A/N: Sorry that it has been so long since my last update but as I've said before I will need to diverge from the schedule for the time being. I have many assignments due this week and exam period is coming up so I'll have to spend the time I'm not working my 2 jobs studying for exams so up until about the 15th of November, updates will be sparse. As a result I'm just going to publish when I finish a chapter rather than adhere to a timeframe. Thanks for understanding and reading and I hope you enjoy the new chapter :)

Chapter 5

Goodbye Paradise

"Knuckles, what the hell was that?" Blaze glared angrily at him as she spoke in a hushed whisper, yet the anger was quite evident in her words.

"We couldn't have just left her," he shrugged as he stood toe to toe with the violet feline. The two individuals had walked off into the forest, using the excuse of going to find something that they could bring on the trip back to Mobius.

"What, so you are just going to trust her like that?" Blaze huffed, flaring her nostrils at the echidna. "You do remember that this is the same girl that spilt the secret and caused all of us to flee our home and come to this Chaos-forsaken island."

"Hey, don't blame that all on Tikal. Yes, she did a horrible thing but didn't you hear the story. She has changed Blaze, and I think Tikal deserves a second chance to prove herself."

"I don't have a good feeling about this at all," she retaliated.

"When you found out about Sonic and Tails, you originally hated them, yes? Well, you gave them a second chance despite what your gut told you so why is Tikal different?" Knuckles tried to defend the female echidna who the duo left on the beach not moments earlier. The brushed past the thick understory, dodging the fallen trunks and logs that had collapsed due to the immense winds of the storm. Finding wood to fashion a raft would not be as much of a grueling task as either of them had previously anticipated.

"That was a totally different situation!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air to emphasize her infuriation of his accusations. The leaves that still stayed fastened to the thin limbs of the trees rustled in the wind around them as the two continued to argue. "Why are you defending her all of a sudden? You've spoken about how horrible she was for the past three months to the point that Tails, Sonic and I had bets going about how many times you would bring her up when we were all sitting and talking together."

"Wait, what? No, never mind, we'll talk about that little bet at a later time," he breathed, pushing the nugget of information to the far spaces of his mind for the time being to focus on the worked up cat. "But I just think that she's telling the truth. I don't know why; I can't explain it…" he trailed off.

"Oh, I see how it is," she narrowed her eyes, speaking in an envious voice. Knuckles tilted his head, furrowing his brows in confusion as he glanced at her, giving her a look that urged her to explain what she meant. "You still have feelings for her, don't you!"

Knuckles remained silent.

"Knuckles…" she said slowly, wanting some sort of response, anything to put her fears at ease. She wanted him to tell her she was wrong, like her thoughts were misguided.

"Come on, we need to get some logs to take back to the beach," he sidestepped around the question, as he began to walk off, picking up some logs in his muscly arms as he went.

"Knuckles! It's true isn't it? You love her, don't you!" She rushed up to him, grabbing his arm to twirl him around so that they were face to face.

"Blaze," he said simply, placing the palm of his hand on her cheek, awkwardly fumbling with the logs underneath his other arm as he did so. "You're my girlfriend. You are the one I like, and Tikal suddenly showing up isn't going to change that," he said sincerely, staring deep into her accusing, amber eyes that softened under his surprisingly tender touch.

"Okay, but I just need to know. Do you still have feelings for Tikal?" She asked again.

"Let's get back to the others, we can grab some more logs on the way," he replied, bending over to scoop up another log before taking off towards the beach, a resigned cat following behind him unsatisfied.

…

"So you're saying that the boat capsized during the storm and so it's probably at the bottom of the ocean?" Sonic repeated, trying to make sure he understood their situation as Tails, Tikal and himself continued to come up with a plan on the beach whilst Blaze and Knuckles made their way off into the forest. Tails turned back to watch the two, noticing Blaze's clenched fists and the way her shoes stomped forcefully on the sand underfoot, assuming she was quite angry with the whole situation.

"Yeah, basically. I managed to grab this robe as I fell off, but didn't get anything else when I went overboard," she explained as she pointed to the rope that was tied tightly around her waist.

"Figures," Tails muttered to himself under his breath, still not believing anything the echidna said. Sonic quickly nudged his elbow into Tails who jumped with a start, moaning as he rubbed his side.

