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When he opened his eyes once more, James was almost blinded by the shiniest of red, glinting from afar as he found himself in an underground cavern. But whereas most caverns were of black and grey with rocky structures, this place was meticulously well-carved with gemstones all around him. Some of them were far too perfectly cut to have been formed naturally, while bridges of both beige rock and solid green emerald went all over the cave complex. Waterfalls poured endlessly all around him, the constant rushing sound oddly soothing in the echoing dark. A light came from below him. "...Scratch!? Grounder!? You guys there?!" "HERE!" From down below on the bridge he fell upon, was a deeper section of the cave that both robots had landed in, the chicken on top of the drillbot who in turn laid upon a pile of rubble and red stone. Water laid beneath them, a transient blue with a purplish tint, due to the light casting from the geodes in the cavern walls, giving it an enchanted aura as well as brightening up the place. Scratch's leg however was broken, twisted out of place to bend upwards like a periscope, making FG cringe. "OHHH! Jesus fuck, your leg!" "Huh?! ...WHA-DOH OHHH! OWWW DAMMIT! Uhhh...Grounder?" "Yeah?!" said the drillbot oblivious. "Can ya unscrew my leg fer me, I gotta straighten it out." "Sure!" He eagerly moved to Scratch's leg, drilling it off by unscrewing the large boltworks that had been welded into the lower torso, before falling off with the rest of the leg itself. James was surprised by how nonchalant Scratch was, but considering he was a robot this was not unexpected in retrospect. Scratch now laid in a slightly-broken heap, not the worse for wear but somehow peeved as he looked at his broken leg. Which was still attached to his body. "...I MEANT MY BROKEN LEG YOU DUMMY, NOT THE GOOD ONE!" "Alright SHEESH you shoulda said which one!" "DON'T YOU "WHICH ONE" ME, I'LL BREAK YOUR FACE!" "Well if yer gonna be like that then I'm not gonna take it off fer ya!" "Jus-you-TAKE IT OFF DANGIT!" "No!" "GROUNDER!" "I'm not takin' off anything until you say yer sorry!" "...mister FG?!" "Yeaaaaaaah?" said the raptor above. "Grounder's bein' a jerk!" "So are you, so why don't you shut up, say you're sorry and get your damn leg fixed so we can figure out where the hell are we." "Bu-" "NOW." "...uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.........fine, I'm sorry, happy now!?" "That's better," said Grounder happily, "now let's git this thing off yer!"

He went to work on the broken leg, quickly unscrewing it before Scratch and Grounder both snapped the broken leg back into perfect straightness, opening a hatch on the inside in order to reset the inner pneumatic tubes before resetting the leg. Once it was finished, the drilltank rescrewed the legs back on, allowing Scratch to stand up finally with a new spring in his step. "Hey-heyyyyyy look, I'm a spring chicken! BUHA-HAHAAAAAAAA!" "Are you done down there?" asked FG with some irritation. "Yeah we're done!" "Good, now try and get back up here, or find a way out of here. You know where we are?" "Nope...OOH, lemme check my scrapbook, guidebook, whatever!" The rooster pulled out the book from his backpack and flicked through the pages, trying to figure the most appropriate page for such a place of glittering gemstones and subterranean bridges. Eventually he found something of interest, explaining: "Rumours say that there lies a hidden zone underneath the oil ocean, a palace of ancient jewels and strange creatures. ...HEEEY I know about this!" "Huh?" "Dr. Robotnik sent out a buncha badniks to go mining down here! They went lookin' fer the Chaos Emeralds around here!" "What's a chaos emerald?" "It's uh...uh..." "A really shiny jewel!" said Grounder, "that can give you great magical powers!" "...yanno-yeah, that's actually kinda it!" "Hold up," said James. "You're telling me in this world of mechanical robots, there's some kind of magical emerald bullshit?" "Yeah!" "...god," murmured the raptor, "...wonder if those emeralds can send me home somehow...if I found one, maybe-" "Whussat?!" "Uh nothing, just wondering! Anyways, you said Robotnik sent out some guys here right?!" "Sure did! And then theeey neverrrr caaaame back...uhhhhhh..." It only took Scratch and Grounder a few seconds to look at each other before crying out with sudden terror. "WE'RE TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPED!" "SHUT UP!" "HUH?!" "Fuck's