What up y'all? I'd like to give a few shouties before I start this next installment. First of all, I wanna thank Mel and insane-o-matic for staying true. Lots of love to Mike, for being an inspiration for me to start this popular fic. To Special, for being there and finally reading this bad boy! I thank you for all the reviews! To the rest of you, I appreciate the reviews, good or bad. Thanks for the support! More twists and turns are comin' at ya!
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to insane-o-matic for keeping hope in our favorite couple. You made it possible! I love ya!
Chapter 9: Love and War
Sasha was in a world of encouragement and congratulation as a majority of the audience showered her with compliments. She gave an innocent smile and thanked each member with the best of her kindness before an impatient foot tapping backstage interrupted her. "Um, I have to go. I'll be back here soon," she concluded before leaving her audience and following the constant tapping behind the curtains. When she got to her destination, she saw the persistent batgirl and gave a sly smile.
"So, how did it go?" Rouge asked impatiently in a whisper.
"Worked like a charm. 'Lonely boy' just left." Sasha informed while matching Rouge's tone.
"Great." she droned with a hint of excitement. "Where did you get such priceless work?" (A/N: Priceless... I must be kidding.... $$)
"Let's just say that there wasn't 'only one' involved." she said with a smirk.
Rouge scoffed, "Yeah, I'm sure."
"I still don't know why you didn't just go up there and read it yourself. I could've held Knuckles down for you." Sasha suggested.
"I didn't want to put too much force on him, plus these days, he'll kiss anyone." Rouge reasoned with jealousy.
"You're probably right. I'm too attractive for my own good." Sasha complimented herself.
"Yeah, we wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea." Rouge agreed. "So, what do you think they're doing now?"
"For all we know, Knuckles could be chasing after him." Sasha guessed with a shrug.
"Trust me, he won't get too far before he realizes that he still loves me once and for all." Rouge bragged.
"And what if that doesn't happen?" Sasha wondered.
"Are you doubting my scheme?" Rouge asked viciously.
Sasha's eyes widened at her sudden anger. "No, but there's always that possibility that Knuckles has moved on for good."
Rouge couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What are you, my therapist? I'll prove it to you!" She grabbed Sasha's hand and led her out the side door.
---
Sky embraced the cool air outside and took in the peaceful city atmosphere. For once, it was relatively quiet as he strolled through the streets of Station Square, which allowed his thoughts to wander. He remembered every word of the poem as he repeated it to himself silently.
"I can see you touching her/Giving it your all/I can see you loving her/With you, she'll fall..."
That stanza seemed to stick in his mind as he thought about the confrontation with Rouge Knuckles told him about earlier. He started to wonder if there was something Knuckles was hiding, like if he gave in to her seduction. He could almost see his pity of her in his eyes as she told him how much she missed him and his past love for her renewing.... He stopped himself before he could envision any further. In the process, he accidentally bumped into a navy blue hedgehog walking in the opposite direction.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" he snapped before walking away.
"Sorry...." Sky apologized before he leaned against a brick building and sighed heavily. He looked up at the starlit sky, hoping to find some comfort and answers in it, but he didn't succeed. His vision of the sky blurred with tears and he slowly slid down the wall and sat down, burying his head in his knees. As soon as he felt the tears falling down his face, he felt as if he had no reason to live anymore.
---
Knuckles rushed out the door and immediately began looking for Sky. Right then, he had just realized the intensity of the poem as he jogged down the street. He thought he caught a glimpse of Rouge with someone near the intersection he just passed. He stopped and wondered if she had anything to do with this. He took a few backward steps to see her under the streetlight with the poet.
"So.... we meet again...." she said with her arms crossed.
"You.... you set that whole thing up, didn't you?" he growled.
"What? I was simply bringing out the truth. People seem to avoid it these days," she stated.
"This jealousy scheme isn't going to work. You shouldn't have to hurt innocent people in order to get what you want." Knux retorted.
