Guardian Angels

by KatherineTheMoth

After saving the Sol Dimension from being taking over by Battra, Kathy the Moth teleported him and herself to Sonic's dimension where she will stay there as her new home dimension and protect it from Battra and from other evil forces. By Battra's meddling, Kathy had crash-landed on Angel Island and was found by Knuckles. But little did he realize that he had found Mothra herself.

1. The Queen Has Arrived

Guardian Angels

S1: Ep1: The Queen Has Arrived

Disclaimer: All Sonic characters are owned by Sega. All monsters mentioned in this story are originally owned by Toho Co., Ltd. My main OCs (Kathy the Moth, Klara the Moth, and Battra the Moth, yes, even Battra himself) are based on the Toho monsters of "Mothra" and "Battra". The monsters' appearances will be altered in my adaptation of the Toho monsters in the Sonic universe. Also, the setting in the story takes place in the Sonic X universe, post-Season 3. It is also after Sonic Lost World. P.S. This story will refer to many songs in some chapters. You don't have to listen to them if you don't want to. I just added them there all for the sake of aesthetic and theatrical purposes. So, pay them no mind. P. S. S. Do not be turned away by the really long chapters. Future chapters get significantly shorter than this. I originally wanted to create full-length episodes, but due to how long they were, I cut them down into parts in the newer episodes. I apologize for this, but please take your time into reading these chapters. It's still interesting regardless. Anyways, enjoy!

---

...The only person who could truly love me is a monster. That is all. Monsters can't be beautiful. If someone had told me that they are in love with me, then they are either delusional or...they are a monster themselves. A monster is...someone who I truly deserve because secretly...I'm one of them too.

---

[Five Months Later]

It was five months later after the day Knuckles had thought that. He had sworn in his heart that he would be alone forever. Nothing had changed ever since that day. Well, just another foiling of Dr. Eggman's schemes like that Lost Hex incident for example, but nothing extraordinary mind you. What's even more disappointing in his mind, however, was that he still hadn't found any answers to his own questions. Questions such as: What does it mean to be a "guardian"? What should a guardian do as one? And what is the point in protecting something anyway if someone else could do a better job than him?

Those were the questions that Knuckles had been struggling with for many months after that Metarex incident. It was even then that he had realized why he was so miserable while he protected the Master Emerald and his home, Angel Island, in the first place. …...It was basically a prison, not a home. Knuckles was really a prisoner doing his duties as a "guardian" as a form of punishment made by Chaos himself. Knuckles was the unfortunate soul who had to carry out his duty as the island's "protector" due to his ancestors' sins. He may have been depressed for at least six years, but this terrible revelation had made his depression even worse. He is fully aware of his depression now and has no idea how to resolve it.

However, he had kept his depression a secret from everyone because he doesn't trust anybody enough to help him feel better about himself. He refuses to show weakness towards anybody, and that's probably why he never goes to his so-called "friends" for help. So, to cover up his depression, he is often angrier than usual as a part of his mask. Either that or he often remains quieter than usual in social situations. He was successful into convincing his "friends" that he's fine, and they had never suspected his different behavior, not even once. They haven't even realized that Knuckles was being more inattentive to his Master Emerald since he's not at the altar as much as he used to in the past. Nowadays, he would be seen in certain places, standing around and meditating to himself in peace before either Sonic or his friends disturb him.

Speaking of which, he is doing that right now as he is busy standing in front of a pond in the middle of Leaf Storm Forest. He had his arms crossed, and his eyes were closed as he meditated again.

Sigh. What is with me today? I keep having the strangest sensation ever since I had woken up from my nap today. What is this strange, nagging feeling that I have? Is it like...an epiphany or something? This feeling...it's too ominous...too peculiar to be a coincidence. For some strange reason, I feel like...someone is thinking about me, and maybe...I was thinking about them too. But who was it that I'm thinking of? And what was...that dream all about? Hmmm...

Ever since Knuckles had woken up from his nap at 1 PM, he couldn't get that dream out of his mind. It was so baffling to him that he had left Angel Island to go contemplate about it. Part of his reasoning for leaving the island was because...the dream took place in Angel Island of course.

In his dream, Knuckles was lying on his back on top of the Master Emerald altar. H assumed that he was getting some rest since his body was trying to get comfortable again. He was busy looking at the dark clouds in his dream and had soon closed his eyes again. However, when he had done that, he suddenly heard a loud crackle as the Master Emerald was shooting green electricity into the sky above the island. His eyes were flung wide open, and he sat up immediately out of shock. Before he could react to the Master Emerald, he heard a loud screech that he had never heard before in his life. His head immediately snapped to his right and upwards towards the sky where he heard that screech. He could see the electricity hitting something in the sky. He couldn't process his thoughts since this whole event happened in like five seconds. He still heard more peculiar screeches as the Master Emerald kept attacking the thing in the dark sky. Soon, he saw some objects flying away from the thing and had disappeared a second later. He then saw the thing falling from the sky while the green electricity hit it a few more times before it had landed.

As Knuckles turned his head to follow the thing falling towards the ground, he saw some sparks coming off the thing's body since it was still being hit with electricity. He could see that the thing had crashed landed in Mushroom Hill, so, he quickly stood up, checked the Master Emerald first, and then ran there to see what had fallen into his island. Knuckles could see himself running in the forest while looking for the strange thing. Eventually, he did find the thing, however, it was blurry in his dream. All he could identify the thing was its beautiful colors of red, orange, yellow, black, white, and pink; and just when he was about to come closer towards the colorful thing, the dream transitions to one last image before he wakes up from his dream.

He saw two, innocent, gentle, yet surprised, light-blue eyes.

KABOOM!

Knuckles immediately woke up after hearing the loud thunder booming outside of his wooden shack. He felt shocked and a bit fearful after seeing that image in his dream. He had his hand on his chest while panting slowly as he sat in his bed. Sweat came down from his head as he felt really confused yet alarmed.

Just what was that? What was that dream all about? And why...does it feel important somehow? Hmmm...Maybe something troubling is going to happen today or even...tonight just like in that dream. Is it a warning? Or is it...something else?

Knuckles had pondered that for hours and still had those thoughts even now as he stood by the pond while he meditated. He can understand that something ominous could arrive here since it had been cloudy all day as it was about to rain at some point. He was surprised that it still hadn't rained yet. It was as if Mother Nature was teasing him by having some thunder roll by without having rain come down yet. He doesn't understand why that is though, however, at the same time, he couldn't care less about it because there are more important things that are on his mind currently.

There has got to be an answer. If I don't find the answers that I'm searching for, then my life has no purpose. I've been training myself my whole life just to protect something. But if it's not an emerald, then what is it? I...I want to feel useful to somebody...I want to find meaning in my guardianship...I...I want my life to be worth something in this world...If no one needs me, then why...why am I here?

Knuckles sighed as he brooded these depressing thoughts. He remembered trying to help Sonic and the others in the past such as defeating Metal Sonic or fighting the Black Arms for instance. He did admit that helping them was a good thing. He tried to search for his answers by going through those adventures, however, he still wasn't satisfied. He also went out of his way to do some kind deeds to strangers at times whenever he spots them during his walks. He helped them by either fetching them things, helping them get out of dangerous terrain or heights, protecting them from criminals, or helping them receive medical attention by taking them to a hospital or to his "friends'" homes whenever the need was urgent. He did all of that the most since Sonic nowadays takes Tails along for the rest of his adventures. So, he had plenty of time on his hands to do those good deeds.

Despite helping so many people, he still hadn't found any fulfillment in doing that either. He just never understood it. He saw so many people feel happy and grateful for his aid to them, yet he himself isn't happy. He tried protecting the world with Sonic and his friends, and he tried helping others. Yet...it all ends in the same way. Unfulfilled and unsatisfied.

Just what am I missing here? Knuckles brooded calmly with a sad frown on his face as he opened his eyes halfway and stared at his reflection in the pond.

He kept brooding while looking depressed. I've tried so hard to be a hero to others just to find meaning in my life, and yet, I've only come up empty-handed! I've even helped the Chaotix plenty of times such as solving mysteries with them and catching crooks too! I've done all of that and yet...none of that even matters to me in the end. Why? Is it because I only see myself as nothing but a prisoner that I don't see the point in helping others? Also, since I'm a prisoner...am I not supposed to be happy because of my ancestors' guilt? Maybe...Maybe that is the true purpose of being a guardian of the Master Emerald. If you're a guardian of that emerald, then you must bear the guilt of your ancestors and never think that you can have a happy and fulfilled life outside of that. If that is the case, then...should I force myself to accept that? Do I have to accept that reality? A hopeless reality without any joy or satisfaction? No! I...I can't accept that! If I did, then anything that I do is meaningless! There must be another answer than that! There must be! There...must...be...

Knuckles grimaced when he tried picturing himself accepting that possible reality. He can feel his heart breaking into two and feeling as if he had fallen into the deepest despair of all. He shuddered as he thought of that scary, cold reality. He then opened his eyes fully as he stared at the pond. He can see the grey clouds in the pond as well as his sad reflection. The reflection in the pond is very accurate to what he's feeling now. It may be quiet and peaceful on the outside, but his heart is in turmoil and ready to burst into a storm just like the weather is right now. Still, he must admit that he's surprised that no one has disturbed him today. He had been standing near the pond for over two hours, and no one has come by here at this part of the forest yet.

Although...he might've thought of that a little too soon.

"Hey, Knuckles! What are you doing standing around here for? Heh. Seems like you got plenty of time on your hands if you've been able to do that while being away from your emerald," Sonic muttered calmly yet brightly in amusement with a huge smile and with playful eyes as he stood a few feet behind Knuckles.

Knuckles jolted slightly as he heard Sonic speaking to him. He then turned his head back to look at him while having his back turned. Of course, my solitude is broken thanks to this loud-mouthed idiot. Knuckles brooded calmly yet grimly in annoyance with a solemn frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he stared at Sonic.

"Hmph," Knuckles grunted calmly and shrugged casually as a response.

Sonic had his hands on his hips while having a slightly amused look on his face as he calmly yet playfully replied in amusement, "Really? Is that all you have to say to me, Knuckles? Not a 'hi'? Or a 'what is it now, Sonic?'? I mean. You usually respond to me like that. Besides, that's more of Shadow's thing than-".

"Get on with it, Sonic. Why are you here?" Knuckles interrupted calmly yet irritably in frustration with a grimace and with furrowed eyebrows while glaring coldly at Sonic as he felt annoyed already.

Sonic playfully rolled eyes while grinning widely in amusement as he answered calmly yet a bit sarcastically, "Okay, Mr. Grumpy-pants, since you're in such a good mood today, I'll get straight to the point. Ms. Vanilla is throwing Amy a farewell party since she is going on a solo trip to Adabat for summer vacation. She just wanted you to come to her house along with Tails and me just to wish Amy well and give her good luck on her trip. It won't be long. I promise".

There is that line again. It's not like I hadn't heard that one before. Knuckles brooded calmly yet sarcastically in exhaustion with a solemn frown as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Sorry, Sonic, but you can count me out. I'm busy," Knuckles calmly declined with a solemn frown as he shook his head "no".

"'Busy'?! What do you mean by 'busy'?! Look at you! You're standing around here doing nothing! You're like a cardboard cutout or something! You've been standing so still the entire time when I got here!" Sonic exclaimed in surprise and in confusion with a little frown and with a lowered eyebrow while having his hands out as he stared at Knuckles.

Knuckles' eyes went wide in surprise as he pondered curiously in shock and in confusion. Was he...standing there the whole time while watching me brood?! How long was he standing there?!

Knuckles turned around fully while still wearing a surprised look on his face as he exclaimed in shock and in confusion, "What?! You were watching me?! Why?! And how long were you doing that for anyway?!".

Sonic smirked teasingly as he calmly answered in amusement, "About ten seconds".

Knuckles then face-palmed himself as he muttered calmly yet quietly in annoyance, "Why did I fall for that?".

Sonic shook his head while smiling gently as he calmly replied in amusement, "You really can't take a joke, can ya? But anyways, I'm serious, Knuckles. What reason do you have for not joining me and the others for a little party? It's not like you have anything else planned for today. Well, assuming that you don't that is".

Knuckles sighed as he placed his hand down and stared at Sonic with a solemn expression on his face while replying calmly yet quietly in sadness until he looked down to the ground in the end, "...Yes, you're right that I don't have any plans for today. However, I'm just busy because...I have a lot on my mind lately".

Sonic then raised his eyebrows in surprise of this. Judging how Knuckles had phrased his last sentence, he could deduce that what Knuckles is thinking of is rather serious. He frowned a little in sadness as he calmly asked in concern while looking slightly worried, "Knuckles? ...Is something wrong?".

"..." Knuckles was silent as he didn't want to answer that question. He instead crossed his arms and looked away from Sonic as a response. Sonic frowned even further in sadness as he saw that he wasn't getting through to Knuckles. He then walked up to him and grabbed his shoulders. Knuckles suddenly looked back at Sonic in surprise of this action.

While looking surprised, Knuckles muttered calmly yet curiously in confusion, "Sonic...Why are you-?".

"Just listen to me for a moment, okay, Knuckles?" Sonic replied calmly yet seriously in concern with a solemn frown as he interrupted Knuckles.

Knuckles can see that Sonic is looking even more solemn than before. So, he just nodded as he replied calmly yet slowly in understanding while having a little frown on his confused yet surprised face, "O-Okay...Go on".

Sonic sighed a bit before he replied calmly yet solemnly in concern while having a grave look on his face, "(Sigh)...Look, I don't know what is going on inside that head of yours, Knuckles. But I think that it is best if you try to get your mind off of it for a little while. I don't know what you're feeling, and you might not tell me what it is. However, you should try to hang out with us for a bit. Maybe just being at the party could cheer you up. We care for you, Knuckles. I also care for you. I...I just want you to be happy. We all want you to be happy. So, please try...Please try to come to the party with us. It's the least that we can do for you".

Knuckles didn't respond but simply stared into Sonic's solemn yet pleading face as he calmly brooded in sadness. I...I wish that I could believe that, but I...I just can't. I don't trust any of you guys. Everyone always has some kind of ulterior motive behind their actions. Even you, Sonic. You may act nice and be sympathetic towards me, but you want something from me. Your friends want something from me. You may say that you care for me, but I...I just can't see it. I've been used multiple times before...and I've never seen anyone reciprocate my thoughtful actions with their own. I always feel like others demand more from me even when they have given me something.

Sure, I may come to this party to relax, but I bet that later you're going to use that against me when I refuse to do something that I don't want to do; and I am done being someone's puppet. My bad experience with Rouge had been enough, and I don't want to have another bad experience like that ever again. I may have known you and Tails for a long time now, but I still don't trust either of you or your friends. I'm...I'm done with that.

…...

It was silent as Sonic kept staring solemnly into Knuckles' eyes while Knuckles stared back with some dull-looking eyes. Knuckles then replied calmly yet quietly in understanding after the brief silence while frowning solemnly and while nodding a little, "Alright, I'll come, but...there is no guarntee that I'll stay very long. I might leave much sooner than you think".

Sonic smiled sadly as he released Knuckles' shoulders while replying calmly yet quietly in relief, "Aw well. It was worth a shot at least. But it's good to know that you're going to try, Knuckles. I suppose that I'll have to settle for that".

"Hmph. It seems that you will," Knuckles replied calmly in agreement with a solemn frown and with a nod as he stared at Sonic.

Sonic then smiled brightly yet widely as he gave a thumbs-up to Knuckles while exclaiming enthusiastically in amusement, "Well, let's go then! The party is about to start soon! Come on, Knuckles! Let's go!".

Knuckles sighed as he shook his head while he replied calmly yet tiredly in exhaustion with a solemn frown, "(Sigh)...Fine. We'll go now, but try not to annoy me as much, Sonic. My tolerance for you is like traveling across a thin tight-rope. It is not that much just to push me off".

Sonic grinned cheekily as he calmly yet teasingly joked in amusement, "Kind of like I could've pushed you into the pond this entire time but didn't".

Knuckles narrowed his eyelids at Sonic as he calmly warned in a low tone while frowning deeply in annoyance, "Do it now, and you're dead".

Sonic walked back while putting his hands in front of himself as he exclaimed in alarm with a worried yet sheepish look on his face, "Hey! Easy! Easy! It was just a joke! I wasn't planning on pushing you into the pond at all! Even I'm not that reckless!".

Knuckles smirked evilly and lowered his eyelids mischievously as he replied calmly in amusement, "A wise choice, Sonic. For once, you've used your head instead of your feet to make that decision. Besides, even if I did get pushed down into the pond, I'll just simply get back at you by dragging you in it if you had tried to help me get out of it".

Sonic gulped as he sweated a bit while he replied calmly yet awkwardly in sheepishness with a nervous look on his face, "Er...Yeah...It's a good thing that I wasn't feeling too cocky today because otherwise I would've regretted it...immediately".

Knuckles looked smug as he replied calmly in amusement, "And you would've...easily".

Sonic chuckled nervously with a sheepish look on his face as he looked away from Knuckles while replying awkwardly, "Heheheheh...Umm...Anyways...we should get moving now. I'm sure that Ms. Vanilla must be waiting for us to show up at her house. So, why don't we go now?".

Knuckles nodded in agreement as he calmly replied in understanding with a little frown on his face, "Very well. Lead the way, Sonic".

Sonic nodded as he turned around and walked towards the path that leads out of the forest. Knuckles followed behind Sonic as they both walked towards Vanilla's and Cream's house.

---

They were kept walking through the forest in silence for about ten minutes. Sonic had his arms behind his head as he was looking at the grey sky above. Knuckles was simply walking beside Sonic while looking at the trees on his right to avoid making eye contact with him. He then heard Sonic whistle before he had commented calmly, "Man, the weather seems rather dreary today. The weather report did say that it will rain today, but it looks like it will rain tonight".

Knuckles then looked at Sonic as he replied calmly yet curtly in annoyance with a solemn frown, "Really? Did you have to bring up the weather at a time like this?".

Sonic looked at Knuckles while having a sly grin on his face as he replied calmly yet coyly in amusement, "Well...I'm mean...Yeah. I thought that you would like the topic since you're mostly a boring person anyways, Knuckles".

Knuckles retorted calmly in annoyance with a deeper frown on his face, "Sonic, I'm not good at small talk. Even if I had to use small talk, I wouldn't use the weather as a topic".

"But Knuckles..." Sonic replied coyly in a teasing tone with a wider grin as he continued calmly in amusement, "It's perfect for you. You can get straight to the point and be done with the conversation in a matter of seconds".

Knuckles narrowed his eyelids and frowned even deeper at Sonic as he calmly replied in annoyance, "...And make the atmosphere even more awkward than it was before? Sorry, but no deal, Sonic".

Sonic frowned a bit and lowered his eyelids a little as he replied calmly in slight annoyance, "Well, what else can I talk to you about besides the weather?".

Knuckles rolled his eyes as he replied calmly yet sarcastically in annoyance with a solemn frown, "Well, why don't you tell me if you had gone on another adventure then as if you hadn't had enough of those lately?".

Sonic grinned widely in amusement even though he hadn't caught the sarcasm in Knuckles' tone as he exclaimed brightly in excitement, "Well, why didn't you say so?! I'll gladly tell you since you've been doing nothing but guarding the Master Emerald all day every day!".

Knuckles sighed tiredly while shaking his head as he brooded calmly in annoyance. Why don't you rub it while you're at it, you glory hog? It's not as if you hadn't brought me along to your adventures lately or anything. Oh, wait. Yes, you had. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, you've-

"How about I tell you all about my latest adventure in that Lost Hex planet?! I mean. Sure, it's been about two weeks since that incident, but it's still worth telling at least! Also, you weren't there on that planet! So..." Sonic exclaimed excitedly in amusement while he looked back up at the grey sky with a cocky smile on his face as he felt prepared to tell Knuckles the whole story.

-left me behind while you and Tails went to that Lost Hex planet. Sigh. Knuckles brooded calmly yet tiredly in annoyance with an unamused look on his face as he narrowed his eyelids at Sonic.

So, Sonic had told Knuckles the whole story about his adventure on the Lost Hex planet. Knuckles was half-listening and half-ignoring Sonic as he stared at the path ahead of himself. Sonic spoke for at least ten minutes as he told the story. He then finished calmly yet brightly in amusement with a cheerful smile on his face, "And after that, Dr. Eggman was out of commission for about two weeks now, and we hadn't heard from him since. Well, that was fun! Do you think that it was cool, Knuckles? Quite a wacky adventure, huh?".

"Uh huh. Yeah, sure, Sonic. Whatever you say," Knuckles muttered calmly yet absent-mindedly in agreement with a solemn frown and with half-lidded eyes as he stared at the grey sky now.

Sonic frowned a bit and lowered his eyelids while shrugging casually as he looked back at Knuckles and exclaimed in slight annoyance, "Dude, don't tell me that you think that story was boring! It was fun! You should've seen how weird those monsters looked like on that planet!".

Knuckles rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. Sonic frowned even deeper as he looked back at the sky again while continuing calmly in disappointment, "...Although...I'm not gonna lie. Now that I look back on it...those monsters...were kind of pathetic. I mean. I took them out easy-peasy! Also...they're not really threatening just by how they look. Honestly, they look like a group of misfits just by their looks alone. I mean. Sure, they had tried to suck out the life from our planet by using that machine, but they still weren't a threat to me personally; and that is saying a lot, especially since they had kidnapped my little buddy, Tails, and almost made him fight against me. It was...kind of underwhelming when I had fought those monsters. Yeah...Huh".

Knuckles still didn't say anything but kept staring at the grey sky with Sonic. Sonic then smiled gently as he continued calmly yet brightly in curiosity, "Man, it's kind of a shame really. I mean. If I had met a monster that is not only strong but could also talk, then that would be really cool! I mean. We had faced Chaos in the past, but he couldn't talk to us; and all of the other monsters after him were just big and strong, but they couldn't talk either. The closest thing that we had for strong, talking monsters was Dark Oak and the Metarex, but they were mostly in their robot armor the whole time. So...they don't count".

"Hmm..." Knuckles mused calmly yet quietly with a solemn look on his face as he silently agreed with Sonic there. Hmph. Never found a strong, talking monster, huh? Well, just look to your right, Sonic. I'm the closest thing to a monster that you could ever get. Knuckles brooded calmly in sadness while glancing at Sonic as he grimaced deeply in pain.

Sonic ignored this as he calmly yet brightly added in amusement with a playful grin, "Heh. Boy, wouldn't it be awesome to meet a monster like that, eh, Knuckles? That just sounds like an amazing adventure, huh?! Just imagine it. Facing a monster that could be even more powerful than you!".

What?! Knuckles thought in shock as his eyes went wide and as his mouth gaped when he heard this. Now, his attention was back at Sonic. "Ugh! Get real, Sonic! No monster could ever be stronger than me! I'll face that monster in a fight if I have to! I'll even make it sorry if it ever tried to cross me!" Knuckles exclaimed enthusiastically in annoyance and in valor with a solemn frown and with furrowed eyebrows while he glared hard at Sonic as he felt determined now.

Sonic just chuckled as he looked back at Knuckles before replying calmly yet coyly in amusement with a knowing grin and with a wink, "Heheheheh! Of course, you would say something like that, Knuckles. You always want to engage in a fight with anyone you meet, including monsters apparently".

"And what's so amusing about that?! Those monsters could be dangerous for all we know, and I'm not going to lose my life to them if they ever try to fight me! I'll just beat them first!" Knuckles yelled back in annoyance with a deep frown and with narrowed eyelids as he glared hard at Sonic.

"Heheheheh! Was that...your logic when Tails and I had first arrived at your island a long time ago? Did you think of us as monsters back then?" Sonic quipped calmly yet playfully in amusement with a teasing smile on his face as he chuckled some more.

