(Note: Sorry we haven't updated in ages but we've been away so as a special
new year's treat, we're giving you two episodes at once. How exciting!
And thank you to all our wonderful reviewers, you make our day!)
Luff: Ok peeps, this episode isn't half as long as the last one, so you don't have to fall asleep!
S. Chensu: Are they supposed to?
Luff: Err.no idea! Anyways, this episode Sonic and co. are off to Italy! And guess what that means?
Knuckles: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Sonic: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Luff: What are you saying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! For?
Sonic: Umm. *runs off side of screen*
Luff: -_-;;
S. Chensu: Yes, anyway, that means ^_^. Knuckles and Rouge are- *Eggman gags S. Chensu*
Eggman: Shut up! You're giving the whole thing away!
Yugi: Yeah!
Everyone else: 0.o
Yami: Yugi, you're in the wrong fic! C'mon! *Grabs Yugi and pulls him out of the screen*
Luff: Umm, Kay.that was a bit weird. Anyways, the disclaimer! DON'T READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHO IS IN HERE! We do not own Mario or Luigi, they are © Nintendo, so is Bowser. If I haven't mentioned any other characters that I should've, we don't own them either. I think. We also don't own the songs 'Boom Boom' and 'All my life'. We do own the story though.
S. Chensu: On with the story!!!
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Episode five: The curse of macaroni cheese
Knuckles woke up the next morning feeling better and suddenly remembering that he no longer had any casts, he put his upgrades back on.
"At last!" He practised some punches and when he was satisfied, he walked down the stairs. He entered the kitchen and saw that everyone was already eating breakfast. He glanced at Rouge but she was looking downwards.
"Hello, up at last are you? We've been up for hours haven't we Gelest?" Zelgan said cheerfully.
"Yes, unfortunately. I need to go back to bed." Gelest replied, yawning. Knuckles sat down and Sonic passed him a bowl of cereal.
"So you're going today?" Zelgan asked.
"Yes we had better. We had a great time here though and I want to thank you for letting us stay with you." Sonic said.
"That's all right. Not much had been happening anyway. I hope the search for your friend goes well." Gelest replied.
"Which reminds me.take this." Sonic passed over his communicator to Zelgan. "We'll call you when we find Shadow and maybe we'll come and visit again."
"That would be nice. Thank you. But now I think you will have to go if you want to get to Italy before night fall." Zelgan said. They stood up and walked to the garage.
They sat in the Tornado and Gelest was pleased to see that Knuckles and Rogue had stopped giving each other evil looks. They weren't actually talking though but it was a start.
"Bye Zelgan, bye Gelest!" Tails called out as they flew away. They waved back and soon they were in space, heading for Italy.
************************
"Here at last!" Sonic announced as they landed by the Trevi fountain in Rome.
"It's nearly night time! What are we going to do?" Tails asked.
"Why don't we book some rooms in an hotel for the night and look for them in the morning?" Rouge suggested.
"That would be a good idea apart from the fact that we have no money." Sonic pointed out.
"Well it's lucky that I carry some plastic round with me eh?" Rouge replied. She flashed a credit card and they wandered around until they found the Hotel Alexandra. It was a three star hotel and was very stylish.
They entered the lobby and Rouge walked up to the desk.
"Do you have any rooms available for two nights?" She asked. The receptionist tapped a few keys on the computer in front of him.
"Yes we do. How many rooms will you be wanting and will they be single or double beds?" He asked.
"Two rooms please, both of them with single beds." She replied. He tapped a few more keys.
"Would you like them to be next door to each other?"
"If that is possible, yes please." More keys were pressed.
"How will you be paying?" She handed over the credit card and the rooms were paid for. "Dinner is from 7-10 pm and breakfast is at 8 am. Enjoy your stay here." He stood up and brought over two keys. "Both of the rooms are on floor five." Rouge took them and thanked him.
The group walked over to the lift and took it to floor 5. Walking along the corridor, they found their rooms, no. 142 and no. 144.
"Just a second you guys. Who is going to sleep where?" Tails asked. They hadn't thought about that and Rouge and Knuckles still weren't talking to each other. Sonic of course, had totally forgotten about this.
