~~~~~~

The storm raged through the night, making the trio’s sleeping quarters a little crowded. Of course, Sonic was sure that Knuckles hadn’t slept at all. The echidna had still been scribbling away in his sketchpad when sleep had overtaken Sonic, and he had breakfast prepared when he and Tails awoke.

“What time is it?” Tails asked with a yawn.

“About two hours after dawn.” Knuckles said. “I thought you two were never going to wake up.”

“Yeah,” Sonic rubbed his eyes. “Well, we aren’t all a living Chaos Emerald energy battery.”

He ignored the comment. “I’ve done a bit of recognisance.” He informed them as they began to eat, Sonic noting that he didn’t join them. “Dominar spoke of following ‘the sapphire serpent to where is kisses the ground’...there’s a river about two kilometres in that direction…” Knuckles pointed to the southeast. “And it pretty much ends with a waterfall, at which point it becomes a lake.”

“Where it kisses the ground…” Tails nodded.

“Yeah,” Knuckles nodded. “And there’s a lot of caves at the base…they’re hard to find in all the spray…but one’s kinda in the shape of a snake’s head…it’s got these two stalactites coming down at the entrance, like fangs…”

“Into the serpent’s maw…” Tails added, remembering their discussion with the armadillo priest.

“You guys just love all this prophecy malarkey, don’t you?” Sonic smirked.

“I thought you wanted to get this over and done with.” Knuckles looked at him.

“Fine.” Sonic sighed, wiping fruit juice from his chin. “Let’s go.”

~~~~~~

It didn’t take long to locate the river Knuckles had spoken of, nor to find the waterfall. Sonic looked over the edge to the lake far below, his face paling noticeably.

“And just how are we going to get down there?” He asked.

Knuckles and Tails exchanged an amused glance.

“Shall you do the honours, or shall I?” Knuckles asked.

“Hey,” Tails smiled. “You’re stronger.”

“Right.”

Knuckles stepped up to the edge, grabbing the hedgehog rather roughly and leapt into the air. He glided them both to a gentle landing by the edge of the lake far below, Tails landing softly a moment later.

Sonic shoved the echidna away. “Next time give me some warning when you pull a stunt like that.” He growled.

“What?” Knuckles arched his brow again. “You really think I would have dropped you?”

“I guess not.” Sonic conceded.

“So where’s this cave?” Tails asked, his sense of adventure seriously peaked.

Knuckles jerked a thumb at the waterfall.

“Through there?” Sonic asked, glancing a little nervously at the toiling waters.

“Yep.” Knuckles confirmed.