"Well, yeah, since the Master Emerald was at risk of getting stolen by you two idiots! Anyone who dares to steal the most powerful jewel in the world and uses it is a monster in my book! I had never met anyone who would want to protect it like I would! They don't care about the emerald! Just like they don't care about...Never mind. Forget about it," Knuckles yelled back passionately in irritation before muttering bitterly yet quietly in annoyance as he glared hard at Sonic before looking away from him in frustration.

"Hmm? Is something wrong, buddy?" Sonic asked calmly yet curiously in confusion with raised eyebrows and with a concerned look on his face as he stared at Knuckles.

"Grrr! I said forget about it, Sonic!" Knuckles yelled back in annoyance with a deep grimace and with closed eyes while clenching his fists as he growled a bit.

Sonic stared at Knuckles for a moment in sadness, but he then smiled a little as he looked back at the grey clouds again and replied calmly in amusement, "You know, Knuckles. It's a little amusing how you think that monsters are evil just because you think that they will harm you".

Huh? Knuckles thought calmly in confusion as he looked back at Sonic with a bewildered expression on his face.

Sonic continued calmly yet brightly in amusement and in wisdom with a hopeful look on his face, "Besides, didn't I just say that it will be cool if we met a monster that can talk to us? You can't assume that every monster who talks is evil. I mean. We could meet a friendly monster who can help us! Who knows? It could even be another friend! Heh. The more friends the merrier as they say!".

Knuckles looked intrigued for a moment before he frowned deeply and looked down at the ground in sadness. Even if the monster was friendly, they would probably be more likely to hang out with you and your friends more often than with me. You and your friends have some kind of magnetism that attracts others to you rather than to me. So, I doubt that meeting this monster would be even worth it. Knuckles brooded calmly in sadness with a depressed look on his face.

"And Knuckles..." Sonic added calmly yet gently in concern as he grabbed Knuckles' shoulder while he stood still. Knuckles was a bit startled when he felt Sonic holding him back. He also stood still and looked at him in surprise.

When Sonic saw that he got Knuckles' attention, he then finished calmly yet gently in concern with a warm look on his face, "...You really shouldn't try to get into a fight with anyone that you meet. There are plenty of people who would want to be friends with you. Not everyone is out to get you. Including monsters. So, whenever you do meet a monster that can talk to you...instead of fighting it...why don't you try befriending it? You might just end up having a new friend that way!".

Knuckles' eyes went wide in response to Sonic's suggestion. He thinks that it's a little stupid to try to befriend a monster. For all the monsters that he and Sonic had seen, they know how destructive and dangerous they could be. How could Sonic say that now? And for what reason? Knuckles shook his head as he tried to ignore those questions. It's pointless. Those monsters would want to fight me anyway. They can't be trusted. Knuckles brooded calmly yet tiredly in sadness with a depressed frown and with downcast eyes as he dismisses Sonic's advice.

"Sorry, but no thanks, Sonic. I'm fine on my own," Knuckles replied calmly yet quietly in sadness with a little frown as he looked away from Sonic.

Sonic smiled sadly at Knuckles as he released his shoulder before replying calmly yet gently in understanding, "Aw, well. Suit yourself then, Knuckles. But someday you'll come around to that idea".

"'Someday'? Hmph. More like never," Knuckles scoffed calmly yet bluntly in bitterness with an annoyed frown and with an eyeroll as he kept looking away from Sonic.

Sonic grinned playfully in amusement as he teased Knuckles a little, "Oh, you will. Especially when you feel...lonely".

Knuckles then growled and yelled back in anger as he immediately looked back at Sonic while having an irritated look on his face, "Grrrrr! Sonic! I'm not lonely!".

"You're not right now! But you will!" Sonic exclaimed brightly yet playfully in amusement with a wide grin as he nudged Knuckles a little before he ran off.

"Grrrrr! Sonic! Get back here!" Knuckles yelled back in anger with another loud growl and with an irritated look on his face as he watched Sonic run away before he chased after him.

---

Sonic and Knuckles ran the rest of the way to Vanilla's and Cream's house. They ran for about five more minutes until they had arrived at the house. Sonic then yelled, "Hey! Guys! Look who I just brought!".

Tails, Amy, Cream, and Vanilla were at the backyard. Everyone besides Amy had set up the little party that was full of decorations and small gifts. They even set up a little picnic for the party. They all turned around and saw Sonic running towards them with Knuckles tailing behind him.

"Great job, Sonic! You even got Knuckles to join us!" Tails exclaimed happily with a smile as he ran towards Sonic. Sonic skidded to a stop and gave Tails a quick noogie as a way to welcome him.

"Heh! It was a piece of cake! Speaking of cake, is it ready yet?!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a grin as he lets go of Tails.

"Hahaha! It is! We're just about to have it once you had come back!" Tails replied with a grin and a chuckle as he looked behind Sonic to see Knuckles walking towards him and the group.

"Sweet! Now, that everyone's here, let's-OW!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a huge smile before Knuckles whacked him on the head. Sonic cringed as he clutched his head with his hands as a bump had formed on his head.

"Like I had said. I'm not lonely, Sonic," Knuckles replied dully as he stood beside Sonic while crossing his arms and having his eyes closed.

"Ugggh. Killjoy," Sonic muttered quietly with a grimace as he stepped a few feet away from Knuckles.

Tails smiled sheepishly as he ignored that while saying to Knuckles, "It's great that you had decided to come, Knuckles. I know how much you dislike social activities. So, this is rather kind of you to do something like this. I'm glad that you're here".

Knuckles shrugged as he replied calmly, "Well, I really don't have anything better to do. So, I suppose that this party will kill some time that I have for today. It's a win-win, I guess".

Tails smiled brightly as he exclaimed, "Yeah! Let's enjoy yourselves!".

Knuckles gave a half-smile as he calmly replied, "Hmph. You're right".

Knuckles and Tails both walked towards the outdoor table and sat on it. They both watched Sonic getting hugged to death by Amy as she exclaimed, "You're so sweet, Sonic! You even brought Knuckles along for my farewell party! Oh, I'm going to miss you so much while I'm on my trip! I hope that you have fun on your own without having your adorable girlfriend at your side!".

"Heheheh. Umm...Yeah maybe. But...you do know that you're not my girlfriend, right? We're still friends," Sonic replied sheepishly with an awkward smile and an awkward chuckle as he tried to pull Amy off of him.

"True, but that doesn't mean that I won't! The possibility is still there! Besides, I'm taking this vacation because I know now that you like having your space, and I'm giving you a chance to milk it in for all it's worth! After all, we had hanged out at least every day just as you had promised me on Valentine's Day! So, I believe that a break is needed in order to feel rejuvenated and excited when we get back together again! I bet that you feel grateful that I'm doing this!" Amy exclaimed happily as she lets go of Sonic just to smile at him.

Sonic smiled back sheepishly as he calmly replied, "Well, yeah, I guess. I'm all for having breaks. So, just enjoy yourself on your vacation, Amy. I know that I will". I still can't believe that Amy is actually doing this, and I didn't even suggest it to her this time! Hmm...Maybe Amy is starting to mature here. Sonic thought calmly as he had a bit of hope that this is the case.

However, that thought was crushed as Amy exclaimed irritably, "What do you mean 'I know that I will'?! I thought that you had liked my company! Grrr! Don't tell me that you had wished that I took a solo vacation trip all this time, Sonic! Because that would just be rude and hurtful!".

Sonic flinched as he exclaimed in a panicky tone, "W-Woah! No! No way! I would never think of that! I'm...I'm not that cruel!".

"Oh, you just did think about it, didn't you?! Maybe before the whole Lost Hex incident too! In fact...(Gasp)! Is that why you took Tails with you?! Just so that you can get away from me?!" Amy yelled in irritation with a gasp as she looked angry now.

"What?! Nooooo..." Sonic replied in panic and in weakness while shaking his head "no". Oh, what did I do to deserve this? Sonic thought weakly with a nervous frown as a sweat drop had formed on his head.

Knuckles just smirked as he watched Amy pull out her hammer as she yelled in the distance, "Oooooh, you selfish hedgehog! What do I have to do to get you to realize how valuable I am in battle?! I could've helped you when you were on that planet! In fact, LET ME REMIND YOU ON HOW USEFUL I AM WITH MY HAMMER!".

"WHAAAAAAA! AMY! NOOOOO!" Sonic shouted in panic as he ran away from Amy while she chases him with her hammer.

Knuckles shook his head and said with amusement in his tone, "I can see that the party is starting off great".

Tails smiled weakly as he watched Amy chasing Sonic while trying to hit him with her hammer. He then added, "Yeah...I guess that you can say that".

"Oh! Mr. Knuckles! There you are! I'm happy that you came! Here! This is for you!" Cream exclaimed cheerfully with a bright smile as she stood at Knuckles' side of the table and gave him a plate with a sandwich and some fruit as an appetizer. Cheese even brought Knuckles a glass of water as he chirped, "Chao! Chao!".

"Thank you, Cream. You too, Cheese. And I am glad to have come too. So, did you do anything lately, Cream? I haven't seen you around much ever since my birthday party," Knuckles replied calmly with a little smile as he grabbed the glass of water while looking at Cream.

Cream shook her head as she replied calmly, "No. My mom had been homeschooling me the entire time. So, that's why you, and the others hadn't seen me around lately. I'm still a kid, you know. Also, my mom doesn't want me to get hurt, and she doesn't want to lose me during one of Mr. Sonic's adventures. So, I've been busy catching up on my schooling, Mr. Knuckles".

"Ah. I see. I wouldn't blame your mom for making that decision. Even though we would always protect you in any dangerous situation in our adventures, there is no guarantee that we would be successful every time that we do it. You can't count on fate to allow that to happen all the time. Sometimes, you just got to play it safe, and I think that your mother had made the right call there. Honestly, I would've done the same thing," Knuckles replied calmly with a frown as he nodded. He then took a sip on his drink after he finished talking. While he drank did that, he heard Cream giggling.

He looked back at Cream as he took the drink out of his mouth before he asked curiously, "What? What's so funny here?".

"Teehee! Of course, that you would do the same thing as my mom, Mr. Knuckles. You think like a dad does!" Cream replied happily as she beamed at Knuckles.

Knuckles blushed in embarrassment as he retorted, "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a dad?! I'm not!".

"Yes, you are!" Cream replied playfully with a bright smile.

"No, I'm not!" Knuckles exclaimed back with a frown.

"Yes, you are! Teehee!" Cream exclaimed brightly with a giggle.

Knuckles growled irritably as he exclaimed back, "Grrr! I am not! And I'll never will be!".

Cream giggled uncontrollably at that, and Knuckles simply sat there while blushing. He put his drink down so that he would cross his arms and look away. Why do these idiots think that I'm a dad to them? Couldn't Vector be seen as a dad to them? Sheesh...they always like to make fun of me, don't they? Knuckles brooded with a pouty face.

"Heheheh, um...Cream? I think that it's best if you could get the rest of food out here. It's only 4: 30 PM now. Also, we need to get this party over with just in case it rains soon," Tails said calmly with a sheepish smile and an awkward chuckle as he tried to save Knuckles from further embarrassment.

Cream stopped giggling and nodded to Tails. "Okay! You're right, Tails! Come on, Cheese! Let's get the rest of the meals here! And the cake too!" Cream replied brightly with a smile as she looked at Tails before looking at Cheese. Cheese chirped, "Chao!". Cream and Cheese soon ran back inside the house to get the food.

Knuckles sighed as he replied to Tails, "(Sigh)...Thank you, Tails. I needed that diversion".

Tails smiled a little as replied calmly yet a little teasingly, "It's no problem...Dad".

Knuckles growled lowly as he replied sternly, "Grrrr...Watch it, fox. You're on thin ice".

Tails chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head with his hand. Boy, I do push my luck sometimes. Best to not provoke Knuckles even further with my comments. Tails thought with a nervous grin on his face.

"Ah. How are you two enjoying the party so far? Are you guys ready for some fun?" Ms. Vanilla said calmly with a warm smile as she walked towards the table while carrying the cake on a tray.

Knuckles relaxed a bit once he saw Ms. Vanilla approaching Tails and him. He answered politely with a little frown, "It's going okay, Miss Vanilla. I'm more interested in the food personally".

Vanilla smiled even more as she calmly replied, "Well, I'm not surprised there. You would rather stay in the background and watch the others play the party games. If I'm not mistaken, you did that on your party too a few months back".

Knuckles nodded while shrugging in his response. He then replied, "I just don't see the appeal into playing childish games in birthday parties. I've never done anything like that for most of my life. In fact, I had never even considered my birthday as anything special. It's just another day for me".

Vanilla smiled sadly at Knuckles as she placed the cake down at the center of the table. She then replied gently, "That is such a shame. Birthdays are very special days because it reminds everyone including yourself that you are alive and well. Those days should be treated as days of appreciation of your existence in life. If you weren't born, Knuckles, then this world would be a miserable and horrible place to live in. We're all grateful that you're here, Knuckles. We really are".

Knuckles' eyes went wide slightly before they were lowered. He looked away from Vanilla and Tails as they were staring at him with gentle smiles on their faces. Knuckles looked to the ground as he frowned in sadness. Somehow...I doubt that. No matter how warm Ms. Vanilla says it...it can't be true. If that was true, then how come they all keep on living their lives without even visiting me? If I do matter in this world, then why can't they just check up on me to see how I'm feeling? If I did matter, then how come Sonic doesn't bring me along in his adventures anymore? And if I did matter to them...then how come they don't include me into their "group"? Sigh...She's just saying that just to be nice. Like the others, she doesn't truly care about me. They don't...need me. I'm...not needed here. Knuckles brooded as he placed a hand on his left cheek to hide his depressed look.

Tails decided to chime in while being oblivious to Knuckles' oddly quiet response, "I'm glad that you and Cream are throwing this party for Amy. I mean. It's not that necessary, but it is thoughtful for the two of you to do this".

Vanilla turned her attention to Tails while also being oblivious to Knuckles' strangely quiet behavior. She replied with a warm smile, "Why thank you for the compliment, Tails. I just want to show how much I care for you all. You and the others had been so kind to Cream and me that I think that it is right for us to show you how much we appreciate your help to us. Celebrating one's departure is a great way to show our gratitude. That is all".

Tails nodded as he beamed at Vanilla. "Well, that is very sweet of you and Cream to do such a thing in the first place. We're very happy to lend you guys a hand!" Tails replied brightly with a huge smile.

Vanilla bowed to Tails slightly as she replied, "I'm very glad to hear that, Tails. Thank you so much".

"You're welcome!" Tails exclaimed brightly with a smile.

"Okay, everyone! The rest of the meals had been prepared! Let's all eat now! (Chao! Chao!)" Cream exclaimed as well as Cheese as they carried the trays that has the rest of the food on there.

"Really?! About time!" Sonic exclaimed brightly as he ran quickly towards the table and stopping before it with a relieved smile on his face. Amy panted as she ran behind Sonic and stood beside him.

Amy growled at Sonic as she exclaimed, "Grrrr! You are so lucky that I want food now because otherwise I would like to keep on trying to hit you for not bringing me along on your adventures!".

"Amy! I had told you that I'm sorry! What do I have to do to convince you that I had meant it?!" Sonic exclaimed back as he frowned while looking at Amy.

"Bring me along in your next adventure, Sonic! That is how you will prove to me that you're sorry!" Amy exclaimed back with a frown as she glared at Sonic.

"Okay! Fine! I'll remember to bring you along next time!" Sonic exclaimed back as he looked exasperated while shrugging his shoulders.

Amy beamed as she turned to face the group while exclaiming, "Yay! Now, let's get this party started!".

Sonic as well as the others had sweat dropping from their heads as they saw Amy's mood turn a complete 180 after Sonic had agreed to Amy's demand. They all had the same thought in their heads. Well, that was the quickest mood swing if I had ever saw one.

Sonic decided to run next to Tails' seat and sit at the chair next to him. Sonic exclaimed, "I choose to sit next to my best buddy! Tails! You don't mind, do you?!".

"Uh, no, Sonic. I fine with that," Tails replied casually with a little smile while shrugging his shoulders.

Amy replied excitedly, "Ooooh, then that means I can sit next to you, Son-!".

"Miss Vanilla?! Can you please sit next to me?! Please?!" Sonic exclaimed quickly as he cut Amy off. He was looking at Vanilla with pleading eyes. Vanilla had a hand over her mouth in surprise of this.

She replied calmly while feeling confused, "Well...uh...okay then. There is no need to yell, Sonic. I can hear your requests just fine".

Sonic sighed in relief as he replied brightly with a smile, "(Sigh)...Thank you, Miss Vanilla. You're the best!".

"Hehehe! It seems that I'm receiving lots of praise from you guys lately. Thank you for the compliments, gentlemen," Vanilla replied warmly with a giggle as she sat at the chair next to Sonic.

Amy pouted as she saw Sonic trying to distance himself from her by having Vanilla sit next to him instead. Amy pondered in irritation. Ooooh, I can't believe this! Even when he had made his promise of spending time together as friends, he's still trying to distance himself from me! Grrr! Just what do I have to do to make him want me to get closer to him?

Amy turned her head to look at Knuckles. She can see that there were two empty seats on Knuckles' side of the table. Amy then thought again. Hmph. Maybe I can just seat myself next to Knuckles so that I can be seated across from Sonic. That could work. Although...

Amy frowned as she remembered how awkward the situation is now after that whole fake dating incident five months ago. True, Knuckles and Amy still had been friends for the most part, but it had been uncomfortable whenever they had interacted with each other. In fact, when Sonic and Tails had left to go to the Lost Hex planet two weeks ago, they barely had said a word to each other during that event. So, things have been rather uncomfortable these days. Sigh. I really hope that Knuckles would at least let me sit next to him. I mean. He must be at least mature enough to do that. Besides, he knows that I have feelings for Sonic, and I'm sure that Knuckles doesn't have any feelings for me. Soooo...it's okay, right?

With that thought, Amy slowly walked towards the seat next to Knuckles and sat in it. Cream was busy placing the food and the plates on the table while humming to herself. Ms. Vanilla was cutting the cake carefully and putting the pieces of cake onto the plates. When both Cream and Vanilla were finished giving the food to Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles, they both exclaimed, "Dig in!".

The gang replied, "Thank you" in unison before they had started to eat. Cream soon took her seat next to Amy before helping herself to the food. As the others ate, they all started to have conversations with each other and with Miss Vanilla. However, Knuckles was just busy eating by his lonesome self while watching the others talk to each other. He then turned his head to his left and was almost surprised that Amy was sitting next to him. Amy was happy as she was chatting with Cream. Knuckles could see that Amy was avoiding eye contact with him though.

I'm not surprised that Amy is uncomfortable being around me now. I can't blame her. I feel the same way, but that doesn't give her the excuse to just avoid me. I should try to get her to talk to me. Knuckles thought with a frown.

He then gently tapped Amy's shoulder with his hand to get her attention. Amy was startled before she turned around to look at Knuckles.
"O-Oh! Umm...you want something, Knuckles? Maybe you want some more cake or something?" Amy replied awkwardly while looking to the side.

"No. I just want to talk to you," Knuckles answered bluntly with a frown. He had his right arm on the table while his left arm was on his leg.

"O-Oh...ummm...Cream? You don't mind if I-?" Amy replied nervously before she looked back at Cream to ask her something.

"It's okay, Miss Amy. You and Mr. Knuckles can talk to each other now if you want to," Cream replied innocently with a smile on her face.

"Uhh...huh. Alright, I'll do that right now," Amy replied calmly with a frown before looking back at Knuckles. Cream was then talking to Tails and Sonic now after that, leaving mostly Knuckles and Amy alone together.

Amy awkwardly scratched behind her head as she asked sheepishly, "Soooo...ummm...how's the weather lately, Knuckles?".

"Not you too," Knuckles muttered tiredly with a frown while narrowing his eyes at Amy.

"Huh? What do you mean by that, Knuckles? It's just the weather," Amy replied curiously with a confused look on her face.

I wonder if this is why I don't have many conversations with my "friends". They all seem to have no idea on what topic to talk about with me. It's as if they can't find any common ground that we can discuss on. Ugh. Why do I have to be the one to do all the work here? Knuckles pondered with an annoyed look on his face.

He sighed as he replied calmly, "(Sigh)...Look...never mind that. Umm...So...you really are going to Adabat for summer vacation, huh?".

Amy smiled as she exclaimed brightly, "Oh, yeah! It's true, Knuckles! I am going there for my vacation! Tails is going to take me there after the party is over! I'm planning to stay there for about a week! I'm planning to get back here by using the airport! I just wanted to be courteous to Tails by not wasting the trip back to Adabat for at least four times! After all, it takes two hours to get there, and that is by taking the X-Tornado!".

"Mmhm, I see. You must be excited to go there then. Although I am surprised that you hadn't tried convincing Sonic to take you there instead. It would have saved you the hassle of traveling if you had asked him for a ride," Knuckles replied calmly while nodding his head a little.

"Yeah, I had already tried that, and he didn't like being the chauffeur in this scenario. He didn't want to carry my luggage along with me. He says that his hands are already full just by carrying me. So, it's a disappointment that he had declined me," Amy replied calmly while looking a bit sad.

Knuckles shrugged as he replied casually with a frown, "Well, it's either that or you can lose your luggage by having the handle broken due to Sonic's fast speeds".

Amy frowned but nodded in agreement with Knuckles on that one. "You have a point there. Still, he could have at least carried me there first and then bring me the luggage afterward. It's not that hard," Amy replied calmly yet a bit irritably in the end while looking at Sonic for a bit.

Sonic was eating a chilidog while talking to Tails. Sonic turned to look at Amy for a bit with raised eyebrows. "What?" Sonic asked in confusion.

Amy shook her head as she replied to Sonic, "Nothing. Never mind us, Sonic".

Sonic quirked an eyebrow at her before he shrugged and went back to talking to Tails again. Amy looked back at Knuckles with a sad frown on her face. Knuckles then patted her back as he replied gently with a little frown on his sympathetic face, "Don't take it too hard, Amy. Sonic can't do everything for you. You're fine taking care of yourself, you know".

"I know, but...it just feels good to be cared for by someone you like," Amy replied sadly with a frown as she looked down at her dress.

"H-Huh?" Knuckles muttered in surprise as his eyes went wide. Knuckles pondered this. "To be cared for by someone you like"? Is that why Amy wants to be around Sonic all the time? Hmmm...I get that she loves him, but...I've never understood why she loves him though.

"You...You like being cared for by him?" Knuckles asked in curiosity with an intrigued look on his face.

Amy nodded before she turned to face Knuckles. Amy frowned sadly as she replied calmly, "Knuckles...it feels wonderful whenever your crush takes care of you. I understand if you don't get it, but if only you had a taste on what that experience feels like, then you would understand the disappointment that I feel whenever Sonic declines my requests to help me out or to hang out together. Whenever you have someone that you care about, you would want to spend time with them as much as possible. That is what infatuation is like, Knuckles. It's an amazing feeling...and having someone taking care of you while you love them is an even greater feeing. That is why I am disappointed that Sonic won't help me by taking me to Adabat himself".

Knuckles felt speechless after hearing Amy's reasoning. He slowly took his hand off of Amy and placed it down on his leg again. He then turned his head down slowly. He stared at the table while wearing a stunned expression on his face. He didn't know what to say to Amy after that point. Amy frowned in slight worry once she saw this. She gently placed her hand on Knuckles' shoulder and shook it a little.

"Knuckles? Hey...Knuckles? Are you...going to be okay?" Amy asked gently with concern in her voice.

"..." Knuckles was silent as he stared at his plate with a pained expression on his face. Amy tried to get Knuckles' attention a few times, but she failed as Knuckles still refused to talk to her after that. Amy sighed as she gave up. She lets go of Knuckles and turned to look at Miss Vanilla to talk to her instead. Amy then thought. Maybe I should leave Knuckles be for now. I think that he needs some space.

