Sonic and Tails walked onwards into the night, Sonic tossing the weird shimmering rock into the air and catching it over and over again. "That thing looks really valuable, Sonic," Tails stated. "We could sell it off to get food and supplies that will last us quite a while."
"Nah, I'm keeping it," Sonic said, stubbornly. He caught the stone once more.
"Why? It's just a rock," Tails questioned him. "I know that it's pretty, but we need to eat SOMETHING."
"Eat the rock?" Sonic asked, feigning confusion. "I feel like you want to eat the rock."
"No! I just said---" Tails growled.
"Relax, I'm kidding," Sonic chuckled. "I just… feel like it's important. Like we need it somehow." Sonic began spinning the rock on his finger, closing his eyes. Tails grumbled something unintelligible.
WOOSH…
Sonic suddenly opened his eyes as he felt a gust of wind flow by. The rock… was gone.
"What the---?!" Sonic exclaimed, looking all over his hand in shock.
There was a feminine laughter to their right. Sonic looked over, with Tails confusedly looking in every direction before locking his eyesight in the direction Sonic was looking. There was a girl in a strawberry-colored dress and large hat. "Hey! Give that back!" Tails shouted. "That gem is ours!"
The figure turned around. She was… a bat? She brushed her hair aside, and large wings shot out from her back. Her face was obscured by shadows as her eyes glistened. "All the world's gems… are MINE to keep!" She proclaimed, juggling the rock she had stolen, and six other gems of the same cut but different colors. "I don't have time for peasants like you, now that I have all seven Chaos Emeralds. Better stay out of my way!" She flew off into the distance, laughing boisterously.
"Oh no! She got away!" Tails exclaimed.
"Not on my watch!" Sonic shouted. He revved up like a motorcycle and then blasted forward, running up and then launching off the nearby mountains. He rocketed up into the air with all the momentum he had gained, and saw the jewel thief herself.
"What? How did you get up here?" The jewel thief asked. Sonic realized he was beginning to fall. So he Homing Attacked towards her and knocked her out of the sky. "Aaaaaaaaaah!" She cried.
Sonic grabbed every one of these so-called "Chaos Emeralds" as they fell, but quickly realized that this would be a rough landing. The ground was approaching fast!
"Don't worry, Sonic! I've got you!" Tails exclaimed, flying forward on his own. He reached his hands out to catch Sonic, but when Sonic grabbed on, Tails' arm felt like it was nearly ripped clean off. "Ack---!" Tails was pulled down with Sonic because of the speed he was falling at.
The two crashed into the ground, leaving two large craters. Sonic felt… dizzy… His head hurt, heck his entire body did. But that fall should have killed him. "Tails, you alright?" Sonic groaned.
"Yeah, I think so," Tails sighed, as he sat up from the crater. "How are we… alive?"
Sonic looked all around, and saw the gems scattered everywhere. He grabbed one, and struggled to get on his feet. "I knew it… So these are the real Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic asked.
"What are you talking about? Why'd you go out there without a plan for what would happen after you caught her? We could've died!" Tails shouted.
"It's nothing… I heard stories once about seven jewels called the 'Chaos Emeralds', that house unlimited power inside each and every one of them," Sonic explained, gathering all the emeralds together in his arms. "She shouldn't have mentioned their names. If she hadn't, I wouldn't have known they could protect us from dying in the fall."
"Who told you? I've only heard myths of the Chaos Emeralds on the dark web. For some reason, Robotnik really doesn't want us to know about them," Tails stated, his anger dispelled. He wouldn't say it, but he was impressed to see Sonic's ability to make plans in the midst of action pay off once more. It was usually a good chance they would completely backfire, but this was one of the times this skill worked.
Sonic remained silent for a while. "It was… just someone," Sonic finally replied. "It was a long time ago."
Sonic heard someone land loudly behind him. Not like someone hitting the ground inadvertently, more like someone stomping down precisely… yet with a vengeance. "You worthless piece of filth!" It was the jewel thief, pointing at him sharply. "Give me back my emeralds!" She ran towards Sonic and tried to grab the Chaos Emeralds out of his arms.
"Hey! Step back, pal! I have the Chaos Emeralds now!" Sonic exclaimed. "I'm not afraid to harness their power!" He was playing it up a little, but that was just to scare her off. He didn't even really know how to use them to their full advantage.
The jewel thief staggered back before regaining proper footing. "Urgh… fine! Keep them! I have something better coming to me anyways," the thief pouted. She then smiled intimidatingly. "Tah-tah, boys! I'm sure we shall fight once more!" She flew up into the air, a gust of wind forming from where she had been standing. Sonic held up a single hand in defense from the blowing winds, while Tails held up two and closed his eyes.
The wind cleared, leaving them all alone in what used to be a jungle. Sonic stared off into the sky, where the jewel thief had departed to. "Sonic, what's wrong?" Tails asked.
"I think… she's the one…" Sonic declared. Tails facepalmed.
"Sure, Sonic… c'mon. Let's keep going…" Tails groaned, pulling Sonic along by the cloak.
Eventually, they began to approach a cliff. Warning signs started to pop up everywhere. At first only speckling the ground, they began to steadily grow in numbers. Sonic hardly paid them any mind when they first started to appear, but eventually they became physical obstructions and were impossible to ignore. Sonic began to read them as he slipped by.
"TOXIC WASTE DUMP AHEAD."
"IN THE NAME OF LORD IVO ROBOTNIK, LEAVE THIS AREA."
"LEFT TURN ONLY."
"YOU HAVE REACHED THE POINT OF NO RETURN. LEAVE NOW OR YOU ARE LIABLE TO BE SHOT."
"What's with all these signs? It's like a maze with all of them blocking our way," Tails grumbled.
Sonic inspected a weak, rusted sign with Robotnik's face on it. It began to turn in the wind, revealing his own face on the other side. Sonic looked away.
"Sonic? You might want to see this," Tails mumbled. Sonic looked to him, and zipped over. They were at the edge of the cliff now, overlooking a steep drop into a river separating them from a sprawling faded hill. It looked like this place had been transformed into a kind of prison camp. Spiderwebs, pyramids, and holes in the ground littered the checkerboarded terrain. All characteristics of the type of place where Robotnik liked to put prisoners. "There doesn't seem to be a way around. This prison camp must be under some sort of surveillance by Robotnik. Should we go in?" Tails asked, unsure of what to do.
"Yeah… I think we should…" Sonic replied.
"What if we get lost?"
Sonic looked determined to break through this roadblock. "No, we won't get lost… I know this place like the back of my hand. After all, I was born here."