Chapter 2- Overcoming Obstacles
-------------------------------
Knuckles sat, eyes half closed, in the Chao Garden with his Chaos by his
side, Bubbles, Pebbles, Mirah, and Jojo. Bubbles was a Hero Chao with a
purple, feathery tail and an all white body with blue ears. Pebbles was
sky blue with yellow bunny ears and yellow arms. Jojo was an all cheetah
Hero Chao.
And last but not least, Mirah. Mirah was an all red Chao with red
dreadlocks just like Knuckles. She was, without a doubt, Knuckles' best
friend. But, even though they looked quite the same in looks,
personality wise, they were total opposites. Knuckles was quiet and
quite a recluse. Mirah was outgoing and loved to make friends. Despite
their differences, they were still best friends.
But today, all were giggling and rejoicing that their master had
returned from his adventures in space and beyond. He fell backwards
onto the lush, green grass, breathing the heavy scent of peace and
dozing off to the sound of the flowing waterfall. Knuckles had been
waiting for his friends for some time now, and he was getting slightly
irritated that they hadn't bothered to show just yet.
"Knuckles! C'mon, we're bored, and we wanna play a game!" Mirah whined
while tugging at his hand.
Knuckles brushed her off, frowning. "We'll be able to play as soon as
Sonic and Tails show. Until then, be patient."
"Please Knuckles?" Pebbles approached, giving him the puppy eyes that
could melt anyone's heart. Always feeling guilty to that look, Knuckles
gave in.
"Alright, you guys win. What did you have in mind?" he grunted as he
stood up and dusted the dirt and grass from his hands and legs. But
before they could answer, everyone stopped at the sound of footsteps
and turned to see someone oddly familiar make their way into the
garden. Knuckles raised his head and walked toward the figure,
hoping it was Sonic or Tails so he could get a decent explanation of
their tardiness. But he stopped short and gasped. Standing, not less
than three yards in front of him, was Rouge. Both stared for a few
more seconds, before Knuckles huffed and turned away.
"Ha, nice to see you too." Rouge uttered, walking toward a brown chao
with peacock feathers that was playing in the corner of the garden.
The four other chao walked up to Knuckles curiously.
"Knuckles, you know her?" Bubbles asked. Shaking his head, Knuckles
sighed and walked to the entrance, still waiting for the duo to show
up. As if reading his mind, though, they showed up almost immediately
after.
"Sorry we're late Knuckles. We had a little run-in with the reporters
downtown, and we had to find an alternate route here. Kinda hard, but
hey! We're here. How long ya been waiting?" Sonic panted, smiling.
"Oh, not long. Just a good thirty minutes." He said sarcastically.
Sonic could tell he still wasn't pleased.
"Hey man. What's the deal? I told you. We were late because of
reporters. Can't you just accept our apologies?"
"No, I'm not mad at you. It's just . . . well . . . ." he motioned to
the corner where Rouge was now laughing with the brown chao.
Tails screamed. "What's she doing here?"
"Yeah, what's up Knux?"
"Well, for those who are obviously blind, she's here to play with her
Chao."
"Speaking of Chao . . . ." Sonic faded, searching for his gray Chao
among the other many. Sticking two fingers in his mouth, he whistled
loudly, catching the attention of all the Chao. Tails followed suit.
Zippy, Sonic's Chao, and Tiny and Twister, Tails' Chao, rushed to greet
their masters. Complete and uttermost chaos reigned as Sonic and Tails
reunited with their chao and vice versa. Before long, though, everyone
settled down to hear about everything that happened in space and on the
ARK.
Knuckles, even while talking to the Chao, he was constantly looking
over at Rouge. Since when did Rouge get a Chao? I've never seen her
around here before. . .
"Earth to Knuckles! Hello!?" Someone knocked on Knuckles head and waved
their other hand in front of his face. "Knux? Are you alright?"
Snapping away from his trance, Knuckles noticed everyone was looking at
him rather odd. He nodded and gave a sheepish grin.
"Knuckles, you've been staring at Rouge an awful lot. What's the deal?
You have a crush on her?" Sonic joked, elbowing him in the ribs. He
pushed him away and frowned.