"If you had just told me that you still loved me, none of this would've happened." Rouge snapped back.
"See, that's the problem right there! You're holding on to a lie! Were you not listening to a word I said before you left me? I said you had your chance, and you can't get it back. I can't love you anymore." Knux confirmed.
Sasha had an uncomfortable look on her face as she felt the truth of his words. "You proved your point, Rouge," she said sarcastically. "Can I go now?"
"Whatever." Rouge confirmed while concentrating on Knuckles. "You're the one who's lying! I was, and still will be the best love you had! I'm not going to be thrown away like yesterday's newspaper!"
"Which is exactly what you did to me." Knux confessed. "Without considering my feelings, you met someone else and cast me aside. Now you feel the exact same way. That's called karma. I'm wasting my time talking to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone to find." he concluded before going back the way he came.
---
It didn't take him long to find Sky sitting on the sidewalk. He sat down beside him and whispered his name. "Sky?"
Sky knew that voice from anywhere, but he didn't want Knux to see him like this, so he kept his face hidden. "Leave me alone," he begged.
Knux could see Sky shaking and began to sympathize. "Are you.... crying?" he asked with the same whisper.
"No." Sky lied while he tried to wipe the tears off his face. He could feel Knux's hand on his chin, motioning him to look at him. He sniffled before he had the guts to look at him with his tear-stained face.
Knux took one look at Sky's glazed eyes and almost broke down himself. "Don't cry. You're losing the sparkle in your eyes."
Sky ignored the comment and tried not to look back into his eyes. "You still love her, don't you?" he asked.
Knuckles paused, then sighed at the truth. "Sky, you have to understand something. Rouge and I-"
"You're not answering my question." Sky interrupted. "Just admit it, you still love her."
"It's getting easier to avoid lately." Knux confessed.
"What?" Sky asked, not understanding what he just said.
Knux continued. "Just listen to me, Sky. It's hard not to love someone, even when they hurt you. I can't say that for Rouge anymore. She lied to me and hurt me, and now she's doing the same to you. She's showed me a side of her that I will never love. Once she hurt the ones I love, it just doesn't feel the same anymore."
"What do you mean by the ones you love?" he asked before he suddenly had an idea of what he meant. "Does that mean you.... you..." he trailed off because of a new feeling coming to him.
"You've been here for me, and you haven't regretted our friendship once. I want to do the same for you, and I'm sorry for ever avoiding you when I first met you." Knux confessed while looking into his eyes. Sky smiled for the first time in hours. "We hooked up pretty fast, and I never tried to deny it. I don't care what Rouge or anyone says, it won't change how I feel..." he took Sky's hand and squeezed it tightly. "I, I love you, Sky."
Sky's heart was beating wildly and he felt the butterflies in his stomach. "Oh God...." he breathed. He could feel more tears in his eyes as he said, "I loved you from the first time I saw you, and you know it. No poem could ever change the way I feel. I'm sorry for doubting you. I want to let you know that this means the world to me." He put his arms around Knuckles and let his presence comfort him.
"I know." he agreed. He had the best feeling of happiness right now, like nothing could bring him down at that moment. He sat there and let Sky release his tears of joy.
---
"Oh my God...." Sasha gasped from the alleyway as she gazed at Knuckles and Sky.
Rouge saw her expression and pulled her away from the sight. "What? What's happening?"
"They just confessed their love for each other." Sasha explained.
"What?!" Rouge yelled. She looked angry as random bystanders looked at her like she was insane. She ignored them and felt the denial coming on. "You must be joking."
"No, it looks like your little plan brought them closer together." Sasha admitted.
"No.... They must've saw me and are trying to play a joke on me, that's all." Rouge said while looking at them locked in their embrace.
Sasha looked at her and shook her head. "When I agreed to do this, I figured he would be the crazy one, but it looks like I was wrong. I know you see the love between them. You're crazy if you can deny true love."
