Chrissy: (Stares at finger with bandage on it)

Sonic: (Walks in) Uh… Chrissy? What are you doing?

Knuckles: (Sitting beside Chrissy) She sliced her finger.

Amy: (Sitting on the other side of Chrissy) She's thinking about taking the bandage off.

Sonic: Well, what about the Fanfic?

Chrissy: (Waves absentmindedly) Yeah in a minute… (Slowly peels off the bandage to reveal a nasty cut)

Chrissy, Knux and Amy: (In unison) EEEEEEEEEEW!

Sonic: (Rolls eyes) Sometimes, I feel like I'm the only sane one here… (Sighs) Well, looks like I have to do this… (Walks to Chrissy's computer and posts new chapter) R&R please!

Part 4: The Midnight Conversation

"JEREMY!" Chrissy screamed the name and sat straight up. Realizing what had happened, she cursed and growled under her breath. That damn dream…She thought to herself, Won't it give me any peace?

Chrissy sighed and stood up. Walking over to the stream she had camped by for the night, she knelt next to the water and splashed some in her face, in an attempt to rid herself of the images that had plagued her every night since her brother's death.

Realizing she probably wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight, Chrissy sat next to the stream, the thought of Now what? tickling at the back of her mind. Realizing she didn't know much of her new surroundings, she decided to explore on the other side of the stream.

Leaping gracefully over the brook, Chrissy walked slowly through the woods, her keen night vision making her surroundings as clear as if it were mid-afternoon. She continued through the forest and was about to turn back for fear she might get lost, when she walked into a clearing. Chrissy looked at a familiar structure, the shrine that she had found earlier. She approached slowly, feeling unworthy, like she wasn't welcome there.

As she reached the top of the steps, she stared, awestruck by the large green gem. Mesmerized, she walked closer, extending a hand. "It's… so beautiful… Is this the Master emerald?" she thought aloud.

"Yes, it is." A voice replied. Chrissy almost jumped out of her skin at the unexpected answer. She turned to look at who gave the response, and saw Knuckles step out of the shadows.

Chrissy sighed out of relief. "Oh. It's you…" she said, smiling. She turned back to the green gem. "It's a wonder it's still here…" she mused. "Wouldn't somebody try to steal it?"

Knuckles sighed. "They do." He said, walking closer to where Chrissy stood. "That's why I'm here. If it falls into the wrong hands…" he let the dismal thought go unfinished. "I'm supposed to protect it and keep this from happening. At any cost." He added simply.

Chrissy shuddered. She couldn't imagine how bad it would be for Zerka or someone else equally evil to get their hands on the gem. Then she thought of Knuckles, outside guarding the emerald 24-7. He's so dedicated to this…she thought. "Don't you ever get lonely?" she asked innocently.

Knuckles hesitated for a moment, and was about to answer when Chrissy perked her ears up and held up a hand to stop him from speaking. "I hear something." She spoke quickly, and her voice was tense. "It sounds like… wings. Not far off, but coming this way. Bat wings." She narrowed her eyes, seemingly concentrating on the sound.

Knuckles was caught off guard and looked confused. "I don't hear anything." He said, puzzled. After a few minutes, however, he heard the sound that Chrissy had described, accompanied by a call of "Yoo-hoo!"

Knuckles couldn't help but to smile as a white bat landed next to them on the shrine. Chrissy was slightly tense for a moment, but a quick glance at Knuckles told her that the bat was no threat. She relaxed slightly, but kept her guard up, just in case.

The bat put her gloved hands on her hips. "You're leaving tomorrow and I had to hear it from Sonic and Tails?" she asked in a how-could-you tone of voice, as if she had just been betrayed.

Knuckles kept smiling. "Sorry, Rouge, babe, I was gonna tell you, but I wanted to wait until morning." He said gently, walking closer to her, and putting a hand on her shoulder.

Rouge stared at him for another moment before sighing and lowering her hands to beside her body. She smiled as she said, "Why is it so impossible to stay mad at you?"

Knuckles grinned wider and wrapped his arms around Rouge's waist. "Because you love me." He said, kissing her on the cheek.

Chrissy could only stare and clench her fists as the pair giggled. She didn't know why, but it was all she could do not to fly into a rage and storm off. She was clenching her fists so tight that her nails dug into her palms and they began to bleed. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself and cleared her throat to get Knuckles and Rouge's attention.