“Man, I wished I’d packed a raincoat.” Sonic mumbled.

~~~~~~

“That is one seriously creepy looking cave.” Sonic commented as the trio looked up at the freakish rock formations. It truly looked like the jaws of an enormous snake. They were suddenly beginning to have some serious doubts.

“So what do you think we’ll find in there?” Tails asked.

“‘Trials of fire, ice and air’,” Knuckles mused.

“You think that this is one of them?” Tails asked.

“Seems logical.” Knuckles shrugged as he took a tentative step forward.

“It’s so dark in there.” Sonic said in a whisper.

“Yeah.” Tails agreed.

“I’ve got the best night vision.” Knuckles said. “I’ll go first.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sonic agreed.

“But stay close.” Knuckles added. “We don’t want to get separated.”

“Good point.” Tails shuffled up to the echidna.

“Maybe not that close.” Knuckles said, glancing back over his shoulder.

The trio stepped cautiously into the gloom, mindful of the Walkers’ words. A trial would indicate some kind of test. But what?

Knuckles felt more than heard the crack of stone beneath his foot. “Uh oh.” Was all he managed before the ground gave way beneath them.

They tumbled through a dark and very narrow tunnel. At any other time it might have even been considered fun, like some kind of amusement ride. But they had little notion what they were falling to. Fire, ice or air? None was particularity inviting.

Knuckles sniffed the air, catching a peculiar, but familiar scent. He knew it, but from where? His dark eyes widened as he remembered what it was, the rising heat in the tunnel only reinforcing his belief. He dug his spurs and boot heels into the tunnel walls in a desperate attempt to cease their plummet as he realised just where the tunnel was about to deposit them.

“Is it me, or is it getting hot in here?” He heard Sonic comment behind him, but he didn’t waste time answering. He could see the glow from the end of the tunnel now. Red and fiery. And way too close. He cursed under his breath and put all his prestigious strength into bringing himself and his friends to a halt.

He managed to stop just as he reached the mouth of the tunnel. He looked out over a lake of boiling lava, recoiling subconsciously away from it. He sighed with relief.

Then Sonic crashed into him, pushing him forward. He managed to cling to the very lip of the tunnel wall. But then Tails crashed into Sonic, sending him over the edge.

“KNUCKLES!” The pair screamed as one as they realised what their sudden stop had done. They crept forward to peer over the edge, dreading what they might find there.

They heard a crunch and a thud, quickly followed by a pained grunt. They both let out the breath they didn’t know they were holding as they heard the series of crunches as Knuckles dug his namesakes into the rocky wall as he hauled himself back up to them.

He looked at them a little angrily as he flipped back onto the ledge. “I just experienced the whole death thing.” He said to them. “It’s not something I really want to repeat again right now. So let’s not do that again.” He turned away to look out over the lava that had almost taken him from this world for…what would it have been…the third time? He sighed.

“I guess this would be the trial by fire then, huh?” Tails said.

“Sure looks like it.” Sonic agreed.

“So what do we do now?” Tails asked, looking at Sonic. The pair then both turned to look at Knuckles.

“Why are you looking at me?” He asked with a frown.

“Well…” Sonic mused. “You’re supposed to be the one with the mystic sight.”

Knuckles sighed. “Well, it’s pretty obvious that we can’t stay here.” He looked back up the tunnel that had brought them here. “And I doubt we’d be able to climb back out. So I guess we go that way.” He pointed across the lava.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Sonic said incredulously.

“Hey.” Knuckles protested. “YOU asked ME, remember?”

Tails squinted through the heat haze rising from the lake of molten rock. “I think there’s another opening over there.” He said. The older pair followed his gaze. There was indeed an opening across the lake.

“Great.” Sonic said mirthlessly. “So how do we get to it?” He brightened slightly. “Hey! You two could fly us there!”

“I don’t fly, Sonic.” Knuckles pointed out. “I glide. And, though there are thermal updrafts coming from that…” he pointed at the lava. “I wouldn’t trust them to get me across there.”

“I can do it.” Tails piped up. “It’s not that far. And I could carry a rope or something so you two could climb across.”

“The updrafts’ll effect you too, kid.” Knuckles said. “They’re unpredictable…they could slam you right into the roof.” The trio looked up at the nasty array of stalactites that hung from the chamber’s ceiling.

“Then I guess I’ll have to fly low.” He looked down at the lava.

“I don’t know, Tails.” Sonic shook his head. “It’s pretty risky.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Tails demanded, fists balled on his hips.

Knuckles chuckled quietly, earning a harsh glare from Tails. “Kid’s got moxie.” He smiled. “And he’s got a point…we don’t have a lot of choices here. I say we let him do it.”

Tails shucked his backpack and began rummaging for some rope. “Think it’s gonna be long enough?” He asked as he held up the tightly coiled length of high strength, lightweight rope he discovered.

“Best not to take any chances.” Knuckles said as he dug out the rope from his own pack and expertly tied it to Tails’. He then tied it securely around the young fox’s waist, wrapping the other end tightly about his own hand.

“Now be careful.” Sonic warned him.

“Hey.” Tails smiled. “YOU’RE the irresponsible one, remember?”

“Fun-ee.” Sonic snorted.

“He’ll be okay.” Knuckles said softly as Tails took to the air. He slowly began to feed the rope out as the little fox made his way cautiously across the lava.

“He’s just a kid.” Sonic frowned with concern as he watched his best friend wobble slightly in the thermal updrafts Knuckles had spoken of.

“And what are we?” Knuckles asked. “Senior citizens? Age is irrelevant. Besides…” The echidna smirked. “He IS the Chosen One.”

Tails let out a delighted whoop as he landed safely on the other side.

“Told you he could do it.” Knuckles smirked.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sonic grumbled as Knuckles secured his end of the rope around a stalagmite. “Now it’s our turn.”

