I went to the American Idol concert the other day! It was really, really fun!

Dark-Illusion-Detective: Thanks, I'm glad it's suspenseful! 8D And thanks for reviewing!

BlueandRedButterflies: Thanks, I use to be horrible at writing fights, believe me. (Good thing that was before I was a member on this site) Thanks for your review!

Master Metallix: Well, the Commander believes her resemblance to Shadow will help her in her mission, and I'll get more into the Commander and Storm's relationship later. Tails did not mean that insulting, he was just teasing her. And the only reason Sonic did use a "weapon" was because he couldn't have stuck his feet or hands inside of the robot. And don't worry, I know what I'm doing with Storm and she won't be a "Mary-Sue". ;) Thanks for the review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic

Rated T for violence

CH. 4

Knuckles thought that there was no worse possible punishment in this life or the after life than hunting for a Chaos Emerald with Rouge. As they searched the boulder-filled beach, he went over a list of one hundred things he'd rather be doing (number twenty-one was hug a cactus). To him, she was an endless source of complaining as he trudged through the thick sand, the ocean visible a few yards away. It was slightly cloudy, making the air cooler than it would have been. He could smell the salty water and hear the waves rolling in.

"This shouldn't be taking so long!" Rouge complained, flying beside the red echidna.

He grunted in response, weaving through the gray boulders.

"I can't believe this!" Rouge continued. "The best treasure hunter in the world, and another treasure hunter, and we can't even find one pretty jewel on one beach."

"Thank you."

She eyed him irritably. "I wasn't calling you the best."

He clenched his teeth. "Well, you certainly weren't talking about yourself. Why haven't you found it?"

"Why haven't you?"

He growled, shattering a rock with his fist. The pieces scattered over the sand.

She crossed her gloved arms. "Goodness, Knuckles, you need to lighten up."

He threw his arms into the air. "I am light! If I was any lighter, I could be the flight member in Team Sonic!"

She rolled her eyes, flying faster. "Stop being so over-dramatic. You-" She gasped as she accidentally knocked her hurt ankle against a boulder. She lightly sat down on top of the rock, touching the area tenderly.

Knuckles stopped, feeling himself calm down. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. For a moment the two were quiet, looking at the waves that came in, covering the beach in white foam. A few birds swooped low over the water, searching for food.

"What's wrong with us, Knuckles? Why can't we get along?" she asked.

He looked away. "We're too different."

"No we're not. We're exactly the same."

He looked at her in confusion.

She winked playfully. "The world isn't big enough for two stubborn kids like us."

He grinned, the breeze shifting his dred locks. "You're probably right."

The two started searching again, the tension relieved. They hadn't gone very far when a voice said, "Are you guys looking for this?"

They jumped, startled, and turned to see a black and red female hedgehog holding a red Chaos Emerald. It glowed in her white gloved hand.

Knuckles stepped forward, raising his fists. "Hand it over."

She didn't seem phased at his threat. She looked at the jewel in confusion, raising one brow. "What is it?"

Rouge came even with Knuckles, lightly setting herself down. "A Chaos Emerald. We collect them. Would you hand it over."

The black hedgehog shrugged and tossed it to Rouge. "I don't want it." She frowned as they stared at her. "Is something wrong?"

"You look a lot like one of our friends," Rouge stated. "What's your name?"

"Storm the Hedgehog."

"Do you know Shadow?"

"Nope."

Knuckles glared at her. "Where are you from?"

"Oh, I'm a wanderer. My parents died when I was young. I just took a boat trip over here, thought I'd explore this country."

Rouge visible softened. "Oh, you poor thing!" She limped over to her. "My name is Rouge, the grumpy one is Knuckles."

"Hi!" Storm smiled. "Is your leg okay? You're limping."

"Oh, it's nothing I won't recover from, but thanks."

Storm's face lit up. "Rouge, where did you get those gloves?! I love them!"

The bat blushed and stood a bit straighter. "Oh, these old things? I found them in a little store at the edge of town. I was just shopping-"

Knuckles watched, mortified, as the two girls talked and laughed. Storm seemed genuinely interested. He narrowed his purple eyes. Too interested.

The echidna marched up, flinging sand with his steps. "So . . .Rouge . . .we better head back."

"Good idea. Come with us, Storm."

"What?!" Knuckles was appalled.

Rouge continued, "You can meet my friends and Shadow. Honestly, you two could be twins. Plus, I like you."

Storm smiled. "Thanks, Rouge, I like you, too."