sake, I'm coming down!" Having enough of their panicking, the raptor leapt from the bridge above before summoning a gust of wind all around him, spinning and slowing his descent as his jeans ruffled slightly in the cavern winds he brought all around him. Landing softly upon the hard gem-encrusted floor, he put a hand on both their heads and calmed them down. "We're not trapped, alright? We just need to find a way out, there always is." "B-b-but no badnik's ever come back from here!" mumbled Grounder. "Well did any of them have DRILLS like the ones you have?" "UH...n-nooooo I don't...think sooo-" "Then we're gonna get out of here one way or another. I'm not gonna die here, that's just a waste of my time. Now let's move out, we gotta head to the top of this place somewhere, the closer we are up to the ceiling the better, alrighty?" "Right," said both badniks. "There has to be a way, water flows into this place after all, has to come from somewhere." Heading out in front, FG kept an eye out for any potential enemies despite the twinkling glaring shiny jewels from all around him. Already he was perspiring with twitchy fingers, but he shook his head clear and kept walking onwards, the badniks fearful but trusting in their more confident ally. The water kept things well-lit, the strange amethyst colour making James wonder if it was even drinkable. Thankfully he did not have to worry about water for now with a good deal of Kanto spring water still left in his supplies.

The cavern was certainly pleasing to the eye, mystical in its radiance of an almost dreamlike pastel of colours. The cool breeze of the subterrane was a welcome relief from the dry choking heat of the desert previously. James was fascinated, while Scratch and Grounder looked like children at a Christmas toy store, eyes sparkling with wonder as the sounds of rushing water trickled over large crystal pieces, creating a melody not unlike that of a finger being rubbed upon wine glasses. James only felt a little saddened that he could not take any with him, the tantalising allure of the shiny things now marred by the fact that they were all set in stone. Literally. None of them could be excavated without some proper digging tools, and he did not want to lose focus by asking Grounder to constantly dig up things. Sometimes James wondered if he was dreaming or not, which brought up an interesting question from him to his companions. "Do you guys dream?" "Huh?" "I dunno much on the uh, old models, do you guys dream?" "Course we do!" said Scratch. "I dream about stuff all the time!" "Like what?" "Uh...I uh...kinda dream about flyin' a lot. A lotta flying...like, this big blue sky where nothing bad can be seen fer miles an' miles away, big fluffy white clouds...and I got these tiny blue wings that sorta blend with the sky..." "Awww...you really do wanna fly someday huh?" "Ahhh, I'll worry about that later, we gotta get to Doctor Robotnik first!" "Alright, Grounder what about you?" "Me?" asked the drillbot. "Um...I like, dream about these sorta places! Maybe this IS a dream for me!" "Hah, I was thinking the same thing, it does feel very dreamy doesn't it?" "Yeah but...my dreams are kinda not so bright, like they're all...dark and deep somewhere underground. I'm burying away down deep deep underground, and I don't got drills!" "No?" "Nope, I got these big big claws all smooth and white! I can't see very well in my dreams though, it's all really...dark. But not scary-dark, kinda...not-scary dark, yanno? Cuz I can feel whut's around me, sorta feel things I didn't feel before! It's...kinda weird!" "Dreams are always weird Grounder, that's the point." "Whut about you FG? Whut do you dream about?" "...lots of things." "Hmmm?" "Stuff like...old castles beside the sea, ancient forests filled with creatures from long ago. ...monsters with large wings big enough to wrap the whole world in them...I think the last dream I had before I came here, well, more like when you guys woke me up was, being on top of some old castle roof and...trying to fight some gargoyle that...didn't want me to ring this bell. I dunno why but it just attacked me for no reason, came down swinging with this huge axe on a pole while breathing fire...I remember my skin rotting off but that wasn't a bother to me for some reason." "...sheesh you got some weirdo dreams," said Scratch flippantly. "Ya can't have a normal dream or somethin' less creepy maybe?!" "Believe me if I could, I would. ...hey, what's that up there?"

