Here's Chapter Nine! I updated the story pretty quick this time, didn't I?

It was after dark. Tails and I were sitting on the sofa in the living room that night. I looked at the clock. It was almost 7 P.M. Shadow had left around noon and was supposed to come back before the sun set that day. We still needed to decide what to do about Amy.

"Man! Where is Shadow? He should've been back by now. "

"Well, you know him, Sonic. He's always off doing his own thing."

"What I would like to know is what kind of thing he would be off doing on his own that would make him so late. I know he isn't slow."

When I looked over at Tails again, he had a worried look on his face. He must have just thought of something terrible.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"What if something happened to him, Sonic? What if that strange echidna we saw with Knuckles last night got him?"

"I don't think so, Tails. Shadow's a guy that can take care of himself."

"But, you remember what he told us this morning. That strange echidna trapped him under that building."

"I'm sure Shadow wouldn't let the same thing happen to him again," I told my younger two-tailed buddy. "But I would like to know why he's taking
so long."

I got up from the sofa and suggested that we went out to look for him.

"But, Sonic, what about Amy? Are we just going to leave her here?"

"We won't be gone long. She'll be fine."

Tails got up from the couch and we both headed out the door in search of the jet black hedgehog. I wasn't really that worried about leaving Amy alone. What really bothered was her trying to attack me again after she woke up. I didn't know where Shadow was or why he was taking so long, but I was going to find out.

(Knuckles)

I was running through the woods like I was the night before. That same feeling of guilt I had after I bit Amy returned and started to haunt me again. I felt just terrible! After running for a few minutes, I let myself rest by a tree. As I let my strength return, I thought about everyone I knew that I believed was dead because of me. Amy. Sonic. Shadow. Rouge.

They're all dead, I thought. And it's all my fault!

I fought the urge to cry, but my guilt had won the battle again. Tears poured out of my eyes and dropped to the ground.

You're being such a crybaby! I told myself. I knew I was, but it's so hard not to be when you're responsible for killing others that you knew. Even if some them were always giving you a hard time or threatened to kill you.

As I stood there crying my eyes out, I heard a soft voice singing nearby. It was female and it sounded very familiar. I turned to the direction of the singing and saw who was doing it. Even through my ripply vision, I was still able to recognize the figure. It was Tikal, the echidna girl I had constantly thought about before Typhoon had bitten me.

I wiped the tears from my eyes so I could get a better look at her. The moonlight gave a faint but beautiful glow to her peach fur. Her necklace and tiara shone with a brilliant luster of gold while the sapphires on them glittered like the starry sky that night. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was
so beautiful.

Not taking my gaze off of Tikal, I began to walk over to her. She let out a gasp when she heard the sound of my footsteps approaching her. She put her hand over her mouth and started to tremble the same way that the echidna girl in the dream I had did. When the moonlight revealed my appearance, she stopped trembling and let her hand slowly fall back down to her side.

When I was right in front of Tikal, she started to tremble again after looking directly into my eyes. She just seemed so afraid of me. Amy was. Rouge was. And if I recalled correctly, Sonic was too. I couldn't figure out why.

"Tikal, why are you trembling?" I asked her.

"It's your eyes," she replied.

"What about them? You think violet is a creepy color for eyes?" Our people had blue eyes, so maybe she thought that my eye color was weird.

"No, it's not the color of your eyes," she told me. "It's like there isn't any light in them. They seem dark and lifeless."

"Dark and lifeless?"

What did she mean? Dark and lifeless? When I wondered about that, I remembered the first time I met Typhoon before he bit me. His eyes were just the way Tikal had described mine. Dark and lifeless. After remembering that, I thought about the times when everyone acted scared after seeing my face. That's why they were afraid of me. It was because of the darkness in my eyes.

I had to see the dark and lifeless look of my eyes for myself. I spotted a puddle nearby and ran over to it. When I looked into the water, I didn't see anything. I couldn't see my own reflection!

"I can't see my reflection," I said out loud.

"That's strange because I can see it just fine."

I looked over to my left side and saw Tikal looking into the puddle along with me. Her reflection I could see perfectly well, but I still couldn't see my own. I knelt down and reached out one of my mitten-covered hands to touch the water with my finger. Ripples formed in the puddle and then, just as quickly, dissolved. The water was smooth again, but I still didn't see my reflection. Tikal's was the only one I saw in the puddle.

This is weird! I thought. How come Tikal can see my reflection and I can't?

I stood up and looked back over at the peach echidna next to me. As soon as she saw my face, she started to tremble again. I gently placed my hands on her arms and looked into her sapphire blue eyes. The shakiness in them reminded me of a shimmering reflection of the moon in ripply water. I could still feel her quaking as I continued to look at her.