"That's obvious Tails. You can share a room with me and Rouge and Knuckles will share a room." Sonic said. Tails buried his face in his hands and sighed.
"Whatever, I don't mind." Knuckles said quietly and Tails stared at him. Rouge shrugged her shoulders.
"Well now that that is sorted out, let's go and have something to eat!" Sonic said cheerfully.
They had dinner and afterwards, decided to go straight to bed, as it had been a long day.
"I'm pooped! I'm going straight to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow, ok?" Sonic announced as they stood by their rooms.
"Night Sonic, night Tails." Rouge and Knuckles both said.
"You too." Tails replied and they entered their separate rooms, closing the doors behind them.
************************
Rouge and Knuckles entered the room and the first thing they noticed was the bed. Not the beds but the bed!
"Oh no, this is all I need!" Knuckles said just a little bit too loudly. Rouge looked so hurt at what he had said that he lowered his head in shame. She shook it off though.
"It looks like it's a twin bed. That's probably why they are together." She commented. She kicked off her shoes and got into the bed. "Aren't you tired?" She asked.
"What? Oh yes, sorry about that." Knuckles shook his head and placed his Hammer Gloves on the table before kicking off his shoes as well. He got in the other side of the bed and if they had tried to move any further apart, they would have fallen out. Silence fell on the room as they both tried to get to sleep, which was surprising difficult even though they were tired.
************************
Knuckles woke up and promptly fell out of bed, landing on his head. Rouge sat up awake and leaned over to where Knuckles was grimacing.
"Good morning. Are you ok?" She asked amused. Knuckles groaned in reply and sat up. Rouge got out of bed as well and walked to the bathroom. "Just going for a wash, be ready in a minute." She called out and disappeared into the bathroom. Knuckles decided to have a look through the window and walked to it.
The area was empty and the only life around was the pigeons sitting by the fountain. The sun had only been up for a couple of hours so it was still quite cool. The statues created large shadows and looking at it, you would never realise that this was a capital city.
About half an hour later, Rouge finally finished in the bathroom and Knuckles ran in there, as he really needed the toilet. Rouge only had to wait five minutes when Knuckles came out again.
"Did you actually go near any water while you were in there?" She asked.
"Of course I did. Unlike women, we only take a few minutes in the shower." He replied.
"Shall we go down to breakfast?" She asked.
"Shouldn't we wait for Sonic and Tails?" He looked a bit worried at what she had just said.
"They probably won't be up for ages." She walked out of the room and he followed her.
They entered the dining room and found a table for four by the window. They ordered breakfast and they couldn't think of much to say, so they sat in silence. This didn't last long though as Sonic and Tails soon arrived.
"Had a good night's sleep?" Sonic asked cheerfully.
"Not too bad. Apart from the bit where I fell off the bed." Knuckles felt the bruise on his head.
"How did you fall off?" Tails enquired.
"I must have ended up right by the edge during the night and when I woke up, I just rolled straight off." Knuckles explained. Just then, Rouge and Knuckles' breakfast came so Sonic and Tails ordered some as well. When it arrived, they ate their food in silence and they soon finished it.
"Where shall we go to first?" Tails asked.
"Why don't we have a look at St. Peter's square? It's the most famous square here." Rouge suggested.
"How do you know that?" Tails asked. Rouge shrugged her shoulders.
"I've wanted to come here for a long time." Tails thought her eyes flickered to Knuckles but he didn't seem to be listening.
They left the hotel and walked until they found the square. The place had started to wake up a bit and now the cafes were open for business. Bright umbrellas lined the sides of the square and a few people were sitting under them. They looked at some of the names of these cafes, including 'Galassia', 'Treviani' and 'Mario and Luigi's Pizza Parlour'.
"Do you think that they might be there?" Sonic asked.
"No, I don't think so." Tails said sarcastically. "I think they own the cafe."
"Oh yeah, so they do. Could be why it's called Mario and Luigi's Pizza Parlour." Sonic pointed out. Tails sighed and led them into the café.
Two men, one of them taller and thinner than the other, immediately greeted them. They both wore dungarees but one wore a green t-shirt while the other wore a red t-shirt. They both had moustaches and wore hats.
