Mystic Ruins

The **Mystic Ruins** (ミスティックルーイン *Misutikku Rūin*?, lit. "Mystic Ruin") are a location that appears in the *Sonic the Hedgehog* series. They are an area that is full of ancient ruins left behind by the Knuckles Clan. Although the Mystic Ruins are situated on the surface of Mobius, the area is located on Angel Island since it is the ancient homeland of the Knuckles Clan. In modern day, the Mystic Ruins are a swampy, overgrown rainforest.

## Contents

* 1Description
* 2History
	+ 2.1Past
	+ 2.2Sonic Adventure
	+ 2.3Sonic Forces
* 3Other game appearances
	+ 3.1Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
* 4Points of interest
* 5In other media
	+ 5.1Animation
		- 5.1.1Sonic X
	+ 5.2Books and comics
		- 5.2.1Archie Comics
		- 5.2.2IDW Publishing
* 6Trivia
* 7Gallery
	+ 7.1Merchandise
* 8References

## Description

The Mystic Ruins are a swampy area mostly covered by lush jungle. The individual parts of this area are separated by high cliffs.

## History

### Past

Approximately 4,000 years ago, the Mystic Ruins area was inhabited by an ancient civilization of echidnas known as the Knuckles Clan. They lived in a great village a short distance from the Altar of Emerald, a sacred precinct where the seven Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald were enshrined. This altar was also inhabited by Chao and their guardian god, Chaos.

The village was initially ruled by Grandma, who was of a politically moderate faction. After Grandma passed away however, her son, Pachacamac, took over. Looking to expand his kingdom, Pachacamac turned his village of mere fighting ruffians into a powerful warring force that suppressed the neighboring countries, killing their inhabitants and plundering them of their riches. Far from satisfied though, Pachacamac longed for the Chaos Emeralds in the Altar of Emerald to further expand the Knuckles Clan's power. However, all of the Knuckles Clan's attempts to steal the Chaos Emeralds were thwarted by a strange force. Disapproving of Pachacamac's warmongering, his daughter, Tikal, tried persuading him to abandon his wrongful ways, but was ignored. Meanwhile, Tikal came to befriend the Chao and Chaos, with the latter eventually coming to trust her enough to let her inside the altar and see the Master Emerald.

Eventually, Pachacamac planned to launch one final attack on the Altar of Emerald in order to seize the Emeralds. Tikal tried to get Chaos and the Chao to leave their home, but Chaos could not be persuaded. With Tikal unable to change her father's mind as well, the Knuckles Clan eventually attacked the altar, setting it ablaze. During the attack, Tikal and the native Chao tried to convince the Knuckles Clan to abandon their ways peacefully. Refusing to listen however, Pachacamac ordered his men to press on the attack, leaving them to trample over Tikal and the Chao and knocking them unconscious. This angered Chaos, who intercepted Pachacamac and his men and used the Chaos Emeralds to become Perfect Chaos and kill Pachacamac and his followers. Now a corrupt being though, Chaos continued his attack and would have wiped out the entire Knuckles Clan had it not been for Tikal, who sealed herself and Chaos inside the Master Emerald.

With their strength significantly weakened from Chaos' attack and their arrogance behind them, the surviving Knuckles Clan members suspended the Altar of Emerald into the sky with the Master Emerald's power and took up residence there, bearing the duty of observing and protecting the sealed Master Emerald, so that an incident like this could never happen again. They also left murals and inscriptions in their temple to communicate this incident to future generations.

As the millennia passed, the Knuckles Clan's lands would be abandoned, causing its structures to fall into disrepair and be overtaken by nature. Eventually, nothing but ruins would remain, leaving these lands to be known as the Mystic Ruins in the present day.

At some point, Big the Cat and Froggy took up residence in Mystic Ruins' jungle. Additionally, Tails would also establish his own workshop on the Mystic Ruins' cliffs near the sea, an area which would undergo various changes over time.

