(West Side Island, western side)

Having at least somewhat anticipated the next spatial warp, Miles, Sonic, and Knuckles all managed to land on their feet when they came out the other end. The clear skies and rich environs of Green Hill had given way to the fading afternoon glow of city lights and the sun reflecting off the glass and steel of skyscrapers. Pathways of blue and yellow stretched this way and that around massive monochrome silos, almost with no rhyme or reason, and many transparent tubes snaked around a familiar facility. Some carried thick blue sludge, while others pumped strange pink water, and still more were handling a gelatinous green substance. And while the sight of land being dug well over a hundred meters deep deterred most, there were still barricades and warning signs keeping civilians from wandering into the place.

It was a bit overwhelming for Knuckles, who'd never gotten more than a far-off and casual glimpse of any cities Angel Island passed over when it wandered the skies. The view, the murmur of people and vehicles along with heavy machinery, and the smell of various substances all assailed him. By contrast, both Miles and Sonic were looking around with a happy glimmer in their eyes. It had been a handful of months since they'd last visited this city in particular, but they recognized it right away due to the significance it had in their lives. It was here that the fox realized that his enemies would eventually come after him no matter what, and that he'd no longer be able to face them with just Remi by his side. And it was this same place where the hedgehog that became his partner learned that, although he was a seasoned traveler himself, there was still much more to see in the world, along with plenty of interesting people to meet.

"Hey, we're in Canton City!" the blue boy proclaimed.

Miles hummed as he visually scanned the place. "Right near the Chemical Plant Complex, too. It looks like they've fixed all the damage from the Kukku invasion and made some expansions."

"So this is what a surface city is like," Knuckles mused almost breathlessly, "it's similar to and yet much different from Carnival Island."

"Well yeah, because that was an amusement park and resort, not an actual city," Sonic replied smartly. His grin fell as he looked around and then back at his two friends. "Hey, those jackal guys are gone again."

The fox and Echidna both realized he was right, and each of them hopped to the task of locating their adversaries. Unfortunately, there weren't any Rings in their immediate vicinity, and Knuckles was almost overwhelmed by the sheer number of Chaos Energy signatures he picked up from the populace. With no other immediate choice left to them, they ended up heading into the Complex. With any luck, they would find a place where the Guardian could concentrate better, or perhaps some Rings to re-power the Miles Electric.

Just as they had done several months ago, the fox and hedgehog duo ran across the twin paths that alternately rose and fell, taking the top way to a loop. Knuckles followed them as they entered it and shot down a steep decline just beyond it, which quickly rose back up and went into a curve that took them up the wall and along the ceiling. The three dropped onto a set of yellow springs that gave them a boost onto a ledge, dodging the caustic blue substance as it was sent through openings in the pipelines. A large red spring bounced them even higher onto a flat stretch, jumping past the few steps there and coming to a descending catwalk. After traveling down by way of Rolling, the trio crossed a second pair of walkways and bypassed a few loops along this upper route.

As they maintained their balled up states, the fox and his two friends sped down an exceptionally long slope, going flying once it curved up into a quarter-pipe turn. They landed on a platform with a red springboard, using it to cross a gap and resume their trek through the facility. Miles gave both of them a lift across an even wider expanse, ignoring the warning sign that stated the area was still under construction. The group soon came to a transport tube with the entrance built into the floor rather than a wall, and with some trepidation, the vulpine went first and jumped in. He was forcibly curled up and felt himself zoom past a couple of corners before he was fired out of a tube and was sent through four consecutive loops, the latter two dipping down onto lower walkways. Miles bounced off a red spring in the opposite direction down another drop, and over a jump by a yellow spring at the bottom.

After he was finally able to slow to a stop, the other two Animals caught up with him. As luck would have it, there were some Rings in this part of the Complex that were ripe for the taking, and the fox happily helped himself to a few. After rebooting the Miles Electric once again, he took a gander at the Emerald Radar, making sure to zoom out so that he could see a complete layout of West Side Island.

"Hmm, that's interesting," Miles mumbled as he took stock of what he found. He showed his multi-tool to the other two so they could see for themselves. "There's another Emerald here on the island, somewhere in Metropolis. It doesn't appear to be moving at the moment."

Knuckles hummed and rubbed his chin. "Where is that?" When Miles pointed out where the city was relative to their position, the Echidna nodded firmly. "Then I'll try to find out if it's the one with our quarry."

