Several hours later as the sun began to set, the group was still walking towards Angel Island when Rudolph began to awake. "Oh look." Sonic called. "It looks like sleeping beauty's finally awake."

Rudolph slowly looked around and saw that he was being carried by both Sonic and Knuckles. "Sonic… Knuckles… you can put me down. I can walk."

"Are you sure?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah you still look out of it." Sonic said.

"I'm fine, you can let me down." Rudolph said quietly. Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other and slowly let Rudolph off of their shoulders but as soon as they let go, Rudolph fell to the ground causing everyone to stop and turn around.

"Are you ok?" Tails asked as he went to Rudolph's side.

Sonic knelt next to Rudolph, "Here, let me help you up."

"I fine." Rudolph said as he tried to push himself up but both Sonic and Knuckles picked him off the ground. "What are you doing?"

Sonic just grinned as the group continued, "When are you going to get that friends help out friends no matter what?"

"I…" Rudolph began. "I don't want to be a burden."

"After saving our asses you're worried about us carrying you? We can't do everything by ourselves; we all need help every now and again." Rudolph just smiled as he allowed his friends to carry him. Before long, everyone stopped walking causing Rudolph to look around.

"What's wrong?" He asked weakly.

Knuckles turned to Rudolph with a smile, "We're here."

Rudolph looked at Knuckles with confusion. "Where's here?"

Sonic grinned as he turned to Rudolph, "Angel Island buddy."Rudolph's eyes widened as he turned his head upward to see the floating island in the sky. "We can heal you and Tikal here."

A smile instantly formed of Rudolph's face. "Really? Then what's taking so long?"
Sonic turned to Knuckles, "Come on bud, you heard him. Get us up there."
Knuckles just grinned back at Sonic, "Ok… Chaos Control!!!" then suddenly in a flash, everyone was standing in front of the Master Emerald Shrine which held the all-powerful Master Emerald with the 7 Chaos Emeralds standing on a pillar which surrounded the shrine. "Ok, Rudolph you're going-"

"No!" he yelled weakly causing everyone to turn to him. "Tikal should go first."

"Uh… Rudolph… I was going to say you're going WITH Tikal. The Master Emerald can heal more than one person you know?"

"Oh… sorry." Rudolph said as he began to blush.

"Alright Shadow, place Tikal in front of the Master Emerald, and Sonic help me put Rudolph next to Tikal." Both Sonic and Shadow followed his directions and placed both echidnas in front of the large gem and Knuckles stood in front of both, "Here goes; The severs are the seven Chaos, Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart. The controller is the one who unifies the Chaos, please Master Emerald, heal the injured princess and my friend!" Then the Master Emerald began to glow brightly as both echidnas began to be engulfed in the same bright light. Then slowly the light dimmed and reviled two perfectly healed echidnas with Rudolph being the first to get up.

But the second he got to his feet, he quickly knelt down next to Tikal. "Tikal, wake up." Then slowly, Tikal eyes began to open and Rudolph stared happily at her.

But then Tikal quickly drew Rudolph into a hug which he gladly returned. "I knew you would save me, I knew it." She whispered as she clutched him tighter. But as the two withdrew from one another, both found themselves being stared at with smiles and grins causing the two to quickly pull apart out of embarrassment. Then the two stood from the alter and Tikal bowed, "Thank you, thank you everyone one for saving me. If there is any way I can repay you please let me know."

Sonic just grinned as he gave a thumbs-up, "Don't worry about it! As long as you're ok, then we're all ok, right guys?" Sonic asked receiving a nod from everyone. "Oh wait!" Sonic said as he turned to Rudolph. "Dude I'm sorry about your key."

Rudolph shook his head, "It's ok, we just have to get back to the crash site as soon as possible."

"But there's no need." Tikal said as she reached into her dress and pulled out the Chaoskey. "I have it right here."

Rudolph instantly turned to Tikal in disbelief, "B-b-but how? I didn't even sense it."

"I used my energy to mask its power. Here, it's yours." Tikal said as she handed Rudolph the Chaoskey.

Rudolph just smiled as he placed the Chaoskey back around his neck. "Thank you, thank you so much Tikal. You put your life on the line for me… I owe you everything."

