Rachael walked back to the stunned group, with a tray full of hot cocoa-filled mugs. They were at her house, now, sitting around the kitchen table. Her mother, being a nurse, didn't get home until late because of her shift. That meant they could talk about their situation freely without any worries of being overheard.

Shelby didn't say anything as her mug of hot cocoa was pushed in front of her. She just stared at the table like it was about to stand up and eat her.

Bridget saw this; in fact, everyone did. Problem was: they didn't know what to tell her.

Finally, Rachael said, "You will get to see Sonic, Shelby."

Shelby looked up at the sandy blonde-haired girl now sitting beside her. Those sapphire eyes were so full of confidence, and shone with such brilliant encouragement, that the brown haired girl couldn't help but smile.

Everyone else around the table started to smile as well…even Torrin felt a tug at the corners of her mouth. Rachael noticed this.

"Is that a grin I see?" she taunted, giving her own smirk.

A shadow overcame the tomboy's face as she scowled at the girl across from her. Luke decided to change the subject.

"So…we're actually going to go to Sonic's world?" he asked.

Bridget smiled widely. "Uh-huh! And to do that, we're going to have to go to Vero Beach and meet the guy who sent us the chaos emerald!"

Rachael nodded. "Because he sent us the emerald, we know that he has a connection with Sonic's dimension. How, we aren't sure. But what we do know is, is that we have to go there in order to save Raquel, Mika, and Michael."

An idea suddenly popped into Shelby's head. "Wait…you guys said you were taken to Sonic's dimension through your own Nintendo Gamecube…right?"

Rachael and Bridget nodded.

"Does that mean that anyone can do that?" she inquired.

Silence. Rachael and Bridget exchanged uneasy glances. In fact, everyone was giving uneasy looks. Until, a sudden and unfamiliar voice broke the silence.

"No, only you guys did."

Everyone jumped a foot in the air, and turned to see, standing in the kitchen doorway, a girl about their age. She had thin, straight, layered black hair and had bright green eyes. Her height was normal, but she held herself in a way that showed that she was one not to be messed with.

"Who are you, and how did you get in here?" Rachael asked, standing up from her chair.

"One at a time; there's no need to get panicky here…in fact, you guys should be thanking me," the girl said.

"Thanking you? Why?" Luke inquired.

The girl paused a moment. Finally, she said, "Give me a cup of hot cocoa, and I'll tell you."

The group looked to Rachael, but she didn't move. Her eyes showed a mixture of fear, and distrust, but finally, she complied.

The girl, meanwhile, walked over and sat herself down, while the others stared at her. She had acted as if she lived here all her life; like she owned the place or something. When the cup was put in front of her, she took it without saying 'thank you', and sipped it all up in one gulp. And once the empty cup was set on the table, she let out a breath of air. Then, only silence remained.

"Well…?" Bridget asked.

The girl leaned forward, but said nothing. Rachael put a hand on her hip.

"You got your hot cocoa. Now tell us who you are, how you got in here, how you know that we were the only ones able to go to Sonic's world—"

"Hold it!" the girl put her hand up in the air. "My brain can only take so many questions…"

"All right then," Torin decided to take matters into her own hands. "Who are you?"

The girl leaned back in her chair casually. "I'd save that question for last. It's special."

"Okay. How did you get in here?"

The girl's face scrunched up like that was the stupidest question. "Pssh! Like everyone else: through the front door!"

"But it was locked," Rachael informed.

A cocky smile. "Ah…yeah. That was a tough lock to do; got to hand it to ya, though: good security right there!"

Silence.

"Who are you?" Shelby inquired.

The girl stood up, that same smile on her face. "You can call me many things…but what I prefer is Shawon."

The group looked at each other. Shawon didn't seem to be a great name for a female…it didn't seem to be a name at all!

"So, Shawon…how do you know so many things?" Shelby asked.

"Like how your friends were the only ones who went to Sonic's world? Well…" Shawon gave that cocky smile again. "Let's just say I was the reason they went there."

At this, Bridget stood up as well. "WHAT?!" she yelled.

Torin furrowed her eyebrows. "That's not possible. You can't control thunderstorms."

"You're right on that one…" Shawon began to walk around the table casually.

"Then how did you send us to Sonic's world?" Rachael inquired, almost dreading the answer.

Shawon stopped walking, turning to the group with a wide smile on her face.

"I know Chaos Control."

………………………………

Black. That was all she could see as she felt herself come back to reality. However, she wasn't even sure she knew what reality was.

