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Sonic wiped the sweat from his brow. The heat was astonishing. He’d been in hot Zones before- the Marble Zone certainly had enough flowing lava running through it- but to be this close to a volcano was something else entirely.

Sonic didn’t know an awful lot about science, but he did know that heat rises, meaning even if he kept to the high ground he’d not be in need of a scarf. That said, the idea of descending into the volcano didn’t appeal to him either. Thin air above or boiling lava below- Sonic had definitely faced better decisions in the past.

Sonic came to an opening in the volcano propped up by metal beams. Surmising they’d been placed there by miners, Sonic came to the conclusion this was an entrance used by the workers back when mining was active in the Zone. In the past, the Under Ground Zone had been a source of diamonds but the danger of the volcano had put an end to any digging.

Sonic checked the Emerald Radar. With any luck, he’d be able to find a precious gemstone of his own in this Zone, one worth more than any diamond. The position of the moving dot on the radar screen told Sonic two things- firstly, Robotnik was definitely in the Zone- though there was no being sure he still had Tails with him- and secondly, Robotnik most likely didn’t have an Emerald Radar of his own as he’d veered off course. Robotnik would have surely headed straight for a second Chaos Emerald had he known its location, which meant Sonic could at least take the moment to breathe. Mind you, breathing too deeply around here made the insides of his nostrils hot so Sonic couldn’t even enjoy that.

Sonic headed into the mouth of the entrance. The interior was surprisingly well lit with natural light as the walls were oddly reflective. Sonic felt for all the world as if he’d just walked into an oven.

Up ahead, Sonic saw a familiar, unpleasant sight. The external casing was different, streamlined, sleeker and with a chrome finish but there was no mistaking it- that was a Moto Bug alright. Sonic watched as the Badnik zipped back and forth, clearly on patrol. It hadn’t seen him. It wasn’t going to get chance either.

Fast as the wind, Sonic darted forwards and threw himself at the Moto Bug. It barely had time to register his presence as he curled into a ball and shattered it with a picture-perfect Spin Attack. Sonic stood and surveyed the wreckage. No animal held prisoner, that was good- it stood to reason, of course, the Under Ground Zone was an uninhabited location. Sonic didn’t think any of the Badniks would be able to find any “organic batteries”- their sick name for live power sources- around here.

And that meant he didn’t have to worry about holding back for fear of hurting anyone held hostage. Excellent.

Sonic walked with reasonable trepidation through the carved tunnels of the Zone. As much as he wanted to let loose with a burst of speed and rescue Tails as quickly as possible, it didn’t seem like a great idea to run around as fast as he could inside a volcano. One foot wrong and there wouldn’t be very much left of him to rescue anyone.

Eventually, Sonic noticed he was walking on metal tracks. Or, rather- track. Unlike train tracks, there was only one line of metal built into the floor. Even Sonic spotted that was unusual. Soon enough he came to the reason why. A mine cart stood atop the singular track- sporting a bucket-like seat and a single wheel, it almost looked like a unicycle. Sonic took a look at the cart and decided it had to be sturdy as it was standing upright well enough. Besides, it clearly worked for the miners. Sonic decided to give the cart a go.

Hopping in and closing the door, Sonic pressed a well-worn “go” button on the tiny panel in front of him and the mine cart came to life with a jerk. Soon enough, it was gathering speed at a decent pace. Sonic felt reasonably safe as he could at least be sure the tracks would be placed to take him to somewhere the miners would have worked in days past. He did, however, duck slightly fearfully as the rumbling of the cart dislodged stalactites up above and sent them crashing to the ground, narrowly missing the cart.

Sonic glanced at the Emerald Radar. He was getting closer to the next nearest Chaos Emerald. This was definitely a good thing, anything that could cut off his travel time and help him get to his destination- and Robotnik- sooner would only be beneficial.

Sonic looked up just in time to see the cart collide with something realising with some surprise it was a Crabmeat Badnik. This new model sported a half-red, half-blue paint job- though not for very long as it now mainly sported a wholly-smashed design, with Sonic breathing a sigh of relief that there was nobody inside that machine either. Sonic decided he’d keep his eyes on the track.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to see what happened next. From out of nowhere, a Newtron Badnik phased out of invisibility mere feet away from him. The Badnik fired an energy burst at the cart’s wheel before Sonic even had time to gasp. The ensuing explosion hurled the cart off the track, high into the air, where it flipped forward. Sonic grabbed on to the cart as tightly as he could to avoid being thrown loose, before seeing it was about to collide with a ridge.

The cart stopped with an almighty thump which Sonic felt in his ribs. He gasped for air at the shock of the impact and took a second to gather his thoughts. He was okay. Quickly he looked down off the ledge to see if the Newtron was anywhere to be seen- no such luck.

“Lucky shot…” Sonic mumbled to himself.

Standing up and dusting himself down, Sonic checked the Emerald Radar once more. The glowing dot was very close to Sonic’s location. An indicator suggested it was up above. Sonic started climbing up the ledge, which led to a plateau.

His arms ached from the exertion, which was much greater than usual thanks to the thin air inside the volcano. Sonic was grateful Sally had been so thorough in training him in his climbing. He did wish Dulcy was with him, however- a volcano was probably no trouble at all for a dragon to navigate.

Eventually, Sonic pulled himself up onto the plateau as his head began to throb. He forced himself to his feet and stepped forward to safety.

