Another long while later, Tin-Hog, Scare-Fox, Cream, Cheese and Cosmo still continue downward of the Green Emerald path. As they walk on, the woods they approach start to get darker, as voices of wild animals call out.

Cream held onto Cosmo, "I don't like this forest."

"Chao..." Cheese agreed, nervously.

"It is rather scary." Cosmo spoke.

Scare-Fox gulped, "Well, sadly, it's going to get darker before it gets lighter."

Cosmo turned to Tin-Hog, "Do you suppose we might meet any wild animals?"

"Unfortunately, yeah." Tin-Hog nodded, regretfully.

"Animals that eat st-straw?" Scare-Fox asked in a shaking voice.

"Some, but mostly lions, tigers and bears."

"Lions?" Cosmo and Cream asked.

"And tigers?" Scare-Fox wondered.

"And bears." Tin-Hog finished.

"Oh my..." Cosmo then walked ahead as the others followed her. Unknown to them, a figure is in the shadows, growling. It vanished nearby a tree and smirked. Pushing the tree, it came down blocking the path as Cosmo, Cream, Scare-Fox and Tin-Hog see this.

"Look, someone is in the shadows!" Cosmo pointed at the figure as it disappeared.

"Hey, who was he?" Scare-Fox asked, "There he goes!"

"Stay back, it's somewhere nearby here." Tin-Hog grabbed his ax, walking ahead. He looked at some crows as they fluttered somewhere. Cream suddenly jolted and turned the other way.

"Cream?" Cosmo asked.

Cream shushed her as Tin-Hog and Scare-Fox looked too, hearing a low growl. Two glowing eyes were staring at them through the bushes as the growling got louder and it started to get closer.

"Everyone, run!" Tin-Hog shouted and they ran, Cosmo and Cream looking back as the growling creature was getting closer but then it leapt upward out of sight.

"Where did it go?" Cosmo asked.

To get her answer as they neared a log which was used for a bridge, something leapt in front of their path, making them stop. It looked like a red creature with a long tan muzzle, violet eyes, dreadlocks that looked like Jamaican braids, a moon mark on his chest, his hands were bare with two spikes around the knuckle area, he had horns in his head, a black rope collar around his neck, and some green vine thing tied around his left leg. What was most surprising that out of his back, grew two huge red dragon wings.

The creature growled as he got ready to pounce, "Leave this jungle now. I don't want to have to fight you intruders but I will if I had to."

"Who says this was your jungle?" Scare-Fox asked, "And besides, we don't have time for you."

"I don't have time for you either, little lousy pillow of horse feed." The creature smirked.

"Just leave us alone, we have to get across." Tin-Hog ordered.

The creature just rolled his eyes, "You don't get it, do you, trashcan boy?"

"Hey!" Tin-Hog looked offended.

"You heard me, shivering junk yard." The creature stood up, "What you four are trespassing through is the Jungle of the almighty Echidgon! Which is me." He added, showing his muscles a little.

"So can we please pass?" Cosmo asked.

"My friend and I must get back home." Cream begged.

"Chao!" Cheese floated up to Echidgon, "Chao-chao-chao!"

"Whatever," Echidgon kicked the little choa, "You and your little marshmallow can't get past me."

Cheese, hearing this, growled as Echidgon looked dumbfounded. That's when Cheese leapt at Echidgon's face, biting as Tin-Hog ran up to fight.

"Get it off, get it off!" Echidgon managed at last to pull off Cheese as he floated back to Cream, as Tin-Hog confronted Echidgon.

"You shouldn't be on here, pal. It can't fit everyone at once." Echidgon said.

"You're just saying that to get rid of us!" Tin-Hog swiped at Echidgon with his ax but Echidgon dodged. At the last moment, Tin-Hog brought his ax down and it dug into the log, as they heard a loud crack.

"Oops." Tin-Hog gulped.

"Yikes." Echidgon murmured.