### *Sonic Adventure*

*See also: Mystic Ruins (Sonic Adventure)*
In *Sonic Adventure*, its enhanced port *Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut*, and the 2010 remaster, while building a new base at the heart of the Mystic Ruins' jungle, Dr. Robotnik discovered and deciphered a stone tablet that wrote of Chaos. Learning of the monster's existence from the stone tablet and his powers, the doctor sought to revive him and have him destroy Station Square and establish Robotnikland. Making the Final Egg his main base in the Mystic Ruins, he would also start to build the Egg Carrier there. He would also build his initial line of E-100 Series robots here, including E-102 Gamma.

Around that time, on the night Chaos was released from the Master Emerald, a piece of the deity landed in the Mystic Ruins' jungle. There, the native Froggy would swallow his missing piece and Big's Chaos Emerald before running away, promoting Big to chase after him. The destruction of the Master Emerald also resulted in Angel Island falling from the sky, causing it to land on the coast of the Mystic Ruins. This prompted Knuckles to go on a quest to find the Master Emerald's shards in order to rebuild the gem and return the Angel Island to the sky.

Not long after, Sonic and Tails came to the Mystic Ruins, only to be attacked by Dr. Robotnik, who took Tails' Chaos Emerald and fed it to Chaos, transforming him into Chaos 1. To keep the Chaos Emeralds from Chaos, Sonic and Tails went in search of them, and eventually found one in Windy Valley and another in Icecap. However, they lost them during a fight with Knuckles in Mystic Ruins. The Emeralds were then snatched by Robotnik, who gave them to Chaos 2, causing him to transform into Chaos 4. While Sonic, Tails and Knuckles managed to defeat Chaos 4, Robotnik would escape to the Egg Carrier and flee. As such, Sonic and Tails went in pursuit of Robotnik in the Tornado, while Knuckles traveled to Lost World in the Mystic Ruins to find more Emerald Shards there. As night fell however, Tails crashed into the Mystic Ruins after the Egg Carrier shot down the Tornado. Needing another Chaos Emerald for his planes to stand a chance against the Egg Carrier, Tails went into the Mystic Ruins' jungle in search of one. There, he found a Chaos Emerald, only for it to get nabbed by Froggy. Fortunately, Tails managed to catch up to Froggy in Sand Hill and take the Chaos Emerald from him. When he returned to the Mystic Ruins' station area however, Big noticed Froggy in Tails' hands and began to run towards him. This scared Tails into dropping Froggy, who ran off again and left Big to continue chasing after his friend. Tails, on the other hand, still had the Chaos Emerald and used it to finish his Tornado 2. Soon after, Knuckles and Big followed E-102 Gamma to the Final Egg and boarded the Egg Carrier.

In the meantime, ZERO kidnapped Amy and Birdie. When the robot brought them to the Mystic Ruins, Sonic tried to cut it off. However, his attempt was thwarted when ZERO got hauled onboard the passing Egg Carrier. Sonic proceeded to chase the ship all the way to Angel Island, where Tails and the Tornado 2 appeared in time to help Sonic follow the Egg Carrier. After the Egg Carrier then began to crash, Big and Froggy crash landed near their home in the Mystic Ruins' jungle in the Tornado 2. However, they were both together again, thus allowing them to resume their daily routines. Sonic, on the other hand, fell right into the Mystic Ruins' jungle during his pursuit of Robotnik. There, he found the ancient ruins and followed Tikal's spirit into Lost World. There, he found a mural of Perfect Chaos that gave him a vision of the Mystic Ruins' past. As night fell, Amy came to Mystic Ruins to help birdie find its family. She began her search in the Final Egg, but found nothing there. Meanwhile, Robotnik would retreat to his base in Mystic Ruins, but Sonic soon remerged from his vision and followed the doctor into his base, where he defeated Robotnik and his Egg Viper in battle. As Robotnik proceeded to fly away from the Mystic Ruins, Sonic and Tails reunited.

During these events, Gamma had landed in Mystic Ruins and destroyed E-103 Delta in Windy Valley. As for Knuckles, he had managed to repair the Master Emerald and return Angel Island to the sky with six Chaos Emeralds on it.

