Alright, I know what you're thinking: "Where's the next chapter of Experimentation????" Well, it will be written soon. I had an idea (along with six more) short stories, so I decided to write this one. There's a little explaining that needs to be done with this fiction. You see, I hadn't written anything in a long time, except for Chapter 12 of Experimentation. () Being in college tends to limit your creative juices, mind you. Which means I also hadn't had any time to keep up with some of my other friend's writings.

It was about a month or two ago that someone pointed out Orin's "All I want for Christmas" fiction ()

I've always been a psycho fangirl for Orin's stuff, so I jumped at the fic instantly. I've always looked up to Orin's creative style of writing, and I always read her stuff in hopes that I would become a better writer like she was. She's been a sort of mentor to me, even though, at the time, we didn't really know each other that well, except for the tons of reviews that I left on her work. So I ran to read the lovely Christmas fiction that she wrote…

Only to find out that it was dedicated to me and one other writer.

Of course, I'm floored and filled with this overwhelming need to hug Orin for being so kind. For she has always been rather friendly to me, even more so now since she's an avid fan of Experimentation.

I read "All I Want For Christmas," and jumped at the opportunity to write about the relationship between two of my favorite furries, since Orin always portrayed the two very well.

I'm sure there is much more to say about how this fiction came to be and whatnot, but I do know that people are out for my blood since it took me so long to write it. That, and the evil teasers that I've been feeding people have driving many of my friends, like Orin and Yuzu, up the wall.

Being a "novelist" (Experimentation is roughly 75 pages right now [still not done]), I was trying to make sure that this fiction remained short. I set a goal of 30 pages. And hit that mark as I wrote the last line. ^_^

Most of my stories are for everyone. Or at least I try. This one has to have a dedication, for she inspired me to write this.

This story is for you, Orin.

----

Dependency

            Metal clanged against stone. It was coming and he wasn't exactly sure how they were going to stop it. He tried to think up of a plan, but nothing was coming to him at the moment. Sonic was getting antsy already, hopping around like a child. His blue quills bounced gently against his back. The two spoke in hushed whispers, despite any change in tone from either of them.
            " Why can't we just run by it?" A typical question from him.

            " That thing is faster than it looks, Sonic." And a typical answer. " You saw what it did to that car."

            " I'm faster than it."

            " You don't know that."

            " And you don't know if I'm not."

            Violet eyes turned to glare at emerald ones. A low growl rose in his throat as he tried not to make a fist and punch the hedgehog right there. Sometimes it took a lot to hold himself back.

            " Don't be stupid, Sonic."

            " Well, did you think of something then, Knuckles?"

            " You know, you could help by coming up with a plan yourself too." The echidna said, crouching down a little and went back to observing. He was a tad annoyed that he was the only one using sensible logic at the moment.

            " I already have one."

            " Oh?" An eyebrow raised, just slightly, almost unnoticeable. " Then what is it?"

            Of course, the hedgehog noticed it.

            " I run in, distracting it, while you get around it and get that disk that we need."

            A fist tightened a little.
            " Did you not pay attention or something? That thing can sense movement better than any of the other robots around here!"

            " So? I'm still faster than it."

            " Oh for the love of…"
            Knuckles tried not to start swearing. Once angry enough, there was no stopping the profanities that came from his lips. Sonic also knew this. He was observing the robot again from their hiding space behind some debris.

            " Are you sure it's not heat activated?"

            The echidna was rubbing his temples with his right hand. " If it is, I don't think it activates it sensors until it knows that there's something around it."

            " I wish we had more information about these bastards…"

            Once again, Knuckles restrained himself from screaming.

            " Why do you think we're even on this mission?!" He said in a harsh whisper.

            " To get information about those new robots, I know." Sonic rolled his eyes a little in annoyance. " I still wish we knew more about them."

            " Right now I wish we had a plan on how to either get past it, or disable it." Knuckles said, rubbing his head once more. A headache was beginning to come to the Guardian, and he knew that wasn't a good sign.

            " I'm on it!" Sonic said, moving around him and planting his foot on a metal door, ready to vault off of it.

            " What?! Sonic, no!"

            The echidna swiped at his friend's leg, trying to grab him and pull him down, but there was nothing to grab onto. Sonic had already taken off toward the robot, zipping around in hopes to get its attention. Knuckles was already cursing up a storm to himself, trying to be quiet so he wouldn't get noticed immediately. Stupid son of a bitch! He never listens to me!!!

            The hedgehog spin-dashed underneath the robot's tall legs, trying to get it to follow him away from the doorway that it was guarding. The robot was tall, but quick enough to keep up with the running hedgehog. He looked over his shoulder toward the pile of debris.

            " Knuckles! Hurry up and get in there!"

            Another growl emitted from the echidna. He sprinted from the hiding spot and headed for the wall of the building. A quick jump, glide and ker-chunk later, Knuckles was scaling the wall with precise skill. Moving toward the door, he tried to stay out of the robot's range of sight, since Sonic wasn't really getting it to move away from the opening. Hurry up, you twit! Just don't get killed!

            Sonic somersaulted away from a downward slash that the robot, nearly ramming into a pile of trash that had been placed near the doorway. The robot's arm seemed to be stuck in the ground, and gave him the perfect opportunity. He didn't even have to say anything, for his friend knew as well. As he revved up for a spin-dash to the robot's head, Knuckles scaled the wall toward the door, dropping down and disappearing into it. Once inside, he quickly ducked behind a barrel, looking about for any other security robots. The computer that he needed to assess was just a few feet away from where he was hiding. Scooping up a few screws that were lying on the ground, the Guardian flicked them at the computer, waiting. A few quiet zich sounds emitted and the dust that resulted from the metal being destroyed gently fluttered into little piles on the floor. Hmm, figures. It's never that easy. After tossing a few more screws into the defensive field, Knuckles pin pointed where the field was emanating from. He looked around for a panel that might have held the controls, but it had been completely welded shut.

            Guess Robotnik knew we were coming for the information and that this was the best place to for us to get it. No wonder he beefed up the security. The Guardian began trying to pry the panel open with his hands, but had no luck. Damn, I usually can rip these right off the wall…Oh well, no matter.

            A few quick punches obliterated the metal, along with any form of circuitry that he would have had to mess around with to get the field down. With the third punch, Knuckles heard a powering down noise, and looked toward the computer. He flicked the last screw at the computer, and grinned when it bounced off the console. The echidna went to work fast, setting up the hacking mechanism that Tails had given to him to use against the computer hard drive. He worked the keyboard as the hacking program did most of the work for him and readied the disk for copying. The program located the file and began to copy it to the disk. Good, halfway there to having this mission accomplished…He turned his head slightly toward the door. Wonder how Sonic's doing…

***

            Sonic's head bounced off of the ground. Blood spurted from his nose as he flopped a few feet away from where his head had first hit the dirt. Ow…that hurt…He heard stomping noises, blinked once, and then rolled as a robot tendril flung itself against the ground where he had been lying. He skidded to a stop about three yards from where the robot had tried to whack him again, panting a little. His right hand felt his nose, trying to stop it from dripping all over him. Of course. It just HAD to smack me in the face. Stupid son of a bitch…Another tendril flew at the hedgehog, missing just barely. Okay, I'm not admitting it TO him, but Knuckles was righ--! A hard crack against his back sent him barreling head over heels, landing in a pile of garbage this time.

            " Ow…" His eyes blinked rapidly, trying to figure out if the robot was going to try and smash him again.

            His mental question was answered by one of the tendrils scooping him up and tightening its grip on him so quickly that he couldn't have even tried to slip out of it.

            " GA—urk!" Sonic strained to try and keep breathing properly.

            Red and white blurs could be seen as he kicked and tried to fight back. It was a losing battle, since the hedgehog didn't have any sort of advantage to begin with. Great…Knuckles is going to come back to find a dead hedgehog unless I can think of something to do...! The tendril wasn't helping his thinking process any better when it wrapped around the hedgehog's neck, tightening quickly. His green eyes went wide, fingers outstretching as he made gagging noises.

            Footsteps. And they were coming up fast. Sonic barely heard the clang as he suddenly saw the ground rushing up to meet him. A hand grabbed at his arm, pulling him. Dragging him away from the spot he had landed. His ears were ringing and he couldn't see straight yet, but he knew the profanities well.

            " Nice…to see you too…Knuckles…" He managed to choke out.

            " You stupid little---" The Guardian stopped himself from continuing for a moment. "…hurry up and wake up quick. I belted it pretty good but I know I can't outrun it."

            A small chuckle rose in the hedgehog's throat as he managed to stand on his own.

            " And you need me to get you away?" The somewhat arrogant tone had returned as he quickly recovered.

            Knuckles frowned. " Nice to see your pride returns faster than the color in your face."

            It was Sonic's turn to frown. He looked over toward the robot one last time. Its head looked like it had been run through some sort of machine that mangled half of its face off. The hedgehog felt a sweat drop forming on his head.

            " What the hell did you do to it?"

            " That doesn't matter right now! Can we get the hell out of here?!" Knuckles' anger was apparent by now.

            A grin. " Why? We can take our time now and—"

            Knuckles interrupted with a very angry tone of voice. " Fine. Do whatever you want. I have the information and I'm not saving your ass again if it grabs you." And he started stalking off before anymore robots came and gave them more trouble.

            "---hey were are you going?!"

            " I'm not going to get killed because of your bloody pride!"

