Sonic the Hedgehog

Revelation

After this, Sonic the Hedgehog is confident he'll never take another flight again. To relieve his longing legs, a trek across the world seems in order. Of course, that's assuming there's still a world to run through.

Below the small plane seated with its four only occupants is a sea of water stretching in all directions as far as the eye can see. Sonic makes it a point not to look down, lest he be reminded of all his previous experiences with large sums of H20.

The one saving grace comes in the form of the sun which shines down on all below it, allowing for a lively day with a bright blue sky, scattered clouds, and warming temperature. With everything he and his friends have had to endure recently, part of the blue hedgehog wants to lie down on the plane wing and allow his nerves to rest. But his mind doesn't let him.

Being unalert can lead to a mistake. A mistake can lead to the loss of the seventh emerald. The loss of the seventh emerald WILL guarantee Eggman's victory. And there will be no one to blame but himself.

Everyone on the Tornado Two feels it. The urge to do something. Seated at the back, Knuckles' body itches for some action. In front of him, Amy has not let go of her hammer since they departed from Scrapyard. Her hammerhead yearns for victims deserving of its wrath. Tails' mental focus remains as sharp as ever. He continues piloting the plane to the best of his ability, glancing down at Miles Electric for any sign of the last emerald at every chance.

The reality that Eggman is at the last location, already searching for the last gem is nerve-wracking for the blue blur. Helplessness takes over, only further increasing his need for this long plane ride to come to an end.

Thankfully, his wish seems to be drawing near when Knuckles points forward and yells to the others:

"Look! Up ahead!"

His announcement caught Tails in the middle of another unpromising stare at Miles Electric. The boy, his idol, and Amy look ahead, seeing something big coming into view over the horizon. An island.

Strangely, Sonic can't help but feel the scenery is starting to look vaguely familiar. Once he gets closer to the remote island, something clicks, resulting in immediate bewilderment.

No... Sonic shakes his head. No, that doesn't make any sense. It can't be!

Despite his reluctance to believe he's been played, that appears to be the case once his eyes make out the square helipad to the patch of land's right. A small bridge spanning about twelve meters connects it to the mainland where amid thick trees sits a maximum security prison.

Protected by its stone barriers, the building itself is practically four, large, intersecting glorified hallways that form the shape of a square. The center of the square is a small prison yard that most of its inmates lack a prayer of seeing. Whatever crime warrants a spot in Prison Island is a crime that warrants you not a felon, but more importantly, a certified danger to all of Mobius.

Sonic's surprise gradually turns to brewing anger.

Of course they lied.

"Wait..." Tails catches on, recognizing the location just as Sonic did. "Is this where...?"

The boy's answer comes quickly when his eyes detect a bright blip on Miles Electric's radar. One that's become synonymous with energy unmatchable by all but a chaos emerald.

"They lied to us..." Sonic mutters.

"Who lied?" Amy asks, switching her gaze from Sonic to Tails.

Like her, Knuckles looks lost on what the front half of the plane has noticed.

"GUN knew," Sonic stands and turns around to look down at Tails. "They've had a chaos emerald this entire time."

"But why would GUN lie about something like this?" Tails wonders aloud, staring up at Sonic. "And why would they keep the emerald HERE of all places?"

"If I had to guess, little buddy, I don't think they've been guarding prisoners."

Amy's gasp further worsens everyone's tense nerves. Following her eyesight, the other three look back at the island. All of their jaws hang open.

From the helipad, what appears as a hundred or more unrecognizable black dots flood the sky, swarming the metal facility. Their source- a red and yellow aircraft that exceeds the size of the helipad it rests on. The Egg Carrier.

"SPEED UP, FOX!" Knuckles barks, standing up in his seat.

"I'm going as fast as I-!"

Another reading doesn't just stop Tails mid-speech. For a moment, it feels as though it stopped his heartbeat as well. Miles Electric picks up another reading, counter-adjacent to the initial one. Its dot grows bright enough to crack the screen. Its data readings being relayed to the side of the screen come up with incomprehensible numbers.

"Guys, I got something!" Tails announces, prompting all eyes on him. "There's a second energy signature and it's... bigger... WAY bigger than anything I've ever seen! All of the chaos emeralds included! It's coming from Eggman's aircraft."

"Could it be the ones Eggman has already stolen?" Amy suggests.

Her idea is shut down with a shake of the young fox's head.

"I don't see six, it's just one."

"Wait, how come the emeralds Robuttnik snatched aren't showing up?"

"I don't know, I'll try recalibrating."

Right when Tails moves his hand to turn the device's dial, it hesitates. The bright, attention-stealing dot is moving. Someone has it. Tails opens his mouth to relay this information to his allies, but a distant explosion serves as a premature interruption.

The left-side corner of the prison's roof is in flames. More not-as-loud, but still audible explosions follow.

"That maniac is going all out," Sonic says, observing what little he can of the damage. "We have to get that emerald. We have to..."

"We're with you, Sonic!" Amy smiles. "I'll follow you anywhere."

"This battle will be legendary," Knuckles bumps his large fists together. "Just tell me where to smash."

"You've never let me down, Sonic," Tails reminds the blue hedgehog, staring up at him. "As long as I'm around, you'll ALWAYS have a wingman."

The hedgehog returns his friends' smile, the pressure in his chest feeling all the more alleviated.

"Thanks, guys," he turns around to face the prison. "Now enough with the sentimental junk. We have an Egg to squash!"

...