"Um… anyway, when the others come back we can use this rope and the rope that you guys still have to make some sort of raft and sail back. The seas should be a bit calmer after the storm so hopefully it will be smooth sailing," she planned, smiling at the sapphire hedgehog who smiled back, showing her the curtesy that he still wasn't sure she deserved. Despite his conflicted feelings about the echidna, he decided to openly show support towards her to alleviate any lingering tensions.

"Sure, whatever," Tails pouted, folding his arms over until her felt a quick pain in his foot. He turned to see Sonic subtly pressing his heel into the fox's foot, glaring angrily at him from the side. "Ow!" Tails moaned loudly, glaring back at the hedgehog.

"Uh… guys… is everything okay?" Tikal asked, shooting a confused glance towards the two boys.

"Yeah, we are fine. I just need to talk to Tails for a second," he assured her as he gripped Tails' wrist tightly, pulling him off to the side.

"Okay, should I do anything to help in the meantime?" Tikal offered.

"Could you look through the wreckage of our old treehouse to see if there are any pieces of wood still intact or something else we could use?" Tikal nodded, prodding off to the scene whilst Sonic pulled the annoyed kit behind him until they he was sure they were out of the echidna's earshot.

"What is your problem?" Sonic suddenly cursed the fox."

"My problem? What's your problem," Tails retorted in a frustrated tone. "How can you just forgive that heathen so quickly?!"

"Okay not sure what a heathen is…" Sonic began. "But despite your reservations about her, she has been quite helpful and we need her knowledge and connections with Shadow, Amy and Vector to be able to pull this off and stop this war," Sonic continued.

"After all she did! She used the diary… my diary and showed everybody. That was my present to you, a physical embodiment of my feelings and love for you and she stomped all over it and ruined our lives," Tails sniffed, tears welling in his eyes as he stared at the hedgehog that he still couldn't believe was defending the echidna.

"Tails…" Sonic began cupping the fox's face in his hands as he slowly rubbed his cheek with his thumb. He grabbed Tails' hand in his free once, interlocking their fingers as he squeezed it and stared deep into his eyes, azure meeting emerald. "I know what she did was unforgivable, but if we want to be able to live freely and happily again, we need to trust her and we need her help."

"But-"

"I know, but I need you to be strong for me, like you were back when you tricked Big. Just pretend that you can tolerate her until this is all over. Then we never have to see her again. Can you do that for me, please?"

"But every time I look at her I can't help but think about all the horrible things she said… the things she did…"

"Tails, please… for me?"

"O-Okay Sonic… until this is all over," he decided, wrapping his arms over Sonic's bag as he felt the hedgehog pull his body closer to his own.

"Thanks buddy," Sonic whispered silently into Tails' ear. "I know I can always count on you."

"Always and forever… I love you."

"Always and forever…"

…

"Hmmm, Tikal you say?" Vector spoke gruffly, deep in thought as he contemplated his next move. "Thanks for your report. You may leave now," he commanded, pointing towards the large door.

"Why can I not go and try to-" Amy began but was silenced as Vector slammed his fist on the armrest of his cold, metal throne.

"I said leave."

"Yes, Lord Vector," she nodded before walking out of the room, cursing his name under her breath as she left. Vector waited until she had left the room before he let out a sigh.

"So," he began to himself, rising off of the throne and walking through a small, wooden door at the other end of the room. "Tikal has left has she. Shadow is playing a dangerous game giving too much power to his commanders. I didn't make him general to screw everything up!" Vector cursed under his breath. He took a deep breath as he input a code into a small little keypad before a ding chimed through the room and a door slid open. Vector descended a stone, spiral staircase before emerging into a small, darkened room. He stretched out his hand, running it along the stone wall before flicking on a light switch.

Slowly, the incessant buzzing of the lights above began to drone monotonously as they illuminated the room and its insides were visible, making Vector smile maliciously as he began to get to work.

"No worries, I'll just need to accelerate my plans…"

…

The stars twinkled brightly in the sky, shining down on the five teenagers who all sat on the soft, golden sand around the burning fire. The obedient flame flickered in the cool, night breeze the blew across the beach, blackening the wood and transforming it into charcoal. The red hues of the fire mixed with yellow and orange to combine into an unstoppable force, never satiated and on the verge of consuming all its surroundings if given the chance. The flames cast light upon the teenagers, providing the only light source as it illuminated the group, casting darkened shadows across the water, sand and forest which contorted into terrifying shapes that contorted and shifted as the flames flickered brighter and more ferociously. The glowing embers leapt and danced, twirling in the air that carried them along until they settled on the sand, their light dissipating. The grey smoke billowed up into the sky, casting a small, thin blanket above them all as they stared into its center, mesmerized by the beautiful simplicity of the fire. Sonic grabbed another piece of splintered wood and chucked it into the center of the fire, watching it combust immediately as it went up in flames. It licked the wood like a hungry beast stalking its prey, intent on consuming it whole to adhere to its cravings for more fuel.