Knuckles frowned in sadness as he brooded. I...I never had that experience at all. Sure, I may have liked Rouge in the past, but my feelings weren't truly reciprocated. Not to mention, Rouge just used me for her own selfish reasons. She had never truly loved me like she says she does. I had never felt taken cared of by her whenever I was around her. She always wants something from me and never even once thought about my own needs. I was...always alone...even with the girl that I had liked at the time.

Knuckles could feel his surroundings getting quieter and darker despite the fact that the others were talking animatedly and happily. Knuckles had soon stopped paying attention to his surroundings as he kept brooding. I never had anyone taking care of me before. I...I don't even remember a time in my life that someone has ever done that for me. I was always alone on my island. I had grown up without having any parents or siblings. I hadn't even had any friends either. Even...Even my "friends" don't seem to take care of me whenever I'm around them. They just...Sigh...They just don't want to bother taking care of my needs. None of them are bold enough to ask me if there was something that I wanted. They seem to assume that I'm fine and don't need anything else. But that's...not true. I...I want...I want to be free. I want...to have a true home. I want...to have a family. I want to have...to have...a true friend...Someone...who takes care of me...and...and loves me. I want...I just want to be loved. …...

"...(Sigh)..." Knuckles sighed deeply and grimaced while he closed his eyes as the last thought came to his mind. I...I should leave.

Knuckles then suddenly got up from his seat and pushed his chair back to the table. Sonic and the others soon stopped talking once they saw Knuckles do this.

"Huh? Hey, Knuckles? What's wrong?" Sonic asked in surprise and in concern.

"Yeah, we haven't even started to play some games or see Amy open some presents yet. It's a bit too early to leave, don't you think?" Tails replied in concern as he put his fork down. He had a bit of cake on his lips.

"What's the matter, dear? Do you need to use the restroom, perhaps?" Vanilla asked gently while looking worried too.

"I'm...I'm leaving. I'm sorry that I have to leave in such a short notice, but I have to go. Please excuse me," Knuckles replied quietly as he frowned while looking at the gang briefly before turning around.

He then decided to walk away from the group while the others continued to call out for him.

"H-Hey! Mr. Knuckles! Wait! Please stay a little longer! It...It will be great! You can have some more cake if you want!" Cream exclaimed in worry and in desperation as she turned in her seat to watch Knuckles leave her and her mom's house.

"Please stay, Knuckles! We could even talk some more if you want! You don't have to leave this early! The fun is about to start!" Amy pleaded as she felt very concerned for Knuckles now.

"Then you can all have fun without me. You guys had done it before. So, it's no big deal if I'm there or not. You'll have fun either way. With that said, I'm leaving. Goodbye," Knuckles replied curtly as he stood for a moment to look back at the group.

"But! ...But Knuckles!" Amy exclaimed in sadness as she frowned.

"Oh, and Amy?" Knuckles added as he looked at Amy for a bit.

"Y-Yeah?" Amy asked while looking sad.

Knuckles was silent for a moment before he replied as he turned to look at the road ahead of him, "Have a good trip, Amy. Enjoy your vacation. And the party...without me".

With that, Knuckles kept walking ahead and had never looked back at the group again. The others gasped before they tried to call out to Knuckles again. However, Knuckles ignored their pleas as he walked further into the forest before he wasn't seen by the others anymore. Once the others saw that Knuckles isn't coming back, they all frowned in sadness and looked back at each other again.

"So much for a happy farewell party," Sonic spoke out loud while having his arms crossed.

"Yeah...it's too bad that we couldn't convince him to stay even longer. I thought that you had convinced him to do that, Sonic," Tails replied calmly as he turned to look at Sonic with a sad look on his face.

"I did, Tails. But apparently, it wasn't enough. I did my best honestly. But I guess that no matter what I say to him, Knuckles will always do his own thing and leave us in the dark about it," Sonic answered calmly with a frown while shaking his head in disappointment.

Vanilla covered her mouth with one hand as she commented sadly, "The poor dear. I wonder what had made him decide to leave in this way?".

The others frowned as they tried to figure out the reason for this strange behavior. But...they couldn't find any. They soon heard some thunder booming from above. Tails flinched in fear of the thunder sounds. He always hates it when a storm is coming since he's scared of them.

"I...I think that we should cut this party short, Amy. I...I don't want to go fly in the middle of a rainstorm if we leave later in the day," Tails said nervously as he tried to calm his nerves.

Amy frowned but nodded to Tails in agreement. "Yeah...I suppose that you're right. After all, I don't think that we can focus on partying now that Knuckles had left without telling us a reason why. I'll go get my luggage while you, Tails, get the X-Tornado ready," Amy replied in sadness as she frowned.

Amy soon got up from her seat and pushed the chair in before she walked towards the backdoor. She opened it and got inside. Sonic saw that the party was cancelled. So, he also got up from his seat while saying, "Well, since the party's over, I guess that I'll just leave then. Thanks for the meal, Miss Vanilla. I'm glad that you had invited me to the party".

Vanilla smiled sadly at Sonic as she replied calmly, "You're welcome, Sonic. I'm glad that you had enjoyed it at least".

Sonic smiled a little before he pushed the chair in. Cream then asked Sonic, "Mr. Sonic? Is there any way that you can bring Mr. Knuckles back here? Maybe you should try talking to him again and convince him to come back".

Sonic frowned as he shook his head. "Sorry, Cream, but nothing is going to convince that stubborn echidna to come back. I don't know why he had decided to leave, but I think that it is for the best to leave him alone. As much as I wanted him to stay and have fun with us, it's his decision to do what he wants. And if he wants to leave, then we should let him," Sonic replied calmly while looking sad.

Cream frowned in sadness. Cheese frowned too. Tails simply sighed as he put his hands on his cheeks while having his elbows rest on the table. He frowned as he said out loud, "I really wonder what's on Knuckles' mind lately. I mean...He's acting kind of strange these days, and that's saying a lot considering who is!".

Sonic turned to look at Tails while having his hands on his hips. He then asked, "Hmm? What do you mean, Tails?".

Tails turned his head to look at Sonic with sad eyes as he replied, "I meant that Knuckles seems rather off lately. You can feel it too, can't you, Sonic? The strange aura that Knuckles had been projecting these days? It seems rather...I don't know...cold...and...empty? I'm not sure. But that is what I'm feeling whenever I talk to him these days".

Sonic had raised his eyebrows in surprise and in confusion. I hadn't really paid much attention to Knuckles, but now that Tails mentions it, somehow...I just think that he's on to something here. Something isn't right about Knuckles. But what is it though? Sonic pondered while stroking his chin with his finger.

"I'm not sure what it is that you're going on about, Tails, but I get at what you're saying. Something's not right here. Knuckles is definitely being strange lately, and I don't like it. I don't what it is, but I have a bad feeling about it," Sonic replied solemnly with a frown.

"Really? I haven't noticed a thing. Although I had been busy doing my schooling, and I had been hanging out with Miss Amy most of the time. So, that could explain why hadn't noticed anything strange in Mr. Knuckles. (Gulp)…...Do you guys think that something bad is going to happen to him?" Cream replied calmly in surprise and in worry while covering her mouth with her hand.

Sonic raised his eyebrows in alarm as he replied solemnly, "What? No! Nothing bad is going to happen to him! We're just saying that Knuckles hadn't been himself lately. We're just trying to understand why he's acting so weird. Just relax, Cream. Knuckles is going to be okay. I'm sure of it!".

Cream stared at Sonic with worried eyes. She slowly nodded her head while saying meekly, "Oh, I hope that you're right, Mr. Sonic. But I'm still worried for him".

Sonic smiled sympathetically at Cream as he gently replied, "I know, Cream. I'm worried for him too".

"Hmmm..." Tails hummed while tracing on his plate a bit. Sonic turned to look at Tails again.

Sonic then asked curiously, "What's on your mind, bud?".

"Well...I'm just thinking..." Tails spoke slowly as he sat up straight and looked at Sonic in the eye. Tails had a melancholic yet solemn expression on his face as he continued by saying, "Have you ever noticed that Knuckles would become either overly angry or overly distant and uncaring to what's happening around him? He's never been this inconsistent before. I get that he's short-tempered and all, but even Knuckles can hold his anger back at times. He doesn't just fly off the handle very frequently, you know".

"Really? Pfff! I'd say that he's always been like that! Haven't you seen him, Tails? He's like a walking-talking nuclear reactor that's begging to be blown up!" Sonic joked while grinning a little.

"Sonic! Be serious here! This is no time for jokes!" Tails exclaimed with a frown on his face.

"Okay! Okay! I'll stop! …...Anyways, please continue, Tails," Sonic replied while putting his hands in the air before putting them back on his hips.

Tails sighed in exhaustion before he continued solemnly, "(Sigh)...Thank you, Sonic. Anyways, back on the subject here, Knuckles had been switching his moods rather frequently and inconsistently. To be honest here, I hadn't noticed these changes at first, but lately, I have been speculating that Knuckles is just putting on a show for us. In other words, he's been putting on these 'masks' so that we wouldn't notice something wrong with him. You know as much as I do that Knuckles isn't forthcoming with his true feelings toward us or toward others. He usually would just cover up his true feelings with either anger or annoyance at best. So, it's not that unlikely that he'd be switching his masks so often so that we wouldn't suspect a thing from him. Somehow...I have a feeling that he's doing this just to hide something from us. Something...rather terrible if I had to guess".

Sonic frowned in sadness after hearing that. He then replied quietly, "What could be so bad that he had to hide it from us? It doesn't make any sense".

Tails looked down as he replied calmly yet solemnly, "I agree, Sonic. If something bad had happened such as his emerald getting stolen or was broken for example, he'd tell us about it at least. Sure, he won't ask us for help, but he would tell us what's going on with him. However, with this...something tells me this isn't any regular problem. If he won't tell us what's wrong, then it has to be a huge deal to him personally. Why else would he pretend that he's fine when he's probably struggling with something on the inside for months? What else for?".

…...

Everyone was silent on that. Vanilla looked down and shook her head while saying, "The poor thing. He must be going through such a hard time then if he couldn't tell his friends about it".

Sonic sighed as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms. He then said with sadness in his tone, "And the worst part about it is that we can't even get the truth out of him. No matter how many times we could ask him about it. All four of us...err...maybe even five us...are practically incapable into getting him to talk about it. He's cold to all of us, and we couldn't even reach him. …...Just like where he lives. Up high on Angel Island".

Tails nodded in agreement. He slowly got up from his seat and looked up into the dark, grey sky above. He then said quietly, "I wonder if there is anyone out there that is capable into getting the truth out of him. Someone who could reach him and get him out from whatever prison that has been keeping him from escaping all this time. Someone that Knuckles could form a deep connection with. After all, a strong connection can break down even the most distant of people. And if Knuckles had formed a special connection with someone, then it's very likely that he'll change due to his or her influence on him. And maybe...maybe then that Knuckles will turn warm and get closer to us because of that person. One person can change a person's life, you know. I know that from personal experience".

Sonic opened his eyes and nodded to Tails after that last comment. He kept his arms crossed and replied calmly while looking up at the grey sky with Tails, "You're right, little buddy. You're right. Hmm...Heh. I guess that I wasn't enough to change him. Maybe what he needs is another 'Knuckles'. I mean. If he can't look into his own mirror to be happy, then he could with another mirror...the one that is flipped upside down".

"You know what, Sonic? …...That's exactly what I had in mind too. But...who knows whether that person is in this world or not," Tails replied in a sad tone.

Sonic smiled a little as he replied gently, "Well, we're just going to have to find out".

[Back On Angel Island]

Knuckles had finally arrived back at his island after 30 minutes of walking. He went up on the altar's steps and stood before the Master Emerald itself. He sighed deeply as he muttered, "(Sigh)...I'm back".

...

The Master Emerald said nothing back.

Knuckles then walked towards the emerald and placed his right hand on it. He frowned as he felt depressed. As he stared into the green emerald with depressed eyes, he brooded. I'm back into my own prison. Lock me away, Master Emerald. Your prisoner is back.

…...

The emerald still didn't do anything or say anything. Knuckles muttered calmly, "Still silent, huh? Hmph. At least, you're a better conversationalist than any of my so-called 'friends' are. I'll give you that".

…...

The emerald still did nothing. Knuckles closed his eyes as he continued solemnly, "But...you're unable to speak to my heart. I give out my thoughts and what's on my heart...but you can't give me your thoughts on your heart. You're not a person. You may have a spirit of person in you like Tikal, for example. But you yourself are not a person. You're an object that glows warm. You're basically...a furnace. You can't comfort me with your warmth. I want a warmth that is from a person. A warmth that is from someone's heart and could easily display it to me at any time without any hesitation...".

Knuckles then slowly dropped his hand to his side as he finishes with, "...But there is no one like that. There is no one in this world that could comfort me or care for me. That is why I think that I'm very distant from this world. It's just a harsh, cold place to me. There is no one who would want to take care of me. I'm all alone in this world...and no one can hear my pleas for help".

Knuckles then opened his eyes and stared at the emerald for a bit. He grimaced as he stared at his own reflection in the emerald. He then brooded as he stared intensely into the emerald. Chaos may be the one who was sealed away, but the real monster is still roaming free on the outside. Just...why did Tikal had to save the rest of my people? Doesn't she know that we're all guilty for being selfish and greedy? We don't even deserve to live after trying to take the Master Emerald for ourselves! We...We deserved to die for trying to kill the Chao by taking this emerald. We were...the real monsters in that terrible tragedy. It was all our fault.

Knuckles then looked down to the ground in shame as he continued to brood. And yet, here I am. The last echidna of my clan to be alive in the present where no one knows about the Echidna Clan. We're just a distant memory in history now. And I'm just doing what my ancestors should've done a long time ago. However...this isn't for the pride of my people. It is for punishment because of my people...including me. As long as I have my family's blood, I'll always be cursed because...I am a monster. And no one would care for a monster...not even me.

Knuckles soon clenched his fists as he growled in frustration and in shame. He hates his own selfish nature, and he just doesn't know how to accept that part of him. He then sighed as he turned around from the emerald and walked a few feet away from it. Once Knuckles got close to the steps, he stood still and stared at the grey sky above. He can see that it was getting darker now as it was about 6 PM currently. Knuckles can tell that no one will dare to travel to his island while knowing that a rainstorm could happen soon. He knows that even Rouge wouldn't dare to come too. So, he decided to lay down on top of the altar. He turned his position around before lying down on his back. He placed his hands behind his head in order to feel comfortable. He kept staring into the dark, grey sky above. He planned to take it easy by resting before going to sleep. He still has a lot on his mind though.

Would anyone care if I'm gone? If I'm not here tomorrow, would anyone notice? Hmm...I doubt it. It'll probably take my "friends" weeks or months before they ever decide to visit me. And surprisingly, Rouge doesn't visit my island often anymore due to her job as a spy and as a manager of her own club. And I can't believe that I'm saying this, but even Dr. Eggman doesn't care about my emerald anymore to even try to steal it. It's like...my island and I are invisible to everyone. Forgotten and...obsolete to everyone in this world. Hmmmm...

Knuckles soon closed his eyes as he frowned deeper in sadness. He then muttered in defeat, "Maybe it would be better if I'm dead. If no one needs me, then why should I keep on living? There isn't any point into protecting the Master Emerald if anyone could do it and do a better job at guarding it than me. My life here is pointless. Why should I keep trying to find the answers to my questions when in the end...no one will care for me or take care of me? I should just...not be here anymore. Tomorrow morning...will be the last morning that I'll ever wake up to".

He soon fell asleep once he had finished his musings.

---

[Later At Night; At Dr. Eggman's Base]

Dr. Eggman was riding in his hovercraft back to one of his bases. He had several bases spread across the world since he wanted to give Sonic the runaround into thinking that he had destroyed the only base that he has. It was the perfect strategy, and it had always come in handy whenever he needed to flee from Sonic and his friends. And this was one of those times since they're still wondering where he's at after that Lost Hex incident. However, this time, Dr. Eggman is coming back to his base for a different reason.

He had found two Chaos Emeralds.

"Ohohohohoho! This is brilliant! A fantastic find that I had acquired today! And just when I thought that finding the first Chaos Emerald from last week was something of a miracle! This happens! Not that I'm complaining mind you, I'm just thrilled! Once I figure out what to do with the three emeralds, I'll soon strike my revenge on Sonic for ruining my latest scheme! Although...I will say that my supersonic jet air assault is a good way to get back at Sonic and his friends too. Especially since it's a...'surprise' attack. Hahahahahahah!" Dr. Eggman said gleefully with a huge, evil smile while laughing a bit.

He soon arrived at his base which was another tower fortress. It was around 11: 20 PM that Dr. Eggman had arrived there. The doors to his base had opened for him, and he went inside with his hovercraft. He then took the elevator and went up to the top floor of his base. Once the elevator doors had opened, Dr. Eggman then exclaimed, "Orbot! Cubot! I'm back! And I just found two more Chaos Emeralds today!".

However, his two robots were ignoring him as Orbot was reading the newspaper while Cubot was watching T.V. Orbot was sitting next to the computer monitors that shows security footage of the entire base. He was put in charge to guard the place whenever Dr. Eggman was gone. Orbot soon looked up from his newspaper and said in a bored tone, "Oh, you're back, boss. So what? You know that Sonic and the others will get those Chaos Emeralds back from us eventually. Why get excited over something that you will potentially lose in the future? It's rather pointless in my opinion".

Dr. Eggman growled as he got off from his hovercraft while saying, "Grrr! Well, that's because I'm planning to use these Chaos Emeralds against Sonic and the others, Orbot! It takes an evil genius to see the perfect opportunity for revenge with just three emeralds at hand!".

"Well, I see the perfect opportunity for another failure if you do that. Just keep on searching for the emeralds in secret and then you can hatch your revenge on Sonic at that moment. You know what they say, 'slow and steady wins the race', Doctor," Orbot replied calmly with some sarcasm in his tone.

"Not unless the race involves a speedy, blue hedgehog as one of its competitors! Look, Orbot, I need all the chances that fate gives me, and I'm not squandering my chances to stop that blue hedgehog once and for all by taking things slow! So, taking my revenge now is the best strategy to use against Sonic! You need to learn to take risks, Orbot, just like that blue hedgehog does every day!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed with a frown as he looked back at Orbot while taking the Chaos Emeralds out of his hovercraft.

Dr. Eggman soon got the two Chaos Emeralds out of his hovercraft and walked towards the Chaos Emerald chamber which is another source of power for the entire base. There was already a yellow Chaos Emerald in the chamber. Dr. Eggman opened the door and placed the white and cyan blue Chaos Emeralds in there with the yellow one. Orbot just sighed as he replied tiredly, "(Sigh)...Fine. Do what you want, sir. There is nothing that I can do to convince you otherwise".

Dr. Eggman smirked as he turned around while raising a fist in the air in victory while exclaiming, "That's right! And nothing will stop me with my latest minor revenge plot! The Egg Air Strike Squad!".

Cubot exclaimed as he turned his head from the T.V. for a bit, "Ooooh, you mean those supersonic jets that could rival Tails' X-Tornado?! Oh boy, that sounds like a fun plan, boss! I bet that you are going to ride in one of them as the leader of the squad, right?!".

Dr. Eggman grinned as he crossed his arms in a haughty way as he replied, "That is correct, Cubot. It's only logical that the one who had created the jets will be the one who pilots them and leads them. Such brilliance in that plan can't be found anywhere else!".

"Woohoo! You sure are lucky, boss! I wish that I could pilot one of them! But I guess that I should leave it to the professionals!" Cubot exclaimed happily with a nod.

"...A professional who has the chances of messing it up due to his ego? Hmph. I think that even the boss shouldn't ride in one of those jets, knowing that he could die due to his stupidity," Orbot replied as he looked at Cubot in annoyance before turning around and looking at his newspaper again.

Dr. Eggman growled as he yelled, "Grrrr! I heard that! Besides, for your information, I've piloted dozens, hundreds of airships before you two were created, and I can pilot them just fine! A jet, especially a supersonic jet, is nothing that I can't handle! So, give me some more credit here, Orbot! That's an order!".

Orbot sighed as he replied calmly, "(Sigh)...Yes, sir. You are more capable than anyone else in the world. There. Happy?".

Dr. Eggman smiled as he replied calmly, "Yes, that's better. Now, I'm going to check up on my jets to see if everything is in proper order. I want to make sure that there are no mistakes in the end result of the creation process".

"Sure. As you wish, Doctor. Go on right ahead," Orbot replied casually as he pushed a button that opens another elevator in the base.

Dr. Eggman nodded as he replied, "Good. Now, make sure that no one comes into my base unannounced! If you see either Sonic or someone else coming into here, then you should—Huh?! What the-?!".

Suddenly, the lights in the base had started to flicker on and off. Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot all looked confused as they looked around in the room while the lights kept flickering for a bit. Before Dr. Eggman could say anything, the lights soon stopped flickering. They all waited for the lights to flicker again, but they were surprised that they had stopped.

Dr. Eggman then asked slowly, "Ummm...What was that?".

"I don't know, sir. Maybe the circuit breaker is on the fritz again. This isn't the first time that it had happened," Orbot replied calmly as he speculated the strange event as a normal occurrence.

"Not to mention, sir, that it is about to rain soon. So, maybe some lightning had hit a nearby electrical pole or something," Cubot added as he looked back at the T.V. again.

Dr. Eggman scratched his chin in confusion as he pondered. Maybe they are right. It's probably just a fluke. Nothing wrong there. Sheesh, I should learn to take breaks once in a while. Being overworked can be stressful for the mind. Perhaps that after I had finished checking up on the jets, I should go to bed. After all, the 'surprise' strike can wait until tomorrow night. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.

Before Dr. Eggman could move towards the elevator, the lights began to flicker off and on again. Dr. Eggman yelled in frustration, "Seriously?! Again?!".

However, to Dr. Eggman's surprise, he can hear the emergency buzzer going off. Orbot and Cubot were very confused as they looked around for any problems. They then exclaimed in shock, "Ah! Doctor! Look! The Chaos Emeralds!".

"Huh?!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed in shock as he quickly turned around to see the Chaos Emeralds inside the chamber. His eyebrows were raised in surprise as he saw the Chaos Emeralds glowing very brightly. To add to his confusion, there were three, little, golden hearts glowing inside each of the three emeralds.

Orbot then yelled out, "Doctor! Those Chaos Emeralds are overloading the base's power supply! What should we do?!".

"Just turn it off! Do something!" Dr. Eggman yelled back in worry as he panicked.

Orbot tried to turn off the power in the Chaos Chamber by pushing the orange button. However, even when he had turned it off, the emeralds just kept glowing brightly. Dr. Eggman yelled again, "I said shut the power off!".

"I did, Doctor! But the emeralds are still glowing on their own! I can't stop it!" Orbot exclaimed in a panic. Cubot was just confused as to why this is all happening.

"Grrrr! Just what in the world is going on around here?!" Dr. Eggman yelled in frustration as he gripped his head.

BZZZZT!

Suddenly, the entire base had shut down, and it was completely dark now. Dr. Eggman frowned as he muttered, "Oh, great. Another power outage. Better go down to the breaker room and switch on the emergency lights".

Dr. Eggman soon went towards his hovercraft again, got on it, and went towards the emergency lift in the room. The lift was used whenever there was no power in the base, and this was another one of those times that the lift was useful. It's a good thing that I had installed this in every base that I construct. It beats walking in the dark any day. Dr. Eggman thought calmly. He then frowned as he said to himself, "I wonder what had happened that had made the Chaos Emeralds be activated on their own? It's almost as if someone was controlling them somehow. But there was no one there! Hmm...and what was with those golden hearts that I saw in those emeralds? I've never seen the emeralds do that before. Hmmm...Very peculiar indeed".

Meanwhile, Orbot and Cubot looked at each other in the darkness. They soon asked the same question, "Just what was that?!".