~~~~~~

The pair made it across without incident, securing as much of the rope as they were able in case it should be needed again. The trio took in their new surroundings. The new chamber was huge, much wider than the last, with only small pools of molten rock glowing eerily in the floor.

“Not much of a trial.” Sonic commented absently.

“Man, I wish you hadn’t said that.” Tails groaned.

“Why?” Sonic frowned.

“Whenever somebody says something like that in my comic books, that’s when all heck breaks loose.” He explained.

“Newsflash, Tails.” Sonic said. “This is NOT a comic book.”

There was a distant rumble that stopped Tails from any form of comeback.

“But it still looks like all heck is gonna break loose.” Knuckles said softly.

The wall behind them began to glow, cracks appearing as lava began to seep through. Great chunks of rock exploded into the cavern as a virtual tidal wave of lava poured into the room. Sonic didn’t even think. He just grabbed a wrist of his friends and bolted across the vast space.

Tails glanced back and screamed as the lava seemed to be gaining on them. Sonic might have been the fastest thing on the planet, but he was weighed down, and he had to manoeuvre around the small pools that dotted the floor.

Knuckles, fortunately, was looking forward, to where they were headed. It was a high face of rock, without any apparent opening. They were just rushing towards their doom.

‘No,’ Knuckles thought. ‘The Walkers wouldn’t send us down here to die…there has to be a way.’ He turned his eyes upwards and smiled, uncoiling the rope that was slung across his shoulder.

The first cavern had been crossed thanks to Tails…

This one, due to Sonic…

Sonic screeched to a halt looking up in horror at the edifice before him. “There’s no way out.”

Knuckles tied the rope around his waist. “Sure there is.” He said as he tossed either end to the others. He jerked his head, indicating that they look upwards. True enough, there was an opening in the wall, about a hundred meters up.

“We’re going up in the world.” He smiled as he slammed his fists into the wall.

He climbed as quickly as he could, knowing full well that the lava was rising up beneath them. But just as Sonic had been before him, he was weighed down by a pair of rather terrified creatures. For them, there were multiple dangers. The lava could catch them, they could fall, either onto the rocks, or into the fiery liquid that lapped at their heels. Knuckles had no fear of the actual height, but their added weight could still pull him from the wall.

He heard Tails whimper. Strange, considering that he could fly.

“The trick is to not look down.” He hissed through clenched teeth. His arms were aching. His shoulders, already sore from his little stunt with the tree, were screaming their protest. But he didn’t dare stop, not for an instant. He looked up. They were about half way there. He could hear the lava as it spilled into the cavern. He could feel the heat rising from it. He could all but smell the fear of Sonic and Tails.

“Looks like we’re out of danger.” Sonic said with a sigh. Knuckles frowned at the comment, but kept his attention focused on what he was doing. Sonic, however, noticed the echidna’s confusion. “The lava’s stopped…or slowed at least.” He explained.

“This is still the only way out.” Knuckles grated.

“True.” Sonic agreed. “But you CAN take a rest.”

“It’s only another couple of meters.” Knuckles said. “I’ll rest when we get there.”

“Suit yourself.”

He pulled himself up onto the ledge, relived when the other two hauled themselves up. He sat quietly for a while, rolling his shoulders.

“Where’s Julie-Su when I need her.” He mumbled. He reddened slightly when he noticed the look he got from Sonic. “She gives great massages.”

“I bet she does.” Sonic smirked suggestively, ducking as Knuckles through the rope at him.

Knuckles sniffed the air. “You smell that?” He asked.

“Hey!” Sonic protested. “It wasn’t me.”

Knuckles threw him a sour look. “It’s water.” He sighed. “And I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink.”