Rouge looked over at the black dog in confusion. "Knuckles, who is that?" she asked, her eyes and voice full of tension.

Knuckles swallowed hard, and replied, "This is Chrissy. She's the reason why we're leaving tomorrow." He explained the whole story as he knew it to Rouge, starting with Zerka's attempt to steal the Master Emerald.

Rouge's expression softened as she heard the story. She and Chrissy locked eyes and looked at each other for a long, seemingly endless moment before Rouge nodded. "You gotta do, what you gotta do, I guess." She said thoughtfully as she turned back to Knuckles. "I think I'll go turn in for the night, sweetie." She said, pecking him on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." She added, smiling and flying into the air. She turned back to Knuckles and Chrissy and waved them a final goodnight before flying over the treetops and out of sight.

Knuckles sighed as he turned back to Chrissy. Before he had a chance to say anything though, Chrissy spoke.

"You're very lucky." The dog said, smiling. "She's beautiful."

Knuckles looked at the ground, smiling to himself. "I think so." He agreed.

Chrissy looked up at the sky. "She reminds me of my sister." She said wistfully.

Knuckles looked up. "Your sister?" he asked. He hadn't heard anything about Chrissy family, and his curiosity peaked.

Chrissy nodded. "Yes. There were four of us."

"Were?"

Chrissy only stared at the sky as she replied. "There was me, my older sister, Venus, my younger brother Fearith, and my older brother, Jeremy." She explained. "About seven years ago, Jeremy was killed by Zerka." Chrissy bit her lower lip. She felt bad about not telling him the whole story, but she knew it was not the right time just yet.

Knuckles looked down, and couldn't help but smile as Chrissy earlier explanation returned to him…

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "So, what are you? Some sort of bounty hunter?"

"I'm a… a … I just don't want to see any more innocent people get hurt." Chrissy said quickly. Lowering her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Knuckles said. It was all he could say. He couldn't imagine what she was going through.

Chrissy shrugged. "Forget it. I'm just doing what I have to do." She said with almost no emotion. She turned back to the stairs of the shrine. "I think I'll go and try to get some sleep." She said, walking down the stairs.

Knuckles looked at her. "Alright then." He said, simply.

Chrissy looked down at her wrist. Wrapped around it was a necklace with a white tiger, the mate to her black lion necklace. She unwrapped the chain from her wrist and turned to Knuckles. "I never got to thank you properly for saving my life." She said. "I'd like you to have this." She tossed him the necklace.

Knuckles caught the chain and looked at Chrissy's gift. "What is this?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Chrissy smiled. "Just a small token of my thanks… And a token of our friendship." She said simply.

Knuckles nodded, and Chrissy turned and dashed down the stairs, stopping just short of the forest. She turned around and called "Goodnight!" before darting into the forest.

Reaching her small campsite just over the stream, Chrissy lay down on her sleeping bag. Did I make the right choice? She pondered to herself. Can I trust him with Jeremy's necklace? She decided to put it out of her mind for now, because time would tell. She snuggled deeper into her bed and fell into a deep sleep wondering what the rising sun would bring…

To Be Continued

Knuckles: (Glares at Chrissy) Why am I paired with Rouge?

Chrissy: (Has another bandage on finger) because I thought it was the best way to introduce her into the story. (Sticks out tongue)

Amy: Hey! We've got a review!

Chrissy: (Squees) REALLY?! (Runs over and almost knocks Amy out of comp chair)

Amy: (Cringes) Chill, Chrissy, sheesh… Anyway, yes, we have a review from No. 42.

Chrissy: (frowns) Yeah, I know, I'm thinking of just combining the first and second chapters, or extending Chap. 1 and making it a prologue…

Knux: And as for the lack of detail, that's always been one of her biggest trouble spots.

Chrissy: (sighs) Knux is right, but I'm working on it, so give me a chance, K? May the force be with you as well. (Grins)

Knuckles: So, when's the next chapter due, Chrissy?

Chrissy: Well, this one came a little later than expected because of computer trouble, but the next one should be up in about a week.

Sonic: Cool! Hopefully there'll be more of me in the next one. (Grins)

Tails: I wouldn't count on it…

Knuckles: (sniggers)

Chrissy: (rolls eyes) You might get more lines if you're good.

Sonic: (Begs) I'll be good! Really I will! Pleeeeeeeease?

Chrissy: We'll see. (Pats) Until then, R&R people!