(SHADOW IS OWNED BY SONIC TEAM! AS IS SONIC AND THE GANG! ALTHOUGH Maria IS ALL MINE!)

In my version Knux and Tikal are not related, GOT THAT?

Phew.

"So, you said you needed help with something."

I picked Shadow up off the ground smiling.

"How kind of you to remember."

Shadow's fangs gleamed.

There's something about those fangs.

They make him seem so much more…

You were not just about to say attractive.

Well, I was talking about the fangs not Shadow in particular.

Although, Shadow is a bit…

Will you just shut up already!

I laughed.

"What?"

Shadow wasn't mad, just confused.

"Oh, nothing."

I looked upward using my hand as a visor.

"I thought it was your thoughts I heard."

I turned to see Tikal and Knux wearing more cultural clothing than the usual.

"You didn't hear that."

I said my eyes wide with fright but my mouth stretched across my face, smiling ear to ear.

"Hey, I already caught the fang conversation 3 years ago. This is all review."

Stella hid behind my legs.

"Little star, its okay. There's not a reason in the world to be shy of Tikal. She herself used to be shy. But, then again, Knux used to be quiet."

"HEY!"

Knux hollered.

I giggled.

"Stop giggling, you're giving me a head ache."

Shadow held his forehead.

"I'm not sure whether that's good or bad."

I smiled slyly.

"You never used to giggle; or at least not a lot."

Shadow said.

"Yes, well you and I didn't get two seconds alone together a lot."

I quickly regretted my saying that.

Shadow's face turned bright red.

'You just told him he makes you giggly!'

"Yeah, but give you five seconds and I doubt you'd ever stop giggling!"

Tikal laughed.

"Oh, shut up."

I blushed too.

"What are they talking about?"

Stella looked up at me.

"Nothing you are anyone else should ever find interesting."

I grumbled.

"Oh… They mean you're flirty."

"Why, why in the universe to I hire the smart ones?"

"Stop it, Tikal. Shadow and Maria won't even be holding hands for quite a while now."

Knux grinned maliciously.

"Shadie'll have ta give Maria a few seconds to cool off!"

He concluded by falling to the ground and laughing until tears streamed down he and Tikal's faces.

"Love birds."

I mumbled and picked up Stella.

"Hey!"

Knux and Tikal blushed in unison.

"Stop it. You guys make me miss…"

Sonic had our full attention.

"I didn't say it and don't expect me to!"

Sonic yelled.

"Miss who?"

I smiled.

"Does my little bro have a crush on a certain pink hedgehog back at home?"

"Stop it! I do not like Amy!"

"I GAVE UP OBSESSING OVER YOU YEARS AGO, SONIC! WILL YOU JUST LET IT GO!"

Amy was near by.

"I didn't say it, Maria did!"

Obviously the village she lived in was near by.

I squinted and Amy slowly came into few.

"Wow."

I said.

"Wow what? I can't see!"

Stella squirmed.

"The last three years have done wonderful things for your appearance!"

I yelled.

"Thanks, if only they had done a little bit better on my village's population."

Amy had sent me a letter saying she quit the Sonic Team and was elected mayor by her village when she got home.

"Who's your wolverine friend?"

Amy was with our group now.

"I'm Stella, and despite the fact that you're holding a giant hammer that scares the heck out of me I will greet you showing no fear whatsoever."

Stella smiled.

"What'd she say?"

"That means she's Stella, put down the mallet."

"Oh."

Amy dropped her hammer and shook Stella's hand.

"So you said your village's population has suffered too?"

Shadow was into interrogation mode.

"Yes, actually."

Amy's eyes went dark.

"A bunch of them have disappeared."

Shadow and Sonic looked at each other.

"Another attack."

Shadow shook his head wearily.

"What attacks! What's going to happen to my people?"

Amy became frantic.

Sonic explained what had been happening for the past few months.

By the end of his explanation Amy was in tears.

"So you mean to say, my people are either dead or mind-wiped?"

Amy sobbed.

"Yeah, that's basically the gist of it."

Sonic said.

"Don't be so harsh."

I commanded.

"Well it's true!"

"That doesn't mean you have to tell her that!"

"Guys! Guys!"

Shadow tried to calm us down.

"It does us no good to fight right now."

"Whatever."

Sonic and I agreed to disagree.

"Siblings."

Shadow mumbled.

"Speaking of siblings, guess whose sibling you left in the Sahara desert to die!"

I knew that voice.

"Not you."

Shadow moaned.

Xipho, Shadow's older brother, was covered from head to toe with sand.

"You left him in the Sahara desert?"

I looked at Shadow.

"You would've too, if you had known what he said!"

"What'd he say?"

"Go ahead, tell her, Shadow."

"I'd really rather not say."

I was perplexed by Shadow's behavior.

"Okay, whatever."

I put Stella down.

"Hey! Who's your…?"

"Friend? Yeah. Xipho meet Stella, Stella meet Xipho. Intro over. So…"

I turned around.

"Where the heck is everybody?"

"On the ship, why?"

Shadow wasn't looking at me.

He was looking at the sky probably trying to crack this mystery.

"Stella still has others to meet."

"The ship is about one kilometer that way."

Shadow pointed to my right.

"Ya know what, I'll go with. I need to look up somethin' on my pc."

Shadow, Stella and I headed off.

I could hear a bit of mumbling in the background.

I only caught a few words.

"But I don't want to leave you…"

Knux.

"Go on. I need a spy."

Tikal.

"I need someone I trust with my sister."

Sonic.

"HEY GUYS, WAIT UP!"

Knux hollered.

When we got to the ship we found that it was utter chaos.

"Eek!"

Haley cried as a statue flew toward her head.

"Tails!"

Cream's eyes showing intense hatred for the teenaged fox.

"What is it?"

Tails seemed quite annoyed.

"You almost hit Haley with that!"

Cream hollered.

"Oh, sorry Haley, I was aiming for Cream."

Haley ran off down the hallway to her room.

"What the crap is your freakin' problem!"

Maria looked at Knux.

"Yeah, she says freakin' and crap now."

Knux frowned.

"At least she doesn't say the things you say when you get mad."

Knux nudged Shadow.

"Again, you would've too if you knew what he had said."

"My problem is that I can't work with dodge balls flying right and left."

"A. IT WAS VOLLEYBALL! B. AT LEAST WE DIDN'T THROW A STATUE AT YOU! Luckily you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!"

"Say that to my face you big eared nuisance!"

"I AM saying it to your face!"

"What the heck?"

Stella said.

"Oh. We have company."

Cream stopped flying and picked up her volleyball.

"It seems we do."

Tails put down his laser.