            Pondering.

            Waiting for him to get just out of sight…

            …and he bolted after him.
            Grinning.

***

            " PUT ME DOWN YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!"

            " Oh stop squirming!"

            " I'LL KILL YOU!"

            " Not when you can't get your hands around my neck!"

            A laugh. A growl.

            " PUT ME DOWN, FUCKER!"

            " Ohhhh? A little angry aren't we??? Tsk tsk!"

            " ALRIGHT, YOU LITTLE FUCKER---"

            Sonic promptly dropped Knuckles and bolted for the workshop. The enraged Guardian was on his toes almost the instant that Sonic put him down. Tails had heard the fighting and opened the door, poking his head out of it. His large ears bristled a little in the small breeze as he blinked, saw blue, and found himself being propelled outside. As he landed on the porch, the door shut behind him. Once it was locked, Sonic's voice called from the inside.

            " Oh, and hey, Tails! Knuckles got the information you want! Just let me know when he's cooled off and I'll let you both back in!"

            " Sonikku!" The small boy called, looking up as Knuckles loomed over him. He made a small noise as his ears folded.

            Fists tightened and then relaxed. Knuckles never took his anger out on Tails, mainly for the point that it was Sonic who infuriated him, not the boy. He let out a sigh as Tails seemed to relax a little bit as well.

            " Jerk…" Knuckles muttered.

            " You both like to push each others buttons, you know…" Tails said quietly.

            The echidna smirked. " True."

            " So you got the information on the new models?"

            " Yup." He handed the fox a disk, along with the hacking mechanism. " Worked like a charm."
            " Neat. I'll start work on the encryptions as soon as Sonic lets us back into the workshop…"

            Knuckles folded his arms. " You know that either one of us could just go through the upstairs window…"

            A small laugh. " I know. I just like to let Sonic have some alone time himself. You know how he is."

            A nod. It was one of those agreements that was left unsaid. Ten minutes was all that was needed for peace to resume. Tails knew that both of his older companions didn't want to hurt each other, but if they were annoyed enough, there was no stopping them. Hence, the separation. The small boy was overlooking the equipment as the echidna leaned up against the fence near the porch. Neither said anything. There was nothing to be said. Tails knew the drill.

            The moon had risen high up in the sky by now. It was hiding behind a patch of plump clouds, peeking out like a small child from it. A cool breeze had started up, causing the clouds to move slowly onward, unsheathing the orb from its hiding place. Dark lavender eyes lifted skyward, gazing up at the pale sphere. The breeze caused his dreads to gently flick to and fro against his shoulders and back. His gaze was not broken as he heard a quiet whirring in the air, followed by the opening and closing of a window. He closed his eyes for a moment and waited. The front door opened soon after that. The echidna didn't move. Why bother ruining a good moon gazing just to argue? He had all the time in the world to waste. And of course, doing this would only aggravate the hedgehog that was waiting for the inevitable fight in the workshop.

            Tails didn't wait after opening the door. He knew better.

            " Just don't wake up the dead, okay?" He calmly asked his older friend and hero.

            Jade eyes looked over at him.

            " What? We don't get to be that bad."

            The light blue in the fox's eyes rolled once as he walked past Sonic, who was sprawled out in an odd position on the sofa by now. It was as if he wanted to sprawl on a bed, with each appendage going in a different direction, and just didn't have enough room on the couch. And people say I'm the "young" one…He shook his head and disappeared into a much safer room than the one that was soon going to be filled with profanities and bad dispositions.

            Waiting was always the most annoying part. The hedgehog was trying to stay calm and collected. After all, he knew that Knuckles did this to enrage him. Tap. His eyes flicked down toward his right foot, which was resting on the side of the coffee table. It was taunting him. Tap it went again. His patience was thinning and losing the battle against his better judgment. Soon it was tapping against the coffee table rapidly, slowly moving it about a centimeter away from him. He waited.

            A fleeting moment of time passed.

            He was still waiting.

            Another few seconds lapsed.

            He was, indeed, still waiting.

            Five more seconds went by.

            He was now screaming out toward the idiot who was leaning against the fence.

            " Why should I come in there?" was the response that he got.

            Pissed off now. More yelling.

            Screaming. Fighting.

            They were the best of friends.
***

            " If you have a problem with me, say it."

            Nothing.

            " …Damn it! Don't ignore me!"

            He lifted his head slightly.

            " Why shouldn't I?"

            " It's not nice to ignore people when they're speaking to you."

            " You should practice what you preach."

            Pause. Think. FUME!

            " Why…you…."

            Silence. It infuriated him. Even more so now when he wanted to scream.

            " Will you just fucking say something?!"

            The echidna did not move and just continued looking up at the sky. Sonic could feel the rage building behind his forest green eyes. His eyebrows slanted.

            " Stop looking at the damned stars and say something!"

            " Something."

            The thin thread inside of Sonic's head snapped. He lunged at Knuckles. The only problem was that there happened to be a fence in between them. Granted, he cleared it with no trouble. The tumble afterward wasn't fun though. The purplish blur that rolled down the hill, swearing furiously as they came to a stop on one of the plateaus near the workshop. Red separated from blue, dodging a fist. The hedgehog sped forward, only to receive the back of a shoe to his chin.

            " Argh!" He back flipped, trying to land on his feet so he could retaliate.

            Knuckles completed his move with a roundhouse to Sonic's back. Another noise was emitted from him as he skidded along the ground. He spat dirt as his taller friend charged. Shit! Attempting a rolling move, Sonic hoped to take Knuckles down at the knees. It didn't work.

            " Nice try." The Guardian said as he jumped over the rolling ball of quills.

            Sonic growled, rolling to a stop and unfolding. He was kneeling on his left knee, with his right leg outstretched, ready for another takeoff if need be. One hand was on the ground, whereas the other one was rubbing at his back, trying not to look pained. His rival landed softly a few feet from where he had jumped, turning his head just slightly to look over his shoulder at him.

            " You really should learn to control your anger."

            He sputtered in total frustration.

            " W-why y-you…!!!"

            The Guardian folded his arms and turned his head to look up at the sky again. For the moment, the silence had returned between the two of them. Sonic's teeth were grinding together in irritation, but he just watched Knuckles as the breeze picked up again. Quills fluttered along with it, gently tapping the hedgehog on the back. Grasses swayed. The echidna seemed to relax his shoulders a little bit.

            " Stupid move today, hedgehog."

            Sonic was quick to snap back.

            " What the hell are you talking about?!"

            A small glance over the shoulder.

            " With the mission."

            " We got the information, didn't we?!"

            " And you almost lost your life."

            " Well, I'm here, aren't I?"

            " Thanks to me."

            " Yeah yeah yeah…I said thank you, didn't I?"

            " Actually, no. You never do."

            It was like taking one of Knuckles' best punches to the gut. Sonic blinked, more so in disbelief than anything.

            " …Never?"

            " Rarely, if anything." He wasn't going to shade the truth from his friend. It needed to be said.

            Of course, neither one of them were good at apologizing either. Sonic rubbed his head a little as he stood.

            " Well…thanks."

            " You're welcome." The echidna's answer was curt.

            A frown. Eyes shifted toward the ground for a moment, watching the little puffs of dirt rise as his shoe prodded at it. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't open his mouth. Both seemed to be waiting for the other one to say something first. Sonic kept thinking about what his friend had said. He didn't like it either. It made his head hurt. He hated the fact that Knuckles always seemed to make his head hurt one way or another.

            " I…"

            " You need to be more careful, Sonic." The Guardian interrupted again.

            Sonic couldn't just let that one slide. No way.

            " I was being careful."

            Knuckles scoffed loudly.

            " I WAS!" He felt his fists tighten again.

            " Oh really? I don't think being choked by a robot was being very careful."

            " He was faster than I thought he was!"

            " And I told YOU not to think that you were faster than it since it's a new prototype!"

            The echidna had swung around to point accusingly at the hedgehog. His dreads swirled with him, flicking back to their positions soon after the spin was completed.

            " Well, I had to distract it so YOU could get into the damned building!!"

            " You never think anything out, damn it!"

            " And coming up with all these little plans help?! HA!!! You're a fucking sitting duck when you're just trying to think of something to do!"

            " One of these days you're going to push it too far, hedgehog."

            " Eh, it turned out fine, Knuckles. I don't know why you're so worried!"

            Knuckles was fuming by now.

            " God damn it, Sonic!"

            " What?! You worry too much. You're going to give yourself wrinkles before you're twenty!" He laughed a little to himself.

            " Listen, you! We're supposed to be a team, damn it!"

            " We were acting like a team, Knuckles…"

            " Oh really?! You just rush out and nearly get yourself killed without having any  clue as to what to do, while I'm getting the information!"

            " I thought it was a good plan."

            " SINCE WHEN WAS YOU DYING A GOOD PLAN?!"

            Anger raged from both of them.

            " I DIDN'T DIE!!!"

            " YOU ALMOST DID!!" Violet eyes were burning into green. " What if I hadn't gotten there when I did, Sonikku?! WHAT THEN?!"

            " I would have gotten out of it somehow."

            " GRR!! NO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE! You would have been dead! DEAD!" 

            " WELL, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN THAT WAY, SO SHUT UP ABOUT IT!"

            " YOU STUPID FUCKING HEDGEHOG! YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO RELY ON YOUR PARTNER, DAMN IT!!"

