Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story except E-100 Alpha.
Well it's been a really long time since I've updated, and for that I'm sorry. I've just been busy lately. I've also just finished celebrating my birthday this week on August 23rd, so I've been pretty preoccupied with other things. I'll try to make up for lost time, and I really hope that you all enjoy reading this next chapter.
Chapter 7
The rain started to pour hard in the Lost Jungle that was adjacent from the Mystic Ruins, unnaturally hard. The rain hadn't fallen like this in years. The long leaves of the trees had been so wet, that they were being weighed down by the puddles of water that had been formed on top of them.
Rouge knew that she was coming down with something due to the rain shower, but that didn't to phase her. Not even the fact that Knuckles' theory of her being attacked by E-100 Alpha being accurate was causing her true pain. The thing that was hurting her most was what Knuckles had said when she last saw him.
"How could you fools think that I could ever have crush on a lowly thief like Rouge the Bat! I don't even LIKE her, let alone LOVE her!" Knuckles shouted in her mind.
That cruel statement went through Rouge's mind endlessly. Every word cut through her heart like a hot knife through butter. Ever since she had met him in the Wild Canyon, she knew that he was a little rough around the edges, but felt something more when he saved her life at Meteor Herd, even though she was too proud to admit it. But now, she started to realize that the image she had of Knuckles caring for her was simply folly, and that it could never be a reality. This thought hurt her even more.
"That....stupid echidna! Who needs him! I was strong without him and I'll be better off if I never see him again!" Rouge shouted so loud that birds flew off the trees in the distance.
Rouge knew that she was wrong. She could lie to everyone else, but she couldn't lie to herself no matter how hard she tried. In her heart, she knew that she loved Knuckles more than anything else, even the Master Emerald she tried to steal from him. She realized that she didn't love the Master Emerald because of it's worldly value, but because it brought Knuckles and her closer together. She cherished this moment, even if Knuckles didn't.
"Ow." Rouge groaned as she rubbed the joints of where her wings met her shoulders. "That lousy robot must have done a number on me. I've been injured before, but never this badly."
Rouge wasn't exaggerating. Her encounter with Alpha that Knuckles had predicted had left her with several laser burns on her backside, severely damaging her wings and preventing her from flying. To make matters worse, she was almost certain that she was coming down with something. She had been sneezing for quite a while, but as she put her hand to her forehead, she noticed that she was contracting a fever.
"What did that flying bucket of bolts want from me anyway?" Rouge said as she collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion. Her face first fall had caused the red emerald in her pocket to roll out in front of her, answering her question.
"So that's it huh, it was after this emerald the whole time. That's just great." Rouge murmured to herself. "And to think, if I didn't fly through that narrow passage of trees before he shot me down, he would have caught me and I would have been finished. I guess the rain must have short-circuited his sensors before he could find me." she said before she heard some footsteps coming towards her.
Rouge was definitely scared of what could have been approaching her, but she was to sick to fight back if she had to defend herself. She then saw two figures approaching her. One of them was big and rotund, where as the other one was much smaller, and looked as if it walked on four legs.
The smaller figure approached her face and startled her with a loud croak. As Rouge saw the tiny frog hopping towards her, she knew that the huge circular figure behind him could only be one person, and that was Big the Cat.
"Hey Froggy, what did you find over there?" Big said. "Oh, it's the bat lady. I remember her now, she helped us defeat the Metal Overlord that could have hurt lots of people."
Big wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he wasn't cruel. He saw the injuries on Rouge's back and immediately picked her up in his massive arms. His compassion for smaller and weaker creatures was apparent as he chose Amy and Cream to be his teammates and some of his best friends. He noticed that her fever had gotten worse, as she was coughing and sweating uncontrollably.
"Don't worry Miss Bat, I'll help you get better." Big said in a gentle tone, as Froggy hopped along side him.
Big was an expert when it came to lifting smaller objects since he was so powerful, but he wasn't the best when it came to moving quickly, since he was so bulky, and right now, Rouge needed help fast. Big's heart was in the right place, but as determined as he was to help Rouge, he was undoubtedly lost himself, which didn't bode well for the young bat woman.
"Hey, follow me! I can help you!" a figure in the distance shouted causing Froggy to leap up suddenly.
Rouge was about ready to pass out, when she noticed that the figure was red. She thought for a brief moment that Knuckles was coming to her rescue again as he did in Meteor Herd, but then she remember what she had overheard him say in Station Square today. Her mixed feelings caused enough trauma to cause her to pass out.
"Knu........ckles?" Rouge said as she fell unconscious.
Rouge was scared, she had been sick before in her life, but nothing like this has ever happened. As she drifted into her slumber, she had a rather perplexing dream. She saw herself in a room of darkness and had different visions. The first vision was of the Master Emerald which turned red and formed the second vision. The second vision was of the red emerald she had, which produced an image of Knuckles which said many different things.