"It's not true, I know it." Rouge growled.
"Just let them be. You shouldn't have to ruin their love." Sasha advised.
"There you go sounding like a therapist again." Rouge complained while rolling her eyes.
"I'm not trying to be a therapist, I'm being a friend. Just move on. He has." Sasha said while looking their way.
"I can't!" she admitted. "I miss him. If it wasn't for my actions, I would've said yes to his proposal and we'd be happy together." She could feel the hot tears stinging in her eyes. "I won't give up. If he won't take me back, I'll have to give him a reason."
"Well, good luck, but I'm not reading any more poems." she joked.
"I'm serious." Rouge confirmed. "No more games. This time, it's personal."
---
Shadow looked over at Sonic, who seemed to be in deep thought. "Hey, what are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Shhh! I think I've got something." Sonic replied.
Shadow looked at him suspiciously as he mouthed a few words to himself. "What are you up to?"
Sonic flashed him an annoyed look. "Can't I surprise you for once?"
"You definitely did a few months ago." Shadow countered. (A/N: For those who remember a certain birthday present in a fic of mine? Heh....)
"This'll be even better." Sonic assured him before he got up and talked to the same fox who presented Sasha earlier.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Shadow thought to himself as the fox approached the microphone again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like someone else has caught the poetry bug. Give it up for Sonic the Hedgehog!"
Everyone clapped and cheered including Shadow, who still gave him his suspicious look from the audience. He approached the microphone and smiled at his audience. "Hey, how's everyone doing tonight?" He got a few random replies from the audience, including a long complaint from a random pissed girl, which he couldn't help interrupting. "I just thought of this. I hope you like it." He gave one last look at his audience before he began.
"I look at you/You greet me with a smile/An expression that tells me/It's been a while...." He flashed a longing stare at Shadow, who was now looking at him like he was crazy.
"Since you told me/You wanted to explore/You wanted to control my very core...." Sonic put his hand on his heart as he emphasized the word "core."
"Well, now it's my turn/To look at you from behind/Wrap my arms around you/And tell you you're mine...." He then used the microphone for imitating his dominance over Shadow.
"I know you want me/Here's your chance/But maybe we should start off/With a little dance...." He gave Shadow a sexy smile as he began a slow dance onstage before he continued.
"And then we can-"
His vibe was interrupted by Shadow cheering wildly and the audience joined in. After several seconds, the applause died down. "I think you should come over here and we can talk about that 'dance.'" Shadow suggested. He got a few whoops from the audience as a first response.
"There you go, trying to take control again." Sonic complained. "Why should I listen to you?"
Shadow gave him a smirk while walking up on stage and whispering something in his ear. Sonic flashed an evil grin and grabbed his shirt. "I knew you would see things my way." The audience whooped and cheered as Sonic dragged him offstage by the shirt.
---
Knuckles smiled when Sky finally looked at him again. "How are you feeling?"
Sky smiled back and replied, "I could never be better."
"What do you mean? We haven't even..." Knuckles trailed off as he realized what he meant.
"Hmmm...." Sky pondered. "And just what are you thinking of?"
"Ummm..." Knux tried to find an answer, but he couldn't as he felt his cheeks get warmer.
"Oh, you wanna see that, don't you? I was thinking the exact same thing a loooong time ago." Sky said, leading him on. "Well, what are you standing here for? Let's go!"
"What about Sonic and Shadow?" Knux asked.
"They'll understand." Sky assured. "I have a feeling they're not where we think they are."
"Hedgehogs..." Knux sighed. "We could definitely outlast them any day."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Sky commented.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Knux asked suspiciously.
"Why don't we go to my house and see?" Sky suggested as he helped Knux stand up beside him. They clasped hands and walked off in the direction of Sky's house.
