Chapter 14: Refuge and Healing

I woke the next morning feeling groggy and stiff from sleeping on the hard floor. I look up and look around, not remembering where I was. I was in a living room that seemed big enough to be for a human.

I look around and realize everyone was there. Silver was sleeping the closest to me on the floor; he was dead asleep from the fight yesterday. Antoine and Bunny where sleeping together on the other side of Silver. I turn to see Shadow is sitting in a corner with his chin resting on his chest, his eyes were closed and his arms where folded, his fingers twitching slightly as he dreamed. Rouge took one couch and Sally took the other with Tails at her feet. His two tails folded over his body like a natural blanket.

I look around at my sleeping friends and smile, but it vanishes when I realize that Sonic and Knuckles aren't in the room. I move to get up, but my body was too stiff to really do anything.

"Knuckles?" I asked quietly, hoping he was just out of my view and he would answer.

My voice woke Silver. He groaned quietly, blinked and looked at me. "It's okay, Em." He said with a yawn. "She took them to a spare room where they can rest properly."

"She?" I asked.

Silver nodded. "Don't you remember? We made it to this house late last night; a woman and her hedgehog son took us in. I offered to help but she said we needed rest. I'm not sure what time Sally and the other came, but I remember you were already asleep."

I forced myself to sit up and stretch my sore body. "Did she say how they were?"

Silver shook his head. "I was asleep as soon as I laid down."

Our conversation woke Sally. She looked at us and smiled from her place on the couch. "I was here when she and her son were moving Sonic and Knuckles. She said they might take a while to recover."

"At least their alright." I said.

At that moment, we heard tapping coming from the wooden stairs. I get tense for a moment, then I realize it was a hedgehog boy who was no older than Tails. He was dark grey with a few black and white highlights in his quills. His eyes where ice blue and very striking, but they where clouded and the pupils where small, almost nonexistent. It took me a moment to realize that the boy was blind, yet he looked at us as if he could see us clearly.

He smiled and walked in to sit on the floor in front of Silver and me. "Good morning," He said, so cheerily that I couldn't help but smile at him. "How are you this morning? You guys were very tired when you came last night."

"We're stiff from sleeping on the floor," I said. "But we slept just fine. Where's Sonic and Knuckles?"

"So that's their names." The boy said. "I just checked on them. Their still unconscious, but they look better than they did last night."

I sigh in relief, but I couldn't help but think about the rest of the journey; the Summer Solstice was coming up and we still had to travel to the Great Desert to find Silver's Helmet of Deliverance.

"Oh!" The boy said, face-palming himself. "Where are my manners? My name is Storm Jones the Hedgehog."

"Pleasure, Storm," Silver said, shaking the boys hand. "My name is Silver and this is Emily. The other hedgehog there is Shadow. The squirrel is called Sally and the fox beside her is Tails. Over here is Bunny and Antoine. We've been traveling for a while and Eggman caught us. He's the reason why Sonic and Knuckles are in such bad shape and… Oh Em, we need to get some of these cuts cleaned up."

I look at my shoulder, my arm and my torso where that metal leopard had cut me. The cuts had clotted with blood and mud. They hurt still, but they didn't look bad.

"These are nothing Silver." I said. "I've had worse."

"I know," Silver said. "But still we should clean the mud out of them."

"We can do that in the Kitchen." Storm said standing. "My mom will be up soon to make breakfast. She doesn't trust me with the stove or with knifes. Sure the stove is hard to see, but I can use a knife just fine."

Silver and I fallow Storm into the kitchen, where lots of paintings hung on the walls. Storm led us to the table as he got a warm washcloth and a bowl of warm water.

"What do you mean you can see the knife just fine?" Silver asked, as Storm brought the bowl and the cloth. "I thought you were blind."

"I am," Storm answered. "I can control electricity and see aura's of color around metal objects and people. For people, the aura's are different for everyone according to their personality and mood. For example, That Shadow character is golden, telling me that he's loyal and willing to protect others, but there's a dark stain over his heart area. This tells me that something bad happened to him a long time ago but it hurts like it happened three years ago."

