Chapter 1    
                        Floating Island

______________________________________________________________________
	The little red plane swooped down, close to the ocean. The sun glinted
off its brightly polished wings and sides as it wove this way and that.
Then it zoomed back up into the air, showing not only the double wings,
but the twin flame jets that gave it its speed.
	The bi-plane did a barrel-roll and dove toward the ocean again. As
it turned upright the pilot and passenger became visible. The passenger
was crouched on the upper wing, hanging on. He was a stunning dark blue
all over, and three rows of sharp spikes protruded from the back of his 
head and ran down his back. He turned his head and called to the pilot,
"Hey, Tails, watch this!" 
	The pilot looked up. He was a young fox. His fur was a red-orange, 
and his muzzle and chest were white. He had big foxy ears that were 
pricked forward. He grinned up at his friend. "Go for it, Sonic!" he 
called.
	Sonic pulled his feet forward and thrust them through the metal 
handles that were screwed into the paneling. Then he stood up, leaning 
forward into the wind. "Showoff!" he heard Tails yell. "See if you can 
keep your balance, hotshot!" The plane lurched and angled upward. Sonic
leaned forward even more, grinning broadly. Tails was showing off, too.
The hedgehog relaxed his knees and held his arms out for balance. The 
wind in his face was taking his breath away.
	Tails steered the plane up, down, then almost straight up. Sonic 
moved with the plane, feeling the adrenaline rush into his limbs as he 
rode the wind. The little craft abruptly ceased its climb, then dipped
its left wing as if to spiral downward. Then Tails swerved the plane in
the other direction, catching Sonic off guard. The wind hit him broadside
and knocked him loose.
	Knowing full well he was going to fall, Sonic bounded sideways, off
the wing. For one exhilarating second the wind caught his body and lifted 
him in the plane's wake. But then he resumed falling.
	He had fallen off the plane before, doing over a hundred mph--it had 
hurt a lot. But this time it would be different. He was holding two of
the Chaos Emeralds in his hands, and had been the whole trip--just in 
case. As he tumbled toward the water he struck the two stones together.
The power rush they created flung both his arms out and behind him. He
was blinded for an instant, but when the world faded back in his vision
had been enhanced five times, and he was flying.
	Sonic glanced down at himself. His arms and belly were the same 
color--brown and tanned--but the rest of him--everything blue, in fact--
was now glowing a hot yellow. The Chaos Emeralds were all circling him.
Four went out and around him horizontally, and the other three were 
circling vertically. He looked like a model of an atom. "This is so cool,"
he thought.
	He was skimming across the ocean's surface, arms out and behind for
balance, leaning forward at a 160 degree angle. The toes of his red and
white sneakers barely brushed the surface of the water, kicking up a big
plume of mist behind him. Knowing he looked cool, he set his sights on 
the bi-plane. It had slowed down drastically. The scream of the jet 
engines had subsided to a throbbing purr, and as Super Sonic approached,
the jets swiveled around to point downward in the hover position.
	Sonic flew in a circle around the now-motionless bi-plane, then 
jumped lightly onto the wing. "You won," he began, but Tails hissed,
"Shh! Listen to the radio!" He turned it up, and Sonic crouched down
to listen better.
	At first it was only static. Sonic looked at Tails. "Aw, it was 
pry just the wind." 
	Tails shook his head furiously. "No! It was there a minute 
ago. . . ."  
	Sonic reached down to adjust the radio knob, but Tails slapped his 
hand away. "No way, buster," he snapped. "You forget what you do to 
machinery when you're super?" 
	Sonic grinned wryly, and let Tails mess with the radio. Suddenly 
a voice came through loud and clear, saying, "I read. Must have been 
some interference." 
	Another voice replied, "I copy. As I was saying, my latest project 
is now operational."
	Sonic and Tails started and looked at each other. That second 
voice was strangely familiar ... 
	"No kiddin'. Did it work the way it was supposed to?" the first 
voice inquired. 
	"Acknowledge. It is highly reliable," the second voice returned. 
"You are very good with machinery and programming."  
	"Yeah, well ... "  
	"What would you say to coming out here to--" (the station drifted)
"--and design another robot?"  
	"That'd be great. And this time--Wait a minute. There's somethin' 
shiny out on the ocean!"  
	Sonic and Tails locked eyes, then looked all around suspiciously. 
	"Is it you-know-who?" the radio continued. 
	"It could be. Check all listeners on this frequency. They could be 
tuned in."
	Tails hurriedly shut off the radio, drew a deep breath and looked
up at Sonic. The hedgehog stood up, turned around and peered into the
distance. With his enhanced vision from the emeralds, he could see much
further than Tails could. "Yeah," he said. "You can see Floating Island 
from here."  
	"Were they talking about us?" Tails queried fearfully. 
	Sonic glanced at him. "Count on it. We're the only 'shiny object' 
out here. Let's get to the island, like, right now!" Sonic dove off the 
wing and began to skim the water again. He flew circles around the bi-plane 
as Tails backed out of 'hover' and into 'flight'. As the glossy plane 
began to move Sonic called, "Race ya!"  Tails grinned and gave him a 
thumbs-up.
	The bi-plane rapidly picked up speed, and Sonic cruised along beside
it. "Okay," Tails called to him. "I'm all set! You ready?"  
	"Straight up!" Sonic called back. 
	"Okay," Tails replied. "One, two, three--go!"
	Tails opened the throttle and the little plane leaped forward. 
Sonic put his head down and accelerated. He surged abreast of the 
bi-plane and began to pull forward. "See ya at the island!" he yelled, 
then took off.
	It was no contest and they both knew it. Sonic was far and away faster
than the bi-plane, even with the flame-jets. He flew over the rippled
water, his glowing yellow reflected in its surface.
	Floating Island was about two miles away, now. Sonic wondered if
that had been Knuckles on the radio. If so, who had he been talking to?
It sounded oddly like Robotnik. But Robotnik had been killed when the
Death Egg went down! Or had he? Could he have survived? And--he shuddered
to think of it--was Knuckles in league with him? Did Knux have any idea
how well Robotnik could lie and manipulate? Sonic's mind was spinning as
the island drew closer. He had heard rumors of emeralds that contained
more power than all the chaos put together, and Knuckles was their guardian.
What if Robotnik got his hands on them? It would spell disaster--for Floating
Island and Mobius both. "I've gotta warn Knux," Sonic thought as he neared
the island.
	One moment he was over water--the next he was over land. There wasn't
much beach there; it was only about fifteen feet wide. The jungle 
began abruptly in a wall of trees. Recklessly Super Sonic plunged into it.
He knew that somewhere in the south quarter was a network of narrow paths.
Knuckles had told him about them and said they were a great place to
improve your steering skills. That was where Sonic was headed. He ducked
and dodged between palm trunks and leaped over large rocks carpeted with
thick pelts of moss. 
	The smell of the island hit him, and he inhaled deeply. It smelled
of water, warm foliage and a sweet scent of fruit and flowers. It was
almost intoxicating. No wonder nobody ever went there; they never wanted
to leave again! Everything was green, green, green--more shades of it than
were possible to imagine.
	The fern-carpeted ground gave way to a sandy path. It looked used
and well-kept, for not a weed marred its sandy surface. Super Sonic
turned onto it and began to glide again. "Man, this is fun--miles and miles
of island to explore! Tails has gotta land the plane, then--" 
	Sonic's thoughts were cut short as something lunged out of the 
bushes and blocked the trail. With no warning, Sonic had no time to 
stop. He ploughed into it. It blocked his blow with one of its own, 
knocking Sonic to a stop. As he bounced off, it jumped forward and 
delivered a stunning blow to Sonic's face. It didn't hurt--invincibility 
took care of that. But it was surprising, and Sonic automatically 
recoiled, expecting it to hurt.
	The figure moved again, driving an over-sized fist into Sonic's 
chin. The blow knocked him down. He looked up and saw whoever-it-was
standing over him. But instead of continuing the fight, he was grabbing
the Chaos Emeralds as they circled Sonic's body. As each one left its
orbit, Sonic felt that much weaker. His glow faded slowly back into blue,
and his enhanced vision went back to normal. As it did, he recognized
who it was. Red all over. Long, thick dreadlocks. White crescent on the
chest, pointed snout. "Knuckles!" Sonic yelped, outraged. 
	The echidna leaped away to a safe distance, cradling the Chaos 
Emeralds tenderly in his hands. 
	Sonic scrambled to his feet. "Knux, whadja do that for? All you 
had to do is ask." 
	Knuckles sneered at him. "Yeah, right. I know why you came here. 
And let me tell you-- NOBODY needs all the emeralds."
	Sonic noticed he didn't say CHAOS Emeralds. He also noticed a 
loophole. "Neither do you," he pointed out. 
	Knuckles frowned. "I didn't ask for a debate. this is MY 
island, and you and your foxy friend are not welcome. Get out." 
	Sonic folded his arms. "Since when? I'm not gonna leave until
you give me an explanation AND my emeralds."  
	"You mean MY emeralds. You don't need them anymore than I need 
to explain anything to you. Now scram." Knuckles took a threatening 
step forward. "Remember, Sonic, you're not invincible anymore."  
	Sonic's eyes blazed, and his hands clenched into fists at his 
sides. "Neither are you, my friend," he said softly.

