AN – This takes place after Sonic 3 and Knuckles, after Sonic and Tails have returned the master emerald.

Thanks

After it had all happened, Knuckles had turned to Sonic and Tails to say thank-you. Not a wimpy thank-you, like he'd desperately needed it. He could have worked it out himself, after all. Robotnik's bots were really worth nothing beneath his fists. It needed to be a thanks of camaraderie- the sort of thanks said between two soldiers who'd covered each other's backs throughout a bloody battle. He had gotten the pair out of the place, hadn't he?

So, he'd said "Thank-you. Couldn't have done it without you. You had a safe journey out, didn't you? If ever need a little bit of help, some brute strength, let me know, I will be honoured, as the Guardian of The Master Emerald, to help you."

At least, he would have said that, if the little blue bastard hadn't stopped him and rested a hand on his shoulder and stared wide eyed with that (probably) phony Don't-Worry-Poor-Little-Victim gaze and said 'Don't worry, Buddy, it's what I do for people in need'. Knuckles had stared, his face going red, or it would have done if it wasn't that colour already. He gritted his teeth and formulated a come-back that ran along the lines of his not being one of Sonic's little hero worshippers that had got itself trapped in a robot and he could punch his way through walls so under no circumstances was he ever really in a position where Sonic would really need to rescue him because could Sonic couldn't do that, no, all he could do was run really fast big whoop he couldn't even fly without the help of a baby fox with two tails.

But he never said that because Sonic was off again, leaving a trail of dust in the recently mechanically tilled dirt. Knuckles slumped, the tension wriggling around his shoulders. Well, at least he had his island back. Perhaps he could go back to protecting the emerald in peace.