            " I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!"

            They were practically at each other's throats by now. Sonic's ears flicked as he heard a slamming sound in the distance. He didn't pay any attention to it though. The fight continued, getting more heated by the minute. One of them would swing at the other soon.

            It was about this time when Tails turned the hose on them.

            " ACK!" They both cried as soon as the ice cold water hit them.

            The small fox said nothing as he continued to keep spraying them. Screams and sputtering erupted from the slew of water, until both soaked heroes managed to get away from each other and the wetness. Coughing, Sonic had knelt down onto the ground again, trying to spit up any water that he had ingested. Knuckles was quiet, looking at the fox with acknowledging eyes. Tails' eyes show his fatigue and the need to rest. He looked at both of them slowly.

            " Cool off and go to bed." It was the only thing he said before he walked off, wrapping the hose up around his arm.

            Water dripped off of Sonic's quills and hit the dirt, causing little splats in it. Knuckles still hadn't said anything and was trying to wring the water from his dreads now. He still didn't look happy. The hedgehog started to stand again.
            " Um…Knuckles…I---"

            " Shut up and think about what I said." The echidna had turned away from him and was walking away.

            Sonic didn't stop him. He knew better. The wind caused the soaked hedgehog to shiver a little as he watched the Guardian walk down the steps that led toward Tails' workshop. Probably going to go sleep in a tree tonight…Typical of him. The hedgehog shook his head and frowned a little. He waited until Knuckles had disappeared into the night before walking slowly back to the workshop.

***

            This had gone far enough.

            It was time that he was taught a lesson. And he was just the person to do it. Rationalizing it for a moment, the echidna knew that he was probably the only one who could do it in the end. After all, his opponent was pretty much equally matched with him, so it was going to take some planning.

            Luckily for him, he knew Sonic's weaknesses.

            Unfortunately, Sonic knew his. This posed a problem. He knew he was going to have to get the upper hand on the hedgehog, and there was only really one way to do this. The plan was going to have to be cheap and rather cunning, but somehow, that amused him a little. He loved challenges and this was going to be a difficult one. But that's what made them so damned fun.
***

            What little was left of night passed. Morning came quickly.

            After much deliberation, the Guardian had his plan worked out in his head. Now came the time to set everything up, but he had to have the perfect spot in order to teach the arrogant hedgehog a lesson. Observing was what he did best, since the echidna was inept to do so. While pondering to himself on his favorite tree branch, Knuckles ducked a rock that was purposely thrown in order to infuriate him. His violet eyes scanned down to the ground, where Sonic looked up at him with his infamous mischievous grin.

            " Wasn't sure if you were awake or not."

            The Guardian continued peering down at him for a moment before answering. It appeared that the night's rest had done them both some good.
            " Do you want something, Sonic?" His voice had a small hint of annoyance in it.

            " Yeah, just wanted to know if you were up for another challenge."

            Sonic noticed the flicker of Knuckles' brow. He knew that one reaction well. Knuckles could never resist a challenge from him, especially when Sonic added fuel to the fire with his taunting.

            " What kind of challenge?" Knuckles didn't look at him, focusing on a butterfly that was dancing in the air near the other branch.

            " Well…I was thinking something along the lines of---"

            " How about a good old swimming challenge?" The echidna interrupted, followed by a slight smirk.

            Sonic's ears bent back slightly in almost a sort of disgust. He knew how to swim now, but that was only because Knuckles had taught him. The hedgehog wasn't stupid enough to fall for that one. His echidna rival had the upper hand when it came to swimming and he wasn't about to let himself get humiliated. It was more fun if he was the one who inflicted the humiliation. Especially since he knew he was faster and he could beat his friend in a race.

            " How about…no?"

            Knuckles' smirk didn't disappear. He knew that Sonic would never agree to that, because the hedgehog was at the disadvantage if he did. Swimming might have been one of his strong points, but the echidna did know that his running skills were not up to par with the speedy hedgehog. He did know, though, that Sonic wouldn't take "no" to another race again.

            " You want to race along the usual path, don't you?"

            The grin returned.

            " Of course."

            Oh how did I know? Knuckles sighed a little.

            " When?"

            " Now?"

            " I get to use the trees if I want to."

            " That's not a footrace then!"

            " You can at least give me that, hedgehog."

            Sonic's foot was tapping furiously against the ground now, creating little puffs of dirt swirling up and around his shoes. He seemed to be thinking about the idea of letting Knuckles jump from the trees again. I almost lost the last time he did that...damn his ability to glide…

            " I don't thi—"

            " Then I'm not racing you." He interrupted and laid back down on his branch.

            Knuckles didn't have to look at Sonic to know that he was fuming already. If his friend agreed to the conditions, then there was a good chance that he could beat him. Gliding was easier than running and he had every intention of making it harder for Sonic to gloat later.

            " Alright, fine! You can use the damned trees!" Sonic grumbled loudly to the echidna, who turned his head to look down again.

            " Much obliged. Shall we start then?" He flashed a grin at the fuming hedgehog.

            " Just get down here."

            " Oh? You could be a little more polite and ask me nicely."

            Knuckles rolled off the branch as another and larger rock sailed where his head had been. He knew Sonic had wanted to bean him one, but he let that one go. He'd teach the hedgehog a lesson when he got everything ready.

            " Don't patronize me, Knuckles." Sonic said, stretching a little.

            The Guardian dropped to the ground and walked up. He didn't say anything to that remark. There was nothing to say. Sonic knew that he was just teasing anyway. After a few stretches, Knuckles braced his feet in a sprint position.

            " Ready?"
            " Ready."
            " On three?"

            " Right."

            Both counted three together slowly. The last syllables of the word "three" were barely completely uttered when both of them took off. Sonic had already gotten some ground ahead of Knuckles, due to his skill at breaking away from a starting line quickly. The echidna was right on his heels though, quickly trying to make up for lost ground, but at the same time, he was observing the hedgehog and their surroundings silently.

            The "race track" was really a beaten down path though the forest that the two of them had made over time. It had one time just been a simple trail though the forest that no one used anymore, but Sonic had found it to be perfect for a track, and had cleared the brush away for them. The path was bigger now, since both of them were usually trying to get in front of the other one, zigzagging around trees and rocks. Knuckles liked the fact that the trail led right to a clearing, completing the trail as it curved around in its simple arc. Even though focused on the race, Knuckles' mind wandered to a previous time where he raced with his friend.

            After one of their first races, Sonic had once said to Knuckles about how the forest looked neat as it was zipping by them. He had retorted with a small comment about how painful branches were if they weren't watching where they were going. Sonic had laughed, since Knuckles had at the time, gotten smacked by a thin little branch in the face. The small branch had cut his cheek and there had been a little blood running down his face. It was only a small cut, but sometimes the smallest cuts hurt the worst, and the echidna did his best not to whine about it. Sonic teased him about it for about a week, until he himself ran into a branch when they raced again. Knuckles didn't tease Sonic as much as he would have wanted to, but the branch had given the hedgehog a nice black eye. Being somewhat gracious, he left Sonic alone until he regained his pride. After their small wounds healed, the two made sure to check the trail first before a contest. Just in case.

            The Guardian smirked a little at the small and almost meaningless memory as he took to the trees, using them like slingshots to propel himself after the hedgehog. I wonder why that just came back to me---Sonic's voice interrupted his thoughts.

            " Damn, you echidnas are slow!!"
            " What was that, hedgehog?!"

            Sonic snickered as he bolted off faster, now with a somewhat enraged echidna gliding after him. He had noticed that his friend hadn't been completely in tune with the race at hand. A small insult usually got his focus back and Sonic was more than happy to oblige. It's so easy to piss him off too. That was just the way their friendship worked. The azure hedgehog knew just what buttons to push with his friend. And he knew that winning this race, again, would push another one.

            Skidding into the clearing, Sonic touched the tree on the far edge of it, and simply grinned as Knuckles landed just seconds after he got there.
            " I win. Again."

            The echidna's face showed his displeased frown, but he knew that once Sonic got going, he wasn't going to stop gloating. There was no stopping him after he started. The best thing was to ignore him until he shut up on his own. He closed his violet eyes and waited, until he felt a jabbing in his side from Sonic's index finger.
            " You listening to me??"

            " You done gloating?"

            " Not if you're not listening."

            His grin was not fazing the echidna's frown. Sonic's smile slowly disappeared.
            " You're really mad at me, aren't you?"

            " For?"

            The hedgehog was a little puzzled by that question.
            " Um…the race and my insult…?" He tipped his head a little to the side, questioningly.

            Knuckles let out a disgruntled sigh and shook his head.
            " No, I'm not mad at you."

            " You're mad about something. Usually you don't mind my joking."

            " I usually just ignore it."

            " What's with you, Knuckles? There's something up."

            He rolled his eyes.

            " Stop pretending like you don't know."

            Sonic paused.

            " …Oh."

            " Did you think about what I said?"
            " Um…" He was rubbing his head again.

            A scoff.

            " Figures. Never mind."

            " I did think about it…a little." Sonic said quietly.

            Knuckles was already climbing up the tree, ignoring him.

            " H-hey! Knuckles!"

            He didn't answer him and made himself comfy in another branch, closing his eyes. Green eyes were staring up at him questioningly. Once again, nothing was said. Knuckles was clearing ignoring him, not wanting to deal with it until he was appeased. The blue hedgehog sighed a little and walked off.
            " Fine, be mad. I don't care."

