I hope you are enjoying the story so far! Once again I do not own Sonic or any of the characters except for Itza.

Please review! Thank you nn

Chapter 10-

Shadow, along with Amy, appeared twenty minutes after Sonic phoned Amy. Sonic, who was only expecting Shadow, stared at the pink hedgehog as she ran towards him. He was well aware she wouldn't hug him or ask him to marry her, those actions had changed in the past, yet he wished she would. That way it would be easier for him to accept his own feelings for her.

"What's the emergency?" Amy shouted a few meters away from them as she kept running. Taking advantage of this moment Itza placed herself next to Sonic allowing only a few centimeters to separate their bodies. After collecting information about the heroes she was well aware of Amy's past actions towards the blue hedgehog. Noticing her actions Amy slowed down to a fast walk, surprising Shadow who was jogging behind her.

"Why'd you slow down?" He whispered to her once he was next to her.

"Who is she? I don't like the look of her."

"Never saw her. Why? Because she's so close to Sonic?" Shadow smirked causing Amy to give a little 'hmph'.

When the two hedgehogs were in front of the workshop with Sonic, Tails and the newcomer, Knuckles appeared gliding a few meters away. No one paid him much attention though; Sonic was secretly observing Amy who was looking at the newcomer with curious eyes, while Tails was tracking down the Chaos Emeralds and Shadow simply stood quietly. Itza, however, noticed the red figure and quietly cursed. It can't be… an echidna? Knuckles landed between Amy and Sonic causing both of them to look up.

"What's wrong?" He immediately asked. "This better be good because I have the Master Emerald to guard."

Itza flinched at the words Master Emerald, but no one noticed except Amy. Amy kept observing her and keeping mental notes about her actions. She was nowhere near trusting the brown hedgehog next to Sonic.

"This is big Knuckles. This brown hedgehog next to me is called Itza. She—" Sonic began explaining with his usual cocky voice.

"I can explain for myself, thank you," Itza arrogantly interrupted. This sparked once again Amy's interest, and this time it caught Shadow's attention too. After she quickly explained her reason to come to the present she glanced at Knuckles.

"Hmm… this sounds vaguely familiar…" He said more to himself than to the others. Itza, however, heard him well enough and showed some nervousness.

"Where could you have possibly heard this?" She asked curiously.

"Oh I haven't heard of it. Sounds like Chaos all over again, but he was sealed and Tikal assured us that—"

"Tikal?" Itza asked nervously. She knew well enough who Tikal was.

"I remember her! She helped us in the end… and with all those dreams too," Amy cheerfully added once she noticed Itza's nervousness. Itza simply nodded and tried to remain calm.

"Guys, I finally have a signal from a Chaos Emerald. It's coming from the jungle. Ah, and I forgot to mention earlier, I have the white Chaos Emerald. I was planning to use it to fuel my plane, as Sonic knows. I simply forgot to mention that I already have it," Tails interrupted the conversation.

"I should guard the emerald you posses already for I come from the past and no one would suspect me of guarding the emerald," Itza suggested.

"I disagree," Shadow intervened for the first time. "I think Sonic or I should guard the emeralds for they will be safer with us and that way we can use them to our advantage as well."

Amy nodded in agreement, and glad that Shadow intervened. She wouldn't trust the newcomer with any of the emeralds. Secretly she wished Sonic or Shadow would agree with her. She observed her reaction. None. Amy couldn't decipher her feelings towards Shadow's suggestion for she didn't seem content or angry. Perfectly calm she stayed. It was as if she knew Amy was observing every move and emotion she showed.

"Very well. Perhaps that is a better option," she simply stated as she looked at Sonic.

"Ok guys, we need a plan. Since this emerald seems to be just lying around somewhere only two of us should go. Who's up for the ch—"

"Sonic and I should go, that way I can tell him more about the Chaos Emeralds' power," Itza suggested cheerfully. Sonic looked blankly at her but quickly smiled.

"Ok, let's get going!" He stated as he began running down the stairs with Itza following close behind.

"I don't trust her one bit," Amy told the others once the blue and brown hedgehogs were out of ear shot. Shadow nodded in approval.

"She is kind of weird and seems really interested in getting the emeralds… but that might just be because she wants to save the present," Tails said.

"As long as she doesn't touch the Master Emerald I'm fine with her touching the Chaos Emeralds."

"And why is she so obsessed with Sonic? Gee, we're all a team…" Amy lamented to herself.

Later that evening, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were having a nice conversation inside Tails workshop, and Shadow occasionally talked as well. The conversation was mostly about past adventures, including the one where Chaos was being controlled by Eggman and Amy

saved a flickie. Shadow seemed interested in these past events, but didn't say much since he hadn't seen them. After an hour or so Sonic appeared inside the workshop with a smile.

"Hey guys! I got the emerald. Itza is outside looking at it," he commented. Amy sighed and wondered about Itza once again. Why she was here made no sense to her.

Outside Itza was holding a red Chaos Emerald and mumbling incomprehensive words. An ancient language, it seemed. She held the emerald on her left hand and pointed in towards the sun. Her eyes remained shut as she quietly spoke. Then the gleam of the emerald disappeared and a soft gleam surrounded her body for a few seconds. Content with the feeling she opened her eyes.

"Against time I have fought to achieve my goal. One emerald down, six to go."