With Runa...

Once Runa entered the portal, her eyes widened in surprise. The first thing that she met was a grassy environment with a couple of trees and bushes scattered everywhere. In the middle of the environment was a small cottage. But no one was there.

Surrounding the cottage were Shadow, Dalia, Bubbles, Lucy, Hope, Junior, Rouge, Omega, Bearace, Juniper, Rosy, Mystico and Shania, who were all white, and frozen like statues. Junior looked like he glaring at someone with his puffed cheeks, but Runa felt like he was having faith on those who were battling Tenzia. Hope looked like she was working on a computer, but there was no keyboard. The rest of their poses looked like they shielded their eyes.

Runa's surprise became more prominent when she noticed the cottage. Noatalgia occurred in her as images of her times with Aleyah, Bruce, Pearla and the five chao ran through her head. At the same time, worry became more prominent when she saw Team Dark, Junior, the five chao, and the four human girls all white and frozen.

The cottage. I haven't been here for a long time, Runa thought. Her eyes started scanning for Aleyah, Bruce and Pearla, but they're not present. But Aleyah, Bruce and Pearla are not here. Aleyah was with us before I entered the portal, so it is to be expected.

Concern appeared in Runa's eyes. But it's unusual for Pearla and Bruce to appear there. What's going on?

Runa looked at Team Dark, Junior, the five chao and four human girls. Her eyes shifted from Junior all the way to Shadow.

Tears of worry appeared in Runa's eyes. Her arms became stiff and her fists clenched. She tried to hold in her tears, but the more she stared at Shadow, the more chances her tears rolled down her cheeks.

And that's exactly what happened.

"Sh... Sha... dow," Runa said with a croaky tone.

A few seconds later, Runa ran towards Shadow. Once she got to him, her arms wrapped around him. Although she was slightly uncomfortable with hugging him in a pose where he shielded his eyes, she didn't care. All she wanted was to feel Shadow's presence, even though he's frozen.

Runa's eyes closed tightly as tears streamed down her cheeks. A feeling occurred in her. This time, she knew that the feeling she was feeling was romantic love. Her conversation with Lariel about her romantic feelings for Shadow ran through her head. Lariel had advised Runa to wait for Shadow to confess his feelings first, but she couldn't take it anymore.

As Runa's tears continued streaming down her cheeks, a thought ran through her head. I... want to say something, but Lariel advised me to wait before you say it. I waited... but now, you're frozen. I wonder... what Tenzia did to you. Shadow the Hedgehog...

"I... love you," Runa unknowingly muttered with a croaky tone.

With that, Runa continued to break down in tears.

Nothing occurred in Runa until a male voice joined in.

"Ah, such a shame."

Runa's eyes widened in shock and fear. I know that voice. Her shocked and feared face was replaced with disgust. I... never want to hear that voice.

Runa pulled away from Shadow and wiped her tears. After that, she turned behind her to see Reuben the Cat, standing before her with his hands on his hips and a flirtatious smirk on his face.

Reuben stepped forward as he continued, "You, all alone. With your friends frozen like statues."

Runa furrowed her eyebrows as she glared at Reuben with disgust and discomfort. "What do you want with me?"

Reuben chuckled as he pointed at himself. "Me?"

Reuben came to a stop. Right in front of Runa. His face was a few centimeters away from Runa. His fingers brushed Runa's cheeks as he smirked at her.

"Well, I want you, of course," he said.

Rage and disgust occurred in Runa. She knew she wanted to do something, but because she was trapped in Reuben's presence, she couldn't move.

"Think about this, sweet cheeks. We can start a family together in wherever we go," Reuben said.

Runa couldn't take it anymore. And so, she pushed Reuben away from her.

This resulted in Reuben stumbling backwards. After a few moments, he landed on his butt.

Reuben moved his right hand on his head as a fake hurt expression appeared on his face. "Ow! Sweet cheeks, that is rude!"

As all that happened, Runa sent deathly glaring daggers at Reuben. After hearing his words, she glared at him more. This sent an intimidating aura at him.

"Don't call me 'sweet cheeks.' I already have someone in mind and you are not that someone," Runa said. "Give me back my friends. Give me back my family."