---
Hmmm, what'll happen? Maybe it's what you're thinking, maybe it's not. Have we heard the last of Rouge? I don't think so! Hope you tune in next time! Happy late Independence Day to all, even for those in other countries. Rock on, Wales! -hears insane-o-matic laughing his ass off in the background- Suggestions are always welcome!
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to insane-o-matic for keeping hope in our favorite couple. You made it possible! I love ya!
Chapter 9: Love and War
Sasha was in a world of encouragement and congratulation as a majority of the audience showered her with compliments. She gave an innocent smile and thanked each member with the best of her kindness before an impatient foot tapping backstage interrupted her. "Um, I have to go. I'll be back here soon," she concluded before leaving her audience and following the constant tapping behind the curtains. When she got to her destination, she saw the persistent batgirl and gave a sly smile.
"So, how did it go?" Rouge asked impatiently in a whisper.
"Worked like a charm. 'Lonely boy' just left." Sasha informed while matching Rouge's tone.
"Great." she droned with a hint of excitement. "Where did you get such priceless work?" (A/N: Priceless... I must be kidding.... $$)
"Let's just say that there wasn't 'only one' involved." she said with a smirk.
Rouge scoffed, "Yeah, I'm sure."
"I still don't know why you didn't just go up there and read it yourself. I could've held Knuckles down for you." Sasha suggested.
"I didn't want to put too much force on him, plus these days, he'll kiss anyone." Rouge reasoned with jealousy.
"You're probably right. I'm too attractive for my own good." Sasha complimented herself.
"Yeah, we wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea." Rouge agreed. "So, what do you think they're doing now?"
"For all we know, Knuckles could be chasing after him." Sasha guessed with a shrug.
"Trust me, he won't get too far before he realizes that he still loves me once and for all." Rouge bragged.
"And what if that doesn't happen?" Sasha wondered.
"Are you doubting my scheme?" Rouge asked viciously.
Sasha's eyes widened at her sudden anger. "No, but there's always that possibility that Knuckles has moved on for good."
Rouge couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What are you, my therapist? I'll prove it to you!" She grabbed Sasha's hand and led her out the side door.
---
Sky embraced the cool air outside and took in the peaceful city atmosphere. For once, it was relatively quiet as he strolled through the streets of Station Square, which allowed his thoughts to wander. He remembered every word of the poem as he repeated it to himself silently.
"I can see you touching her/Giving it your all/I can see you loving her/With you, she'll fall..."
That stanza seemed to stick in his mind as he thought about the confrontation with Rouge Knuckles told him about earlier. He started to wonder if there was something Knuckles was hiding, like if he gave in to her seduction. He could almost see his pity of her in his eyes as she told him how much she missed him and his past love for her renewing.... He stopped himself before he could envision any further. In the process, he accidentally bumped into a navy blue hedgehog walking in the opposite direction.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" he snapped before walking away.
"Sorry...." Sky apologized before he leaned against a brick building and sighed heavily. He looked up at the starlit sky, hoping to find some comfort and answers in it, but he didn't succeed. His vision of the sky blurred with tears and he slowly slid down the wall and sat down, burying his head in his knees. As soon as he felt the tears falling down his face, he felt as if he had no reason to live anymore.
---
Knuckles rushed out the door and immediately began looking for Sky. Right then, he had just realized the intensity of the poem as he jogged down the street. He thought he caught a glimpse of Rouge with someone near the intersection he just passed. He stopped and wondered if she had anything to do with this. He took a few backward steps to see her under the streetlight with the poet.
"So.... we meet again...." she said with her arms crossed.
"You.... you set that whole thing up, didn't you?" he growled.
"What? I was simply bringing out the truth. People seem to avoid it these days," she stated.
"This jealousy scheme isn't going to work. You shouldn't have to hurt innocent people in order to get what you want." Knux retorted.
"If you had just told me that you still loved me, none of this would've happened." Rouge snapped back.
