Oops, I accidentally uploaded the wrong chapter earlier. I'm really sorry for the mistake, I got confusticated with my chappie titles. So anyway, the real chapter 4. Enjoy.

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"Knuckles, are you all right?" The Guardian opened his eyes to see Blaze standing over him, a look of concern on her face.

"Fine," he grunted, but in fact his body hurt like heck. He wondered what the girls were doing here, until he remembered that he had called them over too.

"Some hedgehog was attacking you," Blaze explained. "I managed to scare him off, but you were imprisoned in something. It took a few hours for it to wear off.

"It wasn't just any hedgehog," Knuckles and Blaze turned their attention to Ciel, who had come with the girls. "That was my brother, Gemini."

"I figured that," Knuckles said. "And you're Ciel, right?"

"How do you know my name?" Ciel asked, taken aback.

"The Master Emerald," Knuckles replied. "Now, has anyone seen-"

"Sonic!" All heads turned as a blue hedgehog was seen, and Amy ran up and glomped him. Behind the blue hedgie were Tails and Shadow. Upon seeing the latter, Ciel's ears pricked up.

"Lex!" he cried happily, embracing his "brother" in a hug. Shadow stared at him oddly.

"I...think you have the wrong hedgehog," Shadow muttered.

"No I don't!" Ciel replied. "You're Lex, I can tell. You look exactly like him. Wait 'til I tell Gemini I found you!"

"Wait, you know that hedgehog?" Shadow asked, as Ciel let him go.

"Of course I do," Ciel answered. "He's our brother, remember Lex?"

"The name is Shadow, not Lex!" Shadow yelled, causing everyone to stare at him. Ciel's eyes widened.

"Lex is...Shadow?" Ciel said, looking confused. "So, you ended up as the Ultimate Lifeform?" The black hedgehog nodded.

"Now, I must ask," Shadow began, "how do you know me?" The winged hedgehog's ears drooped, looking at his boots sadly.

"Don't you remember Lex, I mean Shadow?" Ciel asked. "Gemini and I are your brothers. The Proffessor created us all on the Ark, remember?"

"I remember everything except you two," Shadow explined. "Maybe you're head was messed with kid, but I am the only hedgehog Gerald created. Me. Maybe you're one of the Shadow Clones Eggman created, because there's no other explanation I can think of. I was the only one." Ciel was silent at this, looking almost about to cry.

"...Do you remember Maria?" Shadow's eyes widened at the question. Everyone looked confused except for Rouge, who was the only one who knew about Maria from Gerald's computer diary.

"How do you know Maria?" Shadow asked through gritted teeth, grabbing the yellow-striped hedgehog by the collar of his shirt. "What do you know of my past that I don't already know?"

"Alright, cool it you two!" Rouge yelled, seperating the two hedgehogs. "There's no reason to be making accusations or fighting. We can sort this out later."

"I agree," Knuckles said. "Look, I called you all here because I have a message from Tikal and Chaos.You should see it first, and then we can figure out what all's going on. No offense Shadow, but I think that Ciel might be right. I just got attacked by this 'Gemini' fellow a few hours ago."

"He must have had a reason," Ciel muttered, though no one replied. Soon, they were all headed up to the emerald shrine, each absorbed in their own thoughts.

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"Master Emerald, begin message." Knuckles ordered. The gang was now at the Master Emerald alter, the emerald now beginning to glow with a green light. All eyes were on it, and unknown to the others, Gemini was also watching from a distance. The Master Emerald's glow softened, and the image or a light orange echidna and the watery god of the chao appeared onscreen.

"Greetings to all. I assume by the fact that you are viewing this to mean that Knuckles has successfully gathered you all here. Chaos here has supplied me with a warning to give to you." Tikal cleared her throat, while everyone kept their ears open to what was to be said next.

"There will be an attack. Dark energy, magic that has not been seen for many years. He is known as Gemini. He doesn't wish to use them for evil, but his intentions shall be twisted away from what he means to do. There is another, called Ciel. No matter what side he prefers, he shall end up following his brother, and will become a threat to all of you. Be on your guard, especially you, Shadow. Both of these two will end up against you for reasons you do not remember. Only be dealing with these two 'projects' can you get the rest of your past in place. Play your cards right, and you may be able to get them back to your side." The echidna girl sighed, looking at her watery companion. "Chaos, there is something else, isn't there?" The watery beast stared at her, Tikal's eyes widening. "What? What do you mean, I-" The image faded, and the glow dimmed until there was none at all.

"It seems that Chaos terminated the message at that point," Knuckles said, "So that's it. Now, what I'm wondering..." Knuckles faced Ciel, who looked confused.

"Me? A threat?" Ciel asked. "I wouldn't hurt you guys."

"And how do we know that?" Shadow asked. "Sorry, but I don't exactly trust you after hearing that message." Ciel shook his head.

"I wouldn't hurt you guys, promise! You guys are all friends of my brother, and the girls were all really helpful when I got lost. I wouldn't hurt you guys ever!"

"It doesn't matter whether you would willingly hurt us or not," Knuckles retorted, "Didn't you hear what she said? Gemini would end up turning you against us! So, I'd keep quiet if I were you, fangface." Ciel looked sadly at away.

"Mr. Knuckles, Mr. Shadow, look what you did!" Cream cried. "You hurt his feelings. That's not a very nice thing to do, even if he is an enemy."

"No I'm not," Ciel said. "Well, if you guys hate me that much, I guess I'll leave." Ciel slowly started to walk away, but then he stopped to look at Shadow. "I think it maybe I was mistaken. Lex was never that mean. Maria didn't teach us that way." A shrill whistle sounded through the air, as a black blur sped by.

"Okay you freaks, Ciel's coming with me," Gemini said. "And I wouldn't listen to the little echidna girl. No one, and I mean no one, is going to change my mind but me. That's because I should be the true Ultimate Lifeform. Come on, Ciel."

"Okay then," Ciel said, starting to flap his wings. "Bye Cream! Bye everybody!" With that, the two hedgehogs ran off, until all that could be seen was a speck on the horizon. Shadow just watched, his mind still filled with that parting sentance.

"Maria didn't teach us that way." Did that mean...were the two 'projects' what they said they were?

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Poor Shadow. I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Next chapter, I'm kinda' stuck, so I need your help! The gang's going after a Chaos Emerald, but I don't want to make it underwater like last time. So, loyal reviewers (and other reviewers,) what kind of area do you think the emerald should be in? The winner will have the area they picked in the story! So, tell me what you think, and I'll see you all Thursday!