Author's Note: Finally, we have made it to the next chapter. After this, we return to the main Kipo plot.

The song featured here is "Things Are Not Always What They Seem" from Sonic Underground.

Hope you enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

Knuckles lead the kids through the thick forest. Kipo was very eager while Wolf was still suspicious. Sonic was bored, Sonia and Tails were intrigued, and Manic looked around the area. Benson and Dave were both nervous and Mandu followed Kipo. Eventually, they made it out of the forest and into a wide space with a stone structure in front of them.

Most of Kipo Underground dropped their jaws in amazement seeing the old monuments and series of pillars made of stone.

"Ooh! Aah!"

"Yes, yes. 'Ooh, ah.' It's very cool to look at." Knuckles said. "Just keep following me."

"What is this place?" Sonia asked.

"These are the ruins of the Master Emerald shrine." Knuckles said before pointing upward. "Take a look on top of that pillar."

Kipo looked and gasped at the shining red jewel perched up. "Is that another Chaos Emerald?"

"Yes. It's the only one that rests here." Knuckles said. He led them up a flight of stone stairs scaling over an old pyramid. "The history of the Chaos Emeralds is older than known history. No one knows where they came from, but we do know that they are powerful. Seven constructs of pure concentrated energy packed within crystals of different colors. One Emerald can potentially power half a city. But if you have all seven, you can harness unlimited power."

"How do you know so much about it?" Kipo asked.

"Because it's part of my duty as Guardian of Angel Island." Knuckles said. "Another important part of my duty is the protection of this."

As soon as he said that, they made it to the top of the pyramid. That's when the gang saw something that made them gasp in total surprise. It looked like a green Chaos Emerald, only it was bigger than any one of them. It was placed in the center of the top.

"Whoa! Get a look at that boulder!" Dave proclaimed. "Hey, you don't think I could take it off your hands for a few moments, do… OW!" Knuckles interrupted him by smacking his hand when he tried to reach for it. "A simple no would have sufficed!"

"The Master Emerald must remain here!" Knuckles warned.

"The Master Emerald?" Kipo asked.

Knuckles nodded. "While the Chaos Emeralds are immeasurably powerful, that just means that the danger is immeasurable too. For thousands of years, my family line has been protecting the Master Emerald because it's the only way to keep the Chaos Emeralds from going out of control."

"Hold on. Did you say thousands of years?" Wolf asked. "That doesn't make any sense. Mutes weren't around until 200 years ago."

"I never said that I was a mute."

Kipo Underground were stunned. They looked at Knuckles in confusion.

"What was that?" Sonic asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean I'm not a mute."

"How is that possible?" Tails asked.

"I don't know, and I don't care." Knuckles said. "All I know is that I am the last of an ancient species that's existed since ancient history.

"Thousands of years ago, my people settled here building a tribe and a monument to safeguard the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald. But when enemies began to threaten our way of life, the old chieftain became arrogant. He sought to use the Chaos Emeralds' power as a weapon, but his daughter stood against him. He tried to take the Emeralds by force, but their power became too great for him to handle. Suddenly, a catastrophic disaster plagued the Earth nearly destroying all life in the process. Thankfully, the chieftain's daughter used the Master Emerald to quell the Chaos Emeralds and prevent the disaster from finishing. In the end, only she and a handful of other echidnas survived. Fearing the destruction the Chaos Emeralds could bring, the echidnas took each one and scattered them across the globe. Then, a single Guardian stayed on Angel Island and began a lineage to protect the Master Emerald. In the event the Chaos Emeralds should ever reunite and their power goes out of control again, the Guardian must use the Master Emerald to stabilize them. A duty that's passed down to me, the last descendent of the original Guardian."

"That is the worst bedtime story ever!" Manic said.

"Well, seems to me that your ancestors' definition of 'scattering' might be different from ours." Benson said. "We already found two of them and we hear that Scarlemagne has another one. Counting yours, that's four."

"I noticed that." Knuckles said. "I learned that for the past few decades, Chaos Emeralds have managed to make their way to one city: the one below. Maybe it's fate or perhaps it's just coincidence. Either way, I can't deny that the Chaos Emeralds have come to Las Vistas. I don't know if all of them are here yet, but now, I see that a majority of them are. This is a little unsettling."

"So what does any of this have to do with Scarlemagne?" Tails asked. "You seem to have built those traps with him in mind."

"About a few years ago," Knuckles continued, "Scarlemagne has had his eyes set on this island and the Master Emerald that rests upon it. He wants it and the Chaos Emerald I have to become even more powerful. Naturally, as the Guardian, it was my duty to make sure he doesn't get his paws on it. But every time I throw him out, he comes back with either a wave of Nobles or an evasive strategy. Eventually, I had enough and built a series of traps to better protect the island. In the end, though, we settled on an agreement. He left the island for good and promised to never set foot on Angel Island again."

