to be in a good mood," Snively says.
"I have deduced the location of the next Chaos Emerald," Naugus says. "The ancestral home of dragons, Dragon Mountain."
"Tch, I still remember the last time Uncle Julian went after dragons," Snively says, annoyed. "And the Freedom Fighters' dragon. She had been nothing but trouble since she joined them."
Naugus turns to Snively, angrily, "There's an unroboticized dragon? A female dragon?!"
"According to the scroll's data, and records of the surrounding area, Dragon Mountain is surrounded by strong, continuant wind patterns," NICOLE reports.
The hologram disappears, as Sally closes NICOLE, "Which means it will be impossible for the Freedom Stormer to get there." She turns to Dulcy. "You will have to fly the three of us there."
"There's you and me, Sal, but who's the third ride along?" Sonic asks.
"If there's a Chaos Emerald there, then I must go as well," Knuckles tells Sonic, who places a hand on his hip.
"You are up for this, Dulcy?" Sally asks her.
"I think so," Dulcy responds. "I'm excited about going to Dragon Mountain, I kinda remember mama told me about it when I was little." She looks down. "But I am nervous. Very nervous."
"You'll be fine, Dulcy," Sally places a hand on Dulcy's head, with the two smiles.
Dulcy is flying between several mountains, with Sonic, Knuckles, and Sally in her pouch, as Sally is holding NICOLE, and large winds blowing past Dulcy.
A hologram of the mountains appears above NICOLE, with Sally trying to cover her eyes, "We're almost there, Dulcy, just keep going straight."
"Okay, Sally, but the winds are getting rougher," Dulcy says, trying to fly ahead.
"Can she get us through?" Knuckles asks.
"Just trust her, Knux," Sonic says.
Knuckles glances at Sonic, "How can someone trust another person like that."
Dulcy sees the large cyclone of wind, before remembering the dragon head from her dream, "My dream…" She whips her tail and flies ahead. "Hold on."
Dulcy flies into the cyclone, riding with the winds, before managing to get through within the cyclone's eye.
"Bumping ride, Dulcy, but great job," Sonic rubs the top of his head.
"Something coming toward us," Knuckles says.
"It can't be," Sally looks ahead.
Roboticized Sabina is flying toward the group.
"Mama?" Dulcy realizes, with a single tear.
Sabina continues to fly ahead, roaring.
Dulcy snaps her tail and flies down, before Sabina chases after her, roaring in the process.
Knuckles to the side, "She won't be able to out fly her, we have no choice to counterattack."
"We aren't gonna fight Dulcy's mother," Sonic tells him.
"Wait, is that…" Dulcy looks down at Dragon's Mountain.
"Dulc-whoa!" Sally starts, when Dulcy turns around to fly backward, before she inhales and blows out a large smokescreen, covering Sabina, who stops her pursuit.
Dulcy then flies back around and down to the top of Dragon Mountain, which has a few trees around the perimeter and a large cave entrance that resembles a dragon's mouth, as well as a familiar mother dragon and her daughter.
"I thought that was you, Dulcy," the mother dragon says, as Dulcy lands, and her daughter happily waves, before Sonic, Sally, and Knuckles climb out of Dulcy's pouch. "Sonic and Sally, I'm happy to see you two again, as well."
"The feeling's the same," Sally says.
"So these are the other dragons Dulcy mentioned," Knuckles realizes.
"We saved her from Robotnik, and helped her egg to hatch," Sally explains.
"Speaking of which, how are you doing, champ?" Sonic asks the young dragon.
The dragon smiles, before spitting a puff of smoke, surprising Sonic.
"Dina's growing so fast, but she's far from having the powers that Dulcy has," the mother dragon says.
"Dina?" Sally asks.
"Oh dear, I guess with everything that was going on the last time we met, I never introduced ourselves," the mother dragon realizes. "My name is Samara, and I've chosen to name my daughter, Dina."
"Excuse me, Samara, but how long has my mama been here?" Dulcy asks, before they all look up to see the smokescreen has dissipated and Sabina starts flying around.
"I didn't realize she was your mother, Dulcy," Samara starts. "A few months ago, she suddenly appeared and usually just flew around Dragon Mountain. Going after you was the first time I've seen her breaking off from her flight pattern."
"After we defeated Robotnik, with no commands, Sabina must've instinctively come to Dragon Mountain," Sally says.
"Mmhm," Knuckles looks away from Sabina and approaches Samara. "We came for the Chaos Emerald hidden at Dragon Mountain."
"I know nothing about any Chaos Emerald," Samara says, before looking to the cave entrance. "But I do recall hearing about a secret within the mountain's hollow center."
