The disappearance of the Emeralds had little effect on the overall state of affairs for Sonic or any of his friends for a long time, except that Eggman's threat was diminished by not being able to get a chance to win at the expense of the Chaos forces. However, for one proud gloomy hedgehog, it became quite a challenge, if not a problem, then something very similar to this

The white gloves barely touched the page as they scanned the new chapter, barely breaking the silence in this room. The blue pointed ears twitched to the side at the sound of steady breathing from the other side of the sofa, where there had been no movement for the past two days, as if the black and red hedgehog next to him was completely frozen in time, covered with a blanket on his sofa.