The monotreme carefully focused in that direction, doing his best to filter out any Energy below a certain threshold. It was difficult given how many people lived on West Side Island, but after a minute or so, he found the signature of the one holding the Emerald. There wasn't anyone else in close proximity to it, and from what he could feel of the Energy, the Guardian concluded that it wasn't who they were searching for.

"There's only one person near the Emerald," he informed the others, "and it isn't that jackal. The Energy is different, and it doesn't seem malicious at all."

Miles weighed those words for a moment along with his earlier observation, then a smile spread across his muzzle. "If it's in Metropolis and the person that has it isn't bad, then I have a pretty good idea who it is."

The fox brought up the communications app on his device and pulled up the contact frequency for said individual. A couple seconds went by, and the familiar face of a brown-eyed cross fox showed up on the screen. Both the two-tail and his partner were happy to see him, while the Echidna was left scratching his head. This was twice now that he'd "met" someone he wasn't familiar with that the bigger group seemed to know.

"Ah, Miles!" J exclaimed happily, a hint of relief in his voice as well, "I've been trying to give you a ring here and there today, but you've strangely been out of service until now."

The teen laughed a little tiredly. "Sorry about that, J, it's kind of a long story."

"Oh-ho, let me guess." The other vulpine pointed at a brown leather string around his neck that went down below the bottom of the screen. He pulled it up and revealed that it was attached to a silver pendant with none other than the white Chaos Emerald slotted in it. "These are involved again?"

Miles mentally patted himself on the back, glad to know that his hunch had been correct about his older cousin being the one to have the gem. "Yeah, but they're not the only ones this time."

"These jackals we're after have this weird sapphire with a black star in it that can teleport folks around," Sonic added as he joined the conversation, "we've been caught up in it twice now!"

The scholar's eyes widened. "A sapphire with a black star? I remember you informing me about the Phantom Ruby a few months ago. Are you telling me that the Shadow Star Sapphire has also been found?"

"I can't think of anything else it could be," Miles answered him seriously. He sighed and shook his head. "Like Sonic said, it's sent us to a couple of different places, and now we've lost track of the gem and the people that have it."

"But the pair haven't come together yet, right?" The cross fox let out a breath of relief when his younger cousin confirmed such with a nod. "Good." He put the white Emerald back below his collar and stared at the teen. "Where are you now?"

Miles used his device to give his relative a quick panoramic view of his surroundings. "We were on Angel Island initially, then we were sent to South Island after the Sapphire first flexed its power. We chased after the guys that had it and ended up in Canton City after a second warp."

The fox went on to explain the events up to the present in a well-summarized manner, and made sure to properly introduce Knuckles to J while he was at it. From the emergency transmission the Echidna sent out to their landing on West Side Island, he made sure to include all the pertinent details. Once he was finished, the scholarly vulpine on the other end frowned at the news and clenched a fist.

"That dastardly machine," he growled, though he was quick to calm down and regain his composure, "at the very least, you know exactly where it's going, and it isn't far at that." He folded his arms and nodded in what looked like determination. "Right, I believe it's time that I lent you a proper hand, Miles!"

Miles blinked at the proclamation. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, you weren't informed yet?" J chuckled and projected his full image from the Miles Electric to show that he was wearing different clothes than he usually did. This time, he'd donned a sleeveless khaki explorer's vest and hardy brown slacks, along with a pair of black all-terrain sneakers. Not only that, but he appeared significantly more trim and fit than the last time the other fox had seen him. "Just as well, because I wanted to surprise you."

Sonic grinned at his partner. "We were gonna tell ya that J was another one of the guys who wanted to join the group. Knuckles called before we got the chance, though."

"I see." Miles made a quizzical expression as he glanced back at the other fox. "I thought you weren't up for the sort of adventures we've gotten involved with. You know, because of your harrowing time aboard the Battle Moon."

"That was the case last year," his cousin replied with an air of confidence, "but to make a long story short for the sake of the situation, I found the white Emerald back in January and have made a couple of changes since then, as you can see." He smiled and let out a sheepish chuckle after flexing his arms. "I know I'm not up to snuff compared to you in terms of ability, but I promise I won't get in your way."