[Meanwhile Outside Of Dr. Eggman's Base; 11: 30 PM]

PING!

Suddenly, a bright flash of light had appeared on the ground outside of Dr. Eggman's base. The bright light soon disappeared, and two individuals were laying on top of each other on the ground.

It was two moths.

"Grrrr. Stupid girl. She just had to drag me into her own crazy schemes. Possibly as a way to get back at me for almost taking over the Sol Kingdom I imagine. But whatever. It seems that I got lucky since she must've passed out after teleporting us into this place. Hmph. Typical naïve novice. Of course, teleporting to a new place where she doesn't know would make her pass out. She isn't an expert like me. But anyways, I should get out here before she wakes up and chases me. My stretch for freedom is within my grasp, and I can't let her take that away from me. Especially since..." the gruff, male moth muttered while being under the female moth. He smirked evilly as he finishes with, "...I have a new place to try to take over. Heheheh".

The male moth was none other than Battra the Moth, the descendent of the original Kaiju monster, Battra. He is a black moth with red and yellow streaks on his wings, three, yellow horns on his head, and two, completely red eyes. He also has two arms and legs just like any Mobian does. He has white gloves and black shoes. And most importantly, he is wearing a dull, silver pendant with a dark, broken heart in the middle of the two gems on the pendant. In other words, it was the Dark Sol Pendant that he's wearing.

Battra soon carefully lifted the girl's arms off of him and crawled out of her grasp. He then quickly got up and flew away, leaving the poor girl behind. Meanwhile, the girl moth was still passed out at the time.

[Back With Dr. Eggman]

Dr. Eggman was trying to find the switch in the breaker room to light up the base by using the emergency power supply. He was searching for at least 20 minutes in the dark. He can't help it that he had made the breaker room so big. There were huge, emergency generators in the room of course. He felt that it would be perfect to make the generators take up space in the breaker room. It had made it easier for his robots to recognize it whenever the emergency arises. Still, it didn't make the whole experience any less frustrating of course.

Grrr. Where is that blasted switch?! I should know my whole base by now with the back of my hand! And yet, I still get lost in the dark because of it! Hmm...Maybe I should install some lights into my glasses so that I could see in the dark. That would make this thing so much easier! Dr. Eggman thought in annoyance as he felt around for the control panel in the room.

He was getting closer to the panel at the corner of the room. Once Dr. Eggman felt the corner of the panel, he exclaimed, "Yes! Finally! I found the control panel! Now...".

Dr. Eggman frowned as he realized that he had built the panel with so many switches and buttons. He then grumbled, "...Now to find the right switch".

Thus, Dr. Eggman kept pushing buttons and flipping switches for at least eight minutes.

[Meanwhile Back Outside Of The Base]

The moth girl who had passed out was finally regaining consciousness as she groaned a bit while lying on the ground. Oh man...That type of teleportation was a lot stronger than I thought. I didn't know that it would take a lot of energy from me. Uuuuugh. It's a good thing that I'm still in my Rainbow Form because otherwise I probably would've passed out. Although...I think...I think that I kind of did. Battra isn't under me anymore. I think that I'm on top of some hard ground now. How long had I passed out for? Anyways...I should try to get up. The young moth girl pondered to herself while lying face first into the ground with her arms out in front of her.

She slowly pushed her hands on top of the ground to lift herself up from the ground. She struggled to get up for a bit as her arms wobbled, but she gave one final push so that she could be in a sitting position. She panted a bit to catch her breath. She then pondered while panting. Aw man, I'm even more out of it than I thought. I guess that's what I get for trying something new and dangerous. Aw well. That's how life is. Nothing I can do about it.

After the moth girl had thought that, she then shook her head to get her focus back. She decided to look around at her new surroundings. She can see that everything is completely dark for her. Hmm...It must be nighttime, I guess. So, this dimension has daytime and nighttime too. The two dimensions must be more connected than I thought it was. The moth girl pondered as she figured that this was the case. However, she couldn't find anything in the dark that was recognizable to her.

As she scratched her head in confusion, she said out loud, "Hmmm...Where exactly am I? If only I knew where I am".

At the same time that the moth girl had woken up, Dr. Eggman had finally found the emergency switch. He switched it on, and the lights had started to come back on again. He smiled as he exclaimed, "Finally! About time!".

The lights in Dr. Eggman's base had come on again, and unfortunately for the moth girl, some searchlights had turned on and had shown on her. The moth girl cringed and covered her eyes from the bright light. In fact, more searchlights had targeted her with their bright lights. Geez, I may have wanted some light in order to see where I am, but I didn't ask for this much! Now, I can't even see! The moth girl thought in slight annoyance. She muttered with a frown on her face, "Please don't let it get any worse. Please".

Despite her weak cries of desperation, she then heard a loud siren go off a second later. Oh, come on! The moth girl thought in frustration as she frowned even further.

WHEEEEEEOOOO! WHEEEEEEEEEOOOOOO! WHEEEEEEEOOOOO!

"Arrrrrgh! What now?!" Dr. Eggman yelled in frustration as he saw his base turning red since the emergency signal had been triggered.

"Ah! What the-?! An intruder?!" Orbot exclaimed in surprise as he threw the newspaper behind him. The newspaper had smacked into Cubot's face. Cubot jumped in surprise as he took the newspaper off.

"Huh?! Is it true, Orbot?! Someone's here?! At this time of night?! It's only midnight! Sonic and the others must be asleep already! Why else would our master want to surprise them with an air strike?!" Cubot yelled in confusion as he went towards the computer monitors to join up with Orbot.

"Listen, Cubot! I don't know who would want to infiltrate the master's base! But we have got to do our jobs and defend it with all that we can! That intruder could be after the Chaos Emeralds for all we know!" Orbot exclaimed with worry in his tone.

"But...wouldn't that be Rouge then? The boss does know Rouge. So, maybe we could be a little reasonable with her!" Cubot replied in confusion and with hope in his voice.

Orbot shook his head as he replied, "But the Doctor had ordered us to capture and stop any intruder who dares to come into his base! Even if the Doctor does know Rouge, we can't show her any mercy! With that said, it's time to defend this place with the best that we got!".

Cubot just shrugged before he looked at the computer monitors to see where the intruder is at. His eyes went wide once he had found the intruder. "Woah! Orbot! Orbot! There! Look right there! The intruder is in Sector 42! And...wow, she looks beautiful! She looks like an angel!" Cubot exclaimed as he shakes Orbot's shoulder while pointing at the top-right screen with his other hand.

Orbot turned to look at the screen where the moth girl was shown and replied, "Hmph. I don't see an angel. That's a moth, you nitwit".

"But look at her! She's sparkling and shining! And...just look at that dress! That practically screams, 'I'm an angel!' right there!" Cubot exclaimed happily as he likes the girl already.

Orbot rolled his eyes as he countered, "But don't you see the white antennas or the design on the moth's wings? Those wings are not made of feathers, and angels don't have antennas on their heads. They have halos".

"But! But! Have you ever seen how moths actually look like?! They aren't as beautiful as butterflies are! So, how do you explain the beauty of this moth's wings?!" Cubot argued back while pointing at the girl's wings for emphasis.

Orbot then looked at the girl's wings just as Cubot had said. He then felt a little confused as he replied, "Well...I suppose that you have a point there. Just...what kind of moth is this? Something tells me that this isn't any ordinary moth. It could be a rare species for all we know".

"Ha! See?! I told ya that she's an angel! If no moth has ever looked like that, then it has to be an angel because it is different from the rest!" Cubot exclaimed confidently as he crossed his arms in victory.

"Look! Cubot! She's not...Oh, whatever! Let's just stop this intruder already!" Orbot exclaimed in annoyance before he gave up and focused on the task at hand. He then pushed the button to turn on the intercom before speaking into it.

Meanwhile, the searchlights had turned red as they still had shown on top of the moth girl. The girl suddenly heard some loud clanking sounds of metal coming towards her. She slowly lowered her arm to see that an army of huge robots had surrounded her. She was surprised by seeing the robots. In her shock, she looked down to the ground and was even more surprised at what she saw. She sees an insignia on the ground from where she's sitting on. It was a face. A familiar face that she had grown accustomed of.

Dr. Eggman Nega? The moth girl pondered as she felt confused. She suddenly heard a loud intercom going off throughout the area.

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! AN INTRUDER IS IN DR. EGGMAN'S BASE! AN INTRUDER IS IN DR. EGGMAN'S BASE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! THE INTRUDER IS IN SECTOR 42! THE INTRUDER IS IN SECTOR 42! GUARDS! SURROUND THE INTRUDER AND DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE! I REPEAT!" Orbot said over the intercom.

What?! So, it's not Dr. Eggman Nega, but just plain old Dr. Eggman instead? Does that mean...I have successfully traveled to Sonic's dimension? …...I guess that I did. Blaze...I did it! I'm here now! I've finally arrived at my new home now! The moth girl thought with shock before she smiled a little as she realized that her plan was a success.

But before she could relish in her victory, she noticed that the robots had gotten closer to her as a way to trap her. She frowned as she looked down to the ground again. She banged her fist down once onto the ground while shaking her head.

Oh no...Here we go again. Guess that I have no choice but to fight back...in self-defense of course. The moth girl thought while shaking her head in displeasure. She then looked serious as she glared at the robots in front of her. She looked around her and behind of her to see that the robots are ready to attack and charge after her. And she is ready to fight back.

Meanwhile, Orbot and Cubot were watching the moth girl on screen in curiosity. They can see that she had made no move of escape or attack yet. They were still stunned by how gorgeous the girl looks. They don't know where she came from or why she looks like this, but they were impressed nonetheless.

"Do you think that she's from here? In this planet?" Orbot asked out loud as he watched the computer screen.

"Hmm...I don't know. But I still say that she's an angel," Cubot replied as he was giddy at the moment.

Orbot ignored this as he continued his musings, "Perhaps she could be from another dimension. It could explain why her wings are beautiful in the first place".

"Or that she's from heaven because she's an-" Cubot replied happily before Orbot cut him off.

"If you say that she's an angel again, then I will smack you until you get your common sense back!" Orbot exclaimed irritably as he turned to glare at his robot companion.

Cubot slumped his shoulders as he replied, "Awww...Fine. I'll drop the subject for now".

"Thank you. Still, it would be good to know what this girl is. If only the Doctor was here to see what we're see-" Orbot replied before he looked back at the screen.

"You were saying?" Dr. Eggman replied calmly as he stood behind Orbot and Cubot.

Orbot and Cubot jumped in shock before turning around to look at their master. "B-Boss...You're back. Umm...Do you have any idea at what the intruder could be? Because I don't have a clue as to what she is. I'd say that she's a moth, but I've never seen any moths that look like this. She's rather...a special kind of moth if I had to guess," Orbot replied awkwardly before looking back at the computer screen.

Dr. Eggman scratched his chin as he watched the top-right computer screen. He too was intrigued by this strange girl. His interest was piqued as he noticed that the energy radar on his computer panel had picked up very high energy levels from her. The bars had reached at max as they had finished detecting the energy from the intruder. Interesting. This girl has...several high energy levels detected on her and most intriguingly...inside of her body. Hmm...Let's just see how powerful this girl really is. After all...I might want to catch her and make her a part of my new master plan. Heheheh. Dr. Eggman pondered as he smirked with glee on his face.

Meanwhile, the moth girl had finally decided to stand up. She slowly yet carefully got up. Although her legs had wobbled a bit, she stood still and more boldly as she prepares to fight back. The huge robots were ready to fight back as they readied their guns at her. The moth girl smiled confidently as she pondered while holding her two gems in her hands. Well, it doesn't matter if I'm in Blaze's dimension or Sonic's dimension. I'll protect this world from Battra...and from any "Dr. Eggman"s that live here. And that reason is because I'm Kathy the Moth, the current descendant of Mothra. As the current Queen of the Monsters, I shall not let this Dr. Eggman person to harm my new people in my new home dimension. After all...it is my mother's wish that her name and my name get cleared from being labeled as "evil" monsters, and I'll start fulfilling her wish by stopping these robots from capturing me. Hey, you can't start being the hero if you get captured, right? So, let's start with that. Hmm...Maybe I could try scaring Dr. Eggman by demonstrating my power onto these robots and onto his base. That will be the perfect warning to get across as a way to show him not to mess with me!

With that decision made, Kathy had focused onto the robots in front of her and charged up her energy beams.

Yes, what Kathy had just thought was no joke. She isn't just any ordinary moth but rather the legendary Kaiju monster, Mothra. She is, as she had just stated, the current descendant of the original Queen of the Monsters. However, she does differ from her original ancestor since she is actually a half Mobian-half Kaiju hybrid since she has two arms and legs instead of just six legs. Not to mention that she's in her Rainbow Form currently. Her skin is still white with her face having orange and black colors on her chin, forehead, and above her upper lip. Her eyes are round with light-blue irises in them. Her wings are different than her normal colors since it has all the colors of the rainbow on them. On the outside part of her wings, the colors are red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple. The inside part of her wings is green and white. She also has two orange circles on each top end of her wings. Also, her wings are covered with black streaks from her top wings to her bottom ones as a part of her wings' design. She is wearing a pure white dress with frills at the top while her bottom half of her dress is silky smooth with sequins on it. Her body is even sparkling which made the white dress even more stunning to look at. Her dress shoes are pure white just like her dress. Her shoes are also made up of sequins too. She is also wearing regular white gloves and white dress socks too. Her entire body is surrounded by a red aura also. And last but not least, Kathy is wearing a shiny, silver pendant that has two gems with a golden heart in the middle of the two. In other words, she is wearing her mother's pendant, the Sol Pendant.

And right now, Kathy is holding onto the two Sol Gems in her hands as she prepares to battle the robots. But first, she attacks them by firing her charged-up energy beams at them. The energy beams are hot red instead of her regular yellow beams since she is in her Rainbow Form. So, her energy beams are ten times more powerful currently. Her energy beams had hit the front row of the huge robots and had exploded immediately after being hit once. Sparks and explosions were everywhere as Kathy turned her body around to fire her energy beams at the rest of the robots. Not surprisingly, the robots were too slow to react to the intruder's sudden attacks. So, they got destroyed before they had they had the chance to fight back. The ground was on fire as the remains of the robots still laid on the ground even after being blown up. Kathy smirked as she saw that the robots are gone.

Meanwhile, Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot all stared at the top-right screen in utter disbelief and in shock. They were all speechless as they had wide eyes on their faces. Dr. Eggman had his mouth wide open as he felt the most shocked of them all. J-J-J-JUST WHAT WAS THAT?! Dr. Eggman thought in a panic as he saw that his robot guards had been completely annihilated by this new girl. He had a sweat drop on his head as he realized that those robots were the only robots guarding the outside of the base.

He quickly pushed the intercom button and yelled into the microphone, "Robots! Our outside forces had been wiped out! It's your turn to guard the inside of the base! When that intruder comes in, guard the place with your very life! That is an order!".

Kathy heard that intercom transmission and smiled to herself. Yep, he's scared now. But hey, what kind of a monster I would be if I just let him go like that? I know that I should be looking for Battra at the moment, but who knows what this Eggman person had done in the past? Probably just as much evil things as his counterpart, Dr. Eggman Nega, if I had to guess. Better safe than sorry! Kathy pondered as she turned around to face the tall building in front of her.

She then decided to use her wings to fly quickly towards the huge metal doors of the base. She used her Sol Gems to punch through the doors to break them. The doors were no match for the powerful gems since the hinges of the doors broke and fell towards the ground. Kathy then flew inside of the base. Dr. Eggman's Egg Pawns had prepared quickly for battle as they had their swords and guns with them. They were charging through the hallways of the base as they did their best to confront Kathy. However, their efforts were fruitless since she used her fired-up energy beams at the hoard of robots charging at her. The whole corridor exploded since the beams went through the robots like paper and had hit a wall as a result. Part of the wall had combusted once the beams had hit it. Kathy kept flying through the base very quickly while making turns whenever the hallway leads to a dead-end. All of the robots both flying ones and lands ones tried to attack Kathy by firing their bullets at her, but they were ineffective regardless if she was in her Rainbow Form or not. She is a radioactive monster after all. So, she just took the hits and kept flying towards them. The robots panicked since they realized that their weapons were useless against her. But before they could run away, Kathy went towards them and punched through each of them with her Sol Gems. The robots had exploded immediately after Kathy had punched them. She was smiling confidently as she does this. She flew even farther into the base once she had destroyed all the robots in the hallway.

"Ack! Doctor! None of our robots are stopping her! What should we do?! She could possibly come up to the top floor and destroy us!" Orbot exclaimed in a panic as he watched each computer monitor to follow the fast flying moth as much as he could.

"Not if I had anything to say about it! We will stop her in our own way!" Dr. Eggman yelled back as he felt angry that his forces were useless against the young girl.

"But how?! I don't think that-Oh no! The girl is now approaching the special containment room! Our spare Wisps are being held in there! If she destroys that, then-!" Orbot exclaimed before he panicked again as he saw the moth flying towards the room in question.

"Then that means we will lose our last source of weaponry against Sonic and the others! I was planning to use those Wisps as weapons against Sonic! If she destroys them, then I lost another good plan into taking over the world!" Dr. Eggman yelled in anger as he banged his hands onto the computer panel in frustration.

Meanwhile, Kathy was approaching another two sets of metallic doors. She decided to use her energy beams to break them this time. She fired her energy beams at the doors, and immediately, the doors exploded into sparks and fire. Kathy flew into the room and had immediately stopped once she saw what was inside there. Her eyes went wide as she saw some strange floaty things in a large, glass container. There were some white, blue, red, and yellow Wisps in the container. She can see that they looked scared of her as they all huddled together in fear. Kathy frowned once she saw that. She doesn't understand what these strange creatures are, but she can tell that they have feelings by seeing how frightened they are.

Poor things. They probably thought that I was going to kill them after they saw me destroy those two doors. Maybe I should convince them that I won't harm them by releasing them from their prison. Kathy pondered with a concerned look on her face. She then slowly walked towards the container while staring at the weird creatures. The Wisps flinched even more in fear once they saw Kathy walking towards them and was standing in front of the container. Kathy then gently placed her hand onto the glass container and stared sympathetically at them.

"Don't be scared. I won't hurt you. I'm here to protect you. I'll get you out of here," Kathy said gently with a little frown as she rubbed the glass container. The floating creatures were pleasantly surprised as they heard that. They all turned to look at Kathy with intrigue. They all made some strange noises that Kathy didn't understand. She supposed that this was the creature's way of speaking.

Maybe they are speaking to each other. Huh. Kind of like how us Kaijus speak in our native language to communicate to each other. Kathy speculated as she watched the small creatures speak to each other.

Soon, one of the Wisps was brave enough to approach Kathy. It was a white Wisp as he moved slowly to the glass and held it with his hands. Kathy smiled gently at the nervous Wisp as she replied, "Yes. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help you. Do you know how I can free you without breaking this container?".

The white Wisp nodded and pointed his little hand towards the red button on a machine that is adjacent to the container. Kathy turned her head to the right to see where the Wisp was pointing at. She smiled as she walked towards the red button next to the container. The Wisps watched her as she approached the button.

"You mean this button?" Kathy asked curiously as she looked back at the Wisps. All of the Wisps nodded their heads as they felt hopeful of escaping their prison. Kathy grinned brightly as she turned to push the red button. After she had pushed it, the glass container was raised, and the Wisps had cheered in their own language as they saw that they're free. Kathy smiled cutely as she saw that she had helped someone or somethings for the first time after arriving in this dimension.

Hehehehe! This is great! My first heroic deed in this dimension! This is definitely better than the Sol Dimension that's for sure! I've already helped somebody, and they're grateful towards me! Heh! I could get used to living here! Kathy thought brightly as she grinned happily.

She walked towards the Wisps and said to them, "There you go! You're free! See? I didn't hurt you guys, and I never will! So, don't feel afraid of me. I'll be gentle towards you".

The Wisps were nodding happily in joy before they felt afraid again. Kathy was confused as she stared at the frightened Wisps. Huh? Why are they scared now? I've just freed them, and now they're scared again? What did I do to scare them? Kathy thought curiously while looking confused.

One of the Wisps exclaimed in their language while pointing at the huge robots behind Kathy. Kathy turned around to see where the strange creature was pointing at and was surprised to see four huge robots with giant hammers with them. Ah. So, that's what they're afraid of. Of course, there would be guards in here. I've just freed something important in here. No doubt that this Dr. Eggman guy would want these creatures for himself. I must protect them. I knew that coming into this base was a good idea. Kaijus such as I had always had a nose for something that threatens them or is a threat to something else. And these defenseless creatures are proof of those that felt threatened by something bigger than them. But don't worry, little guys. I'll protect you. Kathy pondered calmly as she prepares herself to fight the huge robots.

She then flew towards them quickly and attempted to punch them with her Sol Gems. Yet, she had to fly backwards to dodge the robots' attacks as they swung their hammers around to protect themselves. After that attack, the robots attacked again by slamming their hammers at Kathy. However, Kathy kept flying backwards as she saw that it would be too risky to hit them in close combat like this. She also didn't want to get knocked out by those big hammers. So, she retreated back towards the Wisps and stood in front of them. The Wisps looked worried as the huge robots got closer to Kathy. Kathy looked back at the Wisps while putting an arm towards them as she exclaimed, "Stand back, everyone!".

She then charged up her energy beams until they were at max power. She fired her energy beams at the huge robots and made them explode on contact. Sparks and fire were all over the place as Kathy had destroyed the guards in the special containment room. The Wisps were frightened of course, but they soon saw that the robots were gone. So, they cheered again in happiness. Kathy smiled as she looked back at the happy creatures again.

Well, that was easy. I guess that all I need to do now is help them escape. Of course, that is also easy because if there is one thing that Kaijus are good at, it is destroying stuff! Kathy thought calmly with a grin.

She then turned her head at one of the walls in the room. She flew towards it and punched it with her Sol Gems. The wall immediately broke with the strong force of the punch. The Wisps were surprised by this, but they saw that the hole leads to the outside of the base. So, they cheered one last time as they flew immediately outside as they were happy to be free. Kathy smiled brightly as she exclaimed cheerfully, "You're welcome, guys! I hope that you enjoy the free life that you have now!".

One Wisp had tapped Kathy's shoulder. Kathy turned her head to the left to see the same white Wisp from before who had approached her. Kathy smiled at him as she asked gently, "What is it, little one?".

The white Wisp simply hugged her neck as he felt grateful to be saved by the kind girl. Kathy giggled a little as she petted the little Wisp. "Hehehehehehe! It's okay, little guy! You're alright!" Kathy exclaimed brightly with a cute smile while giggling a little at this nice little affection that the Wisp is giving to her.

The Wisp soon lets go of her and waved "goodbye" to her before flying towards the night sky with his brethren. Kathy waved back at the Wisps as she thought. Aww, they're even affectionate towards me! This is just fantastic! I bet that the next person I'll meet will be affectionate towards me too!

After she thought that, she then turned back and walked towards the hallway again. As she walked, she smirked as she pondered. Now, let's wreck this place one final time before I leave! Monsters do need to show to others that they own the place they tread upon as a way to prove their dominance over others. I may be a good monster, but that doesn't mean that I should pussy out whenever there is a chance to show off my raw power to others. Honestly, a good demonstration of that power is enough to help people to behave. You don't need remote controlled collars just to get people to behave properly. Just by spooking the evil doers a little will help them to be more kind to others as they fear of dying too early in life. True, it may be a little harsh, but it's effective regardless.

Once she had finished her musings, Kathy had started to fly again and began to go all out by firing her energy beams at everything in the base and punching through walls and ceilings with her Sol Gems. Sparks, explosions, and rubble were everywhere as Kathy destroys multiple levels of the base. Sure, it was a little risky seeing that she could bring the whole building down of top of her, but she was flying so fast that she didn't have to worry about it.