Ok…focus, Mika… she told herself. No time to start panicking…I just need to remember…what happened?

She searched through her brain, but could find nothing.

Well, there goes that idea…what now? Wait! Is that…metal? Why am I laying on metal? Was I…unconscious?

"MJ!"

At hearing that name, everything clicked. Flashes ripped through her mind of the fight, then of Bridget, then of Dr. Eggman, then of…

"Chaos control!" MJ exclaimed, sitting up. Her sky blue eyes were wide, and her breathing was heavy.

"AH!"

The seal's attention instantly flew to the white hedgehog who had fallen back in surprise. She couldn't help but smile sheepishly in embarrassment. "Sorry…"

Krystal sat back up, dusting herself off. "Don't worry about it….are you okay?"

MJ nodded. "Yeah…why?"

"You looked like you had a nightmare…"

The seal shook her head. "I didn't. I just remembered…everything…"

At this, Krystal lowered her head, her eyes to the floor.

MJ suddenly thought of something. "Hey! How come you're here? The only ones caught by Eggman was—"

"You and Michael?" Krystal nodded. "I decided to hitch a ride—I can't let some crazy scientist take away my two best friends, can I?"

MJ smiled. But the moment was instantly broke as the two heard a moan come from someone else in their iron cell. The voice sounded familiar.

"Michael?" they asked in unison, turning around.

There behind them lay a red echidna, who resembled Knuckles. The only difference was the crescent moon on his chest, which was down instead of up.

"It's Muscles!" Krystal gasped, upon remembering.

MJ looked at her friend, puzzled. "How do you know—?"

"Bridget and Rachael told me about him. Once all of us were together, we told our sides of the story…unfortunately, you were with Eggman at the time…" with a smirk, she added, "…getting smitten with Shadow…"

MJ blushed immensely. "Shut up!"

Krystal laughed. "Okay, okay…" she then cast a glance at the red echidna behind them.

MJ followed her gaze. "Do you think we should wake him up?" she whispered.

Krystal thought about this a moment. "We could…but I don't want him to have the scare of his life…"

The seal gave her friend a skeptical look. "If he wakes up on his own, he's ALSO going to have the scare of his life—it's inevitable."

"True…" the white hedgehog turned to MJ. "You wanna have the honors?"

"How about we both do it?"

"Deal."

The two began to silently crawl over to their slumbering friend as quietly as they could. MJ got on one side of Muscles, while Krystal got on the other.

"You ready?" MJ whispered.

Krystal nodded. "On the count of three…"

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

They took a deep breath, grabbing a hold of each of Muscles' arms, yelling, "WAKE UP, MICHAEL!"

Fantastic idea.

Amethyst eyes shot open. It only took a second, before screaming erupted from his mouth, and another second until he roughly pulled himself away from MJ and Krystal to stand up and face them.

Krystal and MJ covered their ears, wincing.

"Michael…SHUT UP!" MJ pleaded.

The screaming stopped. "You…you know me?"

"Of course! I'm Mika, remember?"

Muscles took a long time just staring at the white seal. He felt like she was right, but the evidence just seemed out of his reach. Finally, it began to come back to him.

His eyes widened. "No…but…you can't be…"

"Michael…this is what we looked like when we went to Sonic's World," Krystal said gently. "We were—and are—our fancharacters."

MJ nodded. "And likewise…so are you."

"What?" he said breathlessly. "What are you…" his voice trailed off as he saw his gloved hand.

A long silence settled in. Finally, he shook his head firmly. "No…I have to be dreaming…I can't really be Muscles! It's physically impossible!"

"Is Eggman appearing in OUR dimension possible?" MJ said in a firm tone.

Muscles hesitated. She was right… "But then where the heck are we that I can change into my fancharacter without knowing?"

"You're in my iron prison," said a familiar voice behind them.

All three turned around to see Dr. Eggman, in all his rotund malevolence, standing there outside their cell bars.

"Eggman!" Krystal exclaimed, standing up beside MJ on instinct.

"Yes…I think last time I checked I was known by that name…" Eggman replied wittily. He twirled his orange mustache with his finger absent-mindedly.

"Let us out, you creep!" MJ demanded. "You have no reason to keep us here!"

"Ah…but I do," the mad scientist replied, grinning. "I can't let you crossers ruin my scheme, can I?"

"Crossers?" Krystal repeated. "What are you--?"

"You aren't the only ones who have traveled from Earth to Mobius and back. There are others, as well," Eggman informed.