                             * * *

	  Sonic lunged at me, his face a mask of fury. I dodged backward,
aware that I was holding the Chaos Emeralds with both hands. I could use
them as well as he could, but if I let my guard down the instant it would
take, he'd nail me good. I stuck out a foot to trip him, but he saw it
and stepped over. He had one eye on the emeralds in my hands. I backed 
away, aware that there wasn't enough room on the trail for fighting.
"Give 'em back, Knux," he growled. 
	"Over my dead body," I snapped. 
	Sonic snickered as he crouched a little and held up his fists. 
"That can be arranged," he hissed through clenched teeth.
	He sprang at me, his back arched like a cat's. Looking at him, I
was sure Dr. Robotnik had told me the truth; Sonic would kill to get the
emeralds back. I dodged his leap, then planted my toe behind his foot and
knocked it out from under him. As he went down, one of his hands closed 
on my arm. His grip was like a vise--he was furious. I tried to jerk
away, but only succeeded in pulling him to his feet. His other hand whipped 
around as if he would hit me. Instinctively I snapped my head back, but he
didn't strike. Instead, his hand snaked down between mine toward the
emeralds. "Hey!" I snarled. I pulled away and saw his hand was closed.
He had one! His eyes lit up triumphantly, and he came at me again.
	Suddenly I was afraid--not for myself, but for the emeralds. I turned
and headed off into the woods. I crashed through a large bush, stumbled
over a big clump of ferns, ducked through several low-hanging fronds and
ran flat out for about five minutes. Panting, I ducked behind a tree.
With all the noise I had been making, I couldn't tell if I was being 
followed or not. But there was nobody behind me, and I didn't think Sonic
was woods-wise enough to try circling around. The fox might be, but I 
hadn't seen him anywhere.
	With a sigh of relief I got my bearings and headed north-east.

					* * * 

 	Sonic stood on the trail, half triumphant, half crestfallen. He stood
with his feet apart and his hands at his sides. His left hand was still
clenched in a fist as he stared after Knuckles, feeling the rage ooze 
out of him. Solemnly he remembered he needed to warn Knux. Well, he had
blown it big-time. Slowly he brought up his hand and opened it. There on
his palm, glowing softly, was the green Chaos Emerald. He felt a little
better. At least he still had _one_.
	The blue hedgehog (who was really feeling his color), turned and
trudged back in the direction of the beach. Tails should have reached 
the island by now. His friend would never find him in the woods, so he 
was going back. A moment later he began to run. After being Super Sonic,
he felt heavy and slow, like how you feel after getting out of the pool.
But after a few strides he felt his spirits lifting, and was soon cruising
at a good clip toward the sandy shore.
	He heard the bi-plane approaching. It was over the island before
he had reached the beach, but he kept going. He needed a point of 
reference before heading deeper into the island. As soon as he spotted
the water he stopped and listened to the sound of the plane's engines.
Where was it? It seemed to be off to his right and behind him some-
place. Sonic turned and headed in that direction.
	After a few minutes of walking through the trees, he came to a big
open area, like a meadow. The red bi-plane was parked in the tall grass
out in the center. Tails was just climbing out of the cockpit.
	"Hey, Tails," Sonic called in greeting. 
	Tails turned and gave him a thumbs-up. "Hey yourself. Where you 
been?"  
	"In a fight."  
	"Oh. Making yourself at home, eh?"  
	"Well," Sonic chuckled, "not really."  He reached up and ran his 
hand over the smooth side of his plane, then looked at Tails. "Hate ta 
tell ya this, but something's up." 
	Tails raised his hands in a hopeless gesture, then covered his 
eyes and moaned, "Oh no! Not something else!" He dropped his hands to 
his sides and looked at Sonic eagerly. "What?" 
	Sonic held up the green emerald. "See this?" 
	Tails glanced at it. "Yeah. What about it?"  
	"It's the only one I've got." 
	The fox stared at him in something like horror. "What? What the 
heck happened?" 
	Sonic informed him about Knuckles and what had happened on the 
trail. They both stood silent for a moment after he finished. Then 
Tails said, "So, was it Knuckles on the radio?" 
	Sonic nodded slowly. "I think so. But I want to know--who was he 
talking to?" 
	They looked at each other a moment, replaying the conversation in 
their minds.
	"Do you think it was--" Tails hesitated even to say the name
"--Robotnik?" 
	Sonic shrugged. "I donno. It sounded like him." 
	"But I thought Death Egg crashed!" Tails protested. 
	"It did," Sonic replied quietly. "We saw it go down. But you know, 
that old loser has more lives than a cat. He could have escaped." He 
turned his head and looked at the jungle surrounding them. "All we have 
to do is look for his trademark."
	"You mean robots?"  
	"Badniks, Tails. Roboticized animals. If Robotnik is here, or WAS 
here, there'll be 'bots everywhere.
	The two of them were quiet for a moment or two. The stillness was
broken by the shrill cries of tropical birds, and the deep rumble of 
the waterfall in the center of the island. A breeze wafted by, fanning
Sonic and Tails's faces with the delicious smell of the island. 
Automatically they both inhaled deeply. "What's it smell like to you, 
Tails?" Sonic asked blissfully. 
	"All the fruit in the world, roses, water. . . ." Tails trailed 
off. 
	Sonic added, "Growing things, moss, dark dirt. . . ." 
	They both looked at each other and sighed happily.
	Sonic pulled out his Chaos Emerald and tossed it from hand to 
hand. "It's lonely," he told his friend. "I need to get the other ones
back." He turned and looked across the meadow. "Knux took 'em and ran 
off that way," he muttered, half to himself. "Maybe we could track him 
down." 
	"Get real, Sonic," Tails said disgustedly. "This is a big island.
Knuckles knows it like the back of his hand. He could be anywhere by 
now!"  
	"Yeah, yeah," Sonic replied good-naturedly. "It's not like we'd
get REAL lost, and if we did, well. . ." He fingered the silver 
whistle that hung on a chain around his neck. Tails had one just like 
it. 
	"Well," said Tails, relenting. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Besides,
we'll have one heck of a lot of exploring to do."  He smiled, and his
double tails switched. He liked to explore, and Sonic knew it.
	"Do you think the bi-plane will be okay if we leave it here?"
Sonic asked Tails, the concern for his toy etched in his voice. 
	The young fox looked up at it, then around at the meadow. "Sure. 
It's not gonna go anywhere, and all we have to do is remember that we 
left it on the south side of the island." 
	Sonic rumpled his furry head with one hand. "You're a lifesaver, 
kiddo. C'mon, let's juice."
	Sonic twirled and leaped away, becoming a blur almost at once. Tails
bounded after him, his white-tipped tails whirling behind him.

