Here's the next chapter of For an Emerald everybody! For anyone wondering, I won't be adding Silver or Blaze into this story as I don't see a point to it. ANYWAY, Read and review please!

"How am I supposed to help her if no one seemed to know what's supposed to happen to her..." Sonic wondered aloud as he ran, headed towards Angel Island to see a certain guardian.

~Sonic's Flashback~

"What the...where am I?" Sonic wondered as he awoke, standing to look around. He was in a stone room filled with caskets of the same stone...except the ones he was between were made of wood instead. Trying to figure out where exactly the room of caskets was, he realised that he wasn't wearing his shoes or gloves, so he carefully walked around until he found them and put them on.

"Young hero..." The hero's head snapped up to look around upon hearing someone seemingly speaking to him, seeing no one. "Open your heart young hero..." The voice was distinctively female and certainly not Knuckles, but the runner felt he could trust this voice. So he closed his eyes and 'opened his heart' as he had been told. "Good." The voice said. "...Now open your eyes." She told him, the hedgehog doing so. His eyes widened when he saw two echidna in front of him yet not...somewhat transparent like they weren't really there.

"Wh-who are...?!" Sonic wasn't scared of them just very, VERY confused...it wasn't like he didn't know that the red echidna he called his friend was the last echidna alive.

"Hello young hero." The woman, a hot pink echidna with dark blue eyes and a simple purple dress of a similar shade as her fur, her gloves like white with purple ring-looking bits at the wrist and her shoes looked like purple ballet slippers with ribbons and all.

"Uh...hello." The hedgehog responded, waving a bit at her and the male echidna beside her who looked like a dark red version of the red puncher he knew when said puncher was still male. The pink echidna laughed softly.

"You needn't be uneasy or confused your hero...we have heard much of you from the others in this room." The woman smiled at the runner and he suddenly felt safe and calm, any other feeling just leaving his body and mind. "My name is Waist the Echidna and this is my husband Ankle the Echidna." Waist explained to the green eyed boy.

"Yo." Sonic said simply, waving at Ankle only for the dark echidna to merely nod.

"I am afraid Ankle cannot speak, young hero." The blue eyed woman apologised softly, smiling sadly. "However, that is a story for another time. Right now, young hero...we need to speak to you about the young guardian Knuckles." Waist stated, Ankle nodding.

"Knuckles? What about her?" The hero asked them.

"You see, Knuckles is our...our daughter, young hero." The pink echidna said, the hedgehog's eyes widening.

"But...but Knuckles' parents are..."

"Dead?" Waist cut in, smiling softly as Sonic paled. "Yes, that is correct young hero. We are the spirits of the people in the very casket you are currently between. It is through the power of the Master Emerald several feet above us that we are able to do this." She explained to him, not wanting him to be afraid of them.

"But if that's true than...why does Knuckles always seem so lonely?" The hero asked.

"A guardian is unable to see their parents...Knuckles misses us dearly but even if we stand here as we are now she will not see or hear us."

"That's...really sad..." The hedgehog admitted.

"Young hero, we wish to ask you to do something very important for us." The pink echidna stated, the runner nodding to show he was listening and would likely do as told. "You see, young hero...no, Sonic the Hedgehog. You see, Sonic the Hedgehog, after a new guardian is born their parents always die within five years of the young one's life. Please...we want you to stop Knuckles from dying, we want you to save our...our daughter. I'm afraid we can't tell you how she is supposed to die, even we do not know that." The runner's eyes widened, the red puncher he knew was in danger. But didn't that mean...? "That is correct; Knuckles will be having a child in four months."

"Then I'll stay with her nonstop and make sure nothing happens...I won't let Knuckles die, I promise."

~End of Sonic's Flashback~

But he hadn't stayed with her, he had left the island while she was gone after their night which in itself was a blur to the hedgehog.

"I don't want you to die Knuckles, no one does..." He murmured as he continued towards the coast. "You're our friend; so I'll protect you...if you want me to or not."

"Rouge?" Sonic asked as he reached the shrine, a little annoyed with the bat being there and not the echidna.

"Hello Blue Boy." Rouge responded simply, sitting near the Master Emerald.

"Where is Knuckles?" The hero questioned.

"You just missed her, she went to get food for us." The answer of the thief was too quick to be the truth, the runner knew.

"Come on Knuckles!" He called out, waiting for a moment. To his partial shock the red puncher walked out from behind the nearby trees, looking a little unsettled with him there.

"What do you want Sonic?" She asked him, not looking him in the eyes.

"Listen, you might not believe me but...I made a promise to two people very important to you that I would protect you, so I'll be staying on this island for a long time." Sonic stated, Knuckles eyes narrowing despite her not looking at him.

"What about saving people from Eggman?" She pointed out. The hero looked at Rouge.

"Shadow can take care of that, right?" He asked.

"If it's really that important to you that you stay here than...yes, I can convince him to protect people in your place for a while." The thief said, no matter what she didn't want the guardian to be hurt and if Sonic had to be the one to save her then so be it.

"Thanks." The green eyed boy smiled widely, flashing the blue-green eyed woman a smile and a thumbs up. "That settles it, I'll be staying here from now on." He stated the the violet eyed girl, however he stopped smiling when he realised that she was in the same position she always went in when she was upset about something.

"Don't I get a say in this?!" She snapped angrily, growling at Sonic. "This is MY island, and if I don't want you here than you have no right to stay!" Knuckles snarled at the hero as if he were her enemy, she looked very conflicted despite how much anger she was showing. "Now get the hell off my island before I force you off Sonic." The sudden change to a calm voice scared the hedgehog but he refused to vacate the island and leave her unprotected, promise or not.

"Knuckles, listen. This is-"

"OFF!" The guardian yelled and a huge pulse of energy came from the Master Emerald, sending the hero off the island and into the deadly water below.

Um...Knuckles REALLY doesn't know how to deal with Sonic anymore, but was sending him into the water when he can't swim ENTIRELY necessary?...Apparently so. I hope our favourite blue hedgehog is going to be ok, but you'll all have to wait until the next chapter to find out. See ya later!