"Good day, gentlemen and lady. Will you be wanting a table?" The fatter one asked.
"Are you Mario and Luigi? And if not do you know where they will be as we wish to talk to them." Tails explained.
"Yes, I am Mario and this is Luigi. We shall talk once we have found you a table." He replied. They followed him and Luigi to a table by the window. The group sat down and Mario and Luigi grabbed two chairs so they could sit down too.
"Will you be wanting anything to drink?" Luigi asked.
"Can I have a cappuccino please?" Rouge asked.
"I would like a glass of water please." Knuckles replied. Luigi looked at the others.
"Will you be having anything?" He asked. They shook his heads and he turned round. "Bowser, give us a water and a cappuccino!" He shouted. A few moments later, a huge turtle appeared. It had a shell but it also had huge spikes everywhere. It had flaming hair and stood on its hind legs. He carried a tray and gave Rouge and Knuckles their drinks. They thanked him and he left.
"So then, what did you want to talk to us about?" Mario asked. Sonic explained the whole situation and when he had finished, they thought for a few moments.
"I don't think we've seen anyone of that description. I think we would remember him. I'm sorry we couldn't help. Why don't we show you some sites instead?" Mario suggested.
"That would be a great idea! But don't you need to be here?" Tails asked.
"We just get Bowser to look after the place. Shall we go?" Mario said. They stood up and left the parlour.
They led the way and they were soon by the Trevi Fountain. While Rouge, Knuckles and Sonic were throwing coins into it, Tails took the opportunity to ask them for their help.
"I need your help in a plan I have." Tails said to them.
"What are you planning to do?" Mario asked. Tails explained the whole situation with Knuckles and Rouge.
"So I was thinking, seeing that this is the most romantic place in Europe, you could help me get them together?" Tails asked.
"We could help you, but how?" Mario asked.
"Just show us a park or something that they could spend some time alone in tonight." Tails said. Luigi turned to Mario.
"How about the Aurelia Park? It has some secluded spots." He suggested. Mario nodded his head.
"Thanks you two. Can we go there next please?" Tails said. They nodded their heads and they walked over to the others, who were sitting on the edge of the fountain.
"Right, now we're going to show you the Aurelia Park. It's not too far away, luckily." Mario said and he led them up a hill.
They saw the park at the top of the hill. It was quite big with shaded parts and there were loads of couples wandering around. There was a lake and people were feeding the ducks. They walked along the path and soon they reached the top of a small hill. They looked down and Rome was laid out below them. They could even see the sea from where they were.
"This is called Venus' Peak." Mario said and there was a bench, but Tails remained standing.
~This place is perfect for my plan. Now all I need is some way of getting them up here.~ Tails thought to himself as he tapped his fingers together evilly.
"So then, where are you going next?" Mario asked.
"We're going to Australia. I suppose you know someone there?" Sonic asked.
"We do actually. Ask for Pikachu although you will probably find him at a beach." Luigi said. "Do you want to see some other places?"
"Do you know where the best shops are?" Rouge asked.
"Ah, we appear to have a shopoholic. The best place for you is the Spanish Steps. They have all of the designer shops there." Rouge's eyes lit up at the thought of designer shops.
"Not shopping! I hate women and shopping, you can't keep them apart." Sonic said.
"Luckily there is a nice café we can go to while Rouge goes shopping." Mario said.
They returned to the city centre and soon they were met with a shopper's dream. Gucci, Versache and many more were sitting there waiting for people to enter them.
"See you guys in a few minutes." Rouge shouted as she ran to the first shop.
"More like a few hours." Knuckles said. They walked over to a street side café and sat under a red and yellow umbrella. They ordered drinks and talked to the owners, as Mario and Luigi knew them. The three of them were told many an anecdote as the remembered the good old days.
It was starting to get dark when Rouge came back. She looked pleased with herself but there weren't any bags.
"Umm.Rouge, where are your bags? After all, you spent enough time in there." Tails asked.
"I couldn't carry them all with me, so I left them there and they'll get delivered to the apartment when we find out the address." She replied. They stood up and Mario and Luigi walked back with them to the hotel.
