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Ghostkid33: Hey, I totally understand; I'm at that stage of life, too. Some things are more important! I'm glad you still took the time to read it, though. Chapter 7 was a ton of fun for me, mostly because of Rouge. XD I laugh at Professor Pickle every time; a part of me is a lot like him, so getting to humor-ify that was entertaining! Poor Knux, though; he can't win! Nope, that's my master plan working in full swing! ;P Seriously, though, that's Jet for you; honestly, I don't know how Sonic's always so patient with him. I would probably end up screaming at him. ^-^; Thank you for reading and reviewing, and welcome back! :)

A/N: Man, can't wait for this chapter to be over... Sorry this took so long; I'm going to try to catch up on reviews and replies this week, so y'all sit tight.

Alright, folks; my goal is to finish publishing this fic by the time school starts on August 24th. After this one, there are seven more chapters. That means I'll have to publish a little over one chapter a week... which may not work with all I have to do, but that's where y'all come in! If I start taking forever to update, let me know! Seriously; I don't like bugging people either. But I want to finish this, and I can't do it without y'all. Kthankslovey'allenjoythechapter!

The park had a relatively low number of pedestrians, a fact which both Knuckles and Jet took full advantage of to try and clinch the upper hand before they hit the streets. Jet, with his superior experience, won that battle, and in seconds Knuckles had lost the hawk in the dense crowd ahead of him. He cursed under his breath as he wove between people clumsily, all the while thinking of ways to outsmart Jet in his element.

"Careful, Knuckles," came Tails's loud voice through the earpiece hidden in the echidna's dreadlocks, "Jet's running into all kinds of people up ahead."

Knuckles had already figured that out; he had passed two dazed-looking humans lying on the street with other people crowding around them in earnest, which equaled two extra seconds to Jet's time if he was, in fact, behind the mishaps. Knuckles blasted past as he grunted out a response; "I can work with it."

He swerved to miss a pedestrian, and for a split second, he looked up at the orange and brown rooftops of the many buildings. Suddenly, he knew what to do. Time to see what Sonic meant when he said this was one of his favorite "rooftop runs."

There was a construction site just ahead. Knuckles had no time for second thoughts as he guided his gear up onto a broken and leaning warning sign, startling several construction workers, and from there gave a mighty leap into the air. He reached down to pull his gear up in order to clear the gutter on the nearest roof, and he landed on the orange shingles. His momentum, not to mention Tails squawking horrified things in his ear, almost threw him off balance, but out of pure necessity, he regained his composure and moved with the flow long enough to reach the edge of the roof and jump to the next one. Despite this roof being slanted, the landing was smoother and the surface longer this time, so Knuckles had time to smirk triumphantly as he picked up speed. His air boosters kicked up a huge cloud of dust behind him, which went unnoticed for everyone except him.

"Oh my gosh, Knuckles, you're a genius!" Tails cried. "You're gaining on him! Keep going! As long as you can! Go one more and then left!"

Gliding from one rooftop to the next worked for quite a while, and the echidna could hear the surprised shouts of the city's people drawing closer and closer as he caught up to Jet. He could read street names on some of the stop signs between buildings when he looked down; at some points he was three stories high, but these were also the points when he'd catch a flash of green just rounding the corner and he'd smile in the knowledge that he was gaining ground on his opponent.

Then, he looked up, and was quite startled to see a wall of what looked to be sandstone in front of him—the university clock tower in the center of the city. Tails gasped at the same time he did.

He had a fraction of a second to analyze his options. There were no more buildings around it close enough to jump to safely, and it was a long way down. Yet he couldn't stop and climb or glide down without losing a lot of ground in the race—more than the two or more seconds Jet would be penalized for.

That was when he saw, whether by providence or some insane coincidence, a maintenance crew just ahead, using ropes and pulleys to maneuver around the the clock tower. The ropes, he realized, were his only shot.

Sonic, you so owe me one or two or five...