"It's not like that, ok? Just . . . I've never seen her in the Gardens
before, and just seeing her here is a shock, you could say."
"Oh, she's in here all the time." Jojo piped up. "Her chao's name is
Onyx. Yeah, he's named that because she's a big jewel lover and all.
He's just about my best friend, besides you." He motioned to Knuckles.
"Sorta surprised me that you knew her."
"Yeah, you could say we're acquaintances." He spat while looking back
at Rouge. For a moment, their eyes met and caught. Rouge blushed and
averted her gaze back to Onyx, who was showing her something with his
building blocks by his side.
Tails followed his gaze and shrugged. "Go talk to her Knuckles. Seems
like you two have a lot in common. You both love jewels-."
Knuckles cut Tails off. "No. She loves jewels. I protect them.
Particularly the Master Emerald."
"But you both protect them. So, just go say hi. She seems really nice
ever since Shadow's-." Tails was cut off again by Sonic's expression
of sorrow. He was still a little hurt and angry about Shadow's sudden
death back up on the ARK.
"It's not your fault Tails," Sonic reassured, but quickly changed the
subject. "But, yeah. I agree with you on that one, bro. Knux, you
should give her a second chance. She might not be half bad. Might be
kinda fun, dontcha think? " Sonic winked and gave him thumbs up.
He looked at the ground in thought. Giving her a second chance would
be really hard, considering that she had been after the Master Emerald
for herself. And she was quite the little brat, almost like a Daddy's
Girl. But being the ever so forgiving one, Knuckles sighed and
reluctantly agreed to try it and give her the second chance. "Fine,
I'll go say hi, and then I come right back. Alright?" he compromised.
The duo agreed and Knuckles walked off. His heartbeat began to rise
and he could feel his blood rush to his head at rapid speed. Knux,
c'mon. You're not nervous, are you? She was once your enemy. Wait!
Once? Where'd that come from? Ok, everything'll be fine. Just take a
breath. BREATHE!!
"Um, hey . . . Rouge." He squeaked. He could feel his composer
crumbling and falling.
"Hey Knuckles. Seeing you here was a surprise. I mean, I didn't even
know you owned any Chao. I just thought those were someone else's."
"Ditto."
"Anyways . . . I take it you haven't met Onyx? He's been my Chao for
almost a good two months." She boasted. Knuckles nodded and smiled at
the curious chao.
"Hello. Yup, my name is Onyx. I like jewels. Preferably diamonds and
emeralds." Onyx emphasized on the word emeralds while smiling
brightly, his razor sharp teeth showing.
"Emeralds?!" Knuckles jumped away, fearing the worst.
"Don't worry. He can't walk that far to your island and take what
you're thinking of. If you don't remember, I tried, and I had
trouble." She reassured. His eyes flickered as the memory flooded him.
"Yeah, I remember. Hey, so, you . . . um . . . still jewel-hunting?"
he racked his brain to think of something else to talk about.
"No silly. Remember? I gave that up. You're so forgetful. I told you
on the ARK."
"Oh yeah . . . I remember. I'm still brain-dead from all that fighting
and havoc on the space station." He explained. Rouge let out a small
giggle and nodded.
"Same here. I'm still sort of mourning over Shadow. He really wasn't
that bad. Just . . . poisoned by the loss of Maria." Awkward silence
followed and neither knew what to say. "Knuckles . . . look. I know we
got off to a bad start and all, but I just want to . . . apologize
about my behavior, and the Emerald snatching. And, if you can, I'd
like it very much if you can make it to dinner with me tonight." Rouge
peeped. Knuckles' eyes widened and his face turned a dark, crimson red.
He scratched his head and thought it over.
"Well . . . uh . . ." he looked back at Sonic and Tails and mouthed the
words 'Help me.' Sonic appeared beside both in an instant. Seeing the
look on Knuckles, Sonic spoke for him.
"Whatever you asked, it's a yes."
"Sonic!" Knuckles pulled him aside. "I can't go out with her!"
"I knew it! And I was just guessing that's what she said. Wait . . .
why can't you go out with her?"
