Chapter 9: Taking Back

Knux woke up in the bed inside the heli. He slowly turned to side, hoping to find Rouge there. Sadly, his wish didn't come true. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. The shine and sparkle of the jewels hypnotized him. The glitter seemed to form her face.

He snapped out of his trance and sighed. He slowly got up, noticing a white glint beside him. He turned back to the bed, finding a few scattered pieces of the Angel Emerald.

His eyes grew wide. He hadn't mentioned it since last night and had completely forgotten about it. He sat back on the bed and put the pieces back together. It sat at his feet, eight inches high and a foot wide. It gleamed a creamy white color as it was revived to full form again.

He now knew what to do. He touched the emerald with his hand and closed his eyes. The words flowed and slowly came together as he spoke them.

"I call on the power of all angels, That have answered our sacred island's plea; Bring me back my precious, undying love Because I know that we are meant to be.

She will be needing me, as I need her Eventually, we will become one; I'll always go out of my way for her To bring her happiness and the bright sun.

Together we will survive day and night No matter what obstacles we go through We'll live a life together forever She and I know that this'll always be true.

Because of her, I know what love is My life would be nothing without that face; So answer my call, oh giving angels And take me to the destined place."

A white light consumed him as he began to teleport.

Rouge sat up the next morning, not remembering anything from last night. The only scene that played in her mind was when she was placed against the wall with Shadow growing closer.

Her eyes widened in shock. She looked down to see that she had her clothes on. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes spotted a black figure weighing her down. She pushed him off, knocking him against the headboard.

"What the hell are you doing!" she yelled.

He instantly awoke, shaking off the temporary pain. "You weren't complaining last night." he replied.

She backed away from him as a grin formed on his lips. She was afraid to ask. If she didn't remember, then why did it matter? She may be better off not knowing. Her curiosity got the best of her and she asked anyway. "What are you talking about?"

"I told you, you would be mine no matter what it takes."

His words sent all of last night through her mind. She saw herself and Shadow. What? It didn't make sense. She looked at the jewel next to her. She took it and threw it against the nearest wall as she stood up. "You manipulated me!" she spat angrily.

He gave her a smirk. "I only helped to get what you wanted. I can't fully control you. It takes two to connect as one."

She grew angrier as he said those words. "It was that damn emerald, and you know it!"

"You found it, not me." He managed to keep his cool as she did the opposite.

"You made me find it!" His voice grew louder as his words grew stronger. He approached her with a menacing glare. "You're not supposed to find jewels you don't know about. You didn't tell Knuckles and you continued to find it! YOU didn't know what was going to happen and YOU were the one who brought this on yourself!" he yelled.

She felt her mind slowly breaking from the words. She shook her head vigorously. "No." she managed to say.

He slowly backed her into a wall, his eyes burning a hole through her. "It's YOUR fault!"

"No." she repeated. She covered her ears to tune out his voice.

"Everything happened because of YOU!"

She screamed as she hit the wall and fell to her knees. The gained control over her emotions started to diminish. Her head hung low and her eyes blurred as she stared at the dark floor. She held herself to keep from shaking. The realization killed her. She spoke no words as tears fell from her eyes and splashed to the ground.

Why did she do it? How was she supposed to know that finding that gem would cause her so trouble? She knew one thing: She loved Knuckles, but Shadow's mark would remain forever. It sickened her. How would Knux take it? He probably wouldn't want anything to do with her. She brought this all on herself. The tears still fell, but no sound escaped her lips. She was too sad and angry to do anything but cry.

Shadow felt the guilt of last night wash on him. He had a decision to make. He could let her live in her own misery or make her forget forever. He got on one knee beside her.

"I'm sorry, Rouge. It's not your fault, it's mine. I want to make it all up to you. I want you to think about something. Would you be willing to live with the pain for the rest of your life or would you want to forget and start over? I could send you back to Knuckles without remembering what I did. It's your choice."

She looked up at him. She was too weak to yell and she wanted Knuckles no matter what. "Did you just say that you could make me forget?" she asked.

"And send you back, yes. I can't stand to see you like this. I'm gonna have to live with this for the rest of my life, but I don't want you to do the same. I can make you forget, Rouge. Just consider it."

She shook a little at his words. "I don't know.I can't trust you, Shadow."

He gently took her hand. "I want you to be happy, Rouge. I promise from the bottom of my heart." Before she could say anything, a familiar voice rang through the shadows.

"If you had a heart."

A white light took over the darkness, blinding Rouge and Shadow. From this white light, Knuckles appeared.

Shadow slowly stood. "It's you." he spat angrily.

"I should be saying the same thing. What are you doing here with Rouge?" he asked strongly.

"Just taking what's rightfully mine, thank you very much."

"You better take that back."

"And what if I don't?"

"I'll do something that you'll regret."

"You already did! You took my dark angel!"

"Guess you're not as fast as I thought."

"It's already done. You can't take back last night."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's none of your business."

"It is if Rouge is involved!"

"If you really wanna know, she's mine and there's nothing you can do about it!"

Knux laughed. "I'm here, aren't I? When I find out what you did to her, you won't be here for too long! You must be crazy if you think I'm going to let you keep her."

"I am because I won't let you get to her."

"How do you think you're gonna pull that off? I could take you out in one hit!"

"Not if she was taking the hits for me."

"What?" Knux asked confused.

"I'll show you." Shadow extended his right hand, summoning the emerald to his palm. It started to glow furiously.

Rouge knew that glow too well. It tortured and manipulated her. Who knows what it will do to her now? "No." she whispered repeatedly as the glow took over her body. This time, it came on her full force.