            One eye opened.
            " Yeah, you do. Or else you wouldn't have said anything."

            Sonic gave him a one finger salute as he continued on. The Guardian didn't pay any heed to it though. He looked down at the clearing for a moment. A grin appeared on his face. I'll show you, hedgehog. You'll listen to me this time…
***

            It was late afternoon by now and he had completed everything that needed to be prepared. It was practically the perfect plan. He knew what to do now and how to go about doing it. All he needed was to implement the bait. Knuckles knew that Sonic was probably itching to do something fun.  The echidna smirked a little, jumping down from the tree he was sitting in and headed back toward the workshop. He plucked an apple from one of the trees that Tails had planted near the foot of the plateau, and started climbing up the stairs. He heard the sound of tinkering, which was a normal sound from the workshop. What wasn't normal, was the fact that Sonic was talking with Tails as the tinkering commenced. His whining was apparent as Knuckles made it to the top of the stairs, biting into his apple with a loud crunch.

            Sonic was sitting on top of one of the wings of the Tornado, tapping his foot against it as he held some tools for the fox. Tails was hanging upside down from the side of the wing, trying to fix something on the underside of the first wing of the biplane. Knuckles raised an eyebrow as he walked up, still munching on his apple. Sonic looked up at the echidna, but didn't say anything. They had a typical disposition with each other when it came to fights. Sooner or later one of them would say something, or there would be another unsaid agreement to just drop it.

            " What are you up to, kiddo?" Knuckles asked, taking another bite of the apple.

            Tails looked at him from his upside down position.

            " Oh, there was a patch of this wing that had been ripped apart from the second to last mission. I just had time to fix it now."

            " From when you were hit by the laser fire?"

            The fox nodded. Sonic was still quiet. It was unlike him, of course, but Knuckles knew why. He knew that Sonic wasn't going to try and start up trouble unless he made the first move.

            " Hmm…I see." He bit into the apple again, munching quietly.

            " Wrench, please."

            Sonic made a face and looked for it in the toolbox. He found it as quickly as possible and handed it to the fox. Knuckles swallowed.

            " You look rather bored, Sonic."

            The hedgehog lifted his head just slightly. Another bite out of the apple.

            " Well?"

            " Yeah…" He wasn't looking at him directly.

            " I think I know what would cheer you up."

            Sonic's ears prickled slightly. Did he decide to forget about it? Tails seemed interested too now, since he knew about the two of them fighting.

            " What is it?"

            " I want a rematch."

            A rapid blink.

            " What, from this morning?"

            Tails glanced up at Sonic with a confused look. Knuckles tossed the apple into the trash can that was sitting just outside the hanger doors.

            " You guys had another race this morning?" The small fox asked.

            " Yeah." Sonic grinned, gaining a little bit of his confidence back. " I beat Knuckles again!"

            A smirk appeared on the echidna's face.

            " And I want a rematch!"

            They were both grinning at each other now. Tails laughed and shook his head.
            " You two are so silly sometimes…Sonic, can you help me up?"

            " Sure, kid."

            The hedgehog grabbed his little friend's hand and pulled him onto the wing where he was sitting. Both smiled at each other.

            " I'm surprised you're letting me get away with helping you."

            The fox shrugged a little.
            " I know you hate just sitting around here. That and well…maybe this'll help you guys make up."

            Sonic blinked a little. Little guy knows too much for his own good sometimes. He placed his hand on top of Tails' head and rubbed, fluffing the boy's hair around. Tails laughed and tried to pry his hero's hand off, but to no avail. Knuckles smiled a little. Sure, he fought with Sonic a lot, but he knew that his friend had a good heart. Might not use his brain as much as he really should, but still…He couldn't help but remain smiling. He knew Sonic wasn't stupid. He just didn't like to plan things out or rely on people.

            That would be soon be different.

            The hedgehog looked back at Knuckles as soon as he let Tails go out of his grasp. He smiled a little. The Guardian returned the smile.

            " Ready then?"

            " You're on, Knuckles." Sonic said, hopping down from the wing of the plane.

            " Alright then, Sonic. You're going down this time." He said with a sly grin.

***

            Sonic stretched his legs by the makeshift starting line by their little racetrack through the forest. He had regained his arrogant tone once again. Knuckles only smirked at his friend. He looked back toward the workshop, which was about a half a mile away. The sun's going to set in a few hours…Only have a little more light for today…

            " I'll even let you use the trees again!" He said with confidence.

            " How kind of you." The echidna chuckled a little.

            " Ready???" Sonic was like a kid in a candy store, bouncing slightly on his toes.

            Knuckles felt the sweat drop forming on the back on his head. He nodded slightly and got into his sprinting position. Sonic followed suit, grinning insanely. They started to count to three, bracing their feet in order to snap into the sprint.

            " THREE!"

            Both took off instantly. Sonic didn't hold back at all, zipping along the "racetrack." He heard Knuckles bounding after him from the trees, but grinned anyway. There's no way that I'll let him win at all! Not this time! His feet created little puffs of dirt to fly up behind him as he ran. His grin was practically taking over his face as he saw the marker tree coming up into view. Knuckles was still behind him, cursing a little because he had tripped on a low tree branch. Sonic only laughed, ranting off something at his friend about being too slow once again. He heard the growl and quickly crossed the clearing to touch the tree with a fingertip.
            " I win again!" He gloated in a singsong tone of voice.

            The Guardian landed next to him, scowling.

            " That you did…"

            " Guess you'll just have to challenge me again tomorrow!"

            " Yeah, I guess so…"

            Sonic raised an eyebrow slightly.
            " Knuckles…are you okay?" He blinked a little, noticing the quick change of disposition with his friend. " You don't seem like yourself."

            The echidna shrugged slightly.
            " I just feel sort of bad."

            " Hmm? Why?"

            " Ehh…because I've got to do something that I'm not going to be proud of." He made a face.

            Sonic couldn't help but make a comment to poke fun at him.
            " And what would that be? Going out on a date with Rouge?"

            Knuckles shot him a glare that would have killed him if it could. The hedgehog blinked and waved his hands at him so he wouldn't get his head beaten into the tree.
            " I'm sorry! I'm sorry!! It was just a joke."

            The Guardian laughed a little.

            " I don't know why you tease me about her so much…"

            Sonic's grin returned as he put his hands behind his head and stretched.

            " Eh, you know me." He winked.

            " You're evil, you know that?"

            The grin only got bigger.

            " So then…what's the problem that you're worrying about?"

            " I told you. It's something that I have to deal with, even though I'm not going to like doing it." He rubbed at his head a little.

            Green eyes softened a little as he looked at his friend with concern. Knuckles never looked this somber to him before. Whatever is on his mind right now has to be a big deal…Sonic frowned a little, leaning over.

            " Hey…Knuckles…whatever it is, you can talk to me about it."

            He frowned again.

            " I'm serious. What's bothering you? You're not the type to not do something that you don't want to do…"

            Violet eyes met the emerald ones. It almost broke him right there. He almost didn't have the heart to go through with it. Sonic's eyes showed that he was genuinely concerned about him. Knuckles blinked slowly. It has to be done, you know that…He sighed, letting his shoulders heave. Sonic kept prying.

            " Knuckles? What is it that you have to do??"

            " …This." He moved back slightly, pivoting a foot.

            Sonic barely had enough time to make a syllable of questioning come out of his mouth before the punch connected with his face, just over his left temple. Stars flooded his vision as his body spiraled toward the grass below. He wasn't on the ground for more than a second before Knuckles was on top of him, holding him down. The stars were still dancing before his eyes but the hedgehog knew that he wasn't in a good predicament with the weight that was pressing him down now.

            " Aaah! What the hell are you doing?!" He managed to squeak out.

            Knuckles didn't say anything. He knew he had to work fast while the hedgehog was dazed or else this plan would end up in misery.

            " Owwww!!" Sonic whined as he tried to fight off Knuckles. " Stop it! Leave me alone!"

            But with being pinned underneath the stronger of the two, Sonic could do nothing really but squirm. Think…you can get out of this one…He felt his wrists being tied together…and promptly freaked out.

            " WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!"

            " Making sure you're not going anywhere."

            " WHAT?! LET ME GO!!"

            " Nope." Knuckles voice was calm and collected.

            Sonic was trying to kick as hard as he could, but Knuckles had slid down to sit on top if his legs so he could tie those together as well. The hedgehog thrashed about, not knowing what to do, except escape somehow. The Guardian used a lot of rope to bind his friend. Just in case Sonic would have been able to slip out of it. He finished quickly, but efficiently. The hedgehog was screaming now, demanding that he be released. Knuckles only smirked.
            " Let me go, Knuckles! Right NOW!!!"

            " Not until you listen to me." He grinned.

            This only sent the hedgehog into a profane slew of words and threats that would have matched Knuckles' own fiery tongue almost any day. The echidna sighed and took hold of the squirming hero, dragging him to lean him up against the tree. Sonic was thrashing around, doing anything he could think of that might loosen the ropes, or possibly hurt Knuckles in any way. He tried to flex his quills in order to accomplish this task.

            " Oh calm down, Sonikku."

            His teeth found home in Knuckles' right hand. He yelped and tried to pry the hedgehog's teeth from him.

            " Nnngh….You're only making this worse, hedgehog!!"