Seeing a glimmer of metallic red and grey, he climbed up the path of gem-encrusted rocks towards a plateau, where much to their relief they found some other survivors. At least as alive as one could get when being a robot. Small tyrannosaurs and stegosaurs, bats with gliding wings and a jet-thruster instead of feet, grey fish with a yellow warning stripe emblazoned upon their sides. All of them seemed to obey some continuous unerring motion, walking back and forth, never paying attention to the newcomers of their world. "Huh? Um, hello?" "Visitor." "Yeah?" "...visitor." One small red tyrannosaur badnik, shorter than FG even, waddled its way towards him with metallic clawed feet, staring blindly at him. The others barely noticed him, moving in a circle around the plateau constantly with a methodic pace, following each other with the blankest of eyes. From their vantage point upon the hill, they could see every part of the hidden cavern, the once-proud remnants of whatever emerald palace that lied here now deep within ruin. James could see archways and aquaducts of the past, as the strange badnik asked: "Have you followed the light of sorrow too?" "Um...no we...we fell in here, from the desert above? Do you know a way out of here." "The only way out is to never leave. To never leave, to never feel the sunshine." "What?" "We obey," said the group of badniks, "for the joy has left us, the joy shall pass." "What the hell are these guys on about?" "He has taken the sun from us. No more can we feel the sunshine. Our sorrow is his feast." "...oooooookay, let's just not do anythign to piss them off and let me do the talking alrighty?" Both Scratch and Grounder nodded nervously, seeing the dead eyes of their fellow badniks long abandoned from any light above as James asked: "What are you guys doing here? Don't you have a mission from Doctor Robotnik?" "The doctor is no longer part of us. Our sorrow has always been. Our past, our days of youth, before the cold prison we now inhabit." "What prison?" "This."

The robot gently tapped at its chest, staring with a newfound sadness within its eyes. "We are free from ignorance...our new master has delivered us from blind joy." "And who is your master?" "The missing number," said the badniks, "the unsinging one, the night flyer from the dark shore of eternity." "Is he a badnik too?" "No," said the tyrannosaur. "He is of our heart. He is the light...who shall bathe us in darkness." "...I wanna go now!" said Scratch. "Can we go now?! I REALLY would like to leave, like, YESTERDAY!" "Scratch, cool it!" warned FG. "You don't wanna spook them, there's something wrong here." "Wh-wh-what if it's some kinda virus!? M-m-maybe there's something down here that...that...corrupts badniks like us! Like them! I don't wanna get sick!" "Yeah me either!" said Grounder. "I didn't even get my shots!" "We don't get shots!" "WE DON'T EVEN GET A DENTAL PLAN!" Both of them started to break down sobbing with fear, clutching each other tightly while rocking back and forth. James sighed as the small tyrannosaurus bot stared at them dumbly, before turning back towards FG. "...that is not sorrow." "I know, just ignore them, look lemme ask another question. Where did you guys enter this place from?" "Down there." He pointed with his small arms towards the bottom pool beneath the mountainous hill they now stood on. "But you cannot pass. The sorrow shall stop you. Stop us from becoming trapped outside." "Right...well, you don't mind if me and my friends choose to be trapped outside while you guys uh...stay free in here, right?" "Why?" "Because...I have something important to do. And it requires that I leave this...sanctum? Of yours, so I can finish what I started." "What is this task of importance?" "...I have to find my way home." "Home is here. Home is sorrow." "...yes. Yes it is. But my home is not here. I have my own sorrow I have to deal with." "Do you wish to challenge your sorrow?" "Yeah, and that's why I have to leave. Does any of this make sense to you because I'm starting to get confused." "Answer me truthfully. ...do you wish to challenge your sorrow?" "Yes." "...he has come." The badniks upon the hill all turned towards one another, moving closer to form a circle around James who had no choice but to be trapped in. Scratch and Grounder panicked, standing up fearfully at the sight but James calmed them with a gesture of assurance. "Wha-wha-what're they doing?!" asked Grounder. "Don't worry," said the raptor, "just you two be ready for anything. Don't let that week of training go to waste alright?" "UM...sh-should we read back our notes?" "We didn't take any!" snarled Scratch with panic. "Just be ready fer anythin'!" "O-okay...huh?!" Suddenly, Grounder heard a ringing noise and brought out his phone. "Hellllo? Hello?! HELLOOO?! ...huh, musta hung up or something!" "Wait what?!" asked Scratch. "I heard it ringing! Or something, I