"See, that's the problem right there! You're holding on to a lie! Were you not listening to a word I said before you left me? I said you had your chance, and you can't get it back. I can't love you anymore." Knux confirmed.
Sasha had an uncomfortable look on her face as she felt the truth of his words. "You proved your point, Rouge," she said sarcastically. "Can I go now?"
"Whatever." Rouge confirmed while concentrating on Knuckles. "You're the one who's lying! I was, and still will be the best love you had! I'm not going to be thrown away like yesterday's newspaper!"
"Which is exactly what you did to me." Knux confessed. "Without considering my feelings, you met someone else and cast me aside. Now you feel the exact same way. That's called karma. I'm wasting my time talking to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone to find." he concluded before going back the way he came.
---
It didn't take him long to find Sky sitting on the sidewalk. He sat down beside him and whispered his name. "Sky?"
Sky knew that voice from anywhere, but he didn't want Knux to see him like this, so he kept his face hidden. "Leave me alone," he begged.
Knux could see Sky shaking and began to sympathize. "Are you.... crying?" he asked with the same whisper.
"No." Sky lied while he tried to wipe the tears off his face. He could feel Knux's hand on his chin, motioning him to look at him. He sniffled before he had the guts to look at him with his tear-stained face.
Knux took one look at Sky's glazed eyes and almost broke down himself. "Don't cry. You're losing the sparkle in your eyes."
Sky ignored the comment and tried not to look back into his eyes. "You still love her, don't you?" he asked.
Knuckles paused, then sighed at the truth. "Sky, you have to understand something. Rouge and I-"
"You're not answering my question." Sky interrupted. "Just admit it, you still love her."
"It's getting easier to avoid lately." Knux confessed.
"What?" Sky asked, not understanding what he just said.
Knux continued. "Just listen to me, Sky. It's hard not to love someone, even when they hurt you. I can't say that for Rouge anymore. She lied to me and hurt me, and now she's doing the same to you. She's showed me a side of her that I will never love. Once she hurt the ones I love, it just doesn't feel the same anymore."
"What do you mean by the ones you love?" he asked before he suddenly had an idea of what he meant. "Does that mean you.... you..." he trailed off because of a new feeling coming to him.
"You've been here for me, and you haven't regretted our friendship once. I want to do the same for you, and I'm sorry for ever avoiding you when I first met you." Knux confessed while looking into his eyes. Sky smiled for the first time in hours. "We hooked up pretty fast, and I never tried to deny it. I don't care what Rouge or anyone says, it won't change how I feel..." he took Sky's hand and squeezed it tightly. "I, I love you, Sky."
Sky's heart was beating wildly and he felt the butterflies in his stomach. "Oh God...." he breathed. He could feel more tears in his eyes as he said, "I loved you from the first time I saw you, and you know it. No poem could ever change the way I feel. I'm sorry for doubting you. I want to let you know that this means the world to me." He put his arms around Knuckles and let his presence comfort him.
"I know." he agreed. He had the best feeling of happiness right now, like nothing could bring him down at that moment. He sat there and let Sky release his tears of joy.
---
"Oh my God...." Sasha gasped from the alleyway as she gazed at Knuckles and Sky.
Rouge saw her expression and pulled her away from the sight. "What? What's happening?"
"They just confessed their love for each other." Sasha explained.
"What?!" Rouge yelled. She looked angry as random bystanders looked at her like she was insane. She ignored them and felt the denial coming on. "You must be joking."
"No, it looks like your little plan brought them closer together." Sasha admitted.
"No.... They must've saw me and are trying to play a joke on me, that's all." Rouge said while looking at them locked in their embrace.
Sasha looked at her and shook her head. "When I agreed to do this, I figured he would be the crazy one, but it looks like I was wrong. I know you see the love between them. You're crazy if you can deny true love."
"It's not true, I know it." Rouge growled.
"Just let them be. You shouldn't have to ruin their love." Sasha advised.
"There you go sounding like a therapist again." Rouge complained while rolling her eyes.
