The group didn't have to spend long spinning their wheels before the tips started coming in. Jack's police connections proved invaluable when persistent reports of "strange lights" up above Starlight City (presumably in the old Scrap Brain Zone) came up. The area was outside of pretty much everybody's jurisdiction, though, and no South Island authorities had really cared to check it out for fear of it just being Eggman or Chimera at work setting up more facilities.

And so, it fell to them—Pax, Jack, and the rest of the party—to check it out. The wishful thinking at work was that it would lead them to Ace, or at least to Li Fang. But where to start?

South Island's mountains were steep and nigh-unnavigable. While the easiest course of action seemed like it'd be to call in a G.U.N. helicopter for transport, that option didn't work out so well; no sooner than their ride made it outside of the UF's airspace, a Chimera airship peppered it with "warning shots" until it retreated back to whence it came (in a trail of smoke and fire, no less). Tensions were still high, and G.U.N. was seeming less and less welcome on South Island.

So, it turned out that the easiest place to start was by taking the Sky Rail up to Starlight City, but from there, it'd be a trick and a trek to make it any higher. Thus we now find our heroes, standing in the thickly-forested western outskirts of Starlight City, and staring up at a near-vertical wall of stone.

It was late in the afternoon; the sun was setting, pitching the already reddish-rock in fiery orange. With the city well behind them, the only sound came from the roar of a mammoth waterfall their left, white and glistening, beating down harshly on a misty pool not far away, before continuing its plunge farther down the mountain and beyond. The area was almost paradise-like, but it didn't serve to help anyone much, as there was no clear way to scale the mountain, at least not without being someone like Jack, blessed inherently with wings.


"I've always heard there's some sorta path up from here," mused Casey, staring up at the unconquerable surface. The party's resident big, blue-bearded boar looked surprisingly optimistic, given the situation. (Either that, or he was just admiring the natural beauty.) "Some sorta trail, or... cave... tunnel thing. Always heard there were actually some sort of ruins inside the mountain itself that went up."

Wall. Big, fat wall. That was all they had seen so far besides a waterfall that had the power to crush them utterly.

"Not really seein' it, though."


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Ivan stared up at the wall with the others.

"Jumpin' this wall be childs play." He said musing the idea, but it would probably be counter-intuitive to everyone else being able to get there as well so he didn't bother. He walked up to the wall, putting a hand on it. He slid his gloved hand over the surface of the wall. Feeling it up, even.

"Mayhaps there be a switch'er somethin'."

Someone has seen too many Spy Action movies.

Casey was quiet for a bit while Jack chided Tyra, but seemed to actually be considering the wolverine's question seriously. After all, a wild goose chase wouldn't be any help.

"Well, it's kinda famous," shrugged the boar as he gazed blankly up at the gigantic obstruction. "It's supposed to be part of the path Sonic followed up to the top of the mountain during Eggman's first big takeover attempt."

Perhaps just for thoroughness, he meandered toward the water's edge, and started looking across the river, down the shore, anywhere, really. At least it wasn't an unpleasant pursuit, for once; he adjusted his jacket just slightly, appreciating the fact that, at this altitude, it was actually needed, but without being frigidly cold. It was just... pleasant and cool.

Though shamefully distracted by how scenic and comfortable the place was, he eventually did a double-take when he looked farther downstream, then squinted.

"Whazzat over there?" he inquired in a blurt, pointing toward what, for him, was just a blurry dot or two in the distance. (He probably could have used some glasses.) "That a person?"Awaiting a post from you-know-who to say who it is 'den. Though we all probably know who it is.

As far as Ace was concerned, it may as well have been a corpse.


No such luck, though. He came to in unfamiliar surroundings, but that was no surprise. It had been a long time since he actually woke up in the same place he'd fallen asleep in. The big difference this time was that he had what appeared to be natural sunlight pouring into his eyes, rather than the damp, murky darkness of the corner in someone's closet.

The other big difference was that, for once, he was content to just lie there with no immediate threats present. It was just him, the shore, and the world's squigiest pair of pants. His eyes peered open ever-so-slightly, and he lifted his head briefly to catch a better view of his surroundings (before almost immediately plopping it back down with an earthy thud), but beyond that he was happy to pretend he was dead for a little while longer.

With her tail wrapped around her, Avatar sat cross-legged beside the thought-to-be unconscious cat. She was hunched over a small work-book that sat on the ground in front of her. Pencil in hand, the teen piranha was writing everything that had took part today - with an occasional glace back to the cat she'd found in the water. Her mind raced as she was trying to think up the perfect situation as to why he had been in the water in the first place.

Maybe he was a gang member, but he tried to quit. He knew too much so they tried to kill him by tossing him in a bag, and throwing him in the river, or better yet, down the waterfall. Avatar giggled inwardly as she started writing her made-up situation.

The heroic feline suddenly felt the grasp of the two goons release. He knew that he had been thrown off something. He had no idea what, the darkness surrounding him blocked off his vision of the situation at hand. A cliff? A waterfall perhaps? It felt like his mind itself was trying to do a flip as he fell. Not a good time at all.

What could possibly be happening to him? What awaited him? Sharp rocks? Water? Concrete? He knew that he should try to escape from the bag, but his body felt frozen. Unable to move, he was in full-on panic. The tabby cat's hands clenched into fists, he knew now that whatever was waiting for him at the bottom would come soon. Soon, he would get his punishment.

With one last breath from the cat inside, the bag plunged into the cold, rushing water below.

Avatar read over her work.

Perfect. She thought. Now he just needs a name.

She looked back over that the drenched cat laying beside her. Did she spot a movement? The piranha leaned over to get a better look at him.

"Yo, you awake now?"

Ivan continued to pat the wall, hoping to find some hidden switch or pressure plat of some sort. But he was derailed from his work when Casey seemed to see something. He stopped what he was doing to look over in the direction in which the boar was squinting.

It certainly seemed to be that friend of theirs that they'd spent some time searching for. Based on his description, it certainly checked out. Ivan trudged over, but stopped next to Casey.

"Lucky find, eh?" He said, looking at the boar, "Ain't too often ya accidentally stumble onta the guy you been searchin' for by a scenic waterfall."

With that, he took off after Geoff and Jack. He arrived at the scene in just enough time to see the piranha that was with Ace got on the defensive. The pirate sauntered toward the piranha, but kept a respectable distance.

"Lighten up ther, lass," He said, extending a palm, gesturing for her to yield, "We been searchin' for this guy... For a while." He said, looking uneasily at Jack, and then Geoff as he closed in, "...A while, aye?"