Intimidating chills ran down Reuben's spine as he listened to Runa's words. His heart pounded with fear. After a few moments, his fear died down and he relaxed with a smirk. "Fine. But only if you win the fight against me."

Runa's glaring expression turned into a surprise. "What?"

"Yes, Runa," Reuben said. Then, he rose into his standing position. "If you win, you can have your friends and family back. But if you lose..." His expression darkened with seriousness. "...you'll be mine for eternity."

Runa's eyes widened in worry, fear and disgust. A few moments later, her worry, fear and disgust turned into determination. She formed her fighting position. "I accept the challenge."

Reuben smirked. "Good choice."

With that being said, Reuben formed his fighting position.

Both stared into each others eyes, wating for their opponent to make the first move. After a few seconds,  Reuben charged towards Runa.

Once he got to her, Reuben landed a forward punch at Runa, but she blocked it with her forearms and kicked his stomach.

This sent Reuben stumbling backwards again. After a few moments, he landed on his butt.

Runa stepped forward as Reuben rose back on his feet. Once she saw that he was on his feet, Runa formed her fighting position.

Reuben charged towards her again. He launched another forward punch at her, but it was deflected by her right hand holding his fist. At the same time, Runa delivered a roundhouse punch to Reuben's left side of the body.

The impact of Runa's punch was strong, but not as strong as Shadow's. Despite that, pain rushed through Reuben's veins. As a result, he was dropped to the ground.

A pained expression appeared on his face as his right hand held the left side of his body where he got punched. Despite that, he slowly got back on his feet.

Reuben charged at Runa, and launched punches and kicks at her. Runa deflected a couple of kicks and punches. But then, a minute later, she felt a punch on her left cheek.

"Aagh!" Runa exclaimed.

This caused Runa's left hand to hold her cheek where she got hit. A split second later, she felt a punch on the stomach, then a kick to the back.

As a result, Runa fell on her belly.  A pained expression washed over her face as she slowly started to push herself back on her feet.

How is he... good at this? I've... never seen him fight before, Runa thought. Well... last time I saw him... he was with the Underworlders... Runa was now on her knees. ...so it's kind of expected.

Just as Runa was about to push herself further on her feet, Reuben's words caught her attention.

"That was just to soften you."

Runa turned to Reuben in surprise.

"The next time I take you down..." Reuben said. He clenched his right first tightly as an evil and flirtatious smirk appeared on his face. "...it'll be over and you'll be mine."

Runa's surprised expression turned into a glare. At that point, Runa knew she had to be careful when dealing with Reuben.

Ruba slowly got back on her feet. She formed her fighting position again as she glared at Reuben.

Runa and Reuben charged towards each other again. Once they got to each other, Reuben launched a forward punch at Runa with his right fist. Runa evaded his attack by moving towards his right. Right after that, Runa delivered a roundhouse kick to the right side of Reuben's body.

This resulted in Reuben stumbling to the left, but he managed to regain his balance.

Reuben turned to Runa and glared at her. At that point, determination ran across his face. Just you wait and see, sweet cheeks. I'm gonna make you mine forever and ever, he thought.

Reuben ran towards Runa and launched a roundhouse punch to her right head. Runa ducked and pushed Reuben away from her again.

Reuben stumbled backwards a couple of times. Then, he fell on his butt. At that moment, he let out an irritated growl as he glared at Runa deadly.

"Why can't you just give up already?!" Reuben asked, raising his voice.

Reuben let out a battle cry as he rose back on his feet and charged at Runa. In return, Runa formed her fighting position, waiting for his move.

Once Reuben got to Runa, he launched a forward punch to her face, but she ducked under his fist.

Right after that, Runa sent a kick to Reuben's stomach. This sent Reuben flying backwards. Reuben tried to maintain his balance, but he ended up falling on his butt.

Reuben quickly got back on his feet and charged towards Runa. This time, he let out a battle cry. Once he got to her, Reuben launched a really hard punch on Runa. Runa attempted to duck under it, but just as she was about to do so, she felt the punch on her left stomach.

"AAGH!" Runa exclaimed.