"One, she's my former enemy. Second, who's going to watch the Master
Emerald? Just because Eggman took a rest from world domination doesn't
mean that there are people who still want the Emerald. Sonic, I'm gonna
have to decline. I'm sure it'd be fun and all, but I just don't like
her in that way."
"Ok. Um, let's see. Well, me and Tails can watch the Master Emerald
tonight, and you can just go. Just go and enjoy yourself. You never
have any fun! Alright? We have a deal? You go and have fun; I'll watch
the Emerald with Tails. Trust me on this."
"Yeah, that's what I'm scared of. You're the one who always has fun.
I'm afraid that you'll have fun while watching my Emerald."
"How can I resist!? You have a swimming pool, your car rocks, and need
I mention the wide, open spaces that just call my name? 'Sonic! Sonic,
come run on our open fields! We've missed your speediness!" he joked.
Knuckles couldn't help but smile.
"I give up! I'll go! Just . . . don't total the jeep, watch the
Emerald at all times, and if you're going to run, make sure you cut
the grass."
"Deal!"
Both walked back to Rouge, who was watching them intently. Knuckles
sighed, and decided to add to the drama. He cleared his throat and
rocked slowly on his feet, hands behind his back.
"Ok, Rouge. This is really, truly a great offer and all . . . but I'm
afraid I cannot . . ." he turned away to Sonic and winked while trying
not to laugh. Rouge already assumed the answer and looked away.
". . . pass up the offer. I'll go on the date tonight."
Rouge looked ecstatic. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Come by Angel Island tonight at around 7 o'clock and we can
leave from there."
"Alright, see ya then!" she smiled and walked off, but not before
saying goodbye to her chao. After she left, Sonic started screaming.
"Dude! She's so into you! You've got it made! Just about the most
sexy chica in Mobius is into you! And all I get are the dorks who have
no sense of adventure."
Tails flew over and hovered above the two. "What's going on? What's
with all the excitement?"
"Rouge and Knux have a big date tonight! Awww! I see wedding bells in
the air! Knux and Rouge! Sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-OUCH!" Knuckles
punched Sonic in the stomach as hard as he could.
"That's what you get for teasing me." He walked to his chao who looked
on, laughing hysterically.
"Knuckles has a date!? Serious-loving, Emerald-protecting Knuckles has
a date?! This is too good to be true!" Mirah pushed her red dreadlocks
from her face and sighed. She coward when she saw her master's face.
"Sorry Knuckles. But, you have to admit, it's sort of funny." Although
it doesn't seem possible, Mirah's red fur turned darker than anything.
"I've gotta get going. I'll come by the day after tomorrow to say hi
to you guys. Sonic, Tails, you're coming with me, now!" Knuckles
commanded.
"Wha? Why me?! I don't have anything to do with this!" Tails glowered.
"You can thank Sonic. He and you both get to come to Angel Island and
watch the Master Emerald, free of charge." He asserted. Tails glared
daggers at Sonic, who was beaming.
"Tails, buddy ol' pal, ol' friend of mine. Knux said we can go
swimming, and ride in his car, and all that good stuff! Plus . . . it's
a vacation from Amy, and Lilac lives there." Sonic teased, turning
Tails red from embarrassment. Tails had a huge crush on another fox
with two tails just like him, except she was a lavender color with
pink tail tips and, in Tails' opinion, she was 'just about the cutest
thing on the island.'
"Well, in that case . . . I'll do it!" he chimed cheerily.
Sonic walked over to Knuckles and slapped him on the back, knocking
the wind out of him. "This will be great. You've gotta trust me.
You're going to love this!"
Knuckles pulled away. "You should go out with her, the way you're
talking about her."
"Me? Go out with her? No way!" Sonic disagreed.
"Ok, let's head out. We can get everything ready, I can give you
instructions for the island, and then I'll be on my way." Knuckles
informed.
This is going to be a long night.
* * *
Knuckles stood in front of a mirror, examining his reflection and
ticking off the things on his mental check list. "Ok! Let's see, Master
Emerald safe? Check. My hair looks alright? Check. Back up procedures
in check? Check. This is going to be a disaster Sonic! I've never gone
out with a girl, let alone said hi to one, except Amy. And she doesn't
count, because she's a moron who lives the life of a Sonic teenybopper."
