Just a short update for now. I've had to do a lot of coursework over the last week but I'll try to get the next chapter up next week.

Sonic the Hedgehog

and the

Midnight Emeralds

Chapter 10- What are the midnight emeralds?

Shadow had arrived just as the smoke was clearing from the room. He placed the unconscious Tails down onto the sofa and scurried into Rouge's bedroom.

Knuckles was slumped down next to the door frame, coughing and still clutching his wound tightly. As he looked down, he could see the blood seeping out onto the bandages and into Knuckles' hand. Sonic was at the side of the bed, making sure that Rouge was okay. She was shaking violently and her face was as pale as snow.

Shadow caught sight of Ally's arms. She was lying in the corner of the room underneath the pile of wood that used to be the wardrobe. He hurried over to her and began to throw the pieces of wood from on top of her towards the bed.

She slowly stood up; looking down at the minor scrapes she had received and touched the back of her head gently where David had hit her earlier.

"Ally, are you okay?" Shadow asked with a minute hint of concern in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Is Knuckles okay?" She questioned.

She pushed her way past Shadow, uninterested. A look of bewilderment crossed his face followed by a flash of impatience.

"I'm fine. It's just a scratch." Knuckles stated, trying to laugh off the pain that was surging through his body. His laughter only caused his pain to heighten and he winced soon after.

"Sonic, we should really go to the hospital." Ally suggested.

She had her hand pressed firmly on Knuckles' bleeding wound. She looked at Sonic with pleading eyes.

"She's right, you know." Knuckles butted in, pausing to take in short gasps of air. "David knows where we are now. It won't be long before he comes back."

The group made their way quickly into the living room. Sonic headed into Cream and Amy's bedrooms and collected them to get ready to leave.

"What happened to these two? They're out cold." Sonic commented.

"I think David drugged them." Knuckles replied, "When did Tails get here?"

"We found him in the cave." Sonic answered. "We also found out some more information." Sonic's eyes slid over into the direction of Shadow, who was standing by the door frame to Rouge's bedroom. "We heard two people speaking in the cave; they were having a conversation about the midnight emeralds."

Knuckles shot a glance at Ally who began to look uneasy as she limped her way over to the front door.

"What did they say?" Knuckles asked.

"They talked about retrieving the Midnight Emeralds and how two of the emeralds have already been taken." Sonic answered.

"Two? No way." Ally replied, "The last I heard it was just one."

"So it is true then?" Shadow butted in, "You are a guardian of a midnight emerald."

Ally looked around shyly as everyone gazed at her, waiting for an answer.

"Yes. I am." She looked down at the floor, almost ashamed of not telling them.

"So where is it then?" Sonic asked.

She lifted her right hand up and extended her fingers. On her middle finger was a small ring with a dark blue stone in the middle. It glistened beautifully in the light of the room.

"Its jewels like that one that make me wish I'd never have given up thieving." Rouge chuckled to herself.

"This is a midnight emerald." Ally declared.

"It's a little smaller than I expected." Knuckles commented. "Why is it in your ring though?"

"The Midnight Emeralds contain a lot of energy. A lot more than the Chaos Emeralds did. It is trapped in the ring in order to stop this energy from seeping out." Ally explained, playing gently with the ring on her finger. "If the emerald was removed from this ring, the holder of it would have immortal power. If someone is bringing all six together, then we have a serious problem."

"And David is somehow connected to all of this?" Rouge questioned.

"He has to be. What else would he have been snooping around my house for?" Ally answered. "He must be carrying an emerald as well."

"What makes you say that?" Sonic asked.

"He had to have gotten in the house somehow." Ally replied, biting onto her look as she thought. "We should head back to the city; it's not safe here anymore. Plus I'm sure most of us could do with a trip to the hospital." Ally laughed.

"Yeah, you're right." Sonic agreed.

After collecting everything they needed, they headed across the island and back down into the city.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review. ^_^