Runa moved her hand towards her left stomach where she got hit. A few seconds later, she felt a roundhouse kick on her back. This resulted her on falling on her belly.

Pain washed over Runa's body. A pained expression appeared on her face. She could feel Reuben's evil smirk shooting at her.

"Now... you're mine," Reuben said, pointing at her.

Runa slowly turned to Reuben and glared at him.

Seeing this, Reuben responded, "Ah, you don't give up, do you?"

Reuben started approaching Runa. Not wanting anything uncomfortable to happen to her, Runa slowly raised her right knee. After a few moments, her right foot landed on the ground.

With the help of her right knee, Runa pushed herself up even more. It didn't take long before her left foot landed on the ground.

Runa continued rising until he's back on his feet. Then, she turned to Reuben and formed her fighting position.

Runa saw Reuben's surprised expression as she thought, I won't give in. I have to defeat him. Right here. Right now.

"No," Runa said. "I'm not giving up."

"I see," Reuben said. "Let's postpone the points, shall we?"

Runa was surprised and confused at the same time.

"What? You don't think I'm nice enough to give you time to make your own decision?" Reuben asked. "Next point wins the fight."

Runa's surprised and confused expression turned into determination. She nodded. "Okay."

With that, Reuben charged at Runa while Runa formed her fighting position, waiting for his next move. Once he got to Runa, Reuben landed a punch on her chest. Runa quickly evaded it by sliding her feet towards her right.

Runa launched a forward punch at Reuben. Reuben deflected it with his fist. At the same time, Runa grabbed the wrist of his other fist. Runa tightened the grip, so that she won't get taken down again. It took a few moments before Runa pushed Reuben really hard. Because he could push Runa further, she knew she had to do it.

This sent Reuben stumbling backwards. Then, he fell on his butt.

Runa slightly glanced at the frozen Team Dark, the five chao, Junior and four human girls. Worry washed over her, but she shook his head, bringing herself back to reality. Runa wanted to make sure they're okay, but she thought Reuben might make a move at any time, even though it'll happen in a split second.

Once Reuben got back on his feet, he launched various punches at Runa. Runa managed to dodge them. As it happened, Runa thought of the solution in order to defeat Reuben. So far, nothing came to her mind.

After a few moments, an idea popped into Runa's head.

When her eyes met Reuben's fist, Runa quickly ducked and gave him a hard kick to the stomach.

"Aagh!" Reuben exclaimed.

Reuben's hands held his tomach in pain. Then, he collapsed on his knees.

Reuben glared at Runa. In reply, Runa glared at him while forming her fighting position.

Before anyone could do anything, Reuben's body dissolved to nothingness.

Runa's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. Is this... an illusion? she thought questionably.

Before Runa could do anything, sounds of sparkles rang in her ears. He turned towards the cottage to see, Team Dark, the five chao, Junior and four human girls. They were surrounded by sparkles.

The sparkles Runa just saw appeared at the bottom of Team Dark's, the five chao's, Junior's and the girls' feet. Then, the sparkles rose from their feet to the top of their heads. As that happened, The colors changed from white back to their usual colors of their features.

Once Team Dark's, the five chao's, Junior's and the girls' physical appearances were back to normal, Junior just stared in confusion while Hope looked around in confusion. As for the rest, his hands laid down from shielding their eyes. Right after that, different reactions were seen.

For Dalia, she was surprised. As she looked around, realization came to her. "Hey." She turned to everyone else. "We're back in the cottage. Why would Tenzia take us here?"

For Lucy, she was also surprised. Affer a few seconds, sge became suspicious. She looked around and saw that she was in front of the cottage. Beside her were Bubbles, Hope, Dalia, Junior, the five chao, Shadow, Rouge and Omega. After hearing Dalia's question, she turned to her. "I'm... not sure, but I got a bad feeling about this."

Hope turned to everyone else. "Where are we?"

For Bubbles, she was surprised. Then, she became even more surprised when she saw the cottage before her eyes. With that, Bubbles turned to Hope after she heard her question. She gave Hope a smile. "We're in front of the cottage! It's where Runa used to live in before she became a G.U.N. Agent-in-Training!"

