Hiding in the underbrush of Knothole, Shadow the Hedgehog watches over Hope Kintobor and mulls over her uncanny likeness to Maria Robotnik. Locke appears behind Shadow and asks him for assistance. Shadow chooses to ignore the old man and is tripped by a rope-string trap as he walks away. Furious, Shadow lunges at Locke, only to be caught in a blue energy field that teleports both of them out of the village. Hope, having seen their confrontation, wanders into the field as well.