Well, what more can I say? Here's the next chapter. Enjoy, my faithful readers. Be sure to review. A guy does need his honest criticisms, ya know.
Knuckles found himself surrounded in a cloud of black smoke. Even though he was standing in black smoke, however, he could easily see himself and his surroundings. He was beaten to a pulp. His arm was broken, one of his eyes were shut, his knuckles were shattered, and there was a various assortment of bruises and cuts all over his body. He was in bad shape. Standing across from him was a shadowed bat figure.
"Rouge, is that you?" he asked.
The cloaked figure didn't respond. Knuckles tried to move towards it, but the pain was so severe in his body that he could only limp forward. As he limped towards the figure, Knuckles was sure that the figure was Rouge as the cloaked figure started to gain distinguishing features as Knuckles got closer.
"Rouge, what happened?" he asked.
The cloaked figure started to cackle in a deep sinister voice. The voice wasn't Rouge's. It wasn't even female; yet Knuckles knew that he had heard this voice many times before. It sent chills down his spine. The figure took off into the air and disappeared. He was gone.
"What's going on here?" asked Knuckles as he was left standing alone once again. "This is really weird."
Suddenly, a beacon of light from the sky seemed to shoot down in the distance. Luckily, it was not too far in the distance seeing as how Knuckles was barely able to move. Knuckles limped towards the beacon of light. When he got close enough to the light, he was able to make out another figure laying in the light. It was another bat. Because of the light, he could easily make this bat out to be Rouge.
"Rouge!" Knuckles screamed. There was no answer.
He walked closer and closer to Rouge until he was standing right behind her. She was lying face down in the smoke. She was breathing, however. Knuckles turned her over and gasped at the sight before him. It was Rouge, but she was not doing too good. She was shaking uncontrollably and gasping for air. Her eyes were wide open and she looked as if she was surprised. Blood was also gushing from her throat. Knuckles then paid attention to her neck. Someone had slit her throat. She was hanging on by a thread. Knuckles was shocked to find her in this state.
"Hold on, Rouge! I'm going to try to find you some help." He looked around frantically. "Goddamn it! Where is that Healing Elixir?" Knuckles' voice was cracking and his eyes were turning red.
"Why couldn't you beat him, Knuckles? Why couldn't you save me this time?" asked Rouge hoarsely. "Why couldn't you save yourself?"
"Who did this to you?" Knuckles asked. He was trembling at the sight before him. He couldn't bare seeing her this way.
Just as Knuckles finished the sentence, he was met with a boot to the face from nowhere. Knuckles was already in a bad state; so the kick to the face pushed him over his limit. He succumbed to a state of vertigo and fell a few feet from Rouge. Knuckles looked up for his attacker and saw that it was the mysterious bat cloak from earlier. He stood over Knuckles. This time, his body was in the light and Knuckles could clearly see that it was Valon. Something was different about him, too. He seemed to had transformed into a vampire bat. His fangs were sharper and his appearance was more demonic than in previous appearances. Plus, his eyes were glowing red. Valon placed the heel of his boot on Knuckles' broken arm. Since Knuckles was already very injured, the impact of the boot to his face, this was too much for him to bear. He let out a scream so loud that you could've mistakened him for having a supersonic screech.
"Valon, you won't get away with this," said Knuckles weakly as he gasped for air.
"I already have. You are powerless to prevent my victory. It's a shame, really. I expected more from you, but in the end you couldn't protect your lady or yourself." Valon reached behind his back and pulled out his trusty revolver. He walked over to Rouge.
"NO! Please, no. Don't kill her. It's me that you want," pleaded Knuckles.
Valon wasn't listening. He simply walked over to Rouge and aimed at her forehead. Without any hesitation or remorse, he pulled the trigger and shot Rouge directly between her eyes. Rouge gasped for air one final time and eventually stopped moving altogether. Her eyes were still open but her breathing had stopped. She was dead.
Tears flowed from Knuckles' eyes as he watched the horrid event take place. What hurt him the most wasn't the fact that he killed her but the fact that he was powerless to prevent it. That hurt the worst of all. Valon stood over Rouge's body and had himself a hearty evil laugh. He looked over at Knuckles and cocked his gun again. He walked over to Knuckles and put the revolver directly into Knuckles' eye.
"Now, it's your turn," said Valon. His voice changed, however. It sounded very demonic. He walked up to Knuckles and towered over him like a titan. His body was engulfed by the dark shadows of their location. All that remained visible were his eyes, which seemed to be filled with carnage. "This is the end of you!"
With that, Knuckles felt the revolver pressed up against his skull. Then, there was a shot and all went dark. Oblivion.
