Yay! I have reviewers! I'm really sorry about the whole non-reviewer thing for the person who did review. I had typed this chapter out a few days before I actually posted it and hadn't checked my reviews again before I did, so I didn't think to change that. Sorry.

Disclaimer: Much as I like to fantasize, I don't own any of the Sonic characters. (sniffle)

Chapter 4: Angel Island

"Isn't that plane finished yet fox?"

"I told you it'll be ready by tomorrow Knuckles! Now leave me alone and let me work or it won't be ready!"

Sonic and Kim stood on the sidelines as Knuckles and Tails bickered. It had been a week since Kim had arrived. Surprisingly, it hadn't been that hard to get people to accept her. The king had needed some serious convincing however, especially after catching a glance of Geoffrey's bloodied face. The skunk had needed a bunch of stitches and was now purposefully going out of his way to avoid Kim. Sonic also suspected that he was trying to badmouth her on the sly.

Kim was staying with Sonic and Tails, as was, grudgingly, Knuckles, who was impatient to get back home, which was why he was pestering Tails to finish fixing the Tornado.

"Knuckles! Leave me alone!" Tails screeched, finally snapping and hurling a wrench at the surprised echidna. Knuckles stomped back over to Kim and Sonic, rubbing his head, while the two on the sidelines cracked up. Knuckles scowled at Sonic and turned a mock-glare on his adopted 'little sister.' Everyone had been surprised by the brotherly affection that the usually stoic Knuckles showed for the young anthro. He had taken the young girl under his wing, fiercely patronizing anyone who treated her different. Kim had quite warmed up to her new 'older brother.'

"I can come tomorrow can't I?" Kim asked Knuckles.

"There is room in the plane for Kim, right Tails?" Knuckles asked. Tails glanced at him thoughtfully.

"I can build in a third seat later on, but for now I can jury-rig a harness for her. As long as Sonic doesn't mind wind surfing, that is."

Sonic snorted. "Do I ever do anything else?" he asked. Tails rolled his eyes and went back to working on the plane.

"Hey Knuckles?" Kim called, a little shyly.

"Yeah?"

"Can I, maybe, stay with you for a while? On Angel Island?" she asked hopefully. Sonic and Knuckles both glanced at her in surprise. "It's not that I don't like it here, I really do, but, people always stare at me, or whisper behind my back. You said that Angel Island is quiet, that the only others who live there are a few friends of yours. So maybe for a while, it'll be more peaceful, you know?"

Sonic thought she made sense. People did stare and talk, not without reason, they'd never seen anything quite like her but it was making Kim uncomfortable. Some quiet time on Angel Island would give her time to adjust to her new world. Knuckles apparently thought the same.

"Of course you stay a while. I might just enjoy some company in fact." He glared at Sonic, who was smirking. "Company that knows when to keep its big mouth shut!" he growled.

"Kim looked confusedly between the simmering Knuckles and the struggling-not-to-laugh Sonic.

"Don't even try to figure them out," Tails advised her. "You'll just give yourself a headache."

Kim threw her head back, letting the wind play havoc with her hair as the plane zoomed on. She laughed, loving the freedom of the skies. She could fly on her own, but her wings weren't completely developed yet and couldn't bear her weight for great distances, or travel all that fast yet.

Sonic, as predicted, was wind surfing on top of the Tornado. Knuckles was in the passenger seat in front of the gleeful Kim, trying hard not to be ill. Having chilidogs just before they left had definitely not been the best idea. He was going to murder Sonic as soon as they landed. If he could stand up, that was.

"Angel Island, dead ahead!" Tails called back to his passengers. Knuckles looked up in relief, glad to finally be back home. Kim peeked over in excitement.

"Oh, it's beautiful," she gushed. Knuckles heard her, just barely, and smiled, happy that she liked her first impression of his home island.

Within a half-hour they were safely landed, and Knuckles was trying both to throttle Sonic, and not lose his breakfast. Tails was giving the Tornado a cursory check over, and Kim was doing a flytrap imitation as she got her first close look at the Floating Island. She had never seen anyplace so beautiful!

Tails finally got sick of Knuckles and Sonic fighting and threw a rock at the two of them to get them to stop. They both looked up, first to glance at Tails, who was glaring at them, and then to see Kim, who was bubbling over with excitement.

"Oh, wow, I can't wait to explore! This place is so cool!" she exclaimed, having been deaf, blind, and dumb to the argument between echidna and hedgehog. Knuckles smiled indulgently, and Sonic tried to hide a fit of laughter at his expression.

"I'll show you around later," Knuckles said as Tails finished checking his plane. "Do you two want to stay the night?" Knuckles asked politely. Sonic seemed a little taken aback by the offer.

"We would, but we need to get back today. Who knows what'll happen if we're not there," he answered. Tails was fishing around for something, finally found it, and tossed it over to Kim, who caught it.

"Communication devise," Tails told her. "If you need anything, just give us a call."

Kim smiled. "Thank you. I'll do that. How long until you think you'll be back?" she asked.

"Couple weeks," Sonic answered. "We'll give you enough time to terrorize Knuckles, then we'll come get you." He grinned. "By that time things will probably have cooled down in Knothole." He walked over and gave the anthro girl a hug. "We'll see you before you know it okay?" He winked, then jumped in the passenger seat.

"See you soon Kim," Tails called. "Just call us if you need anything."

"Bye guys," Kim called, waving as Tails started the plane. She watched as they flew off, Tails doing a few fancy aerial maneuvers before straightening out the plane and heading home. When the Tornado was just a small spec Knuckles put a hand on Kim's arm to get her attention.

"We should get going now," he said. "I want to get to the temple before dark. Tomorrow I need to let the Chaotix know I'm back or I'll here hell from them."

"Who are the Chaotix?" Kim asked, following Knuckles as he made his way through the jungle.

"My friends," he answered. "There's Vector the crocodile, Mighty the Armadillo, Espio the chameleon, and Charmy the bee. They make quite a group. They can help show you around too." Kim nodded. They sounded like fun.

They walked for a while longer, Kim beginning to wonder just how big the island really was. They reached a lake after a while, and Kim let out a startled exclamation.

"You live in paradise," she exclaimed. "How deep is it?"

"It gets pretty deep in the center," Knuckles answered.

"I want to go swimming tomorrow!" Kim exclaimed. She dipped her hands into the water, swirling them around to create ripples. After taking a quick drink she stood up again. They were walking for only fifteen more minutes when they finally reached the shrine, just as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. The sun's rays caught the master emerald and made it shine with green fire. Knuckles smiled fondly as Kim let out a breath behind him. He walked up to the emerald and ran a loving hand over its side. Kim had followed him up the platform and hesitantly also reached out to touch it. Knuckles blinked. It could have been a trick of the light, but he could have sworn that the jewel had reacted to Kim's touch, glowing softly from within for a moment as if in welcome. Kim didn't notice.

The sun faded completely from the sky, and the island was bathed in darkness. Knuckles closed his eyes as a light breeze brushed through his fur. It was good to be home.

Another chapter done, and this one was rather pointless. Nothing happens. But it was an update. I'll update again real soon. The next chapter should be more exciting, and funny if I can do it. Yeah, funny. Okay, please read and review.