pokemonsora01, who owns Jamie, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! :) Enjoy! :)

Sonic The Hedgehog belongs to SEGA. :) I only own Rachel.

Strength And Heart Of A Protector

Rachel smiled as she dug out some more sand with her hand shovel. "The neat thing about digging in the sand is you never know what you'll find," she said to her cousin/brother Jamie, who was also digging into the sand near her.

"Yeah," the boy said with a smile before he noticed something shining in the hole he made. Curious, he carefully pulled it out, eyes wide with wonder. "Rach! Come over here! I found something!"

The older girl stood up, pausing as she felt her right pocket of her jeans get warm and when she looked, a red glow came from there. Covering it with her hand, she went over to her cousin, her eyes widening as she saw an exact duplicate of the Emerald she had in her pocket, only it was blue. "Oh, my word," she said in shock. "Jamie, do you know what that is?"

"It looks like a gem of sorts," he said before noticing she pulled something out of her pocket and it was red. His eyes widened and he looked up at her, to which she nodded.

"It's a Chaos Emerald," she said before putting her red one away.

"The same ones that Sonic and his friends are trying to find before Dr. Eggman does?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes," she said before looking around. "Come on. Before we attract attention."

Jamie nodded in agreement, putting the blue Chaos Emerald in his backpack as they grabbed their things and quickly headed out, Rachel glancing around in hopes that Dr. Eggman wasn't around. She knew that if two Chaos Emeralds were close to each other, they would let off a signal, but so far, the two they had hadn't yet. She only felt a bit safer when they arrived in town and she turned to her cousin.

"We should find a way to contact Sonic or one of his friends to tell them about the Emerald," she said.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Jamie asked, fully agreeing with his cousin/sister, but was curious too.

Rachel gave it some thought. "I think I know a detective agency that is run by some people that know Sonic," she said. "We should go talk to them."

As they were walking, Jamie looked at her. "How long have you had your Emerald?" He asked.

"For a while now," she replied. "Sometime back, some of our friends and I were called on a mission to stop Dr. Eggman and Knuckles gave me the red Emerald. It bonded to me and now I don't go anywhere without it."

He nodded. "Let's hope Eggman isn't around," he said.

"I've been watching for him, but so far haven't seen him," she said.

They soon arrived at a run-down building which looked like it could be knocked over by a good strong wind. "Is this the right place?" The boy asked.

"Only one way to find out," the older girl said before knocking on the door.

A buzzing sound came to them and the door was opened by the cutest bee the two had ever seen. "Hi! I'm Charmy!" He said, looking as excited as a kid on their birthday. "Who are you? What are you doing here? What are your names? How can we help you?"

The rapid-fire questions from the fast-talking bee made the two blink and they couldn't get a word in before he asked another question, sounding super excited. The bee's questions were interrupted by a calm voice.

"Charmy, calm down," it said before a purple chameleon came into view. "They're not going to vanish into thin air."

Rachel had to smile at that and the chameleon smiled back. "Come in," he said. "We don't often get visitors."

As the two entered, they looked around, seeing the inside was not as run-down, but they were still careful as they stepped. The chameleon smiled. "Welcome," he said. "I'm Espio the Chameleon, and the bee's name is Charmy."

Just then, a door near the back opened and a green crocodile came out wearing headphones similar to the ones Jamie had around his neck and a gold chain necklace. "What's all the shouting about?" He asked, looking a little exasperated. "How are we supposed to get a job if you guys are just goofing around?"

"We may have a job," Espio said, gesturing to the two cousins.

The crocodile straightened up at once and smiled at the two. "Hi, I'm Vector," he said. "Me, Espio, and Charmy are the Team Chaotix Detective Agency and we can help you with your case. Just name it and you got it."

Rachel smiled. "Well, we don't have a case to solve," she said gently.

The three looked rather confused. "Why are you here then?" Espio asked curiously.

"We need a way to contact Sonic and since you guys know him, you'd be able to get in contact with him," the young woman said.

"Why do you need to contact him?" Charmy asked.

"My cousin found something that Sonic would want to know about," she said before turning to the boy beside her, about to say something when she saw he had his head down and his headphones on. Smiling, she gently touched his shoulder. "Jamie," she said gently.

Lifting his head to look up at her, he quickly, but nervously, took off his headphones. "Sorry, what?" He asked quietly.

Rachel smiled. "Can you show the Chaotix what you found?" She asked gently.

The boy shyly grabbed the blue Chaos Emerald from his backpack and held it out. Vector, Espio, and Charmy were surprised to see it before the bee flew up to Jamie, looking excited. "How and where did you find a Chaos Emerald?!" He asked loudly in his excitement.

Vector grabbed him. "Stop bugging our clients, Charmy!" He shouted.

Jamie tensed up and quickly put his headphones back on, turning on his music. Espio sighed and looked at Rachel. "Why don't you come with me while we call Sonic and explain the situation?" He said.

"Okay," she said before feeling a touch on her arm and turning to look at her cousin, who looked nervous.