            Sonic bit down harder. Another yelp. His free hand went for an ear, grabbing a hold and pulling fiercely. It was Sonic's turn to yelp, thus releasing Knuckles hand from his mouth. Waving it a little, the echidna scowled as he glared at the hedgehog, who threw needles right back at him with his own eyes. As he released his friend's ear, Knuckles had to quickly pull his left hand away as Sonic snapped at it as well.

            " Stubborn little shit…"

            The wriggling hedgehog bared his teeth at him. Knuckles only rolled his eyes.
            " Anyway, this should get you to sit still so we can talk."

            " The only thing I have to say to you is LET ME GO, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

            A sigh.

            " If you would only cooperate, I'd let you go sooner."

            Sonic spat at him. This time it was Knuckles' turn to swear as he wiped the spit off of his face.

            " You little fuck!" He had to restrain himself from just pummeling his friend right there. It would be so easy to, but that would defeat the purpose of the entire plan.

            " Will you just fucking untie me?!?!"
            " No! You're going to listen to what I say and like it!"

            " Fuck that!! UNTIE ME RIGHT NOW!"

            " Will you shut up!?!"

            " FUCK. YOU."

            " That's it. If you won't shut up, I'll shut you up."

            Knuckles got up and started going through the backpack that he had hidden under a bush. It had contained all of the rope that he used to tie Sonic up with, along with a few other things. He pulled out some tape and grinned slightly at Sonic, who was screaming at him again.

            " Don't you even think about it, Knuckles!!"

            " I'm thinking about it." His grin got wider. " You gonna shut up?"

            " Go fuck yourself!" Sonic's rage was not going to die down anytime soon.

            " You know, I'm going to enjoy you not being able to speak for once!"

            Sonic's eyes widened slightly. He knew that his friend was serious about this. There was nothing he could do about it either. Except hope that he could roll away faster. Knuckles snagged his arm before he rolled too far though, pulling him back.
            " Hold still!"

            He bit his captor's hand again.

            " ARGH!"

            Knuckles clipped him on the top of the head to make him to let go. Sonic made a noise, opening his mouth a little bit, but promptly bit down again. At the same time, the Guardian pulled his hand away. His glove was now dangling from between Sonic's teeth as they both blinked at each other, trying to figure out how that happened in the brief two seconds that it had. The hedgehog was about to spit it out when he was shoved down again onto the grass. Struggling, he felt Knuckles' left hand pushing against his forehead in order to keep him down. He couldn't do anything with the echidna sitting on top of him except try and prevent him from taping his mouth shut. But Sonic couldn't move his head with Knuckles pushing down on it so forcefully. He was about to scream in frustration, but fingers curled around his bottom teeth, pulling on his jaw. Completely confused, Sonic tried to bite down again, but to no avail. Knuckles wasn't just holding his mouth open, but was now stuffing it with the glove that had been in between his teeth.

            His eyes widened as he tried to fight it. His tongue pushed back. He wasn't winning. Knuckles had managed to stuff the glove into his mouth easily, but found that Sonic was pushing it back out. He quickly took off his left glove with his own teeth, replacing his hand on Sonic's forehead so he couldn't move his head, and proceeded to stuff the hedgehog's mouth with the other glove. Sonic's muffled screaming was soon practically silenced as he completed packing his mouth. Knuckles reached back with his right hand to grab at the roll of duct tape and started pulling at the end of it to start creating a strip to keep the gloves in. The hedgehog was trying to thrash his head from side to side, but the echidna only applied more pressure to his brow in order to keep him still. Using his right hand, he placed the free end of the tape on Sonic's right cheek, and pulled on the roll so it would continue dispensing it. His left hand stopped pressing on his friend's temple in order to smooth the tape down as he completed putting a long enough strip across his mouth. Once finished, Sonic's voice was nothing more than a faint mumble behind the gag. Knuckles tossed the roll back at his bag and glanced down at the hedgehog just briefly.

            He was terrified. It wasn't hard to see that in his eyes. But behind that was complete frustration. And lots of anger. Sonic was helpless. And he couldn't stand it. Knuckles felt sorry for him, but he knew it was the only way. His friend was too stubborn to listen to him if he was giving the right to speak. The Guardian got off of him and stood up. Sonic was trying to rub his head against his shoulder to hopefully loosen the tape that was firmly pressed against his mouth. He couldn't get it to even flick a corner up. Knuckles tried not to chuckle at his futile attempts. The look itself was new for the hedgehog. His cheeks were bulging slightly from being stuffed with the gloves, which reminded the echidna of a chipmunk or squirrel. A small chortle emitted from him. Sonic's eyes burned into him as soon as his ears picked it up.

            " Oh, don't look at me like that. You just look silly."

            A muffled reply. It sounded angry. That was expected though, with all things considered. Knuckles folded his arms.
            " You know, I could always just take you and drop you off at Amy Rose's…" He couldn't resist the threat now with Sonic being completely helpless at the moment.
            Emerald eyes widened even more than they were already. Now that really terrified the hedgehog. He shook his head rapidly as he made muffled pleas not to. Knuckles smiled slightly.

            " Kidding…"

            Sonic's ears folded as he gave a disgruntled look and murmur at his friend. He jumped a little as Knuckles took a hold of him again and dragged him back toward the tree. Another futile struggle was attempted but Sonic found himself sitting up against it once again. He blinked a little and looked up at Knuckles, who had gone back to packing up the backpack. Is he just going to leave me here…?! What is he plotting to do?!?!?!?! Sonic pondered for a moment and tried to free himself again. The echidna looked over his shoulder, just briefly, at him, and then went back to his tidying up. He picked up on loud muffled screams from his friend and tried to ignore them. Once he completed packing the bag up again, he set it aside and walked back to Sonic.

            Knuckles sat on the rock next to the tied up hedgehog and looked at him. Sonic was glaring at him. The echidna tried not to grin at him. He knew it would only make the hedgehog more irrational and angry. It was going to be hard enough as it was to talk to him as it was.

            " Now then…shall we get down to business?"

            Green eyes burned hatred into his skin.

            " I had a feeling that would be the answer." Knuckles rubbed his head a little bit and sighed. " I didn't want to have to do this to you, Sonikku, but I knew there would be no way that you would listen to me otherwise. You would have run off because you wouldn't have wanted to listen."

            Sonic gave some sort of muffled grunt at him.

            " And that's why I gagged you. You'd just shoot off your mouth at me the second that I would start to tell you what I need to tell you."

            His eyes continued to defiantly stare at him. Knuckles sighed again.

            " Don't worry. I'll let you go once you think about this."

            Think about what, Knuckles? I don't care what you have to say…I want out of this situation, now! Sonic was still rather angry, struggling a little. Knuckles didn't stop him. There was no point to try. Sonic was stubborn. He was just as stubborn though and continued to ignore the squirming hedgehog.

            " Needless to say, you need to understand something."

            Sonic looked at him with a small questioning look.

            " You need to be more careful, Sonikku."

            Oh, not this again…He turned his head away in a huff.

            " Fine. Ignore me. I still know that you're listening…"

            No, I'm not, you jerk. La la la!

            Knuckles continued.

            " Yesterday's mission wasn't the only time that you've gotten in over your head. It's happened numerous times before. Most of which, your life was threatened, Sonic."

            Eyes slanted slightly as Sonic tried not to react. His friend noticed it. The hedgehog's emotions were easy to spot since they were so much like his own.

            " You really need to use your head more, Sonic, or else you're going to get yourself killed one of these days. There's always the chance that Tails or myself won't be there to try and help you…"

            Sonic gave him the famous "I-can-take-care-of-myself" look. Knuckles rolled his eyes.

            " Don't look at me like that. You know I'm right. I don't care if you're a world famous hero or not. You have to be more careful."

            It took a lot not to punch Sonic because he rolled his eyes at him.

            " Alright then, fine. Don't listen to me." Knuckles rose from the rock that he was sitting on. He looked back in the direction of the workshop. The sky was paling from a sea of red and slowly turning into a shade of purple as night descended. " You'll have plenty of time to think about it tonight."

            W-what?!?!?!?!?! A few noises were heard from behind the gag. Sonic was looking up at him, his ears folded and his eyes wide. You're going to leave me here…LIKE THIS?!?!?!?!?!? Knuckles' eyes showed no sympathy.

            " I'm sure that was some sort of defiant scream from you about me leaving you here like that. But if it'll force you to actually think about your actions, then so be it."

            Loud protests emitted from Sonic as he continued to struggle. The Guardian picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
            " I'll let Tails know that you won't be home tonight…" He grinned at the hedgehog.

            Sonic was thrashing about as best as he could. He pleaded with his eyes for Knuckles not to leave him there. It was humiliating. But the echidna was not acknowledging his attempts at trying to get his kindness. He whined through the gag, watching his only key to freedom walk away. DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!!! KNUCKLES!

***

            The sun was setting as Knuckles came to a stop on top of the plateau. Tails had just put the Tornado away in the garage and was closing the door as he noticed him.
            " Hi!" He waved.

            The Guardian raised a hand to acknowledge it with a small smile. The little fox landed on the ground as the door shut and walked over to the toolbox and tools that were left on the ground. He turned to give Knuckles another smile, blinking slightly as he put the tools away.

            " Hey, isn't Sonic with you?"

            A shake of the head.

            " No. He decided that he wanted to go off and be by himself for awhile. You know how he gets…"

            " Did you beat him at the race or something?"

