Chapter 2

Silver was waiting for Chaos at the outside of the school. He tapped his toe against the pavement in boredom. He was able to get off of work earlier than usual, but that didn't matter when his only friend was in school. He looked at the hologram watch that displayed the time: 3:09. One more minute... One more antagonizing minute of boredom. He looked around the dull scene. Sure, nature was beautiful, but when the whole entire city was below a cloud of pollution, it didn't seem so pretty.

Finally, he heard the loud bell, signalling the end of school. It was Friday, so kids were in a hurry to get out and do what they wanted to over the weekend. Chaos quickly sped out, at the speed of sound, towards her best friend. "Hey Silver!"

"Hello Chaos." Silver smiled as they began walking to their normal hang out place, the smoothie shop. When they got there, they both ordered a strawberry smoothie, and sat down.

"Yay for the weekend!" Chaos cheered. "We can do so much stuff in two days, Silver! Just imagine..."

"Yeah..." Silver smiled, but then he remembered something that he's been wanting to ask. "Can I meet your parents?"

Chaos paused and stared at Silver. "Wha-What?"

"I've been friends with you since five years ago, and I've never met your parents. I think it would be nice."

"My family is... different than others..."

"They're still your family. At least you have one..."

Chaos looked at Silver. "Fine... Meet me here tomorrow at noon."

"Okay."

"I have to go now... Goodbye." Chaos smiled and hugged Silver.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah." And with that, Chaos went back to her home.

~<>~<>~<>~

"Hello Chaos." Knuckles greeted the teenager.

"Hi Knuckles!" Chaos smiled and hugged him. "Where's mom?"

"He's laying down beside the Master Emerald. He's not feeling well though."

Chaos nodded and walked up the steps to where the Master Emerald stood, glowing brighter than any star. She looked around the small room to find Shadow. She smiled and sat down beside the black hedgehog. "Mom...?"

Shadow looked at his daughter with a gentle smile. "Yes?"

"Um... I was wondering if I could have a friend over tomorrow..."

"You actually want to have a friend over here?"

"Yes..."

"Of course you can have a friend over. As long as you trust them enough to keep us a secret."

"I do trust him."

"Oh, so it's a boy you're inviting." Shadow's smile grew into a smirk.

"Mom! It's not like that!" Chaos blushed lightly.

"Sure it's not..."

"It isn't!"

"What's going on in here?" Knuckles asked, walking in.

"Chaos is bringing a boy over." Knuckles suddenly shared Shadow's smirk.

"Oh, really now?"

"He's just my friend!"

"Whatever you say..." Knuckles rolled his eyes.

Chaos glared at them both, causing them to chuckle. "Boys..." she mumbled.

"She's got your glare, Shadow." Knuckles said.

"Of course she does. She wouldn't be my child if she didn't." Shadow chuckled.

"Just be nice and mom..." she looked at Shadow. "Don't be crazy."

"I'm not crazy..." Shadow mumbled, causing Knuckles to roll his eyes.

"Sure you aren't..."

"I'm not!"

"Then why do I have to give you sedatives almost everyday."

"Because you think I'm crazy. You just don't believe me."

"Because this immortal thing is getting to your head."

"It's not! I'm not crazy! I know what I saw! It wasn't a dream!"

"Yes it was. None of that ever happened!"

"It did! That princess erased it from our timeline!"

"Will you two stop it!" Chaos shouted above their bickering. "If you act like this in front of my friend, I will move out and make sure that you will never find me! I wish I just had a normal life!"

Both of the boys were silent as Chaos ran away. Shadow's ears went down. "Chaos..."

Chaos kept running through the thick forest of the island. She finally got to where she was going...

Her father's grave.

She always avoided coming to this place unless Shadow was there. She was scared of knowing who her father was... It was weird, she knew, but for the longest time, she didn't want to know. Now, she wants to know everything about him: who he was, what he did, who his friends were.

She curled up next to the grave, tears welling up in her eyes. "Dad...? I know I don't really talk to you, but... why is mom acting like this? Why can't this family be normal?" She could almost hear the wind chuckle.

"If you were hoping for normal, then you were born into the wrong family." Chaos looked back to see Knuckles. He continued. "Your dad is the blue blur and your mom is the ultimate lifeform, nothing will ever be normal for you. You might want to realize that."

"Why can't I be normal?"

Knuckles laughed. "Maybe I should tell you more about your dad, eh?"

Chaos looked at the grave. "Please...?"

"Where did Shadow leave off?"

"After him and dad saved the world, causing his death."

"Heh, yeah, he really freaked all of us out when we saw him after that..."

Knuckles started going into the story... Basically, what happened was that Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails were searching down Eggman while Rouge found Shadow in Eggman's lair along with Omega. Amy, Cream, and Big were searching for Big's friend, Froggy, and Cream's chao's friend, Chocola Chao. Team Chaotix- made up of Vector, Espio, and Charmy- were searching for this for this strange client they had at their detective agency. Occasionally, they might cross and fight for some stupid reason, but it ended up that Eggman didn't do anything, but it was Sonic's loathsome copy, Metal Sonic, that lead them all there. It was what Sonic called "the real superpower of teamwork" that defeated Metal.

"Your dad was a very cheesy guy..." Knuckles chuckled sadly. "I miss hearing his annoying voice everyday."

"I thought he always annoyed you though..."

"He did... but, you see, your father had a way of growing on people. He's like a leach, not ever leaving your side until he has a spot in your heart. Anyone who has ever laid eyes upon him liked him... Even Eggman, though he'd never admit it."

"Is that how mom fell in love with him?"

"Yep." Knuckles smiled. "We all knew it'd happen eventually. Sonic hung around him too much."

Chaos giggled. "Thank you, Knuckles..."

"It's nothing..." Knuckles ruffled her hair. "Don't worry about tomorrow. I'm sure your mom will stay in line while your friend's here."

With that, he left, leaving Chaos with her father and his friends...