"The Master Emerald has the power to neutralize the seven Chaos Emeralds."
"Think what you want Bat Girl, I was only trying to save the Master Emerald!"
"How could you fools think that I could ever have crush on a lowly thief like Rouge the Bat! I don't even LIKE her, let alone LOVE her!"
"I'm sorry.....if I hurt you."
The third vision was of a huge figure attacking Station Square. Rouge thought that the figure was Perfect Chaos like she had seen in the news reports, but the figure started to shoot out laser beams similar to E-100 Alpha's. The disturbing thing about this image, was that E-100 Alpha was much bigger than in his previous form, and his shape had changed. Rouge didn't know if she was right, but she could almost sense that Alpha was much more powerful than before.
"What you see before you is no mere coincidence, young lady." a gentle feminine voice said from behind Rouge.
"Huh, who's there?" Rouge said as she quickly turned around to see the fourth and final image she would see.
The image was faint, and much like a silhouette, but made out of light. The head was much like Knuckles, in that it had the same hair, but the body frame was shorter than his and very much feminine.
"This is what will happen in the nearby future. I have seen it, and without both Knuckles' and your help, the outcome of these events will be dire." the silhouette said.
"Wait a minute, I'm sure I've heard your voice before, are you...." Rouge asked. But before she could finish her question, the silhouette interrupted her.
"Now, awaken my child." the silhouette said.
At that moment Rouge awoke with a cold compress over her head, and had noticed that her fever had gone down remarkably. She also noticed that she was lying in a bed, which was inside of a nice, but small guestroom on the second floor of a building.
"I knew it." Rouge said with a smirk. "It was HER showing me all of those weird visions. I just know it. That's just her style too."
Rouge looked outside of the window next to her bed and noticed that she was still in the jungle, but the rain had stopped, so she guessed that she had been asleep for quite a while. The last thing she remembered was that Big and Froggy had come to her rescue in the jungle, along with a mysterious red figure.
"That proves it." Rouge said with confidence. "You must care for me Knucklehead. Otherwise, why would have made such a big deal about my safety when your emerald clearly wasn't in danger?"
Rouge looked around the room and thought that everything would be okay for the time being, but then asked herself one important question.
"Wait a minute, if Knuckles actually did save me, then he would have taken me to the Floating Island more than likely. So if Knuckles didn't save me, then just WHERE exactly am I?" Rouge thought out loud.
Well, what do you think? Please reply soon. I'll try to continue the story as soon as possible. I hope your having as much fun reading it as I am writing it.
Well it's been a really long time since I've updated, and for that I'm sorry. I've just been busy lately. I've also just finished celebrating my birthday this week on August 23rd, so I've been pretty preoccupied with other things. I'll try to make up for lost time, and I really hope that you all enjoy reading this next chapter.
Chapter 7
The rain started to pour hard in the Lost Jungle that was adjacent from the Mystic Ruins, unnaturally hard. The rain hadn't fallen like this in years. The long leaves of the trees had been so wet, that they were being weighed down by the puddles of water that had been formed on top of them.
Rouge knew that she was coming down with something due to the rain shower, but that didn't to phase her. Not even the fact that Knuckles' theory of her being attacked by E-100 Alpha being accurate was causing her true pain. The thing that was hurting her most was what Knuckles had said when she last saw him.
"How could you fools think that I could ever have crush on a lowly thief like Rouge the Bat! I don't even LIKE her, let alone LOVE her!" Knuckles shouted in her mind.
That cruel statement went through Rouge's mind endlessly. Every word cut through her heart like a hot knife through butter. Ever since she had met him in the Wild Canyon, she knew that he was a little rough around the edges, but felt something more when he saved her life at Meteor Herd, even though she was too proud to admit it. But now, she started to realize that the image she had of Knuckles caring for her was simply folly, and that it could never be a reality. This thought hurt her even more.
"That....stupid echidna! Who needs him! I was strong without him and I'll be better off if I never see him again!" Rouge shouted so loud that birds flew off the trees in the distance.
Rouge knew that she was wrong. She could lie to everyone else, but she couldn't lie to herself no matter how hard she tried. In her heart, she knew that she loved Knuckles more than anything else, even the Master Emerald she tried to steal from him. She realized that she didn't love the Master Emerald because of it's worldly value, but because it brought Knuckles and her closer together. She cherished this moment, even if Knuckles didn't.
"Ow." Rouge groaned as she rubbed the joints of where her wings met her shoulders. "That lousy robot must have done a number on me. I've been injured before, but never this badly."
Rouge wasn't exaggerating. Her encounter with Alpha that Knuckles had predicted had left her with several laser burns on her backside, severely damaging her wings and preventing her from flying. To make matters worse, she was almost certain that she was coming down with something. She had been sneezing for quite a while, but as she put her hand to her forehead, she noticed that she was contracting a fever.
"What did that flying bucket of bolts want from me anyway?" Rouge said as she collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion. Her face first fall had caused the red emerald in her pocket to roll out in front of her, answering her question.