The young hero ran a hand through his bangs. He'd been fine with Lavender coming aboard, and though he still had yet to decide the same with Cream, he felt that he'd probably allow it once this was over. When it came to J, however, there were a couple issues he had with the prospect. The cross fox was not only blood kin to him, but also fairly well-known in his fields of study and contemporary literature. He was also relatively ordinary compared to most of those in Miles' gang, though the amber teenager wasn't quite as certain about that. If anything were to happen to him, the effects would be felt by many more people than just those in Miles' group.

"I don't know, J," he told his cousin, "you've got a career that pretty much demands your full attention, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

Sonic shrugged. "Then ain't he safer with us, big guy?"

"Sonic is right," Knuckles concurred, "Mecha knew where to look for your rabbit friend. I wouldn't be surprised if it had similar knowledge about your cousin."

The teen folded his arms and let out a huff. His friends did have a couple of good points, but still...

"Perhaps we can discuss this later," J interjected, "if you're headed for Studiopolis, you can find a station just past the eastern end of the Complex with a transport tube that'll take you to the city limits."

Miles tilted his head curiously. "When did they install that?"

"Oh, just this past month, they finished another section of the 'Tube Network,' as people are calling it," J explained, "Canton City is the hub for it, and it's built to help provide quick and easy pedestrian travel through the more populated Zones on West Side Island." He shook his head dismissively. "Forgive me, we don't have time for this. I'll meet up with you in Studiopolis, alright?"

"Wait, J, I didn't say–"

He didn't get a chance to finish before the cross fox terminated the transmission. Miles ran his free hand down his face and let out a long-suffering sigh. It reminded him of the time Sonic ran ahead of him here when the Kukkus were invading.

'Well, even if I don't let him join,' he thought to himself, 'I guess I can't really stop him from trying to help. All the more reason we should hurry.'

(Pacific Ocean airspace, some minutes ago...)

Being in a position where they should've had advance knowledge on the events happening, Green and Blue were still a bit perplexed by what they'd seen. They had felt a strange surge of energy, and immediately after that, the two Chaos Emerald signals on Angel Island had both moved to South Island. That third reading that had been on approach to the floating landmass had suddenly veered back towards the mainland where the two armored Animals had come from. The fourth had retreated earlier to some unmarked group of islands not terribly far from the continent, which struck them as rather strange.

All of this had thrown their original plan and a couple contingencies out of whack, leaving them uncertain as to what they should do next. After a few minutes of deliberation, Nanatsu no Chikara stopped and transformed back into its default platform state. As the two fighters from the future stood there high above the ocean, Blue began tapping at the back of his helmet.

"Maybe we should account for all the gems," he suggested. The internal display of his visor zoomed out a few times until he could see more than half of the planet. "There they are. Two of them are on the mainland east of the Archipelago, and the last one is on West Side Island." With that information in mind, he pumped both of his fists. "What do you think, partner? Should we go after one of them?"

The female thought about the option, but shook her head after a moment's consideration. "As far as we know, Alexei should still be on the way to Angel Island. I'm not comfortable with the prospect of leaving the Master Emerald vulnerable for him to get his grubby talons on."

"Valid point. Well, how about this?" Blue transmitted the map to her visor so that she could see his outlined trajectory. "Since we're close enough to the place, you can drop me off at West Side Island. Then you can continue on to Angel Island and set up some defenses while I go meet up with the group. We can rendezvous after that."

Green let out a sigh that could've been plainly heard even if her helmet had wholly muffled her muzzle. On the rare occasions that Khal had permitted them both to time travel together, Blue almost always insisted on going off on his own at some point. She had lost count of the number of times that he'd nearly been left behind or had people hound him after he went solo.

'Such a magnet for trouble,' she'd thought on plenty more than one occasion, 'even when he tries to stay out of it.'

To be fair, he did have a point. It would behoove them to try and establish contact with the heroes of the present while also installing security for the Hidden Palace. It would be easier to get both accomplished in a timely manner if they separated. And much as she didn't want to admit it, Blue was the better choice for the former task. Not just because he was the "friendlier" of the two, but also the previously mentioned tendency. If he could keep most of the danger away from Angel Island and direct it towards those best able to handle it, perhaps they could end this whole matter before things got too crazy.

"Okay," Green eventually compromised, "but only if you promise not to get distracted."

Blue nodded and held up a hand as though swearing an oath. "Hey, this mission of ours is way too important for me to be messing around."