					* * *

	The island rose in the center in a high, granite, crag-like 
mountain, two thousand feet above the ground. The waterfall came from a 
hole in its side, spurting out in a white, sparkling jet that plunged
down the stone face and into the riverbed far below. It kicked up a 
cloud of mist, turning the surrounding area into a rainforest. The spray
condensed on everything--leaves, rocks, vines, people, etc. The entire
forest dripped, and tiny streams of water flowed down the broad, flat
palm leaves.
	Their feet squelched in the muddy moss as they made their way 
through. Sonic had been forced to slow his pace down to a walk, as the 
ground was treacherous. His companion walked behind him, tails held 
high to keep the mud off. This didn't keep them from getting wet, 
however. The water dripping from the canopy overhead did a good job 
of soaking everything.
	The roar of the waterfall had become a rolling, continuous sound,
so loud they had to shout to make themselves heard. And through the 
noisy crashing of the river came the high-pitched voices of millions of
treefrogs, peeping and piping their praise of the water. It was a joyous
racket that assaulted the eardrums and deadened one's hearing. Sonic
and Tails trudged through it, their feet and legs spattered with mud 
and water, their lungs filled with the fragrant atmosphere, their ears
flooded with tropical sound effects.

					* * *

	"You have them?" Dr. Robotnik asked me. We were standing in the 
woods where Doc had landed at my signal. We weren't that far from the 
waterfall, but on the opposite side of it from Sonic and Tails.
	"Sure," I replied. Then I hesitated and added, "Well, almost all
of them. Sonic fought me and got one."  
	Robotnik's face turned an interesting shade of purple and his 
mustache quivered. His voice was shaking with barely restrained rage as 
he said, "You--only have--six?"
	I nodded and took a step back. His hands were clenching and 
unclenching at his sides, and I was afraid he would try to strangle me 
or something.
	The doctor drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. His face 
turned back to its normal color, but his voice was still trembly when 
he said, "We need to get it back. Do you--think--you can?" 
	"Sure," I replied confidently. 
	I turned to go, but Ivo stopped me. "Wait, Knuckles. Give me the 
Chaos Emeralds. I'll keep them for you." He had an eager, almost hungry 
look in his eyes. 
	I looked at him curiously. Something quailed way down in my heart--
something cried, "Don't do it!" But my logical head returned with, "Doc 
is my friend. Why shouldn't I?" Ever so slowly, I extended my cupped 
hands toward his. He held out his hands; again I felt that apprehension 
down in my guts. Again I fought it, and dropped the glowing emeralds 
into his hands.
	And just like that we were hurled apart. I was flung backward until
I collided with a tree. I slumped to the ground, my head whirling and
stars going 'round. My vision cleared after a few seconds, and I saw 
Dr. Robotnik thirty feet away. He had been knocked down, but was propped
up on one elbow, looking at something up in the air. My eyes followed 
his gaze, although I knew what had happened. 
	The six Chaos Emeralds were hovering about ten feet up, moving in 
a tight circle. With every revolution their glow increased until they 
were almost too bright to look at. Then they spiraled up into the sky,
their circle growing ever wider. They broke clear of the tree canopy, 
but I could see them through the leaves, shining like colored stars.
They stopped moving for an instant, then split in six directions in a
flash of light.
	Like a flicker of lightning in a thundercloud, the emeralds vanished.
I lay where I had fallen for a moment, my head still buzzing. Then I got
up carefully, checking myself over for injuries. The back of my head was
pounding, but other than that I seemed okay. I made my way over to 
Robotnik and helped him to his feet. He looked bewildered, still staring
up at where the emeralds had went. Then he looked down at his hands. They
had been burned by the furious heat of the gems. He didn't seem to care, 
though. "So much for that," he muttered, looking up at the sky again.

					* * *

	"What was that?" Sonic called to Tails above the waterfall. 
	"What was what?" Tails shouted back, wiping the water out of his 
eyes. 
	"That flash like heat lightning! Didn't you see it?" Sonic 
returned. 
	Tails shrugged. "I thought I saw something, but I figured it was 
just my eyes."
	On sudden impulse, Sonic pulled out his green Chaos Emerald and 
held it in his hands. He and Tails stared at it as its vivid glow 
faded out completely, leaving it cold and dead in his hands. The only 
thing that distinguished it from any other rock now was its size.
	Sonic and Tails's eyes met. "Something must have happened to the 
others," Sonic said grimly, his voice barely audible over the roar of
the waterfall. "We'd better find Knux, and fast."

					* * *

	Doc let me bandage his hands with aloe vera, which is the juice
inside a cactus-like plant. It's really great for burns. He kept insisting
that I didn't need to bother, but his hands needed tending. Privately,
I think he was afraid that because it was a plant it would hurt. Of
course it didn't, and we talked a little as I worked. He asked me why
the emeralds had flown away, and I told him PART of the reason. The
red Chaos Emerald is so powerful it's almost radioactive, and it requires
the green emerald to keep it under control when all the gems are together.
So when I handed the emeralds to Robotnik, the red caused the others to
lose balance and they scattered like repelling magnets.
	The part I didn't tell him was that the emeralds wouldn't do that 
unless they fell into the wrong hands. If the green had been present 
the safeguard wouldn't have come into play. I should have put two and two
together and realized Robotnik shouldn't be allowed to get his mitts on
them, but like a fool I didn't. Instead, I was angry at Sonic for taking
the green.
	Doc interrupted my thoughts with a question. "So where will the 
emeralds end up?" 
	I shrugged. "Well, they fly for a while, then shoot down into the 
ground--one, two, maybe three hundred feet."  
	"Is there any way to retrieve them?" was his next question. 
	I nodded slowly. "Ye-es, but it wouldn't be easy. You see, we have 
no way of telling where they landed. If you have one emerald, it glows 
brighter when it gets close to another, and fades as it gets further 
away. But the only person with an emerald right now is Sonic."