"And you believed him?" Sonic asked.

"Well, I've always suspected that sneaky mandril might make another move for the Emeralds, so I kept a constant vigil over everything. I even set up my own observation area at the edge of the island to keep an eye out."

"So that must be why the Newton Wolves needed their telescope for." Sonia said. "They were keeping an eye on Knuckles waiting for him to drop his guard. Then, Scarlemagne would go after the Emeralds again."

"Well, if Scarlemagne knows its here," Dave said continuing to eye the giant emerald, "Wouldn't it be safer if we just move it. I know a place where…"

"No!" Knuckles said keeping Dave away from the Master Emerald. "It cannot leave this shrine! One of the many uses of the Master Emerald is that its power is the only thing keeping this island in the sky. If it's removed, Angel Island will plummet and crash onto the Earth."

"So it cannot leave this island." Sonia summarized. "Got it."

"So what do we do about these Chaos Emeralds?" Kipo asked holding up the two she and her friends already had.

"Well, if the fall into Scarlemagne's hands, it will cause a great amount of problems." Knuckles said. "It's probably safest if you leave them here along with the Emerald that I have."

Kipo looked at the two in her hands before handing Knuckles the one taken from the Newton Wolves. "I'll give you this, but not the other one. This purple one was given by my dad. This was his, and I want to know where he got it."

"Hey, Knux," Sonic said, "I don't suppose your super-god emerald would help us find Kipo's burrow."

"First of all, don't call me Knux. Secondly, I'm afraid the Master Emerald can't do that."

Kipo sighed. "Looks like we're no closer to finding my people than when we started."

Wolf noticed Kipo's disappointment and thought for a moment. Then, an idea hit her in the head. "Hold on. Knuckles, you said you built an observation area to keep an eye on Las Vistas."

"I did."

"Then maybe it can be useful." Wolf said. "After all, we have a bird's eye view of the whole city, and the telescope there could be used to locate Kipo's people."

Hope returned to Kipo and she smiled at her friend. "Really, Wolf?"

"I believe so." Wolf said.

"You believe?" Sonic asked. "Who are you, and what have you done with Wolf?"

"If you all are insisting, then I might as well help." Knuckles said before heading down the stairs. "Follow me… and get that bug away from the Master Emerald!"

"Dave!" Benson yelled pulling his friend away.

"Oh, come on! Just one touch!"

Kipo Underground followed Knuckled down the pyramid and away from the ruins. But right as they left, the Hooligans arrived from the other side. They climbed up the pyramid hoping to find their targets, but much to their surprise, they found the Master Emerald sitting there all alone.

"Sweet Sufferin Suckatash! Get a load of that load!" Bean exclaimed.

"It's… the Master Emerald! And it's sitting here all alone!" Fang said. "Knuckles must be preoccupied, which means this thing is ours for the taking!"

"But what about the burrow girl and the hedgehogs?" Bean asked.

"We'll get them on the way off this island." Fang said. "Imagine how elated Scarlemagne will be. Do you know what I can do with the Master Emerald in one hand and the burrow girl and hedgehogs in the other?"

"Yes. Juggle." Bean answered.

Fang looked at his partner with disappointment before smacking him across the back of his head. He then turned to his other partner. "Bark, get ready for some heavy lifting."

The polar bear cracked his knuckles before getting to work.

Kipo Underground just returned to the edge of the island where the dragonflies waited. They approached the fence where the telescope was.

"Well, here you go." Knuckles said. "Kind of a long shot if you ask me."

"It's worth a long shot." Kipo said. As she approached the telescope, Wolf turned to the three dragonflies in suspicion.

"Hey, Sonic," Wolf said, "How many dragonflies did we take to this island?"

"Two, I think." Sonic replied. "We couldn't all fit on one dragonfly. Why?"

The sudden realization hit Wolf hard. She quickly turned to her friends. "We're not alone!"

All of a sudden, the ground beneath them began to shake violently. The group began to lose their balance. Once they did, they noticed a wind blowing up their bodies.

"What's happening?" Benson asked.

Knuckles looked over the fence and downward. "We're falling! Something's wrong with the Master Emerald!"

"We gotta check it out!" Kipo yelled. She ran to the forest with the others behind her.

Kipo Underground ran through the thick trees while trying to keep their balance from the shaking ground. Suddenly, they stopped when they came across three certain mutes holding the Master Emerald on them.

"The Hooligans!" Benson yelled.

"The burrow girl! The hedgehogs!" Fang called out.

"The Master Emerald!" Knuckles pointed at the jewel that Bark was carrying.

"The Bean!" the duck mute proclaimed.

"Put that emerald back where you found it!" Knuckles threatened.

"No chance! With this thing, we're set for three lifetimes!" Fang said. "All that's left is you four! Bark, get to the dragonflies while Bean and I round up our targets!"

