Chapter 12

**Operation: Rescue Ion!**

## Story

Rodea and the villagers are still looking for Ion. After passing through a volcanic cave, Rodea reaches an area with many carrier airships. He finds Ion trapped in one of them, but can't open the door. Ion tells him that the key is held by a big robot.

Rodea fetches the key, but when he comes back to the ship and opens the door, Ion is gone. A humanoid robot, whom Sonia calls "the fairy", is hovering nearby, holding Ion, and flies away.

## Level Description

Mt. Ebon is still visible in the distance during the level.

The level starts at the top of a few tall islands with grass platforms on several levels and many rock spikes. Rodea must go down while strong wind blows. Later, he reaches the base of a tall volcanic cave with a round building at the top. There's also a warp point at the top, and Rodea must ascend the cave to reach it.

Near the top of the volcanic cave, there's a large island with a big lake and a massive airship stationed next to it. High above the lake, there's a cluster of small islands (including some rocks with lava falls) with many carrier ships.

The warp point leads above, where Rodea must find the ship where Ion is being held. He can check a ship by standing in the green marker next to it. However, there are enemies with searchlights nearby; if Rodea is spotted, the ship's doors will be blocked and Rodea won't be able to check the ship until the enemy is defeated.

Once Ion has been found, Rodea must take a warp point that leads to the massive ship below. After retrieving the card key (by defeating an enemy on a tiny island above the lake), he takes another warp point that brings him back above. The level ends when he goes back to the carrier where Ion was.

## Legacy Medals

### Wii version

1. (Bronze) on the first tall island at the beginning, on a grass platform on the right. It can be reached by falling to the right of the Power Wing at the top.
2. (Bronze) behind the door (30 Gravitons required) after the first checkpoint bell, on the right edge of the island
3. (Bronze) in the volcanic cave, on the left at the end of the thin rock bridge at the beginning
4. (Bronze) in the area with all the carrier ships, next to the warp point, against a wall
5. (Bronze) above the lake, on top of the leftmost rock pillar in the area
6. (Silver) in the area with the mandatory battle and the second checkpoint bell, the door (60 Gravitons required) is on a high island on the right. To get the medal, you have to follow the spiked balls by flying towards them without destroying them.
7. (Silver) in the area with all the carrier ships, at the top of the tallest volcanic rock floating in the center
8. (Silver) under the massive ship next to the lake. There are two "holes" between the ship and the ground; the medal is in the one on the right side when facing the lake.
9. (Gold) in the volcanic cave, instead of taking the dash panels, follow the floating poles. They lead to a dash ring that leads to the door (120 Gravitons required).

### 3DS version

* (Silver) from the start of the level, there's an island in the distance on the right (it may not be reachable from the start, but it is from the island with the flagpole). After defeating enemies there, a crystal will appear with the medal inside.
* (Bronze) same as #1 in the Wii version (except there's an Energy Cube instead of a Power Wing)
* (Bronze) on a grass platform under the island with the first warp point, not far from the warp point
* (Bronze) same as #3 in the Wii version
* (Bronze) same as #4 in the Wii version
* (Silver) same as #7 in the Wii version
* (Silver) same as #8 in the Wii version
* (Gold) similar to the previous medal, except it's in the hole on the left side
* (Bronze) same as #5 in the Wii version

## Trivia

* Even though the chapter's location is called "Mt. Ebon" on the map, Mt. Ebon is only visited in the previous chapter