Hi guys! Long time no see! To the reviews!

Chaotic hedgehog: *pats your shoulder*
Zoey: You tell him, Chaos! *glares at Aero as the arrows fly*
Aero: *hit by the arrows*
*hugs you* It's okay, bro… hi, Storm! And everybody else! *chuckles softly* Hey, every story needs a bit of humor. I figured that Sonic should get tail-slapped!
Sonic: Love you too, Nomad. -_-
*giggles* Oh, Emily didn't attack anyone, Storm. Aero was able to bring her forth and render Robyn incapable of fighting, but Sonic and the others were able to stop her before there were any casualties. *nod nod*
Kelly: *hugs Kuro* :)
Robyn: Of course he'd reminisce about Cosmo! It was almost the driving force of the story, aside from my bond with my lil' bro…
*pokes Midna* Y'know who else is angry? *gestures to Chaos*

Raeweis: It was sad, wasn't it?! Thanks!

Jssr13: I'm glad you liked reading it, even with the OCs in it! Ooh, I didn't know that about kitsunes. That would make for an interesting story… thanks for the idea!

Cor Amicus: Hahaha! Here. *gives you Aero, who is tied up and gagged* Have at it! *dodges the random light saber swinging* Yes, he tends to screw everything up, doesn't he? *glares at him*
Aero: Hey! You made me like this! If anything, it's YOUR fault!
*slaps him with a frying pan* Shut up. And Amicus… that SENTENCE made me burst into tears. "He's got his wings, but she's left alone". I could visualize Robyn in a dark place with a spotlight on her, and she's crying, and I could see a faint outline of Tails with his wings high above her… great, I'm tearing up again…

BlackSandHeart: *smacks head against hand* I forgot FD was there! -_- *glares at FD* Caudex. That's basically what I said when I wrote that Tails was dead… "NOOOOOOOO!"
Aero: *looks unamused at hearing that Strife and FD could kill him again, then grins mischievously* Yes… I do have a heart, don't I?
Robyn: *smacks him over the head with the frying pan* NO!
Aero: *rubs his head and then rolls his eyes at you* Got any more witty insults? *sarcasm*

Disclaimer: Kelly the Echidna and Robyn Prower belong to me. Strife the Dark and Fengari belong to Strife the Dark 152. Mentions of the Dimension Jumpers and the character Flame belong to BlackSandHeart. Mentions of Team Heroes belong to SEGA.

Note: This story is for Strife, who suggested a story between Kelly and Strife, because apparently the echidna would be a good little sister for the hedgehog xD

New Perspective

For Team Heroes and the Dimension Jumpers, today was a normal day. The sun was shining, Flickies were chirping, and there was a feeling of peace. Both groups were outside the Prower mansion, enjoying the sun and all. A blue echidna was in the center, playing "Duck Duck Goose" with her friends that were close to her age.

"Duck… duck… duck… duck… GOOSE! Can't catch me, Cream!" the echidna exclaimed excitedly as she starting running around the circle.

A cream-colored rabbit laughed as she got up and chased her friend. "Wanna bet, Kelly!?"

A golden-furred cat laughed as he watched them. "C'mon, Cream! You can get her!"

"Thanks for the support, Xavier!" Kelly pouted.

Cream grinned as she finally caught up to the echidna and tapped her shoulder. "GOTCHA!"

Kelly groaned and sat down in Cream's former place, which was next to Xavier and Charmy Bee. As the rabbit started the familiar chant, Kelly's blue eyes wandered to the trees. She briefly wondered if Aero or Eggman were going to show up and start trouble. Then, in the trees, she spotted a pair of green reptilian eyes, causing her to jump before Cream even got back around to her.

"Are you okay, Kelly?" Xavier asked with a frown as his best friend stared at the trees.

"Uh… fine… I'll be right back," the echidna said as she stood up and ran into the forest.

"KELLY!" Xavier reached a hand out to her, but she had already disappeared into the lush green forest.

Robyn Prower frowned. "Xavier, where did she go?"

"I dunno! She seemed a bit startled by something, and then she ran off," the cat said as he lowered his hand.

-XxXxX-

In the trees, a pale black hedgehog was sitting in the trees. He had pale blue rings around his legs, a scar over his heart, a scar over his right eye, and green reptilian eyes. His quills were shaped like Shadow's, but the stripes were pale blue instead of red. His shoes were also like Shadow's, but they were grey. He had black ordinate-looking rings and black world rings on his wrists and ankles, and he was wearing a black cloak with the hood down. He watched the two groups converse and laugh. A part of him wanted to go down and see what was so funny, but his mind kept wandering elsewhere. Somewhere that he didn't want it to go…

Fengari, a sky-blue wolf, was down. He was clutching his left eye, blood seeping through his fingers. Flame, a dark cat with hazel eyes, was clutching her right eye; she was on her knees. Strife looked down and saw a sword into his chest. His gaze followed the sword to a hand, then a face, then… a Mobian. He looked around and saw many others surrounding him and his friends. The Mobians were all wearing white.

