As dusk settles in Mobotropolis, the Knothole Freedom Fighters and Geoffrey St. John return to Castle Acorn. King Acorn greets the returned heroes as a menacing shadow slides around the landing site. Sally asks her father why he isn't in bed, but the king reports that his illness has subsided and he has finally regained his sanity, putting away the thoughts of dismantling the Robians. The heroes uncharacteristically question his plans for peace, proposing that Dr. Robotnik's original programming may be lying dormant in the minds of the Robians. The king is shocked, asking Sonic how he can agree to such a thing when his own uncle was Roboticized. Sonic claims he can't trust him and Sally adds that Robians may stage a rebellion.