However, the people who are worried here were Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot. They can feel the floor rumbling as Kathy destroys a huge part of the base. They can even see that some of the security cameras were destroyed since some of the computer monitors went black. They were all panicking and shocked by this.

"Ah! D-D-Doctor! What should we do?! That girl is really going to bring the whole building down now! I thought that that she was going to kill the Wisps too, but she didn't! Who is she anyway?!" Orbot yelled in shock while panicking.

"I don't know! But we can still stop her if we-!" Dr. Eggman yelled back before Orbot cut him off.

"There is nothing that we can do to stop her, sir! We have to evacuate! Let's save ourselves before she gets us!" Orbot yelled back as he flew up towards his boss and shook him in a panicked state.

Dr. Eggman pulled Orbot off of him and held him in his hands. He then slapped Orbot across the face and yelled, "Pull yourself together, Orbot! We have the Chaos Emeralds with us! If we leave this base now, then she'll take them from us!".

"Couldn't we just take them with us?!" Orbot yelled back in annoyance.

"We could just use them! It's not that hard! We'll stop her by using the emeralds!" Dr. Eggman yelled back as he lets go of Orbot. Dr. Eggman tried to get to the Chaos Emerald chamber while the floor is still shaking. Orbot and Cubot watched their boss stumble a lot while trying to fetch the Chaos Emeralds from the chamber. Orbot turned to look at the monitors again. He was shocked to see that Kathy had broken through another wall that leads to the outside of the base. He can see her flying towards the top of the base...the very room that they are in right now.

"Ah! Boss! Get back! Get back! She's coming!" Orbot yelled towards Dr. Eggman.

"What?!" Dr. Eggman yelled in confusion as he looked back at Orbot with wide eyes. Orbot and Cubot nodded to each other before they flew towards Dr. Eggman, grabbed both of his arms, and yanked him back towards the computer monitors. Dr. Eggman was about to yell at them for why they did that until he heard a loud crash.

CRASH!

Kathy burst through the wall of the top floor of the base by punching through it with her Sol Gems. She knocked away not only the wall but also the Chaos Emerald chamber too. The chamber flew a few feet before it crashed down to the floor of the room. Luckily, the Chaos Emeralds hadn't fallen out of the chamber. Kathy was flying in place and had stared into the huge hole in the wall. She can see Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot all huddled together in fear of the frightening new girl. They were all stunned by how beautiful the strange moth girl looks up close, however, their amazement is overshadowed by fear as they're scared at what the girl will do to them now that they're defenseless. They all had frightened faces as sweat dripped down from their heads. Kathy was just staring at them calmly yet seriously.

Hmm...So, this is what Dr. Eggman really looks like. Boy, the appearance is uncanny to Dr. Eggman Nega. I wonder what those two robots are. Probably just some of his lackeys, I guess. But I think that I did a good enough job to scare him off with my powers. He won't be messing around with this dimension's inhabitants now that he knows that I live here now. Guess that it's time for me to leave then! Kathy thought calmly with a frown as she stared at Dr. Eggman specifically.

Kathy then smiled confidently as she flew a bit backwards. Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot watched her go with nervous looks on their faces. Wh-What is she up to now? Dr. Eggman thought nervously while gulping in worry.

Kathy then smirked mischievously as she thought. Well...maybe one more attack for good measure.

Kathy then charged up her energy beams as she aims at the base. Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot all looked terrified as they noticed that the girl is aiming for them. However, Kathy fired her red energy beams down at the bottom of the base first before slowly moving upwards. Explosions and sparks were flying off from the base's exterior structure as they were hit by the beams. More rubble fell from the base after the beams had hit them. Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot screamed in fear as they saw that Kathy was inching closer towards the top floor.

Cubot screamed in terror, "WE'RE GONNA DIE! AAAAAAAAH!".

However, to their surprise, Kathy had stopped firing her energy beams once she had reached the second top floor of the building. They all gasped in shock once they saw that Kathy had stopped. Kathy smiled triumphantly as she had finished what she had wanted to do. As she stared at Dr. Eggman again, she then screeched in her native language to frighten him even further.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! KIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOO! (Don't mess with the Queen, baby!)

Dr. Eggman gasped in shock once he had heard the girl screech like that. He had never heard a moth or anyone for that matter screech like that before. What is this girl? Dr. Eggman thought in awe and intrigue.

After Kathy had finished screeching, she then flew to her left and away from Dr. Eggman's wrecked base. Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot were still startled after that as they were still sitting on the floor while being huddled up together. They had anticipated that the girl would come back, but once two minutes had passed, they all took huge sighs of relief.

"D-Do angels screech like that?" Cubot asked nervously with a worried look on his face.

"Oh, really? Well, do angels attack bases and almost kill us?" Orbot countered with narrowed eyes. Cubot looked even more worried as he shook his head "no".

"Well, if that thing isn't an angel, then what was it?" Cubot asked in confusion.

"That...Cubot...was a monster," Dr. Eggman answered solemnly as he stared at the dark, cloudy sky outside.

"Huh? You think so?" Cubot asked curiously as he stared at his boss.

"Trust me, Cubot. I've seen many extraordinary things in my time and had come across multiple types of monsters. …...And that girl we just saw was a monster," Dr. Eggman stated bluntly with a frown.

"Oh...I see," Cubot replied slowly as he nodded his head.

Dr. Eggman frowned even deeper as he pondered in anger. And that girl just wrecked my base and got away with it! She even freed my spare Wisps that I was saving for another scheme of mine! Oh, that does it! Not only do I want to capture her just because she could be a vital part of my new plan, but now I want to do it to get revenge on her for NEARLY DESTROYING MY BASE!

Dr. Eggman growled in fury as he quickly stood back up. Orbot and Cubot were startled by how quickly their boss had stood up. They can see him clenching his fists in front of him and having a vein popping in his head. "Grrrrrr! Wreck my base why don't you?! Release my Wisps why don't you?!" Dr. Eggman yelled in fury as he felt passionate into exacting revenge onto that new moth girl.

"Uhhh...Boss? Are you goi-?" Cubot asked nervously as a sweat drop formed on his head.

"I'M GOING TO CATCH THAT MONSTER!" Dr. Eggman shouted in anger as steam came off from his head.

"What?! Have you gone insane, master?! That's ludicrous! You'll die trying to catch her! Didn't you see what she had just done to your base?!" Orbot yelled in shock as he immediately got back up.

"Yes! And that's precisely why I want to catch her! For revenge! …...And maybe even for more revenge as I stop Sonic by using her!" Dr. Eggman yelled back in anger as he pointed at Orbot.

"But! But! Sir! You remembered the last time controlling a monster was a failure! Remember what happened with the Zeti?! The tables were turned on us the moment you had lost control of them!" Orbot yelled back while waving his arms in panic.

"But that wasn't my fault! It was Sonic's fault that time!" Dr. Eggman argued back harshly with a deep frown.

"True, but what about the others in the past?!" Orbot yelled back while looking serious.

Dr. Eggman tried to find a counterargument to that, but once he had remembered what had happened to Chaos, he frowned in annoyance. "Okay! Fine! You have a point there! But this is the perfect opportunity to get the upper hand at Sonic by capturing that powerful monster! She could be the key to world domination!" Dr. Eggman yelled back while putting his hands in front of Orbot.

"But there is a slim chance that plan will be successful! I'd still say that it's risky to try to catch her! Besides, what are you going to do to capture her? Hmm? I doubt that you had planned that far ahead!" Orbot argued back while crossing his arms.

Dr. Eggman grinned evilly as he replied, "Or did I?".

[Few Minutes Later]

"Egg Air Strike Squad! Take off!" Dr. Eggman ordered as he flew in one of his own supersonic jets. As he flew his own jet into the sky, the other jets followed after him. His robots were the ones piloting the rest of the jets. There were twenty-five jets in total including the one that Dr. Eggman was piloting in. Dr. Eggman flew in the eastern direction to follow the moth girl. You are certainly going to regret it for trying to ruin my base. Well, I'll show you! Dr. Eggman thought with a frown on his face as he kept flying the jet into the night sky.

Meanwhile, Orbot and Cubot were just sighing as they watched their master in another computer monitor. "Well, it's his funeral once he confronts the girl," Orbot said grimly as he shook his head.

"Yeah, our boss had completely lost it! Hmm...Although I do wonder if he did have some sanity before this," Cubot replied before putting a finger under his chin in thought.

"Probably not since he's going through with this plan to begin with. Any sane person would just stay back and not mess with her any longer. But this is our boss we are talking about here. He never gives up even when he had lost. He's a sore loser, you know," Orbot replied calmly as he stared at the computer monitor.

"I heard that," Dr. Eggman spoke through the radio.

Orbot and Cubot gulped before exclaiming in unison, "Sorry, boss! We didn't mean to be disrespectful towards you behind your back!".

"Hmph. Whatever. I'm just letting you know that everything you see in the computer monitor is being recorded. You can see the same view that I'm seeing right now," Dr. Eggman replied calmly.

"I can see that, sir. But why do you need this footage to be recorded?" Orbot replied curiously as he looked at another computer monitor showing the dark sky.

"Because if all of this goes downhill, the least that we can do is give the security footage from our base and from here to the media later in the afternoon. Surely, telling the world about this mysterious monster will raise alarm, and hopefully, Neo G.U.N. will hunt her down after seeing the footage. You saw how much damage that thing had done to our base. Having the world see how dangerous she is will be enough revenge for me. Maybe it's possible that Sonic and the others will go after her and stop her in my place. The less monsters in the world the better!" Dr. Eggman explained calmly.

"Soooo...this is like your backup plan then?" Cubot asked for clarification as he looked confused.

"Yes, you dimwit. This is my backup plan. Besides, I already have Sonic to deal with every day. I don't want to deal with a powerful monster on top of that! That girl broke the last straw that I have, and I'm going to get back at her because of it!" Dr. Eggman replied before exclaiming passionately again.

"Ummm...Okay, Boss! Whatever you say!" Cubot replied happily as he was content with this. Orbot sighed and shook his head.

"Just try not to get yourself killed along the way, okay, Boss?" Orbot replied tiredly while face-palming himself.

"I'll do my best. Now then. I'm off monster hunting! See ya!" Dr. Eggman replied before he turned the radio off. Orbot and Cubot kept watching the computer monitors after that. They can see Dr. Eggman and the other jets flying farther into the night sky.

---

[Meanwhile With Kathy]

After Kathy had flown for about ten minutes, she soon landed on top of the highest tree branch of the forest and sat on it. She had been staring at the dark, gloomy clouds in the night sky. At some moments, the sky would flash some lightning and thunder boomed a few seconds after. Kathy flinched a little as she heard the thunder since it sounded close to her, but she brushed it off since she was used to thunderstorms.

"I guess that it even rains in this dimension too. Not that I'm complaining about it...but it's actually quite amazing on how similar the Sol Dimension and the Chaos Dimension really is. Heh. I might get used to this place then," Kathy said to herself as she stared at the night sky while smiling a little.

Kathy then scanned the area from below to see where she's at. However, all she could see was tall trees and some mountains in the distance. Nothing much in the area, but then again, she is looking on from a very high height. So, it's understandable as to why she's not seeing many animals or people around. Kathy soon frowned as she brooded.

Hmm...So, this place is my new home then. I can't go back to my old dimension now. This place will need my protection against the nefarious Battra and the various monsters that he will create with his Dark Sol Pendant. I can already imagine the amount of destruction and terror that his monsters will create amongst the people in this dimension. I doubt that these people had ever seen monsters like us. Monsters who are Kaijus. …...Nah, I don't think so. They'll certainly be in for a surprise once Battra starts attacking this world on his own accord. I'll just have to do my best to thwart him off at the best of my abilities. True, I may still be a novice adventurer and a guardian, but I still have what it takes to fight, Kaiju style. So, maybe, this is my chance to turn things around! It's my only chance to redeem the Mothra name from ruin. My mother's reputation was ruined thanks to Battra and so was mine. Everyone back in my dimension had despised monsters including my own clan. The word "monsters" had been given its terror-inducing, hateful reputation again due to Battra's destruction and multiple attempts of world domination that he had done throughout the years, even before I was born according to my mother. I don't know if the people in this dimension loathes monsters too, but I will do my best to get them to change their minds after I had successfully protected them from Battra and his army of monsters. Surely, I mustn't fail them! I must protect them! That is something that my mother would've done. …...Sigh. Mother...

Kathy then closed her eyes as she is reminiscing one of her cherished memories of her beloved mother, Klara the Moth.

[Eight Years Ago]

"Mommy? Do you really think that people will like us again after we have saved them from Battra?" Kathy, the then six-year-old brown larva, asked innocently as she stared at her mother with her sympathetic, light-blue eyes.

She and her mother were standing on the beach while watching the sunset together. They were still living on Infant Island since it was their home. The young, larva girl was wearing a sparkly, light-blue dress with matching, flat, dress shoes. Of course, she also had white gloves and white socks too. She was looking at her gentle, beautiful mother with such curiosity and hope in her eyes. Klara the Moth was wearing a yellow, oriental dress with a huge, puffy, white hat. She was also wearing normal, yellow, dress shoes, white gloves, white socks, and the Sol Pendant. Klara, unlike her daughter, was a fully grown moth as she was in her Adult Form.

Klara was staring at the sunset while having a relaxed expression on her elegant face. She had her left hand on her hip as stared quietly at the sunset with her daughter. Klara was quiet after Kathy had asked her that question. When Kathy was about to ask again, Klara then answered her question wisely.

"Of course, they will, my daughter. They will. They are going to have to face the real truth if they are going to accept us. Once we beat Battra once and for all, the veil of lies and trickery will be lifted from the people's eyes, and they will see that monsters can be good people just like themselves," Klara answered calmly yet wisely with a warm smile.

"Oh? They will? How?" Kathy asked in confusion as she tilted her head to the side in a cute manner.

Klara turned her head to her left to smile gently at her daughter. She had lifted her left hand and had gently stroked her daughter's head in a loving manner. Klara then answered with amusement in her tone, "Hahahaha. You really are that curious, huh? But I will tell you. It's really a simple matter of logic".

"Tell me! Tell me! I want to know! I bet that I can use that...uh...log-ick...to help others believe in you again!" Kathy exclaimed brightly with a serious frown as her eyes sparkled and had her hands into fists in determination.

Klara chuckled in amusement. She stopped stroking her daughter's head and placed her hand back to her hip. She grinned calmly at her daughter while staring at her with her own twinkling, light-blue eyes. "You want to know that badly, huh?" Klara replied gently with a grin.

Kathy nodded her head as she replied solemnly, "I...I want to help you, Mother! Honest! I have promised you that I will become the next Guardian of The Sol Pendant because of your sake! I don't want you to suffer from fighting Battra all alone! I want to fight with you in order to help you! Any kind of advice will help me understand what it means to be a guardian! Please, Mother...Teach me...".

Klara smiled warmly at her daughter before she stared at the gorgeous sunset again. Klara then looked a little more serious while still retaining her calm smile. She replied to Kathy wisely, "The only way to help me...and to help anyone in general...is to follow these simple rules that I've made for myself. 'Protect those whom you've sworn to protect, and love those whom you are protecting'. By doing those things, you have successfully made others to feel safe and loved by you. This world is such a cruel and dangerous place where safety and love do not exist. Unconditional love is very rare in this world and so very few people demonstrate it genuinely. But if you show unconditional love to someone, they will soon care about you and would want to help you out in return. You can really bring hope and life into someone by just simply caring for them. The people whom you chose to care for will believe in you and your innocence. That is how people will see the goodness in us, Kathy. If we care for them, then they will soon care for us. It's as simple as that".

"Oh...Wow..." Kathy muttered in awe as her mouth hung open a little.

Klara kept staring at the sunset in silence while Kathy was thinking to herself. "Protect those whom you've sworn to protect, and love those whom you are protecting". I better remember what my mom had just taught me. If I'm ever going to follow in her footsteps, then I should keep these rules in my heart. I'm sure that they will help me someday and maybe...

Kathy then looked at the sunset as she finished her thoughts. …..Maybe someone would want them too.

[Back To Present Day]

Kathy was still looking down as she had finished reminiscing about her late mother. Oh, Mother. Your words still ring with me even to this day. I'll never forget what you had taught me for the past thirteen years. You were the only one who had cared for me. It is true that I had finally made some friends, but I've left them behind because I wanted to live a new life here in this dimension. To have a second chance of having a good life in a different dimension. I'm not sure if I'll find any new friends here, but I'll just let things play out by themselves and see where it leads me. Kathy brooded while frowning.

Kathy then smiled as she finally stood up from the branch that she's on. With her hands on her hips, Kathy said to herself confidently, "Yeah, everything will be fine! Sure, I may have no idea where I am exactly or where I should go next, but isn't that what adventuring is all about? Exploring new areas where you've never been before? I can't just back down now since I'm alone! I should just go out there into the wilderness and...maybe find a place where I could make my new home! Yeah! That could work!".

She was smiling confidently as she looked around some more. She decided to fly upwards again to get a better look at the area that she's in. Now, where should I go? Kathy thought with a calm smile on her face. She slowly but surely flew around some more to find something or anything that might be a good place to stay at. After a minute or two, Kathy was starting to get doubts on where to go. Come on...Where is it? Where is a good place to make my new home? It's got to be somewhere. Please. Please let there be a lodging house or something that I can hide into. Kathy thought with a frown on her face as she moved her head around while looking for shelter. The darkness of nighttime did not help matters since Kathy couldn't see any homes or possibly caves when she was near some mountains. Kathy then looked worried as she rubbed her arms as she thought. S-Stay calm, Kathy. Yes...You're all alone...but that doesn't mean that you can't find one little shelter place to stay at. I know what I'm doing...Just keep on looking and...and...and you'll find it on your own. R-Right?

When two more minutes had passed by, Kathy then flew towards the top of a mountain and stood on its peak while having her hands on her hips. She was frowning in slight frustration as she pondered. Okay, this isn't working. Ugh. Man, it sucks being lost! Just how did Blaze manage to have an adventure in this dimension on her own? Did she do it on her own? …...Wait a minute. She said that she had made friends with Sonic and his friends, right? Maybe I should try finding him or any one of friends and ask them to help me find a nice home to live in or...something. Yeah, I should try that.

Kathy smiled brightly as she flew up into the sky again. "Yeah! That could work! I'll just find Sonic and his friends and then ask them to...to..." Kathy said happily before she slowed down as a realization had hit her.

She had absolutely no idea where Sonic or his friends live at.

"Shoot! I forgot to ask Blaze where Sonic and his friends live at in this dimension! Gosh dang it! Now, I'm even more lost since I have no idea where to find Sonic or the others! Way to go me! You really are doing quite a good job looking like an idiot now! What else should I do to get myself more lost, huh?! Maybe getting chased by someone?! I—Huh?" Kathy exclaimed out loud in frustration with some sarcasm thrown in there as she had a sweat drop on her head while looking annoyed since she had her arms down and had her back slouched over. She then stopped talking once she heard the loud roaring of jets behind her. She turned her head around and gasped in shock once she saw a small assemble of supersonic jets coming towards her.

She grimaced as she then said, "Oh, what now? Is this fate telling me that I should shut my trap when things don't go according to plan? I think that it is".

She first flew upwards and then in place as she stared at the incoming jets. Hmm...I wonder if it's Dr. Eggman who's leading these jets. Is he trying to go after me? Heh. Someone's salty today. If he's that eager to try to get back at me, then I'll just do an encore of what I had done before! Destroying his own property, but this time, it's with jets! Kathy pondered with a smile on her face as she kept staring at the jets.

Meanwhile, Dr. Eggman had his eyes locked onto Kathy as his jet got near towards her. His other jets were trailing behind him. Brilliant. I got her right where I want her. She might fly away from me, but I'm planning to take her out of the sky! That shall teach her to not mess with me and my base! Dr. Eggman thought with a scowl on his face.

He then pressed some buttons on the cockpit and commanded the other jets through the speaker. "Egg Air Strike Squad! The enemy is right ahead of us! Go on ahead without me! Give all of your fire power onto her! She might be very strong, but we will take her out! Now...sic her!" Dr. Eggman ordered through the speaker while watching Kathy to see what she will do next. He's just seeing her fly in place and staring back at him while smiling calmly. He glared back at her while he sees his jets fly even faster towards her.

Kathy smiled even wider as she saw a new challenge that is literally approaching towards her. Ohohohohoho! This is going to be fun. Kathy thought in amusement before she turned around and flew as fast as she could to escape the jets. Dr. Eggman's remaining jets got even closer towards Kathy but are still far away from her. Dr. Eggman then turned on the radio to speak to his robots.

"I found the girl. Now is the perfect time to record her actions. Just wish me luck, boys," Dr. Eggman said calmly with a frown.

"Well, uh, okay, sir. But I still think that this is too crazy for you to do," Orbot replied calmly.

"I've done even crazier things than this, Orbot. This is par for the course for me to do. This doesn't even faze me anymore," Dr. Eggman replied calmly while rolling his eyes.

"Umm...I guess that's true," Orbot replied awkwardly since he doesn't know how to counter that statement.

"Just keep on watching then! Besides, if this backfires somehow, then I'll just merely escape just like I always do!" Dr. Eggman reassured as he smirked evilly.

"You're right, Doc! That's the only thing that you're good at!" Cubot exclaimed cheerfully. Dr. Eggman growled at that unintentional burn that Cubot had just made. Oh, come on! That's not the only thing that I'm good at! He clearly forgot how well I can run! Dr. Eggman thought with a grimace.

Orbot ignored his coworker's comment and replied, "Alright, we'll keep a close eye on the screens. We're just bound to find something rather interesting about this strange girl. I can feel it".

"Understood. Now, let's see what we're dealing with here," Dr. Eggman replied seriously as he looked back up at the view in front of him. He turned off the radio and flew his jet even faster to catch up with the other jets.

("Get King Ghidorah" from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah plays here)

The jets were starting to catch up with Kathy. They soon started to fire bullets and missiles at Kathy. Kathy just simply flew gracefully as the bullets and the missiles missed her. Some of the attacks had hit her as sparks came off of her body, but Kathy just shrugged it off since the attacks had barely fazed her.

"They're no different from what I've experienced back in my old home. Weak as usual," Kathy commented confidently with a smile on her face.

Kathy looked behind her and saw that some of the jets decided to close in on her. As two jets came near her right and left sides, Kathy can see that the pilots were more of Dr. Eggman's robots. So, I was right! That Dr. Eggman person must have decided to chase me! But since it's his robots that he had sent, then I don't have to hold back into destroying the jets! Time to cut loose! Kathy thought with a grin as she saw her opportunity to take down the jets without any worry.

Kathy then quickly took out her Sol Gems from her pendant before she flew even faster. The two jets followed behind Kathy. The jets attacked Kathy again with their bullets and missiles. Kathy instead flew to the right and left smoothly to dodge the attacks. Kathy soon flew upwards to make the two jets follow her. The jets did what Kathy did and flew upwards. Just as the jets were about to attack again, Kathy immediately turned around and fired her powered-up energy beams at the jets. Two explosions were seen within the dark sky as Kathy had destroyed the jets.

As Kathy descended from the high sky, she watched the jets coming towards her. Two down. The rest to go. Kathy thought with a smirk as the remaining jets were coming towards her like a pack of wolves.

Kathy turned around and flew away before the jets had caught up to her. As the jets fired more missiles again, Kathy dodged them by flying around in circles gracefully. She was pleased that she was able to dodge the attacks effortlessly. However, Dr. Eggman was far from pleased as he saw that his jets were failing to stop Kathy.

"Grrrr! Hit her! Hit her! What are you dolts doing?! Use the plasma lasers at her! Do I have to do everything around here?!" Dr. Eggman yelled through his speaker to command his robots to change attack patterns.