Tikal just blushed as she smiled. "I'm owed nothing more than your friendship, Rudolph. As long as you're happy and safe, then I'm happy."

Then suddenly, a jet flew right over the island startling everyone. "What the hell!?" Shadow shouted as everyone ran down the alter and saw the X-Tornado land several feet away.

"What the…" Sonic said in confusion. "I thought the X-Tornado got destroyed by Robotnik?"

Then when the cockpits opened, Cream, Amy, and Julie-Su all jumped out, "Hi Tails!" Cream called.

"Hi Cream!" Tails called as he ran up to her. "Glad you got my message."

"I'm sorry we couldn't be here sooner by Eggman Nega tried to attack the city again."

"So you stopped him?" Blaze asked as she walked up to her.

"We all did, right girls?" Cream asked with a smile as she turned to her friends.

"Yep!" Amy grinned. "We had a little trouble but no worries, especially on my part."

"So Knuckles…" Julie-Su said softly as she walked over to the red echidna, "Why didn't you take me with you to find the princess?"

"I'm sorry, but you weren't around at the time and we were in a hurry, sorry."

"Well next time come and find me," Then Julie-Su walked over to Tikal. "Princess we should get you home right away."

"Sure."Tikal said with a smile.

"I guess this is where I take my leave." Rudolph said as he turned away with everyone turning to him.

"Where are you going?" Tikal asked as she grabbed his arm.

Amy walked over to Sonic, "Who's this guy?"

"Him? Oh that's Tikal's crush." Sonic grinned causing both echidnas to blush.

"OH!" Amy said with gee. "Tikal, is he your boyfriend!?"

Hearing this, Rudolph began to stumble on his own feet. "I-I'm not her boyfriend! We're friends!"

"Are you sure?" Sonic asked with his grinned widening.

"Look!" Rudolph shouted cutting Sonic off. "I have to go. Tikal is safe, I have my Chaoskey, but I still need to find my tribe, they're within a secret forest and I must locate them as soon as possible. Thank you all for helping me, but I must leave right away." Rudolph said as he turned.

"Wait!" Tikal called. "You still didn't fulfill your promise to my father!"
Rudolph stopped then turned back to Tikal, "What are talking about? I rescued you and now you're safe. I don't want to cause any more trouble."

"But you promised to bring me back to my home, remember? If you leave now, then you'll be going back on your word, and you've never done that before… and you're not going to start now are you?"

Sonic folded his arms as he cooed, "Wow Rudy, she wasn't even there and yet she knows what you promised her."

Rudolph sighed then walked back to the group, "Fine, I gave my word, so I guess I have to keep it."

"Great." Tikal nodded.

"So what are we waiting for?" Sonic asked as he ran over to the new X-Tornado. "Let's get back, I'm freaking starving here!"

"Well I'm leaving." Shadow said as he began to walk away. "My mission's over. There's no need for me to be here anymore."

"I guess I'll go too." Rouge said as she went with Shadow. "I did my job, now its time to reward myself." She said with a smirk.

"Remember what I told you." Rudolph called causing her to turn around. "If any of the vultures see you again, they'll make sure to have you over for dinner." Rouge shook slightly after hearing this and took off in the air almost instantly throwing Sonic, Knuckles, and Rudolph into a laughing frenzy.

"Damn dude!" Knuckles laughed, "We gotta keep you around! I've never seen her so scared before in my life!"

Amy, Cream, and Julie-su stared at each other then Amy turned to Tails, "What are they talking about?"

"It's a long story." Tails sighed.

"Well…" Sonic said trying to catch his breath. "We might as well get a move on."

"It's a good thing we extended the X-Tornado, huh Tails?" Cream asked with a smile as everyone walked over to the jet.

"Yeah, with the extra cockpit, everyone here can fit in, plus with all the new upgrades, it's the fastest thing ever to take to the skies."

"I'm driving!" Sonic shouted as he took the keys from Cream.

"What!!? No way! It's mine!" Tails yelled as he chased Sonic.

"Nuh uh! You owe me a Tornado anyway!" Sonic called back as he ran from Tails.

