Okay, its been like, 4 or 5 days since I originally typed this, but summer vacation makes me a bit lazy. Anyway, for those of you who may not have liked Nova stealing the spotlight, I don't plan on giving him an extremely huge role throughout the rest of the story. And I've also realized I've neglected a few characters, so I'm gonna work on that. To those who reviewed, thanks, and have a cookie. If you didn't, what are ya waitin' for? No review means no cookie!

Chapter 4: Reunion and Realization

"Blaze!" Cream shouted joyfully, running up to her. "Its so great to see you again!" Blaze hugged her young friend, smiling.

"Its great seeing you too! But... how did you get here?" Blaze asked.

"Well, after you left, I thought I would make a machine that lets us travel to other dimensions," Tails explained. "And, obviously, it worked!"

"I see.. and who are they?" Blaze asked, pointing to Shadow, Rouge, Espio, Charmy, and Vector.

"My name is Rouge the Bat, treasure hunter extraordinare!" Rouge exclaimed proudly.

"Hmph!" Shadow grunted, crossing his arms across his chest. "My name is Shadow."

"I am Espio," the chameleon answered shortly.

"I'm Charmy! Whee!" Charmy shouted, flying in random directions over everyone's heads. Vector was nodding his head to his headphones, oblivious to the current situation.

"Vector!" Espio said, nudging the croc. "Introduce yourself!" Vector snapped back to reality.

"Hmm? Wha? Oh, yeah. My name is Vector, leader of the Chaotix Detective Agency!" Vector exclaimed. Blaze nodded in acknowledgment to each person's introduction.

"So, now that you've met everyone, how about we get going?" Sonic asked. "I don't really like just standing around here."

"Okay. Follow me." Blaze answered. Everyone did so, following her until they saw what looked like a temple. "Here we are: The Sol Emerald Shrine."

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Sonic and Blaze were sitting together, discussing what had happened in the last few weeks.

"So, has Nega been keeping ya busy?" Sonic asked.

"No, actually. That was the first I've seen of him since we've returned," Blaze answered. "I think he is plotting something. But what?" Sonic dismissed this with a wave of his hand.

"Well, whatever it is, you're more than a match for Nega. Besides, if things get tough, we're here to help!" Sonic said, grinning. Blaze returned the smile.

While Blaze was busy talking to Sonic, Rouge snuck over to the Sol Emeralds.

"This is too easy! Seven jewels, and they're all mine!" Rouge thought, smiling to herself. As she reached out to grab one, it suddenly glowed with an intense light, and Rouge quickly pulled her hand away, the emerald's energy burning her hand. "Ow!" she shouted in pain, before quickly covering her mouth. This caught Blaze's attention.

"Rouge, what are you doing?" Blaze asked, a hint of anger in her voice. "Were you trying to take the Sol Emeralds?"

"What? No! Whatever gave you that idea?" Rouge answered, her voice calm. "Its just that, being a treasure hunter and all, I'm interested in jewels. I merely wished to examine them, thats all."

"Yeah right," Knuckles thought. "And you just wanted to "examine" the Master Emerald before, I suppose?" Knuckles was about to say something, but then changed his mind.

"Well... all right. But do not go near them without my permission, understand?" Blaze asked Rouge. The bat just nodded, and Blaze returned to her conversation with Sonic.

"That was close," Rouge thought. "I have gotta be more careful!"

"Hey, did anyone just hear something?" Shadow asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Hmm... I'm gonna take a look." Shadow said, walking back to the entrance of the shrine. A few moments after he left, Espio and Vector came running into the room.

"Guys, guys!" Vector shouted, his voice getting everyone's attention. "We have a problem!"

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"Well, me and Vector just realized something. What if Eggman attacks while we're gone? What if anyone attacks while we're gone?" Espio asked everyone. There was a brief silence, which was broken by Sonic chuckling.

"Is that it? If anything happens, Tails probably set something up to let us know, right buddy?" Sonic asked, turning to face Tails. Tails' face looked really nervous, and after a moment, he just looked at the ground. The smile on Sonic's face was replace by a frown, and everyone just stared at Tails, hoping for a positive answer. After a minute of silence, Shadow re-entered the room.

"Guess I was just hearing things," Shadow mumbled as he walked in. He then looked at everyone else, seeing them stare at Tails. He knew something bad had happened. There was another silence, finally broken by Shadow. He placed his palm on his forehead.

"...shit."


So ends another chapter. Hope ya liked it! I'll get to work on the next one... whenever I feel like it. Anyway, please review!