Sonic the Hedgehog

Angel Island

"Finally," Eggman grumbles as the Egg Carrier's stairs descend before him and land on the noticeably grassy terrain.

To many, the luscious floating island he's now about to step foot on would be seen as a remarkable beauty. To the doctor, however, he can only smile as he thinks of the untapped potential of such a landmark. With just a few short months, this place can be a new base of operations or even a badnik factory.

After each of the emeralds are mine, I'll have to circle back here and see if this place holds any potentially valuable resources. Eggman thinks as he steps off the short stairs leading to the massive fortress.

Finding a place to land such a gigantic base proved unexpectedly tricky to Eggman, but with the loss of a few trees, this part of the island provided more than enough space.

Behind Eggman and his small batch of SWATbot protection units are Team Dark, who each had a different reaction to seeing such a crazy sight on their way over here. Rouge was the only one to have a surprised reaction at seeing such a giant mass of land floating thousands of feet in the sky. Shadow, as expected by now, regarded the island with only a subtle look of interest. And E-123 Omega didn't emote at all. If he did, there are unfortunately not many ways his fellow teammates could have noticed.

Even now as the group walks off the aircraft, Rouge finds it hard to believe such a place even exists, even more so that she's standing right on it.

"You still haven't told us what this place is, Doctor," she reminds her half-listening boss currently occupied with picturing sights of factories and machinery.

"This place is Angel Island," Eggman says, still wrapped up in his fantasy. "An ancient land once ruled by the long-extinct Echidna tribe. Legend has it that this place is where the very emeralds we seek were originally constructed, and that those gems are what gives it life."

"That can't be, since we already have one of them," Rouge says. "And aren't all seven in different locations?"

"Yes, but what if I were to tell you that this area is where one is currently located," Eggman says as he turns around with a wide grin. "From what I read, Angel Island is supposed to be so high, it borders the line between the sky and space. I don't know about you, but I don't see any stars."

"That would mean only one emerald is powering this place," Shadow says.

"Correct-a-mondo," Eggman replies. "And we're going to take it!"

That will undoubtedly lead to this island's destruction. Rouge thinks, slightly amused. Typical Eggman. Sees something as remarkable as this and destroys it without so much as a second thought. Oh well, as beautiful as it is, nothing can compare to my jewels.

Beside her, Shadow has his head tilted down, deep in thought. Curious, she asks him:

"What's up with you?"

To her surprise, she gets a response.

"I just can't help but wonder... if the emeralds are this ancient, then who created them? We used to read about mysterious, rumored species like the echidnas all the time, and at least from what I remember, I don't think they were significantly advanced enough to accomplish such a feat."

Rouge takes a little time to ponder this question herself before simply shrugging and responding with:

"Who knows, really? Mobius has existed for a very long time and has been home to many different civilizations and cultures. It's anyone's guess at this point. Also, what did you mean by 'we'?"

Shadow's eyes widen with surprise before he quickly regains his composure. Whatever Rouge said, it clearly shook him.

Did he accidentally let something slip? Rouge wonders.