"Knuckles! KNUCKLES!"
A red-furred echidna opened a violet eye as he was disturbed from his rest. He sat up with a grunt and looked around for the person calling him.
At the bottom of the shrine he sat on, at the end of the stairs, was a pink hedgehog with bright, jade green eyes. She was frantically waving a paper in her hand, and had a wide smile on her face. Knuckles rolled his eyes and leaned forward, raising an eye ridge. What was it she wanted so badly to show him?
"KNUCKLES!"
"Just come up here," Knuckles called down in exasperation.
Amy sprinted up the old stone steps two at a time, making it to the top in a few seconds. "Guess what, guess what?"
"What?"
"Nooo, you have to guess!" Amy whined.
"Are you really going to make me do this," Knuckles asked, sighing.
"Fine," Amy huffed. "Party Pooper. Anyways, look at this!" She held up the paper again, for Knuckles to see clearly.
Knuckles scanned the paper. It had a picture of a tall, female bat with white fur and a curvy figure. Her teal eyes bore out of the picture as if she were staring directly at Knuckles, which bothered him greatly. He adverted his eyes to the text.
Famous Jewel Hunter "Rouge the Bat" Returns From Worldwide Journey.
Knuckles turned around, folding his arms and letting out a humph. "What'd you show me this for? Word's been going around for a while. She's probably gonna make this huge, flashy entrance."
"Did you even read the small print?" Amy sighed, turning the paper over and beginning to read the details. "Rouge the bat is performing at a local bar in Station Square. After years away from home, this ba-"
"And what makes you think I even care," interrupted Knuckles, snapping at her. "It's just like Rouge to make a melodramatic comeback. I bet she delivered the information to the news herself. Jumping out of a cake or something."
"That's what you did," Amy pointed out, raising an eye ridge in amusement.
"Th-that's not my point," Knucles huffed, his cheeks pinkening a little, and not just from embarrassment. "Look, I don't care that Rouge came back, okay? To be honest, I barely even noticed she was gone. Besides, if it's so important, why didn't she tell us herself?"
"Yeah, the rest of us were wondering that too," Amy sighed, scratching the back of her head. "But, you know, it's better than nothing."
"Nothing would be better," Knuckles muttered.
"Stop being so rude," Amy said, slapping his arm. "Look, Rouge would want you there. Come on, what's the harm in it?"
"Look, I'm not coming, all right?" Knuckles grit his teeth, glaring at Amy. "And if you keep bugging me about it, that'll just make me more sure of myself."
Amy smiled slightly. "It's at 7," She said knowingly, beginning to walk back down the stairs.
"I said I'm not coming," Knuckles called.
"We'll see about that," The pink hedgehog called back.
The bar was filled with dozens of Mobians, awaiting Rouge's return. Seats were saved for her closer friends, thankfully for the gang, who had arrived early but had still been held back by the crowd.
Sonic and Amy sat at one table, the couple having been together for a couple years now. Amy folded her arms, looking over at Sonic. "Sonic, I swear, if she comes out with some sexy number, you'd better look away."
Her speedy boyfriend chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her cheek in order to reassure her. "Relax, babe, I love you."
"Hmmph, we'll see about that," Amy said, rolling her eyes.
At another table sat an older, much taller teenage Miles "Tails" Prower, with a Mobian-like robot at his side. "You found me after Rouge left, correct?" The female form, named CC, asked.
"Yeah," Tails said, scratching the back of his head. "She was kind of a show-off, what with what she wore and her attitude. It doesn't surprise me that she'd come back with a big announcement like this."
CC tilted her head. "She was one of your friends, correct?"
"You could say so," Tails said.
"Then, if she held this closeness with you, why did she not inform you of her arrival more personally?" CC asked.
"Well… we're not really sure," the kitsune shrugged. "Maybe she was busy doing other things."
"But there have been rumors about her coming for weeks now," CC objected.
Tails simply shrugged again, turning his eyes to the stage.
The lights had dimmed as the show began to start. A hush fell over the crowd as they all waited for Rouge to appear.
And in the entrance, a figure silently slipped in while everybody was distracted.
Knuckles crept to an unoccupied seat in the back and sat in it, slouching downwards. He grabbed the edge of an old cowboy hat and pulled it down, in order to hide his face but still able to see. He hadn't worn it for a while, but it miraculously still fit.
The curtains opened.
Silence.
Rouge the bat sat on a three-legged stool, guitar in hand. She looked up at the crowd, face devoid of any emotion. Her fingers pressed against the neck of the guitar, and began to strum a few chords.
Then she sang.
"All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am.
So many stories of where I've been,
And now I've got to where I am.
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to,
It's true…
I was made for you."
Even though she wasn't showing much emotion, her eyes couldn't stop from searching the crowd.
Knuckles shrunk down even farther as he felt her gaze getting closer.
"I climbed across the mountaintops,
Swam all across the ocean blue,
I crossed all the lines and broke all the rules,
And, baby,
I broke them all for you!