The log broke, sending both creature and hedgehog downward onto the forest floor. Cream used her ears and flew down with Cosmo, Scare-Fox and Cheese.

"Mr. Tin-Hog!" Cream came up to Tin-Hog as he stood up with Scare-Fox's help but Cosmo looked over at Echidgon, who had his leg trapped underneath the log as he tried to yank it out.

"Cosmo, wait." Tin-Hog called, but Cosmo came closer to Echidgon, who seemed to try and back away from her. He growled to scare her but it didn't work.

"He's hurt..." Cosmo spoke, sadly as she reached out. Echidgon cringed as her hand touched his head but he looked back at her, almost sadly. Scare-Fox and Cream ran up as Scare-Fox took Cosmo's hand from Echidgon.

"Don't!" Scare-Fox said.

Tin-Hog came up, "I bet he's working for the Dark Wizard."

"No, no, no, no! You have me all wrong!" Echidgon was saying, still pulling at his leg, "I'm stuck here."

"Good enough for me." Tin-Hog sighed.

"Tin-Hog!" Cosmo scolded, "He's in pain."

"So what?"

"Listen, mister." Cosmo became firm, "If you really want a heart from the Wizard of Oz, you have to learn to help others."

"Why help him? He's a coward." Tin-Hog said.

"It's true then..." Echidgon sighed, "I have been a coward my whole life, I didn't mean to scare anyone, heck, I only end up scaring myself." He pointed underneath his eyes, "Do you see these circles here? I was unable to sleep for weeks!"

"You tried counting sheep?" Cream asked.

"It doesn't do much good, they freak me out." Echidgon murmured sheepishly.

"Please, Tin-Hog, we have to help him." Cosmo pleaded.

Tin-Hog seemed to think a moment, "Alright, but stand back." He took his ax and placed it on the log as Echidgon cringed, bracing.

"In 3..."

"I can't look." Scare-Fox covered his eyes but made a peak.

"2..."

Echidgon looked away.

"1!" Tin-Hog brought it down as the log split and Echidgon's leg was free and he scrambled backward. "I got it!"

"Good work, Tin-Hog." Scare-Fox said.

"Hold on." Cosmo brought out a long bandage and came over to Echidgon, who was shaking, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but it's not bleeding is it?" Echidgon asked.

"Not really." Cosmo wrapped it around his leg, "But just take a slow step when walking, that's all. Better to be safe than hurt, I always say."

"Maybe..." Echidgon muttered.

Scare-Fox came up to Cosmo, "Do you think the Wizard can help him too?"

"I don't see why not." Cosmo turned to Echidgon, "So, almighty..."

"Forget 'almighty'; just call me 'Echidgon'." He said.

"Okay, Echidgon, why don't you come with us?" Cosmo asked, "We're on our way to see this Wizard of Oz, to give Tin-Hog a heart..."

"And Scare-Fox a brain." Tin-Hog added.

"And the girls home." Scare-Fox finished.

"We're sure he can give you courage as well." Cream said.

"Chao-chao!" Cheese smiled.

"But wouldn't any of you guys feel embarrassed to be accompanied by a cowardly creature like me?" Echidgon frowned, "I know I would be."

"Of course not." Cosmo patted his head again.

"Actually, it's nice of you guys because no one has ever been nice to me, after all the ways I've been a coward." Echidgon slowly stood up, "Come on, here's a path back up to the road you were following."

He climbed ahead first, and pulled up Tin-Hog, Scare-Fox, Cream, and Cosmo one at a time as they were back on the trail of the Green Emerald Road.

"Okay, now we really must be on our way to the Silver Palace." Cosmo said, smiling.

"And I'll surely get a brain..." Scare-Fox said.

Tin-Hog sighed, "A heart."

"A home/Chao-chao." Cream and Cheese spoke.

"The nerve!" Echidgon made a funny face as he said this, making the others smile and Cosmo and Cream giggle.

Now they were all heading along on their way to find the Silver Palace and the wonderful Wizard of Oz...