"No you won't!" Knux yelled as he ran full force to Shadow, ready to give him the biggest stars he would ever see.

Shadow turned to Knux and held the emerald in front of his body, creating a dark force field around him. It caused Knux to run into it, bouncing off it and slamming into a wall.

She rose to her feet, encased in the glow. She could feel the foreign control wash over her again. Her wings extended, revealing bigger and darker ones. Her eyes changed from an aqua blue to a dark purple. Black gloves covered her bare hands. Her pink top transformed into purple and her white boots went from gray to black in an instant.

Knux watched in shock as Rouge transformed into a completely different person. "No, it can't be, can it?" he thought to himself. He looked to Shadow, who flashed a grin at him. "Wait, this isn't possible! Unless you- You didn't!" he said through clenched teeth.

"I did it and I'll do it again if I have to! I told you, she's mine forever!"

"No." Knux whispered. He knew this all too well. Once she gained full power, she would never go back.

Shadow laughed at this pathetic sight while turning back to Rouge. "Come to me, Dark Angel. She him your REAL power!" he commanded.

She turned to Knux on command. She stared at him with menacing eyes.

He couldn't see her anymore. The usual glint in her eyes disappeared. The vibe he usually felt from her was no more. He didn't know who or what was standing (or floating) before him.

"So.we meet again, Dark Angel." he said in a serious tone.

"Oh, so you've met before?" Shadow asked with interest in his words.

"You stay out of this! This is between her and me!" Knux revealed the Angel Emerald and in a split second, he disappeared behind a circle of white light. He emerged in an off-white ensemble: a tank top, pants, shoes, headband and rubber bands to match. The top of his chest still bore the white crescent, but then it slowly took the shape of angel wings. Two white wings covered his back, leaving two slits in his shirt. His locks appeared longer than usual. He looked at Rouge with a face so innocent that it was sickening at the same time. He voice took on a smoothness that he never heard before.

"Rouge, don't listen to him. He wants you for other purposes."

Shadow briefly stared at him in shock, then turned back to Rouge. "He's the one who's using you! Eliminate him!" he yelled to her.

She turned to Shadow, then back to Knux. No wonder he looked so familiar. They had met thousands of years ago on this day. They had battled, but they both cancelled each other out. The impact caused both emeralds to break and disappear.

It all came back to him now as he faced her. Both emeralds were created at the same time with almost equal powers and properties. When held and summoned by the destined person, they were known as the Guardian and Dark Angels.

They stared at each other with powerful eyes. Rouge glared at Knux with an intensity that could kill. "Looks like I have some unfinished business to take care of." she said while lifting her arms. She was about to summon her dark powers when his voice stopped her.

"Don't do this, Rouge. Our powers will cancel out, leaving us back to where we started."

She sighed and smiled. "Okay, just sit still. This won't hurt a bit!" She shot a black wave towards him.

Black circles surrounded him, ready to kill. A white shield was made, making the circles bounce off thin air. "I won't let you do this. Control yourself Rouge. I know you have it, just listen to me."

She took her first real look at him. He was beautiful. Her purple eyes sparked blue as she looked at him. The control was still heavy on her mind. "Knux, I-" Before she could continue, she saw a dark power extend from her hands toward him. "No!" she screamed as it hit him full force.

His power no longer protected him. He hit a wall and the breath was knocked out of him. He winced at the pain in his back.

Rouge snapped out of control and rushed to him. The impact broke his wings, sending fresh blood down his back. She gasped at his weak condition.

He could feel warmth down his back as he felt the pain. He opened his eyes to see a crushed Rouge in front of him. He gave a weak smile. "I did the best I could to keep you. You were always so competitive and that's what I loved about you. Looks like you won, Rouge." He paused as he felt his life force draining from him.

She gasped. "No Knuckles, you win. You've won my heart. You can't go."

"No, this is your chance to have Shadow. I'm sure you two would be better without me."

"What? That's not possible!" she argued. "I don't love him. He used me. You said so yourself."

He took a deep breath and coughed. "Have I ever told you that I would do anything to make you happy?" She nodded. "Live your life without me."

"I can't! I'm the one who did this to you! I can't live with myself anymore. Don't go, Knuckles."

"I don't think I have a choice. I give you control of the Angel Emerald and all the other gems as well. Live and be happy, Rouge.I love you--" A sharp pain went through his back, and he was out cold.

She felt for a heartbeat, and she felt nothing. She choked back tears as she stood up. She faced Shadow with a look that could kill.

"I can't believe you! You went through all this to break me and have me the way you wanted and at the end, you still have nothing. I have nothing now! Is that what you wanted?"

"Forget about it Rouge.You won't regret it." he said, moving closer.

"I'll never forget! You never made me and you never will! I'll never love you!" she yelled. Dark power flowed from her hands at command and pinned him to the wall. She turned away from him and rushed back to Knuckles.

She fell on her knees and cried. She laid a hand on the Emerald accidentally. Her tears fell on his bleeding wings, reviving them as they touched his blood. A white light covered the both of them.

She felt a light breeze and a floating feeling as she cried. She opened her eyes to see a pair of wings fanning her. Knuckles' hand clutched hers. She was speechless as she made another transformation.

The light grew brighter as they joined forces. Her eyes brightened into a misty blue and she wore an off-white dress. He smiled and hugged her. "Didn't think I'd leave you that easy, huh?"

She felt weightless as she remained in his arms. The only control she had was her own, and something more powerful and priceless took over.