            Knuckles shook his head once more.

            " No, he beat me again…" He looked disappointed.

            Tails' ears folded slightly.

            " Did you guys fight again?"

            " We had some words, yes."

            " Is that why he left…?"

            His brow furled.

            " I believe so. Sometimes you can't tell with that guy."

            The kitsune nodded, closing the toolbox and locking it. He smiled again though.

            " Did he say when he'd be back?"

            " Does he ever?"

            A fleeting thought.

            " No, I suppose not." The small boy laughed a little. " You going to stay here tonight then?"

            Violet blinked.

            " Not this time, kid. I'm going to be meditating for most of the night…"

            " You could always do that here too…"

            Knuckles blinked. He hadn't thought about the possibility that Tails would have been scared to be alone. It didn't seem like him, since the boy lived in the workshop by himself for a rather long time.

            " If you really want me to stay, I will…Don't want you to be lonely."

            The boy looked up at him.
            " Oh, I won't be lonely. I still have a lot of projects that I want to work on. I just didn't want to seem like I wouldn't appreciate your company."

            He frowned and began to feel bad. But he knew he couldn't stay at the workshop. The echidna reached out and patted the fox's head.

            " I'll be back in the morning. We don't know when Sonic will be back, so I don't want you to feel like we're both abandoning you."

            Tails giggled a little as his ears were rubbed.

            " You two treat me like I'm a little kid…"

            " I hate to remind you of this, Tails, but you are a little kid…A really smart one, but you are still a kid."

            They both laughed a little at that. Knuckles looked down at the boy soon after.

            " You sure you're going to be alright by yourself?"

            " Uh huh." Tails nodded. " Go ahead and do your meditation. I know how important it is to be in a quiet and calm place when you're doing that. My tinkering would probably disrupt your thinking."

            " You're a good kid, Tails."

            " I try…" He laughed a little. " Sonic says the same thing. Although sometimes I wish he wouldn't be so…childish sometimes…"

            Knuckles couldn't help but laugh at that.

            " Coming from you, that's a pretty bad insult…"

            " Well…it's true…"

            " I know…"

            They were both silent for a moment. Knuckles was starting to feel guilty again. Stop thinking that you've done something wrong. This will help Sonic realize that he needs to worry about things that are important…like his own life…He frowned a little. Tails' ears perked up a little.

            " What's wrong?"

            " Oh…nothing. I have a lot on my mind…"

            " Is that why you wanted to go meditate?" The boy's smile was somewhat reassuring.

            He nodded.

            " I hope it helps then!"

            " Heh. Thanks again, kid."

            The echidna turned to walk away. Tails waved at him as he started down the steps again. He gave a small wave and turned his back on the fox, frowning again. His ears picked up on the sound of the workshop door closing. Tails went back inside…Good. I was afraid that he'd continue staring at me. I know he doesn't know what I did…but I feel like he does…somehow. He shook his head. His shoulders relaxed as he sighed again. I know that I'm probably not going about this the right way…But…Sonic would probably never actually think about anything that I said if I had just let him run off like he usually does…The Guardian disappeared back into the forest, still pondering the question: Did he do the right thing?

***

            Anger.

            He couldn't wait to get his hands on him.

            Rip out his spine.
            And then feed it to him.

            His knees were just barely touching his chest. He had tried to escape by balling up so his quills would cut at the ropes. Unfortunately he felt no slack from them.

            He was livid.

            And yet…

            There was terror.

            He would never admit it to anyone, but he was scared.

            Frightened.

            And alone.
            He left me here…alone…

            Sonic blinked, looking up at the darkening sky. Night had fallen by now. He was cold, alone, and so full of rage and fear that he didn't know which one was controlling him right then and there. The hero was totally embarrassed.

            Being left in this…position…It's so humiliating…

            His head touched the tree as he stared up at the stars that were now coming into view. It was getting colder. He shivered and closed his eyes. Why would he do this to me…? I know I piss him off a lot…but it's so not like…him…He lowered his head a little, his blue quills flopping against his shoulders. Try to stay calm…freaking out isn't going to solve anything…
            A second later he was struggling as furiously as he could, screaming loudly into his gag.

            His energy depleted quickly, which left him exhausted and sweaty. He felt the tape on the right side of his cheek had begun to peel away a little from the sweat, but he didn't even notice it. Breathing hard through his nose, Sonic tried to calm down so he wouldn't start hyperventilating. He was forced to think. He didn't like that. Breathe through your nose…slowly…calm the hell down…you're not going to get out of here if you panic again…His heart stopped thumping so hard against his chest. His ears folded a little as his eyes slid closed, trying to rest for a moment. Thoughts kept running through his head. Just because Knuckles tied me up doesn't mean that I can quit…I still don't understand why he had to do THIS to me though…Stupid fucking bastard!!! The rage had begun to boil over again. Yet he didn't have the energy to thrash around again. Soon, his worries were starting to take over though, partially because he didn't want to suffocate on his friend's dirty gloves.

            The hedgehog hated being scared. He felt weak whenever he showed fear. A part of him was glad that no one was there. It meant that no one would see him tremble or shake. No one would see him cry. Not that he was going to let himself do that. Heroes don't cry…He opened his eyes again and looked at the dark sky. Specks of light had appeared by now, forming the gatherings of old gods and mythological creatures. Sonic shivered a little. The temperature was dropping again as night continued on. I'm going to freeze out here…I don't know how Knuckles can sleep in a tree all the time…He sighed, blinking.

            I hate thinking so much…Why does he want me to think about that? There's no point to it. I know what I'm doing…Why should I tell him the plans that I have in my head as I rush off to battle? That'd just take up more time…And I can get a lot more done in the same time it would take him to come up with one of his mundane plots! He shook his head a little. He didn't understand it. Knuckles had made references to other missions. Sonic's mind probed his memories of them, for lack of anything better to do. He winced, remembering the pain. Pain came with the job description. Tossed against walls at almost neck breaking speed. Bones broken. Sonic frowned behind the gag. Maybe Knuckles is right…Perhaps I have been too careless…
            …NAH! And he started struggling again.

***

            He's so fucking stubborn.

            The Guardian was sitting in one of the higher branches of a nearby tree, watching Sonic struggle futilely. His back was up against the tree itself, as he continued to peek through the leaves at the hedgehog. He had made sure that Sonic couldn't see him by staying higher up and away. He sighed quietly. I wouldn't just leave him completely alone…I'm not that cruel. Brushing some dreads away, his violet eyes cast downward to see Sonic giving up for the time being. Must have gotten tired again…

            He felt awful. I wish I knew what he was thinking about…well, except plotting my death. Knuckles squinted his eyes to try and make out what Sonic was doing now. A shiver ran up his spine as a wind blew through the treetops. Damn…it's getting colder than I thought it would. Sonic was shivering now. He raised a brow. Did he fall asleep or something…? The hedgehog rolled a bit. Fingers groped for the knots that bound his wrists. They were out of reach. His fingers arched and tried desperately to get to the knots, but it wasn't possible. Sonic strained with that idea for a few minutes, until he rolled back onto his back and tried to calm down again. Knuckles waited until the wind went by again to jump from tree to tree without being noticed. He peered down at the hedgehog.

            Sonic whined pitifully. He was shaking again. Knuckles wasn't sure if he was shivering or if he was scared. But it was all necessary. If Sonic thinks he's alone, then he has nothing to occupy his thought process…well, except for the idea of being alone. A whimper was emitted, causing the echidna to lean down again so he could look at Sonic's eyes.

            He saw the terror behind them.

            He's…scared…? Sonic's not afraid of anything…

***

            I don't want to be here anymore…

            Sonic was thinking too much. He was scared out of his mind about various situations. His eyes were scrunched shut as he shuddered. I'm…scared…why am I scared…? Scared about being so…fucking helpless…? Or…

            He blinked a little.

            S l o w l y.

            Or…am I scared at the fact…

            Water trickled down his right cheek.

            …That Knuckles was right…?

***

            Teeth clamped down on his tongue as he stifled the gasp that had tried to escape from his mouth. Quiet sobs rose from under him. He…Knuckles stared, unable to take his eyes off of the hedgehog. H-he's…The echidna could almost not bring himself to think it.

            Crying…

            He wanted to punch himself.

            I didn't want him to…

            Knuckles lowered his eyes, trying not to listen to Sonic's pitiful weeping.

            I'm sorry…Sonikku…

***

            He was curled up as much as he could, trying to bring his knees to his chest. Tears splattered against grass blades, bending them over. His green eyes were shut tightly as he tried to stop crying. His quills shook rapidly as he mumbled out a loud sob. Stop fucking crying, you idiot…Knuckles will help you…Just…stop…fucking…………crying……

            Sonic was getting angry with himself and his weakness.

            God damn it, snap out of it! Stop being so damn weak…

            His memories flashed back to past events. He was falling. The sky was overhead. Soon it flipped and the ground appeared. His consciousness was already failing him.

            Stop it…!

            If he hadn't curled instinctively, it would have killed him.

            He didn't remember hitting the water and sinking.

            Darkness had taken over for that brief moment.

            Why…?

            Woke up. Surrounded by water. No air.

            His arms were failing him. His legs were doing the same as his arms.

            Stop thinking about that…!

            He couldn't breathe. He was passing out.

            Something grabbed him. Pulled him.

            Saved him.