Satisfied with his answer, the female commanded Nana-chi to change into Washi once more and altered their course towards West Side Island. In a scant few minutes, they could see the skyline of Metropolis, the tankers of the Oil Ocean Refinery, the Hill Top Peaks, and other sights found there. Finding the most inconspicuous spot they could, the pair lowered their altitude a few kilometers south of the island's most populous city. Green soon settled on a spot that was nestled within the Peaks, touching down close to a cavernous opening that Miles and Sonic had gone into some months ago. Once it changed back to its usual shape, Blue flashed her a salute, to which she covertly rolled her eyes.

"Don't do anything to affect your potential birth," Green nagged him.

She uttered a soft grunt as Blue took a step and hugged her tightly, resting her head on one of his shoulders. "Don't worry, you know I'm not that reckless. I mean, I'm still here, aren't I?"

"True enough." The female let out another huff as she returned the embrace. "Still, you know how I fret about you. You're all I have left when it comes to family."

"The same goes for you in my case, too," the male replied softly. They stayed like that for about a minute before he gently pushed them apart. "Well, I'd best be off. Take care and stay strong."

"You too. And be sure to take this with you."

She handed him a small canopy bag that wouldn't have amounted much to a casual observer, but he was thankful for it. And once Blue had hopped off of Nana-chi, Green took it and shot off into the distance towards where Angel Island had fallen. Once he'd spent a few moments scoping out his surroundings to make sure that no one was around to see, he removed his launcher and other weaponry. Considering the impression it could leave, he knew he shouldn't wander around any populated areas while he was decked out with all of his gear unless the situation truly called for it. He might get funny looks with his suit, but that wasn't something that bothered him. Thus, he stowed his artillery into the deceptively deep bag, not making any noticeable disturbance in its shape despite the significant differences in size.

'If only I did have the luxury to mess around,' he thought with slight disappointment. He shrugged it off and smiled as he tied the drawstrings of his canvas bag around his right shoulder. 'Ah well, plenty of time for that after all's said and done. Now then...'

Blue closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, shutting himself out almost entirely from the world. Thousands of motes of Chaos Energy set off his senses, some of them more potent than others, and one specifically being quite immense, no doubt the Emerald the Radar had detected before. Normally, he'd just continue using the Radar in his helmet, as it was quicker and more efficient. But with the voice of his mentor prodding him in his head about needing to practice more often, he decided to utilize this ability instead. It wasn't that difficult anyway, not when one of his biggest priority targets aside from enemies were just a stone's throw away, relatively speaking. It was east of the divide that the Hill Top Peaks made, and for a moment, it had been on the move.

'Someone in Metropolis is toting it around,' he deduced as he stretched his arms above his head, 'I'll head over there first and...hold on, what?' Blue's head whipped to the west as he felt a sudden bizarre surge in that direction. 'The Sapphire's been used again! And now there's a second Emerald on the island along with three pretty big powers.' An excited grin crossed his muzzle beneath the visor. 'That's gotta be them! I guess another change of plans is in order.'

The azure armored Animal sped off down the western mountain path in a blur. Green had gotten the chance to meet the rival of this time's greatest hero, so he felt even more pumped. After all, he'd get to acquaint himself with the famous fox himself, not to mention his two closest comrades. It wasn't a competition, but he was certainly excited at the prospect of beating his partner to that particular punch. He wasn't too thrilled, however, to notice a naval vessel docking along the coast near Canton City, specifically by the Chemical Plant Complex. Moreover, it was one that definitely didn't look like the kind one would typically see shoring up around these parts.

'I smell shenanigans,' he thought, picking up the pace a little more.

(Seaside City, some minutes ago...)

Not even a minute after terminating their transmission with Miles, the collective of the Chaotix, the Wolf twins' group, and Cheese heard another knock at the door. After what had just happened to Cream, all of them were on edge and those who had them whipped out their weapons. A ringing of the bell came next, along with another series of raps on the front.

"Hello?" came a stretched out greeting from what sounded like a young girl, "are you guys home?"

Espio swiftly put his kunai away and hummed calmly. "That sounds like Amy Rose. Allow me to answer."