"That's pretty good," I said as Silver cleaned my wounds.

Encouraged by my comment, Storm squinted at me and smiled. "Your aura is a light blue with hints of green and yellow. That means you're usually happy and eager for new things. And your aura brightens when Silver comes near."

I blush and look at Silver. Storm chuckled. "Now your aura had a light pink hue to it."

I blush deeper, making both boys laugh. I smile, but that haunting feeling that time was running out still hung over me. If Sonic and Knuckles didn't get better soon, Mephilis would have pulled himself together again and he would be unstoppable.

Storm saw my aura take more of a blue tone and stopped laughing. "Did I upset you, Emily? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Oh, its not you, Storm." I quickly told him. "I'm just worried about Sonic and Knuckles that's all. We have to get back on the road soon and we can't with them in this condition."

"You're friends will be just fine, my dear." Said a feminine voice.

Silver and I look up and see the woman walk into the kitchen. She was tall with a gentle face, blonde hair and green eyes. She walked in and sat at the table next to Storm. "It'll be a while for them to recover though. What happened that caused such injuries? If you don't mind my asking."

"We had a run in with a man named Ivo Robotnik," Silver said. "But he's known by many as Eggman. He ambushed us while we were at the temple in Ironlock."

The woman straitened at the name. "You and your friends are welcome to stay as long as you need to for your friends to heal," She said. "If Eggman is after you, you may hide here."

Silver and I look at her, not sure how to answer. "Um, thanks, Mrs. Jones." Silver said. "Usually people would want us out of their town immediately. Why are you letting us stay?"

"Because," Mrs. Jones said. "I lived in Mobotropolis with my family when Ivo took over. My two children where roboticised and my husband was shot from protecting us. I was fleeing the city when I found Storm. Knowing he needed someone to look after him, I took him in. Now, I know that I would want protection and shelter if I had such a villain after me, so I open my home to those who need it."

"That's very kind of you, Mrs. Jones." I said. "And we thank you for your kindness-OUCH!"

"Sorry," Silver said as he dressed my wounds.

My shout woke Shadow, who got up and ran to the kitchen to see what was happening. We look at him before he clutched his head and leaned against the doorframe.

"Shads?" I ask, getting up and helping him.

"I only got up to fast, I'll be fine," Shadow said. Blinking his eyes. "I heard a shout."

"Silver was only cleaning my wounds from yesterday," I explain. "He touched a tender area and I shouted. Sorry I woke you."

"Well," Mrs. Jones said as she stood. "It looks like everyone will be waking up soon, so I'd better get breakfast going. Shadow, do you care to help me?"

"Not at all," Shadow said.

"Um," I said. "Can we see Sonic and Knuckles?"

Storm nodded. "Fallow me."

He took Silver and me upstairs and to a door. "I'll see if the others are awake downstairs," Storm said as he opened the door to the spare room. "I'll leave you two alone for a while but I'll come back up when breakfast is ready, or you can come down when you want to."

"Thanks Storm." Silver said as he and I enter the room.

There were two mobian sized beds in the room where Sonic and Knuckles slept. I walk up to Knuckles and brush away a dreadlock from his strong face. Silver looked at Sonic; his eyes quivered from a dream he was having. Both of their gloves had been removed and placed on the end tables next to the beds and their shoes where on the floor.

"Some Protectors we turned out to be," Silver said. "The Guardian is supposed to help us in our battle with Mephilis and the Summer Solstice is coming up in two months. It would take these guys at least a month to recover from Eggman's attack, and we have to get the Great Desert then figure out where Mephilis is hiding."

"Don't give up yet, Silv." I said. "You told me that Jesus asked you to trust him. Sonic would say as much. Besides, we're new at the job. You can't expect us to do everything right the first time."

"But we may be running out of time," Silver said, looking at our wounded friends. "They can't make it to the desert in this condition, and we can't leave them here."