Knuckles awoke seconds later and coughed up an extreme amount of water. It took him a couple of minutes to actually regain his senses and realize that he was alive. That dream seemed so real. The first sense to come back was his feeling. He felt the ground and discovered that he was faced down in some sand. He rose to his knees and finished coughing up the rest of the water he had engulfed during their 'ride.' Water came out of his nose and mouth as he coughed. He smacked the side of his head and water came out of his ears. Now, he could hear properly again. The first thing he heard, however, surprised him.
"Car horns?" he asked puzzled. This peculiar sound gave him the will power to open his eyes to see where he was. He was sure that they were still in the jungle until he heard that noise. When he opened his eyes, his thoughts were confirmed. It was 5:00 and the rush hour traffic of Metal City was upon them. "The current must've swept us out of that jungle and onto this beach." Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally out of that nightmare. No more crocodiles, cannibals, or wild animals being killed by hungry predators in the night air. Even though he preferred the peace and tranquility of nature, he admitted to himself that he was glad to be back in the city.
Well, isn't this a surprise? I'm pretty sure we've done this before?"
Knuckles looked around and finally saw Rouge sitting on the hillside close to where the road leading from the beach to the highway was located. "Pretty sure we've done what?"
"This is our second time being knocked unconscious and swept away by a water current. I believe it's our luck," said Rouge.
"Our luck can't be too bad seeing as how we survived both of them," said Knuckles, cracking a small smile. Rouge smiled back. "Are you okay?"
"See for yourself," said Rouge. She hopped off the hill and went airborne. She was finally flying. "The Healing Elixir worked. My wing has been fully healed."
"That's great. Is there any left?" asked Knuckles.
Rouge pulled the elixir from behind her back and showed it to Knuckles. "There's a little bit left." She came down and landed next to him.
"I'll get it later. Right now, I think that it's a good idea to find somewhere we can get freshened up and get a good meal," he said.
"You get no complaints from me on this one, Knuckles," Rouge replied. She handed him the elixir and took to the sky. Then, she grabbed his uninjured hand and off they went. It's a good thing that Rouge could fly because Knuckles could not muster up the strength to glide. He could barely hold onto Rouge's grip. He was still dog tired and wounded since he had not had any of that Healing Elixir. Besides, Rouge could fly a lot faster than he could glide and cover more ground. Rouge flew over all the tallest buildings in the city as she headed for downtown Metal City. She soon came in contact with a bright neon sign that read Milton Hotel Suites.
"This place looks fancy enough to inhabit a fabulous diva such as myself," said Rouge.
"Fabulous diva?" Knuckles chuckled. Do you hear yourself when you talk?"
"Look at these ears, Knuckles. I hear everything. By the way, when I awoke, I heard some static coming from your dreads. So I went through them and found a small tracking device lodged under one of them. It looked as though the water had shorted it out. That has got to be how Valon and Crystal were always able to find us," said Rouge.
"Where's the device now?" asked Knuckles.
"I destroyed it and left it on the beach," said Rouge.
"Good riddance... fabulous diva," said Knuckles.
This reply received a smile from Rouge. She and Knuckles seemed to get along fine when they decided to work together. They always have, but now is the first time that she actually noticed. It's like they were polar opposites but the connection she felt with Knuckles was too great to deny. She was always in her best form when she battled Knuckles whether it be with or against him. They were complimentary to each other.
"Do we have enough money to afford a place like this? I barely have any money," said Knuckles. He snapped Rouge out of her daze.
"Well, I never intended on paying anyway," said Rouge with her devilish grin.
"Well then, how are we going to get the room?" asked Knuckles.
"Like this!" said Rouge. She let Knuckles go. He screamed in fear as he fell to the ground.
"Rouge, what the hell are you doing?" he screamed in terror. He was about to go splat when he felt himself stop falling. Rouge had caught him by one of his dreads and was taking him back upwards. "I think my heart just stopped. What was that for?" He was talking while trying to catch his breath.
"I had to get the window open, and I couldn't do it with just one hand," said Rouge.
"You could've just set me on the ledge," said Knuckles.
"Yeah, I could've done that, but dropping you to the ground was the first idea that came into my head and I ran with it," said Rouge.
"I could've been killed!" said Knuckles dramatically. "And watch it. All this pulling on that dread hurts real bad!"
"Yeah, but you wasn't so stop whining so much," said Rouge. They finally reached the window that Rouge had opened and went through it.
"You almost kill me, you're breaking into a hotel, and you pushed me off the raft. Why are you so damn evil?" asked Knuckles.