They followed Knuckles deeper into the new cavern, all three surprised at what they found. A luminous moss illuminated the entire chamber with an eerily beautiful blue-green glow. Even the water, which filled almost the entire chamber, seemed to be lit by its own light.

Knuckles dropped his pack and knelt down beside it.

“You think it’s safe?” Tails asked. “I mean, there’s a lot of heat around here. It could be boiling hot.”

“Good point.” Knuckles said softly as he removed a mitten. With his healing abilities he was the best to test it. He tentatively dipped a finger into the liquid, recoiling quickly.

“Hot?” Sonic asked with concern.

“No.” Knuckles frowned. “It’s freezing.”

“Well, I guess it’s okay to drink then?” Tails asked.

“I guess so.”

As the trio rested, cooling down from their recent ordeals, Tails glanced about the cavern. It was much smaller than the others, and he quickly noticed something.

“Ah, guys?” He queried. “Have you noticed that there’s no way out of here?”

Sonic glanced about, quickly coming to the same conclusion. “But, there has to be.” Again the pair turned to Knuckles.

The echidna glanced at the water. “What do you think makes it so cold when there’s all this lava about?” He wondered.

“Are you suggesting…?” Sonic began.

“I’d guess it’s fed from outside somewhere…” Knuckles continued. “And if it can get in here…”

“There’s got to be a way out.” Tails finished.

“Now what a minute.” Sonic said. “It could be fed from just a tiny little trickle, not big enough for us to fit through…”

“I can take care of that.” Knuckles smirked.

“It could be miles away.” Sonic countered.

“Only one way to find out.” Knuckles frowned and began patting the pockets of his vest. “Now where is that thing…?”

“What are you…?” Tails began.

“Ah…there it is.” He pulled something out of one of his many pockets. Neither Sonic nor Tails had seen anything quite like it. It was a small device, made up of a mouthpiece and what looked like two tiny gas cylinders.

“What is that?” Sonic asked.

“A rebreather.” Knuckles said. “It breaks down the molecules in the water into hydrogen and oxygen, so we air breathers don’t drown. With this little baby, you can pretty much stay underwater indefinitely.” Knuckles took of his hat and plonked it on Tails’ head. “Look after this for me, would you?”

“Sure.” Tails smiled.

He then pulled the Blade of Order out of his boot, handing it to Sonic, before pulling off the boots themselves.

“Ah, Knux, are you…” Sonic began.

“If there’s a way out, I’ll find it.” He said as he pulled off his vest. He waded into the water. “By crickey, this is cold.” He muttered. “Wish me luck.” He said. “And keep an eye on that lava.” He jerked a thumb back towards the cavern entrance. “It might still be rising.” He put the mouthpiece of his rebreather into his mouth, focusing himself for a moment before dunking himself into the icy water.

“I take it back.” Sonic mumbled. “He’s not a fool, he’s insane.”

~~~~~~

Knuckles suppressed a shudder as the water closed about him. Even with the rebreather he still wasn’t entirely comfortable under water. In his youth, and wasn’t THAT a long time ago, he’d loved swimming, it was the only way his kind could really cool off, though he’d never been fond of being totally immersed in water.

But Enerjak had changed all that. Nearly drowning him in his attempt to break him had developed a feeling akin to a phobia in Knuckles when it came to water. But the others were counting on him, the Walkers were counting on him. He had to find the way through.

He moved easily through the water, glancing back towards the surface, making sure he was out of sight of the others. Happy that they could no longer see him, he moved his hands in an intricate manner, conjuring up a tiny sphere of golden light. He touched it gently with his index finger, watching as it moved slowly off through the icy water. It hovered for a moment, then began to move quickly away from him. He followed it easily.

It led him only a short distance through a rather tight tunnel of rock before moving upwards to a bright disk that Knuckles assumed was the surface. He gritted his teeth, almost losing the rebreather as his skull knocked against a rather hard surface. He ran a hand across it, testing its surface, and realised it was a rather thick layer of ice.

‘Explains why this water is so darn cold…’

He dropped a little distance, then propelled himself quickly upwards, fists out in front of him. His spurs impacted hard with the ice but only managed to crack it. He dove down again, repeating his attack on the ice until he broke through.

He forced his way through the small opening he’d created, pulling more chunks of ice free to increase the size of the hole as he pulled himself out on to the surface. He shivered as an icy wind ruffled his cold, wet fur, his teeth chattering around the mouthpiece of his rebreather.

He glanced about at the snow covered fields and the ice caped mountains. The sky was heavy with what he could only assume were snow clouds…there was never a lot of snow on the Floating Island. There wasn’t a hint of green evident in his eerily still surroundings.

“Let me guess…?” He mumbled to himself as he rubbed his arms in an effort to encourage circulation. “This is the trial by ice…”

He sighed and dropped back into the icy water.

“Guess I better go back and get the others.”

