It was almost morning, with small birds beginning to chirp, and the sun raising over the horizon. The Great River, with the sun shining upon it, resembled a clear, darkish blue spring that flowed like stream. It had a slow pace, peacefully making its quiet voyage along the banks of the river. It stayed straight on its path, until a beach came upon it to its side. Small waves crashed gently on the sandy beach, retreating back to where it came from, then coming back for a second reach, but to no avail.

Firon, Fists, and Violet laid out on the sand, faintly asleep from running quickly through the forest at night. They were on the run from what used to be Speedix the Hedgehog, who was the chaser in the chase across the forest. Apparently, only after last night, in the last few minutes of running, did they truly get rid of the crazed predator.

All of them were wiped out, tired, stunned, and scared from the events of the past few days. They were not truly safe, for Speedix was on their tails, and Dr. Eggman had his latest creations out searching for any mobians to slaughter. Blood lust had spread all across Mobius, and the Freedom Fighters were no longer fighting for freedom, but for complete control of the planet, for tyranny.

Their mission packs laid out randomly on the sand, some of the items inside pouring out. They did not have time to set camp, but instead, collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. Even though they were not asleep that night, it was best they did fall asleep here. The beach was safer then any other place in the forest that they knew of, and possibly the only safest place in the Great Forest.

Firon began to wake up, lifting his head slightly off the ground, opening his eyes to allow him to see. But all he could see was a blurry image at first, then as he recovered from his exhaustion, he began to see the beach clearly. He picked himself off the ground, and stood lazily, examining his new hiding place. He then looked at his two companions, noticing both of them were still out cold. He bent down, laying a hand on one of Violet's arms, shaking the purple hedgehog gently.

"Hey, wake up," he said softly, trying not to startle her. She groaned silently, moving around a bit before stopping, then continuing before she finally looked up and saw the look of relief on Firon's face. She smiled, and began to lift herself up, being supported by Firon as she struggled to get rid of her head pain. As soon as she was on her feet, the head pain disappeared and she was able to regain her conscious.

"Feeling better?" Firon asked in curiosity. Violet nodded and smiled again, letting the gray hedgehog know she was okay.

"What about Fists?" Violet and Firon looked down at the yellow echidna, seeing him breath deeply and shaking a bit.

"Let's just let him have his sleep...he went through too much last night..." Violet suggested with perfect thought. Firon nodded in agreement and stared back at Violet, who did the same to him. A warm breeze blew from the sky, making the gray hedgehog's fur bristle, as well as Violet's. Firon walked closer to the waves, dropping to the ground, lying straight and perfectly, with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed for relaxation. Violet came to join him, sitting next to him quietly. The gray hedgehog still noticed, opening one eye to see her, then closing it again.

"What do we do now, Firon?" Violet asked in wonder. Firon thought deeply for a while, resting comfortably in the sand. He grinned as ideas began to come to his mind. Second thoughts also rose, but were ignored as the ideas were far greater then them. Firon opened his eye again, this time not closing it, looking at Violet with it.

"We could probably pay ol' Speedix a visit at the Freedom Fighter Camp...we got the seven chaos emeralds, so we shouldn't have no problem beating him if he turns violent," the gray hedgehog explained, still staring for agreement. Violet looked worried and crouched down further until she was very close to him.

"But, what if we lose and he takes the chaos emeralds?" she asked in worry and fear, drawing in closer. Firon laughed a little, then stopped to avoid creating suspension. He replaced his grin with a smile, a very comforting and intelligible one.

"I know him, my brother don't know much until he sees it up close...just keep the emeralds hidden and we'll be alright, trust me," the gray hedgehog assured, keeping the smile on his face. Violet smiled back, her worry and fear gone. She then closely moved her face towards one of Firon's ears, whispering gently and clearly.

"I believe in you, Firon, don't give up," Firon turned slightly, grinning again with determination.

"Don't worry, I won't,"