"Because you like it when I'm bad," said Rouge. She dropped him onto the floor.
Knuckles didn't have a response for that. He was actually glad that the room was dark because he was blushing a bright red at the comment.
Rouge felt around in the dark until she came upon a light switch. She turned it on and revealed a magnificent room with a couch, flat screen television, recliner, king-sized bed, full refrigerator and minibar, chandelier, balcony, and a jacuzzi tub was in the bathroom.
"Nice," said Rouge.
"That's putting it lightly," said Knuckles.
"The best part about it is that it's all free," said Rouge.
"It's stolen, Rouge. It's not right," he replied.
"If you look at it like that, then yeah. I, on the other hand, don't see things as being stolen. I see them as just being there for the taking," said Rouge.
"Well, we need this place tonight, but tomorrow morning, I'm out of here," said Knuckles. "You can do what you want then."
"C'mon Knuckles. You need to loosen up some. Come here. I bet those injuries are getting to you all worked up. Yes, they are," said Rouge in one of those ridiculous baby voices.
"Cut it out, Rouge," said Knuckles. He went over and sat on the couch. He plopped down in a manner so that his broken arm was smashed against the couch arm. "OW!" He screamed out in pain as he held his still broken arm.
"You need to fix that arm before you do anything else," said Rouge. She pulled out the Healing Elixir and opened it. Then, she went over to where Knuckles was sitting and sat right next to him. Knuckles was about to reach for the jar himself but Rouge had already taken some out and began applying it to his broken arm. He shook as the remedy was applied to his arm.
"That is super cold," said Knuckles.
"Quit being a baby," said Rouge as she continued to apply the remedy.
Knuckles watched Rouge work enthusiastically. She seemed so focused on making sure that Knuckles gets better. She really seemed to care about his well-being. He also looked at her from a different perspective as well. She was drop dead gorgeous. How could he have not seen it before? Before, he viewed her as an enemy. Now, she is his ally, who's caught up in the same mess as he is. He felt like the biggest idiot on earth for not realizing what was in front of him all this time.
"How does that feel?" asked Rouge.
"It's soothing," said Knuckles. "I can feel the pain slowly being lifted from my arm."
Rouge giggled lightly. "Well, I do have somewhat of a magic touch." Rouge slid her hand around to his shoulder. When she did this, Knuckles let out a yelp of pain. "What's wrong?"
"It's my back. It's pretty sore after that waterfall beat down on it," said Knuckles.
"Well, there's a little bit of this stuff left. Sit down between my legs and I'll fix you right up," said Rouge. She gave him a flirtatious wink, which made him blush slightly. He hesitated to move. Rouge let out a light chuckle. The nervousness on Knuckles' face was so obvious. This brought a smile to her face. "Come on. I'm not going to bite," she said. "Unless you want me to." She exposed her fangs and licked them.
"Is all that really necessary?" asked Knuckles.
"Oh, yes it is," said Rouge. "When I'm dealing with your uptight nature, I can't ever be serious or else I'd go out of my mind. Why have you been so serious this whole time?"
"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, that's like the fourth or fifth time we've almost been killed in two days. I can't let up. If I slip, I might fall. If I fall, I just might die," said Knuckles. He sat down on the floor in front of Rouge. She took it that he was finally lowering his guard and began massaging and listening to him. "This guy, Valon, is no pushover. He's a lot stronger than he lets on to be. I could sense it in him."
"Are you saying that you're scared?" asked Rouge. She was gracefully moving her hands around his back as she pleased. He wasn't wincing in pain at all. His hard, firm back felt great as she walked her fingers through his shoulders and dorsal region.
Knuckles chuckled. "I don't do scared, but I will admit that I'll be on my A game because he just might kill me if I don't." He had his eyes closed and was really into Rouge's massage. It felt good. Real good. "How do you feel about Crystal?"
"I don't feel anything about her. She's tried to kill me already, but I'm willing to let her go under the circumstance that I never see her again. If she thinks that she's going to get a second chance at my life, she's got another thing coming. I'll pull those dreads out her head and reattach them up her..."
"OWW!" said Knuckles. Rouge had sunk her nails into his back.
"Sorry about that," said Rouge.
"I'm glad to see that Crystal doesn't have you uptight," said Knuckles.
"Shut up," said Rouge giving Knuckles a playful shove.
Knuckles laughed at her. "Hey, thanks for nursing me back to health." He stood up and went to stretch. It felt like it's been so long since he's felt like this.
"It was nothing, really," said Rouge. She went over to the sink to wash her hands.
"No, seriously, how can I repay you?" he asked.