~~~~~~

“Knuckles was right,” Tails commented as he strolled back into the water-filled cavern. “The lava’s rising out there.”

“Great.” Sonic mumbled not looking up from his in-depth search of the chamber.

Tails raised a brow. “What exactly are you looking for?” He queried.

“There’s got to be another way out of here.” Sonic reasoned. “Knux has been gone for a long time…he mustn’t be able to find anything…”

Tails frowned at Sonic’s rather desperate searching. He knew Sonic couldn’t swim, and that the thought of total immersion in water scared him silly. He sighed. Then remembered what Knuckles had said about fear…that it was okay to be afraid.

“Sonic…?” He smiled warmly at his friend.

“I mean…” Sonic went on. “If this is supposed to be a trial by fire, what’s the water got to do with it?”

“It’s supposed to be a trial by fire…ice…and air.” Tails pointed out. “And Knuckles said the water was freezing…”

Neither had noticed Knuckles silently break the surface of the water, nor the mischievous glint in his eyes as he moved towards them.

“Yeah…I know…but…”

Tails walked over and took a firm grip on Sonic’s upper arms. “We’ll get you through.” He promised.

“I…yi…yi!” Sonic shrieked as he suddenly found himself sprayed with icy water. “Knuckles!” He growled at the echidna as he hauled himself out of the water, shaking himself off and showering the pair with even more of the icy liquid.

“I found our way out.” He informed them. He pulled on his vest, pulling it tightly about himself for warmth, then retrieved his hat from Tails. “It’s not too far, but there’s a pretty narrow passage…I’ll have to lead you through one at a time.” He looked about for his boots.

“Lead us through…?” Sonic echoed quietly staring at the water with large, glazed eyes.

Knuckles raised a brow at Sonic’s rather unexpected reaction, then glanced at Tails. He found the young fox looking at his hedgehog friend, concern etched into his face. He must have sensed the echidna’s look for he glanced at him. Knuckles didn’t even have to ask the question, he could read it on the others’ faces.

They were dealing with a hydrophobic hedgehog.

“It’s not far, Sonic.” He said softly, not a hint of mock in his voice. “I can make it without this.” He held out the rebreather. “I’ll take you through first.” Sonic looked up sharply, eyes still wide. “There’s a whole other world out there…” he gestured towards the water. “And I don’t know if the natives are friendly…and we know there’s nothing in here that’ll hurt Tails if we leave him on his own…”

“You think I can’t take care of myself?” Tails demanded.

“I’m sure you can take care of yourself.” Knuckles countered. “But Sonic’s got more experience at it…” he leaned closer. “Besides…the sooner we get him through this…” he flicked his eyes at the water, “…the better.” Tails nodded his agreement.

Knuckles turned towards Sonic. “You ready?” The hedgehog nodded, not taking his eyes from the water. “I guess we’ll be off then.” He donned his backpack and offered a spine to Sonic. “Now where’s that blasted Blade? Hate to go through all this and leave the darn thing behind.”

Tails handed it over from where it had been resting against a nearby rock and Knuckles put it back in his boot.

“Won’t be long.” He said to the fox as he led Sonic into the water.

