(Author's Notes:
This is my first Sonic the Hedgehog fic. So even though I DO accept constructive criticism (emphasis on the word constructive), that does not mean you can be nasty.
Just go easy on me, okay? I'm trying hard here.
Also, I wrote this first chapter when I should've been sleeping, since I wake up at 5 am for my real world job. So, just read it. Please.
Title is inspired by the song Elysium by Mendum.
Cover Art Image was made by me in Krita.
Enjoy!)
The hum of the vehicle on the asphalt slowly coaxes the echidna to consciousness. His eyes force themselves open, and he hisses in pain.
Damn, it hurts.
His purple eyes adjust to the darkness, and he finds himself staring at the ceiling of a vehicle. The vibration of the vehicle moving massages his aching joints, but also leaves him feeling somewhat uneasy.
He blinks, and turns his head to get a better understanding of his environment. To his right, he faces the back of the driver and passenger seats. The light from the vehicle's interior seeping through. And to his left-
His eyes widen in shock.
The Master Emerald, faintly illuminating with it's green hue and wrapped in some sort of rope, sits neatly in the back of the vehicle.
He tries to sit up, to get a better look, but the moment he moves his head upwards using his neck, pain hits him like a truck.
The echidna groans, and as much as he would love to jump to his feet for a fight, he knows that he's in no condition.
He looks down at himself, and notices that he's covered in bandages. He also notices that he's lying on some sort of slightly-elevated cot.
The echidna swallows, his mouth is dry like a desert. He looks back at the Emerald.
The giant gemstone seems to be fine. No cracks, no blemishes. Just wrapped in rope.
He sighs, and lays his head back down on the pillow of the cot. He hisses again in pain, and he tries to recall the situation.
But the second he tries to remember, to put the pieces together, his head feels like it's split open, and he groans again.
"If you keep trying to move, you'll just feel worse."
His blood ices over upon hearing those words. He recognizes that sultry voice from anywhere.
"R...Rouge...?"
His eyes dart around wildly, trying to find the source of her voice. She's not with him, so she must be...
"Rouge...?"
"I heard you. What?"
"Where?"
"Where what?"
"W...Where are...you...?"
"Driving, Knucklehead."
He turns back to his right and sure enough, if he squints, he can make out the wings of a bat peaking from the driver's seat.
Suddenly, it all comes flooding back to him.
The thieves, his brutal interrogation, the hurting, the pain, the blood.
The sound of gunfire, the smell of smoke, alarms blaring.
Her blue eyes gazing at his damaged form.
Her sweet scent filling his nose as she drags him from his cell.
Her hands tending to his injuries.
Her hands...covered in red...
...blood...
"Rouge."
She huffs. "What now?"
"What happened?"
"Ask me later."
"Rouge...did you kill them...?"
Silence.
"Rouge...please...tell me it's not true."
"Why?"
He pauses. "Are they alive?"
"Why do you care?"
"...Because... because you'll go to jail."
"So?"
"Rouge...you killed them... that's serious..."
"I had no choice."
Another pause.
"Are you in trouble?" The echidna asks.
"It depends on who you ask."
"Rouge, tell me."
"I'm fine."
"Do you need someplace to go?"
"...What?"
"You can stay...on Angel Island..."
"No, I can't."
"You can lay low...until this is behind us..."
"You're not making any sense, Knucklehead."
"Rouge...you saved me..."
"I saved the Emerald."
"Rouge...please..."
"Knuckles, stop."
"Rouge..."
"Stop talking, or I'll knock you out."
He says nothing more, and after a few minutes he falls back into unconsciousness.
The rays of light seep through the rear windows of the vehicle, and the red echidna stirs from his rest. He opens his eyes, and turns towards the source, to his left.
The Master Emerald sits in the back, still in one piece. The sunlight reflects off it ever so slightly, painting the interior of the vehicle in a dazzling green.
He focuses his vision, and he sees the sun steadily emerging from the horizon. The rays of sunlight peaking through several trees.
The vehicle is still moving, he can tell because it's still vibrating, the purr of the engine somewhat soothing him.