I sat down on the bed, but something hard in my pocket poked me. I Get up again and pull out my Chaos Emerald. I remember what I did while Silver was so sick. Then I get a crazy idea. "Silver, do you still have your emerald?"

Silver nodded and pulled it out. "Why?"

I smile at him, making his eyes widen. "Are you nuts?" He asked. "Using Chaos Heal will drain our energy. It did while I was healing you of that bullet wound last year and it did to you when I woke up from that battle with Mephilis."

"Silver we're stronger together." I said. "And we have the green emerald, Knuckles told me it has healing properties. And with your emerald, maybe we won't loose so much energy."

Silver still didn't like the idea, I could tell. "How about we talk to everyone else about it?" I offered.

"It would make me feel better," Silver said. "And it'd be nice not to freak Storm out if he walks in and finds us using Chaos Heal."

I nodded and follow Silver back downstairs where we found everyone else was awake and chatting with Storm. We come in and bring up the situation. "So we were thinking about using Chaos Heal would help them."

"What do you say, Tails?" Silver asked.

"I think it's worth a shot," Tails replied. "Knuckles did show you two how to do it, right?"

Silver and I nodded.

Storm listened intently. "You mean you guys can use chaos emeralds?" He asked.

"A little," I reply. "But we're still learning."

"So that's who the Echidna is!" Storm said sounding excited. "He's the Guardian of Master Emerald and the Floating Island!"

"That's right," Rouge said. "How did you know that, sweetie?"

"I've heard a lot of stories about the Last Guardian of Angel Island," Storm said. "You might say I'm a fan of his. I've always wanted to see Angel Island for my self, but with my blindness that makes it a little hard."

"He's also a bit particular about who goes to the island," Silver said. "Emily and I are lucky he let me live there."

"Can I watch you two do the Chaos Heal?" Storm asked, hope dancing in his blind eyes.

"I don't see why not," I said.

Silver sighed and nodded. "Alright. After breakfast that way we don't take too much energy."

And so, after breakfast, we all crowded around the two beds. Teresa holding Storms shoulders while he stood in front of her. The Freedom Fighters stood in a semi-circle; Sally had a hand on Tails shoulder, Antoine was holding his wife Bunny close and Shadow stood by in case something went wrong.

Silver and I stood beside each other between the beds. I had a hand on Knuckles and Silver had a hand on Sonic, we both held the green emerald and the white emerald.

'Lord,' Silver prayed. 'Please let this work.'

Silver and I closed our eyes like Sonic did before he would go super. I felt the energy flowing through my arms and torso like fire, but it didn't hurt.

Silver also felt the energy flowing, but he was focusing on not letting the energy hurt Emily during the healing. He felt Sonic twitch under his palm.

The bystanders watched in amazement as a green glow enveloped Silver's and my arms and rippled into Sonic and Knuckles. Storm had to squint from the amount of energy he was seeing. It was very bright for him, but he stayed to see if it would work.

I slowly open my eyes, still focusing, but wanting to see if it was working. I watched as the bruises and cuts vanished away and Knuckles' eyes began fluttering and slowly opening. I slowly look at Sonic. His head was moving and he seemed to be forcing his eyes to open like he was panicking.

'Don't struggle Sonic!' I thought, wanting to shout the thought. 'Let the healing work.'

Sonic relaxed again and a thin smile appeared on his face. I then felt a heavy hand grip mine. I turn slowly back to Knuckles, who was looking at me with tired eyes, but there was a small smile on his face.

Finally, I release the chaos. Silver leans against the bed and I get on my knees. It took more out of me than I thought. "You alright, Silv?"

"I'm alright," he answered. "But I think I need to sit down for a moment."

I nod in agreement and Shadow helps me get to my feet and Silver leans on Bunny. I look back at Sonic and Knuckles. Their wounds where gone, but I wasn't sure if they were fully healed or not. I would have to wait and see, and pray that my rash decision worked.

AN: Hey guys! Another thank you for all the awesome feedback! And I'd like to apologize in advance for my spelling and Grammar. English was never my best subject XD Thanks again for the feedback and keep them coming :) :) :)