Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide (A Sonic-TMNT Crossover)

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Kay blinked a few times, trying to make out the figure in the distance before them. When she realized she didn't recognize her at all, she looked to Silver. "Do you know her?" she asked quietly.

Silver shrugged. "Not at all."

After another silent moment, Kay began to walk towards the island native in as non-threatening a manner as possible. Silver kept pace slightly behind her. The closer they got, the more nervous the pika seemed to become. Kay began to make out finer details, such as glasses and archeologist's clothing. She said, "We don't mean any harm."

The pika looked confused. "A human? What are you doing so far away from Station Square?"

Kay actually had to stifle a smile. It was nice for a change of pace. Or rather, a return to one. Stopping just in front of her, she was about to answer when she automatically made eye contact and was instantly rewarded with a flood of new information. She and the pika gasped in unison.

"Sorry!" Kay apologized quickly. "I keep forgetting I can do that again."

"What in the world?" the pika exclaimed.

Silver offered her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, she's not exactly a normal human."

The pika darted her gaze back and forth between them. "Who are you? Why are you on our island?"

"I'm Silver the Hedgehog. A friend of Sonic's," the grey hedgehog explained gently. "And this is Kay. She's...not from around here."

"We were hoping we could see Knuckles about something important," Kay added.

The pika shook her head. "Guardian Knuckles is away on a mission right now. He left me in charge of the island. What do you need?"

Kay and Silver exchanged glances. Then Kay held out the Emerald for the pika to see. She took it carefully, surprise and awe etched in her features as she adjusted her glasses to examine it closer. The instant she saw the crack, however, she frowned and understanding lit her eyes.

"Um, yeah," she muttered, "I'll see if I can get in contact with him." She looked back up at them, seemingly lost as to what to do next. Finally she settled on handing the gem back to Kay and introducing herself. "My name is Relic. It's nice to meet you two. Um, why don't you follow me, and I'll see what I can do about contacting Guardian Knuckles."

With a small smile she gestured for them to follow her.

"Thank you," Kay said. She glanced at Silver, raising a brow. She's trusting us just like that? She tried to convey in her gaze, knowing fully well that the grey hedgehog wasn't telepathic.

He shrugged back, seeming to say, just roll with it.

~

It amazed Kay how much everything was seeming to line up just perfectly for her in the past twenty-four hours. First the Genesis Portals and Silver, then Angel Island, and now Relic had just informed them that as it turned out, Knuckles was only a few hours away from the island and – upon hearing about a broken Chaos Emerald – had decided to change course right away and fix the problem.

In all of this perfectness, Kay knew, something was bound to go completely and totally wrong sooner or later. So she braced herself and remained on alert at all times.

During the few hours it took for Knuckles to make his way back home, Relic was more than happy to tell Kay and Silver about her collection of ancient artifacts that lay strewn about in what was apparently her on-site workshop. Though Kay knew this already, Relic told them all about how she had always yearned to become an archeologist and was now living her dream on the most historically mysterious location on Mobius under the careful watch of the red echidna.

While most of the time was spent with her excitedly talking about her profession to the newcomers, the three of them did eventually reach a point where they were all able to talk to each other in equal amounts. Silver told them more about his mission to close the Genesis Portals and how it had all started, while Kay gave Relic a brief overview of her own personal history as the Emerald's Chosen, opting to stick with the "alternate universe" theory for the sake of keeping the conversation simple.

In the midst of it all, though, Kay realized she had never felt so alive. While she was obviously still human, she now found herself surrounded by entirely Mobian things again. Everything from Relic's workshop to the Mobians themselves to the island they were on seemed brighter and happier than anything or anyone she'd ever known, especially after having been away from it all for two years. And she couldn't have been more grateful or more excited to be back.

Then Knuckles arrived.

She wasn't entirely sure how her reunion with the echidna would go, considering he was also one of those who did not remember her from the previous timeline. As she stood beside Relic and Silver and watched him approach, her heart pounded madly in her chest. To him, without any knowledge of past events, she would be an unwelcome intruder on his island. And it didn't take long for him to make it clear that that was exactly who she was.

No introductions were made. Knuckles was all business. He stormed up to where the trio stood, clearly unhappy about having been called back from his mission. Kay only had a moment to realize that Amy Rose was with him and feel a surge of hope before she was bombarded with questions.

"Who are you? Why are you so far away from the United Federation? Why do you have a Chaos Emerald? A broken Chaos Emerald?" Knuckles' intense violet gaze bored into her. In the heat of his rage he must not have noticed her eyes change color briefly. Kay struggled to figure out which question he wanted the answer to first.

"Um...hi?" Silver offered in the silence that followed the initial interrogation. Knuckles barely glanced at him.

"Hey, Silver. Are you going to answer me?"

Despite her nervousness-turned-fear, Kay took a breath and tried to answer as calmly and non-threateningly as possible. "My name is Kay. I'm not from the United Federation. I'm not even from Mobius, actually." She meant to pause only to let the pain of those words pass, but she didn't have time to continue because Knuckles was bombarding her again.

"Whoa, whoa, Knux," Silver intervened, much to Kay's relief. "Take it easy. There's no rush."

The red echidna's angry gaze turned to the grey hedgehog. "Have you seen Mobius lately?"

"Guardian Knuckles, please calm down," Relic spoke up as well. "I've talked with this human girl for the last few hours. She is perfectly harmless, I assure you."

"The last time humans got their hands on a Chaos Emerald," Knuckles snapped, looking back at Kay, "it did not go well for anyone. Only Mobians should have authority over them."

It was at that particular moment that Amy Rose finally caught up to the group. She was winded after the run she'd had to make, but as soon as she saw the human in their midst she stopped short and gasped so loudly that even Knuckles' attention turned to her. Her eyes lit up and she beamed. "No way! Is that Kay?"

Kay couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief that her earlier hope had not been in vain. "You remember me?"

"Of course! How could I forget the Emerald's Chosen?"