swear I heard like a noise or something all dingalingaling!" "WHAT ARE YOU TALKIN' ABOUT THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR CRANK CALLS!" Despite wanting to be ready for anything, Scratch just started shaking Grounder by the shoulders repeatedly as the ceremony began without any provocation. The slow subtle chants of the blank staring badniks rose higher and higher around James. "Three islands shall fall beneath the moon. Seven stones shall blacken the night. One shall wield the power of sorrow." "Wh-what are you talking about?" "Seven days were we free from the outside prison. Three nights of agony to free us from our minds. One voice to answer our call. Three, seven, one. Seven, three, one." "What the hell, is this a summoning, I-" "Three seven one! Seven three one! THREE SEVEN ONE! SEVEN THREE ONE!"

As they continued to chant the odd numbers all around him, a grand trembling started to emanate from down below. The pool at the very bottom began to surge and shiver with something rising, the quaking of the cave walls fearfully making FG start to stumble. Scratch and Grounder ran around in circles, screaming their heads off with fear as they caught themselves between running away and staying near. Running away might offer them a chance to escape, but without FG who was far more capable in combat they would have a hard time against enemies. By the time they made up their minds, a giant rush of water came fiercely from beneath, splashing hard onto all who stood upon the plateau as a maniacal roar came through the purplish plume. A steel dragon head twice the size of FG, roaring with piercing blue eyes and dark orange crests running down the back of its serpentine neck that stretched 50 feet down to the water. Scratch and Grounder simply opened their mouths, their screams at a high-enough pitch that would send dogs into a frenzy. James however, while scared by such an appearance, was a little more experienced in handling such monstrosities, the badniks all around him worshipping the great beast that growled an echo throughout the cavern. The creature was able to reply to him in its own strange tormented language as the raptor cried out: "Are you their master?!" "MUX O EP!" roared the monster. "FU ZUA PUV SIDUHPOTI UAS PANISOD, DENQRIMM?!" "I...I can't understand you! Why are you here, what are you!? What are you doing to these guys?!" "O TJEMM GIETU UM VJIOS TUSSUX! ZUA TJEMM KUOP VJOT CEPRAIV VU TOPH ZUAS TUSSUX, GENIT DENQRIMM!" "He speaks but one step behind us," said one of the worshippers, "the shell of the Rexon, his past of sorrow shall become the end of our future." "I don't care what you want," said James, "I wanna get out of here NOW! Let me and my friends leave now, or else I'll fight you!" "ZUA FESI VU GOHJV NI?! TU CI OV, THEN YOU SHALL DIE!" "THAT I understood."

With his blades out in a sweeping swing that forced the badniks to move away from him, James snarled up at the great beast before him which roared in turn back at him before lunging straight with its neck. The raptor dodged back, swiftly planting his heels into the ground as he charged forwards at the monstrous snout, blazing fire coming forth from his hands as they consumed his scissors. One hurling strike across the metal face was enough to mean business, as it snarled and pulled back at the new burn across its lip. The seemingly-brainwashed badniks began to disperse through the basest of survival instincts, Scratch and Grounder included as they struggled to run away, but the intimidating dark from beyond the way they came kept them at bay. Keeping out of range from the battle itself, they watched helplessly as their badnik superior began to clash with the strange beast of this hidden zone. All the Rexon could do was lunge its head forwards, roaring with each failed strike of its brutal crushing jaws. Slamming its face onto the plateau, crunching diamond-shaped jewels within its metal teeth, the monster growled at his agile foe, his burning blades swinging through the stale cavern air as he waited for another crush attack to come from the beast. Once it came down hard trying to crush James beneath its steel jaw, the raptor summoned up his gust of wind and slammed his scissors straight into the upper teeth, roaring a battle cry of: "RAGING TEMPEST!" The force of wind combined with his burning scissors rising upwards cracked straight into the metal hull, breaking through the lip to split the snout itself in two. But that changed nothing for the monster as it slammed its head hard again and again on the main hill, crumbling its foundation as well as sending stalactites to fall from above with such disturbance. James found himself dodging back and forth, as did Scratch and Grounder who soon turned fearful at seeing one or two of the other badniks become crushed under rubble, cracking metal skulls wide open as oil flowed out into dark puddles.