The robots immediately got the message and started to attack Kathy with the lasers while ganging up towards her. Neon blue lasers were shot out from jets and had successfully hit Kathy with it. Sparks had hit Kathy's wings and back. Kathy cringed a little from these attacks but was able to keep on dodging them by flying either right or left.

"Huh. It looks like they might have a shot at stopping me. …...Nah! Yeah, right!" Kathy said to herself in amusement as she looks back at the jets before deciding to use her Sol Gems to use teleportation.

"Teleport!" Kathy exclaimed as she commanded the Sol Gems to teleport herself within the jet squad. Suddenly, the Sol Gems turned bright purple and had surrounded Kathy in the light.

PING!

Now, Kathy is standing on top of one of the jets. The robots were confused as they had lost their target even though the target is standing on top of one of their jets. Kathy can see that she is surrounded by the other jets as she is within the group. Kathy gripped onto her Sol Gems as she thought with a determined smile on her face. Now, it's time for a real firework show!

And thus, less than ten seconds later...

BOOM! BOOM! KABOOOM! BOOOOM! KABOOOM! BOOOM! KABOOOOM! KAABOOOM! BOOOOOOM!

Explosion after explosion...and sparks after more sparks...Kathy had decimated the entire supersonic jet squad by firing her fire red energy beams and by punching through each of them with her Sol Gems. Smoke and debris were all that's left in the sky. Kathy smiled once she saw that the jets were gone. So, she flew forwards once again.

However, she didn't realize that Dr. Eggman was flying in the last supersonic jet. Dr. Eggman gaped by how fast and powerful Kathy was as she had eliminated his jet squad within seconds. He can only equate something that strong to someone like Sonic when he's in his Super Form. But somehow, why do I have a feeling that this girl is beyond Super Sonic? Can she ever be stopped? That's the question that I want to know. I'm still not through with her yet! I'm going to go after her myself! Dr. Eggman pondered with a frown on his face.

After making that decision, Dr. Eggman turned on his special boosters that could make his jet go at its max speed. His jet soon caught up towards Kathy and is now tailing behind her. Kathy looked back and was surprised to see that there was one single jet left. Kathy smirked as she thought. Aw, saving the best for last I see! Very well then. I'll just take this jet out with grace and style!

Kathy then flew upwards again, and Dr. Eggman followed her into the dark sky. He was confused as he saw Kathy kept turning upwards as if she's doing a loopy-loop in the air. Regardless, he pulled the wheel towards himself to turn his jet upside down just to follow Kathy. To his surprise, Kathy had slowed down a little and had allowed his jet to go below her.

"Huh? What is she doing?!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed in alarm and in confusion.

As Kathy and Dr. Eggman's jet went down again after the loopy-loop, Kathy then flew on top of Dr. Eggman's jet and had slightly slammed onto it. Dr. Eggman was startled after the loud clang as Kathy slammed his jet.

"What the-?! What is going...on?" Dr. Eggman exclaimed in shock before he saw Kathy walking towards the nose of the jet. Kathy quickly put her gems back into her pendant before grabbing the tip of the jet.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Get off of my jet you little...uhh...bug girl!" Dr. Eggman yelled in frustration to get Kathy's attention. Kathy turned her head to look at Dr. Eggman and calmly smirked at him. She not afraid of the man sitting in cockpit.

I had a feeling that it was Dr. Eggman who was chasing me. Who else would be crazy enough to face someone who had just wrecked their base? Only someone as crazy as he is! Kathy thought calmly with a smirk.

Kathy then simply said to him, "I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid that I attack those who are considered to be a threat towards others".

Dr. Eggman gasped in shock when he heard Kathy speak to him for the first time. He was surprised on how light yet elegant Kathy's speaking voice is. And here I thought this girl could only screech! I never thought that she could talk! Dr. Eggman thought in surprise.

Kathy then looked serious as she continued, "And I do not want you to attack the people in this world anymore. This world...no...this dimension is my home now, and I won't let you take over it. As long as I'm here, this place is my territory, and I wouldn't like you to be invading my territory with your robots. I'm sure that the people in this dimension feel the same way. I'm just...speaking for them".

What in the world? "This dimension"? Is this girl not from the Chaos Dimension then? Where did she use to live prior? This is rather intriguing. Dr. Eggman pondered in curiosity as he stared at Kathy.

He frowned as he exclaimed in annoyance, "Well, excuse me for just wanting a little bit of world domination, moth girl! This place isn't your territory! It will be mine soon, and you as well as Sonic won't be able to stop me!".

Kathy smiled calmly as she replied, "We'll see about that".

After she had finished saying that, Kathy then grabbed onto the nose of the jet and had started to fly again. As Kathy held onto the jet's nose, she was able to make the jet go from side to side. Dr. Eggman was surprised that Kathy was able to do this. He tried to stay in control of his jet, but Kathy was still able to have a firm grip onto the jet and make it turn on her own will.

"Ah! I...I...I can't regain control of the jet!" Dr. Eggman yelled in shock as he kept turning the steering wheel right and left to shake Kathy off of it.

Kathy then flew upwards while taking the jet with her. She was able to make loopy-loops in the sky again, and she had turned the jet around and around in a twisty pattern when she was flying down again. Once she got back to the lower level of the sky, she kept turning the jet around in a graceful manner.

Dr. Eggman was feeling rather dizzy as Kathy kept spinning the jet around in the air. He then exclaimed in alarm, "I'm! I'm spinning! I can't stop this!".

Kathy then replied while spinning the jet in circles through the air, "I'm giving you one last warning. You better get out of the jet now or else I'm taking this jet down with you in it!".

"I...I...Never! Get off of my jet already!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed in frustration while still trying to pull onto the wheel as hard as he could. Unfortunately for him, he might've pulled onto the wheel a little too hard because he had managed to rip it out of the cockpit. Kathy quickly looked back and was quite amused by seeing Dr. Eggman holding the ripped steering wheel.

Kathy then smiled widely as she coyly asked, "Soooo...you want me to let go of your jet now, right?".

Dr. Eggman nodded quickly as he exclaimed, "Yes! Yes! Let go of it right...(Gasp!)".

Dr. Eggman then had wide eyes and a wide mouth as he realized that without the steering wheel in place, he can't control his jet at all! His jet will just fall to the ground or crash into something! He then panicked by exclaiming, "Wait! Wait! Keep holding onto the jet! Keep holding onto the jet!".

"Sorry...but this jet is soooo heavy. I think that I'll just...drop this..." Kathy replied jokingly with a silly smile on her cheerful face. She immediately lets go of the jet and flew further ahead into the night sky.

Heh! That was too easy! Kathy thought brightly with a grin as she flew as fast as she could again.

Dr. Eggman was screaming as his jet was hurling down from the sky in a spinning fashion. He can see that his jet was going to crash into a mountain. He then yelled as he pushed the emergency button, "Abort! Abort!".

Immediately, the window on his jet had opened, and Dr. Eggman had sprung out of the falling jet. His parachute soon came out from his seat, and he quickly grabbed onto it. He breathed a sigh of relief as he watches his last supersonic jet head towards the mountain below.

"Stupid girl..." Dr. Eggman muttered in defeat with a frown on his face.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The last jet exploded immediately after crashing into the mountain.

("Get King Ghidorah" song ends here)

"(Krzzt! Krzzt!) Boss! Boss! Can you hear me?! Please answer! Please!" Orbot exclaimed through the walkie-talkie. Dr. Eggman sighed as he grabbed his emergency walkie-talkie out of his pocket and answered it.

"Yes, I can hear you just fine, Orbot. Also, calm down. I'm still alive and well," Dr. Eggman replied in a resigned tone of voice as he frowned tiredly.

"Oh, thank goodness, sir! Once we've watched your jet crash into that mountain, we thought that you were done for! I'm very much relieved that you're okay! I TOLD you that it was an insane idea to go after that girl! But you didn't listen to me!" Orbot exclaimed in relief before in distress.

"Orbot...Don't start this. I think that I already knew that the very instant I saw that girl destroy..." Dr. Eggman replied calmly in a defeated tone before he shouted in rage, "MY ENTIRE AIR STRIKE SQUAD!".

Dr. Eggman huffed and puffed in anger as he floated down slowly to the ground on his parachute. As he seethed in anger, he then brooded while staring at the dark night sky. It seems to me that my personal enemy list had just gone up by one. Oooh, first my wisps, then my base, and now my jets! That girl is nothing but trouble and needs to be destroyed! …...Either that or make her return to her so-called dimension where she belongs! She will pay for what she had done to me today! Ooooh, she will pay! Grrrrrr!

"Boss? Hello? Boss? Speak up! We can-BZZZT!" Cubot replied into the walkie-talkie before Dr. Eggman crushed it with his hand in anger.

"Well now...Back to the drawing board..." Dr. Eggman muttered in defeat as he keeps on floating down slowly towards the ground below.

---

[Meanwhile With Kathy]

Kathy was still flying as fast as she could throughout the sky. She looked at the horizon before her and had to close her eyes for a bit since she saw some bright lights in the distance. Wow, I was so used to dark skies and dark forestry that the bright lights had thrown me off! I wonder where I'm going to next? Kathy pondered as her eyes had readjusted themselves toward the lights. Once she got close to the new area, she then gasped in shock by what she saw in the distance.

"It's...It's beautiful..." Kathy muttered in amazement as she saw the colorful lights in the distance. She slowly looked down as she flew over a huge city. Kathy was flying over the Casino Night district that is along the eastern coast of West Island. Along the huge district, there was also Casino Park and Night Carnival where the Entertainment Center was at. Kathy looked to her left and right and was just astonished by this new, colorful place that she's flying by. The bright, neon lights, the tall, crazy-looking buildings, and the noises that this city had were fascinating to Kathy.

Kathy smiled brightly as she commented, "Amazing...I've never seen anything like this back in my old dimension. It's so pretty! I wonder what this whole...uhh...place is about? This looks definitely larger than any village that I've visited in. Who knew that this dimension would be so full of surprises and cool places? I can't wait to see what they're all about!".

She continued to smile happily as she turned her head back to look at the dark forest behind her. "This place certainly deserves my protection if these people had to deal with him every day. I'm sure that they'll be happy once he's out of the picture for good. He'll just be a faint reminder once this place is peaceful again," Kathy continued to monologue with a calm smile on her face. She then looked ahead again and continued to keep on staring at the beautiful city as she flew over the place.

This place will be under my protection. It's my home now, and I intend to keep it that way. Kathy thought in determination as she flew farther and farther into the sky. She then decided to turn towards the north-eastern direction after she went past the Casino Night district. After two more minutes of flying, Kathy was alarmed when she had spotted Battra flying aimlessly through the sky.

"Grr. Where could someone like me can hide to in a place like this? I'm glad that I've lost Kathy because if she finds me being lost like this, she'll-" Battra muttered to himself as he looked around to find a new base for him to make.

"Well! If it isn't Battra! Trying to run away from me after I had passed out?!" Kathy exclaimed boldly with a determined grin on her face as she flew closer towards Battra.

Battra cringed as he looked at his left to spot Kathy heading towards him. Blast! She had caught up to me! How did she do that?! Grrrr. Talk about rotten luck! I need to lose her or else she'll fight me in her Rainbow Form! I need to get out of here! Battra pondered with a frown on his face.

Battra quickly turned around and flew ahead of Kathy. Kathy's eyebrows were raised as she sees her nemesis flying away from her. She yelled out to him, "Hey! Come back here, Battra! I'm not letting you get away that easily! I won't let you harm this dimension! Now, come here!".

Kathy flew even faster to catch up to Battra. However, Battra was able to stay ahead of Kathy. Battra yelled back as looked at her briefly, "Go away! Can't you just take a hint?! Leave me alone!".

Kathy shook her head as she yelled back, "What?! And let you destroy another place with your monsters or with you yourself?! No way!".

Kathy then fired her red energy beams at Battra to attack him. Battra did his best to dodge but was hit by the powerful energy beams. He cringed in pain as his body and wings got sparks coming out of it. His flight was shaking up as Kathy keeps on firing her energy beams at him. He soon got out of the fire by flying upwards. Kathy frowned as she then took out her Sol Gems again. It looks like that Battra wants this done the hard way! Kathy thought with a serious look on her face as she flew after Battra.

Come on! There's got to be a way to lose her! But where exactly?! Battra thought in frustration as he flew upwards and forwards into the night sky. As he looked around, he sees nothing but vast waters below him. He growled in frustration as he can't find any place to hide or escape from Kathy. Can't I just find one stupid hiding spot?! A...An island? Battra thought in anger before in confusion as he saw a floating island in the distance.

He smiled evilly as he thought. Yes! Yes! Maybe I could lose Kathy by going towards there!

Battra soon flew as fast he could towards the floating island. He ignored the lightning and thunder as he made it there. Meanwhile, Kathy was confused as she watched Battra head towards the strange floating island.

Huh? An island...that can float? I didn't even know that this dimension has one of those too! The only floating island that I know is Sky Babylon. Not this island. But anyways, what's Battra up to this time by heading there? I don't know what it is, but I better watch out for him if he is going to try to destroy the island as part of his rampage. I won't let him do that! So, here I come! Kathy pondered as she flew in place while staring at the island in determination. After Kathy had made her decision, she flew closer towards the floating island as fast as she could.

[Meanwhile On Angel Island]

It was around 1 AM. Knuckles was still asleep at the time and was still in the exact same place, sleeping on top of the Master Emerald's altar. He was even sleeping in the exact same position as before with his hands behind his head while lying on his back. He was snoring as he slept peacefully. The dark clouds in the sky above were still flashing lightning and booming with thunder. It was definitely close to raining soon despite all the teasing the weather had done all day. Despite this, Knuckles was still asleep. Just like his own stubborn personality, Knuckles is a hard sleeper and is quite difficult to wake up. Probably explains why the Master Emerald had been easy to steal in the first place if Knuckles can sleep through a rainstorm. And sadly...it was that quality of him that had made it easy for Battra to fly above the island as he looked around for a hiding spot.

Battra was flying in place as he looked down on the island below. He had his fingers under his chin as he observed his surroundings. He can see Knuckles sleeping near the Master Emerald. He can even see that the Master Emerald altar was pretty tall. So, he can deduce that he can hide behind the huge altar as a quick hiding spot. He could also hide behind one of the crumbled pillars too. But he soon decided to hide behind the altar itself.

Hmph. It will be as easy as pie. Just slip right in and then slip right out. Then I can fly away towards a different place and secure my new secret base. Hmmm...Perhaps I could hide in a cave and seal it shut by using my own Sol Gems. It will be the perfect hiding spot. I'll call my new base...The Bat Cave. Ahh...Perfect. Battra pondered calmly with a devious smirk on his face. He then flew down gently towards the altar and quietly over Knuckles. Battra carefully descended behind the altar and touched the ground with his feet. He then leaned back onto the altar and looked up. He can see no one in the sky now, but he knows that Kathy will come soon.

Well, it's good that I have a place to hide behind, but I do have a feeling that red echidna might wake up soon and spot me. If that happens, then I will have no choice but to retreat into the air. But that poses another problem. Kathy will spot me again and will never stop chasing me. She is very determined to fight me in which I have no desire to at the moment. Aside from my Dark Sol Pendant, I don't have any other power sources on me to fight her with! If only I could distract the both of them at the same time. But how? Battra pondered calmly yet irkly in annoyance with a solemn frown on his face. He soon looked at the Master Emerald more closely and kept staring at it in hope for an answer.

Until suddenly...a thought had hit Battra like a ton of bricks.

His eyes suddenly became wide, and his mouth went wide too in shock. If could allow himself to gasp loudly, then he would do so because suddenly many memories came flooding back once he had focused onto the huge emerald.

No way! It can't be! I'm in...I'm in...How could Kathy...No! She couldn't! That's impossible! But somehow...she had brought me back to THIS dimension...So, this place...hadn't changed at all. In fact, now that I've thought about it. Ever since I've got here, I had a strange feeling that I've been here before. Kind of like deja vu. But now, I know why. Heh. Hahahahahahaha! Oooooh, this is soooo perfect. Brilliant, I'd say! Mwahahahahahaha! I'm so sorry, Klara, but it seems to me that your own daughter is about to undo all the work that you have done to keep the dark secret under wraps. Whether your daughter had meant to or not! Hahahahahaha! Battra pondered in surprise with a gaped mouth before in amusement with a wicked grin as he is starting to plan his next evil scheme in his mind.

He had an evil smirk on his face as he stared at the huge emerald some more while finishing his musings. But first...THIS emerald is going to help me make my own escape!

While Battra stood behind the altar as he's scheming, Knuckles was still asleep on top of the altar. Soon, he started to sweat and cringed a little as he was having a nightmare now.

And boy...what a nightmare it was.

[Knuckles' Dream]

Everywhere is surrounded by hot flames. The buildings were burning under a sea of flames; smoke was everywhere; and there were no people in sight. It can be assumed that crowds of people are dead as they were killed in the flames, and in the midst of all of this disaster...was a little, red echidna that was lying on the floor in a lighthouse. It was Knuckles himself, except as a ten-year-old child. He was lying on his stomach while having his arms out in front of him. He was still passed out on the wooden floor of the lighthouse. Near the top of the lighthouse, there was a wooden gazebo which was under the searchlight of the lighthouse, and Knuckles was in the gazebo at the time.

Slowly, little Knuckles started waking up. Immediately, he began coughing as he inhaled the smoky air. He tried opening his eyes, but his vision was still blurry and was being blocked by the smoke. He then rubbed his eyes with his right hand while he struggled to get up on his knees.

What...What happened? Did I...pass out? Knuckles thought calmly in confusion as he gripped his head with his right hand while having his eyes closed. He coughed again as more smoke came into his lungs. Uggh. Why is there so much smoke here? Just where am I again? Knuckles pondered some more in confusion as he shook his head. He then decided to try to open his eyes again to see where he's at.

But once he had opened his eyes, he'd wished that he hadn't.

A-A-A-AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Knuckles thought in shock and in alarm as his eyes went wide open while he saw the most terrifying scene.

Before him, it was the burning, oriental town. He sees nothing but smoke and fire everywhere in the town. He felt extremely terrified and dazed. He just didn't know what was happening at all! All he could do was gape and stare at the horrifying scene. He quickly shook his head and rubbed his eyes as he believed that he was just imaging things.

It-It-It can't be true! This can't be real! It shouldn't be! Just how did this happen?! Knuckles thought in desperation as he begged that what he saw was an illusion. As he opened his eyes again, he really, really, REALLY wished that it was the case.

"N-Nooo..." Knuckles muttered in a whisper as he was shell-shocked by what he saw next. His hands were on the floor, and his back was leaning forward as he was stunned by this unbelievable scene.

He saw the Master Emerald itself in the middle of the gazebo. With the burning town in the distance, the whole scene was petrifying to the young, echidna guardian. The raging, hot flames, the devastated, oriental town, the thick smoke, and the Master Emerald itself all had contributed to this horror-inducing scene. It was just unbearable for the poor ten-year-old guardian to witness himself because it was so life-scarring.

WH-WH-WHY?! WHY IS THE MASTER EMERALD HERE?! IT SHOULD BE BACK ON ANGEL ISLAND WHERE IT BELONGS! WH-WHO TOOK IT?! WHO TOOK IT WHILE I WAS HERE?! IT'S...IT'S...IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I...I DIDN'T FAIL! THIS CAN'T BE REAL! IF IT WAS, THEN...THEN...I'VE JUST FAILED MY MISSION TO PROTECT THE EMERALD FROM BEING USED FOR EVIL! I'VE LET THIS TOWN TO DIE BECAUSE OF MY NEGLEGANCE! BUT! BUT! IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I...I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT IT IS! JUST...JUST...JUST WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?! Knuckles brooded as his mind was screaming in shock and in fear. He can feel himself hyperventilating as he kept staring at the scarring scene. He just can't look away from it. He felt frozen solid as he stared at the Master Emerald. He can feel sweat coming down from his head and face since it was so hot. The rising fear in his heart was reaching its limit, and it was ready to burst.

And sadly...it was about to burst in less than ten seconds.

No...NO...NOOOOOOOOOOO! Knuckles thought in panic as he then saw two, small, gloved hands holding the huge emerald. His jaw just dropped to the floor as he was completely fearful from this awful sight. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at this whole scene in complete terror.

Then just like that...Knuckles' heart had been broken into pieces. The only thing that the young echidna could do was scream in absolute terror.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!".

[Knuckles' Dream Ends]

"GAH!...(Pant pant pant)…(Pant pant pant)…...Whew..." Knuckles shouted in shock and in fear before he panted. He had immediately sat up after waking up and had clutched his chest with his right hand. His face was one of pure terror as sweat was coming down from his head and had wide eyes...just like the ones from his nightmare. He did his best to calm himself by slowly breathing in and out. He can still feel his heart racing as his mind kept replaying those horrific images over and over again.

It's not real. It's not real. It's not real, Knuckles. Just calm down. It's only a nightmare. It didn't happen. It...It didn't happen. There's no way that had happened. It's simply impossible. Knuckles brooded calmly as he went through his mantra that he always has whenever that particular nightmare came up in his dreams.

He absolutely has no idea where that nightmare had come from, but he had it ever since he was ten. That nightmare had tormented the poor guardian's soul for over six years, and he still doesn't have an explanation as to why he has it in the first place. He could only assume that he had it ever since he had started to feel anxious about his skills as a guardian. He had to admit that it was because of that nightmare that he had started to take his role as the Guardian of the Master Emerald seriously. His so-called "friends" can't understand why Knuckles couldn't afford to relax at times, but Knuckles knows why. He fears that his nightmare would become a reality if he doesn't take his role seriously. He feared that if he failed in his duty, then hundreds or even thousands of people will die because of his failure as a guardian. It is something that he had dreaded the most. Being the one responsible for the world's destruction.

It had almost happened when Dr. Eggman had stolen the Master Emerald after he had tricked him. He had suffered a panic attack when this was happening. Deep down, he had really respected Sonic and Tails after they had successfully retrieved the emerald back from Dr. Eggman. He had thanked them for their efforts, but...it still didn't make him feel any better about himself. His overwhelming fear of failing to perform his duty is one that...he couldn't tell his "friends" about. He just wasn't that close to them to tell them about his secret nightmare. He can't tell his "friends" because he knows that they won't understand it. They'll just tell him that it's only a nightmare and that he should move on from it. Yet...in his heart...he believes that it was no ordinary nightmare.

In his mind, it felt real. It felt like that horrific event had happened in his life. It's crazy to think that, but that was what Knuckles had felt for years. Still, he refused to believe that it did happen at all out of self-defense. If he had allowed himself to believe that nightmare was real, then he would've lost his sanity then.

…...And that was why he tells himself that it's not real to protect himself from insanity.

Just...Just calm down, Knuckles. The nightmare is over and done with. You can rest easy now. Knuckles thought to himself as he had calmed down now. He then closed his eyes and took a deep sigh. He wiped his forehead to get rid of his sweat. He soon placed his hands back down to the ground and behind his back. Knuckles soon opened his eyes again and looked up at the dark, cloudy sky above. Another flash of lightning had flashed across the sky followed by loud thunder.

Knuckles frowned deeply as he stared at the gloomy sky. There is no escape from my fate, is there? I'm destined to be in this island forever and be all alone. I don't think that there will be any second chances for happiness. Knuckles brooded calmly with a solemn frown as he looked down from the sky and looked towards the Master Emerald instead. As he stared at the glowing emerald, he then kept brooding. And with no chance for happiness...why should I keep on fighting to protect this emerald? There is no reward for my efforts...or recognition. Just...silence.

Knuckles sighed again as he laid back down on his back. He put his hands behind his head again as he gets ready to sleep yet again. However...he doesn't even feel tired. He stared at the dark clouds for a bit with a solemn frown on his face. He soon closed his eyes as he finished brooding with this thought. Might as well rest at least. I'll fall asleep eventually. Hopefully...I could sleep again without having any more nightmares to wake me up...or any disturbances for that matter.