            Sonic smashed his head against the ground. Knuckles risked his own life to save me then…just like he did last night…His shoulders heaved. I couldn't help myself…not then, not now…Another sob. Stop fucking crying…stop…crying…weakling…He was growing more and more weak from fatigue. He needed sleep. He wasn't sure if he could, but the exhaustion from all the exertion that he had used up in attempts to escape was winning. 

            I'm sorry…I was wrong…I'll…try… to be… more careful…

            His shoulders relaxed a little as his eyes slid closed one last time.
***
            He's asleep…

            He had no idea how he had stayed put. Knuckles felt ashamed. Sonic was obviously very distraught. The second Sonic had smashed his head against the ground had nearly jostled him from his hiding spot. He knew that he had to hold back. He couldn't help Sonic through this. He had to learn on his own…even though it was a dishonorable way of going about it. The wind picked up again, causing him to shiver. He looked down.

            Sonic's quills gently moved with the wind. He barely moved since he was completely exhausted, but it was apparent to the echidna that he would freeze if he didn't do anything about it. Knuckles slowly climbed down the tree, landing softly a few feet away from his friend. His eyes were focused on the hedgehog, making sure that he was absolutely asleep. Slowly walking up to him, Knuckles knelt down and noticed that the tape had been peeling away, due to the wetness on Sonic's cheeks. I really hope this won't wake him up…He took a hold on the tape, gently taking it off. It practically slid off of Sonic's skin, since most of the stickiness had basically worn off from the water. He pinched at the cloth and pulled it from his mouth. The hedgehog moved slightly, closing his mouth as soon as there was nothing gagging him any longer. Knuckles tossed his old gloves aside and wiped the tears from his friend's face. I'm sorry, Sonic…I didn't mean for this…to go this way…He frowned and fished in his pack for a pocketknife. Cutting carefully, the Guardian tossed the rope in the direction that he had thrown the gloves. He frowned a little.

            There were a few red marks here and there on Sonic's fur. Knuckles checked for any blood on any of them. Rope burns…he really fought hard. He didn't find blood and opened his pack again, digging through it for something to dress his wounds. He tended to the burns carefully. Sonic was barely responding to anything that he was doing, which was a sort of blessing for Knuckles. He really didn't disturb him now that he had finally fallen asleep. Once he was finished with that, he put the bandages away and looked at Sonic again. I really hope he'll be okay…

            Poking at his shoulder a little, Knuckles was able to get Sonic to roll onto his back without really moving the hedgehog himself. The last thing he wanted to do was wake him up, for obvious reasons, so he didn't want to disturb him that much. The echidna reached under Sonic to grab his arms, near the shoulder, and slowly moved him against the tree. Sonic shivered again, making a small noise in his sleep. Rifling through the bag again, the Guardian pulled out a blanket and covered him up with it. Sonic seemed to relax a little, his ears unfolding. Knuckles stood, having completed his work for now.

            " I'm sorry…Sonic…"

***

            The night from then on was rather uneventful. Knuckles dozed here and there, but remained awake for most of the time to keep an eye on his friend. Sonic was sleeping peacefully, not really moving that often or making any noise. The Guardian observed him carefully, leaning over the rock that he had been sitting on earlier. His chest was cold against the stone, but he ignored it. I really don't know what he's going to do once he wakes up…probably hunt me down to try and bash my head in…His eyes closed a little as he thought. I should probably just let him thrash me, as sort of a retribution…A noise caused him to open his eyes.

            Sonic had shuffled in his sleep, slouching a little against the tree. His head rolled to rest on his left shoulder, his mouth open just slightly. His breathing was still soft and practically unnoticeable. The blanket had slipped off of his right shoulder, but Sonic didn't seem to be affected by it, for he continued sleeping serenely where he was. His undisturbed slumber reminded Knuckles of a small child. It was amazing that all that spirit within the hedgehog could reside hidden behind a gentle face. The echidna couldn't help smiling slightly. If I didn't know him at all, I wouldn't have ever thought that he could be such a stubborn, arrogant little shit by looking at him now. He seems so…He paused to think of the right word. Innocent… just sitting there like that. A smirk slowly took shape on the echidna's face. It's a funny concept…He's such an ass sometimes. And yet, I know that he does care about his friends and protecting others…He stopped. Before himself…

            The shame returned. I've been a fool. I didn't take that humbleness of his into consideration…He buried his head into his folded arms against the rock. Stupid…

            " Itai…" Sonic made a soft noise, causing him to freeze. " Knuckles…you stupid bastard…"

            He raised his head a little, only for his eyes to peer over his arm at Sonic. His dreads partially covered them. He's awake…? The hedgehog hadn't moved from his resting spot. His eyes were still closed. He made a face.

            " Stop…socking me in the arm…fucker…" A small smile appeared on his face.

            Knuckles blinked again, pulling his elbows forward to lean on them. He's dreaming…He smirked again. Figures…That's just like him…trying to give me a heart attack… Sonic had relaxed again, quieting, but the smile stayed plastered on his face.
***

            Morning birds chirped quietly. Sunlight flickered down toward the green leaves of the trees. Rays of brightness peeked through the patches and flittered down onto closed eyes. The eyelids twitched slightly. A light groan.

            " You awake?"

            Emerald eyes slowly opened. He raised a hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
            " Knuckles…?" Wait…I can speak…

            " G'morning."

            His eyes snapped open. I can move my arm…Sonic stared at his hand as he pushed himself upright into a sitting position. The blanket that was around him slid off and crumpled into his lap. He blinked rapidly as he realized that he was no longer bound. Turning his head toward where he thought he heard his friend's voice, Sonic saw a red dreadlock poking out from around the other side of the tree that he was sitting up against. He wasn't exactly sure how long Knuckles had been there.

            " Knuckles, I—"

            " Answer me this, hedgehog. Did you think about what I said?"

            How couldn't I have…? Sonic nodded slightly.

            " Yeah…"

            " And?" Knuckles was blunt. Then again he was always blunt.

            The azure hedgehog rubbed his head a little, looking away.

            " I guess…you were right…"

            The Guardian leaned a little around the tree, but didn't turn his head to look at Sonic. The hedgehog knew this tactic of his well and didn't expect him to look over.

            " I had a lot of time to think about what you said…and I guess I have been careless…and…" Damn, this is hard… He wasn't used to admitting he was wrong. This sucks…at least he didn't see me cry though…

            " Sonic, it's alright."

            " Buh?" Sonic blinked, looking over again.

            " I know you got the point…and I want to…apologize."

            Sonic was floored.

            " Y-you what?!"

            " Just shut your trap and let me apologize. I'm new to this, you know."

            The blue hedgehog was trying not to snicker. He ducked a swipe at one of Knuckles' mitts as he ventured out from behind the tree to pound him.

            " Stop laughing, damn it!"

            Sonic was rolling on the ground now, cackling.

            " You sure do suck at apologizing, Knuckles! Bwhaha!"

            " Why you little…"

            He paused, staring down at the famous hero. Sonic stopped laughing and grinned, putting his arms behind his head and sticking out his tongue. Knuckles felt a smirk appear on his face. Soon they were both laughing. As soon as the laughter died down, the echidna held his hand out to the hedgehog. Sonic wiped some of the tears from his eyes and snatched his friend's hand with his own, and was soon pulled to his feet. They both smirked at each other, still chuckling. Knuckles' eyes suddenly got serious.

            " I really am…sorry…Sonic…I could have gone about doing that differently…"

            His emerald eyes softened.

            " It's alright…Thanks, Knuckles."

            A smirk.

            " I'll just have to watch my back a little more then, won't I?"

            The famous grin.

            " Damn right you will."

            He picked up his backpack.

            " We should get back to the workshop."

            " Did you tell Tails something to let him know where I was…?"

            " Of course. He would have worried otherwise."

            Sonic was folding the blanket.

            " What did you tell him?"

            " That you and I had a fight and that you ran off to go pout as usual."

            " Ah, I se—HEY!"

            Knuckles laughed, taking the blanket from Sonic and stuffing it back into the bag. He grinned at his hedgehog friend, who was fuming a little now, fists tightened.

            " I do NOT pout."

            " Yes you do."

            " I DO NOT!" He folded his arms and turned away. His bottom lip was out anyway, regardless of his knowledge.

            " You're doing it now."

            " …I am not." Stubborn, thy name is Sonic.

            " Alright…." Knuckles slung the bag over his shoulder and started off.

            Sonic's head turned.
            " Where are you going?"

            " I promised Tails that I'd return in the morning." The blue hedgehog began to follow him. " Coming with, then?"

            " Damn right. Breakfast time…" He smiled.
            " Is food all you ever think of?"

            " No…I think of other things."

            " Like?"

            " Um…stuff. I can't come up with anything right now."

            " Suuuurreeeee…."

            " Stop stressing your syllables like it means something…" 

            Another flash of teeth was thrown at him.

            " I mean it, Knuckles."

            " I know…You're so easy to tease though."

            " Man, I'm hungry…" Sonic's eyes blinked once, then twice as he got an idea.

            " I don't like that look."
            " Sure you do."

            " No, I don't. It means you're plotting. And that's never good because you're actually using your brain then…"

            " Want to r—HEY!!!! Knuckles!!!"

            Yet another grin.
            " Damn, it sure is fun to fuck with your head."

            " Bastard…You wanna hear what I have to say or no?"
            " No." The Guardian only said that to annoy.

