Oh, I hope this isn't permanent. Where are you guys, anyway? Oh well, your loss if you don't read, ya know. Anyway, READ ON!

~*~

Chapter 2

Tails stood, admiring his work. Sonic had decided to run off somewhere earlier, so he let him go. It wasn't as if Sonic was really into machines anyway, and Tails had not really needed his help in the first place, just someone to talk to while he labored. He decided to have lunch on his own, seeing as his friend wasn't going to be back any time soon. So, he went off to Station Square to find a decent fast food restaurant. He didn't feel like making himself something today.

~*~

Meanwhile, while everything was happening with our heroes, there was a mysterious person lurking in the shadows of the large trees surrounding the shrine of the Master Emerald. He gazed at the jewel, longing to grab it and run, but the echidna and his friend were still leaving. He wanted to go grab it as soon as they stood up and left, but that would not have been very wise, as his partner pointed out.

"Not yet!" another being nagged annoyed at his companion's haste. "If you go now, that stupid bat will definitely hear you. Wait until they are completely off the island, then you can go grab it."

"If you would have let me grab that stupid mutant fox we could have gotten it with one of his contraptions!" the first voice argued.

"He would not have helped you. He is the hedgehog's best friend and ally. Not to mention the two that just left."

The two bickered mutely, finally deciding that they would grab the "Orange Furball" and have him invent a deadly weapon, and then steal the Emerald. However, this could not be done in one day, they knew. The child was a prodigy, being a genius in mechanics and all, but he did have his limits.

~*~

"Sonic, where's Amy?" asked Rouge as she glided over the landscape, landing directly in front of the train that would take them to Station Square.

Knuckles set him down as the hedgehog was about to speak. "She's out mall - crawling. She'll be at the beach after she'd done. I called her and told."

Knuckles and Rouge looked at each other. "How come you didn't go with her?" Knux inquired.

"Had to help Tails with the Tornado 2." The blue hedgehog replied before stepping onto the train.

"Oh," His two friends followed. They were on the train for a while, until Sonic spotted Tails flying in the direction the train was going. He rolled down the window.

"Hey! Tails! C'min here!" he shouted. Tails heard him, and looked over. He was glad to see Sonic there in the train. The orange kitsune was barely able to fit through the window, but he did manage to squeeze through.

"Hi, Sonic!" he turned and saw Rouge and Knuckles there too. This shocked the young fox.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Sonic invited us to a day at the beach, and lunch, and then chao world." Knuckles replied.

"Did cover the Master Emerald?" Tails asked.

Rouge slapped her forehead. "I KNEW I forgot something!"

"Would you relax? Eggman's gone, remember?" said Knuckles.

"Yeah, but there's always evil out there somewhere. And anyone would want the Master Emerald Knux. It's really powerful, and I don't think anyone could resist a jewel that big."

"They don't know how to get up onto the island though." Knuckles reasoned.

"But let's say they were already ON the island! Eggman, or someone just like him could get up there easily!"

The red echidna grabbed her hand tightly. "Don't worry, just have a little fun. You'll see, it'll be there when we get back." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"I hope so. I don't want to have to go through having to collect all the shards if you destroyed it. Again." She added as an afterthought. Sonic snickered.

"Wow, Knux, I thought you said Eggman smashed it. I never thought you could be so careless."

"Oh shut up." Knuckles punched his arm playfully. They arrived soon enough at the Station Square train station, and headed in a beeline toward the beach. Once there, they wondered what to do.

~*~

"Well?"

A tall, vast figure stood in the hallway of his base. This was Dr. Alchmez, alchemy being his number one favorite past - time, along with collecting the Emeralds. The doctor's interest in creating gold from lead began when he was but a child. He had always been fascinated by what his father could do, and wanted to do it for himself. He differentiated from his father in many ways though. One of the reasons he hated his dad was because he had used them for the good - or pleasure, rather - of the human race, and was famous for it too. He himself never really had fit in, always being the oddball in school. Then in high - school and college he had been made fun of by his fellow classmates for being such a science whiz. Well, now he would show them. He had the ultimate plan to get his revenge on those who mocked him, and all the others while he was at it.

His minions, however, were very intelligent, and sometimes he worried that they would overpower him. One of them he had picked up just recently. The man had landed right in front of his station, and looked to be both electrocuted and burned. He had turned him to gold, like his other subordinate was, and now he served Alchmez. The other, well, the other was once just his sister, whom he loathed tremendously, and so he transformed her too. He had told his mother that Marigold was missing, and she had gone into hysterics.

"We were not able to get it master," sneered the newest member. "Marigold would not stop complaining about how we should have waited - "

Alchmez held up his hand for silence. "Did I ask for an excuse?"

Both the gold ones shook their heads silently.

"I will not tolerate failure again, do you understand me? Those two jewels are KEY to our successful mission, understand?"

They bowed. "Yes master."

"Good, now get out of my sight!"

~*~

Sonic flipped over on his back, tanning. His friends couldn't understand why he was doing so, there was not enough sun to tan, but just enough to go surfing or swimming without freezing much. Knuckles and Rouge built a sand castle together, while Tails and Amy went swimming. They decided to have lunch after about two hours at the beach, and found a cool new restaurant with excellent fried foods, and, soon after, visited their chao. Each whistled, and about five or six chao came up to them.

"Mommy!" Diamond cried, "There's a new chao here!"

"Really?" Rouge responded, "Who?"

Her other chao shifted. "Well, it's not named yet. . . "

"Why not?" Knux inquired.

"Uh. . ." all six chao muttered uneasily.

"Okay, that's it, Storm, spill the beans." Tails demanded gently.

"But - "

"HunterbredachaowithSkye!" Diamond blurted out suddenly.

Knuckles' mouth dropped open. Rouge's reaction was equal to his. Hunter and Skye slumped down. Sonic snickered, and Amy giggled.

"Some relationship, even your chao are mating."

"Oh be quiet." Rouge scolded.

After a while of playing with their chao, Knuckles and Rouge went to name the new chao, while everyone said their goodbye's and left.

"So, what do we name him?" Asked Knuckles.

"Her," Rouge corrected.

"Whatever." Knux smirked as he carried the newborn.

"How about Amethyst? It IS a purple chao after all."

Her boyfriend stared at her. "Are you hooked on jewels or what?"

"Always have been."

So it was settled, they took the chao to the fortune teller, and she was named Amethyst. ~*~

So? How was it? You guys, PLEASE review! I miss ya'll! PLEASE? ( I'm sorry; I just had to put that lil chao thing in there, for my humor, and my sense of romance. I'm stupid, I know. I wouldn't be surprised if you flamed me for it. Til next one peepz! C'ya!

~Rainie~