Angel Island: Master WHAT?

[Lans]

]
Knux just sighed again. "What'd I say about people hurting you?" he asked, untangling Ray from himself and pushing him towards SC.

[Leedzie]

A shrill whine escaped Ray's mouth as he was suddenly being pushed away from the one person he knew, and toward the one person he didn't. Ray dug his shoes into the grass and turned back to the guardian, clinging tightly to his arms with trembling hands. "NOOOOOOOO!!" he sobbed, looking up at Knuckles desperately. "Please don't send me awaaaaaay!!!"

[Sipp]

Shortcake was backing away as well. "U-um... M-mister G-guardian... ._.;; ..."

[Lans]

"Guh, kid, I'm not sending you away! I'm just trying to get you off me...you're getting my fur all wet. He looked at Shortcake with pleading eyes, practically begging for her help.

[Leedzie]

"You are too..." the squirrel choked, gasping awkwardly for his breaths. "You NEVER left *hic*Amy alone before... *hic hic* NEVER... *hic* and now she's gone too.." Ray whimpered and clamped onto Knuckles' arm as tight as he could; if he was willing to send Amy away, he knew the echidna wouldn't hesitate to get rid of him too. He'd even said already where he was going to leave him! "WHYAREYOUDOINGTHISTOUS?!" he suddenly bleated.

[Sipp]

And Shortcake was at a loss.

"Pl-please c-calm d-down..." she began slowly moving towards Ray again, looking almost as nervous and frightened as he did.

[Lans]

"I didn't do ANYTHING with Amy! She's probably out stalking Sonic somewhere! Who knows? Maybe she actually caught him and...ok I better not go there." He sighed, "Look, kid..." he paused, "...Did I ever get your name?"

[Leedzie]

Ray looked up at Knuckles with a hurt expression. "Knuckles... youknowmyname..."

It was like a bad dream. Everything had been perfectly normal, and then WHOOSH: reality was turned upside down. He didn't know where he was, and the one person he knew wouldn't even acknowledge him. And that hedgehog was coming back.

Ray burst into tears with a long wail and bolted back into the Master Emerald chamber. He may not have known exactly where he was, but he at least knew where this led, and that was good enough for now. Besides, that big shiny stone was the first thing he saw (read: smashed his head on) when everything got scary, so maybe it could change things back. The little squirrel ran up to the Master Emerald and hid behind it, curling into a lonely little ball and weeping despairingly.

[Lans]

"Oh no, not that way!" Knux moaned, seeing where the little squirrel was heading. He quickly followed, scowling when he found him. "All right kid, I'm trying not to be mean here, but step AWAY from the big emerald!"

[Leedzie]

Ray didn't move. In fact, he didn't even look up. The tiny squirrel sobbed quietly into his arms, his blonde little body trembling in the Master Emerald's gentle glow. As the minutes ticked by, his cries gradually grew softer and softer as the child began to wear himself out.

[Sipp]

Very quietly and slowly, Shortcake made her way over to behind Knuckles, peering out at the squirrel. She put a hand on the echidna's arm lightly, "Muu, M-mister G-guardian, h-he's v-very c-confused a-and fr-frightened... a-are th-there a-any o-other ec-echidnas, muu? M-maybe h-he h-has y-you m-mixed u-up w-with s-someone e-else... " pause, "W-who i-is a-also c-called K-knuckles... ... umm..."

[Lans]

"That'd be pretty hard to do since I've never met anyone else named Knuckles, and I'm...I'm the last echidna." That last line seemed to be slightly painful to admit. "So anyway, he probably read about me in an old news article somewhere, but I've never met the kid before."

[Leedzie]

And during their conversation, Ray's cries had diminished down to the occasional whimper and sniffle. Somehow staring into the Master Emerald's glow calmed him, and as the adrenaline wore off, the squirrel found himself unbelievably tired. He wanted to stay awake, but... Ray's eyelids got heavier and heavier, until finally they closed and didn't open again.

[Sipp]

Shortcake gave his arm a comforting little squeeze when he did admit it. "I-I'm s-sorry, muu... B-but, h-he s-seems t-to k-know y-you... o-or w-who h-he th-thinks i-is y-you, a-anyway, muu..." A pause, "H-he's sl-sleeping..."

She slowly made her way over to the squirrel, and stroked his head gently, "P-poor th-thing, muu..."

[Lans]

"Like you said, SC, seems to know me. I can remember just about everyone I've met, and he isn't one of them." He sighed, he wasn't about to throw the kid out of the ME chamber NOW, but that didn't mean he had to like that he was there.

[Leedzie]

All the while, Ray's mind swirled with faces and voices in his dreams. He was back to his ride down the Great Oak Slide... And this time, he actually made it to the hay pile. The squirrel giggled and popped his head out of the scratchy strands of straw, sliding down to the ground and darting off into the village. There was Bunnie, and Sally, and Mighty, and Tails! All the familiar faces that made him feel safe and happy! And they were just as happy to see him, too! Ray jumped onto the armadillo, and he and Mighty spilled to the ground laughing. The child gave his caretaker a loving hug.

Back in the reality of the Master Emerald chamber, the golden-furred squirrel began to quietly chirp.

[Lans]

And at that moment, Knuckles got a funny feeling... "My Rouge senses are tingling..."

[Sipp]

"H-he's s-still a-asleep, muu..." she told Knuckles, still stroking his head.

[Lans]

He nodded, "I know...and I'll let him sleep. The question is what'll we do with him after he wa..." Knux trailed off as he noticed a faint sparkling in the air around the Master Emerald. The sparkling continued and thickened into a solid ring, the diameter of which bisected right through the M.E..

And then...all chaos broke loose.

Instantly the emerald's glow brightend to a blinding glare as the emerald's power pulsed wildly. Everyone was tossed off their feet as the island began to shake violently.

[Leedzie]

And if there's one thing that'll wake a barely slumbering squirrel, it's the shaking of an entire island. Ray jerked awake with a yelp, and shrieked with panic at the flashing light and pulsing energy. Scrambling away from the Master Emerald, the boy leapt into Knuckles' arms and clung to him for protection.

[Sipp]

Shortcake's small size didn't help matters any. She was thrown violently against a wall, squeaking in alarm and pain as she hit.

"M-mister G-guardian!" the little hedgehog squeaked, panic quickly rising up. "W-what's h-happening... muu?"

She tried to scramble towards him.

[Lans]

"I...I don't know, it's never done anything like this before..." he said. The emerald dimmed, and for a second Knux thought that whatever had happened was over, but then it flared up again, then dimmed, and then flared, the flares getting faster and faster, the sparkling ring around the emerald starting to taking on a decidedly green tinge.

Knux could feel a buildup of power beginning. "We need to get out of here, now!" he siad, cluctching Ray tightly, he also scooped up Shortcake and beat feet for the tunnels in a way that would have impressed Sonic. However they'd just barely reached the surface exit when a searing flash of light burst from the tunnel behind them, and the island heaved again. Knux managed to twist himself around to take the fall on himself as they(Him SC and Ray, not the island) crashed to the ground.

Energy continued to flow from the various tunnels, flowing out to form a giant bubble around the island. When it completed, a final burst of light, visible all the way to station square, flared. There was a sound like a sonic boom as air rushed into the sudden empty space. Angel Island was gone, and in its place...a shimmering field of energy, no longer green, but still powerful enough to be visible.