"YOU WILL DIE, DARKNESS INCARNATE, YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS," they all said at once.

"You have made quite the mistake, now you are all going to die!" Strife shouted.

He took the sword out, feeling his anger and rage all boiling up… then it was frozen over with an icy calm rage. He summoned his sword and stabbed the man in front of him, causing him to hunch over on the blade.

"This is the punishment you get for releasing me," Strife said coldly.

The man's eyes widened as he looked at the hedgehog. Strife bent down and whispered something in his ear, causing the man to scream in fear. The hedgehog laughed as he took his blade out and cut the scream off. He ran towards the others, vaguely aware of the purple fire around his shoes. They screamed in fear, which only made him laugh more. He burst through all of them, slashing and stabbing, cutting and killing. The few who were brave enough to face him crumbled as they swung their swords.

After a while, he had killed them all. He strolled away from the bodies… then was hit by realization. He looked at his sword, which was normally blue. It was red, red with blood. The blood of the dead Mobians behind him. The blood of Flame and Fengari were in there too; he could feel it. He felt something rise in his chest… laughter?

What have I done?! he thought.

Then he heard a voice. "... You killed them all, and you enjoyed it."

Strife emitted a shriek of frustration and jumped down from the trees with his head in his hands. Why couldn't he stop thinking about that day?! It was the last thing he wanted on his mind! Many lives lost, and the feeling of chaos that controlled him… he had tried so hard to forget, but it was always there, mocking him.

"Um… Strife?"

The hedgehog turned around. Standing in front of him was the young echidna, Kelly. She looked at him curiously. "Why are you here all alone?"

"Uh…" Strife fumbled over his words. "I just… uh… I don't know, actually…"

He stared at Kelly and mentally flinched. She was blue, almost like Fengari. Her eyes matched the color of her dreadlocks, and there was a sense of innocence in her eyes that shined like a candle in a dark place. She was so young… it tore at his heart-strings. His eyes blurred and Fengari was in her place, tainted with blood and his hand on his eye. The voice came back to him, echoing in his head. "You killed them all, and you enjoyed it."

"NO! !" Strife screamed as he turned away from Kelly with a sense of angst.

Kelly jumped, quite startled. Her eyes widened as Strife knelt on the ground and put his hands on the sides of his head. He had this… this look, this expression, a mix of anger and terror and so many other things that it made Kelly's head spin. Something had caused him pain when he looked at her, causing her to look down. She could only hear Strife's heavy breathing as he tried to calm himself.

"I didn't mean to do it… I didn't…" he mumbled.

Curiously, Kelly looked at him again. "Strife…?"

He didn't seem to hear her. She took a few steps closer and knelt down, gently putting her hand on top of his right hand. "Strife…?"

Slowly, he turned to look at her. The image of Fengari vanished, leaving the concerned blue echidna in its place again. "K-Kelly…"

"What didn't you mean to do?" the echidna asked as she looked at him.

He flinched. He didn't really like sharing his past, especially regarding THAT incident. Kelly seemed to sense this, and to his surprise, she smiled. "It's okay if you don't wanna share it. I probably can't help in any major way… but you should know that you're not the only one who has gone through a world of hurt."

He looked at her, even more surprised. This young echidna, in a world of hurt? A sense of protectiveness seemed to wash through him. "Do you mean…"

She nodded, biting her lip and looking down again. "My brother Danny was killed by my other brother, Shawn, who in turn, physically, emotionally, and sexually abused me for a few years, until I managed to escape. All because Shawn didn't receive the Arctic Fire. It chose me instead…"

Anger replaced the protectiveness in the hedgehog. "Son of a…"

She looked at him again. "I was captured by Eggman… and Shawn was working for him. If it wasn't for Robyn, who knows where I would be right now?"

Strife's anger simmered down a bit. He had noted that the grey fox was a kind soul, so he wasn't surprised that she was the one to rescue Kelly. "Well…"

He proceeded to tell her about that day as they sat down on the ground and faced each other. Seeing his friends hurt, and the chaos that controlled him to go and kill all of those people. Seeing the blood everywhere and the realization of what he had done had almost been too much. She listened quietly, her eyes only widening slightly when he revealed the killings. She didn't turn and run, however. Strife felt a sense of relief when he finished.

She reached for his hand. "That's terrible… I'm sorry that happened. All I can say is that the past is the past, and you're not that person, Strife. I just know it. You'll do what it takes to protect the people you care about. It wasn't your fault, directly."

He nodded. "I know… and… I'm glad I told someone. It feels… nice. Like a burden has been lifted."

A smile crossed the echidna's face. "We're all here for you, Strife."

She surprised him by reaching over and hugging him. "Especially me."

He looked at her with a surprised expression before slowing returning the hug. In a matter of minutes, this echidna had changed his perspective somewhat. He wouldn't be able to forget that day so easily, but he could look back now and not be afraid. He wasn't that monster, and he never had been. He could take Kelly's words to heart and live to protect everyone.

Especially her.

And… end! Stick around guys, the next chapter of "Ruby Eyes" should be out soon!