Grounder found himself slipping up on one such puddle, skidding out of control to glide into FG who grabbed on and swinged, his scissors spinning with the careening motions of the drilltank before hitting against the Rexon's face. The beast was getting tired of such loathsome pests and began to lunge further across the hill before chomping at the bit for anymore victims. One such unfortunate was another of its followers, some small bat-badniks that screeched before being pulled into its maw and crunched brutally into silver dust. The sparks grinding out of its oil-stained lips only made it more fearsome, as its teeth were set alight by the combination of flammable liquid and sparking electrics to become even more dangerous. Now James was getting worried, he had no way of getting close to its jaws for further attacks, as he stepped back to where Scratch had stood perfectly still with fear, shouting: "Any ideas?!" "WHA-NO! The whole place is gonna cave in if that thing keeps on smashing us in, and we got no way to crack it open!" "...crack...crack it OPEN, YES, Scratch you're a genius!" "Wh-wha I am!?" "How high can you fly?" "I-i-i, I can't FLY!" "I KNOW but you can do SOMETHING with those wings can't you?! Can you glide, maybe get a few feet off the ground even?!" "U-u-um, I, I-i-i-i, I DUNNO! Maybe if I got a really good breeze or something?!" "That's good enough, just follow my instructions and you'll ace this test!" "Hey whut about me?!" asked Grounder flailing his drills. "You I need on the ground to keep me moving, now come on! Scratch, spread your wings out to the sides and aim for that big rock up there! Once you're up there, grab on and when I say now, use that beak of yours to break through it, okay!?" "O-o-okay!" Scratch spread his wings as wide as he possibly could, fearful to move but not putting any step forward or back as he looked up towards where James indicated. A giant thick stalactite cracking its way through, looking ready to fall as James summoned a greater wind. He tried to put every bit of focus he could in forming the most powerful gust he could create, growling low as he struck a pose while bent halfway down, legs crooked as if about to turn. He felt the breeze start forming around him as he faced the chicken.

Then his jeans began to ruffle, his eyes stinging slightly from a greater-turning gale formed by his own nanos. The howling rose through the cave walls as if summoned up to him like wolves answering to the call. He felt the searing wind turn icy on his scales, and at the height of its strength, he forced every shriek of it straight towards Scratch. A roaring whirlwind of destruction spinned him like a dandelion seed, lofted high up towards the roof of the cave itself. His scream was piercing, his shrieks unending while also oscillating in his spin, like someone shouting through an electric fan. Soon he found himself nearing the stalactite, his wings spinning round and round him like a helicopter blade gone loose before he grabbed tightly onto the rock mass. He was very high up, higher than he wanted to be truthfully as he saw the rearing head of the monstrous Rexon focus its attention towards James, the raptor dodging back and forth as a brown mass on the hill's barest peak. He watched and waited, then realised that watching was a bad idea and simply rubbed his head against the stalactite itself, wings wrapped hard around it in a hugging grip while weeping. He really did not want to fall, even if he had fallen already and at a much greater height than he was right now, he wasn't awake for the last time. Sure he only had a broken leg from it, but he didn't want to SEE himself fall, not with that robot-eating machine prowling its head around nearby. James was keeping the monster busy while repositioning it in the right spot, his hand around Grounder's body as he rode him like a small tank, using the unceasing treadwheels to not stop for a minute. The Rexon was having an even harder time trying to hit him, the raptor dodging away in circular patterns as he guided the drillbot in moving. "HARD LEFT! RIGHT! ONE-EIGHTY!" "Why don't you get a skateboard or sumthin', I'm not gonna do tricks!" "I prefer skates, least I'm in control of both my feet! STOP!"