"This all seems so familiar," Sonic finally spoke up after the deafening silence that had descended upon the group since the previous fights had grown too much for the hedgehog.

"It was only yesterday that the four of us were sitting around the fire, laughing and having fun without a care in the world," Tails lamented, making sure to shoot an angry glare at Tikal when he emphasized that there was only four of them. Tikal drooped her head, a feeling of guilt and shame washing through her. Knuckles noticed this and shot Tails a look of his own.

"Yeah, it really was a paradise when the four of us were here after getting thrown out by all those we thought were our friends," Blaze agreed, nodding towards Tails to show him she understood how he felt.

"But it was the storm that ruined all that for us," Knuckles spoke up, making sure to extend and announce the word 'storm'. "But it was a force of nature we couldn't control and we have to adapt. Luckily Tikal came to fill us in on what the situation is and we now have a plan," he smiled at her. Blaze stared at him, furrowing her eyebrows in anger.

"Th-thanks Knuckles…" Tikal whispered sheepishly as she stared into the addicting flames.

"yeah…" Tails began.

"Whatever…" Blaze finished for him. Knuckles shot a look towards Sonic, who seemed to be staring deep into the flames absentmindedly, like his mind wasn't with his body as he was lost in thought.

"Well, we have a plan, and together we are gonna make it back to Mobius and stop this stupid war, right?" he spoke up, glancing over to the poorly constructed, small raft that was simply a group of logs placed together in a rectangle and fastened together with two strands of rope. He stood up and leant over the fire, extending his hand out so that it was directly above it. The smoke parted around his arm as he looked around. "We can do this together, as a team."

"Okay Knuckles, I'm with you," Blaze smiled, his determination filling her with admiration as she glanced one last time towards the spot where the tombstone of Silver the Hedgehog used to stand before standing and placing her palm over his.

"We can do this, together," Tails stated proudly. "Let's prove to them that we shouldn't be hated," he concluded as he put his palm on top of the others.

"Tikal?" Knuckles asked, turning towards her. She looked up at the three, frowns on Tails and Blaze's face as Knuckles urged her over. Reluctantly, she stood and placed her hand with theirs, feeling their angered stares burn deep into her, more intense than the flames underneath her hand.

"Sonic, you in?" Tails asked, turning to him.

"Yeah, you with us?" Blaze chimed in.

"We can't do it without you," Knuckles added as they all stared at him.

"We can take down Vector and stop this war before it get out of hand, but only with your help," Tikal reminded him.

Sonic glanced around and the four faces, all peering at him. Despite how much he enjoyed the peace and happiness of the island, the claustrophobia of its confines had been getting to him recently. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to truly feel at one with nature. After the idea of returning back to his home had been planted in his mind like a seed by Tikal, it had begun to sprout and was now consuming his every thought. He wanted to go home, to have things go back to the way things were before the town had turned against him. And he knew that he could achieve this if he helped put an end to the war. If he killed Vector… his father.

"Let's do it," Sonic said finally, standing up and placing his hand on top of the others. "Tomorrow morning, we leave paradise and return to Mobius!"

A/N: You didn't think you would have read 300 words talking about a fire today did you? Well, now you have so... that's something I guess. And what did Vector mean about accelerating his plans?

It looks like we have even more splits between our group of heros, especially with the inclusion of Tikal into the mix to spice things up. First we have Blaze and Knuckles split with Tails and Sonic due to pent up anger that they blame the two of them. Then we have Tails and Blaze split with Tikal due to what she had done, niether of them trusting her story or motives. Then we have Blaze split with Knuckles and Sonic split with Tails, all because of Tikal. With all of these cracks forming between the four heroes, and Tikal, can they truly be able to stop the war when they can't even stop the war that's slowly building between themselves? Please don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought of the chapter and some theories about what will happen between the five of our main characters when they finally make it to Mobius

Question of the Day: Whose side are you on? Who do you feel most sympathy for in all of these little fights. Team Tails? Team Sonic? Team Blaze or Team Knuckles? Or perhaps Team Tikal? Please let me know in a review and as always, thanks for reading.

Next time on Sontails: War of Faith - Chapter 6: Leviathan