Everyone else stepped aside to let the chameleon do just that, reluctant to drop their guard just yet. On the other side of the threshold was a young hedgehog girl with pink quills and a rather interesting sense of fashion. Cheese and the Chaotix visibly relaxed upon seeing her, while the Wolf twins and Remi both got an odd sense of familiarity from her even though they were sure that they'd never met. Lavender, being the only one almost completely in the dark, ended up being the one to ask the pertinent question.

"Who's she?" he questioned.

Gadget scratched his chin. "Well, Espio said she was Amy Rose, right? If I recall correctly, that's the hedgehog girl Miles mentioned when he was telling us about his first trip to Little Planet."

"Yep, that's me!" Amy declared happily. She walked up to the twins and held out a hand. "You guys must be Miles' brother and sister, right? I remember Cream telling me about you."

"That's us, yes," Gizmo replied kindly, taking the offered glove and giving a shake. "I'm Giselle, and this is my twin brother, Gad. The other fellow with us here is our friend, Lavender, and I assume you've met Remi."

"Yep! Nice to meet you guys!" After introducing themselves to one another, the young girl took a gander around. "Where is Cream anyway? I saw her come to town with your group."

The twins gave each other and their other friends an uneasy look. They debated telling her that the rabbit had stepped out for the moment, but that wouldn't have worked with Cheese there. The Chao went almost everywhere Cream did, and that aside, its eyes were still a bit red from crying. As much as they didn't want to worry the girl, they couldn't reasonably hide it from her.

Given that Amy had traveled with Miles before and likely heard stories from him through Cream, she wasn't too shocked about their story at first. It soon changed when they brought up what happened on Angel Island and how they arrived near Floral Forest. And once they mentioned the poor bunny getting captured, the gang could see the fire building in her eyes. The only thing that kept her from flipping her lid was that they already had a plan to go after and save her. However, that prompted a response from the spiny lass that most of them didn't expect.

"Take me with you!" she all but demanded, "I'm not letting that fake Miles get away with kidnapping my friend!"

"No way, Amy," Charmy argued, "you're a tough girl, but you don't know Mecha like we do!"

"Your mother certainly wouldn't approve of us letting you put yourself in peril, either," Espio added.

Though the twins normally would have sided with the Chaotix, something about the girl's attitude stopped them. It had been quite some time since they last experienced it, but that bizarre feeling vaguely akin to deja vu had been stirred up by her determination. Cheese took Amy's side, babbling pleadingly at the trio of detectives while they stared back with varying amounts of guilt on their faces. Remi looked up at the wolves and motioned between them and the hedgehog with its head, letting out a questioning bark after a few repetitions. It seemed that the little robot also wanted her to come along.

"Well, hold on a second," Gadget said, "Amy ran all the way here from Floral Forest Village."

"And our group got here not that long ago, either," Gizmo reminded them, "so that's actually pretty impressive."

Lavender looked at them in disbelief. "I mean, it is, but think about what you're suggesting."

"I get it, I really do." The verdigris twin sighed. "My gut tells me we should bring her along, though. I wish I had a better explanation, but..." She looked to her brother. "Gad?"

The vermilion twin nodded in solidarity. "As illogical as it sounds, I share Giselle's sentiments in this case." He shrugged a bit helplessly. "And besides, we need all the assistance we can afford. Call me crazy, but I don't think we should be underestimating this little girl."

The purplish cat gazed at the similarly colored chameleon, only to see silent resignation on his face. Charmy simply smiled and folded his hands behind his head, almost as though he'd expected the wolves' answers. Vector was obviously not okay with the idea, what with his grumbling, but since his two "employees" had given in, he had little choice.

"Fine," the croc grumbled, "but if anything happens to her, I'm not taking the heat!"

With that settled, the Chaotix put up a notice to let any visitors and potential clients know that they'd be out of town for a spell. They all headed down to the port, where Remi changed into the Sea Fox, but the gang quickly saw a slight issue. Since even the upgraded interior had limited seats, there wasn't enough space for everyone to pile inside without it getting uncomfortable. Given that this wasn't the first time they'd run into this problem, however, Espio was quick to volunteer to be the one to ride outside. And since he'd rather not have either of the young kids on his lap, Lavender borrowed Gad's grappler so that he could trail behind the craft on his Gear.

Once they figured out where West Side Island was, they left without further delay. Unbeknownst to them, a series of dots filled the horizon to their rear, all of which appeared to be in pursuit of the crew judging from their heading.