"Hey man! I take that offensively. But anyways, just don't worry about
it, Knux. You'll be fine. Just remember, she's just about as nervous
as you are right now, and there's no need to panic. And, as I said
before, don't make any sudden moves on her, and . . . uh . . . that's
about it."
"Who are you? Dr. Love?" Tails called out from his post at the Master
Emerald.
"Nope, just recalling my other dates with Sally. Tails, you remember
that one where we went to the movies? I must have tried to kiss her or
something, because she got up and left the movies. It's not my fault
that she didn't want to be kissed then, because she usually always
lets me kiss her. But that was really one of my worst dates!" Sonic
replied as he smacked his forehead in frustration, thinking of one of
his dates with his current girlfriend.
"You're just making me more nervous! Stop it! Stop it now!" Knuckles
cried while holding his hands to his ears and tried hard not to listen
anymore to Sonic's advice.
Suddenly, tapping noises made by shoes could be heard from down the
temple, and a silhouette of a bat wandered aimlessly through it. Sonic
sneered and Knuckles could feel his throat tighten as he began to
become nervous again.
"Now Sonic. Remember. Watch the Master Emerald at all times, don't
crash the Tempest, and don't become too distracted from your duties.
I'm counting on you." He instructed while not taking his eyes off of
Rouge.
"Knuckles, you dare doubt me?"
"Oh yeah . . . ." Knuckles muttered under his breath as he strolled
over to Rouge with a sudden strong sense of confidence. They both met
up, and silence hung luminously in the air. Knuckles stared at Rouge's
outfit, and couldn't help but be grateful. Instead of wearing her usual
sexy apparel, she was wearing jeans with tall boots, a black tank top,
and a jean jacket on top.
Rouge was the first to make a move. "So, ready to go? I thought maybe
we could go to that one Pizzeria by Chao Gardens. How about it?"
"Sure, pizza's cool with me." He shrugged, and with one last glance
back at Sonic and Tails, walked out of the Temple with Rouge by his
side.
Sonic smiled mischievously and turned to Tails. "So, Tails. Remember
where Knuckles keeps his car?"
-------------------------------
Knuckles sat, eyes half closed, in the Chao Garden with his Chaos by his
side, Bubbles, Pebbles, Mirah, and Jojo. Bubbles was a Hero Chao with a
purple, feathery tail and an all white body with blue ears. Pebbles was
sky blue with yellow bunny ears and yellow arms. Jojo was an all cheetah
Hero Chao.
And last but not least, Mirah. Mirah was an all red Chao with red
dreadlocks just like Knuckles. She was, without a doubt, Knuckles' best
friend. But, even though they looked quite the same in looks,
personality wise, they were total opposites. Knuckles was quiet and
quite a recluse. Mirah was outgoing and loved to make friends. Despite
their differences, they were still best friends.
But today, all were giggling and rejoicing that their master had
returned from his adventures in space and beyond. He fell backwards
onto the lush, green grass, breathing the heavy scent of peace and
dozing off to the sound of the flowing waterfall. Knuckles had been
waiting for his friends for some time now, and he was getting slightly
irritated that they hadn't bothered to show just yet.
"Knuckles! C'mon, we're bored, and we wanna play a game!" Mirah whined
while tugging at his hand.
Knuckles brushed her off, frowning. "We'll be able to play as soon as
Sonic and Tails show. Until then, be patient."
"Please Knuckles?" Pebbles approached, giving him the puppy eyes that
could melt anyone's heart. Always feeling guilty to that look, Knuckles
gave in.
"Alright, you guys win. What did you have in mind?" he grunted as he
stood up and dusted the dirt and grass from his hands and legs. But
before they could answer, everyone stopped at the sound of footsteps
and turned to see someone oddly familiar make their way into the
garden. Knuckles raised his head and walked toward the figure,
hoping it was Sonic or Tails so he could get a decent explanation of
their tardiness. But he stopped short and gasped. Standing, not less
than three yards in front of him, was Rouge. Both stared for a few
more seconds, before Knuckles huffed and turned away.
"Ha, nice to see you too." Rouge uttered, walking toward a brown chao
with peacock feathers that was playing in the corner of the garden.