					* * *

	They had finally reached the edge of the rain forest and were 
standing on the riverbank. The waterfall came spewing out of the side 
of the granite mountain and poured into the river like a curtain of white
silk. It kicked the river into a raging, boiling torrent that foamed and
roared down the channel. Needless to say, it did not appear safe for
swimming.
	Sonic and Tails washed their muddy legs and arms off in the water, 
took drinks, then stood, dripping and refreshed, looking for a way to 
cross the raging river. There were no rocks they could use as stepping 
stones, and the only ones they could see were half submerged and covered 
with green moss. "I could speed across," Sonic said doubtfully, eyeing 
the rapids.
	"Better not try it," Tails hastily assured him. "Rough water makes 
you skip and hydroplane."
	The two stood there, puzzled, studying the situation. The fog the 
falls created put a haze over the sun, but as they stood there a breeze 
blew through, stirring the mist. As the light changed, Tails touched 
Sonic's arm and said, "Look."
	A few yards upstream from them was a very large, old tree. It 
leaned out over the river at an angle. Its trunk twisted this way and 
that, and its gnarled limbs stretched craggy hands skyward, lifting its 
dark leaves to the sky. Its lower half was covered with thick green 
vines, binding it to the earth. 
	Sonic's eyes traveled over the tree until he spotted the rope 
tied in its upper branches. The rope was strung across the river, 
slanting down to the far side.
	After a moment he turned to Tails. "So what do we do, be 
tightrope walkers?"
	"No," said the young fox, who's natural vision was sharper than 
Sonic's. "C'mon, I'll show ya."
	Tails raced away and Sonic followed. The fox jumped up on the 
base of the tree and grinned down at Sonic. "C'mon, let's do some 
tree-climbing!"
	Sonic started to protest, but Tails went up the tree like a two- 
tailed squirrel. Sonic hesitated a split second, then went after him.
	Because the tree was leaning over, it was more like walking up a 
ramp than climbing. The top side of the old tree's trunk was worn 
smooth, as if many other feet had passed that way before. All the 
branches that might have gotten in the way were trimmed back. But, 
Sonic noticed, there was always a limb nearby when he needed something 
to hold on to.
	Before long, Sonic had caught up to his companion. "See?" Tails 
exclaimed triumphantly, indicating the reason he had climbed all that 
way. The rope was knotted around some branches a few feet above their 
heads. From close up, the rope looked soft and frayed, as if it would 
snap any second. But what caught Sonic's interest was the shorter length 
of rope dangling from it. It was doubled loosely around the other rope, 
and both ends were tied to a length of bamboo. It was swaying back and 
forth gently, barely more than an arm's length away.
	"Cool," Sonic exclaimed. "Hey Tails, I'll slide down here, and 
you can fly."
	"No way!" Tails yelped in outrage. "I want to try it as much as 
you do!"
	Sonic paused, then reached and pulled the bamboo handle over. He 
set his weight against it and pulled. The rope bounced a little, but 
other than that nothing happened. "Seems strong enough," he muttered. 
He turned to his friend and said, "Why don't we swing down together? I 
could grab on this side, and you could take the other side. That way we 
could both go down. Whaddya think?"
	"Sounds cool to me," Tails said eagerly. "Let's do it!"
	Sonic grabbed one end of the handle, and Tails grabbed the other 
end. Then, at Sonic's shouted, "Go!", they took a running step forward 
and leaped off the tree. The smaller rope began to slide along the 
larger one, swinging its passengers down over the river.
	Sonic looked down at the white water below his dangling red 
sneakers as they reached the center of the river. "I wonder how deep it 
is?" he thought. "I hope the rope holds."
	Suddenly the smaller rope caught against a knot or something in 
the big one and stopped. Sonic and Tails swung forward with a lurch, 
then swung back and forth, both ropes bouncing.
	After a few seconds of surprised silence, Tails said flatly, 
"Great. What do we do now?"
	"I donno," Sonic replied. "Can you see what we're caught on?"
	Tails threw his head back and looked up. "There's a bunch of 
frayed stuff caught in the loop," he reported. 
	"Well," Sonic said optimistically, "let's try to bounce the rope 
over it."
	They both began to jounce their weight up and down, eyes fixed 
upward. All that happened was that the rope slipped down a few more 
feet and stopped again.
	The two of them dangled there a few minutes longer. Tails looked 
down at the boiling rapids below. "Should we jump?" he asked resignedly.
	Sonic looked down as well. "Naw. That'd be suicide."
	"But what are we supposed to do? Hang here until our arms fall 
off?"
	"'Course not," Sonic replied. "Hey, why don't you spin your tails 
and hover? Maybe you could get the rope free."
	Tails let go with one hand, twisted around and helped his tails 
twist together. But, hanging as he was, he couldn't get enough leverage 
to spin them fast enough to fly. After a moment he gave up. "It's no 
use, Sonic."
	   Sonic drew his knees up to his chest and kicked out. The rope 
bounced, and the swing moved about an inch. "Hey, maybe this'll work," 
he said. He did it again and again, the swing moving a little each 
time. Sonic paused a moment, his body tiring. "I'm gonna try it one 
last time," he informed Tails. He pulled his knees to his chest, then 
kicked his very hardest.
	The bamboo handle gave a loud crack and split down the middle. 
It crumpled in Sonic's hands, and he dropped straight down into the 
river. It was such a shock that by the time he realized what had 
happened, he was five feet under water.
	Instinctively Tails had let go of the handle as it splintered and 
grabbed the rope. Now he was hanging there, staring at the place Sonic 
had disappeared.
	Fortunately for Sonic, the water was deep where he had entered. 
Because of this, it was a good thirty seconds before he hit the first 
rock. It knocked the breath from his lungs in a cloud of bubbles. He 
came to the surface gasping like a fish out of water. He only had time 
for a single breath before the river dragged him under again.

