Chapter 2 (or 1, if you don't consider that other part a real chapter. Either way, this is the way it's numbered, so deal with it)
By RocketDarkness
A/N: Wow, people actually bothered to review. Thus, I will continue to write. Remember, I don't own any of the characters. What kind of idiot would write a disclaimer-thingy if they owned it? Well, if I owned Sonic and associates, I guess I'd be selling this instead, and making money. I like money. Yep.
Sonic cracked his knuckles quickly. He preferred not to hit a female, particularly one that had helped him save the world, but this time he had no choice. He had to force her to help get the emeralds back, and a simple conversation wasn't going to do it. Rouge stood, a few feet away, holding her pistol at her side. She hoped she didn't have to use it, but if necessary she wouldn't hesitate to kill him. Sure, he'd saved the world a few times, but then again, the echidna and fox could easily take his place. "So, hedgehog, you going to leave me alone or am I going to have to teach you a lesson? This is your last chance, as I'm a busy girl. Got places to go, jewels to retrieve. Pay to collect."
Sonic simply stood still. Suddenly, he disappeared. Lucky for Rouge, she was prepared for this, and flipped around as he came at her from behind. She barely had time to avoid his attack before he came back, ramming her with his shoulder to send her hard into the ground. She skidded along the dirt path, and into the bushes, dazed and dusty but otherwise fine. "Had enough, thief?" He pointed at her dramatically. "Now, take me to the emeralds!"
Rouge spit on the ground, a small trace of blood evident. "You sound like Knuckles." Sonic walked over to her, and helped her up. "You going to take me or not?" She accepted his help, then as soon as she was back on her feet she pushed him away.
"So damn chivalrous. Sure, it's nice, but honestly, would you have let up that easily if you were fighting Knuckles, or Eggman?" He thought about it for a second, rubbing his chin. "No, I guess n--!"
Rouge's response was to kick him in the stomach, sending him into a nearby tree. "Then the fight's not over, blue-boy." With that, she crouched to the ground, and pushed off. She flapped her wings to gain height. "We'll finish this later, hedgehog. I've got more important things to worry about than your little quest."
Sonic jumped to his feet, a long red mark across his belly from where the steel edge of her boots cut into him. He scowled at her angrily. He dashed to the nearest tree, and began to run on its trunk around and around, gaining speed quickly. Suddenly, he shot into another nearby tree, and rebounded off of it straight up into the air. Rouge's flight was interrupted by Sonic's fist colliding with her jaw as he zoomed past her. She recoiled in pain as she was knocked out of balance, flapping her wings sporadically to maintain her flight. Looking up, she saw Sonic coming down fast with his feet outstretched. She steadied herself, and as he came at her, she grabbed his leg, dangling him headfirst above the ground. "You certainly are persistent, I'll give you that. But you've never actually been trained in combat, have you?"
Sonic used his momentum to swing up, and grabbed onto her shoulders to keep from falling. He drew back his fist and punched at her, but she ducked. Letting go of his foot, she kicked him in the face with her toe. As he let go, stunned, she brought down the butt of her gun on his head with both of her hands. A sickening crack resounded, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. As he landed, he made a loud thud sound. She saw a lone Ring roll away from him, then disappear into the underbrush. With that, she flew away.
--
Sonic awoke to the rough shaking from Tails. The little fox was shaking him harshly, trying to wake him up. "Hey, little buddy. Don't worry, I'm fine."
Tails gasped. "You're awake!" He exclaimed gleefully, happy to see his best friend returning to consciousness. Sonic smiled at him, noticing that he seemed to have been crying somewhat recently. His fur underneath his eyes was stained slightly by the tears. Sonic laughed halfheartedly. Tails was, in reality, still a child. Hell, at his age Sonic was still afraid of the dark. Tails was never allowed to feel such normal fears. First being teased by every possible friend, then being kidnapped, then eventually joining with Sonic himself on the adventures, Tails never got a chance to be a kid.