"Rouge."
She doesn't respond.
"Rouge, where are we?"
"Far away."
"How long...how long have I been asleep...?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe a few hours."
"The sun...is rising..."
"Yes it is. I may be a bat, but that doesn't mean I'm blind like one."
If he wasn't so injured, and if the situation wasn't so dire, he'd smirk.
"Rouge."
"Yes?"
"How long have you been driving?"
No answer.
"Rouge, tell me."
"I've lost count of the hours."
"You need to rest."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
She doesn't say anything, and he continues.
"So...are we going to talk about it?"
"No, we're not."
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
He grits his teeth. "Don't be snappy with me."
"Listen Knucklehead, I'm not in the mood."
Her tone is...tense. The echidna has never heard her speak in that tone of voice before.
(It scares him.)
"Rouge."
"For God's sake, what? I'm trying to drive."
"My offer still stands."
"Your offer?"
He swallows. His throat is still parched.
"If you need to stay somewhere, until this is...fixed, I will allow you to shelter on my island."
"Thanks, but no."
"Are you sure?"
"Knuckles, you've asked me twice and my answer is still the same. What makes you think that if you ask me again, it'll change?"
He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out.
A few minutes pass in silence.
"Rouge."
She sighs heavily. "Yes?"
"Do you have a plan?"
She scoffs. "Of course I do."
"Then what is it?"
Her wings twitch ever so slightly, he can see them move from the angle of his vision.
"The plan is to get the Master Emerald and you back to Angel Island. Then I have to rendezvous back with Shadow and Omega."
His eyes widen. "Shadow?"
She's silent.
"Shadow was involved in this too?"
"Well...yes."
"Does G.U.N. know too?"
"That's none of your concern."
"So they don't know."
"I never said that."
"Rouge, what will you do when G.U.N. finds out?"
"They won't."
"Says you."
"They'll take care of the mess."
"You mean your mess."
"Would you rather be dead, jackass?"
He blinks. It's not often that the feminine bat calls him anything other than Knucklehead.
"Rouge, please...listen to me."
"I mean, I'm driving, so I can't really leave."
"If G.U.N. finds out what you did, and they will find out, do you really think that they'll just let you off the hook so easily?"
"They've seen worse."
"They've never seen this from you. You were a thief, not a murderer."
No response.
"When G.U.N. finds out, you will be arrested. Or worse. They cannot let what you did stand."
"How do you know?"
"Because otherwise you wouldn't have done all this in secret. You wouldn't have asked Shadow and Omega for help."
"I-"
"Rouge, for once in you life, stop being so damn stubborn."
"Do not talk to me that way. Not after what I did for you."
"So it wasn't just for the Emerald then?"
"Knuckles."
He stops talking.
(He's still frightened of that tone.)
Ten minutes pass, of silence and the occasional bump in the road.
"Rouge, please at least think about it."
Silence.
"Rouge?"
Still silence.
"Fine. Give me the silent treatment then, but my offer still stands."
He shuts his eyes, and unconsciousness overpowers him once more.
The abrupt stop of the vehicle jolts the male echidna awake. He tries to sit up, but groans in pain. He hears the door of the vehicle open, then close shut.
"Rouge?"
She doesn't answer him. Outside, he can hear Rouge's voice, speaking softly to someone else.
He shuts his eyes and strains his ears, but he can't make out the words.
Eventually the voices get more distant, and Knuckles opens his eyes, the ceiling of the vehicle greeting him once again. The sun is in a different position, and Knuckles deduces that it is early afternoon judging by the direction of the light rays.
Suddenly, the doors in the back of the vehicle swing open, and the echidna braces himself. He turns to his left, and sees a familiar looking robot peeking in.
"O...Omega...?"
"Greetings, Knuckles the Echidna. It is I, E-123 Omega. Be not afraid, I come as an ally with Rouge."
"...Where is Rouge?"
"She is conversing with Shadow."
"...Shadow's here too?"
"Affirmative. Please wait here while I relocate the Master Emerald to the helicopter."