"Sorry, need to borrow this," he hastily apologized as he jumped off his board and used his leftover momentum to grab a loose rope and, not giving himself time for second guessing, dropped off the edge of the building. The workers shouted in surprise and annoyance as he used the rope like a swing to round the tower. He slid down the rope as quickly as friction would allow, barely noticing the burning sensation he felt through his gloves, and once he was close enough to the ground, he let go and threw the rope back in the direction he'd come from. In the same instant, he threw his board down and landed solidly on it, pushing off with his foot to regain his speed, sighing in relief.

"Are you okay, Knuckles?"

"I'm fine," the guardian barked breathlessly, narrowing his eyes. "I can see him."

"He's practically a snowplow! Go catch up with him and hang a right at Montecello Street!"

Knuckles wasted no time in obeying. The rest of the university came in sight as he cruised up alongside Jet with the most smug smirk he could manage; "Hey, there. Going my way?"

"Wha—!?" Knuckles could have laughed aloud at Jet's horrified expression.

He didn't get the chance, however, before suddenly, a blur of green slammed into him and thrust him into a crowd of people who had gathered to watch what was going on. The people scattered, screaming, and Knuckles got back up faster than he'd ever done anything. He could just see Jet through the crowd, sneering back at him in triumph, before he disappeared. Knuckles bared his fangs with a vicious growl and threw his board down for a restart.

"Keep going! Keep going!" Tails practically screamed. "There are a few more shortcuts we can use!"

Knuckles accelerated with speed he didn't know the Type-S board was capable of, scanning the street for something—anything—he could use to slow down his opponent. C'mon, if there was ever a time when it would be nice to have a bomb or a banana peel or something like in that stupid game, it would be now!

This thought passed rather quickly through his head when he blasted past an alleyway and noticed something out of the corner of his eye that warranted an instinctual U-turn; on the other side of the alley was a sign welcoming guests to Spagonia University.

That'll do.

He knocked over a trash can as he plowed into the narrow passage, but he was too focused to notice. Of course, he was met with a face full of someone's wet shirt for his impatience, but he chucked it back toward the clothesline from which it hailed an instant before he emerged from the alley, thus saving himself that shred of dignity.

He slammed into a right-angle turn along the university's wrought-iron fence as soon as he was back in the street. He didn't dare look over his shoulder; he could hear Jet was coming up fast behind him, screaming something that was unintelligible due to his voice cracking, and he couldn't afford to lose any speed. Tails had thankfully gone silent.

The fountain in front of Spagonia University was just up the street, and the boys took advantage of the straightaway to gain speed. Professor Pickle was waiting with a small crowd of students and faculty who were cheering them on loudly. It felt like time slowed down around Knuckles; a second's distance seemed to take so much longer than a second to cross. His fur stood on end; he could sense Jet getting closer. He willed his gear to go just a little faster.

He let out a shout as he tore past the fountain, braking aggressively and clumsily while trying to avoid crashing into either one of the columns or any of the spectators, who were ecstatic nonetheless. Time picked up the right pace once again as Jet, who crossed the makeshift finish line just a second behind the echidna, cried out in anguish, "No! I was this close!"

"Knuckles!" Tails practically yelled, landing next to the panting teen with a huge smile and thrill laced in his eyes. "That was awesome! The roofs, and the tower, and the shortcut—! Sonic's gonna love the video I got!" He all but shoved his cell phone, which Knuckles hadn't even known he'd had, into the guardian's face, then retreated just as quickly to continue. "And you won! We get the emerald!"

"Yeah..." The exertion and adrenaline had Knuckles feeling more exhausted than he'd expected, and he dismounted his board still slightly short of breath. "As long as Jet the Jerk hasn't run off with it."

"Don't worry about that!" Tails dismissed knowingly, nodding at something over his friend's shoulder. Knuckles turned to look, and he wasn't surprised to find that Jet and Wave were arguing, likely over the former's loss and him unfairly blaming it on the latter's mechanical skills. A few larger men appeared to be trying to get between them, but Jet simply shoved them aside like they were barely even there.

Extreme Gear in hand, Knuckles approached the two birds with an eyeroll, clearing his throat to catch their attention. They both snapped their gaze away from each other with irritated, unamused expressions drilling a hole in the echidna's forehead. "Yeah, what?" they demanded in unison.