(West Side Island, Chemical Plant Complex)

With their objective waiting for them on the other side of the facility, the trio of Miles, Sonic, and Knuckles wasted no time moving forward. The teen fox stopped himself from running off the path as it suddenly came to an end, a pool of that new green substance just a couple meters below. The hedgehog bumped into him and forced him over the edge, and he would have panicked if he wasn't thrown off guard by an odd bwomp noise. It turned out that rather than sink beneath the vibrant surface, Miles bounced off of it as though it were a trampoline and went flying up onto a catwalk above. Fortunately, he gained his bearings in time to land on his feet, and his friends soon followed his accidental example.

The fox would've reprimanded his partner, but since there was no actual harm done and they didn't really have the luxury of time, he chose to let it slide. Up ahead, the three saw a yellow panel with purple gel affixed to it, the whole thing on a track that was part of a pipe carrying dark blue liquid. Sonic jumped into it feet first, his shoes locked in place while he was carried up the length of the tube, Miles and Knuckles flying and climbing after him. At the top of its path, the hedgehog leapt free right into the middle of a pool of lighter blue fluid, which launched him back up with less force than the earlier green stuff. The other two joined back up with him on the other side, dashing through a pair of loops and taking a long tumble in their Rolling states after going through the second one. The angle was just right for them to hit another patch of rubbery green slime, sending them soaring even higher and further than they'd fallen.

More of those panels caught them before they could crash into a wall, and after getting themselves loose, Miles gave them all a boost up to the nearby ledge. Ducking past open pipes spewing blue gunk, they soon dove into a transport tube that twisted and turned for a good handful of seconds until they came out the other end. They bounded across another of those capris pools and Rolled into two consecutive loops, the path winding down before quickly curving up into a chamber. The red spring they found on one end of it sent them to a third verdant pond, using it to reach a downward sloping pathway far above. Descending down a vertical shaft, the three made their way to a couple of criss-crossing catwalks, taking the one that went up to a transport tube. This one dumped them out above yet more of that rubbery substance, which bounced them up into a loop and over a gap.

After a series of snaking walkways, tubes, loops, and pools full of those seemingly harmless chemicals, the three of them came to a huge and open area with a veritable lake of that caustic blue liquid bubbling below and being funneled around. From what they could see, there was a narrow passage on the other end, and some building just past it on the other side of a road.

"That must be the station your cousin mentioned," Knuckles said.

"We're almost there, Tails!" Sonic encouraged him, "just gotta find the right tube!"

But before they could proceed, they heard startled screams from all around, a number of Animals in garb and gear fit for the facility running for their lives towards the same exit from other entrances into the open-air chamber. Chasing them from one direction was a tarantula-like spider mech, the lower half of its legs and its body sporting a purple trim, and its abdomen mostly light black aside from some silver accents around where the spinnerets would be. Its mandibles were a combination of those three colors, while its four pairs of electronic eyes were a neon blue. Although it didn't appear quite the same as the one they encountered before, Miles and Sonic were still quick to recognize the machine.

"It's the Auto Arachnid!" the fox exclaimed as he brandished the Pikkon Hammer, "Sonic, we have to help these people!"

The hedgehog brought out the Boomering and grinned. "On it, big guy!" He rushed ahead and started to corral the panicking people together. "Alright, folks, keep it together and follow me! Knux, go give that thing a warm welcome!"

"Hmph, hopefully it can withstand more than a few hits," Knuckles remarked as he bumped his fists together and ran at their opponent.

The big robotic spider raised its front-most legs and clicked its chelicerae in a challenging manner as it shifted its attention to the approaching Animal. The Guardian got in close, darting around each of the forelimbs as they came down and uppercutting the Arachnid's head. It jerked back from the force of the blow, but quickly countered by blasting Knuckles with a green globule of slime. The substance sent him Rolling back across the length of the area until he hit a wall, though he didn't immediately uncurl. The machine followed this up by spraying that deadlier blue goo from its lower abdomen at the Echidna while he was still momentarily dazed.

Seeing one of his pals in a fix, Sonic zoomed over and snatched him out of the way with the Boomering, then tossed him over to Miles. The fox pressed his hands together and knocked the red sphere up into the air, reaching into his belt pouches and hurling a Dummy Ring at their enemy. The Arachnid skittered out of the way just in time to avoid the explosion, though Miles had predicted that it might try that. While that had preoccupied it, the teen had shot up after Knuckles and brought the Pikkon Hammer behind and above his head as it glimmered with cyan light.

