Author's Note: "blank stare" Anyone who comments on its shortness will have alligators set free in their toilets.

Disclaimer: blah, blah, Sega, blah, owns, blah, blah, blah, blah, Sonic

In retrospect, I don't know why I thought it would be a simple matter to take the infants over to Tails, maybe it was that bump on the head. After all, when had anything in my life thus far been even remotely easy.

Anyway, I turned around to tell the tots that we were leaving, only to find that (surprise) they weren't there anymore.

Sighing irritably, sorely tempted to just leave them to their own devices for a while, I reluctantly started to look for them.

Now, I think, would be a good time to mention the size of Angel Island. Simply stated, it's big….really really big, big enough that if any Physicist saw that it actually floated he would have an aneurism.

Needless to say, that it was very hard to find the little hooligans, made even harder the traps Knuckles had set up all around the Island.

……But I did find them, eventually, sore, tired, and dirtier than I have ever been before in my life, but I found them. Although, the fact that they were screaming at each other at the top of their little lungs, did help though.

Pushing my way through, yet another, thorn bush, I found myself in Knuckles' cantaloupe garden and in the middle of a, by now, very familiar, albeit miniature, scuffle between the Guardian and Thief.

And just like last time, Rouge stopped as soon as she noticed I was there and proceeded to open her mouth wide. Fortunately for my ears, this time, I manage to get to her before she let out her other worldly wail, and managed to cover her mouth with my hand.

"Don't even think about," I hissed at her, by now at the end of what little patience I had.

Once she nodded, fervently at that, I turn my attention to Knuckles.

I had been expecting to see the same kind of stubbornness I had come to expect from the Guardian, but, instead, I saw something I had never seen before in his eyes.

Fear.

For a second, I let myself consider how I must look to him right now, probably, between all the thorns and mud, something akin to Big Foot perhaps.

Forcing my anger down, and placing it in a place I liked to call Ix, I asked what was wrong this time.

Rather lamely, he says, "She trieded to take the Massa Emered." Showing me what was distinctly not the Master Emerald, but, rather, a very large cantaloupe.

I felt my eye twitch as I debated whether or not to mention this little fact to him or not.

Unfortunately, the decision was taken out of my hands as little Rouge decided rush up to Knuckles and take said cantaloupe from his outstretched hands.

"MINE!" she shouted in the dumbstruck Knuckles' face, before running behind my leg.

Knuckles soon came out of his daze and proclaimed, "Givie back Wouge!" before chasing her in a circle around my legs.

Oh, how I hate my life.

-Elsewhere-

Metal Sonic was not happy.

But, then again, it was rare that he was ever happy, so this fact, like the many times before, was ignored.

Today's misery was that he was assigned lookout duty on Angel Island. Eggman had an idea to take it over as soon as it was left unprotected. A good plan in theory, but with one major drawback.

THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMEONE ON THE ISLAND!!

To add injury to insult, he assigned both Metal Knux and Shadow Android with me.

"WHAT'S THAT!" cried Metal Knuckles, pointing toward small dot on the screen.

I barely scanned what he was pointing at before replying, "For the 113 time, its called a bird."

"Oh……what do they do?"

Not for the first time, I wished I could take Tylenol. "Why don't you go stand under some power lines and find out," I suggest.

It was then that I took note that Shadow Android hadn't said anything in over 10 minutes. Normally, I would be grateful for this fact, but I also felt curious, and turned to inquire him on his silence.

He up bolted quickly off the chair he was sitting in, and, I noticed as he did so that he had hid something behind his back. But, before I got to question this odd behavior, another voice preempted my concentration.

"What's that?" asked Metal Knuckles, yet again.

I turned my attention back to him, fully intending to do the same thing the real Knuckles had done to him not that long ago, but something on the screen caught my attention.

Actually, three somethings heading away from Angel Isle.