Knuckles said nothing at first; instead, he tossed the gray Type-S at Wave, who dived to catch it with a murderous look thrown at him. "Hand over the emerald," he ordered, "and tell Storm whenever he catches up that his board is terrible." The half-true statement was worth its salt when Wave bristled in offense and her glare intensified tenfold.

"Hah!" Jet huffed, his own expression looking to rival his co-worker's in animosity. He held out the purple gem like he was giving his arm along with it, and Knuckles snatched it quickly before he could change his mind. "You got lucky this time. You make sure Sonic remembers exactly who I am, and as for you, Knucklebrain, this isn't over! You've made the mistake of a lifetime messing with me!"

"You bet." Knuckles put his fists on his hips proudly as Tails continued to babble behind him. "I can't wait to take all three of you to school next competition!"

Jet's beak turned up to the sky with another agitated huff; then, he mounted his green hoverboard and took off through the crowd. Wave nodded with fake respect toward the duo; "See ya, Shrimp." Then, she, too, was gone before Tails could respond.

"Think they'll remember this?" the fox wondered aloud instead as they watched the Rogues retreat.

"Oh, yeah," Knuckles replied carelessly, "but next time we'll have Sonic with us and it'll be all about him again."

"True."

"Knuckles! And Tails!"

At the sound of their names, the two turned to meet the smiling professor and his assistant, a twenty-something man with a mop of brunette hair. "That was simply spectacular!" Pickle declared with excited gestures. "We haven't had this much excitement in Spagonia since the welcome-home party your friend threw after Dark Gaia was put to slumber."

"Thanks, Professor," Tails respectfully told him. "We're just glad we got the Chaos Emerald back. Is there anything we can do to help fix your lab?"

"No, lad, not at all!" the professor insisted, almost sounding insulted. Tails noted that Pickle's earlier distress at the situation had dissolved in the excitement, and the fox felt better about leaving him. "You boys should be on your way by now. Do send Sonic our best regards."

"Yeah," the assistant piped up with a hopeful smile, "tell him we all hope he feels better soon."

The crowd's rousing cry, filled with encouragement and praises for Knuckles, lifted Tails's spirits visibly, and Knuckles let a little smile creep up his mouth as the kitsune thanked them all for their thoughts and offered a brief farewell.

"We've got a bit of a hike back to the Tornado," Tails informed his partner as they left the university, "but once we get there it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to fly out to where the other signal was coming from. After we get that one, we can set up camp for the night before it gets dark."

"Sounds good," Knuckles agreed shortly. "Here's hoping there won't be any hoops to jump through with this one."

It took longer than they had expected to finally get out of Spagonia; the dinnertime crowd, it turned out, was even more dense than the rush-hour crowd, and they were eventually forced to hide out back at Professor Pickle's lab for the evening meal. The period of rest was appreciated after the excitement the afternoon had brought, but it wasn't long before Knuckles got restless, and they were on their way as soon as the crowds had thinned enough to avoid stepping on the toes of everyone they crossed.

Once in the air, both boys breathed a sigh of relief. It had started to feel as if they would never be able to leave the bustling capital city, but flying high above it was akin to surveying a clean house two seconds before the doorbell rang. They were done with all that stressful chaos for the time being.

Or so they thought.

"Hey, Tails!"

Knuckles started and nearly fell off the wing at the sound of the unexpected voice. Irritated, he sat up, gripped the handles on the wing, and whipped his head around to glare at whoever was speaking. He caught sight of an off-white hedgehog amidst the pure clouds, and his eyes widened. He couldn't see Tails from his position, but he heard when he shouted in unison with him, "Silver?"

"Yeah!" Silver raced to meet the little red plane, the aquamarine glow surrounding his body intensifying with the action. He floated up next to the cockpit, and Tails took the opportunity to shout, "What're you doing up here?"

"Nothing," Silver yelled back. "Blaze and Marine went home yesterday and I thought I'd check out Spagonia before I went home. The future's not in trouble again, I promise."

Against what his mind was screaming at him to do, which was to fly faster, Tails brought the plane to a slightly slower speed to allow for easier conversation without going so slow as to stall the Tornado. "Okay, then, long as you're sure."

"Pretty sure." Silver gave a lazy salute to Knuckles, who nodded in return. "Hey, Knuckles. I didn't know you liked to ride on the wing."