"What do you mean?" MJ questioned.

"Before your arrival 5 months ago…there were two other people who traveled from Earth to Mobius. They, too, helped stop one of my schemes…but that's another story—one that is currently told from generation to generation…people have named those two heroes the 'crossers', and ever since your adventure, they have also labeled you the 'crossers'. It's a name that is held with high respect, so be glad you can have such a title," Eggman informed.

Krystal and MJ exchanged glances. They weren't the only ones teleported to Sonic's world…but wasn't that by accident?

Eggman smirked. "But I guess the legacy of the Crossers is coming to an end…for how can you stop me this time if you're stuck behind bars?"

MJ growled. "We're not the only ones, you know! The others will be here—and they WILL stop you!"

Eggman chuckled, leaning closer. "I'd like to see them try…" With that, the fat scientist walked away, smiling to himself.

MJ scowled. "We have to escape…we can't let him win…" she muttered.

Krystal nodded in agreement. "We won't. If we are the so called 'crossers' we must live up to that title's reputation and destroy Eggman's latest plan!"

A small sound came from someone behind them. They turned to see Muscles standing there, wide eyed. Throughout the entire conversation, he had said nothing. They almost forgot he was there!

"Muscles…" Krystal began. She took a glance at MJ, before walking up to the red echidna, the seal by her side.

"We need you, Muscles," MJ informed. "You're going to have to escape with us."

Muscles looked at the seal in the eyes, his amethyst ones showing his uneasiness. "I didn't ask for this…"

"Fate has a mind of its own," Krystal said. "We don't ask for what it brings—we just have to accept it."

Silence settled in as Muscles thought much about his current situation. He was stuck in a world that he had only dreamed about going to, and the only way to get back was to go on what would probably be a life-threatening adventure. A responsibility that he didn't want was also thrust upon his shoulders. Mobius' fate was in his hands—it was up to him, a new addition to the 'Crossers', and the others, to stop a mad scientist's scheme of world domination. That was a big weight. But a question soon aroused within.

"Will Sonic be here to stop Eggman?" Muscles asked quietly.

Krystal nodded. "Most likely. Wherever that creep is, Sonic is sure to be."

"Then can't HE take care of it while we focus on trying to get back?"

"MUSCLES!"

The red echidna was surprised at the scolding tone MJ used. He looked at her fearfully.

"Are you listening to yourself? What kind of Crosser are you going to be if you don't help Sonic against Dr. Eggman? I've known you throughout this school year, and I know as much as you do how much you want the feeling of going on an adventure! Muscles, this is what you need! Don't turn down this once in a lifetime opportunity! Take a stand for all those people who live on Mobius! Not only that—but Earth, too! The thin veil that separated Earth from Mobius is broken because we are here! We have to do our part and help save our people! Don't be a coward and turn away from your destiny! You were born to do this, Muscles!"

MJ's voice echoed throughout the entire iron cell. She gave him a few minutes to let her words sink in, before she whispered, "You were destined to be a Crosser."

Muscles didn't respond as her words vibrated through his head. "But…" he finally muttered. "But I didn't ask for this…"

"Neither did we, Muscles," Krystal laid a hand on her comrade's shoulder. "You're not alone in facing that fact. We're here as much as you are; we're in the same situation that you are. Don't let doubt creep into your mind. We will always fight by your side."

With a smile, MJ added, "We're a team."

The seal's comment seemed to flick a switch in all of their hearts. They were a team. All three of them. Neither was in this more than the other; they were equal. They were one.

Krystal smiled, putting her hand out before her. "All in favor of busting this Egghead, put your hand in."

MJ put hers on top of the white hedgehog's hand. Then, Muscles laid his down. When the two looked up, they found a fire that wasn't there before alight in his eyes.

"Let's do it," Muscles said bravely.

Krystal and MJ smiled.

But something had happened in that room at that very moment, dear reader. Something spectacular. A bond was suddenly made—one that wouldn't break no matter what weight was put upon it. That was the bond of a true team. One with an unbreakable spirit.

And they were ready for anything.

Author's Notes:

Crystal: Sorry, dear readers, for the unexpected shortness of this chapter. It was originally longer, but I decided to cut some of it out and place it at the beginning of the next chapter to make it flow better. Please forgive me.

Krystal: And the disclaimers will be at the end in the credits, just like it was for SAB2M. After all, this is a sequel. Its format will be the same as its prequel.

Crystal: Now, with all that said and done, I bid you adieu for now!