With a hard screeching halt, he leapt off from his steely steed and started motioning the beast to come near him. The beastly badnik was happy to oblige, snarling with its fiery rage before it came crashing down on him in mid-dodge. He almost didn't get away with it, but with the Rexon in place, he called out to his aerial support clinging up above. "NOW, DO IT!" "HUH!?" "BREAK IT DOWN, NOW!" "O-OKAY! UM! ...r-remember yer training...remember...THIS!" It took him a few seconds to actually remember how to use his Beak Drill maneuver, which while he already knew it, had been refined by James for more emphasis on speed. His shining steel had proved strong enough against rock, and with it the crackling turned louder and louder before he felt a sudden rush of gravity coming up from below. Then he realised he was falling very swiftly. Then he realised that had he actually known the stalactite was going to fall, he would never have done it in the first place. "B-B-BUCKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" With a shriek that pierced the air, Scratch found himself coming down hard straight onto the Rexon's head, the force of which cracked deep inside of the monster's skull and split it wide open. A roar of sudden anguish came clear as day, the rooster flapping off in fear of any repercussions as the rock-impaled beast struggled to raise its head towards them. Sparks flew hard out of its central processing unit, bleeding hard all over its head with the thickest battery fluid, its eyes piercing with an undeniable rage of being beaten. Pain was only secondary to fury. James knew that well from just the look alone as it barely moved itself, focusing on him in particular. He walked up to it, once it was clear that it had no ability left to fight anymore, the twisted steel now caved inwards unto a certain point within its own hull, revealing a strange purplish colour that stained horribly beneath its carapace. It looked as if it was rust, the same texture as it too, but a far more gruesome discolouring than just oxidisation. Brown and purple blending into one vile rotting canvas of steel. To the badniks it was utterly gruesome, but the raptor was not bothered. It was only once it started talking that he became worried, its strangled roaring soon turning clear. " I...SiNG...sOrRoW." "I don't fucking care, you're not gonna bother anyone else again and we're leaving." " yOu...CaN'T...EsCaPe. I...ShALL...eNd yOu...oF eXiStEnCe."

The creature slowly ceased speaking, its dark guttural tones now but resonance within the echoing chambers of the Hidden Palace Zone. He wanted to hear more, but at the same time he was glad that it was dead, watching the fluids pool darkly around its crushed head as he stared into its eyes. Unblinking, unmoving, and utterly impenetrable as to their true origins, at least for the raptor. But James felt uneasy, its words ringing fearfully within him before turning to find a more disturbing sight. The former worshippers now stood completely silent in front of him. Unblinking. Unmoving. Their legs perfectly still, their wheels at rest. It was as if they all suddenly lost power within the last few minutes, the raptor asking: "Wha...what happened?" "I-i dunno," said Scratch nervously, "they just...stopped moving and...stared at you when that thing stopped speaking!" "...are any of you still alive?" "I AM!" "Not you Grounder! Any of YOU guys still standing, you still alive and everything?" "...you." The one tyrannosaur he had spoken to before now stepped forwards, his eyes unfocused moreso as if staring straight through James. "You have destroyed our sorrow." "Huh? No...I destroyed a monster that was trapping you here." "He...warned us of this." "Huh?" "Of...you." Suddenly the robot twitched, his head twisting one way and then the other with an audible shriek of cracked metal within its neck. James backed off, freaked by the sudden change as its jaw snapped open, its fellow followers unaware of the scene unveiling before them. Somehow they were trapped within some sort of blank state, hearing not a single sound that poured forth from the tyrannosaur's throat, a new tone of a dark peaceful acceptance. "_ I...remember you still. " "Wh-what the hell?!" " The doll...destroy it. " "What?!" " **_Destroy...the doll." "Who are you?! Are you the same thing that was in there fighting me?! What the fuck are you?!" " **I...was...you...chose... me..."