"I'll wait here, Rach," he said.

"Okay," she said. "Just don't go anywhere without me."

She said this last part gently and he nodded before she went into the other room with the Chaotix.

Jamie found a corner to sit down in and closed his eyes, listening to his music through his headphones before he opened his eyes and pulled out the Chaos Emerald, looking at it curiously and in awe. He was so focused on it, he didn't see Vector come out and see him. Rachel came out soon after and the crocodile turned to her.

"Why does he always have his headphones on?" He asked.

"Listening to music helps Jamie calm down when he's nervous or stressed, which happens very easily to him," she said.

He nodded. "I can understand that," he said. "Listening to music helps me focus when working on a case."

She looked relieved. "Thank you for understanding," she said. "Most people don't see it that way."

He nodded. "By the way, we never got your names," he said.

"I'm Rachel," she said. "And that's Jamie. He's my cousin, but we're more like brother and sister."

Espio and Charmy came out. "We couldn't get ahold of Sonic," the purple chameleon said.

Vector gave it some thought. "Then we should become Rachel and Jamie's bodyguards for the day," he said. "In case Eggman finds out Jamie has an Emerald."

Rachel looked a bit unsure. "I don't know, guys," she said. "We'd really hate to take you away from your work."

"Rachel, Eggman is power hungry and will stop at nothing to get his hands on the Emeralds," Espio said gently. "Not only that, five sets of eyes are better than two, right? What if Eggman grabs one of you and the other can't do a thing about it?"

She gave it some thought. "Well, when you put it that way," she said before taking a deep breath. "Okay."

"Where were you guys headed?" Vector asked.

"We were going to go to Station Square," she said.

"We'll go with you," Espio said.

When the situation was explained to Jamie, he nodded, but was still nervous around the Chaotix Team. "Okay," he said.

While they were downtown, Rachel was talking with Espio and Charmy, smiling as she answered the bee's questions and learned that Espio was a ninja. Vector, making a decision, slowed his walking down until he was next to Jamie. "Hey, Jamie, you okay?" He asked gently. "Would you feel safer if either me, Charmy, or Espio held onto the Emerald?"

The boy was still nervous around the large crocodile and was trying not to show it. "I'm okay," he said and was about to put his headphones on when he stopped, realizing Vector was just being polite. The crocodile saw this and smiled.

"Rachel told me why you have your headphones on all the time," he said. "I can understand that. I wear mine for similar reasons."

Jamie looked at him in surprise as very few people understood and he smiled, feeling a bit better that he and the crocodile had something in common. "There's another reason I wear them," he said.

"What?" Vector asked gently.

"I started wearing them because of what others say about me when they think I'm not listening," he said. "Like how I'm a freak, a weirdo, and an idiot whose existence is a mistake." He paused. "If I can't hear them say those things, then I won't feel like they're right."

He lowered his head. "Even though they're probably right," he said to himself.

But Vector heard that last line and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, gently making him stop before kneeling down in front of him. "Jamie, none of those things are true and those people are wrong to say those things," he said. "No one's existence is a mistake and those people are idiots to say that."

Jamie was both amazed and grateful to the crocodile as no one besides Rachel had stood up for him before. "Vector," he said. "Thanks."

He hugged the crocodile, who was shocked, but hugged him back. "You're a cool kid, Jamie," he said. "Now come on, we better hurry up to the others."

After they had caught up, the group decided to grab a bite to eat at a nearby fast-food place. Jamie finished before anyone else and remembered he wanted to go check to see if a new game had come out yet. "Hey, Rach, can I run to the video game store down the street?" He asked her.

Rachel looked a bit hesitant, but nodded. "As long as your careful to not let anyone see the Emerald," she said gently.

"I'll be careful," he promised her before heading off.

Espio smiled. "I can see that you weren't kidding about you and Jamie being close," he said.

Rachel chuckled. "Yeah," she said.

They soon finished eating and were about to head to the video game store when they suddenly heard screaming and saw people running away from something. The girl's eyes widened. "Something's wrong," she said, standing up. "They're coming from the direction Jamie went in."

The Chaotix jumped up and the four ran down the street, soon arriving at a scene that made them stop cold.

Eggman was there and he had a bunch of Egg Pawns with him.

And they were surrounding Jamie.

The evil doctor smirked. "I know you have a Chaos Emerald, boy," he said to Jamie. "Now give it to me or I'll have to take it by force."

An Egg Pawn knocked the boy to the ground and the Emerald fell out of Jamie's backpack, but the boy grabbed it quickly before the robot could, making Dr. Eggman glare at him. "This is your last warning, boy," he said. "Hand over the Emerald."

Jamie looked at him and stood up, gathering up his courage. "No," the boy said. "I'll never hand it over to someone like you."

Eggman glared at him. "Egg Pawns! Grab the boy and the Emerald!" He demanded.