"I don't," the echidna replied flatly, "but drastic circumstances call for drastic measures."

Silver cocked his head; "Drastic circumstances? What's going on?"

Tails had to fight to keep from sighing dramatically, groaning, or rolling his eyes. Why do I have to keep being the bearer of bad news? "I'll explain better once we land, but Sonic is dealing with a pretty severe case of Chaos withdrawal, and we're tracking down the Chaos Emeralds to help him."

Luckily, Silver's expression turned to understanding rather than more confusion. "Wow, really? That's hard. How's he doing?"

"Not so well last we heard. Amy and Cream and her mom are back home with him, and he's just miserable. Even if it wasn't so close to being a life-or-death situation, we'd probably still be out here, just to help him feel better."

"But that doesn't matter," Knuckles grunted, ignoring Silver's shocked expression at the "life or death" phrase. "We've taken too long as it is. The next emerald is out here somewhere, and we need to find it now."

"Sounds good. I could come with you, if you want," Silver offered, holding out his hand in invitation. "If Sonic's in trouble, then he's done enough for the world to deserve a little extra help."

Knuckles gave the hedgehog a calculating, distrustful look, but Tails ignored him. "Sure, if you want. We could use a fresh pair of eyes." He could read the look in his red friend's eyes as easily as he could a book; the guardian didn't trust Silver's motives one bit. He couldn't blame him; all Knuckles had ever seen of Silver was when he'd either been an immature goof-off at the fair or been out to kill somebody to save the future. Tails, on the other hand, had seen the ivory time traveler in other, less threatening situations, and he knew he could actually be quite friendly and even fun when he had no mission in particular to tend to. He knew Sonic considered him more of a friend than a rival, and the last time they'd spoken to Silver, it seemed the sentiments were equivalent.

He could take his thoughts no further, as the emerald detector, now powered by the third emerald, beeped at that moment. "We're right over it, guys. Coming in for a landing."

The little biplane came to rest in front of what looked to be an old mansion, which clearly hadn't seen any maintenance in recent memory. The shadows granted by the setting sun enhanced the darkness brought by rotting wooden siding and lack of life from within. The mansion towered above the three Mobians, looking to be anywhere from two to six stories high depending on the section of the house; a few rooms on the upper floors jutted precariously out of the main building like they had been added later, and there were several pinnacles in the roof that gave the place a sharp and menacing first impression. Broken windows were surprisingly few, but the shabby shingles seemed to make up for the lack of places to grant the elements access to the house's interior.

"Okay, this shouldn't take too long," Tails reaffirmed to break the ominous hold silence had on the threesome. "It looks bad, but my scanner says everything's stable. It should be an in-and-out affair."

"Good," said Knuckles, squinting into the vibrantly-colored sunset, "we should be out of there by dark. Then we can set up camp."

Silver clapped his hands once to break some tension. "Then what are we waiting for?" He strutted off toward the house, completely not caring whether or not Knuckles and Tails were behind him, which they were. "Halloween mansion, here we come!"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Does he have to come along?" he muttered out the side of his mouth.

"C'mon, Knuckles," Tails sighed, "he's really not so bad once you get to know him. Besides, he's got more energy than both of us combined right now. The sooner we can get this done, the sooner we can go to bed for the night."

Knuckles let out a heavy breath, his stiff expression never relaxing, and hurried to catch up to Silver, with Tails on his heels. Both were henceforth quiet, silently praying that this would be the easiest Chaos Emerald catch yet.

~ End Chapter 10 ~

A/N: To be clear, my characterization for Silver is NOT based off Sonic '06. It's based off his personality in the DS version of Sonic Colors and in Sonic Generations, wherein he seems to have a healthy friendship, with a little rivalry mixed in, with Sonic and Tails. These games are later than the previous two, and Sonic '06 was erased from history anyway, so that's why.

*Spoiler!* Also, the mansion, if it isn't clear, is the same one from the beautiful little short film Sonic: Night of the Werehog... which should serve as a clue as to what's going to happen.

Next time: It's a hand-me-down obstacle, and Knuckles gets his just desserts. Can our unlikely trio succeed in that which took a brutal semi-monster to accomplish a few years ago?