The four other chao walked up to Knuckles curiously.
"Knuckles, you know her?" Bubbles asked. Shaking his head, Knuckles
sighed and walked to the entrance, still waiting for the duo to show
up. As if reading his mind, though, they showed up almost immediately
after.
"Sorry we're late Knuckles. We had a little run-in with the reporters
downtown, and we had to find an alternate route here. Kinda hard, but
hey! We're here. How long ya been waiting?" Sonic panted, smiling.
"Oh, not long. Just a good thirty minutes." He said sarcastically.
Sonic could tell he still wasn't pleased.
"Hey man. What's the deal? I told you. We were late because of
reporters. Can't you just accept our apologies?"
"No, I'm not mad at you. It's just . . . well . . . ." he motioned to
the corner where Rouge was now laughing with the brown chao.
Tails screamed. "What's she doing here?"
"Yeah, what's up Knux?"
"Well, for those who are obviously blind, she's here to play with her
Chao."
"Speaking of Chao . . . ." Sonic faded, searching for his gray Chao
among the other many. Sticking two fingers in his mouth, he whistled
loudly, catching the attention of all the Chao. Tails followed suit.
Zippy, Sonic's Chao, and Tiny and Twister, Tails' Chao, rushed to greet
their masters. Complete and uttermost chaos reigned as Sonic and Tails
reunited with their chao and vice versa. Before long, though, everyone
settled down to hear about everything that happened in space and on the
ARK.
Knuckles, even while talking to the Chao, he was constantly looking
over at Rouge. Since when did Rouge get a Chao? I've never seen her
around here before. . .
"Earth to Knuckles! Hello!?" Someone knocked on Knuckles head and waved
their other hand in front of his face. "Knux? Are you alright?"
Snapping away from his trance, Knuckles noticed everyone was looking at
him rather odd. He nodded and gave a sheepish grin.
"Knuckles, you've been staring at Rouge an awful lot. What's the deal?
You have a crush on her?" Sonic joked, elbowing him in the ribs. He
pushed him away and frowned.
"It's not like that, ok? Just . . . I've never seen her in the Gardens
before, and just seeing her here is a shock, you could say."
"Oh, she's in here all the time." Jojo piped up. "Her chao's name is
Onyx. Yeah, he's named that because she's a big jewel lover and all.
He's just about my best friend, besides you." He motioned to Knuckles.
"Sorta surprised me that you knew her."
"Yeah, you could say we're acquaintances." He spat while looking back
at Rouge. For a moment, their eyes met and caught. Rouge blushed and
averted her gaze back to Onyx, who was showing her something with his
building blocks by his side.
Tails followed his gaze and shrugged. "Go talk to her Knuckles. Seems
like you two have a lot in common. You both love jewels-."
Knuckles cut Tails off. "No. She loves jewels. I protect them.
Particularly the Master Emerald."
"But you both protect them. So, just go say hi. She seems really nice
ever since Shadow's-." Tails was cut off again by Sonic's expression
of sorrow. He was still a little hurt and angry about Shadow's sudden
death back up on the ARK.
"It's not your fault Tails," Sonic reassured, but quickly changed the
subject. "But, yeah. I agree with you on that one, bro. Knux, you
should give her a second chance. She might not be half bad. Might be
kinda fun, dontcha think? " Sonic winked and gave him thumbs up.
He looked at the ground in thought. Giving her a second chance would
be really hard, considering that she had been after the Master Emerald
for herself. And she was quite the little brat, almost like a Daddy's
Girl. But being the ever so forgiving one, Knuckles sighed and
reluctantly agreed to try it and give her the second chance. "Fine,
I'll go say hi, and then I come right back. Alright?" he compromised.
The duo agreed and Knuckles walked off. His heartbeat began to rise
and he could feel his blood rush to his head at rapid speed. Knux,
c'mon. You're not nervous, are you? She was once your enemy. Wait!
Once? Where'd that come from? Ok, everything'll be fine. Just take a
breath. BREATHE!!
"Um, hey . . . Rouge." He squeaked. He could feel his composer
crumbling and falling.
"Hey Knuckles. Seeing you here was a surprise. I mean, I didn't even
know you owned any Chao. I just thought those were someone else's."