"Yeah, I'm awake. I had a little run-in with...err...someone, and lost." Sonic hoped Tails wouldn't press the issue. He didn't exactly want to admit he had his ass handed to him by Rouge, of all people. He made a mental note to show her more respect in the future.
"I was worried for a little while. You have a nasty bruise on your forehead!" Tails pointed to it, and Sonic reached up to feel it. He winced as he touched it. This one was going to be around for a while.
"Is Knuckles around?"
"No, he went off to find the emeralds. As usual." Sonic got to his feet shakily.
"We have to find him, G.U.N. is on the island!" With that, he and Tails took off across the island in search of the echidna.
--
Sonic scanned the island impatiently, unable to find Knuckles anywhere. Nevertheless, he continued to run, calling out his name. To his right, he heard Knuckles shout back in response. Changing direction on a dime, he followed Knuckles' voice. Bursting into a clearing, Sonic promptly tripped and hit the ground. "Today is not my day."
"Watch where you're going!" Knuckles sat, rubbing his head in pain. "YOU TRIPPED ON MY HEAD!" Tails hovered overhead, laughing at his two friends as they squabbled.
"Knux, we have more important things to do on this island! G.U.N. is here, and they've got the emeralds. We need to get them back, imagine how much damage they could do!" Sonic said quickly. Knuckles immediately became much more attentive once the emeralds were involved.
"But Sonic, I didn't see any heavy machinery anywhere when I was flying around. And you know how good of an eye I have." Tails said quietly.
"Knuckles, any idea where they are?"
"No idea...unless..."
"Unless what?" the clueless duo asked, impatient.
"Unless they found the Hidden Palace...they must be underground!"
"How? It took Tails and I a long while to navigate through all those tunnels!"
"Yeah, but there are paths that lead directly to the Palace."
"Oh." Sonic paused, unsure of what to say. "Then let's go do our thing!"
"The passage is actually not too far away. Now let's go. And remember, if you tell anyone, I will personally kill you and anyone that finds out." Sonic simply laughed nervously.
--
Up. Down. Left. Left. Left more. Down. Up. To Sonic, it seemed like the dark tunnel would never end. He wasn't sure if he was even still in the tunnel. Perhaps he had been spit out into a pitch black room and knocked out. He was only dreaming of still being in the tunnel. Maybe. The black abyss continued to rush at him, but never pass. Then, finally, it did. Bright light flooded his eyes, forcing him to throw his hands up in protest. Unfortunately, his hands prevented him from realizing how close the floor was. Sonic hit the ground facefirst with a loud thud. A few seconds later, the sound of another thud. Sonic waited to hear a third thud, but instead he heard air running through dreadlocks. He pushed himself up, pain radiating through his injuries from the battle with Rouge. Damn bat. He stood up, and turned to Knuckles. "Why didn't you WARN US!?"
Knuckles snickered. "Consider it revenge for..." He stopped as his gaze traveled downwards. From the floating platform they were stationed upon, he stared in fear as he realized that the palace was completely transformed. The last time Sonic had been there, the walls were covered with blue crystal. Light shone down from some unknown source, bathing everything in a murky-blue hue. Now, the walls were covered with cold, hard steel. Unnatural light reflected from the ceiling down. G.U.N.'s various robots were everywhere. All that was left untouched was the shrine of the emeralds. Except now, several tubes glowing different colors ran from the pedestals, siphoning off the energy. The Chaos Emeralds sat in their respective pedestals, though they were mere gnats in the presence of the Master Emerald. Not to mention that the energy that should be infusing them to become Super Emeralds was being "borrowed". And in the middle of it all stood Rouge the bat. Of course.
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Yay, chapter two done! Hope you enjoy it, and keep reviewing. It's always good to know you're making people happy with what you do. And yes, I respect Rouge very much, as you can now see. Comments and criticism welcome, my email is rocketdarkness@yahoo.com if necessary. Thanks!