I'm getting these out pretty quickly...please don't get used to it ^^; This is actually two chapters in one because they were both sorta short and it annoyed me. So here's the next chapter of For an Emerald, hope you all enjoy. Read and review ^^
"So the Master Emerald creates a projection in the form of a green echidna with purple eyes, which you have given the name Masa to differentiate it from the Master Emerald itself, which only you can see and hear?" Rouge asked the young guardian as she sighed.
"Yeah...you don't have to believe me if you don't want to, I know it's pretty farfetched a claim. Everyone thinks he's a creation of my mind from the stimulation given to me by the Master Emerald." Femur said, looking at her crossed legs. Masa stood behind her and was curious as to why his guardian had decided to tell another of his presence when it had never ended well before.
"Actually, I believe you completely Femur." The woman stated, causing the girl's eyes to widen as she stared at her along with a similarly wide eyed projection. "You are more connected to the Master Emerald than any guardian before you...if anyone could see such a thing it would be you. Besides, I know full well that it's sentient and incredibly powerful...the thought of it giving itself a form to see the island and speak with you doesn't seem that odd to me." She explained.
"Hello Masa! It's nice to meet you!" Mascara called suddenly to the sky, smiling widely like the child she was. The hybrid let out a small chuckle.
"He's right behind me." She said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at him before looking over it and laughing some more. "And he looks the most shocked I've ever seen him." She added. "...Well? Are you going to respond?"
"Oh- uh...Hello Mascara, Rouge." Masa responded, clearly uncomfortable with talking to others besides the undead girl herself.
"He says hello to you both."
"There are a lot of things I used to want to say to the Master Emerald, but I find myself wanting to say none of them now that I finally have the chance...I suppose Sonic and Knuckles aren't the only ones to change over the years, however mine seems to have been for the better." The teal eyed bat said with a soft smile.
"What do you mean Mother?" The young bat questioned curiously.
"I used to hate the Master Emerald for all the trouble it caused Knuckles...but I think I understand some of it now. Besides, with Femur sitting here talking to me I can't find the hatred I once had for it." The ex-thief clarified with a smile towards the projection.
"Speaking of Femur...why don't I hear a heartbeat?" The thief asked suddenly.
"Oh, uh...that's..." The teenager laughed awkwardly, not really sure how to explain her situation to the younger girl.
"Femur is undead Mascara." Brown eyed widened with a gasp, staring at Femur is disbelief.
"What?!" She demanded, clearly confused.
"It's thanks to the Master Emerald that she 'lives' as we see her now. She has no heartbeat because she was already dead before she was born."
"Was it really all that intelligent to tell her that?" The glowing eyed girl pointed to the younger, who seemed frozen in place by her shock, only for the woman to smile.
"If you two plan on being friends than it's not something you should keep from her." She pointed out before shaking her daughter softly.
"You're really...?" Femur nodded sadly. "Femur..."
"Hey, don't feel sad for me now. I'm fine with this, I'm not that different from you Mascara." The older girl smiled, though it became forced when she remembered something rather important that separated them. "I can just...never leave this island is all. If I do, well...the Master Emerald's power won't reach me anymore and I'll just return to..." While the word 'corpse' was fine to her, even describing herself, she wasn't sure if it was nearly as fine with her new 'friend'.
"I'm so sorry Femur!" Mascara exclaimed, rushing to the other girl and hugging her. The undead girl let out a small noise of surprise before smiling a bit despite the situation and hugging the younger girl.
"Really, it's fine. I'm used to it by now." She tried to assure the thief.
"I know!" The thief exclaimed suddenly, pulling away from the older girl but leaving her hands on her shoulders. "I'll bring you stuff from the mainland!"
"W-what?" The guardian asked, clearly surprised. "R-really?"
"Yeah, of course!"
"Then we should get going so you can find the perfect first present for Femur." Rouge said with another smile.
"Do you really have to go already?" The hybrid questioned, ears drooping sadly.
"We'll be back, I promise. No lies here. I'll make sure to send a cell phone with Mascara so you can contact me whenever you want." The ex-thief assured.
"You guys are the best. Thank you Mascara, Rouge."