				* * *

	He came to, aware that he was still in the water, but lodged 
securely between two mossy rocks. He didn't remember when he had passed 
out, but guessed it was somewhere between the third and fifth rocks he 
had hit. He ached all over, and knew he wouldn't need a drink of water 
for at least a week. His head and shoulders were above water, and his 
legs and body were wedged sideways in the rocks. Not very well, though; 
he could feel himself slipping little by little as the current washed 
against him.
	Sonic lifted his head and looked around. He had been carried about 
thirty feet, and could still see Tails, who was dangling from the rope 
ten feet above the river. His companion was staring anxiously 
downstream, unable to see his friend. Sonic held up one arm and waved 
it back and forth. After a moment Tails spotted him and waved back.
	But there they were stuck. Tails could not get down, and Sonic 
could not get up. One of them had to get free to help the other. It 
looked hopeless for about five minutes, as the current slowly forced 
Sonic further and further between the boulders.
	Suddenly the pitch of the waterfall changed. Its thunderous 
roar subsided a little, and a little more. Sonic and Tails both 
turned their heads and looked up at the white plume.
	The waterfall was narrowing, shutting off. It looked like someone 
was turning off a gigantic faucet. The noise became less as the amount 
of water making it lessened; soon the waterfall had completely 
vanished. All that remained was a great, dark, wet path down the face 
of the stone cliff.
	The river was slowing down. With its source cut off, there was 
nothing to keep it going. Its roar was quieting. Sonic looked down. 
The furious water that had torn at him and swirled against his chest 
was calming and sinking lower and lower. Soon it was lapping gently 
around his ankles. Dark, bare rocks jutted up out of the riverbed, 
scoured clean by the water.
	Sonic worked his way out of the rocks, the moss on them helping 
quite a bit. Soon he was free. Gingerly he picked his way over the 
stony riverbottom, back toward Tails. Without the noise of the river 
and waterfall combined, it seemed strangely silent.
	"Hey, Tails," he called.
	"Hey, Sonic," Tails replied from above. "Are you okay?"
	"Sure, I'm cool," Sonic replied, even as he winced at the ache 
of a bruise on his leg. "Can you get down now?"
	Tails shook his head. "Get a load of what you're standing on, 
Sonic. You think I'm gonna drop fifteen or twenty feet onto rocks, 
none of which are smaller than a breadbox?"
	"Sure," Sonic said with a grin. "I did, and it didn't hurt me-- 
much."
	The two were interrupted by the ominous click of a pistol being 
cocked. Sonic spun around in time to see Knuckles, about fifteen feet 
away, aim a laser pistol in Tails's general direction and fire. Sonic 
looked back, saw Tails drop to the ground and lay still. Without 
waiting another second, Sonic gave a half-choked cry and charged at 
Knuckles.
	Knux clearly had not been expecting this. He jumped a little, 
then dove for the cover of the woods. He was not quite quick enough. 
Sonic tackled him from behind, driving him to the ground. The echidna 
struggled, but he was no match for Sonic's panic-fury strength. The 
two wrestled for a long three seconds, and ended up with Sonic sitting 
on Knux's chest, pinning down his arms and snarling into his face. 
"Why'd ya do it, huh? Tell me why!!"
	"Why what?" Knuckles yelped. He was angry, but Sonic was 
ferocious. 
	"Why did you shoot Tails?!?"
	A dawning realization crept over Knuckles's face. He almost 
laughed as he yelled, "I didn't shoot the fox, you idiot! I shot the 
rope to get him down!"
	"It's true," said a voice behind Sonic. 
	The hedgehog felt himself go limp with relief as he recognized 
Tails's voice. He got off Knux and turned to his friend. "Tails! I 
thought he'd shot you!"
	"Yeah, so I heard," Tails replied drily. He leaned forward and 
said softly in Sonic's ear, "You're blowing it with Knux again. We 
need to talk to him, remember?"
	"Oh yeah," Sonic said, his face coloring slightly.
	He turned to Knuckles, who was sitting up, watching them warily. 
Sonic held out a hand to him. "Uh, sorry, Knuckles." 
	The echidna scorned his hand and climbed to his feet without 
taking it. "I'll think about accepting your apology," he said 
insolently.
	Sonic gritted his teeth inwardly, but outwardly remained calm. 
"Knux, we need to talk to you."
	"Yeah? About what?" Knuckles folded his arms and shifted his 
weight to one foot. 
	"About the Chaos Emeralds."
	"Really," said Knuckles. "Are you going to hand over the green 
one?"
	Sonic shook his head. "Uh-uh. It's mine; I rightfully earned it. 
And so are the others. What happened to them?"
	Knuckles looked a trifle uneasy and did not answer. 
	Sonic noticed this and went on. "The green one is dead, Knux. I 
want to know what happened to the others."
	It was quiet for a lengthy twenty seconds, and they could all 
hear the birds chirping in the trees. 
	"I don't know what you're talking about," Knuckles said lamely, 
and sounded as if he meant exactly the opposite.
	Sonic moved forward a step. "Yeah, you do," he replied cooly. 
"It's really important, especially if the island is to survive. 
C'mon, Knux, you can tell us. We're your friends."
	The red echidna looked uncertain. He opened his mouth to say 
something, but nothing came out. He moved back a step, his eyes 
darting from Sonic's face, to Tails' and back again. He turned and 
looked toward the southern horizon. After a moment he turned back. 
"Listen," he said earnestly, "I turned off the waterfall to free you. 
I broke my own swing to get your friend loose. Isn't that enough? I 
gotta go."
	He turned as if to make a break for the woods, but Sonic caught 
his arm and stopped him. "What about the emeralds?" he asked quietly.
	Knuckles looked into his eyes and felt something relent a little, 
way down inside. "They're all lost," he returned, his tone matching 
Sonic's. Then he pulled free of the hedgehog's grasp and fled into 
the woods.
	Sonic stood still and watched him go. "What was the last thing 
he said?" Tails queried. "I couldn't hear him."
	Still staring after Knuckles, Sonic replied quietly, "He said 
the emeralds are all lost."
	"What's that mean?"
	Sonic turned to face him. "I donno, but I'll tell you one thing--
this spells disaster, with a capital D."
	"Yeah," Tails replied quickly. His ears twisted to the south (the 
same direction Knuckles had looked), dragging his eyes around a moment 
later. "And guess what? Comin' right at us is the capital D."
	"What?" Sonic exclaimed, whirling around. He instantly spotted 
the dark specks low on the horizon. They were a sort of aircraft, and 
were approaching the island rapidly. Tails looked at Sonic with a 
smirk. "Three guesses at to who built 'em."
	Sonic shook his head. "No--it's not possible he survived. We saw 
his ship go down!"
	"Still," Tails said calmly, "those look like badniks to me. And 
besides, could the guardian of the Floating Island--and of the Power-
Emeralds, I might add--accidently lose six Chaos Emeralds?"
	Sonic stood still, hands on his hips, eyes on the approaching 
specks. "You have a point there, little bro. And by the way, I don't 
think this is a good place for battling badniks. Let's speed and find 
someplace secure."
	Tails spun his double tails in preparation for takeoff, and 
Sonic crouched down. "Ready, Tails?"
	"Ready, captain," Tails grinned back, giving him a thumbs-up. 
"'Kay," said Sonic. "We are up, over and gooonne!"
	Seconds later, the only evidence they had ever been there was 
the muddy tracks of their feet on the rocks.

				* * *

	I hadn't made it very far before the robots hit. Dr. Robotnik 
had told me that burning the south quarter would remove all the dead 