A familiar bright glow shone ahead of him. The unmistakable aura of a Chaos Emerald, simply sat minding its own business on the plateau.

Sonic dashed towards the gem and touched it. As it had before, it disappeared on contact. Sonic felt his headache clear and his lungs seemed to breathe a little easier. He had to admit he didn’t entirely object to the sort of energising a Chaos Emerald usually gave him.

Sonic consulted the Emerald Radar. The next nearest dot- the emerald currently in Robotnik’s position- was beneath him. No way could he climb back down off the ledge. Sonic decided to try something new.

Leaping into the air, Sonic forced his body to spin with thrice the usual force he’d put into a good old fashioned Badnik bopping. This Triple Spin allowed Sonic to move with the speed and force of a circular sawblade- and as he landed, he sliced a neat Sonic-sized hole through the rock.

It was hardly ideal and Sonic realised he’d need some practice, but this new move was probably going to come in handy. In short order, he popped through the underside of the ceiling he’d been digging through- and dropped twenty feet onto a minecart track below.

Now Sonic started to get a little panicky. This track was on a downward slope- a very steep downward slope, in fact. The momentum Sonic had picked up carried through and he rolled down the slope at extreme speed, completely unable to stop himself or slow his momentum.

And then he saw his next problem.

The end of the track was twisted and broken- but, more than that, it flicked up at the end. Sonic was about to grab some air.

Shot upward at tremendous speed, Sonic flailed wildly in the air. Finding he had absolutely zero control in the air, Sonic twisted and turned and panicked and gasped as he realised he was now falling just as rapidly as he’d been flung upward- falling, specifically, towards an enormous pool of lava.

There was nowhere safe for him to land, no soft surface, no minecart, no platform, not even so much as a spring to bounce off.

This was it.

Mere feet away from the lava, Sonic suddenly stopped.

He realised he’d been grabbed by a claw.

The claw on the underside of the Egg-O-Matic.

“If you think I’m going to let the volcano claim this victory, rodent, you can think again!”

Robotnik.

Sonic didn’t say anything. There didn’t seem much point in antagonising the bloated doctor. For once, Robotnik was actually the only thing keeping Sonic alive, though he was certain it was because the deranged scientist had something worse in mind.

Robotnik lifted Sonic up high onto a ledge before dropping him down. Sonic landed hard on the edge of a smooth pit Robotnik had carved.

“If you think I can’t get out of this thing, it looks like I’m not the only one who needs to have a rethink, egg-breath!” Sonic called up.

“It isn’t the pit you should be concerned about, Sonic. Time to meet the first of my Master Robots!”

With a screech, a huge Badnik popped up through the centre of the pit. A huge, orange mechanical antlion, this was surely Robotnik’s “Master Robot”. Its pincers snapped wildly and Sonic decided pretty quickly he didn’t want to get close to them.

“Don’t get any ideas about escaping, hedgehog!” Robotnik shouted, “Try these on for size!”

As the claw retracted into the Egg-O-Matic, a cannon came out of a hatch on its underside. Robotnik began firing cannon balls at Sonic, who suddenly found himself having to leap to safety. The sheerness of the pit meant Sonic risked losing his footing every time he landed and he slipped to maintain his balance.

Another fire ball bounced towards Sonic’s legs, leading the hedgehog to leap high- but as he did so, he spotted the ball bounce down the pit and smack the Master Robot in the face.

“Nice work, ugly,” Sonic mocked the doctor, “Saves me the job!”

Robotnik snarled, “You insufferable pincushion! See how you like this!”

Robotnik began firing cannon balls with astonishing ferocity and velocity. Sonic ducked and dodged and dived as though his life depended on it- largely because it did.

Robotnik punched at the controls on his Egg-O-Matic with exasperated fury. Eventually, however, he realised something- he’d run out of cannon balls. Sonic spotted this too. He glanced at the mechanical antlion and saw it looking very battered and sorry for itself, its pincers bent and its face looking rather sad.

Robotnik realised he only had one tool left at his disposal to push Sonic towards the Master Robot. Shifting the Egg-O-Matic into forward drive, he rocketed towards Sonic.

In one swift motion, Sonic leapt over the Egg-O-Matic and its pilot, kicking Robotnik in the back of the head as he did so in order to use the deranged scientist as a stepping stone to stand atop the pit’s edge. Sonic watched as Robotnik, screaming, collided with the Master Robot, which exploded in a fashion Sonic would be inclined to describe as deeply satisfying.

Robotnik pushed a button on his console and a huge rotor blade sprouted from the bottom of the Egg-O-Matic, slicing up the remaining parts of the antlion like a blender and propelling him upwards.

“Curse you, hedgehog!” Robotnik roared as the Egg-O-Matic rocketed off.

Carefully, Sonic navigated the pit and walked its edge to safety. Not far away on the other side, he spotted an unusual flying capsule. It didn’t look like any Prison Egg Capsule Sonic had ever seen, but the fact it looked like a giant metal version of Robotnik’s face clued him in. Leaping up, Sonic punched the underside of the machine, which burst open and began to spark and explode. Dozens of Mobini birds came flying out. Doubtlessly, Robotnik would have used them to power his Badniks if Sonic hadn’t freed them.

Sonic looked at the Emerald Radar once more and watched Robotnik’s position move. He was heading away from the volcano but towards a mountain range. There was only one thing for it- Sonic had to follow.

On to Chapter 56