Unfortunately for Knuckles, fate has other plans for him.

[Meanwhile With Kathy]

Kathy had soon approached Angel Island and was searching for Battra. She was looking right and left as she scanned the island for Battra. She can see more lightning flashing across the sky and heard more loud thunder. But she shook this off and kept focusing on her search. Now, I know that Battra is around here somewhere...But where could he be? Where could he hide to? He could be anywhere on this island! Oh...I hope that whoever's on this island is okay. I don't want them to get hurt because of Battra's raw powers. Grrrr. Battra, you better not have caused any trouble on this island, or I'll be furious! Kathy pondered calmly while having a serious expression on her face as she flew all over the island.

Unfortunately for Kathy, Battra was planning to do something troublesome...but she didn't expect that it would involve her.

Battra had looked up at the sky again to see if Kathy is close to him or not. He soon spotted Kathy flying towards the Master Emerald shrine, however, he can see that she was a few miles away from it. He smirked as he saw that this was his chance to strike.

Now, it is time for a little rude awakening! Battra thought mischievously with a devious smirk as he took out his Dark Sol Gems. He then commanded his gems to take control over the Master Emerald. The gems glowed black as Battra was controlling them with his mind. Soon, the Master Emerald was under the Dark Sol Pendant's control as indicated by a black, broken heart glowing in the center of the emerald. He saw that Kathy was getting close to where he's at, so, he lifted one of his fists up towards her direction to aim his attack at her. He closed his eyes as he controlled the Master Emerald to charge up and attack Kathy in the sky. The Master Emerald suddenly glowed much brighter, and green electricity started to crackle due to Battra's control of it. The bright light and the crackling sound of electricity had caught Knuckles' attention. As Knuckles cringed at the sudden bright light, he slowly opened his eyes and looked towards his left.

Huh? What's...going on? Knuckles thought curiously in a tired daze as he stared at the emerald through slit eyes. Once Knuckles' mind had started to kick in, his eyes went wide as he realized that something is wrong with the emerald. AH! The Master Emerald! What's happening to it?! Knuckles thought in alarm as he gasped in shock. However, before Knuckles could think anymore along those lines, the Master Emerald had been completely covered in green electricity.

And suddenly!

VOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Green electricity was shot up towards the sky. Knuckles immediately jolted up out of shock by what he just saw. He sat up from his sleeping position and had stared at the emerald in surprise and in confusion.

"What the-?! Why is the Master Emerald-?!" Knuckles yelled in shock and in confusion before he was even more surprised by what happened next.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! KIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

"HUH?! WHAT WAS THAT?!" Knuckles shouted in shock and in confusion as he immediately looked up at his right after hearing those loud screeches. He was even more confused as he saw something being electrocuted in the dark clouds. He had the most baffled expression on his face as he watched the green electricity attacking something in the sky. He can see sparks coming out of the thing's body.

Meanwhile, Kathy was experiencing such tremendous pain by this sudden attack. She was cringing as she struggled to withstand the electricity. She was flying in place and couldn't try to fly away or get free from the electrical attack. If there was one weakness that Kathy had, then it would be electricity because she can't concentrate onto controlling her Sol Gems with her mind or make a way to escape by flying due to the burning pain of electricity. What didn't help in this situation was that Kathy had been in her Rainbow Form for a long time now, and her energy was draining away from her body. She had been in that form ever since she had fought in her last battle with Blaze by her side. Kathy had been worn out after that tough fight with her final opponent, so, being hit by a powerful attack like this is not helping matters at all.

ARRRRRGH! I...CAN'T...BREAK...FREE! I...I...UGH! NO! MY...MY...MY ENERGY! IT'S...IT'S...WEAKENING! Kathy thought barely as she grunted in pain. She can feel the energy from her Rainbow Form quickly going away. As Kathy gripped onto her Sol Gems for dear life, she tried to keep on controlling the Sol Hearts from leaving her body. Unfortunately, she can't keep her concentration up. So, the Sol Hearts began to leave from her body. As the Sol Hearts came out of her body and had floated around her a few times, Kathy's body had changed back into her normal form. She then screeched in pain again as the electricity was too much for her.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! KIIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

After that, the Sol Hearts had scattered from Kathy and flew to different parts of the world. Soon, the electricity did one more final push at Kathy before it had stopped. That last hit of electricity did enough kickback towards her that had it knocked her down from the sky. As sparks came off from Kathy's body and wings, she weakly flew downwards haphazardly in confusion. While in her confused state, she had accidently crashed into multiple branches before bouncing along the hard ground several times. After Kathy had rolled onto the ground in her rough landing, she then had stopped and had landed on her stomach. She had her arms stretched out in front of her while holding onto the Sol Gems in her hands. Kathy grimaced as she looked very weary and in pain. She screeched in a low tone before putting her face down to the ground out of exhaustion.

KIIIIIIIOOOOOOO!

Meanwhile, Knuckles was shell-shocked by this confusing yet strange event that just happened. The Master Emerald had stopped shooting green electricity at the dark sky. Knuckles then saw something falling...or badly flying down as it were while sparks had come off from the thing's body. He watched the something crashing down into the forest of Mushroom Hill before he frowned a bit as he felt worried for the person who had crashed into his island.

Sheesh...whoever must've come here after experiencing something like that...it must've been terrible for them. But on another note, who or what was that? Hmm...Knuckles pondered calmly in concern and in curiosity as he felt intrigued by the mysterious thing that had fallen from the sky. He then looked solemn as he quickly stood up and looked at the Master Emerald. He carefully walked towards the emerald and placed his hand onto it.

Why did the emerald go berserk all of a sudden? I've never seen the emerald do that before. Hmmm...Hey, wait a moment! What's with the broken heart here? That had never appeared inside the emerald before! What...does it mean? Knuckles pondered in confusion before his eyes went wide as he noticed the black, broken heart glowing inside the emerald.

But before Knuckles can inquire this phenomenon any further, the black, broken heart soon disappeared. Huh?! It's gone! Why was that heart there to begin with?! I...I just have no idea. Ugh. This is getting all too confusing for me. Whatever. Knuckles thought in shock with a surprised look on his face before in annoyance with an irked one instead as he shook his head.

He sighed as he released the emerald and waked towards the steps of the altar. He stopped as he stared at the forest again. He had a hand to his hip while looking solemn as he pondered calmly in somberness. Hmmmm...Something isn't right here. I don't know why the Master Emerald went out of control like that or why that heart just appeared in there. But...I have a feeling that I'll figure them out once I find out what that thing was that had landed onto my island. I might find my answers starting from there.

After that thought, Knuckles immediately ran down from the steps and ran towards the forest of Mushroom Hill.

Once Knuckles had left, Battra then walked around from the altar with a mischievous smirk on his face. Finally...I'm free. That girl won't catch me now since she's out cold. Time to go find my new base. Mwahahahahaha! Battra thought deviously as he flapped his wings and flew away from Angel Island.

[Ten Minutes Later]

("The Mural In The Cave" from Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for the Earth plays here.)

"(Pant pant pant)…...(Pant pant pant pant)…" Knuckles panted as he ran quickly through Mushroom Hill while looking around to see where that strange thing had landed at. He had stopped once he saw some of the trees' branches had been snapped and had been ripped from the trees.

"I...(Pant)…I must be close then. The thing must be around here somewhere..." Knuckles muttered out loud as he stared at the ripped branches. He heard more thunder booming in the sky, yet he ignored this as he kept running. He decided that he should follow the torn branches to find the strange thing. As he ran, he jumped over some logs and made some turns as he followed the torn branches. After running for another minute, he finally reached the crash site of the strange thing.

("The Mural In The Cave" song ends here.)

But once he got there, he slowed his running speed down until he was walking. His expression was one of shock and wonderment as stood on top of the slope that is next to the crash site. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

("Discovery of The Giant Egg" from Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for the Earth plays here.)

The strange thing that was lying on the ground was really a beautiful-looking moth. He can see that the moth was a girl since the moth was wearing a gorgeous, hot-pink dress that has sequins on it and had dress shoes that are the same color and design as the dress. What Knuckles can't get over the most was the gorgeous wings on the moth. The top wings were yellow and black while the bottom wings were red and black. The insides of the wings have orange and white stripes with some black colors near the sides of the wings. He had never seen any moths that look like this, and he was completely stunned by how beautiful this moth girl looks.

After he got over the initial shock of discovering the girl, he quickly got down from the slope and carefully walked over to her. He walked up towards the girl's left side and stood over her. He can't stop staring at the girl since he felt shocked by seeing someone who looks like this. He stared at the girl's beautiful wings, the dress, and even the girl's head. He noticed that the moth's head was round, and that she has orange and white colors on it. He can see two, white, fuzzy antennas on top of her head. In fact, he can see that the girl's head was completely fuzzy and soft. Everything about this moth girl was...unbelievable to say the least.

("Discovery of The Giant Egg" song ends here.)

"..." Knuckles was still speechless as he stared down at the girl with a stunned expression on his face. He had never dealt with a girl like this one before, so, he is a bit...unnerved at what to do here.

N-No way...It was...It was a girl who had crashed here? I...I can't believe this. How...How did she survive that? Wait! ...I-Is she alive? Knuckles pondered calmly in confusion and in shock with a stunned look on his face. His eyes quickly went wide once he realized that the moth girl had lots of bruises and burns throughout her body but mostly on her wings. He then felt really worried about the girl's well-being after that realization.

He immediately knelt down next to the girl's neck and shook her back a little.

"H-Hey! Are you awake?! Can you hear me?! Hey! Answer me!" Knuckles yelled out of alarm and out of nervousness as he felt very worried for the poor girl. He kept shaking the girl for a few more seconds before he stopped. He noticed that the girl didn't respond to his actions. Knuckles bit his lip as he's worried that he might be too late to save her.

No! No! Don't think like that, Knuckles! She must be breathing! Hmm...Maybe I should check her pulse. Knuckles thought solemnly with a deep frown as he shook his head before looking at the girl's stretched-out arms. He then crawled over to the girl's hands and sat in front of her. He quickly grabbed both of her wrists and pushed his thumbs into her pulse. After a few seconds, he breathed a sigh of relief once he saw that the girl was still alive.

Whew...That was a close call. She's okay. She must've passed out or was knocked unconscious by that lightning attack. Still, it's quite hard to believe that this girl went through all of that and still be okay. Just how did this girl survive that? That's what I want to know. Knuckles pondered calmly in somberness and in curiosity with some relief on his face. He soon looked at the girl again while still holding her wrists.

He then smiled a little in amusement as he thought calmly in amazement. She really must be a strong girl then if she can survive a lightning attack like that. Hmm...

As he kept staring at the girl, he soon held onto her hands, but once he did that, he felt alarmed as he felt a powerful, heavy sensation in his hands.

…! Huh?! What the-?! Knuckles thought in shock as his eyes almost popped out of his head. His hands felt very warm until it became quite hot as he felt two, small objects in his hands.

"ACK!" Knuckles yelped loudly as he immediately released the girl's hands. Her hands were dropped to the ground again, but this time, they were unfolded. Knuckles rubbed his own hands while having a shocked expression on his face.

Wh-Wh-What was that?! That was just so hot! Even with my gloves on, the heat was just too much for me! But on another subject, just...how strong was that energy? It must be my imagination, but...that energy was like...how much the Master Emerald is! That...That can't be right! There can't be another Master Emerald like mine or even...something more powerful than it! There's just no way! Knuckles pondered in alarm with a shocked expression on his face as he looked at the girl's hands now. He frowned solemnly before he looked curious.

Still...I wonder what it was that I had touched. Those things seem...small in my hands. Hmm...Maybe I should check it out...just out of curiosity's sake. Knuckles pondered calmly with an intrigued look on his face as he slowly yet carefully lifted the girl's hands away from the ground. He gasped in shock at what he had found.

He saw two, small, round gems that are glowing light-blue. He soon saw that the gems had stopped glowing after it was out of the girl's hands. Knuckles carefully put the girl's hands away before he slowly reached for the small gems. Once he got near to the gems, he carefully touched them just to make sure they're not hot again. When he saw that the gems had cooled down, he then picked them up and held them in his big hands. The gems look tiny compared to his hands. They're even tinier than the Chaos Emeralds. As Knuckles looked at the gems more closely, he can see that they are silver with some gold at the left and right sides of the gems.

Hmm...I wonder...Knuckles mused curiously before he lifted his hands in the air while holding the two gems. He then placed to the two gems next each other out of curiosity. His eyebrows were raised once he saw that a gold heart was made once he had put the two gems together. He then deduced that the gold heart was like the gems' insignia. He had to admit that whoever had crafted these gems had an eye for art because they look rather beautiful together.

Interesting...So, these two gems were what I had felt earlier. I wonder where they belong to on this girl's person? Hmmm...Knuckles pondered calmly in curiosity with an intrigued look on his face as he took his hands down to look at the girl again. He kept staring at the girl before he noticed something hanging around her neck. He saw a silver necklace.

Hmm...Maybe these gems...go onto that necklace? Knuckles thought curiously with an intrigued expression on his face as he looked at the two gems and back at the necklace. He then decided to crawl a little towards the girl until he was next to her head. He placed the other small gem onto his left hand as he slowly reached for the silver necklace with his right hand. Once he had grabbed it, he gently felt the necklace down until he had found the two ends of it. When Knuckles had reached the center of the necklace, he gently pulled the necklace to the side so that he can place the two gems back into their place.

Ah. There we go. Now...to place these two gems back to where they belong...Knuckles thought calmly in somberness with a little frown on his collected face as he placed the gems down to the ground briefly before picking them up again one at a time. He picked up the left gem and had put it to the necklace's right side. After that, he picked up the right gem and placed it to the necklace's left side. When the two gems were hooked back onto the necklace, the gems had formed a heart again.

Knuckles smiled a little as he placed the necklace back under the girl's neck. There. Perfect. It seems that the gems are back to where they belong. Still...it's quite a beautiful necklace that she's wearing. I wonder if it's a pendant now since those gems can be easily removed like that. Hmm...Why was this girl holding them in her hands? Is it...a special kind of necklace...or a pendant...of some kind? Hmmm...So many questions that are left unanswered it seems. Knuckles pondered calmly yet curiously in relief and in confusion with a little smile as he scooted back to give the unconscious girl some room. He stared at the girl again while he waited for her to respond. When he was having second thoughts that he should keep waiting for her to wake up, he was then surprised to see that the moth girl was stirring a little.

"Huh?" Knuckles muttered calmly in confusion with an intrigued look on his face as he watched the girl slowly yet weakly move her arms again. He then saw her slowly reaching for her pendant and held it for a while.

---

Meanwhile, Kathy felt completely thrashed as she slowly opened her eyes. She did her best in her weakened state to grip her hands together as she dizzily thought that she still had the Sol Gems in her hands. Uggggh. Wha...What happened to me? I...Oh...Yeah, that's right. I was knocked out of the sky by powerful electricity...and...I lost my Rainbow Form because of it. I guess that I'm back to normal now...and...have no Sol Hearts on me anymore. Great. Just...Great. This is like the second time that I had passed out ever since I've gotten here in this dimension. I hope that doesn't become a recurring thing for me as I stay here. Sigh...Hey! Wait a minute! Where's my Sol Gems?! Did I lose them?! Kathy pondered wearily before she felt alarmed by the sudden disappearance of her Sol Gems. She did her best to move her arms back towards her pendant and have one of her hands to touch it. Once she had found the Sol Gems back onto her pendant, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

As she held onto the pendant, she pondered calmly in relief. Whew! That was a close one! I thought that I had lost them after crashing down from the sky! Well...glad to know that they're safe. I guess that all I need to do right now is get out of here. Sadly...I have a bad feeling that Battra had escaped, and it doesn't look like I'll find him at this rate. Especially now that I'm weak after that surprise attack. Ugh. This was not how I thought my first day in the Chaos Dimension was going to turn out! Aw well. Better get up and fly away from this island before anyone spots me being here unannounced.

Kathy then put her hands onto the ground and slowly yet carefully pushed herself up from the ground. She groaned in pain once she felt all of her injuries...especially the ones on her wings and back. Uggggh. It's even worse than I thought. Can I even...fly out from this island like this? Kathy thought calmly in annoyance and in slight worry. Before she can move some more, she coughed a bit as she was regaining more of her consciousness.

---

Meanwhile, Knuckles had watched the strange, moth girl breathe a sigh of relief before she did her best to get up from the ground. She still had her head facing downwards to the ground so that he couldn't see her face. He can see her arms wobbling a bit as she lifted herself off the ground. Man...she must be feeling very exhausted due to her injuries. Can she even stand up? Knuckles thought calmly in worry with a sympathetic frown as he stared at the girl curiously. He then heard her cough a little after she had gotten herself up from the ground.

Instinctively, Knuckles leaned in a little closer to her out of worry for her health. Since he had realized that the girl is fully awake, he tried to talk to her.

"Geez...that was rather a harsh fall you had there. I didn't think that you'd survive that after you had gotten hurt from that lightning attack. It must've been rather rough for you. Are you...Are you going to be alright? Do you feel any burns on you? Any pain that might be unbearable to you? I'm...Uhh...here to help you if you need something that could ail you," Knuckles muttered calmly in a gentle tone of voice as he looked concerned for the poor girl.

Kathy flinched after she had heard a young yet gentle male's voice. She can tell that the male's voice was quite deep and gruff in tone, but it certainly wasn't anything like Battra's gruff voice. Once she had realized that it wasn't Battra whom she's speaking with, she relaxed again by breathing a huge sigh of relief while she pondered with a sheepish frown before smiling a little in gratitude. Boy, I must be more out of it than I thought if I had confused a regular male's voice for Battra's. Still...it looks like I've been found out. Oh no. I hope that they could forgive me for coming into their island unexpectedly. I...I didn't mean to do it! I...I just didn't see that attack coming! In fact...just where did that attack come from anyway...and who did that? …...But enough about that...Hmm...It sounds to me that this man had found me, and it seems that...he's willing to help me just by the tone of his voice. Well, since he had just saved me by finding me, I better go thank him!

Meanwhile, Knuckles was confused when the girl flinched in panic. He wondered why she did that. Huh? Did I say something wrong? Maybe she's still in a daze or something if she's startled by my own voice. It's not like I'm going to hurt her or anything. Still...I should ask her if she really is okay. She could benefit by taking a good night's sleep here. I usually don't accept visitors or intruders on my island since I believe that they could steal my emerald. However...I don't think this girl had actually intended to come here. She had just gotten shot out of the sky by...my own emerald it seems. Hmm...I wonder if that can be considered to be my fault since I wasn't able to control it in time to stop it from hurting this girl. I hope that she could forgive me from that. Knuckles pondered calmly in confusion and in guilt with a sad look on his face as he felt even more concerned for her.

"Hey...Ummm...Are you okay? I can understand if you're confused from all of this. Ummm...I'm sure that you're not going to like this but...Ummm...Uhhh..my emerald might've shot out those lightning attacks at you. I...I'm sorry! It wasn't my fault! I didn't know how to stop it! It just started shooting out lightning from itself out of nowhere! Ummm...Uhhh...P-Please forgive me...Ummm...miss..." Knuckles continued gently in concern before being awkward and a little nervous when he spoke about what happened earlier with the Master Emerald.

Hmm? So, it was an emerald that did it? That's strange. Why would an emerald do something like-? Wait! Oh, yeah! This dimension is called the Chaos Dimension because of the Chaos Emeralds! Blaze did tell me that the Sol Emeralds have a link with the Chaos Emeralds in terms of chaos energy that they both share! So, I guess that it's not unrealistic then that it was a Chaos Emerald that had attacked me by firing those lightning attacks. Well...I suppose that I can forgive him then since it was completely out of his control. Besides...he does sound rather worried about me and maybe nervous by the tone of his voice. I'll help this kind stranger by easing his worries. Kathy pondered in confusion and in surprise before in consideration as she decided to reply to him in gentleness and in gratitude.

"It's...It's okay, sir. It's not your fault. Besides...you had gone out of your way to find me and see if I'm alright. So, I'm glad that you came for me to help me. I forgive you..." Kathy replied calmly yet sweetly in understanding while having her eyes closed and while having a gentle smile on her face.

Knuckles gasped in surprise once he had heard the moth girl speak. Her voice sounded sweet and gentle with a certain elegance that came with it. Somehow...he had a feeling that her voice would sound just as beautiful as her appearance, and he was right about that. He then smiled in relief when he heard that the girl had forgiven him.

"Thank you. I'm glad that I could help you out too," Knuckles replied calmly in understanding with a nod while smiling a little at her.

Kathy then beamed cutely as she decided to look up at her kind savior. When she did that, she replied happily in gratitude, "Thank you...Thank you so mu-!".

KABOOM!

("Legend of The Cosmos" from Godzilla vs. Mothra: Battle for the Earth plays here.)

At the moment when the two guardians had met the other's eyes, lightning and thunder had spread across the sky. It's as if time had stopped after they saw each other face to face. Just like the lightning in the sky, they're both shocked by the other's appearance and felt instantly attracted to the other like protons to electrons were. As the thunder kept booming, so too did their hearts as they can't stop staring at each other both at their eyes and at their faces.

Knuckles had his mouth gaped as he stared into Kathy's eyes and face. Now, that he can see her fully...he can't resist admitting in his heart that she looks adorable with her innocent, gentle, light-blue irises in her eyes, her two eyelashes at the ends of her eyes, her orange and black color marks on her chin, head, and upper lip, and with her sweet, gaping mouth as she was staring back in shock right now. As Knuckles stared into Kathy's twinkling eyes, he then thought calmly in amazement. She's...She's really gorgeous...and quite...adorable even. I...I...Uhhhhh...

He slowly looked down from Kathy's face to look over her body again. He stared at her hot-pink dress, her beautiful, colorful wings, her silver pendant, and at her cute face again. In his eyes, Kathy looks very soft and delicate just by how her body appearance is. He was utterly speechless of her and...had started to feel really nervous of her because of her elegant, tropical beauty. He felt his own heart pounding as his face turned rather bright red while he kept staring at her. He gulped as he thought nervously with sweat coming down from his head. Even with Rouge, I can still manage to keep my cool. …...How am I supposed to deal WITH THIS?! (Gulp)…...I'm in trouble.

…...And it seems that even Kathy shares Knuckles' predicament.

Kathy had stared into Knuckles' shocked yet concerned violet irises. She felt surprised by how handsome his eyes are with the richness of the irises' violet color. Funnily enough, violet happens to be Kathy's favorite color. So, she was rather entranced by the echidna's fierce yet gentle look in his eyes. Of course...it wasn't the only thing that had Kathy's attention. She moved herself slightly backward just to observe Knuckles in more detail. She can see his red dreadlocks along with his red body. She can see his shocked yet cute expression on his face as he stared at her curiously. She had to admit that he looks rather handsome by how he looks. She can even see a little of Knuckles' white crescent moon insignia on his chest behind his arms. In her mind, Knuckles looks very hard and rough just by how his body appearance is. She was even surprised that Knuckles had also moved back a bit just to look at her some more.

With a shocked yet intrigued expression on her face, Kathy then pondered calmly to herself in amazement and in amusement. Wow...he looks rather...Hehe. Cute. The way his face is like...and how he's looking at me with those curious eyes...He looks adorable.

Kathy then can't hold back a cute smile on her face as she started to blush too. Her cheeks turned bright pink as she kept staring at the confused yet curious echidna that's in front of her. She continued to ponder calmly yet brightly in joy. Hehehe! Have I ever mentioned on how handsome he looks?! And...maybe quite strong too due to how his body is structured. Hmm...Hey, I haven't noticed it before but...does he have spikes on his knuckles? That's so cool! I wonder if he can be considered a monster too if those spikes are a part of his body. If they are, then I don't have to feel alone in this dimension! Yeah...that would be nice.