“Jeez!” Sonic hissed. “You weren’t kidding…this IS freezing.”

Knuckles winched and glared at Sonic, and the spine he had wrapped tightly about his hand. “Could you loosen your grip just a little?”

~~~~~~

Sonic had to admit, the trip through the water hadn’t been nearly as bad as he’d thought. But that might have been due to the fact that Knuckles had given him the means to breath. The echidna had said it wasn’t too far, but they had been underwater for several minutes. And Knuckles had been rather glad to break the surface, gulping in great lungfuls of air. But no sooner had Knuckles dropped him off than he’d headed back for Tails. He paced back and forth at the water’s edge, rubbing his arms, freezing and alone.

‘At least Knux didn’t make fun of me…’ He thought. He considered finding some wood to build a fire. He knew the other two would be cold when they got through, especially Knuckles who’d been in the water three times as long as Tails and himself, but everything was wet from recent snowfalls.

He heard Knuckles’ sharp intake of breath as he broke the surface, obviously giving the rebreather over to Tails for his journey.

“Man, it’s cold!” Tails commented as Knuckles pushed him up on to the ice. The young fox shook the water from his fur and wrapped his namesakes tightly about his body.

“Tell me about it.” Sonic mumbled. “From one extreme to the other.”

Knuckles hauled himself out of the water and sat quietly on the ice for a few moments to catch his breath.

“We better get moving.” He said as he rose and walked across the ice to meet the others. “It’s probably the only way we can warm ourselves up.”

~~~~~~

The trio trudged along in silence, as if keeping quite would somehow give them more energy with which to keep warm.

Knuckles’ eyelids drooped. He’d never felt do exhausted in his life. His limbs felt like lead. Each step took the maximum amount of effort. He began to lag behind the others. He stumbled, finally falling face down in the snow.

“Think our stuff’s dried out enough to break out some rations?” Sonic called back over his shoulder.

“I hope so.” Tails mumbled.

“How ‘bout you, Knux?” Sonic asked. “Want a break?” He frowned when he received no answer. He stopped, turning around. “Knux?”

Tails turned around too, but the echidna was nowhere in sight.

“Crud.” Sonic grumbled.

“Where is he?” Tails asked.

The pair exchanged a glance, then ran back the way they’d come.

It wasn’t hard to find him. Even half buried in the snow as he was, his red fur stood out like a bloodstain against the white.

“Knuckles?” Sonic frowned as he crouched down beside the echidna. He put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. “Yo! Knux!” He yelled when he got no response. He flipped him over, pulling him into an upright position. He swayed for a moment, then flopped backwards into the snow.

“Knuckles!” Sonic warned. “This isn’t funny.” He knew the echidna wasn’t joking around, Knuckles didn’t exactly have what Sonic considered an overdeveloped sense of humour, and what humour he did possess didn’t lend itself to this kind of prank. But Sonic didn’t know what was wrong with him, and that frightened him more that he cared to admit.

“What’s wrong with him?” Tails asked, eyes wide and full of fear.

“How the hell should I know?” Sonic shot back.

Tails moved closer to Knuckles inert form. “Sonic…” he gasped. “He’s not breathing!”

Sonic cursed and tore off his gloves. He pressed one over the echidna’s mouth and the fingers of the other to his throat. “Man, he’s cold as ice.” He commented. Tails was right, he could feel no breath, nor could he find a pulse. He grabbed Knuckles’ vest and began to shake him vigorously, too frazzled to even remember the right kind of first aid to use in such a situation.

“WAKE UP!!!” He yelled at him, slapping him hard, back and forth, across the face.

Knuckles’ eyes cracked open and he let out an almost inaudible gasp.

“Hypothermia?” Tails suggested.

“Hyper what?” Sonic glanced up at Tails. A lot of the tension had drained from Sonic’s body now that he’d found a pulse, though it was extremely slow.

