Played for fools

Not long after the Nocturnus had been driven off, Knuckles and the others were trying to pull themselves together after such a BRUTAL assault. Espio, Vector, and Knuckles were all standing over Charmy, who lay injured in the crocodile's arms.

"Don't worry, little buddy, we'll take care of you." Vector whispered, looking down at the bee with worried eyes. "You're gonna be all right."

"Charmy is still alive, but we need to get him medical care."Espio warned. "Otherwise, his condition will worsen."

"You monsters, this is all your fault!" Knuckles wasn't even paying attention to them, and was instead yelling at their two prisoners. "If you to hadn't made a mad grab for the emerald, Charmy wouldn't be lying there hurt!"

"Hey, don't look at me, echidna boy!" Rouge yelled back, glaring at him. "I'm a jewel thief, and I have done some things I'm not proud of, but I DO NOT intentionally hurt kids!" She looked over at the wounded bee. "Oh my word, what have I done..."

"Ix betrayed us, abandoning us here..." a stunned Shade muttered, before her face twisted into a snarl. "Let us loose from these bonds, emerald guardian! Let us loose, and we shall join you and your Chaotix clan to destroy that filthy traitorous slime, emperor Piroth Ix!"

"Let you go!? How stupid do you think I am!?" Knuckles roared, raising his fists at them. "I should throw you off this floating island, and send you both tumbling to the ground for what you've done!"

"Knuckles, we don't have time for this!" Espio warned him, pulling the enraged echidna away from the two prisoners."We need to get Charmy to a doctor, right now!"

"Wait, I know someone who can help!" The echidna replied, turning to rush towards the star post gate. "One of my friends back on earth, she has the power to heal! Cream the rabbit can help save Charmy!"

Knux ran for the portal, and quickly returned with Cream and Vanilla. Vector and the other looked up at the new arrivals... and the crocodile was stunned by the sight of the graceful Vanilla.

"Cream, I'm sorry to bring you and your mother back to angel island, but this little one needs your help." Knuckles pointed the child over to Charmy, then turned towards the crocodile. "Vector, this is Vanilla daughter should be able to heal Charmy!"

"Hello, Mister Vector." Vanilla curtsied to the towering crocodile. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I wasn't going to let little Cream exhaust herself healing another person. But when I heard a child had been injured, he just had to come and help."

"I...uhhhh...errrr..." Vector's face turned a deep shade of red, as he turned away from Vanilla. "Nice to meet you, miss rabbit.T-thank you for your help."

Cream looked down at the injured Charmy, with a worried look on her face. "Uh... I don't know if I can do this, Knuckles, my healing powers, well... mama says they are starting to go away."

"Go away?!" Espio asked in disbelief. "How can they just 'go away'?"

"The excess chaos energy from the chaos emerald is fading from his body, just as it faded from Sonic's after his first great battle." Vanilla explained. "When her healing powers are gone, she will retain her flying ability for the rest of her life." The rabbit looked over at Cream sadly. "My child... heal the boy."

Cream nodded, and placed both of her hands on Charmy bee. The two children were enveloped in light, and when it faded, Charmy's wounds had vanished.

"It's gone... mama, I feel it... it's gone." Cream muttered, as she collapsed into Vanilla's arms. "I can't heal people anymore."

"It's all right, little one." Vanilla declared, cradling her exhausted daughter. "You did the right thing."

"Hey, hey guys... what going on?" Charmy muttered, looking around at everyone. "And who are the two bunny ladies?"

Everyone chuckled at the boy's response, while vector hugged him.

"You're gonna be all right, Charmy." He smiled. "You're gonna be all right."

A short time later, Knuckles and Espio were confronting Shade and Rouge about what had happened, and trying to find out what they knew.

"Okay, if you say this emperor Ix was after the master emerald." Espio asked them. "Then why did he just up and leave?"

"Ix obviously wasn't after the master emerald after all; our attack was a distraction, he had other warriors retrieve whatever his true goal was." Shade looked out at the bodies of about a dozen nocturnus warriors scattered across the landscape, which vector was now collecting up to burn on a cremation pile. "Ix disposed of over a third of our best troops with our assault. Even though he does not value our lives, Ix would not waste resources like that."

