The two had been locked in heated battle for a while now. Fists against feet, both were evenly matched and starting to reach their limits. Neither were willing to admit it, but they knew this would end in a stalemate if no one gained the upper hand soon.
The bat stood her ground, watching the echidna closely. It was time for a change in tactics, she decided. Taking a more relaxed stance, she slowly made her way towards Knuckles.
"Really, is all this necessary, Knuckie?" Rouge's voice rang out accompanied with curly smile and the sway of her hips as she neared. "We don't have to keep fighting like this…"
Knuckles didn't move, only watched her questioningly. It didn't look like she was planning on attacking him, but he had his fists ready. He wanted her to leave already, but it looked like she had other plans. While he knew this had to be a trick, it would be a lie to say he wasn't curious about how this would end.
"Back off, bat girl," was all he said as she entered his personal space. It wasn't as forceful as he had intended, but it was still undeniably a warning. The echidna took a step back as she leaned in.
"Oh? And what are you going to do?" She inwardly smirked as the closer she got, the more the flustered the echidna got. It always amused her how quick he would go from tough to embarrassed. And all it took was the bat of her eyes. While Knuckles stuttered and got ready to push her away, she stopped him dead in his tracks with a kiss on the lips. In the few seconds their lips touched, Rouge would've swore his eyes couldn't get any wider.
They parted and in the short moment afterwards that the echidna was trying to use to recover, his mind a complete blank, his head came in contact with something hard. The bat's kick connected with no difficulty and left him knocked out on the ground.
"All too easy." She gave her fallen rival a smug smile as she went to gather her prize. No need to linger when the Master Emerald was guardianless for the time being. There really was nothing else out there like it, it was undoubtedly the most brilliant gem she'd ever possess.
And she knew he'd come for it as soon as he awoke. She was counting on it and would be waiting, ready to defend her prize. The echidna didn't realize it, but the fight he put up to keep the gem out of her grasp was what truly made it worth obtaining. The challenge was what made it a true prize. After all, what was the point in having the world's rarest treasure if there wasn't some baggage to go with it?