Its last word turned breathless as a whisper before the machine dropped dead with a single twist, its fallen body now before its friends who started to blink as if for the first time, gasping in shock and horror at what fate had come to them. James almost felt he had to fight all of them, but for some reason they stayed still. They were lost within their own ideas, struggling to think as words tried to fall from their steel lips. One stegosaur on treadwheels asked softly: "What...wh-wh-what happened? Redder?! R-redder what happened buddy?!" "You were...lost here," said FG, "you had a power surge so we...someone had to come get you...right guys?" "Uhhh YEAH!" said Scratch following along. "We were uh, with uhhh, Doctor Robotnik when we were sent out to rescue you!" "Rescue us?" asked the Stego. "Really?" "Yeah! Right Grounder?!" "YEAH!" said Grounder. "We rescued you, we should get a medal!" "Yeah we TOTALLY should but uh, you guys okay now?" They all rubbed their heads, or at least shook them if they had no hands capable, trying to make sense of their CPUs. "I think...yeah...yeah we're okay. Um, what the heck's that thing over there?" "Oh this?" said James pointing behind at the Rexon. "Just a malfunctioning unit, nothing to worry about." "And uh...Redder?" "I dunno, he just...deactivated before you guys woke up." "...dammit. ...I knew his power source was too old. ...well, can't be helped, considering how long we were down here I guess one of us had to run out and ol' Redder was gonna go before anybody else." "Whysat?" "His power source is weaker than most of us, old and outta juice. Kinda surprised he lasted that long." "Ahhh huh...is he...gonna be okay?" "Not unless we carry him back somewhere and maybe get a new power source, find a roboticiser and such." "Roboticise? R-right, course, uhhh how long were you guys down here?" "Well we were down here for a few months," said the Stego, "about five or so but lessee...internal clock says...jeez we've been outta power fer at least two weeks! What the heck happened?!" "Maybe one of those Chaos Emeralds surged up," said one wheel gator badnik, "like, sorta blasted out its energy onto us and caused a blackout. They do that, right?" "I dunno, no one knows anything about what those chaos emeralds can do. But...wait, we don't have any!" "Oh don't worry about that," said FG, "you guys can all go home, we'll try again another day now that we've got some more info on this place. You uh, know the way to get outta here?" "I do," said one bat-badnik, "I'm the head navigator. But uh, who are you?" "My name's FG, I'm a new model installed back a few weeks ago." "Really? I never heard about you." "Top secret, scouting unit. I was sent out to rescue you along with these two here." "...heeeeeeey I recognise you two, you were Robotnik's janitors, weren't you?" "Yeah!" said Grounder. "We cleaned windows like we were the best!" "We WERE the best!" said Scratch proudly. A little too proudly. "Huh...weird," said the bat navigator, "I thought you two got replaced, guess you got promoted or something huh?" "Wha-buh...replaced?! That's not what happened, we just got moved to another area!" "Ooooh right, I see, yeah I remember we had a reshuffling a while back. SO...who wants to get the heck outta here?!" "I DO I DO!" cried Grounder. "I don't like this place anymore, it's dark and dusty!" "But you LIKE the underground," said Scratch, "that's like your NAME buddy!" "No it's not!" "Yes it is, GROUN-DER!" "SO?! This ain't ground, this is rock! I'm not Rock-der am I, hmmm!? Am I?!" "YOU...ROCK AND GROUND MEAN THE SAME THING!" "Well technically they're both different types," said FG, "I mean back where I came from." "SEE?!" said the drillbot. "He knows it!" "GUH-GRRRRRRRR!" With that argument never ending, the three found their way out thanks to the new group of badniks that joined them, the Rexon's remains now teeming with both mice and seals all circling around the machine with a strange curiosity. Through the efforts of their chief navigator, they managed to escape from the Hidden Palace Zone through a series of underground tunnels further within the baserock below, and back outside towards a new area. One far more unnatural and industrial-based than anywhere else James had seen upon this island.