            Apparently it worked. Sonic's ears were flicking around wildly as he tried to control his anger.
            " Then…why…the hell…did we just go through…this whole damn ordeal…?!"

            " You mean me tying you up and leaving you?"
            " YES…"
            " Oh, well, that was for you to use your brain for once."

            " But you tell me that you don't want to hear what I have to say----!"

            " Exactly." He grinned again, knowing that he was pissing the hedgehog off.

            Sonic was sputtering in anger again. The logic and illogic of matter at hand was confusing him as well as completely frustrating him at the same time. Sometimes he just couldn't understand Knuckles' thought processes. It was always a teasing game between the two of them. And most of the time, Sonic lost.

            And he hated losing.
            " That's it. I'm racing you back to the workshop!" He beamed at Knuckles…

            …or more like the spot where Knuckles had been standing.

            " N-nani?" Sonic's eyebrow raised slightly.

            " You're so damn easy to predict, hedgehog…!" The Guardian's voice was distant.

            Sonic looked up and saw Knuckles running toward the workshop. It took a second for the thought to process in the hedgehog's mind. Once he blinked again, the concept smashed into him like a sack of bricks.

            " …YOU BLOODY CHEATER!!!"

            And he bolted after the cackling echidna.
***

            Their laughter was caught by large brownish orange ears. They flicked once to register the noise. Tails smirked and set another plate onto the table. I guess Sonic and Knuckles made peace…For now, at least. He ran for the front door to greet them.

            Opening the door, the small fox boy found Knuckles sitting on the porch. Sonic was standing by the porch steps, trying to refrain from screaming. The famous hero was red in the face, from his attempts to not yell. The echidna had a long smile pasted onto his face, which was rather unlike him in any sense.

            " I win."

            " You fucking cheated."

            " I still won."

            " Cheated."
            " Won."
            " Cheat—"

            " AHEM." Tails cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. " Well…I was going to ask if you two made your peace together, but since you're fighting like you usually do, then I can figure out the answer on my own."

            Sonic grinned, trying to calm down slightly. Knuckles raised a mitt to acknowledge Tails' presence.

            " Told you that I'd be back."

            " Just in time for breakfast, I see…As usual…"

            Both heroes gave sheepish grins to the small fox. He rolled his eyes at them.

            " You two are impossible…"

            " What's for breakfast???" Sonic asked, hopeful.
            Tails folded his arms and looked aside.
            " I don't know if I should feed you…"

            " Aw! But Tails…!"

            Knuckles laughed. " Guess it's more apples for me then."

            " Apples?!" Sonic frowned. " Blegh…C'mon, Tails…! What's for breakfast…?" He was giving his best sad face at the fox.

            Tails' ears folded slightly.

            " …You're such a child, Sonikku…"

            He grinned, while Knuckles chuckled a little to himself.
            " This coming from the child himself…"

            " Nobody asked you, echidna."

            The Guardian smirked and placed his hands behind his head, leaning back a little to bask in the sun. Sonic was still smiling at Tails. The fox shook his head.
            " Pancakes."

            " Ooh. With blueberries?"

            " Your favorite."
            " YES!"

            Tails waved his hand a little.

            " Okay okay…go on now." His ears flickered as the gust of wind that was Sonikku rushed past him. " I'll never understand him…"

            " That makes two of us, Tails…"

            He smiled a little.
            " You coming in for breakfast?"

            Knuckles put a fist against the porch and pushed down. He got to his feet and smiled at the small boy.

            " We had better get in there before there's nothing left…"

            Laughter. It wasn't uncommon for everything to be eaten in the matter of two minutes when it came to Sonic.

            " You're right. C'mon, Knuckles!" Another small laugh emitted from the fox as he dashed off, with Knuckles walking behind him at a leisurely pace.

            There was no need to rush anymore.
***

            An apple was plucked from the tree again. He took a bite and enjoyed the taste.

            " Knnnnuuuuuuuuuuucklllllllllesssssssss!!" Sonic cried from the top of the plateau. " I said I was sorry…!"

            " But you're not!" The echidna cried back up at him.

            " You don't have to leave…! Tails said that lunch will be ready soon…!"

            " And you'll probably eat all of THAT as well!"

            " I SAID I WAS SORRY!!!!"

            Knuckles laughed, holding up his apple again.
            " I'm fine, Sonikku!" He took another bite.

            " But Knuckles…!"
            " Don't worry about it!"

            " Where are you going anyway?!"

            The echidna raised his hand up into the air as he walked off.

            " Sayonara, Sonikku!"

            " You little bastard…!" He heard his friend cry as he continued on.

            Mystic Ruins had always been beautiful, even if that team of archeologists had come to look for artifacts. Since that team was gone, the forest had become very quiet. The waterfall was a nice bit of noise to make it seem alive. Most of the animals lived deeper into the forest, since often times an experiment of Tails' would explode and scare them half to death. Knuckles always had a soft spot for the area, due to the ruins being a part of his own heritage. He thought back to how he had stumbled upon it, learning about how his people had lived in times past. It was a humbling thought.

            He bit into his apple as he continued walking through the forest. Amazing that it's been so long since we just learned about this place…Seems like only yesterday that I had that vision…Knuckles smirked a little, remembering how a little pink ball of light was the catalyst to many of his visions. At least I finally got to know more about my people…He swallowed the piece of apple in his mouth. The funny thing about that time…is that I wasn't the only one who saw Tikal…The echidna recalled a time where he and Sonic had discussed it, both being rather surprised that both of them saw the visions. After talking about it, each of them was able to understand the entire story better. Knuckles smiled and continued on the beaten path, walking through a few piles of leaves. Wow, the leaves are falling already? Isn't it too early…?

            Fwip!

            The ground lurched up, catching him off guard. He cried out as he felt himself catapulted upwards. His vision saw the leaves float upwards as the ground replaced the sky. The echidna felt that his body was frozen. He soon realized that he wasn't falling back to the earth below him. A tug. He couldn't move his limbs either. What the hell?!?!

            It was about this time that he saw the netting.

            " …What the fuck?!" 

            He thrashed around as hard as he could, but found that even limb on his body was stuck through the tight netting. The Guardian was stuck. Upside down. In a tree. Oh shit oh shit oh shit…Violet eyes noticed a hint of dark blue moving toward him. …You little fucker!
            " How's it hanging, Knuckles?" The pun was horrible. One of Sonic's major flaws. The grin appeared.

            Knuckles wanted to knock that grin right off of his face.

            " Sonic! Get me down from here!"

            " Make me."

            " YOU LITTLE…!!"

            " Ah ah ah!" Sonic waved a finger at his upside down comrade. " You get to hang out for awhile…It's only fair…!" He winked. " I suppose I'll check up on you tomorrow morning…!"

            The Guardian's eyes widened a little bit.

            " YOU WOULDN'T DARE!!"

            " Oh, wouldn't I?"

            Emerald eyes showed the evil behind them. Knuckles was practically scared of the look on Sonic's face, rather than the situation. He knew that the hedgehog would take revenge on him for what he had done, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon.

            " Bittersweet, isn't it?"

            Fists tightened.

            " Let me down from here."

            " No, I don't think so."

            The blood was already rushing to his head.

            " I'm going to pass out eventually if you don't at least put me upright!"

            " That's your problem, Knuckles." Sonic's voice had no form of remorse.

            " Sonic!"

            " Don't 'Sonic!' me. You knew what you were getting into the second you tied me up yesterday!"

            " You can't just leave me out here!"

            " Sure I can."

            " But---!"

            " But nothing, Knuckles."

            Knuckles glared at Sonic. This was insane. At least he had let Sonic have a little leeway. The hedgehog wasn't giving him any slack here. The echidna had nothing to say. Sonic's grin only got bigger and more sinister.

            " It's your turn to do some thinking." He started. " Only this time…think about the lesson that you taught me."

            A brow furled.

            " What? To use my brain in bad situations?"

            " Of course not. Do you think I learned nothing from that hellish ordeal?!"

            " Well, I don't happen to be a short, blue, stubborn hedgehog!!!"

            " Fool." Sonic poked Knuckles' nose with his index finger.

            The Guardian growled a little.
            " Then what the hell do you want me to think about?"

            The hedgehog smiled.

            " It's quite simple, really. It's all a matter of dependency."

            " Pardon…?"
            " Dependency. I depended on you to let me go this morning. I've also depended on you on missions and saving my life when I wasn't able to do it myself. AND I've also depended on you to be a friend to me."
            Knuckles blinked.

            " So…?"
            " So I want you to be dependent on me too."

            " And so you stick me in a NET?!"

            " Yup! Now you're dependent on ME to get you down."

            " You could do that right now, you know."

            " True, but then you wouldn't have learned anything."

            Sonic turned and started walking away. Knuckles thrashed around in the net, screaming at him to come back. The hedgehog only smirked as he waved a hand as he continued on his leave.

            " Remember: it's a matter of dependency."

----

So, there's a small lesson in this. Sort of. Do not be afraid of being dependent on people. Your friends and your family love you and will be there for you whenever you need them. You can still be an independent person, and yet depend on your friends to be there to make you laugh, love, and life your life.

::hugs::

Enjoy life. ^_^ I hope you all enjoyed this short little piece of work. Watch for some more shorts in between the chapters of Experimentation. Please leave a review if you wish.

Once again, my thanks go out to my friends and fans of my work. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for all of you.

Thank you all.

~Indilee