"The lady is correct, this was a deception by emperor Ix." Athair declared, appearing through a portal. "I found a pit dug up on a remote part of Angel Island. His warriors used your battle as a cover to remove something valuable."

"We should have figured he was never after the master emerald." Knuckles growled, pounding his fist into the dirt in frustration. "Not even a chaos mage like Ix could control the monster that is supposed to be sealed inside that emerald!"

"The Nocturnus will not strike again until their next plan is ready, and they might not return to angel island at all." Rouge pointed out. "I've worked for those creeps enough times to know how they operate."

"But when they come back, you will need our aid." Shade pointed out. "Release us, let us join your 'Chaotix', and we will not only help you against Ix, but whatever other threats you face."

"Besides, we gotta make up for what we did to that kid." The bat continued, looking directly at knuckles. "So how about it, handsome? Let us earn our chance for redemption?"

"Hmmm, Bat girl is only a jewel thief, so I can believe she wants to turn over a new leaf." He looked over at Shade. "But you... you were raised in a brutal society, where slavery and mobian sacrifice are seen as good. Why would you want to change all of asudden?"

"Do not kid yourself, Knuckles of the Angel Island tribe. I am not embracing your soft and weak moraility. Rather, I need a new clan, and a new leader to serve, if I am to survive. Besides, fighting alongside you 'heroes' is the perfect opportunity to get my vengeance on Ix for betraying me!"

Athair looked the two women over, before turning back to Knuckles and Espio.

"Lads, I believe you should trust them, I feel their sincerity with my Chaos magics." The echidna sage shook his head. "Besides, I'm going to ask you Chaotix to stay on the island permanently. You can get food from our trees and animals, and operate your detective service from here, coming and going through the star pole warps."

"Well, vector will probably love upgrading from our dingy office in Starlight City to one of the nice abandoned buildings here, and not having to pay any rent." Espio considered. "But why can't you just use your powerful magic to drive off anyone who tried to take the master emerald, like you did during Shade and the Nocturn's first attack?"

"My boy, that was noting but an effective magical light show." Athiar smiled, while Shade hid her humiliation that she and the other warriors had been tricked. "I am unable to protect the Master emerald or the island by myself. And with Knuckles coming and going from the island, I will need your aid."

"All right, great-grandfather, I shall trust your judgement." Knuckles considered for a minute, then broke the ropes holding Rouge, setting them free. Rouge then immediately jumped and Knuckles, giving him a big, deep kiss before pulling away.

"Mmmm, thanks for trusting me, handsome." She purred. "When you come back to the island for a visit, I promise we'll have a wild time."

"Uhhhhh..." Overcome by his first kiss, Knuckles's eyes rolled back into his head, and he fainted dead away. Rouge simply stood over him, bursting into laughter.

As Espio cut the ropes holding Shade, the female echidna stood up, rubbing her freed wrists.

"I look very much forward to fighting beside you, ninja." She smiled coyly. "Perhaps we could even have a personal, late night sparring session?"

"Uhhhh, perhaps." The unnerved but intrigued chameleon replied, taking an uncertain step back from her. "We'll see what happens."

...

It wasn't that long, before the Chaotix (with their two new members, now shackled with tracker brackets for their probationary period) were Seeing Knuckles, Cream, and Vanilla off, as the trio were headed back to Earth.

"Don't worry, Knuckles! We'll keep a good eye on the island- and the emerald, while you are gone." Espio told him, as they shook hands. "But I have a feeling you're going to have your hands full, with your friends back on Bygone island."

"See you around, Epsio." Knux fist-bumped him. "I'll have to hang out with the Chaotix again some time."

At the same time, Vector was saying his goodbyes to Vanilla.

"Uh, it was nice to spend this time here with you, miss Vanilla." The crocodile muttered, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "I hope you can come back for a visit sometime."

"That would be delightful, mister Vector." She smiled back at him, causing Vector to blush even more. "Perhaps Cream and I could return for a picnic sometime."

"Bye bye, bunny girl!" Charmy hugged his new friend, Cream. "Thanks for saving my life!"

"Bye bye, mister bee!" Cream laughed. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime!"

All the Chaotix waved, while the trio walked into the star post portal home. While up on top of the hidden palace, Athair watched his great-grandson and his two friends leave, while dark clouds formed on the horizion...

Next: the ballad of Sally Acorn