Sonic - Labyrinth Act 3

[Steve Jonke - 522]

Ok, I was starting to think I had Sonic down pat when I got to Labyrinth
world, act 3. I went in with something like 12 lives and came up empty!
I can't get past the boss (whatever his name is) at the end of the this
act! I chase him like crazy, but I can't keep up with him and I
inevidably keep getting hit by the spears or I drown because the water
level catches up with me and I can't go fast enough to get out of it.
Is there a trick to this I haven't figured out?

Incidentally, so far the Labyrinth Zone is the most fun Zone in the
game (though I haven't gotten past it to see the others). The graphics
are great (as usual) and I really like how they've handled the water as
compared to the Mario series (please no flame wars, this is just my
opinion) -- for the uninitiated, Sonic can't swim or breath under water
(unlike Mario), rather he drifts downward slowly and you must find a way
back up before he runs out of air. There are air bubbles that you can
breath in to extend your time underwater, but they're not always near by.
It's really frantic when the game starts counting down your last five
seconds as you run around in a mad dash for an air bubble or the surface.

Can't wait for Sonic 2 (but, maybe I should finish Sonic 1 first!)

Steve