"Tikal?" I said softly to her.

"Please, don't hurt me," she said.

"Why would I hurt someone sweet and pretty like you?" I asked her while stroking her spines.

"Because you're different now," she told me. "There is some kind of darkness inside of you. How do I know that you won't hurt me?"

Because I wasn't thirsty at the time. When I looked at Tikal, she was all that I had on my mind. My thirst didn't corrupt me at all.

"Tikal, I would never, ever try to hurt you," I said to her as I continued gazing into her eyes.

After I said that, Tikal placed her arms around me. At first, I was surprised that her fear left her after what I said. A moment ago, she was terrified of me. And now she was embracing me like a loved one. When I got over my surprise from her doing that, I placed my arms around her as well. Ever since I started thinking of her back when I was sitting alone guarding the Master Emerald, holding her in my arms was all I wanted to do. When I held her, I didn't feel alone anymore. I hated living on Angel Island all by myself. I got lonely for companionship sometimes, but with Tikal around me, that feeling just seemed to have melted away.

Not long afterwards, I heard Tikal let out a gasp. I felt her begin to tremble again.

"Tikal, what is it?" I asked her.

She didn't answer me. She just kept staring at whatever was frightening her. I turned my head to the direction she was looking in and was shocked at what I saw. It was none other than Typhoon. His arms were crossed and he was just looking at us. When I saw his familiar form, I held Tikal closer to me. There was no way I was going to let him hurt her.

"You are really something else, Knuckles," he said as he walked closer to us. "You're a real gentleman when it comes to ladies. But when it comes to guys, you're a real jerk!"

As he continued to walk closer to us, I released my grip on Tikal. Then, I turned around and put my arms out to shield her.

"Listen, Typhoon," I said to him angrily. "If you make any attempt to hurt Tikal, it would take a miracle to save you from me!"

"You think that I would try to hurt her? You really don't know me that well, Knuckles."

"You're right. I don't. Then again, maybe I do. Maybe I know you won't hurt her because she probably reminds you of a girl you use to know."

"I don't remember having a girl that was like her."

"What about Summer?"

Typhoon was taken aback by that. His eyes widened in shock and his face began to frown. Then, he covered his face with his hands like he was going to cry. I could her him saying "Summer" with his voice breaking up while he shook his head. So, he did know that girl in the dream I had. But, what happened to her? I was pretty sure that whatever it was must've been terrible. I left Tikal and walked towards Typhoon.

"What happened to Summer?" I asked the upset dark gray echidna. "Did you kill her?"

"No," he replied. "I never would have killed her. I loved her."

"Then, what happened to her?"

He wouldn't answer me. It was just like when I asked him why he put himself in that stasis tube on Angel Island. Typhoon said that he loved Summer, so whatever happened to her must have been the reason why he was in that stasis tube.

While I wondered about that, I heard voices nearby. They sounded familiar.

"We looked everywhere for Shadow and we still can't find him." It sounded like Tails.

"I don't know where Shadow is, but he better have a good reason for not showing up earlier like he said he would. Hey, who are those guys looking
at us?"

That voice sounded like Sonic's.

But, it couldn't be, could it? I thought. The two figures walked closer to the three of us and I saw them better when they walked into the moonlight. It was Sonic and Tails! Sonic was alive! I felt relief come over me the same way that guilt had earlier that night. When the blue hedgehog and his twin-tailed companion saw us, they froze in their tracks.

"Knuckles?" Sonic said.

"Sonic! It's that strange echidna again!" Tails screamed while pointing at Typhoon.

Before I was about to go over to Sonic and talk to him, that thirsty feeling I had came back again. I tried to run away, but Typhoon grabbed my right arm and dragged me towards Sonic. When the blue hedgehog made an attempt to run for it, Typhoon blasted him with that strange green energy of his. Sonic struggled to get up, but his effort was futile. His attacker went over to him, held the helpless hedgehog up by his chest, then forced me to hold and stand him up with my hands. Typhoon wanted me to kill Sonic!

Tails dashed towards us in order to save his older comrade, but Typhoon grabbed his arm before he even had the chance. Then, he held the young fox the same way he made me hold Sonic. Tikal just stood there with her hands over her mouth, watching in fear as we were about to feed off of our victims. I didn't want to kill Sonic. Especially after the guilt I felt when I thought that he was dead. But, my thirst overpowered me. I couldn't fight it anymore!

"Knuckles!" Sonic said to me with fear in his eyes. "Don't do this!"

"You have no idea how badly I don't want to, Sonic," I told him. "I'm sorry, but I can't control it!"

After saying that, I opened my mouth, revealing my fangs that I would use to puncture his skin. Then, I brought my teeth closer to his neck, ready to
bite him.

End of Chapter Nine.