"A secret, huh?" Knuckles looks past Samara. "Must be the Chaos Emerald."
Samara turns back to Knuckles, "But only Protector Dragons can enter the hollow center. Protector Dragons like Dulcy and my own Dina."
"I have to admit, I don't know exactly what a Protector Dragon is," Dulcy says.
Samara smiles, "Protector Dragons are special female dragons who are born with elemental powers of fire, ice, and wind. Their duty is to protect all of Mobius."
"P-P-Protect all of Mobius," Dulcy nervously says. "Sounds like a lot of pressure."
"Dulcy, you're a Freedom Fighter, you've already protected Mobius, with the rest of us," Sonic tells her.
"We are wasting time," Knuckles says. "We need to find that Chaos Emerald, before…"
Suddenly, a burst of energy erupts from the center of the mountain top, with Naugus standing in the spot.
"That," Knuckles finishes.
"So you're already here," Naugus realizes, before grinning. "But it doesn't matter, the Chaos Emerald will be mine."
"Guess again, Nut-gus," Sonic says, before glancing at Dulcy. "Go on, Dulcy, we'll handle him, you'll get the Chaos Emerald."
"I-I'm not sure…" Dulcy says.
"We have complete faith in you," Sally says, with Dulcy looking down at her.
"Gotta juice," Sonic says, before he spin dashes at Naugus, who holds up a hand, with an energy field temporarily appearing, bouncing Sonic off.
"Right, right," Dulcy turns and flies into the cave entrance.
"Not on your own," Knuckles runs toward the cave entrance, when a blue energy barrier appears, blocking him. "What?!"
Dulcy is flying through a long vertical tunnel, before reaching a horizontal shaft, where streams of fire are shooting out of the walls. Dulcy lands on the tunnel's floor, watching the streams of fire.
"Protector Dragons are special female dragons who are born with elemental powers of fire, ice, and wind."
"Here goes nothing…" Dulcy says to herself, before she blows freezing bolts from her nostrils, shooting them down the tunnel and freezing the streams of fire solid.
"Ha, it worked!" Dulcy flies through the frozen streams, shattering them and continues down a vertical shaft.
Flying further, Dulcy enters a large chamber, with the path blocked by a large ice wall.
"Ice? Piece of cake," Dulcy starts to breathe fire, melting the ice, before the ice wall starts to generate. "Okay, not a piece of cake." She breathes more fire, but the ice wall continues to generate as it melts.
Dulcy starts, trying to catch her breath, "Not… working… Perhaps I can't do this…"
"We have complete faith in you."
"My friends believe in me…" Dulcy says to herself. "I can't give up, I just… I just need more fire. I always want to try this."
Dulcy inhales air, before she releases the air with a blast of fire, creating a large fire blast that blows apart and melts the ice wall.
Dulcy tries to catch her breath, with a small smile, "Ah, it worked. Almost like fanning a fire." She starts to fly into another tunnel. "Maybe I can do this."
Knuckles jumps back to dodge a magical bolt, as Naugus swipes with an arm to knock back Sonic's spin dash. Samara flies into Naugus' back, grabbing him, before Sonic and Knuckles jump at him. An energy field momentarily surrounded Naugus, forcing Samara, Sonic, and Knuckles back.
Nearby, Sally, who is holding NICOLE, is holding back Dina.
"I know you want to fight, Dina," Sally tells her. "But you're younger than Tails."
"Sally, I've analyzed Naugus, and it would appear he is holding back some of his magic," NICOLE reports.
"I thought so," Sally says. "But I wonder why."
Suddenly, a roar gets everyone's attention, before they look up to see Sabina flying toward them.
"Guess we got Sabina's attention," Sonic realizes.
"Excellent," Naugus says, with his eyes glowing. "A lack of free will makes her easy…" Sabina stops in midair, as her eyes glow. "Pliable."
Sabina roars loudly.
"Don't tell me…" Sonic realizes.
Sabina flies down at Sonic and Knuckles, who barely manage to dodge out of the way.
"Naugus got control over the dragon," Knuckles says, as he stands up.
"Yeah, I said don't tell me," Sonic says, as he watches Sabina fly around.
"Naugus remain only using a minimal level of magicks," NICOLE reports.
"I'm not worried about that, right now," Sally says, before she looks at the cave entrance through its blue barrier.
Dulcy reaches a large chamber, with a large cyclone in the center, which has a floating rock inside the cyclone.
"This must be Dragon Mountain's hollow center," Dulcy realizes, before noticing the rock. "And that must be the secret Samara mentioned." She then looks at the cyclone. "Okay, just like outside."
Dulcy tries to fly into the cyclone, but is blown back. She tries again, but is blown out of the cyclone and just barely stops herself from hitting the wall.