underbrush and clear it for new growth. He had warned me that his fire 
squad would be flying in at about ten o' clock, and to be anywhere but 
the south quarter. But here I was, and all because of Sonic. If Sonic 
hadn't been carrying the green Chaos Emerald, I wouldn't have cared 
two cents that he was stuck in the river. But he had been and was 
carrying it, and ME, with some fool notion about saving him, had turned 
off the waterfall for him. "But because of his stupid questions," I 
thought, "I'm still here and the robots are coming."
	I reached an open place in the woods and stopped for a breather. 
I glanced up at the sun. It was pretty close to ten; the fire squad 
would be here any minute. I couldn't see them because of the trees, but 
I knew they had to be nearly here by now. I wondered briefly if I should 
have said something to Sonic and his friend, but brushed away the 
thought. "They'll be okay," I thought. From what I had heard of Sonic, 
he could take care of himself.
	I began to move again, heading for the high place in the center 
of the island. I could see it, towering above me through the green 
canopy, but I was at least a forth of a mile from it. Once I hit one of 
the trails, I could follow it straight on up to the foot of the mountain 
in about fifteen minutes.
	I was five minutes away from the trail when the robots arrived.
	I could hear the many craft humming like a gigantic beehive. They 
were split into groups and scattered all over the place. I don't know 
exactly when the carnage began, but it spread like wildfire (literally) 
once it started.
	Those robots were carrying bombs. Not just for lighting fires; 
for destruction by fire. The bombs were about the size of a coconut, 
oblong like a torpedo and with detonator charges in the nose of each. 
They exploded on impact, spraying the area with a burning chemical. (I 
know, because I saw first-hand how they worked.)
	The humming grew louder. I looked up. Four of the robots, flying 
about ten feet above tree level and in formation, would pass right over 
me. They were steel blue, round ships, something like the Death Egg. 
They didn't look like my idea of a robot; more like an automatic 
warcraft.
	They didn't start firing until they were ten feet beyond me. 
Systematically, one after the other, they fired four bombs apiece into 
the air. These went up as a group, scattered, and came down one by one 
all over the place. They hit and exploded with a crack, igniting fires 
almost instantly. I stood aghast. You don't burn a forest with chemicals 
if you expect it to recuperate. What was Doc trying to do?
	I only had a few moments to gape at the destruction. Then I was 
suddenly aware of my imminent danger. The woods were burning down around 
me; I had better find water or a bare, rocky area if I was to escape 
being burned to death.
	I started to run in the direction of the trail. Getting out of 
the forest was foremost on my mind; everything else I pushed out to 
brood over later. Smoke was beginning to fill the air; I could already 
smell it. It reeked something awful because of the burning green leaves 
and chemicals. Through the forest to my left was an odd golden glow. I 
glanced at it and felt the wind in my face. The wind. The wind from 
the mainland, boosted to hurricane force because of the fire, was 
pushing the flames inland. Not only was I in danger, my entire island 
was, too.
	The trail. I broke through the trees and turned on to it. With 
the clear space before me, I broke into a real run. The smoke around 
me was beginning to darken the air; it had turned the sunlight the 
color of blood. The golden light behind me was beginning to get 
brighter. I tried to run faster.
	Suddenly, up ahead, a tall tree burst into flames. No warning, 
just started burning from base to crown. The fire spread from it to 
some brush beside the trail. I felt its heat at I tore past. If the 
fire is already here, I thought, then what chance do I have of making 
it? "None," my mind replied. "None at all." I kept running anyway.
	The smoke was thick, now. It looked like a heavy fog had rolled 
in, blocking the sunlight. But fog didn't burn my throat and lungs, 
like this did. I tried not to cough, but I did once, and then there 
was no stopping. I coughed so hard I slowed to nearly a walk. I knew 
I would have to stop soon; I was winded, had a stitch in my side, and 
I needed to figure out where the fire was. If it was as close as I 
thought it was, then I had better stop running and find someplace to 
hide.
	I topped a small rise and stopped. I bent down and rested my 
hands on my knees. My breath came in painful, ragged gasps, and my 
chest ached terribly. "Gotta--keep going," I wheezed aloud. "Gotta 
get--away--from here--" Unfortunately, my feet didn't believe it when 
my head said I had energy left. My heart was pounding in my head, my 
mouth, my chest, my legs; everywhere, and the smoke was smothering me.
	After a moment I forced myself to stand all the way up and look 
around. What I saw frightened me. Red-gold flames were licking above 
the treetops. It was sweeping through the trees faster than a horse 
could run, springing from treetop to treetop, followed closely by the 
slower brushfire on the ground. Forgetting I didn't have any 
breath left, I turned and fled.
	It was then I envied Sonic the most for his speed. It felt like 
the world was in slow motion; everything but the fire. It was coming 
after me easily. I felt like the slowest way in the world to get 
anywhere was by running. I had never noticed how long the path was. 
I could see the foot of the mountain up ahead, but it seemed miles 
away. The fire would beat me there.
	I stumbled and fell. I tried to get up again, but my arms and 
legs were heavy, like they had weights tied to them. It felt good 
just to lie still, close to the ground where the air was a little 
clearer. My mouth and nose felt like they were padded with cotton; 
it was difficult to get a decent breath. I lay there for what seemed 
like a long time, but I think it was really only a few minutes. What 
woke me up was the roar of the fire as it approached. I turned and 
looked at it through bleary eyes. The dancing flames were coming, and 
I hadn't the strength to get away.
	From the other direction, back toward the peak, came a short 
cough. Then somebody called, "Knuckles! Knuckles! Where are you?" 
I didn't recognize the voice, but I knew it had to be help. My voice 
sounded like a croak as I yelled, "I'm over here!" 
	I sensed somebody standing over me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, 
and was pulled to a sitting position. He was backdropped with the fire, 
and I couldn't see his face. He pressed something against my nose and 
mouth. At first I thought it was a rag or something, but then I took a 
breath. To my surprise my lungs filled with air easily; it was an 
oxygen mask. I held it against my face and gulped down the fresh air 
hungrily as the person--I guess it was a person--wrapped his arms 
around me and picked me up. I got the impression he was a lot bigger 
than I was, as he cradled me in his arms as you would a small child.
	Then he began to run, or well, it was more like flying. I remember 
looking down dizzily as the ground swept by--then I saw the fire below 
us. I realized the fire in the trees had circled around and cut me off. 
I don't know how we got over it. Then the person was lying me down on 
rocky ground. I could feel the sharp corners digging into my ribs. The 
person--I still couldn't make out who it was--rubbed my chest a little 
and said, "Just rest a little and keep the mask on. You'll be okay." 
Then he was gone. Right before I blacked out, I remember lying there, 
watching clouds of smoke billow across the sky, and clutching the 
plastic mask to my face.

