Knuckles glided toward a tall mountain, before checking his map in mid air. "Hmm...looks like this is my first destination," he mumbled to himself. He landed gently on the tip of the mountain, before looking down to notice an Omochao.
Knuckles frowned. "Oh great..." he said sarcastically.
"Hi! I'm Omochao, and I'm here to help you!" the little wind-up toy announced cheerfully before spinning around in Knuckles' face.
Knuckles swatted it away. "I don't need any help."
"Everyone needs help, silly!" the Omochao retorted cheerfully. "To get further into the mountain, use dig!"
Knuckles frowned. "Well...it can't hurt to try."
He dived into the ground and then popped out. "Thank Omochao, you've been great," he waved, hoping it would leave him alone. He dug into the ground again to find a long pipe. He jumped in, and traveled down the long, winding pipe.
Once he emerged from the pipe, he found a huge rocky land. Boulders crashed down unexpectedly now and then, from higher ledges.
Knuckles gulped before flexing his muscles and then gliding forward.
"This shouldn't be too difficult…nothing a pro treasure hunter can't handle," he said to himself.
A boulder narrowly missed crashing into him, and Knuckles sweat dropped. "That was too close."
"Ahhh! Help me!" a nearby voice shrieked.
Knuckles questioningly looked in the direction of where the voice came from. "Huh?" he glided in that direction.
A clearing came into view, as did a familiar figure – wrapped in a huge plant that resembled a Venus flytrap.
"Rouge?" Knuckles gaped. "I told you it was too dangerous to come here!" he yelled, gliding toward her.
Rouge frowned. "I know…I guess I can't call myself a treasure hunter anymore," she hung her head sadly.
The huge plant tightened its grip on her, and she winced in pain.
Knuckles studied the plant's moves carefully.
The plant jolted forward at Knuckles, and Knuckles thrashed his right arm forward, and punched it in a weak area. The area swelled, and Knuckles rammed his hard knuckles into the weak spot.
The plant yelped in pain, and shrivelled. Rouge jumped out of its weak arms.
"Thanks," she bowed in appreciation.
"So," Knuckles frowned at her. "How did you know I'd be here?"
Rouge smirked. "I have my connections."
Before Knuckles could respond, a thrashing sound came from behind Knuckles and Rouge, and they both attentively jumped in surprise.
"It's alive?" Rouge gasped.
"And it's brought company…" Knuckles said through clenched teeth, as he stared in horror at the multiplying death plants.
Knuckles swept Rouge off her feet and into his arms, as he glided away. He swerved in and out and side to side to avoid them. Rouge braced herself as a tumbling boulder narrowly missed them. She looked up at Knuckles, with shining eyes that bubbled with admiration.
He was so brave and so committed to protecting the Master Emerald. Although he had a rough exterior, Rouge somehow knew he was a good person at heart.
Knuckles felt her gaze on him, and he blushed a little and looked down at her.
Rouge noticeably looked away quickly.
Knuckles decided to forget about it.
Rouge suddenly realized her position. "Hey…who do you think you're rescuing?" she snapped at him suddenly.
Knuckles rolled his eyes before tossing her out of his arms. Rouge swiftly recovered, and started to glide by his side.
"I didn't necessarily mean to DROP me," she sneered.
Knuckles scoffed. "Whatever."
"So what are you supposed to be doing in this crazy world?" Rouge questioned, changing the subject.
"Treasure hunting," Knuckles said simply before adding, "but it's much more difficult here. It's only for us professionals."
"'Us professionals'?" she echoed. "As in you and I, or you and others?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"'Us professionals' as in me and others," Knuckles said seriously, making an effort to turn an glare at her coldly before pressing forward.
Rouge caught up to where Knuckles was. "You just don't get it do you? I mean, have you never seen me in action before? I'm just as good as you are…you just don't want to admit it!" Rouge finished, jabbing her index finger into Knuckles' chest before smirking haughtily and flying forward.
Knuckles frowned. "I have years of experience to back me up, bat girl. What can you say to that?"
"I'm a fast learner! I have retrieved just as many emerald pieces as you have, and if you noticed – I beat you back there easily! And…I bet that I can find the first emerald piece here before you!" Rouge challenged.
Knuckles frowned. "Is there anything in the world that is more important to you than emeralds?"
Rouge thought about it before smirking her usual smirk. "No." She knew this answer would annoy Knuckles, although it wasn't necessarily true.
Knuckles rolled his eyes.
"So are you going to hands-down let me get the first piece, or do you want to make this interesting?"
"Let's make this worth while," Knuckles smirked with his eyebrows still furrowed.
Rouge smiled knowingly before landing alongside Knuckles. "Whoever looses has to yell to the world that whoever wins is the best treasure hunter."
"And whoever wins gets to gloat about it all they want," Knuckles smiled determinedly.
Rouge extended her hand, and then Knuckles followed. They shook on it before putting their arms back to their rightful sides.
"Good luck, treasure hunter – 'cause you're going to need it," Rouge smiled haughtily.
"Don't let your ego way you down too much, bat girl," Knuckles smirked. "You'll need all the energy and agility you can muster up to beat me."
They both smiled at each other with determination. "May the best hunter win," they said in unison before dashing off in opposite directions.
- Satokasu Suki