Oh, because even when I was flat broke,
You made me feel like a million bucks,
You do!
I was made for you."
Amy put a hand on her heart, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She squeezed Sonic's hand, looking over at him. "This is so unlike Rouge," She whispered.
Sonic looked over at Amy and smiled.
"Tails, this is not the show you suggested she would put on," CC said. "Perhaps she's changed?"
Tails watched Rouge strum the guitar. "Maybe."
Knuckles felt his heart ache. Even though he would never admit it, not in a million years, he still knew he liked Rouge. And this song… was about her travels. Was about her and Shadow. He couldn't stand it anymore.
He stood, his face hidden by his hat. He turned, about to leave, when he felt someone's gaze bearing into his shoulder. Despite his better judgment, he turned around.
Rouge was looking right at him, tears gathering gat the edge of her vision. The edges of her lips curved up slightly.
"You see the smile that's on my mouth,
It's hiding the words that don't come out…
All of the friends who think that I'm blessed,
They don't know my head is a mess.
No, they don't know who I really am,
And they don't know what I've been through
Like you do,
I was made for you."
Knuckles fully turned to face Rouge, lifting his hat up and off of his head, staring into her eyes.
Rouge smiled.
"And all of these lines across my face,
Tell you the story of who I am!
So many stories of where I've been,
And how I've got to where I am
Oh, but these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to,
It's true,
I was made for you."
Oh, and it's true…
I was made
For you…"
Knuckles lost sight of Rouge as the crowd stood, clapping and cheering loudly.
Amy clapped wildly and laughed, wiping a few tears from her eyes, to Sonic's amusement.
Tails smiled widely, while CC clapped politely.
The curtains closed, and the guests who came just for the show left. Which was mostly everyone, because only Sonic, Amy, Tails, CC, and Knuckles remained.
Rouge came out from behind stage and raised a hand in greeting, a smirk crossing her face. All sign of her previous, open self was gone. "Hello, ladies."
"Rouge!" Amy ran up and hugged the bat, squeezing her tight. "It's been so long, how are you?"
"Good, honey, never been better." Rouge patted Amy's back. "You can let go now."
Knuckles stood in the back, watching as the group all conversed and caught up, asking and answering many questions. CC and Rouge were formally introduced to each other, and the two shook hands.
"Pleased to meet you, Rouge," CC said with a polite smile. "Although I must ask, why didn't you come tell your friend personally that you were arriving."
"I wanted it to be a surprise!"
The entire group was silent.
"What?"
"You realize, like, all of Mobius knew about your arrival, right?" Sonic said, raising an eye ridge and folding his arms.
"Really? I guess word travels fast around here. I just got here a few days ago." Rouge hummed thoughtfully. "In that case, I guess it was kind of pointless, huh? Oh well, no harm, no foul." While she spoke, her eyes traveled around the room.
She kept looking at Knuckles.
Tails noticed. "Uh, well, I'd love to stay and chat, but, uh…"
CC understood what the fox was doing. "Tails has agreed to give me upgrades today. " She grabbed Tails' arm. "We apologize for our rudeness, but these are needed swiftly."
"Uh, yeah, that." Tails waved to the group. "See you guys later!"
Amy caught the pair's drift. "Oh, that reminds me. Me and Sonic need to check up on Eggman's activity. You never know what he's up to."
"Uh…" Oblivous Sonic was oblivious. "Wha-"
Amy slapped a hand over his mouth and linked their arms together. "Maybe we can talk after. See ya, Rouge!" She waved as she left the building after Tails and CC.
Rouge stood there for a few seconds, confused, before finally turning to face Knuckles.
The echidna scratched the back of his head, clearing his throat. "Uh - hey, Rouge. What's up?"
"Hey, Knux. Still wearing that hat?"
"Wha-" Knuckles quickly fumbled with the apparel, before hiding it behind his back. "N-No, what'd make you think that?"
Rouge rolled her eyes. "You're a terrible liar," she sighed, putting a hand on her hip. "Speaking of which…" A mischievous grin crept up her face. "Didja miss me?"
"Miss you?" Knuckles snorted. "Are you kidding me? As if. Barely even noticed you were gone. In fact, nothing even changed. I wouldn't have cared if you even stayed away."
He paused as silence emanated from the bat.
"Ugh, you're impossible!" Rouge snapped finally, pressing a hand to her forehead. "You know - you know all these years, even before I left, I put up with you and your stupid stubbornness. I played along, all right? I pretended to go with what you were doing. And you know where that got me? No where? NO WHERE, you stupid, stubborn, pig-headed-!"
She was interrupted as Knuckles pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing his eyes shut. "Look, I'm sorry," He forced out. It was unnatural for him to apologize. Even when he was proven wrong, he would never admit he was right. Ever.
But here he was. "I missed you, all right? Every single day I would look out and wonder if you were ever coming back. If Shadow had let anything happen to you - If - You did anything with him -" Knuckles cut himself off.
Rouge slowly wrapped her arms around Knuckles, closing her eyes. "Shut up. I missed you too, you big jerk."