"No good, this is faster than the wind outside," Dulcy says. "I can't fly through it."
"Just trust her, Knux."
"My friends trust me… I am a Protector Dragon… a Freedom Fighter, I can do this," Dulcy tells herself.
Dulcy inhales largely, before blowing a large blast of wind against the cyclone, but it's ineffective.
"I can't blow away the wind, then what…?" Dulcy wonders, before noticing her wings are moving faster than normal. "I have to move my wings so fast to stay in place, or the wind will blow me around like a pinball." She looks back at the cyclone. "I have power over the wind." She starts to move her wings even faster. "If I can generate wind with my wings, c'mon…" She moves her wings faster and faster. "I can do this, I can do this… I can do this!"
Dulcy's wings start to shoot blasts of wind, colliding against the cyclone, misshapen it, before the cyclone is blown apart.
"I did it? I did it!" Dulcy celebrates, before lowering herself slightly. "But that took a lot out of me…" She sees the rock falling. "Oh right, my friends are waiting for me."
Dulcy flies down, grabs the rock and starts to fly back through the tunnel.
Sabina slams down onto the ground, sending a shockwave that knocks back Knuckles and Samara.
Sonic spin dashes at Naugus, who swipes him away, with Sonic bounces off the ground and back at Naugus, but is swiped away again. Sonic bounces off the ground again, but Naugus holds out a hand, surrounding Sonic with an energy bubble, stopping him in place.
"Tell me, hedgehog," Naugus looks at the entrapped Sonic. "How high do you think we are?"
Dulcy flies out of the cave entrance, through the blue barrier, which disappears as she passes, "I'm back. But all I found was a large rock."
"You must be lying," Naugus says, before he swipes an arm, sending the entrapped Sonic flying at her.
"Dulcy, watch out!" Sonic calls out.
Dulcy lands and turns to dodge the flying Sonic, as he hits the ground with the energy bubble disappearing.
Sabina roars and flies at Dulcy, who holds up the rock in defense. Sabina touches the rock, which shines and breaks apart, revealing the blue Chaos Emerald.
Sabina surges with energy, as she roars.
"Wait, something like that happened to Bunnie in the Bottomless Marsh," Sally remembers, as she stands next to Dina.
Sabina flies back, no longer surging with energy, before turns and flies away.
"I don't need a flying tin can to get what's mine," Naugus says, as he motions ahead.
Suddenly, Sonic spin dashes Naugus, as Knuckles punches him, knocking Naugus back a few feet.
Sonic and Knuckles land in front of Dulcy, who's holding the Chaos Emerald.
"The Chaos Emeralds aren't yours," Knuckles says.
"I'm not leaving without that Emerald," Naugus says.
"Oh yeah? Before, I combined fire and wind, perhaps I could combine all three," Dulcy suggests.
Dulcy inhales largely, before blowing out fire, air, and cold.
Naugus crosses his arms, as an energy barrier appears in front of him, but he is blasted and sent flying off Dragon Mountain. Naugus screams, before he disappears in magical energy.
"Whoa," Dulcy falls down onto her backside, exhausted. "I-I'm not sure I can do that again…"
"Either way, you're the Protector Dragon of the year!" Sonic calls out, as he, Sally, Samara, and Dina cheer, with Dulcy blushing. "Way too cool."
Shortly later, Sonic, Sally, and Dulcy are in front of Samara and Dina.
"We wish we could stay longer," Sally starts. "But we really should leave before Naugus recovers and returns."
"Of course, I understand," Samara says.
"Alright, Dina, make sure you stay out of trouble," Sonic says, before leaning in and winking. "But not too much."
Dina laughs with a puff of smoke.
"Dulcy, I promise I will be on the lookout for Sabina," Samara tells her.
"Thanks, maybe in the future we could restore mama's free will like Sonic's uncle and dog, maybe even turn her back to normal," Dulcy says.
Samara smiles and places a hand on Dulcy's shoulder, "I have no doubt, your mother would be proud of what you have done today. And in her stead, I will wish you luck as you continue to come into your powers."
"T-Thanks, Samara," Dulcy says, with a single tear, before wiping it away and turns to Sonic and Sally. "And thanks for believing in me, it was a huge help."
"We will always believe in you, Dulcy," Sally says.
Sonic approaches Knuckles, who is holding the blue Chaos Emerald.
"See, Knux, should have more trust in people," Sonic says.
Knuckles turns to him, "Let's just go. I want to get this Chaos Emerald to safety on Angel Island, as quickly as possible."
Soon later, Dulcy, with Sonic, Sally, and Knuckles in her pouch, are flying away, as Samara and Dina wave goodbye.