					* * *

	"C'mon, Tails, up there!" Sonic scrambled up the rocky hill on all 
fours. Tails shook himself to get the water out of his fur, then headed 
after his friend.
	The two had one heck of a time with the fire and robots. For one 
thing, the robots had intentionally set fire to the trees in a ring 
around them. To escape, Sonic had raced around and around the circle to 
create a strong wind. The fire was drawn in one direction, leaving gaps 
in its wall. The two raced out, only to find that they were almost in 
the heart on the inferno. There was almost no smoke, but the air was 
blisteringly hot and impossible to breathe.
	Thinking quickly, Tails revved up and leaped into the air, crying, 
"C'mon, Sonic! I'll get us outta here!" Sonic locked wrists with him, 
and Tails flew up into the air, his double tails a whirling blur. The 
rising hot air created a strong wind a few feet above the ground. It 
boosted Tails up into the air, high above the treetops. There they 
encountered the thick, choking smoke. Tails flew and flew through it, 
unable to see and almost incapable of breathing. It was the same with 
Sonic, although he was able to keep one eye on the ground. The glowing 
flames were below them for most of their flight. About the time Tails 
was beginning to falter, Sonic spotted a large blank space in the fire; 
it had to be a pond or something. "Water--down there, Tails!" Sonic 
coughed. Tails stopped whirling his tails, and they parachuted down. 
After a moment Sonic let go and dropped with a splash into the water. 
Tails joined him a second later. Neither of them could touch bottom, so 
they trod water for a few minutes as they kept an eye on which way the 
fire was headed. It was sweeping inland, driven by a fierce wind. A 
short distance off the fire had stopped and could go no further. It was 
the rocky foot of the peak in the middle of the island.
	The two swam to shore and clambered up the slope, streaming 
water. They paused after twenty feet for a look around. The fire had 
spread out to the east and west, trying to get around the fuelless area. 
Sonic sat on a rock and watched it glumly. "Too bad," he sighed. "It 
was so pretty, too."
	"Yeah, I know," Tails added, sitting down beside him. "NOW do you 
think Robotnik built those droids?"
	Sonic nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, He's the only person the world 
with 'destruction' for a middle name." He stood up, turned and looked 
up the hill. After a moment, he pointed and said, "Hey, Tails, is that 
a cave up there?"
	Tails looked up at the base of the mountain and said, "Yeah, 
looks like it."
	"Well, let's check it out!" Sonic exclaimed eagerly, the spirit 
of adventure burning within him once again.
	They climbed up the hill, picking their way among the scattered 
boulders. They had got about halfway up when Sonic, who was a few 
yards ahead of Tails, stopped dead and hissed, "Tails!" The fox looked 
up in time to see a large, dark figure glide by silently, about thirty 
yards further up. It loped along until it reached a gigantic rock 
outcropping a hundred yards away. It spread a pair of huge wings, 
leaped into the air and vanished into the smoke.
	Sonic turned and looked at Tails. They both grinned and 
exchanged a long wink. And, without another word, they continued up 
the slope.
	The cave turned out to be not much more than a niche in the rock. 
It was six feet high, ten feet deep and four feet wide. The two walked 
into it for a look around. The air inside was relatively fresh 
compared to the haziness outside. The rear wall of the cave bore deep 
scratches, as if some clawed thing had dug into the rock and gave up 
without finishing. A small stream of water ran from a hole in the 
ceiling to a fissure in the floor. Sonic and Tails drank from it. Then 
Sonic remarked, "Let's head out and see if Robotnik's around. I'm gonna 
get him for bombing the island like this."
	As they turned to go, Tails grabbed Sonic's arm. "Listen. 
Somebody's coming." Sonic listened, but could hear nothing. Instead, 
he poked his head out the mouth of the cave and glanced around. A 
second later he ducked back in. "Knuckles," he whispered. "Hug the 
walls. He won't see us unless he comes in here."
	The two flattened themselves to opposite walls of the cave and 
waited silently. It seemed Knux was indeed going to enter the cave, 
though. He paused outside it for a look around, then slipped in quietly. 
The darkness of the cave prevented him from seeing Sonic and Tails, but 
they could see him quite clearly. He was dirty; covered from head to 
toe in ash and dirt. He was carrying a wadded-up object in one hand. 
Sonic squinted at it. He didn't recognize it until Knux set it on the 
ground. Then he saw the small oxygen cannister. There was a clear 
plastic tube leading out of it to a breathing mask. Why did Knuckles 
have an oxygen mask?
	The red echidna had something else in his hands, now. It looked 
like a Chaos Emerald, but its shape was different. It lit his hands 
with a faint green glow. Sonic and Tails watched as he rubbed it in 
his hands, then tossed it to the floor of the cave. Instantly a beam 
of light shot from it and spiraled upward, forming a giant ring. The 
middle looked like liquid fire. It lit up the cave uncomfortably bright, 
and Knuckles would have seen Sonic and Tails had he not had eyes only 
for the Ring. Amazed, they watched him as he picked up the breathing 
apparatus, took a running step forward and leaped through the Ring. He 
vanished into it, and it disappeared a second later with a *kwing*.
	The two observers stared at the place where the Ring had been, 
then looked at each other questioningly. 
	"What was that?" Tails asked uneasily, moving away from the wall. 
	"I donno," Sonic replied uncertainly. "Some sort of teleporter, I 
guess." He paused. "Well, Knux is gone. We'd better get out of 
here before he comes back."
	Sonic walked out of the cave. Tails followed a few steps behind. 
As they stepped out into the hazy sunshine, he turned and looked back. 
"Oh, Son-ic," he sang out. 
	"What?" Sonic replied, turning.
	Tails pointed. "The Ring is back, and Knuckles ain't with it."
	"Say what?" Sonic exclaimed. He climbed back up and looked into 
the cave. "Sure enough," he grinned. "Let's check it out."
	"What do you mean?" Tails queried nervously. "Like, jump into it 
and see where it takes us?"
	Sonic's only answer was the glint in his eyes and the smile on 
his lips.
	"Oh no, Sonic! We don't know what'll happen!"
	"Aw, c'mon, Tails," Sonic replied. "Where's your spirit of 
adventure?" 
	As he cautiously approached the Ring, Tails muttered darkly, 
"I think it fell into the river with you and drowned."  
	Sonic ignored this and reached for his friend's hand. "All right, 
at the count of three we'll run for it. 'Kay?"
	"Okay," Tails replied reluctantly. 
	"One," Sonic said, his eyes sparkling. "Twothreego!" Dragging 
Tails behind him, Sonic hurled himself through the Ring.
	The orange fire-light surrounded them for an instant. Then, quick 
as thought, it all faded away.
	Sonic and Tails were standing before a large glassed-in cockpit. 
It was completely enclosed; no way in or out except by teleporter. There 
were two pilot seats before the control panel, as well as two flight 
yokes. The windshield was dark. 
	"What in the world is this?" Tails queried. 
	Sonic shook his head. "Beats me. Looks like a ride. Let's sit 
down."
	They both advanced to the big chairs and sat down. As they did, 
the control panel lit up with colored lights and dials. One screen 
flashed, "Insert identification."
	Sonic looked at Tails. "Oh oh. I don't have any."
	"Neither do I," Tails replied. "What does it want, your 
fingerprints or something?"
	Sonic leaned forward and looked at the panel closely. After a 
few seconds he said, "Hey Tails, lookit this slot right here. Guess what 
would fit in it."
	Tails looked. "Ah ha, your emerald! An exact fit, too, it looks 
like. What are the little panels around it for?"
	"I donno. Let's try it.
	Sonic dug out the green emerald and inserted it into the round 
slot. Its glow came back with a rush, and a loud hum filled the room. 
The little screen flashed, "Identification recognized. System 
initiated." 
	Sonic looked at Tails and uneasily clutched the arms of 
his chair. "Hope we were supposed to do that," he said over the noise.
	Then the darkened windshield lit up, showing a bizarre landscape.
	The floor (or ground) was a brown-and-yellow checkerboard. It 
curved over the horizon in a bewildering fashion. But that was not all. 
Red and blue spheres studded the floor, each one set on the 
intersection of the floor squares. The blues were grouped in squares 
with as many as sixteen or as little as four. The reds seemed to be 
set up as borders. "Weird," Tails said, staring.
	"Weird with a beard," Sonic agreed.
	They had not yet got their fill of looking when the room hummed 
again. The cockpit shifted, creaked, then moved forward and down, onto 
the checkerboard. The little screen flashed, "Two players found. 
Loading dual player mode."
	"Whoa, what's that supposed to mean?" Tails said. 
	Before Sonic could answer, a big panel closed up between their 
seats, splitting the cockpit in half. "Hey!" they both yelped. The 
cockpit jumped, and Sonic's screen said, "Establish radio connection 
between pods (Y/N)?" After a quick search, Sonic located a keyboard 
and punched "Y".
	There was a click, and from somewhere came Tails's voice. 
"Sonic! Sonic, are you there? What's happening?"
	Not seeing a speaker anywhere, Sonic ventured aloud, "Uh, Tails?"
	"Sonic! Where are you?"
	"Still in the cockpit. Listen, I think this is some sort of game. 
I've got the main controls, but you can steer your half around. We've 
got some sort of radio link going, and--"
	Sonic was cut short by a voice saying in two pods, "Game sequence 
activated. Get blue spheres. Ring amount: zero. Ring goal for level: 
sixty-four. Ultimate ring goal: three hundred seventy-eight. Player with 
most rings wins. Go."
	There was the crescendoing hum of engines starting up, and Sonic's 
pod started to move. He grasped the flight yoke and turned it to the 
left. The pod made a right-angle left turn and cruised slowly forward, 
at about five miles per hour. Sonic twisted the controls around. The pod 
made two right-angle turns to the left, letting Sonic see Tails's pod.
	The pod was shaped like a flattened torpedo. The dark windshield 
curved around the front half. The outer hull was red. "I see you," Sonic 
said.
	"I see you, too," Tails replied. "There's a big flat place along 
the side of yours where mine connects. Let's explore this place."
	They turned their pods and ran them side by side. "I don't see any 
rings," Sonic said. "How are we supposed to get the rings if there 
aren't any?"
	"Beats me," Tails answered. "It's gotta have something to do with 
the blue spheres ..."

				* * *

	The golden light surrounded them, and they felt their touch the 
ground. The brightness faded away. They were back in the same little 
cave.
	Sonic grinned and held up the red emerald he had won. Once all the 
spheres had been collected, it had appeared in the slot next to his 
green one. He pulled out the green Chaos Emerald and held it up. It was 
no longer dead. A faint spark glowed in its middle, but it was not 
nearly as bright as it had been before. The red one was so bright it 
looked as if it would catch fire, and was almost hot enough to burn. Its 
power was tempered by the nearness of the cool green. Sonic put them 
back in his pocket, keeping them together so the red wouldn't overheat. 
Then he looked at Tails. "That's two. Two down and five to go."
	"There's gotta be more teleporters someplace," Tails said 
sensibly, "'cause there has to be a way to get 'em all back."
	Sonic strode to the mouth of the cave and looked around. "Still 
smoky out there, " he commented. "Like I said, let's head out and see 
if Robotnik's anywhere around. I'm gonna get him for bombing the 
island."
	
				* * *

	The island had moved. The south quarter was now facing north. 
The wind that had been forcing the fire inland was now blowing it back 
on itself. The entire quadrant had been burned, leaving nothing but 
black, smoking ruins where the tropical forest had flourished. The air 
had cleared somewhat, but still reeked of the smoke-smell.
	Sonic figured that if they were going to be able to tell if 
Robotnik was around, they'd have to get up higher. He had spotted a low 
plateau that ran parallel to the mountain, about two hundred feet up. 
They made their way along the base of the mountain, looking for a way 
up. They found a place where the wall had crumbled, leaving a slope of 
talus that was easy to climb.
	As Sonic had figured, the plateau afforded a clear view of most 
of the southern section. From the beach to the foot of the mountain was 
a barren landscape of charred trees, leafless and naked. Fortunately 
the fire had stopped before it reached the east and west quarters. It 
was odd to see the black right up against the wall of green.
	As they surveyed the scene, Sonic realized something. "Tails! Our 
bi-plane!" 
	Tails started. "It must have burned! I don't see it anywhere!"
	They stared toward the place where they had left it, hoping 
against hope that they would see its shiny red shape. But no. All they 
could see was more burned forest. After a few moments of looking, 
during which all hope drained away, Sonic said resignedly, "Well, I 
guess that's something else we have against Robotnik. Other than the 
usual, I mean." He sighed heavily. "C'mon, Tails. I don't know where 
we're gonna go, but I bet Knux could help us."
	"Yeah, but will he?" Tails muttered.
	The plateau stretched around the right spur of the mountain, 
where it sloped down until it met the forest to the north and east. 
Sonic and Tails followed it, still more than a little downhearted at 
the loss of their beloved little plane.