"Ditto."
"Anyways . . . I take it you haven't met Onyx? He's been my Chao for
almost a good two months." She boasted. Knuckles nodded and smiled at
the curious chao.
"Hello. Yup, my name is Onyx. I like jewels. Preferably diamonds and
emeralds." Onyx emphasized on the word emeralds while smiling
brightly, his razor sharp teeth showing.
"Emeralds?!" Knuckles jumped away, fearing the worst.
"Don't worry. He can't walk that far to your island and take what
you're thinking of. If you don't remember, I tried, and I had
trouble." She reassured. His eyes flickered as the memory flooded him.
"Yeah, I remember. Hey, so, you . . . um . . . still jewel-hunting?"
he racked his brain to think of something else to talk about.
"No silly. Remember? I gave that up. You're so forgetful. I told you
on the ARK."
"Oh yeah . . . I remember. I'm still brain-dead from all that fighting
and havoc on the space station." He explained. Rouge let out a small
giggle and nodded.
"Same here. I'm still sort of mourning over Shadow. He really wasn't
that bad. Just . . . poisoned by the loss of Maria." Awkward silence
followed and neither knew what to say. "Knuckles . . . look. I know we
got off to a bad start and all, but I just want to . . . apologize
about my behavior, and the Emerald snatching. And, if you can, I'd
like it very much if you can make it to dinner with me tonight." Rouge
peeped. Knuckles' eyes widened and his face turned a dark, crimson red.
He scratched his head and thought it over.
"Well . . . uh . . ." he looked back at Sonic and Tails and mouthed the
words 'Help me.' Sonic appeared beside both in an instant. Seeing the
look on Knuckles, Sonic spoke for him.
"Whatever you asked, it's a yes."
"Sonic!" Knuckles pulled him aside. "I can't go out with her!"
"I knew it! And I was just guessing that's what she said. Wait . . .
why can't you go out with her?"
"One, she's my former enemy. Second, who's going to watch the Master
Emerald? Just because Eggman took a rest from world domination doesn't
mean that there are people who still want the Emerald. Sonic, I'm gonna
have to decline. I'm sure it'd be fun and all, but I just don't like
her in that way."
"Ok. Um, let's see. Well, me and Tails can watch the Master Emerald
tonight, and you can just go. Just go and enjoy yourself. You never
have any fun! Alright? We have a deal? You go and have fun; I'll watch
the Emerald with Tails. Trust me on this."
"Yeah, that's what I'm scared of. You're the one who always has fun.
I'm afraid that you'll have fun while watching my Emerald."
"How can I resist!? You have a swimming pool, your car rocks, and need
I mention the wide, open spaces that just call my name? 'Sonic! Sonic,
come run on our open fields! We've missed your speediness!" he joked.
Knuckles couldn't help but smile.
"I give up! I'll go! Just . . . don't total the jeep, watch the
Emerald at all times, and if you're going to run, make sure you cut
the grass."
"Deal!"
Both walked back to Rouge, who was watching them intently. Knuckles
sighed, and decided to add to the drama. He cleared his throat and
rocked slowly on his feet, hands behind his back.
"Ok, Rouge. This is really, truly a great offer and all . . . but I'm
afraid I cannot . . ." he turned away to Sonic and winked while trying
not to laugh. Rouge already assumed the answer and looked away.
". . . pass up the offer. I'll go on the date tonight."
Rouge looked ecstatic. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Come by Angel Island tonight at around 7 o'clock and we can
leave from there."
"Alright, see ya then!" she smiled and walked off, but not before
saying goodbye to her chao. After she left, Sonic started screaming.
"Dude! She's so into you! You've got it made! Just about the most
sexy chica in Mobius is into you! And all I get are the dorks who have
no sense of adventure."
Tails flew over and hovered above the two. "What's going on? What's
with all the excitement?"
"Rouge and Knux have a big date tonight! Awww! I see wedding bells in
the air! Knux and Rouge! Sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-OUCH!" Knuckles
punched Sonic in the stomach as hard as he could.
"That's what you get for teasing me." He walked to his chao who looked
on, laughing hysterically.
