Okay I know I haven't updated for a while, please don't kill me! My parents decided at the end of summer to rush us all over the place on last minute vacations. Oh, and I start school tomorrow. Junior Year. AARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!! This is the hardest year of high school, and at my school it's the year from hell. So if I go for long periods of time without updating please go easy on me, I'm getting a TON of school work.

Disclaimer: Try as I may I do not yet own those furry little creatures known as Sonic and co. But I see nothing wrong with having them over as guests for an interminable period of time.

Chapter 5: Meet the Chaotix

Kim woke slowly the next morning, the scent of dew greeting her nostrils. She stretched out, uncurling from the ball she had slept in, and took a look at the morning light-bathed Angel Island. She sighed and put her head down on her arms again, she didn't think she would ever get over how beautiful the sight was.

"Takes your breath away doesn't it?" Knuckles asked, coming to stand next to her.

"Sure does," said Kim, standing up. She stood up, stretching out again to get rid of the last stiffness that sleeping on the ground had brought.

"Breakfast?" Knux asked, handing over a plate of cooked fish he had caught earlier. Kim grinned, she loved fish. She polished off her breakfast quickly, Knuckles laughing quietly with how quickly she was eating.

"I take it you like fish," he chuckled. Kim just grinned.

After she finished Kim followed Knuckles back to the lake. As soon as they reached it Kim dove in, happily splashing around. She saw some fish darting through the water and tried unsuccessfully to catch them. She's stay still and let the fish get close, then she'd lash out for them, but the fish were always faster. Finally she gave up, swimming back for shore to be greeted by the laughing Knuckles.

"Just keep practicing," Knuckles said, ruffling her hair. After a while they headed back for the shrine. Kim flopped down in front of the master emerald, watching the sun's light dance patterns across it. She stared into the jewel's center, feeling a little unnerved, as if she was staring into the deep ocean with no knowledge of what lurked beneath the surface but feeling that there was something there. Something, whether good or bad she didn't know, but it felt as if something watched her.

"You know, the color isn't going to change no matter how long you look at it. It's always going to be green."

Kim snapped her head away from the emerald, jumping some ten feet in the air and doing a weird pirouette to land facing whoever had spoken behind her. She sound herself staring at a red shelled armadillo, who was now holding his hands in front of him, a friendly grin on his face.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Relax a bit, I don't bite. Name's Mighty," he added, holding out a hand which Kim took gingerly. "Knux-man tells us you're new around here." Kim smiled shakily. That had to be the understatement of the century.

"Well, lets just say I'm new," she replied. "I'm Kim."

"Pleased to meet ya!" someone boomed from her right. Startled, Kim leapt up again, trying to flee sideways but wound up whacking into the master emerald. She furiously rubbed her head, which was starting to throb.

"You're scaring the girl Vec!" Mighty chastised the new arrival.

"Whoa, sorry 'bout that. I'll try ta keep things cool wit ya." Kim took a look at the speaker, he was a green crocodile with a pair of headphones perched on his head. His tail seemed to be twitching in time to the rhythm of whatever it was he was listening to, with or without his knowledge Kim had no idea. "Vector," the croc said, also shaking her hand. Kim decided she rather liked the chilled out croc. "Oh," Vector said, looking behind her. "Just so you perform another aerial feat and get another head injury, that's Espio the Chameleon behind you."

Kim turned, facing the emerald again. What was Vector talking about? There was no one there. Then before her disbelieving eyes the form of a purple chameleon appeared in front of her, having blended himself perfectly with the master emerald.

"Howdy," he greeted.

"And of course last but not least," Mighty said, pointing above her, "There's Charmy the Bee."

Kim turned again to come face to face with a young bee with a pair of goggles perched haphazardly on his head.

"Hiya!" Charmy greeted enthusiastically, transparent wings buzzing furiously to keep him aloft.

"Met the gang Kim?" Knux called. They all turned to greet Knux, who climbed the stairs quickly, his arms full of red fruit. "Formal intros," he announced. "Kim, the Chaotix, Chaotix, Kim." He dropped what he was carrying.

"Strawberries!" Kim cried out delightedly. Knuckles chuckled, gesturing for them all to dig in. Everyone sat in a loose circle, fingers soon stained red from the berry juice, laughing and joking with each other. Kim felt happy, glancing around with a grin. For the first time, she was fitting in. No stares, no hesitation, and best of all no taunting or cat calls. She was just accepted as part of the group.

They finished off the strawberries, happily licking the last of the juices from their fingers. Knux took another look around the group.

"Why don't you guys show Kim around the island?" he suggested. Kim was staggered by the speed with which the group dragged her off, leaving the laughing Knuckles behind.

They traveled for a while, giving Kim a whirlwind tour of the closest bit of the island. She had some fun racing Espio up and down the trees along the ways, the rest of the gang making bets as to who would win. Vector let her listen to his music at one point, and Kim found she liked it. It was mostly rock and roll, with a touch of metal thrown in here and there.

She tried flying with Charmy for a while, but couldn't stay in the air for longer than fifteen minutes at a time without needing a rest. Charmy urged her to practice while she was there and build up more stamina.

During the trip Kim explained how she had arrived in Mobius, from the morning in the park straight through to her arrival in Knothole Kingdom. Vector greeted her tale with a "that's whacked out," while the rest of the group performed flytrap imitations. They stood stunned when they heard the beginning, grinned at the Freedom Fighter's reactions, bristled at Geoffrey's outburst, and laughed when she told how she had slapped him.

They finally made it back to the temple just as the sun was setting, still laughing and joking like there was no tomorrow. Knuckles welcomed his 'little sister' back with a hug, ruffling her hair.

"Knux-man, this is quiet the girl we've got here," Vector announced, throwing an arm across Kim's shoulders. "Dis croc is down wit her." The group laughed, also expressing glee that she was there.

"We'll drop by again tomorrow," Mighty said, as the Chaotix prepared to leave. "We can show you the rest of the island."

"Great! I'll see you then!" Kim called after them, waving enthusiastically.

"I take it you had fun," Knuckles said dryly. He studied the young anthro, deciding that he and Sonic had been right. Away from so many people she was starting to loosen up, she wasn't so cautious and timid. He'd have to remember to thank the Chaotix for helping.

Alright, it was short, sue me. But I wanted to update tonight. I'll update again by this weekend. In the meantime, please read and review. More reviews inspire me to update faster!

Tails: Hey Kim, can we let Sonic out of the house? He's running up the walls. Literally.

Me: As long as he doesn't break anything.

CRASH!

Me: Alright, let him out!

Amy: I don't think he'll come back in...

Me: Sure he will: I'll just lure him in with chili dogs!

Everyone: --