"Remember when you crashed my red one?"

"Give it back!"

"No!"

"Give it back!!!"

"No!!!"

"GIVE IT BACK!!!"

"NO!!!"

Everyone just laughed at the two as they went back and forth.

"Tails," Sonic called as he sat on the wing of the X-Tornado, "How long 'til we get there? We've been flying for hours and its dark out."

"Stop whining Sonic." Amy called from within the second cock pit, "God you're such a child sometimes!"

"It's not fair. I should be driving. We would've been there in half the time."

Tails sighed as he mumbled, "You would've killed us all in half the time if you drove."

And instantly, Sonic was on Tails' window scaring the boy, "I heard that! Don't forget who use to fly planes in this partnership and who use to ALWAYS crash them!" Tails laughed uneasily as Sonic just grinned to confirm his victory but as he was standing there, a fireball whizzed by his face. When he turned to its source, he saw Blaze glaring at him with steam rising from her body and Sonic quickly jumped back on the wing in fright.

Rudolph stared down at Tikal who feel asleep in his arms, 'She's been through so much… I just wish there was something I could do for her. But this will be the last time I see her… its what's best for the two of us… we're two completely different people living two completely different lives. If I try to maintain our friendship… it may only end up hurting her… I can't do that… not to her… she's so kind, caring, and innocent… but Tikal… I give you my word that no matter what… where ever you are in the world… don't be afraid… I will come and save you… I swear it.'

Soon the group finally made it to the echidna grounds with everyone sleepily getting out of the jet with only Rudolph teleporting out of his seat and onto the ground.

"Dude," Sonic began. "Why didn't you just jump out?"

"Lower your voice." Rudolph quickly snapped. "I don't want to wake her."

"Well let's go." Knuckles said as he walked over to front gate.

But once they reached the front gate, the two echidna guards saw Tikal being carried by Rudolph and quickly ran over to him with spears in hand. "Drop her!!!" they shouted, but Knuckles quickly punched the two guards in their stomachs and they quickly fell to the ground.

"Go on ahead guys, I need to have a word with them." Knuckles said as everyone walked through the gate and he grabbed them by their shirts. "Where is the king?"

"H-he took a search party to go find the p-princess." One stuttered through his pain.

"Well until he gets back, don't say a word about Tikal's return. Her father should be the first to see her." Then Knuckles walked off to catch up to the others.

"Wait!" One guard called. "Why are you protecting him?"

Knuckles turned just slightly, "Because no matter what his fur color, he's an echidna just like us." Then Knuckles turned to catch up with his friends.

"That's where Tikal lives." Sonic said to Rudolph as he pointed to a large temple-like pyramid. Rudolph just stared at her home with awe, "Yeah it's pretty huge, huh?" Rudolph nodded. "Well we're staying at Julie's house, you wanna come with?"

"I should put Tikal to bed." Rudolph said as he turned to Sonic. "But I'll be back afterwards, ok?"

"Yeah sure."

"Wait." Rudolph called, "Where is her room?"

Sonic grinned, "Uh… that room right where the balcony is." Sonic said as he pointed up the building.

"Thanks." Rudolph said as he disappeared in a flash and reappeared in her room. As he looked around her dark room, Rudolph could barely make out an outline of her bed. "Uh… I think that's it." Rudolph said quietly as he walked over to the bed and set Tikal down, but after he placed her down and tried to pull away, he realized that he had placed Tikal down on his arm. "Oh shit." Rudolph whispered as he tried to pull away but Tikal rolled closer to him, "Damnit. I can't get free, and I can't transport without taking her with me in this position." He grunted as he kneeled on her bed and pulled harder causing Tikal to stir. "Damnit. I can't move my arm without waking her. What am I going to do?"

But then suddenly Tikal grabbed his jacket and pulled him closer to her with Rudolph freezing in fright as she whispered, "You… can't… promised… me…"

But when he turned to her face, he could tell she was still sound asleep. 'Damn that was too close for comfort!' Rudolph thought, 'She's so strong, I can't get free.' Rudolph sighed in defeat. 'Oh well, if I just wait, her grip should loosen and I should be able to get loose.'