Much later, Robotnik was flying through the Mystic Ruins' jungle when he was attacked by Chaos. In the meantime, Angel Island had fallen back into the ocean near the Mystic Ruins again due to the Chaos Emeralds' presence. At the same time, Sonic was resting in the Mystic Ruins, but his nap was interrupted by Tails, who informed about Angel Island's fall. When the duo came there and found out that Chaos had stolen the six Chaos Emeralds from Knuckles, they decided to find the seventh and secure it. While they managed to find Tornado 2 with its Chaos Emerald inserted into it, Chaos appeared and took it in front of them. The heroes thus left Mystic Ruins to save Station Square from Perfect Chaos' wrath.

### *Sonic Forces*

In *Sonic Forces*, Dr. Eggman created an illusion of the Mystic Ruins on Angel Island as part of a stress test of the Phantom Ruby. The illusion encompassed the ancient village of the Knuckles Clan, and the Altar of Emerald from which a Chaos Phantom Copy emerged. After Knuckles and Silver defeated the Chaos Phantom Copy however, the illusion of the Mystic Ruins vanished.

## Other game appearances

### *Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood*

*See also: Mystic Ruins (Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood)*
In *Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood*, the Mystic Ruins is featured as a game area. This location is home to many wild animals, such as Queen Wasps, Giant Millipedes and Colossal Worms. Toxic, malodorous gases are emitted into the air by the Nocturnus Clan's forces, in a bid to clear the area of G.U.N. soldiers. The gas is only passable by Big the Cat.The Mystic Ruins also hosts one of Dr. Eggman's abandoned bases. Said base has been taken over by the Nocturnus Clan's forces, who are using it as a prison to hold Knuckles captive.

## Points of interest

* Altar of Emerald (removed)
* Angel Island (temporarily)
* Mystic Ruins Garden
* Mystic Ruins Jungle Area/Jungle
	+ Big's House
	+ Final Egg
	+ Mystic Ruins Temple (destroyed)
		- Shrine of Knuckles's race
			* Lost World
* Mystic Ruins Station Area/Station Area
	+ Boat Dock
	+ East Cave
		- Chao Garden Bound Trolley Car/Truck
		- Eastern Cave
	+ Jungle-Bound Trolley Car/Truck
	+ Mystic Ruins Station/Station
	+ Tails' Workshop
	+ Waterfall
	+ West Cave
	+ Windy Cave
* Windy Valley
* Sand Hill
* Sea

## In other media

### Animation

#### *Sonic X*

*Main article: Mystic Ruins (Sonic X)*
In the *Sonic X* anime series, the Mystic Ruins were part of Sonic's world and home to the Knuckles Clan, who wound up destroying themselves when they brought Chaos' wrath upon themselves. However, as a result of the second Chaos Control, it was moved to Earth, landing in the bay near Station Square. Dr. Eggman also had two bases here, including the Final Egg.

### Books and comics

#### Archie Comics

*Main articles: Mystic Ruins (Archie) and Mystic Ruins (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)*
In the *Sonic the Hedgehog* comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Mystic Ruins were the site of several conflicts between the Freedom Fighters and the Eggman Empire.

After the Super Genesis Wave rebooted reality, the Mystic Ruins and its past became almost identical to its game counterpart.

#### IDW Publishing

In the *Sonic the Hedgehog* comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, after completing the Faceship in the Final Egg, Dr. Eggman, Dr. Starline, Orbot and Cubot got onboard the vessel and left the Final Egg's hangar in the Mystic Ruins. Later, after discovering that Froggy had disappeared, Big left Mystic Ruins to find Froggy. After returning to Mystic Ruins with Froggy, he told his friend about the whole adventure he had been on during his search for him. He also admired the sunset in Mystic Ruins. However, Big did not notice that Froggy had become a Zombot, and that his exposure to the surroundings was transferring the Metal Virus over to Big and the flora in Mystic Ruins.