"Thunder Sledge!" he shouted, slamming his weapon down onto the Rolling ruby Guardian.

Almost the same instant the Arachnid finished its evasive action from the Dummy Ring, Knuckles smashed into the top of its thorax with a great crunching of metal. The impact had punched through the exoskeleton and left its inner circuitry exposed, causing the machine to twitch and tilt as it tried to buck the Echidna off its back. Knuckles obliged it by letting himself get flung away, making a three-point landing and then taking up a stance that Miles and Sonic were well-acquainted with.

"Lightning Arrow!" he called out as he pointed down at his target.

A crackling bolt of Chaos Energy struck the weak point that he'd made, many more arcs lancing over the spider's body while its legs gave out under it. The fox flew into position above the Arachnid, Stomped into its spine, and crammed a thimble-sized object into the chink in its armor before leaping clear of the mech. The spider bot had one last short spasm before it fell completely limp, its eyes going dark while that acidic slime leaked from its broken abdomen. He flipped a hand through his bangs and readjusted his specs, satisfied enough with their teamwork that he didn't mind being a little showy. A small part of him was even disappointed that it turned out so easy.

"Watch out, Tails!" Sonic shouted at him.

Miles didn't have time to react when the Boomering slipped around his waist and tugged him out of the way of a stream of gunk. He was soon regrouped between his partner and Knuckles, the three of them staring down just as many Auto Arachnid machines as they climbed down from the top of the walls. More fortunately, it appeared that there weren't any more civilians fleeing the Complex that could get caught up in the crossfire.

"Looks like we each get one," Miles murmured, once more brandishing his weapon.

Sonic smirked and braced himself for more action. "They can bring as many as they want, and we'll beat 'em all!"

"Let's make this quick," Knuckles reminded them, "we have a fox robot we still need to deal with, after all!"

The three of them scattered, and in turn, they were each pursued by one of the Auto Arachnids around the area. Sonic turned on a dime after a couple seconds, slipping beneath his enemy and Jumping up into its underbelly. Despite the immense difference in weight and substance, the hedgehog was able to knock it onto its back, then used its abdomen as a springboard to launch himself up high. He went into an increasingly fast spin, but not the typical kind he used for the Dash that his partner had taught him. The spider eventually flipped itself back over and waited patiently for him to land so that it could pounce. But once the kid hit the ground, he sped behind the machine before it could even make a move!

"How do you like my Drop Dash?" Sonic taunted the bot while circling around it, "pretty fast, huh?"

Meanwhile, Knuckles found himself wrestling with the two frontal legs of one mech, only for it to spray light blue film all around it. He threw it back, but soon found himself bouncing away from his enemy as the floor around him was coated with the gelatinous substance. He put a stop to that by launching himself a bit higher and going into a glide, leading the spider over to one of the walls. It spat a bit of that purple fluid at him, managing to catch his hands and making them stubbornly stick to the surface. Seeing the seemingly helpless Echidna trapped, the Arachnid was quick to clamber up after him, priming itself to tear and rend the mammal.

"You'll have to do better than that!" the Guardian growled, sending a pulse of Chaos Energy up his arms to trigger a double Explosive Punch and free himself from the sticky substance.

As for Miles, he dodged a couple of piercing blows from his opponent, flipping above its frontal swipes and going into a Chaos-charged Drop Attack onto its head, rendering it out of sorts for a hot second. As it reoriented itself, it got a dizzying number of razor-sharp tail swipes to the face for its trouble, severing a few of its pincers. Hissing at the teen's unerring accuracy, it slapped him away with one of its legs, then propelled him further with green slime. Miles cartwheeled in response to the consecutive hits, Rolling up a straight 90-degree incline and flinging himself from the surface to ax-kick the horrible machination between its eyes. It smacked into the floor and let out several clicks, which the teen took as all the indication he needed to unleash one technique he'd developed during his down time.

