*Sorry for taking so long. College and whatnot. ^^;*

Chapter Six~ Determined Memories

As everybody got untangled and stood up, they waited for their eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness they had fallen into. The walls were made of grey stone, and they were very damp. Moss grew on random spots throughtout the room and as far down the narrow passage before them as they could see.

"Perfect," Tania whined, heaving a sigh. "Just what we needed, more tunnels. M legs are killing me! And Rouge's big butt didn't help matters!"

"If you say one more word," Rouge growled, eye twitching. "I swear I'll take your quills and tie them in a knot. Let's see what kind of hair day you'll have then, sweety."

Sonic, Stripes, and Manic were about to say something when Knuckles got their attention and shook his head.

"You DON'T want to get involved in that," he said as he seperated the squabbling girls. "Woman issues. Best not to get involved."

"I don't know what amazes me more," Stripes replied as they all started trudging down the stone path laid out before them. "The fact that Knuckles actually did something by using his brain instead of his fists, or the bad mental image of Tania that Rouge just put into my head."

Everybody burst out laughing at that statement, even Knuckles. He knew it was true, and that's what made it so humorous. Although he didn't admit it.

After a few minutes walking down the passage, everybody realized that the source of light was no longer coming from above, but from right in front of them, somewhere in the distance. But what was strange was that it was flickering, as if the cause of the flare was moving.

"Hey, what's that?" Manic asked loudly, pointing at the flashing in front of them. "Could there be lightbulbs down here?"

Tania laughed and Rouge shook her head.

Suddenly, a giant flame flew at the party. It lit up the passageway, the flames licking the walls and sizzling as they hit the water lingering there.

The instant before the flames reached the friends a flash of bright green light blinded them all. There was a banging sound, and the earth seemed to tilt. When vision was restored, everybody realized what had happened. Manic had squeezed his necklace and produced his magical drumset. Without enough time to do anything else, he had slammed his sneakered foot onto a small petal jutting out from underneath his drum. This had caused a small stick to smash against the ground on the drum's front, making the ground shift upwards. The earthen barrier had blocked the flames.

Manic pressed his necklace again, and with another flash of green light the earth went back to normal and the drumset vanished.

"Dude!" he yelled out, pointing at a figure nearing them all. "What was that for, man?! You almost turned us into bar-b-que!"

"One must always be alert," the figure said as it came within sight. It was an echidna with dark blue fur. He had on red sunglasses that shielded dark green eyes. He had on large brown gloves along with a pitch-black jacket. His feet were adorned with brown boots with what appeared to be small engines in the stitching. He carried a lantern with a strange knob on it.

"No way," Stripes mumbled as he came to stand before the figure. "I haven't seen you for ages! I thought you were dead!"

"Who is this guy, bro?" Manic asked, a look of confusion plastered upon his face.

"This is Shades," Stripes replied without turning around. "He's...my older brother!"

"Your...older brother?" Knuckles asked bluntly. His face was contorted into something fierce. His eyes were wide, eyebrows raised. His mouth hung open to the left of his face, and his pupils were somewhat dialated. He looked like he'd just been hit upside the head with a baseball bat while explaining why the grass was green and the sky was blue.

"Okay, back up and rewind," he said after managing to get things sorted in his head. "He's an echidna, like me. You're a raccoon. Mind explaining what kind of parents you had? Or were you cross-breed genetic experiments?"

Manic dropped to the floor, grabbing his sides from laughing so hard. Rouge just shook her head while Tania shoved a fist in her mouth to stop the giggles coming from inside her throat. Sonic just smiled and walked over to Knuckles, resting an elbow on his shoulder.

"Something tells me that's not the answer," he sighed. He rapped Knuckles on the head lightly before continuing. "But you get points for effort, I can say that much.

"Ah, put a sock in it, Sonic."

Stripes was giggling at this point, but Shades just stood there, frown plastered onto his features as if he hadn't even realized Knuckles had said anything. After a moment he shrugged his shoulders and spoke.

"I don't feel the need to waste time explaining the details," he said in a low growl, lantern light reflecting light off of his crimson sunglasses. He put a gloved hand on his hip and sighed. "Point blank, Stripes and I met in an awkward situation, there was a fight, he followed me around like a lost puppy dog, and now I find myself living for the sole purpose of protecting him."

This speech was met with blank stares and open mouths. All laughter had completely stopped. Manic and Tania had pulled themselves up to their feet, opened their mouths to say something, then closed them.

"Shades is a bit low profile," Stripes explained with a sly grin. "He doesn't bother with big details, and he likes to have a reason for doing things. In effect, he likes keeping things short and sweet. He isn't one for showing his emotions, but he DOES have them."

"That makes you total opposites!" Knuckles pointed out, jabbing a finger from the raccoon, to the echidna, then back to the raccoon. "How do you to get along so well? It makes no sense!"

"Don't let your brain implode from thinking too much, sweety," Rouge mocked as she regained her voice. "Thinking so much must be stressful for you."

"Zip it!"

"I live to protect my little brother, that's all you need to know," Shades said bluntly, his voice practically void of emotion. "What's say we go find the ring, then we can explain things later."

"Dude!" Manic interjected as Shades made to turn around. "How did you know we were after-"

"Why else would you be in this Godforsaken death trap?"

Everybody present had to admit that Shades had a point.

"Are we going?" Shades grunted, continuing down the hallway. Shrugging there shoulders and shaking their heads to each other, Stripes, Manic, Sonic, Tania, Rouge, and Knuckles all followed suit.

After another deathly long trudge through trudge, everybody reached a stern oaken door. This one obviously wasn't rigged due to the fact it had no knob and was already open a crack. The hinges were terribly rusty, and looked like they couldn't support the door's wreight for much longer.

Pushing past the door while ignoring the horrid screech it made when done so, Shades and the group pushed forward into the room. Rouge and Stripes had covered their ears when the door had creeked, their ears being more sensitive then everybody else's.

The room had a faint glow to it. Looking up, Tania pointed at the ceiling. The ceiling was cracked in many spots, and sunlight streamed through, filtering onto the ground. Water dripped from the cracks and onto her face. She brushed them off as Rouge supressed a giggle.

As weak as the light was, though, the room was still visible. Mounds of gold coins, royal treasure, and sparkling jewlery lay on either side, glistening from the dampness. A golden chair adorned with a fancy red seat cover lay at the far end of the room, obviously the throne.

"Something's...not quite right here," Stripes muttered as he took a step forward. "Why are their bones scattered about the floor?"

Knuckles gasped as he pointed to the floor. It was littered with grey-white skeleton pieces. He tried to say something, but decided to just grunt in disgust.

"Dude, I feel it, too," Manic sounded after a few moments of solitude. "It like...like there's a bone-chilling thing breathing down my neck. Reminds me of our trip to the bank last Christmas."

"We'll save that story for later Manic," Stripes replied as he felt the cold air, too. "I think I see something...HOLY CRAP!"

A white mass had appeared on the throne. It shifted, molded into something, and became dense. It gained features to define it, until everybody there could tell quite clearly what it was.

"No way..." Knuckles murmered. "I don't believe it..."

~End of Chapter Six