Rouge thought for a moment. "If you really want to repay me for this, just loosen up and forget about Valon. Enjoy yourself for me."
Knuckles hadn't admit it, but he was stressing over Valon. It wasn't fear. No, it was something else. Knuckles was just a little on edge because he could pop up anywhere and kill him without him even knowing it. Knuckles knew that he was being hunted down like a wild animal. The worst part was that this was all for sport. There was no just cause or reason behind Valon's actions. Valon was hunting Knuckles simply because he wanted to and nothing was going to stop him. Nothing.
"You know what? You're right," said Knuckles.
"I am?" Rouge was surprised. Knuckles actually agreed with her.
"Yes. I shouldn't let that coward get to me. If I keep worrying about him, it'll just eat me alive inside."
"That's good to hear, Knuckles. I tell you what. Let's do something tonight that you've never done. Let's do something that you've always wanted to do but never got the chance to," said Rouge.
"Well... now that you mention it, there is something that I've never done before that I've always wanted to do but was unable to since I was always on Angel Island," said Knuckles.
"What's that?" asked Rouge.
Knuckles was blushing at this point. "Well, I've never been on a date before," said Knuckles.
Rouge looked over, speechless. There was a long silence filled with blushes as the two just looked at each other. "Why, Knuckles, are you actually asking ME out on a date? I think that I might need a drink for this." Rouge headed over to the minibar and took out a bottle of Nuevo.
"Well, technically, I just said that I wanted to go on a date. I never said that it had to be you," said Knuckles, smirking.
Rouge scoffed. Then, she started laughing when she realized what game Knuckles was trying to play. "Knuckie, think about it. Who else would look as good on your arm?" She pressed herself against him, trying to make him feel hot.
"Crystal would," said Knuckles with a laugh.
"Oh really?" she asked.
"Well, yeah. You got to admit that she's got it going on. Her body is perfect. I'd totally date her if she didn't want us dead," said Knuckles.
"Well, I hope you can keep a mental picture of how she looks now because the next time I see that bitch, I'm going to mess her life up real bad," said Rouge, sipping on her drink.
"Are you jealous?" asked Knuckles. He was just pushing her buttons at this point.
"Just shut up and go take a shower. I refuse to be seen with a man who smells like cow manure," said Rouge.
Back on the beach where Knuckles and Rouge had landed, Valon and Crystal were just arriving. They had followed the signal from the tracer up until the moment it shorted out. Valon reached down and pulled the tracer out of the sand.
"The radar will be useless now. We'll have to do things the old fashioned way," said Crystal.
"It makes no difference to me. That'll just make the hunt that much more rewarding when we take them down," said Valon. "Besides, I doubt if they've left this city. I sense that Knuckles is near."
Crystal used her might and snapped the radar into several pieces simply by squeezing. "Good. I grow weary of this hunt. It's time to finish them off for good."
"Whether it be a green jungle or an iron jungle, I'll find you, Knuckles!" Valon screamed aloud.
"Come, Valon. Let us take to the rooftops and find our prey before the trail gets cold," said Crystal. Valon pulled her close and planted a kiss on Crystal, which she returned gladly. "How about a little sex on the beach before we start the search?" Crystal placed his hands on her perfect ass, but he quickly pulled away from her.
"Maybe later. Like you just said, we need to get this over with before we lose track of them again. Sex would only take our strength away and waive our senses, and I'll need all my strength to find Knuckles and take him down,"
"Me and my big mouth," said Crystal. She looked down to only have her face lifted up by Valon. She looked into his eyes.
"Don't be discontent, my love. Once we claim the lives of those we seek, passion shall be our reward. Your every wish will be my command," said Valon. He caressed her cheek.
"How'd I get so lucky to have a guy like you? Whenever you look at me with those beautiful eyes, I melt every time," said Crystal.
They kissed again and took to the city. They split up to cover more ground. Valon took to the sky and headed east while Crystal stayed in the west and took to the rooftops. Her acrobatics were on display. The final hunt had officially begun.
The final hunt has begun. Valon and Crystal are now in pursuit of an unaware Knuckles and Rouge. Once they find Knuckles and Rouge, what'll be their fate? You don't want to miss my next updates. This is what most of the fans of this story has been waiting on. Stay close to a computer and be sure to check it frequently because there's no telling when I'm going to update again. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one.
A/N: That last bit was to just show that Valon and Crystal are 'human' too. They aren't machines. They do have emotions as well. Their lives don't revolve entirely around their jobs.
Please review. All forms of criticism are acceptable whether it be positive or negative.
ICY KNUCKLES