“Hypothermia.” Tails corrected. “At least I think that’s what it’s called. It’s when somebody gets real cold…their body temperature drops…it can even look like they’re dead…”

“And Knux was in that water a real long time…” Sonic mused. “We gotta warm him up…” He glanced about. There was nothing to really use. They had their sleeping bags of course, but they were still wet from their trip through the icy water. Tails began to flick his namesakes about nervously.

The tails!

“Wrap him up!” Sonic demanded.

Tails glanced at his thick, furry appendages. “Right!” He wrapped up as much of the echidna as he could.

“I’ll go see what I can find.” Sonic said. He rifled through his backpack, retrieving the small communication device he’d discovered some time ago. He held it up for the young fox to see. “If there’s any change…let me know…and I’ll be right back.”

Tails nodded, pulling free his own pack to search for the identical device it held.

Sonic gave him a thumbs-up. “Take care of him.” He said as he bolted off across the frigid landscape.

Tails looked down at Knuckles. The echidna seemed strangely peaceful. Almost as if he were asleep.

“Hope you’re having a sweet dream, Knux.” He said with a sigh.

~~~~~~

Sonic had been gone for what seemed like hours, though Tails knew it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. There had been no real change in Knuckles. He’d settled into a regular breathing pattern, though it was still dangerously low. He couldn’t have been taking more than two breaths per minute. Tails knew that couldn’t be good.

Tails almost jumped out of his fur when the tiny communication device, which he’d placed on a fallen tree branch, suddenly crackled to life.

“How’s the patient?” Sonic asked, a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

“No change.” Tails told him, noticing the tone in Sonic’s voice. “Why?”

“Well…” Sonic began. “I’ve kinda run into a spot of trouble…”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Well…I found some dry wood…” he sighed. “But I kinda didn’t see the ditch I kinda feel into…”

“Can’t you climb out?”

“No…the walls are pretty slick…and frozen hard…I need a lift.”

Tails looked down at Knuckles. The echidna had begun to shiver slightly. Tails didn’t know if that was a good or a bad sign.

“I can’t leave him alone.”

“You won’t be gone long.” Sonic said. “And when we get back we can build him a nice warm fire. Besides…he’s not going anywhere.”

“I guess…” Tails said, not entirely convinced by Sonic’s argument. He gently unwrapped his tails from around Knuckles’ frigid body, winching as Knuckles began to shiver more violently. “I won’t be gone long.” He said to the echidna. “I promise.”

He stepped away, watching as Knuckles instinctively curled up into a ball, his shivering ceasing. Tails looked as him with concern filled eyes, still not sure if it was the right thing to leave him.

“C’mon, Tails.” Sonic’s voice beckoned.

“We’ll be right back.” He promised again before taking to the air, following Sonic’s instruction.

~~~~~~

‘I can’t believe something took our firewood!’ She thought as she pushed her way through the trees. It had taken her all morning to collect it, and then someone or something had come along and stolen it. She grumbled to herself as she trudged through the snow.

It was a difficult enough life out here, she still couldn’t understand why her father had dragged her all the way out here. It had been okay at first, when she was little, all she’d ever needed, her father had provided. But she was growing up, and now there were certain things he couldn’t give her. Friends her own age for one thing. And maybe someone who could be a little bit more…

She’d read just about every book they’d brought with them. Heaven knew there was little enough to do out here. From the storybooks he’d read to her as a child, to the classic literature, to the cheap paperbacks he seemed to favour. She’d practically memorised them all. She wanted what the characters in those books had. She wanted a happy ending. She craved the company of others…

She frowned as she noticed something bright against the snow. Something the colour of a freshly bloomed rose. She moved cautiously towards it. She gasped as she looked down on the creature.

She’d never before seen its like. Its long, gracefully pointed snout. The exotically shaped, though closed, eyes. The long rope-like quills that surrounded its face. Its powerfully built body. The spurs that erupted from the back of its hands…

“Father!?” She called out.

“What is it, child?” Came the almost immediate response, alert to the confusion in her voice. He reached her side and gazed down at the creature asleep in the snow, as much surprised at its presence as she was.

She looked at her father.

“I was hoping you could tell me.”