"Please, call me Aunty. I think it'll have a nice ring to it when you say it." The woman said, the red and blue fighter nodding.
"Alright, Aunty. Thank you." The teal eyed woman smiled again and took off with her daughter towards the mainland.
"It seems you finally found that replacement you were looking for." The green echidna stated with a smile of his own.
"Yeah...I'm really glad." The girl said to her charge, tears of happiness in her eyes.
"Fe-"
"I know Masa." Femur responded, eyes watching where she had felt the intruders enter...it was a group of three with no Chaos signature.
"What do you know, the rumors are true. A hybrid really is the sole guardian of this thing." Said a silver and black male Silky Terrier looking in his late teens, an odd glove on his one hand.
"I can't believe no one has come here for it sooner!" Laughed a pink Chihuahua girl, the smallest of the group and appeared in her early teens.
"Fools." Said a dark green Basque Shepherd, the biggest of the group with mid-teen looks.
"A pack of dogs?" The hybrid questioned, slight disgust in her voice, she had a dislike of dogs since she'd had a picture book as a child with all the different types of dogs in it...it had burned mysteriously one day and her parents had bought her one of wild cats.
"Actually little guardian, that would be a pack of thief dogs." The first corrected, said guardian's eyes narrowing.
"No thieves are allowed on this island, get off!" She snarled, gathering energy. "Chaos Spear!" The bolts of Chaos Energy flew towards the group, only for the apparent leader to stand in front of them and absorb them with his glove.
"You didn't think we'd come unprepared, did you?" He asked with a smirk, flicking his wrist. The undead girl growled, running down the stairs before jumping in the air and Homing Attacking the terrier. She uncurled onto to find him unharmed.
"Wha-" The shepherd grabbed her and slammed her into the ground, causing her a bloody cough and broken gasp. She lay motionless on the ground, her back feeling broken from the sheer force...she couldn't move
"Geez Atlas, you didn't have to slam her that hard...I think I felt the island move." The chihuahua girl said as she looked at the girl.
"The more hurt the easier for us Lily." Atlas responded simply, starting to walk up the steps of the shrine.
"Kane..." The pink girl looked at their leader, looking concerned.
"She got in our way...she'll be fine Lily." Kane stated before he too began to walk up the stairs. The blue and red fighter focused Chaos Energy to her back, healing it faster before Chaos Controlling silently to the top of the shrine.
"Not so fast!" She yelled as she jumped from the top of the shrine, kicking the shepherd in the chest and knocking him down the stairs before punching the terrier in the face and sending him down as well. "Don't take me so lightly, I'm the guardian for a reason." The girl growled as green Chaos Energy surrounded her, strengthening her.
"Atlas, Lily, a-" A black and red blur dashed between the group and the glowing eyed girl, causing her to gasp.
"Sh-Shadow!" She exclaimed in shock, wondering how he could have showed up on the island without her noticing.
"Chaos..." Red Chaos Energy of his own surrounded the hedgehog as his eyes seemed to glow.
"Shadow, wait! That glove can-"
"Blast!" He yelled as a huge blast of energy exploded from his body, Femur holding her hands in front of her as if to block the attack and closing her eyed...however she felt nothing. Opening her eyes again she found the pack of thieves gone, off the island from what she could feel.
"Thank you for saving me...I'm sorry I needed help." The undead girl said sadly.
"You hardly needed the help." Shadow pointed out, turning to face her.
"Then why did you step in?" She asked in confusion.
"You seemed to want them gone quickly...why did you not blast them off yourself?"
"The terrier...Kane; he had a glove that absorbed my initial attack, I thought he'd do it again if I tried." The hybrid explained.
"..." The skater merely made a sound of acknowledgment, nodding his head ever so slightly. "You need to learn how to fight multiple enemies like them." He said suddenly, the teenager sighing.
"I know, but...there's no one to spar with on this island." She pointed out.
"Then I'll train you."
A fan kept asking if Shadow was going to come back soon...I figured that him training her would be a good reason for him to be around for a little while ^^. It might be a bit out of character, but it HAS been 15 years, he'd bound to change a bit. I plan on Kane and the others being the main villains for Femur, for those who are wondering. Hope you all enjoyed, see you later ^^