"Chaotix, go!" Vector called out, rushing in and attacking the robots, standing in front of Jamie protectively while Espio and Charmy handled the rest of them. Seeing Eggman seething, Vector picked Jamie up and quickly got him back over to Rachel, who looked relieved the boy was okay. "You okay, Jamie?" The crocodile asked after he set the boy down on his feet.

The boy nodded. "That was the bravest thing I've ever seen someone do," the crocodile continued. "Not everyone would have the courage to stand up to Eggman."

Jamie smiled shyly before more Egg Pawns arrived and surrounded them. "Destroy them and grab the Emerald!" Eggman screamed.

Suddenly, a blue blur ran through the robots, destroying them all before stopping in front of the group, making Rachel gasp. "Sonic!" She cried out happily.

It was indeed the blue hedgehog himself and his trusty friend Tails was right beside him. "It's not nice to pick on kids, Eggman," Sonic said before becoming a blue blur again and started destroying the rest of the robots.

Charmy looked worried. "You guys should hide," he said to the cousins.

"Go inside someplace," Espio said.

"We'll help Sonic handle Eggman," Vector said. "Now, go."

Rachel and Jamie quickly ran to the fast-food place, going inside and hunkering down, the door giving them a clear view of the battle going on outside. The girl suddenly gasped as they saw a giant robot coming in hot and it was right above their friends. Feeling her Emerald grow warm, she took it out and looked at her cousin, who caught on her train of thought and pulled out his. "What do you think?" He asked.

She looked thoughtful. "Let's see if we can aim a blast at that robot," she said.

Opening the door, the two held their Emeralds tightly and close together. "Okay, on three, say Chaos Blast," the older girl said.

"Okay," he said. "One, two, three."

"Chaos Blast!" They cried out together.

The blast hit the robot dead center and incinerated it. Seeing the job was done, the two ducked back into the restaurant, staying low. After a bit, they saw the Chaotix walking towards them and they met them outside.

Jamie hugged Vector. "Is everything okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Don't worry," the crocodile said, ruffling the boy's hair. "Sonic probably sent Eggman packing."

"I did," said a voice as a blue blur came up to them and stopped, revealing itself to be Sonic as Tails flew in beside him. He then approached the boy. "Is it true you found something I'd be interested in?" He asked.

Nodding, Jamie pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald and handed it to him. The hedgehog took it and gazed at it before smiling. "You must be something special if you found a Chaos Emerald," he said.

"Nah, I'm not special," Jamie said modestly. "I'm just a normal kid."

"Are you kidding?" Vector interrupted, placing an arm around the boy. "Jamie, you stood up to Eggman. No 'normal' kid could do that."

"Not only that, we happened to see that Chaos Blast on that robot," Espio said with a smile. "Clever."

Rachel smiled. "I couldn't have done it without Jamie," she said.

Sonic smiled. "Way to go, kid," he said, holding out his fist for a fist bump to the boy, who gave him a fist bump before the hedgehog gave him a high five. Sonic then looked thoughtful and smiled. "You know, I think I know who I can trust with this blue Chaos Emerald."

"Really?" Charmy asked with a smile.

"Who?" Vector asked, having a feeling he knew.

Sonic looked at Jamie and took his hand, placing the Emerald in it and closing the boy's hand over it. "You've got the strength and heart of a protector, kid, just like Rachel," he said. "You've earned this."

Jamie felt the Emerald get warm and he winced a little. "It's okay, Jamie," Rachel said, recalling when her Emerald bonded to her. "It's bonding to you. It'll heal you in a moment."

The pain went away and Jamie looked at Sonic. "For real?" He asked in surprise.

"For real," Sonic said with a smile. "Now I personally know four Emeralds are safe."

Rachel smiled before looking thoughtful. "Hey, you guys still want to hang out with us?" She asked the Chaotix. "Even though you don't need to guard us anymore, Jamie and I still want to hang out with you."

"Yeah!" Jamie said with a grin.

Vector looked at his fellow detectives and nodded. "Sure," he said. "We'd be happy to."

Rachel grinned and looked at the other two. "Sonic? Tails? Will you guys join us?" She asked.

"You bet, Rach," Sonic said.

"Sure!" Tails said happily.

The next day, they were all hanging out at the beach and Jamie was away from everyone while grabbing a slushie when he noticed a group of kids that often said things when they thought he wasn't listening and because he didn't have his headphones on this time, he heard every word they said.

But this time, remember how he stood up to Eggman, he turned to them. "Say what you want, but I don't care, because you're wrong about me," he said.

The kids glared at him, but didn't say anything more as they walked off, having clearly been outclassed by the boy.

Feeling proud that he had stood up for himself, Jamie turned to head back to the others and saw Vector smiling at him. "I'm proud of you, Jamie," he said. "I knew Sonic was right when he said you were something special."

Jamie grinned and hugged his friend, who returned the hug before picking him up and placing him on his shoulders, carrying him back to the others. Rachel saw them and smiled, seeing her cousin was no longer nervous around their new friends.

And it looked like the boy and crocodile had a close bond that would last forever.

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418