Snow rushed in much faster, and the temperature becoming much colder. Firon and his team were climbing the side of a mountain, along its pathways and climbing walls. Speedix was up front, using his sharp eyesight to see through the continuously oncoming snow. Firon and Violet walked from behind Speedix, with Violet staying real close to Firon for protection and warmth. All Firon could really do was keep her close to him, while making sure he and his team stayed on task, and stayed safe. Knuckles, Tails, Striker, and Rod were in the back, making sure they didn't get lost and to make sure they didn't skip any type of hole or cave that they could use for refugee.

"What's the name of this mountain anyway?" Firon asked in curiosity. Violet used one of her hands to take out and search on her scanner, taking a few minutes to find an answer. She uploaded a map and saw their location from the side of the mountain, the name of the map in the upper part of the screen.

"The name is Mount Sky Strike," Violet informed the team, putting away her scanner. Firon smiled in a childish manner, thinking it sounded funny that perhaps the tallest mountain in the South would be named in its own characteristics. The mountain did reach past the clouds, making its name make much more sense. The top of the mountain is where the team had to go, in order to find the location of the chaos emerald that they were after.

"Why is it so freakishly cold up here!" Tails complained, crossing his arms to provide a little extra warmth. Knuckles seemed unbothered by the cold and rushing snow, with Striker and Rod seeming like they didn't feel anything, with a look of obedience in their expressions. Violet looked back at Tails, her eyes filled with encouragement for a bit of science.

"Most mountains have ice polar caps on their tops, if they don't reach the clouds that is. The mountain we're on will get colder and colder, until we reach past the clouds, past the storm, and into the warmer top part of the mountain," she explained slowly, making sure the orange fox understood. Tails nodded, shaking in the intense cold.

"Why are the two rookies in the back being so quiet? They've been like that since the beginning of this mission," Firon asked, turning his view to the yellow-golden colored rookies in the back. Both of them looked nervously at their leader, a few beads of sweat making its way down their foreheads, only to freeze in the cold and stick to them.

"We're just trying not to be a burden, sir," Rod answered, feeling a bit ashamed. Firon had a look of confusion on his face, pointing at Striker.

"You speak. Tell me why you guys won't speak. Come on, I'm not the bad and ugly type of leader you think I would be," the gray hedgehog explained, quieting down.

"He's right! He's a cute, handsome, and caring leader!" Violet said loudly in pride, clutching Firon tightly in her arms, sighs of relaxation. The gray hedgehog blushed hard, his cheeks burning and generating heat. Speedix turned a bit and grinned slightly, with Knuckles and Tails smiling.

"Well, we never knew that, sir, we just wanna gain your respect and become part of your team, maybe your friend if thats even possible in this equation," Striker replied, joining Rod in a look of shame and embarrassment. Firon laughed a little.

"Come on, are you two serious? You two are already part of my team, you guys are just rookies, you'll learn to get used to my team, and hey, you can be my friend. Anyone who ain't a jerk, even if they are not part of my team, can be my friend. I have a great team, and in return, I show respect towards them and friendship," The gray hedgehog's words had a huge meaning to them, making Striker and Rod smile in acceptance. The other members of the group were proud and happy towards Firon's little speech, but kept to themselves to keep going on.

Firon and his team began reaching steeper and skinnier paths as they began reaching the clouds of the mountain. Tension rose in the team, and a few of them were scared stiff as the risk of falling became much more apparent. Everyone stopped short before going any further, resting for a while.

Firon removed his mission pack and pulled out his chaos emerald, remembering its tracking ability. As soon as it reached the outside of his mission pack, it glowed with a mighty, powerful, and bright light, blinding some of the team.

"The chaos emerald is close, that must mean the chaos emerald's hole should be up this path, let's go," the gray hedgehog ordered his fellow Freedom Fighters, throwing his chaos emerald back in his mission pack, zipping it up and strapping it to his back. His team got up, ready to follow as Firon started as one of the first to climb the steep path to the top.

As the gray hedgehog climbed higher into the clouds, Speedix went next. Tails, knowing about his flying ability, decided to fly his way to the top, with Knuckles climbing a lot faster on the steep path because of his spiked fists. Violet and Speedix went next, the red hedgehog staying below her to make sure she didn't fall. Then last but not least, Striker and Rod climbed up the path, easily making it up the path because of their bond of teamwork.

In less then five minutes, everyone was over the clouds, or better yet, on top of the world. Firon signaled everyone to begin searching the mountain's flat surfaces for a hole that was about the size of a fist. Everyone did as they were told, and immediately spread out to look. The top of the mountain was wide and long, some of it being crooked, and other parts being flat. No snow existed here, and the cold of the storms below the clouds didn't effect the top.

Firon sat on a rock, taking his chaos emerald out of his mission pack once again, this time to use it as a tracking device along the top of the mountain. He got up and slowly moved along the flat surfaces, his chaos emerald glowing dim or bright, depending on his location. It's green glow got the attention of the others, with Speedix yelling out "I found something!"

As a response, Firon quickly made his way over to Speedix's position. As soon as he stopped an inch away from Speedix, the chaos emerald glowed more brighter then ever before. Firon threw his chaos emerald back into his mission pack, to avoid being blinded again. The gray hedgehog then looked at Speedix.

"What is it?" Speedix pointed toward the ground, with Firon looking and seeing a small, fist-sized hole. As he looked deep into the hole, he could see the glowing essence of a yellow chaos emerald.

"That's it, that's the chaos emerald we're after. But how to get it out of the ground..."

"I believe that chaos emerald is mine," a strange and mature voice said out of nowhere. Everyone turned to see its source, or better yet, the person who possessed the voice. They all saw a red, black, and yellow clothed man, with an orange mustache, a bald head, and an over 200 pounds of fat, standing in an egg transport that hovered over the surface.

"Dr. Eggman!" everyone said, expect the doctor himself. Firon and his team all prepared their attack stances, ready to fight.

"I believe I am not your fighter, but I will gladly let you fight my greatest creation to date: Metal Firon," the evil doctor sent a hand signal, and in the blink of an eye, a metallic-looking Firon the Hedgehog floated in the air via a jet pack. Everyone stared at the metal creation, which heavily resembled Firon in almost every way.

"Now, go get them Metal Firon, and retrieve that chaos emerald!" the gray robot charged at them as the Freedom Fighters prepared themselves, for a chaotic fight.