Helicopter?
The large robot extends his arms, and carefully picks up the Master Emerald. He leaves Knuckles' field of vision, but after a few minutes he returns to the red echidna.
"Be careful with him, Omega."
The robot extends his arms and gently grasps the edges of Knuckles' cot. He slowly pulls him out of the vehicle, and Knuckles winces at the sudden brightness outside.
Omega carries the echidna in his cot, and Knuckles looks around. The air is hot and dry, and the sun beams down on them like a laser from the light blue sky.
A desert?
The robot begins to move, towards a black government helicopter. Knuckles tries to strain his neck to look around, but the moment he tries his muscles scream in protest, and he hisses in agony.
When the two of them get closer, Knuckles can see the G.U.N. acronym imprinted on the side of the helicopter.
Omega lifts the echidna warrior in his cot inside the helicopter, and slides him against the interior wall.
"Please stay here."
Knuckles huffs. "Well, I can't really go anywhere now can I?"
Omega does not respond. He turns his back and walks away, leaving the echidna alone again.
"Rouge. The Master Emerald and Knuckles are secure."
"Thank you Omega, I'll take it from here."
Two figures suddenly appear in the open door of the helicopter. On the right stands Shadow the Hedgehog himself, arms crossed and faced morphed into his trademark scowl. And to the left...
His eyes widen.
Rouge stands there, arms crossed, mirroring Shadow's posture, but she's not smiling. Her make-up is smeared and messy, her clothes are torn, and there's still specks of blood on her.
But her eyes...
Gone is the usual flirtatious sparkle, instead replaced with an icy blue stare. Her expression seems...pained.
It's Rouge the Bat, but it's not the Rouge he knows.
Shadow grunts. "Knuckles. I would say it's good to see you, but you look like Hell."
The red echidna hums. "You're not wrong."
The black and crimson hedgehog grunts again, then turns to Rouge.
"I acquired everything you asked for."
The tired bat woman turns to her companion. "Thank you, Shadow. This was a huge help."
He nods curtly. "I assume you'll take care of everything here on out?"
"You assume correctly."
"Omega and I will deal with any stragglers that try to catch up to you. For now, drop off Knuckles and the Master Emerald at the island, then meet us at the rendezvous.
"I will. Thanks again, Shadow."
He harrumphs. "You owe me big time for this."
"I understand."
The hedgehog and the bat turn away from the echidna, and Knuckles frowns. The two of them walk out of his sight, their voices muttering to each other discreetly but in intense conversation.
After a few minutes, only Rouge returns. She slides the door shut to the helicopter, and restrains the Master Emerald, carefully not making eye contact with Knuckles.
When she's finished securing the large gemstone, she turns to the injured echidna in his cot.
"Hold still while I buckle you in."
The echidna doesn't reply, and just stares at the winged woman as she restrains his cot.
Minutes pass in fragile silence. Occasionally his purple eyes make contact with her blue ones, but her irises are careful to not reflect any emotion.
When she's finished, she exhales, as if she was holding her breath. Then she turns away from the wounded red mammal.
"Rouge."
She freezes. "What?"
"Can you fly this thing?"
She cocks her head, but doesn't turn to face him. "Yes I can."
"How do you know how to pilot a helicopter?"
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me."
"You can say that again."
The second the words escape his mouth, he bites his tongue in bitter regret.
He expects her to snap back with a vicious retort, but to his surprise she's silent.
Rouge climbs to the front of the helicopter, and prepares herself for takeoff. She dons the helicopter headset, and powers on the aircraft.
Knuckles feels the chopper leave the earth, the sound of the spinning blades drumming in his ears.
He looks again at the Master Emerald, in all of it's glory, and sees his distorted reflection in the facets of the large gemstone.
He's angry.
Angry at that stupid rock for causing so many problems. Angry that said rock caused him to become so...powerless. Angry that said rock caused Rouge to-
to-
He grunts in annoyance and stares at the ceiling of the aircraft.
He wants to fall asleep again so his body can heal.
He doesn't.