				* * *

	They had only walked a little ways before a shadow fell over them. 
They looked up to see a gigantic blimp swooping down on them. It was the 
biggest flying object they had ever seen. It was the typical lemon-shaped 
balloon with the box-like passenger compartment ... with one difference. 
There was heavy weaponry all along the underside of the balloon.
	Its engines made the ground quiver as it came closer. "What's it 
doing?" Tails shouted above the noise. 
	"I donno," Sonic called back, eyes on the ship, "but it doesn't 
look friendly. Let's race it and see if it'll do somethin'." He turned 
and raced away down the plateau. 
	Tails ran after him, calling, "What do you mean, 'do something'? 
Like try to shoot us down? Sonic, wait up!"
	Sonic slowed a little, allowing Tails to catch up. "Is it Wing 
Fortress?" Tails panted as he fell into step beside his friend. (Wing 
Fortress was another of Robotnik's warships they had encountered.) 
	Sonic shook his head. "Nope. Wing Fortress was about five times 
bigger, remember? Besides, this is more like a zeppelin."
	The humming of the engines overhead crescendoed to a roar as the 
ship dropped lower. It was keeping up with them easily. Sonic and Tails 
just cocked their ears backward and listened for change as they 
concentrated on the terrain ahead.
	The metallic whirr of door opening caught their attention. They 
both looked back, but Sonic spotted their danger first. "Split up!" he 
hollered at Tails commandingly. The fox broke off to the right, and 
Sonic went left.
	A second later there was a fwoosh, and a smooth, red-tipped 
torpedo slammed into the ground a heartbeat behind Sonic. The concussion 
knocked him forward and sent him reeling out of control. He collapsed to 
the ground, holding his ears. Tails, a dozen feet away, saw what 
happened and dashed toward his friend. And not a moment too soon. 
Another missile nosed into the ground at the spot where Tails had been a 
second before. Terrified, Tails pulled Sonic to his feet. The hedgehog 
could stand, but his eyes were glazed. He shook his head in a daze as 
Tails cried, "Run, Sonic! Run!"
	In reply, Sonic put his head down and rammed into Tails. They 
rolled over and over the grassy ground, the deafening rumble of the 
blimp's powerful engines making the earth quiver beneath them. As they 
came to a halt, another snub-nosed torpedo impacted the ground where 
they had been standing. It exploded in a plume of white smoke. Sonic 
pulled himself and his sidekick to their feet and barked, "Run again, 
but weave this time!" Tails looked at him worriedly, but there was no 
time for questions. The two charged away, dodging back and forth, 
presenting extremely difficult targets.
	They were running out of space. The plateau had become a hill, 
sloping down the east side of the mountain toward the trees that 
covered its slopes. Missiles were hitting the ground almost constantly 
as the pilot of the war-blimp tried to keep them from reaching the 
woods. But to no avail. Sonic and Tails plunged into the cover of the 
trees, and the blimp was forced to pull up in defeat.
	Sonic kept running stubbornly, even as Tails anxiously questioned 
him as to whether or not he was all right. He didn't stop to answer 
until they had reached a small lake deep in the woods. There they 
stopped for a breather.
	"Yes, I'm fine," he answered Tails irritably, holding up one 
hand. "The shock from the bomb hurt my head for a minute, that's all."
	"That's all?" Tails repeated, voice high with worry. "Sonic, you 
still look SICK! You sure you're okay?"
	"Tails--"
	They were interrupted by the whine of an engine. But not just any 
engine. This one spelled 'Robotnik' in every way possible. It seemed to 
be coming from everywhere in general and nowhere in particular. Sonic 
and Tails exchanged a look of disgust, then looked all around, mostly 
up at the sky. "You see him?" Tails asked. 
	"No," Sonic said. "The trees are blocking our view of him. Hey, 
see those islands out on the lake? We could see him from there."
	The 'islands' were little more than four grassy hummocks sticking 
out if the water. They were connected by a series of flimsy-looking log 
bridges. The longest bridge connected the nearest island to the shore. 
With Sonic leading the way, the pair ventured across the bridge to the 
first hummock, then turned and searched the horizon for Robotnik's 
hovercraft.
	It wasn't long in coming. The tiny, one-man craft came in low 
over the treetops, hurtling toward them with surprising speed. The 
usually simple ship sported two round flamethowers, one on each side. 
As it drew nearer, Sonic and Tails could see ol' Dr. Robotnik grinning 
with glee beneath his bushy mustache. He loved trying to damage his 
enemy with his latest creations, and now was no exception.
	"He's going to attack," Sonic said evenly, his voice low. 
"Regular attack plan. Test his defenses." The two moved apart, arms 
and legs relaxed and ready for anything.
	The hovercraft was only six feet in diameter and oddly egg-shaped. 
It was covered with metal patches, repairs from earlier encounters with 
Sonic. But Robotnik, heedless of danger, swooped down directly toward 
Sonic. The hedgehog side-stepped this, and studied the flamethrowers on 
the sides as the ship went by. As it circled around for another pass, 
Sonic called to Tails, "Hit it right in front of the flamethrower. A 
good jolt there'll knock 'em loose."
	The only problem with that was that the next time around, Robotnik 
turned on the heat, shooting out five-foot flames. Sonic and Tails let 
him go unchallenged. As their nemesis came around for a third try, Tails 
said, "C'mon, Sonic! Think! There's got to be something--"
	"I know, I know," Sonic cut in. "I think I have an idea." His eyes 
lit up with that conniving glint Tails loved to see. As Robotnik came by 
on his third pass, flames roaring, Sonic came in sideways. He leaped 
through the air and came down on one of the flaming jets, swiveling it 
around sideways and down. The flame was now directed into the engine 
intake on the side. Sonic bounced off and smiled as Robotnik struggled 
frantically to shut off the fire. He eventually did, but not before the 
engine died three times. Then he rocketed away, spluttering and furious.
	Tails gave Sonic a high five, but their cheering was interrupted 
by a sneering voice behind them. "You morons." They turned to find 
Knuckles standing on the next island out. He was standing with his 
weight on one foot and arms folded, as if he had been there the whole 
time. "You think that because you won this skirmish," Knux continued 
airily, "that you've won the war. Not by half, Sonic. We've only BEGUN 
to fight."
	"We?" Sonic interrupted. 
	"Yeah. We," Knux snapped. "Me'n Doc. The fun's just started, 
Sonic, and you havin' the green emerald ain't gonna help ya."
	Tails started to say something about the other one, but Sonic 
elbowed him and he kept quiet.
	"Knux," said Sonic, "we saw you carrying an oxygen mask. Where 
did you get it?"
	Knuckles appeared surprised. "How'd you know about that? Come 
over here and I'll show it to you." 
	He was too friendly all of a sudden. Sonic edged onto the bridge, 
Tails behind him. They had reached the middle when Knux said quietly, 
"Tag. You're it."
	Sonic and Tails watched in frozen horror as he kicked aside a 
rock, revealing a small lever built into the ground. He flipped it with 
his toe. Instantly the bridge fell slack, dropping them into the water. 
But instead of water, a hole had opened up in the lake just below them, 
water gushing into it. Sonic and Tails tumbled into it, head over heels.
	Knuckles flipped the lever again, closing the hole. The water 
ceased moving and was still. He turned and walked away. If he had 
looked up at the mountain, he would have seen the dark silhouette poised 
on top of a cliff, watching everything with binocular vision. A gust of 
wind carried a cloud of smoke over it, concealing it for a moment. When 
it cleared, the cliff was empty.