Bark nodded before running off.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Knuckles shouted as he ran off to chase the polar bear.

"You think we're scared of you?" Wolf asked readying her tail. "We sent you packing once before!"

"There's no Timbercats to help you nor any mega-monkey to complicate things." Fang said pulling out a pistol. "There's just you, us, and this little stun gun."

"And these boom-booms!" Bean said holding up two handfuls of bombs.

"Hit the dirt!" Wolf yelled out right when Bean threw his bombs and Fang fired his pistol. Thankfully, the gang took cover behind the trees before they could get hit.

"Don't worry! I'll dash them!" Sonic said.

"Don't 'dash' at the guy with active bombs in his pockets!" Sonia said. "We need to be careful about this!"

"Careful? Ain't my style." Sonic said.

"I'll take care of them." Wolf said before heading up the trees. She jumped to another tree and attacked from above. Fang saw her coming and pushed Bean out of the way.

"Now?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, now!" Sonia said.

Sonic smiled before running at his max speed toward Fang and Bean. He impacted them sending him to the nearest tree. Fang groaned before seeing himself get surrounded by Kipo Underground.

"You think you've won?" Fang asked. "Just wait until Bark returns! He will…" He was interrupted when Bark was flying backward back into the forest. Knuckles followed lifting the Master Emerald with his big hands.

"I got it!" Knuckles said. "We got to get to the shrine!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Fang said.

"Case music?" Sonic asked his purple friend.

"I don't see why not." Kipo replied.

Right then, while everyone was chasing and fighting over the Master Emerald, Kipo Underground summoned their instruments playing their latest song.

Kipo Underground:

People don't always say what they mean

And things are not always what they seem

You better know before you make a scene

That things are not always what they seem

Kipo:

Friend or foe

How do you know

Let their actions speak

Better or worse

Trust them first

Soon enough, you'll see

Kipo Underground:

People don't always say what they mean

And things are not always what they seem

You better know before you make a scene

That things are not always what they seem

Sonic:

Rumors come and rumors go

Until you get some proof

Don't believe what you hear

Try to find the truth

Kipo Underground:

PEOPLE DON'T ALWAYS SAY WHAT THEY MEAN

AND THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM

YOU BETTER KNOW BEFORE YOU MAKE A SCENE

THAT THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM

NOT WHAT THEY SEEM

By the end of the song, Knuckles managed to put the Master Emerald back to its rightful spot. The island stopped shaking and began its ascent back to the sky. Kipo Underground celebrated until the Hooligans approached them feeling tired.

"Don't think… you won." Fang said with heavy breaths. "We still got…"

"Sorry, Fang, but you're not welcome on this island." Sonic said. He and his sister pointed their instrument and played them shooting their blasts right at the Hooligans' feet.

When the trio of mercenaries fell over, Manic played on his drumset to shake the ground hard enough to crack it. Part of the island shot the Hooligans off sending them flying back to their dragonfly. The three of them panicked before getting on their dragonfly and leaving the island at once.

"Well, it looks like they're gone." Benson said.

"Thank you for helping protect the Master Emerald." Knuckles said. "You're welcome any time, as long as you don't even think about stealing the Master Emerald."

"Don't worry about that, dude." Manic said. "We know exactly how important it is that your big gem stays… DAVE, STOP TRYING TO TAKE IT!"

"Dang it." Dave pouted stepping away from it.

"Guess we don't know as much about the Chaos Emeralds as we thought." Kipo said. "This opens up so many possibilities."

"Well, now that that's all settled," Knuckles said, "How about we finish what we started?"

Kipo Underground returned to the observation area. They were glad to see only the two dragonflies they came on. This time, nothing would stop Kipo from looking through the spyglass down below.

"Any luck?" Tails asked.

"No." Kipo said disappointingly. "So far, there's nothing that…" She stopped and froze when she spotted something. Her mouth opened up with a silent gasp. "I don't believe it!"

"Believe what?" Sonic asked. "I swear, if you find another flying island…"

"No! This really is to do with my people!" Kipo said gladly. "There's a billboard down there, and it has a number on it! 3.262!"

"What, that?" Knuckles asked. "I noticed it was strange when that hedgehog woman sprayed it on that billboard earlier."

"Wait, what?" Manic asked. "Did you just say hedgehog woman?"

"Yeah. Why? Do you know her?"

"Yes. We've been looking for her." Sonia said. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to assume that all hedgehog mutes knew each other."

"That might be our mom." Sonic said.

"Definitely." Kipo said. "The Oracle said that we would find your mom and my dad at the same place. So if your mom wrote that number on that billboard, there's only one thing that could mean."

"What's that?" Wolf asked.

Kipo raised her head from the spyglass with a tearful smile. "It's a message from my dad."