Crossing his arms as they headed off, Knuckles muttered under his breath, "That makes one of us."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sonic and the group headed back to his house, wondering about the robot they had fought in the city. After Tails and the others continuously insisted, Shadow came with them. As they sat around the front room, eating cake, they discussed what Eggman might have planned.

"What was the purpose of the robot?" Amy asked. "Just to destroy the city?"

Tails took a drink of milk and said, "Maybe we stopped it before it could accomplish its missions."

"But Eggman wasn't there," Cream pointed out.

Sonic frowned, poking at the chocolate cake with his fork. "When the building in the woods exploded . . .if that was him going somewhere, he wouldn't have been there."

Shadow looked at him questioningly.

Sonic met his red eyes. "We were there when Eggman's hideout in the woods exploded. I'm pretty sure I saw a vehicle taking off."

"Which would mean," Tails said, "that the explosion might have been triggered by the force of his take-off. He must have gone somewhere far away, like the other side of the world or outer space."

Then the door opened. Knuckles entered first, holding a Chaos Emerald and looking angry. Rouge followed, keeping her weight off her ankle and taking away with a female hedgehog. The company in the front room gasped, all eyes fixed on Storm.

"We got the emerald," Knuckles said, "and Rouge made a friend. Her name is Storm."

Storm looked up and smiled, eyes looking over the group. She matched up who they were with their names, though the Commander hadn't shown her the little rabbit. Her eyes settled on Shadow who was staring at her in shock. He did look unsettlingly like her.

Sonic spoke her thoughts out loud. "Wow! You look just like Shadow!"

Knuckles sighed heavily. "She's a wanderer, just came over here. And who cares if she looks like Shadow? I'm sure if we found another blue hedgehog he'd look like Sonic, or another red echidna would look like me."

Storm could tell that the echidna obviously didn't like guests. She wished they'd all stop talking about her resemblance to Shadow. She didn't want it to interfere with her mission. That little black hedgehog was her key to freedom.

"You make a good point, Knuckles," Tails said. "It's nice to meet you, Storm. I'm Tails."

"I'm Sonic. And this is Amy, Cream, and Shadow."

Storm smiled. "It's nice to meet you guys."

Rouge hopped over to Shadow. "It's good to see you again!"

He looked up at her. "You, too."

Storm glanced around the room. "You guys having a party?"

"My birthday party," Tails replied. "Here, have some cake."

Storm hopped in excitement. "I love cake!" As she picked up a shiny for, she pointed it at him and winked. "And happy birthday!"

Knuckles suddenly stiffened. He glanced around the room, then dashed down the hall. The others stared blankly after him.

"What's that about?" Amy asked, in a tone that hinted to Storm that Knuckles' behavior wasn't always normal.

Then his deep voice shouted through the house, "It's gone!"

The group jumped up, running down the hall. Storm followed, puzzled. They went through a door and down cement stairs into a basement. It was dim and cool inside, with piles of junk sitting here and there. There was a metal door on the far side that had been ripped open. Knuckles was standing on the other side in a small, empty room.

Sonic jogged over to him, alarm in his green eyes. "The Master Emerald is gone?" Their voices echoed in the dark room.

"What?!" Rouge exclaimed. "Why was it down here?"

"I like it to be near me," the echidna said, looking around helplessly as if the Master Emerald was hiding somewhere.

"When did this happen?" Amy asked.

As they talked, Shadow went up to the metal doors that had been forced open, now twisted and bent. He studied them, frowning.

"Maybe when we were all gone?" Tails offered.

"I don't think I locked the front door," Sonic said sheepishly. "But my basement was locked and I didn't think anyone could get into that sealed room."

Amy bounded up the stairs to the basement door and shouted down with an echoing voice, "The lock is broken! Pretty cleanly, too."

Suddenly an ear-piercing screech caused them all to jump, wide eyed and covering their ears. They turned to see Shadow with one foot braced on the wall, both hands gripping the edge of one of the disfigured metal doors and slowly bending it. He let go, frowning. "Those . . .are not easy to open."

Rouge hopped over next to him. "It looks like someone just stuck their fingers between the two and shoved them apart. There's no other signs of a beak-in, whoever it was had only one mission."

Knuckles grabbed his head in frustration. "How'd they even know it was in here?!"

"Is it related to Eggman?" Cream asked.

"Whoa," Storm said, waving her white gloved hand, "everyone stop. I'm confused. What is a Master Emerald and who is Eggman?"

The group exchanged glances.

"C'mon," Sonic said, "let's go upstairs and we'll fill you in."

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