However, just as he was gathering the energy needed, the robot interrupted him by going for a rabid charge, forcing the teen to evade. It wheeled around and drew its head back, fangs dripping with dark blue venom, but it never got the chance to spray the fox. This was due to a small RPG flying in from another angle and straight into its face. The projectile detonated with devastating force, the shock wave pushing Miles back a few meters while he shielded himself with a measure of Chaos Energy. The Arachnid wasn't so lucky, a smoldering mess of metal in place of its upper half while the lower had ceased to function. Miles started at where the rocket had come from and saw an Animal in sky-blue armor with a not-quite dipstick tail poking out, a launcher propped over the right shoulder with its barrel visibly smoking.

"Sorry for not giving you prior warning, sir," he apologized to the fox as he loaded a different sort of ammo into his weapon, "but don't worry, I'm here to help!"

While surprised at the sudden and fiery intervention, Miles was thankful for the assistance. And though he'd never seen any images, he could tell that the other guy's suit was similar to Speedy's description of that one woman he'd met on Flicky Island. The fox would've asked him about that, but the heavy weapons fighter was already running over to Knuckles at a breakneck pace. Seeing as he no longer had a personal opponent to contend with, Miles decided to go to Sonic.

The hedgehog zipped away from yet another acidic volley from his eight-legged foe, striking it in its sides and limbs with every pass he made around it. But though he could hit harder than the first time he faced one of these things, Sonic couldn't make much more than a dent anywhere aside from its soft spot. And even for someone as fast as him, it never stayed down long enough for him to land more than a couple of minor blows before getting back up. It was starting to get on his nerves, and if it kept up, he'd be forced to use a bit more hedgehog ingenuity to deal with this thing.

"Cyan Slicer!" he heard Miles shout.

The fox flicked his twin tails as they glowed with the named color, unleashing a pair of crescent moon-shaped sickles of energy. The two blades lived up to their name as they cleaved through half of the Arachnid's legs, causing it to tilt onto one side. Sonic smirked at his partner's timely attack, using the Boomering to tie up a couple of the remaining limbs and render it further immobile. The boy revved up a Spin Dash for a good bit longer than he typically would, then launched himself at the center of its thorax. With a boom fitting for his nickname, Sonic punched through its belly like a bullet and sailed out the other side, landing on his feet and flashing a thumbs-up along with a wink as the spider went up in a fireball.

"Nice one, Tails!" he said appreciatively, giving his buddy a two-finger salute.

Over with Knuckles, he shrugged away his own Arachnid's couple of attempts to skewer him, grabbing both of its front-most legs in a vice grip. With a hearty grunt, he drove them into the ground below, shifting the bot's priority to trying to free itself from its newfound quandary. Knuckles threw out a couple of practice jabs, then charged forward with a straight as his body was engulfed in a pink-red aura. The Arachnid was wrenched out of the ground and thrown onto its back by the sheer power of the punch. While it was rendered prone, the Guardian rushed to the nearest wall and climbed up so that he could glide once again. At the same time, the mysterious Animal planted his launcher against the ground and fired off the loaded round like a mortar, the spherical munition bursting apart into an elastic spread of translucent gum. With nowhere to go and no way to escape, the machine was easy pickings for the Echidna, who went into a dive right above its exposed underside, spinning like a drill as he did so. With little effort, he pierced through and Rolled clear of the spider as it too broke apart in a brilliant display, dusting off his gloves after things calmed down.

"Alright, we got 'em!" Sonic cheered, running over to the newcomer and flashing him a thumbs-up, "I dunno who you are, but thanks for the help, bud."

The armored fellow returned the gesture. "No trouble at all, kid, it's why I'm here. You could also say I'm a fan of you, your partner, and all your friends."

"Flattering as that is," Miles said pointedly, "with that getup you've got, I can't help but wonder one thing. Are you affiliated with Gunner Green?"

The guy chuckled behind his helmet. "You got it, sir. I'm Bomber Blue, but you can call me Blue for short. I won't hide it since you're a perceptive guy: Green's my partner, or at least she is whenever we team up together for something."

"We can discuss things on the way," Knuckles cut in, "we do have somewhere to be, after all."

Miles snapped to attention at that. Indeed, Mecha would be arriving at Studiopolis any minute now with Cream if they hadn't already. J would also be waiting for him at the station on the other side of the tube as well, seemingly set on coming along and helping however he could. The rest of the group along with the Chaotix would be arriving soon as well, and if these multiple Auto Arachnids were any indication, the NBA likely had other forces afoot.

"Let's go, then!" he prompted the group as he took the lead towards the transport.