"Knuckles has a date!? Serious-loving, Emerald-protecting Knuckles has
a date?! This is too good to be true!" Mirah pushed her red dreadlocks
from her face and sighed. She coward when she saw her master's face.
"Sorry Knuckles. But, you have to admit, it's sort of funny." Although
it doesn't seem possible, Mirah's red fur turned darker than anything.
"I've gotta get going. I'll come by the day after tomorrow to say hi
to you guys. Sonic, Tails, you're coming with me, now!" Knuckles
commanded.
"Wha? Why me?! I don't have anything to do with this!" Tails glowered.
"You can thank Sonic. He and you both get to come to Angel Island and
watch the Master Emerald, free of charge." He asserted. Tails glared
daggers at Sonic, who was beaming.
"Tails, buddy ol' pal, ol' friend of mine. Knux said we can go
swimming, and ride in his car, and all that good stuff! Plus . . . it's
a vacation from Amy, and Lilac lives there." Sonic teased, turning
Tails red from embarrassment. Tails had a huge crush on another fox
with two tails just like him, except she was a lavender color with
pink tail tips and, in Tails' opinion, she was 'just about the cutest
thing on the island.'
"Well, in that case . . . I'll do it!" he chimed cheerily.
Sonic walked over to Knuckles and slapped him on the back, knocking
the wind out of him. "This will be great. You've gotta trust me.
You're going to love this!"
Knuckles pulled away. "You should go out with her, the way you're
talking about her."
"Me? Go out with her? No way!" Sonic disagreed.
"Ok, let's head out. We can get everything ready, I can give you
instructions for the island, and then I'll be on my way." Knuckles
informed.
This is going to be a long night.
* * *
Knuckles stood in front of a mirror, examining his reflection and
ticking off the things on his mental check list. "Ok! Let's see, Master
Emerald safe? Check. My hair looks alright? Check. Back up procedures
in check? Check. This is going to be a disaster Sonic! I've never gone
out with a girl, let alone said hi to one, except Amy. And she doesn't
count, because she's a moron who lives the life of a Sonic teenybopper."
"Hey man! I take that offensively. But anyways, just don't worry about
it, Knux. You'll be fine. Just remember, she's just about as nervous
as you are right now, and there's no need to panic. And, as I said
before, don't make any sudden moves on her, and . . . uh . . . that's
about it."
"Who are you? Dr. Love?" Tails called out from his post at the Master
Emerald.
"Nope, just recalling my other dates with Sally. Tails, you remember
that one where we went to the movies? I must have tried to kiss her or
something, because she got up and left the movies. It's not my fault
that she didn't want to be kissed then, because she usually always
lets me kiss her. But that was really one of my worst dates!" Sonic
replied as he smacked his forehead in frustration, thinking of one of
his dates with his current girlfriend.
"You're just making me more nervous! Stop it! Stop it now!" Knuckles
cried while holding his hands to his ears and tried hard not to listen
anymore to Sonic's advice.
Suddenly, tapping noises made by shoes could be heard from down the
temple, and a silhouette of a bat wandered aimlessly through it. Sonic
sneered and Knuckles could feel his throat tighten as he began to
become nervous again.
"Now Sonic. Remember. Watch the Master Emerald at all times, don't
crash the Tempest, and don't become too distracted from your duties.
I'm counting on you." He instructed while not taking his eyes off of
Rouge.
"Knuckles, you dare doubt me?"
"Oh yeah . . . ." Knuckles muttered under his breath as he strolled
over to Rouge with a sudden strong sense of confidence. They both met
up, and silence hung luminously in the air. Knuckles stared at Rouge's
outfit, and couldn't help but be grateful. Instead of wearing her usual
sexy apparel, she was wearing jeans with tall boots, a black tank top,
and a jean jacket on top.
Rouge was the first to make a move. "So, ready to go? I thought maybe
we could go to that one Pizzeria by Chao Gardens. How about it?"
"Sure, pizza's cool with me." He shrugged, and with one last glance
back at Sonic and Tails, walked out of the Temple with Rouge by his
side.
Sonic smiled mischievously and turned to Tails. "So, Tails. Remember
where Knuckles keeps his car?"