"I'm not trying to be a therapist, I'm being a friend. Just move on. He has." Sasha said while looking their way.
"I can't!" she admitted. "I miss him. If it wasn't for my actions, I would've said yes to his proposal and we'd be happy together." She could feel the hot tears stinging in her eyes. "I won't give up. If he won't take me back, I'll have to give him a reason."
"Well, good luck, but I'm not reading any more poems." she joked.
"I'm serious." Rouge confirmed. "No more games. This time, it's personal."
---
Shadow looked over at Sonic, who seemed to be in deep thought. "Hey, what are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Shhh! I think I've got something." Sonic replied.
Shadow looked at him suspiciously as he mouthed a few words to himself. "What are you up to?"
Sonic flashed him an annoyed look. "Can't I surprise you for once?"
"You definitely did a few months ago." Shadow countered. (A/N: For those who remember a certain birthday present in a fic of mine? Heh....)
"This'll be even better." Sonic assured him before he got up and talked to the same fox who presented Sasha earlier.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Shadow thought to himself as the fox approached the microphone again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like someone else has caught the poetry bug. Give it up for Sonic the Hedgehog!"
Everyone clapped and cheered including Shadow, who still gave him his suspicious look from the audience. He approached the microphone and smiled at his audience. "Hey, how's everyone doing tonight?" He got a few random replies from the audience, including a long complaint from a random pissed girl, which he couldn't help interrupting. "I just thought of this. I hope you like it." He gave one last look at his audience before he began.
"I look at you/You greet me with a smile/An expression that tells me/It's been a while...." He flashed a longing stare at Shadow, who was now looking at him like he was crazy.
"Since you told me/You wanted to explore/You wanted to control my very core...." Sonic put his hand on his heart as he emphasized the word "core."
"Well, now it's my turn/To look at you from behind/Wrap my arms around you/And tell you you're mine...." He then used the microphone for imitating his dominance over Shadow.
"I know you want me/Here's your chance/But maybe we should start off/With a little dance...." He gave Shadow a sexy smile as he began a slow dance onstage before he continued.
"And then we can-"
His vibe was interrupted by Shadow cheering wildly and the audience joined in. After several seconds, the applause died down. "I think you should come over here and we can talk about that 'dance.'" Shadow suggested. He got a few whoops from the audience as a first response.
"There you go, trying to take control again." Sonic complained. "Why should I listen to you?"
Shadow gave him a smirk while walking up on stage and whispering something in his ear. Sonic flashed an evil grin and grabbed his shirt. "I knew you would see things my way." The audience whooped and cheered as Sonic dragged him offstage by the shirt.
---
Knuckles smiled when Sky finally looked at him again. "How are you feeling?"
Sky smiled back and replied, "I could never be better."
"What do you mean? We haven't even..." Knuckles trailed off as he realized what he meant.
"Hmmm...." Sky pondered. "And just what are you thinking of?"
"Ummm..." Knux tried to find an answer, but he couldn't as he felt his cheeks get warmer.
"Oh, you wanna see that, don't you? I was thinking the exact same thing a loooong time ago." Sky said, leading him on. "Well, what are you standing here for? Let's go!"
"What about Sonic and Shadow?" Knux asked.
"They'll understand." Sky assured. "I have a feeling they're not where we think they are."
"Hedgehogs..." Knux sighed. "We could definitely outlast them any day."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Sky commented.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Knux asked suspiciously.
"Why don't we go to my house and see?" Sky suggested as he helped Knux stand up beside him. They clasped hands and walked off in the direction of Sky's house.
---
Hmmm, what'll happen? Maybe it's what you're thinking, maybe it's not. Have we heard the last of Rouge? I don't think so! Hope you tune in next time! Happy late Independence Day to all, even for those in other countries. Rock on, Wales! -hears insane-o-matic laughing his ass off in the background- Suggestions are always welcome!