"So that's it huh, it was after this emerald the whole time. That's just great." Rouge murmured to herself. "And to think, if I didn't fly through that narrow passage of trees before he shot me down, he would have caught me and I would have been finished. I guess the rain must have short-circuited his sensors before he could find me." she said before she heard some footsteps coming towards her.
Rouge was definitely scared of what could have been approaching her, but she was to sick to fight back if she had to defend herself. She then saw two figures approaching her. One of them was big and rotund, where as the other one was much smaller, and looked as if it walked on four legs.
The smaller figure approached her face and startled her with a loud croak. As Rouge saw the tiny frog hopping towards her, she knew that the huge circular figure behind him could only be one person, and that was Big the Cat.
"Hey Froggy, what did you find over there?" Big said. "Oh, it's the bat lady. I remember her now, she helped us defeat the Metal Overlord that could have hurt lots of people."
Big wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he wasn't cruel. He saw the injuries on Rouge's back and immediately picked her up in his massive arms. His compassion for smaller and weaker creatures was apparent as he chose Amy and Cream to be his teammates and some of his best friends. He noticed that her fever had gotten worse, as she was coughing and sweating uncontrollably.
"Don't worry Miss Bat, I'll help you get better." Big said in a gentle tone, as Froggy hopped along side him.
Big was an expert when it came to lifting smaller objects since he was so powerful, but he wasn't the best when it came to moving quickly, since he was so bulky, and right now, Rouge needed help fast. Big's heart was in the right place, but as determined as he was to help Rouge, he was undoubtedly lost himself, which didn't bode well for the young bat woman.
"Hey, follow me! I can help you!" a figure in the distance shouted causing Froggy to leap up suddenly.
Rouge was about ready to pass out, when she noticed that the figure was red. She thought for a brief moment that Knuckles was coming to her rescue again as he did in Meteor Herd, but then she remember what she had overheard him say in Station Square today. Her mixed feelings caused enough trauma to cause her to pass out.
"Knu........ckles?" Rouge said as she fell unconscious.
Rouge was scared, she had been sick before in her life, but nothing like this has ever happened. As she drifted into her slumber, she had a rather perplexing dream. She saw herself in a room of darkness and had different visions. The first vision was of the Master Emerald which turned red and formed the second vision. The second vision was of the red emerald she had, which produced an image of Knuckles which said many different things.
"The Master Emerald has the power to neutralize the seven Chaos Emeralds."
"Think what you want Bat Girl, I was only trying to save the Master Emerald!"
"How could you fools think that I could ever have crush on a lowly thief like Rouge the Bat! I don't even LIKE her, let alone LOVE her!"
"I'm sorry.....if I hurt you."
The third vision was of a huge figure attacking Station Square. Rouge thought that the figure was Perfect Chaos like she had seen in the news reports, but the figure started to shoot out laser beams similar to E-100 Alpha's. The disturbing thing about this image, was that E-100 Alpha was much bigger than in his previous form, and his shape had changed. Rouge didn't know if she was right, but she could almost sense that Alpha was much more powerful than before.
"What you see before you is no mere coincidence, young lady." a gentle feminine voice said from behind Rouge.
"Huh, who's there?" Rouge said as she quickly turned around to see the fourth and final image she would see.
The image was faint, and much like a silhouette, but made out of light. The head was much like Knuckles, in that it had the same hair, but the body frame was shorter than his and very much feminine.
"This is what will happen in the nearby future. I have seen it, and without both Knuckles' and your help, the outcome of these events will be dire." the silhouette said.
"Wait a minute, I'm sure I've heard your voice before, are you...." Rouge asked. But before she could finish her question, the silhouette interrupted her.
"Now, awaken my child." the silhouette said.
At that moment Rouge awoke with a cold compress over her head, and had noticed that her fever had gone down remarkably. She also noticed that she was lying in a bed, which was inside of a nice, but small guestroom on the second floor of a building.
"I knew it." Rouge said with a smirk. "It was HER showing me all of those weird visions. I just know it. That's just her style too."
Rouge looked outside of the window next to her bed and noticed that she was still in the jungle, but the rain had stopped, so she guessed that she had been asleep for quite a while. The last thing she remembered was that Big and Froggy had come to her rescue in the jungle, along with a mysterious red figure.
"That proves it." Rouge said with confidence. "You must care for me Knucklehead. Otherwise, why would have made such a big deal about my safety when your emerald clearly wasn't in danger?"
Rouge looked around the room and thought that everything would be okay for the time being, but then asked herself one important question.
"Wait a minute, if Knuckles actually did save me, then he would have taken me to the Floating Island more than likely. So if Knuckles didn't save me, then just WHERE exactly am I?" Rouge thought out loud.
Well, what do you think? Please reply soon. I'll try to continue the story as soon as possible. I hope your having as much fun reading it as I am writing it.