Kathy smiled even more cutely once she noticed Knuckles blushing and looking nervous of her. She pondered calmly yet brightly in amusement while beaming. Awwwwwww...He's blushing! He looks so cute when he does that! Teehee! I guess that he's not used to seeing girls who look like me! I wonder if he knows many Mobian moth girls...or at least butterfly Mobian girls that have my kind of appearance. Well...by the way he's looking at me...probably not! I must be pretty lucky then since I'm the first moth girl that he had ever seen! I...Ummmm...Hehehehehehe! I think that I like him already!

("Legend of The Cosmos" song ends here.)

Knuckles felt his blush deepen once he saw Kathy smiling cutely yet innocently at him. He even saw her cheeks turn pink since she was blushing too. It's like he's going to have a panic attack after seeing that adorable sight.

...Well, about that...

Ahhh...Ummmm...aaaahh...AAAAAAAAH! SAY SOMETHING, KNUCKLES! SHE'S...SHE'S...SHE'S SMILING AT ME! AND RATHER ADORABLY AT THAT! SHE'S BEING RATHER FRIENDLY RIGHT NOW, AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS GAWK AT HER! PLEASE! SAY SOMETHING! I...THIS...THIS SHOULDN'T BE THIS HARD! I'M...Sigh...I'm pathetic at this, aren't I? Knuckles brooded as his mind was screaming and panicking right now before cringing in embarrassment since he still got nothing to say to Kathy.

Kathy smiled gently at Knuckles as she decided to repeat her last sentence again with such sweetness and softness of her tone, "Thank you so much, sir. I'm glad to have met you".

OH, THANK GOODNESS! SHE SPOKE FIRST! Knuckles thought with such relief on his face as he released a breath that he didn't realize that he was holding until now. He shook his head quickly before he looked at Kathy's face again. He then muttered quickly with a shy, little frown and with a nod, "Umm...Y-You're welcome".

Kathy was content to have that as a response. I'm not sure if he's shy or not, but I'll do my best to ease him into talking to me. Kathy thought calmly in sympathy before changing her expression to a gentler one. She smiled more calmly this time and had her eyelids go down halfway to look even more relaxed. Knuckles may not know why but seeing Kathy like this had helped his pounding heart to slow down and his tense muscles to relax. He can feel himself breathing slowly again and feel his nervousness go down a tad. He even started to smile a little as he felt more relaxed now than prior.

But before Knuckles could speak to Kathy again, they both heard another boom of thunder and finally...rain.

"Huh? Oh...It had started to rain. Eh?" Knuckles and Kathy spoke at the same time with intrigued yet relaxed expressions on their faces as they look up at the sky when they had felt the rain coming down on them. They both immediately looked back at each other when they realized that they had said the same thing. It felt almost as if they had the same thoughts of each other and know what they are thinking. It was rather bizarre for them.

W-Weird. Ummm...You know what? I'm not sure why but...I feel like I've met this person somewhere before. Sometime...in another place...Maybe...Hmmmmmm...This really does feel like déjà vu to me. Strange...Knuckles and Kathy pondered calmly at the same time with intrigued yet stunned expressions on their faces as they stared into each other's eyes again. Even with the rain pouring on the two of them, they both can't help but smile a little at each other.

After what felt like an eternity, Kathy soon decided to talk to Knuckles some more although she can't help but look rather shy while doing so.

"Say...Uhhh...wh-where am I exactly? I mean...I saw this island floating while I was flying earlier, but...Uhhh...I didn't mean to actually land on this place. It was rather..Uhh...by complete chance that I happen to be here," Kathy muttered calmly yet shyly in curiosity with a sheepish smile and with upward eyebrows as she stared at Knuckles.

"Huh? Oh! Uhh...This island is called Angel Island. You've...Umm...crash-landed into Mushroom Hill. I would know because...Uhh...I live here on this floating island. I had lived here my whole life," Knuckles answered calmly yet awkwardly in shyness with a little frown while he coyly stared back at Kathy as he rubbed his head with his right hand.

"Oh! So, this place must be your home then!" Kathy exclaimed back in surprise with a gaped mouth as her eyebrows were raised.

More like a prison if you ask me. Knuckles brooded slightly in annoyance while he nodded curtly. "Well...something like that," Knuckles answered instead with a casual shrug and with a solemn frown.

Kathy beamed as she cheerfully replied in amusement, "Neat! My old home was an island too! Except that...well...it's not a floating island per se...but just a regular, remote island in the middle of the ocean".

Now, it was Knuckles' turn to have his eyebrows be raised in surprise. "What? You used to live on an island too?" Knuckles asked calmly in curiosity with a surprised look on his face as his interest was piqued already.

Kathy nodded happily as she answered brightly with a cute smile, "Yep! My whole life too!".

"BY YOURSELF?!" Knuckles blurted out in shock as he couldn't believe that someone other than himself had lived on a remote island too.

Kathy suddenly looked sad as she looked down to the ground before she answered sadly with a little frown, "It's...It's complicated".

Knuckles' eyes went wide once he had heard that answer. He then felt guilty that he had brought up probably some painful memories of Kathy's past. He looked concerned as he replied gently yet apologetically in somberness, "Uhh...S-Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up such bad memories there. I just blurted that out without thinking. I've said that because...I...".

Kathy looked back up to Knuckles after hearing him trail off. She saw him close his eyes in melancholy as he finished by saying, "...I had lived on this island for years...all by myself. There's...no one else on this island except for me".

Kathy gasped in shock before she looked sympathetic for him. She may have lived by herself for at least a year after her mother's death, but the pain of being alone all year had been wedged deep into her soul. There were multiple times that she had felt lonely even in her childhood when her mother had to leave to go fight Battra and stop his plans, but it was never to this degree of never seeing her again. That was what had made her mother's death so traumatic for her. She doesn't want to live a life in complete isolation...but she eventually did...and had hated it.

I can't even imagine what it's like to live with no one on your side for your whole life without any parents to guide you. The pain that this young, teenaged boy had felt is probably even greater than what I had experienced. I don't want this pain to be brought on to anyone! Not even to Battra! I feel...I feel so sorrowful for him. Unfortunately, I...I can't stay. It's still his home, and I...I don't belong here. Besides...Kathy brooded calmly in sympathy with a sad expression on her face before she looked down to the ground in shame.

She finished brooding with these thoughts while looking shameful. …...Nobody would want a monster living in their home. This boy will probably hate me if I confess to him that I'm a monster on the inside. I'm just glad to have a moth-like body so that I could pass off as a regular Mobian to the people of this dimension. Everyone in my old dimension can recognize me as a monster thanks to Battra's efforts. Nobody knows me here. So...I should try to stay low so that I can blend in with the other Mobians here. But first...I should leave...now.

Kathy sighed as she shook her head before she quickly took out her Sol Gems from her pendant again. As Knuckles opened his eyes again, he looked confused once he saw Kathy holding the two gems and held them towards her own chest.

"Huh? Hey, what are you doing?" Knuckles asked calmly in confusion with a little frown on his bewildered face.

"I'm sorry, but...I can't stay here. I should leave now. It's your island, and...I don't think that you want me around. Thank you for helping me, sir. You were rather kind to me. I wish that we can see each other again some...other time in the future...So...Please excuse me..." Kathy replied calmly yet softly in sympathy as she looked at Knuckles with a sad but grateful look on her face.

What?! She's leaving?! Already?! Knuckles thought in shock with a surprised look on his face as he felt like his gut was being punched by Kathy's words. He doesn't understand why that had hurt him so badly. What Kathy had said was true. She really isn't supposed to stay here since she could be a thief for all he know...but...no matter how much he stares into her light-blue eyes...he somehow doesn't believe that Kathy would steal his emerald...even if he had shown it to her. There was something about her eyes that gave the moth girl an innocent aura about her. It's probably because of that calming aura that had made Knuckles to feel at ease with her despite feeling very nervous of her at the same time. Which is why...he doesn't want Kathy to go just yet.

"Wait! Don't go! We've...We've only just met!" Knuckles yelled out in alarm as his face looked shocked.

Kathy smiled gently at Knuckles as she replied sweetly in understanding and in hope, "True, but...I'm sure that we'll meet each other again. Goodbye".

NO! DON'T GO! STAY HERE! PLEASE! I...I...Huh? Knuckles thought in alarm with a shocked look on his face before he felt confused as to what Kathy had done next.

Kathy had closed her eyes as she concentrated onto her Sol Gems to heal herself. Her gems glowed bright yellow, and her body was completely bathed in the yellow light. She used one of the Sol Pendant's powers...The Healing Technique. Kathy could feel her body regaining energy again and felt a bit relaxed since the stinging pain of her injuries had subsided for now.

Knuckles gasped in shock by this strange phenomenon that is happening right now. Huh? What is she doing right now? Knuckles thought calmly in confusion with an intrigued look on his face.

Once Kathy had finally finished healing herself, she then brought her gems back into her pendant. Ah. Much better! Now, I can leave for sure! Kathy thought calmly yet brightly in hope with a cheerful grin on her face.

She then quickly stood up...much to Knuckles' surprise of course before saying calmly yet gently to him with a little smile, "Well...I guess that this is so long for now".

"So long"? I...No! This can't happen! Knuckles thought in shock as he stared at Kathy with wide eyes and with a gaped mouth. He quickly shook his head as he exclaimed, "But you can't go! What about your injuries?!".

Kathy beamed cutely at Knuckles as she answered brightly in confidence, "I'll be fine! I've just healed myself! So, I'll just leave without any problems! Watch!".

She tried to make her point by turning to her left and walked towards the slope in the distance. Knuckles gasped again in shock as he turned his head to watch Kathy walk away without having any problems. I...I can't believe it! She can actually walk without struggling! Just...what was it that she did to make her do that? She did say that she had healed herself, but...did she really? Knuckles pondered calmly with intrigue as he had a surprised look on his face.

...But it seems that it was too late to assume that.

"...! Ngggh! Ahhh...Ohgghhh..." Kathy groaned with a gasp and with a pained expression on her face as she then stopped walking after she felt the achiness of her weary muscles since her legs were starting to give out. She tried to make another step, but when she did that, she grunted in pain as the weight of her legs was just too heavy now. She wobbled as she struggled to keep on standing.

Knuckles looked alarmed as he saw that Kathy was struggling. He felt concerned as he called out to her, "Hey! Are you going to be alright?! Do you need my help?!".

Kathy slowly turned her head to look at Knuckles. She smiled weakly as she joked a little with an awkward chuckle, "Well...I WAS alright for about five seconds. Uhh...Heheh. I...I don't got this".

She could feel her knees buckle down slowly to the ground again. Before Kathy had knelt down onto one knee, she added weakly with a small smile on her face, "H-Help me...".

Immediately after Kathy had got down to one knee, Knuckles quickly got up and rushed over to her. As he knelt down next to Kathy, he put his left arm over her shoulders to help her stay upright.

"It's okay. I'm here now," Knuckles calmly reassured as he looked at Kathy with sincere eyes.

Kathy looked at Knuckles again and saw that he was smiling gently at her. She smiled gently back at him as she thanked calmly, "Thank you for helping me again".

"Hey, anytime. But still, I have to ask. Just how did you do that? Did you really heal yourself? It seems so hard to believe that anyone could do that," Knuckles replied calmly in confusion with a nod before he looked curious at Kathy.

Kathy nodded as she lifted her pendant up for emphasis while she answered calmly with a little smile, "Yeah, I did heal myself...although it was more like giving myself some energy to my weakened body. I mean...Heh. I still have these injuries, but...I don't feel the pain from them now. I just used the gems from this pendant to heal myself. That move I just made by using the gems was called The Healing Technique".

Knuckles' eyebrows were raised in surprise when she had explained that. She can do all that just by using those small gems? Knuckles thought calmly in amazement with a surprised look on his face. "I didn't know that you can do that," Knuckles replied calmly in wonderment while still looking surprised.

"I can do a lot of things with this pendant," Kathy replied simply in confidence with a calm smile while placing her pendant back.

"I...Wow! That's incredible! I had never seen anyone do that!" Knuckles exclaimed back in amazement while grinning in genuine surprise and in wonder.

Kathy beamed sweetly at him after seeing him smile wider. Teehee! Awwww...he's so cute when he's smiling like that! He looks like an excited child there when he does that! He seems to be easily impressed with me! I can't wait to impress him even more with my abilities! Kathy thought brightly in amusement as she looked at Knuckles with a jovial expression on her face. They kept staring into their eyes while being unfazed with the rain falling on them.

After staring at each other for a few more seconds, they both exclaimed in surprise with amused looks on their faces before it changed into shocked yet sheepish ones instead, "Oh! I haven't told you my name! H-Huh?! Uhhh...".

"...Uhh..." Knuckles muttered calmly in embarrassment with a bashful look on his face as he realized that Kathy had said the exact same thing that he had said.

"...Uhh..." Kathy muttered calmly in embarrassment too with a bashful look on her face as she also heard what Knuckles had just said. They both blushed in shyness while having sheepish smiles on their faces. Heh...Awkward. I guess that we're both bad at being social with each other. We're...probably are own worst enemy. Knuckles and Kathy thought calmly yet simultaneously in slight amusement as they stared each other while feeling embarrassed.

"Ummm...You first...Please..." Knuckles muttered calmly yet awkwardly in shyness while looking sheepish at Kathy.

Kathy shook her head as she replied calmly yet shyly in awkwardness with a sheepish smile, "N-No...Please. You first. You were quite the gentleman by aiding me...and...I'm sure that you're going to keep on helping me then since I...Uhh...can't move...or probably fly due to my weakened state now. Sooo...I want to know the gentleman who had saved me and who is...such a caring person thus far".

Knuckles was rather surprised by Kathy's humble yet polite reply. He had also noticed that she is looking just as shy as him. Because of this little revelation, Knuckles not only felt a little more relaxed than before but also now a little more mischievous. Heheheh. It seems that the tables had turned for me. Looks like I'm not going to be the flustered one today. Knuckles thought calmly in mischievousness with a little, confident smile on his face as he remembered briefly the multiple teasing that he had suffered through with Rouge in the past. This time, however, he gets to be the one to do the teasing.

Knuckles then smirked deviously as he lightly teased, "Are you trying butter me up by saying those flattery comments?".

Kathy blushed brightly as she panicked while exclaiming in shock and in worry with a nervous look on her face, "Ah! No! I was not! I'm being totally honest here! I really do think that you're a caring and helpful person, sir! I don't mean to give you the wrong impression that I'm being flirtatious or anything like that!".

Knuckles can't resist teasing Kathy some more after seeing her shocked yet nervous expression on her face. "Oh, so now, I'm helpful, huh? What else do you think of me...considering that I've just saved you?" Knuckles teased calmly with an amused look on his face as he stared at Kathy's worried, light-blue eyes.

Kathy blushed even deeper as she tried to retort with a panicked look on her face, "But! But! You are helpful to me! Honest! I mean! I thought that I was a goner there ever since I was attacked so suddenly! And! And! You were so kind to me that I-!".

"'Kind' eh?" Knuckles calmly repeated in mischievousness with a playful grin on his face. Kathy can't help but look nervous at Knuckles since she's blushing so much. Her eyebrows are now fully upwards as she's having a pleading look on her face now.

"P-Please believe me..." Kathy muttered calmly yet softly in a pleading tone as she looked pitiful towards Knuckles.

Knuckles had to bite his lip just so that he could stop himself from laughing at that adorable reaction. He had never thought that he'd ever get so much enjoyment into teasing someone. Sonic? Great but still not enough. Rouge? Please, he'd wished that he could get to tease her more often and get good reactions out of her. But with this moth girl...somehow...it felt rather familiar...and fun even! Almost as if...he had always done this with her.

But the strangest thing is...I've only just met her...and already...I feel really happy being around her. I...I don't get it. I swear that we've only just met! I've never even seen her before! …...Haven't I? Knuckles pondered calmly yet brightly in curiosity as he stared caringly at her.

Knuckles then smiled gently as he replied calmly in amusement, "Relax. I was only teasing. I believe you. Really. I'm glad that you had said those thoughtful things to me and had meant them. It's rather sweet".

Kathy sighed in relief as she calmly replied in sheepishness with a little frown, "Oh...(Sigh)...Thank goodness. I'm glad that I didn't give you the wrong impression of me being flirtatious or something like that. It's quite...unbecoming of a gentlewoman to do so".

Oh? That's new. I've never met a girl who would want to behave in a gentlewomanly way. Well...Besides, Cream that is. This moth girl is...rather genuine...based on how she had reacted earlier with my teasing. It's...rather refreshing honestly. Knuckles pondered calmly with intrigue as his eyebrows were raised again.

"It's quite alright. You didn't do anything of the sort. But anyways...if you really want me to say my name first, then I will...for such a sweet lady as you..." Knuckles replied gently with a little smile and with a nod before teasing a bit at the end as he smirked. Kathy blushed in embarrassment after hearing Knuckles say that about her.

Knuckles then straightened his posture a little as he wanted to look confident while introducing himself to Kathy. He then held up his right fist as he continued calmly yet confidently in amusement with a proud smile, "I'm Knuckles. Knuckles the Echidna. And I'm willing to help you whenever you need it. In fact, I'm willing to let you stay in my shack just so that you can rest in there and be sheltered from the rain. Do you want that, miss?".

Kathy gasped in surprise as she asked shyly with a shocked look on her face, "...! You...You sure that you don't mind me staying here...for the night at least?".

"I don't mind it at all. And yes, you can stay here for the night if you want to," Knuckles replied calmly in amusement with a gentle smile as he unclenched his fist and put it down onto his leg.

Kathy then smiled brightly at Knuckles after hearing that. Knuckles may not understand it but seeing Kathy's cute smile like this had somehow made his heart melt in joy. Geez! It's infectious! Knuckles thought brightly in amusement with a huge grin on his face as he stared at Kathy's happy expression on her face.

"Thank you so much! See?! You really are kind, Knuckles!" Kathy exclaimed happily yet sweetly in amusement with a bright smile as she used Knuckles' name for the first time.

...Correction. Hearing his own name in Kathy's sweet tone of voice had just made his heart melt in joy. So much so...that it's like melting in a volcano. Knuckles can feel his own heart being elated with such ecstasy that he can't stop having a stupid grin on his face.

"Uhh...Uhh...Y-Yeah..." Knuckles muttered calmly yet shyly in awkwardness as he looked sheepish again. There goes looking confident towards her. Knuckles thought calmly in embarrassment with a huge, sheepish grin and with closed eyes.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you my name! Hehe! Hey, in fact, my name starts with a 'K' too!" Kathy exclaimed in surprise yet in enthusiasm with an excited grin and with a light giggle.

"Oh? Really? Uhh...What's your name then?" Knuckles asked calmly yet a bit awkwardly with intrigue in his voice as he smiled gently at Kathy.

Kathy then looked gentle and relaxed with her light-blue eyes twinkling in the night as she answered calmly yet softly, "It's Kathy. Kathy the Moth".

"K-Kathy..."Knuckles repeated in a whisper while looking stunned. It's such a simple name, yet...it somehow suits her. Her name just...makes her appear even more beautiful. Perhaps it's because...it sounds familiar to me somehow. I don't know where I've heard it from, but...it does ring certain bells for me. Knuckles pondered calmly in amazement while still looking stunned.

Kathy continued to smile gently at Knuckles as she pondered calmly in curiosity. So, this kind stranger is Knuckles, huh? Hmmm...How come that name feels familiar somehow? In fact...when I had said his name in that tone of voice...it brought on a familiar, warm feeling that I had in my heart. My lips...felt tingly after I had said that sentence. Why? Why was that? I mean...I'm sure that this is my first time meeting Knuckles like this. How could any of this feel familiar at all? I...I feel confused...and tired apparently. I could use some sleep right about now.

After being quiet for a few more seconds, Knuckles then calmly suggested with a gentle look on his face, "Hey, why don't I carry you to my shack? It'll be okay. Honest. I'm pretty sure that I can carry you all the way there. It's not too far away".

"Oh! Are...Are you sure? Well...if you want to carry me, then I guess that I can let you. Ummm...Would it be best if you could carry me on your back?" Kathy replied calmly yet awkwardly as she looked sheepish.

"Actually, that was what I was planning to do anyway. So...Ummm...Here...Get on me...I'm ready..." Knuckles replied calmly with a gentle smile and with a nod as he released his arm from Kathy's shoulders before turning his back around towards her.

Kathy nodded and turned around towards Knuckles' back. She then got closer to him and placed her arms over his neck. With a little awkward movement, she did her best to wrap her legs around his waist. Knuckles then carefully lifted Kathy's legs while slowly getting up from his kneeling position. Now that Kathy knows that Knuckles had stood up fully, she had tightened her legs around his waist so that he didn't have to carry them. She then held him more on his chest, and he got the picture that she would want her hands and arms to be held by his hands instead. So, he released her legs and held onto her hands instead. Once Knuckles had a much firmer hold onto Kathy's hands, he then turned his head slightly up to reply to her.

"Alright...Are you okay up there?" Knuckles asked simply yet caringly in curiosity with a concerned look on his face.

Kathy beamed as she nodded while answering brightly, "Yep! I'm ready!".

Knuckles smiled at that response before he calmly yet gently replied in fondness, "Well then...We're off now. Just hang on tight...Kathy".

Kathy smiled brightly before she placed her chin on top of Knuckles' head. She held onto Knuckles' chest a little more tightly but gently as she made herself more comfortable in this position. She can feel her own heart beating fast and in happiness as Knuckles walks back to his shack. She can even feel his heart beating fast too as she held onto his chest. Kathy can't say how much she feels happy to have found...potentially a new friend in her new home dimension. And to think that I would've been alone in this world! This is great! Kathy thought happily in amusement with a huge grin.

And Knuckles...had the exact same thoughts as Kathy since he can't get the huge grin off his face as he carried her further out from Mushroom Hill.

Well, here it is. My tenth story: Guardian Angels. As you had already noticed, this is story is going to have REALLY long chapters. It's certainly way longer than any chapters I had already written in my previous stories. But hey, if it's long, then it'll be worth reading again and again since...it might take a lot of time to make them. I can't guarantee that I'll get new chapters like within a week or two. It could probably take three weeks or more. Also, since I'm still working on my ninth story along with this new story, then the updates will be quite random. But understand that I'm still going at them within each break or delay between chapters! Your patience will be appreciated greatly, and your loving support is welcome! Please R&R at every chapter that I make! Your reviews are appreciated here.

Also, I only uploaded two chapters today because it's to set the premise of the story. So, that's why you got two chapters today instead of one. Feel free to read the next chapter if you're interested!

P.S. So, if anyone is confused as to why I didn't upload this story into the Crossover section of this site, it's because that this is more of an adaptation of the Godzilla universe into the Sonic universe. Thus, it's not a true crossover of different franchises. It's basically something as if Sega had made the Godzilla characters like Mothra for example into a Sonic character, and my main reason for writing this story is basically answering the question: If Sega had made the Godzilla characters into Sonic characters, then what will they be like, how will they react as they interacted with the Sonic cast, and what story could be made involving that? And this story is just one of the answers that could be made.

Thus, my OC characters, Kathy the Moth, Klara the Moth, and Battra the Moth, were born. Also, how do you guys think of this unique shipping of Knuckles and Mothra? I know that it's technically a KnucklesXOC shipping, but it is still based around the premise that Kathy is Mothra since she is still a Kaiju. I am obviously biased here since it is my story and my uncanonical shipping, but I think that it's totally adorable! I'm planning to make the ship as precious and adorable as possible throughout this long story, and it's going to be worth it! And who knows? You might come to the same opinion too as the later chapters go by. I like to hear your thoughts on it! If you think that it's stupid, then it's quite alright with me because I KNOW that it's stupid! BUT it's the BEST kind of stupid because it works! So, let's all have fun with this strange, cute story together! Onwards to the next episode!