A surprised expression appeared on Hope's face. "Wow, really?"

Bubbles nodded with a close-eyed bright smile. "Yeah!"

For the five chao, they were surprised, but they're also suspicious. Because they know this place the most besides Runa, Aleyah, Bruce and Pearla, they wondered how Tenzia got them here. "Chao?" they asked.

For Rouge, she was surprised. Then, she looked at herself to see if she was okay. A smile appeared on her face when she saw that her body was visible. She did spot a couple of bruises on her arms, but they're not severe. She looked at her surroundings. After she saw the cottage, she became more surprised.

For Omega, he just... looked around. After a few moments, he turned to Rouge. "This is familiar."

"Yes, it is," Rouge said.

"However, I detect something bizarre about it. I couldn't scan it clearly," Omega said.

Rouge gently knocked on Omega's torso. "It's alright, Omega," she said with a reassuring smile. "We'll figure something out."

For Shadow, he looked around in confusion. As he did, he spotted Rouge, Omega, Hope, the five chao, Junior, Bubbles, Lucy and Dalia standing beside him, but Tenzia was absent.

Runa covered her mouth in shock. Tears of joy appeared in her eyes as she saw Rouge, Omega, Hope, Junior, Bubbles, Lucy, Dalia, the five chao and especially Shadow back to normal. Before giving herself a chance to think, she ran towards Shadow. As she ran, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Just as Shadow was about to look for Runa, who was beside him during the fight with Tenzia's robots, two arms wrapped around him.

Shadow was tensed. He didn't know what to do at first, but when he saw that it was Runa who hugged him, he hugged her in return.

"It's alright, Runa. I'm here," Shadow said.

Runa had a warm and happy smile on her face as she continued hugging Shadow.

Giggles and snickers occurred in everyone else. Well, all except Junior, who just stared at Runa and Shadow in confusion.

A feeling washed over Shadow's body. This time, he knew what he was feeling. Romantic love. An image of his conversation with Leo about it ran through his head.

It took a few minutes before Shadow and Runa pulled away.

Runa turned to everyone else. "You guys!" she exclaimed with a smile.

"Runa!" Bubbles, Lucy and Dalia exclaimed.

At the same time, Junior exclaimed with his hands raised up and a close-eyed smile, "Woona!"

Also at the same time, the five chao raised their arms joyfully. "Chao-chao!" Roughly translated, "Runa!"

Runa gave each of the group a hug. She even carried Junior in her arms and gave him a hug. In return, Junior clenched on her dress and leaned her forehead gently against her. After about thirty seconds, Runa placed Junior on the ground. As the whole scene happened, words like "How are you?", "Where have you been?" and "Are you okay?" were heard.

After all that happened, Runa gave Omega a thumbs up and Rouge a fist bump.

"It seems like you're well, honey," Rouge said with a friendly smile.

Runa nodded with a friendly smile. "Yup."

Shadow watched the reunion moment between Runa and the rest of the group. As he did, a warm and genuine smile tugged on his lips.

Just then, something rang in everyone's ears. Like last time, they couldn't figure out what made that sound.

A few moments later, there appeared a portal located behind Shadow.

Team Dark, the five chao, Runa, Junior, Bubbles, Lucy, Dalia and Hope turned to the portal. Curiosity and confusion appeared on their faces, but Runa was not as confused or curious as the rest.

"What is that?" Bubbles asked as she pointed at it.

Junior pointed at the portal. "Whirwy."

Dalia turned to Bubbles. "It's a portal. I've seen it in my favorite TV show. You, know, the one about secret agents discovering extraterrestrial creatures."

Runa laid her right hand on her amulet. "I feel like... this is the only way forward."

Everyone else turned to Runa in confusion. "Huh?"

"Runa, are you sure your intuition is correct?" Shadow asked, concerned.

Runa turned to Shadow with a smile. "Yes. The amulet gave me the intuition whenever a certain situation happens."

Shadow nodded. "I see."

Dalia gestured everyone else to go in the portal. "In that, case, let's go. The portal might close at any minute."

Everyone else nodded. "Right."

With that, everyone turned to the portal and entered it. Seconds after that, the portal closed.