"Can you two be at Venus' Peak tonight at eight O'clock?" Tails asked Mario and Luigi quietly. They nodded their heads. "And bring a pizza or something." Tails added.
They arrived at the hotel and they waved goodbye to Mario and Luigi.
"Thank you for showing us the sites." Knuckles said and they disappeared.
"Shall we go and have dinner?" Sonic asked. The others agreed and as they were walking to the dining room, Tails grabbed Rouge's arm.
"Rouge, Sonic asked me to tell you to meet him on Venus' Peak at eight tonight." He whispered.
"Why does he want to meet me there?" She asked, puzzled.
"He wouldn't tell me. He just said not to tell anyone else." By now, Sonic and Knuckles were looking at them with interest. "But isn't Gucci really expensive? How did you afford it?" He asked loudly.
"Quite easily when you have a job." She replied and entered the dining room.
They ate dinner and listened to Rouge telling them what she had brought. It seemed to be, from the way she was talking, a whole wardrobes worth of clothes. When they had finished dinner they walked back up to their rooms.
"Knuckles, Sonic asked me to tell you to meet him on Venus' Peak at eight." Tails whispered to Knuckles. When he frowned, he continued. "He wouldn't tell me anything else." Tails said, shrugging his shoulders. He caught up with the others and Knuckles was left feeling a bit confused. He shrugged his shoulders and entered his room, after saying good night to Sonic and Tails.
"Just going for a shower ok?" Rouge said and she ran into the bathroom.
"That's weird, she only had one this morning." Knuckles said. "Oh well, it gives me the chance to go at least." He walked out of the room and set off for Venus' Peak.
He wasn't the only one though. As soon as Knuckles had gone, Tails had run down the corridor and flew as fast as he could to Venus' Peak. He found Mario and Luigi standing by the path on the hill.
"What do we do now?" Luigi asked. Tails looked around and found a large bush quite far back.
"We hide in here and wait for them to come. Then we." And he continued to explain as they settled themselves down.
************************
"Right, now I just have to get out of here by the window." Rouge said to herself as she looked at it. She grabbed the ledge and lifted herself up onto it. She pushed the window open but it would only go half way. "Nevermind, I should be able to get through."
She wasn't doing too badly until she got stuck. She tried to push herself out and finally popped out.
"Arrrgh!" She shouted as she flew through the air. She quickly stopped herself and started to flap her wings. "I really need to lose weight." She said to herself before setting off.
************************
"Hmm.looks like Sonic hasn't arrived yet." Knuckles said to himself as he stood on the hill. A few minutes later though, he heard someone approaching and turned to the sound. He was surprised (Note: although we weren't) to see Rouge appear.
"What are you doing here? And where is Sonic?" Rouge demanded.
"I don't know! And I should be asking you that question, Sonic was meant to meet me here." Knuckles replied.
"What do you mean? He was meant to meet me here! Tails told me so." She huffed.
"He told me too! Why am I even talking to you?" He shouted and turned away from her. She did the same and stared stonily ahead for a few seconds until she sighed.
"Knuckles.I'm sorry. I should never have shouted at you." She admitted. She turned around and found him staring at her.
"I'm sorry too. For everything I said." He whispered.
"Why don't we sit down? It looks like Sonic isn't going to turn up. Wait until I see that Tails, he won't know what's coming!" Rouge sat down and so did Knuckles hesitantly.
They sat in silence staring at the full moon, which had risen into the sky. It cast a silvery light on the hill and stars twinkled in the sky. Rouge turned to Knuckles.
"Knuckles." She started.
"Yes Rouge?" He asked.
"Knuckles, I need to tell you something. It's really important." She said. Hearing this, Knuckles turned to her but stared past her. "I.I.I like you." She finally said but he misunderstood her.
"That's all right then. I didn't want to be hated for the rest of my life." He said.
"I don't mean it like that. I mean I.really like you. What I'm trying to say is.is." She stumbled and Knuckles leant towards her. He kissed her lightly on the lips and her eyes widened in shock. She then relaxed and kissed him back.
"Do you mean like that?" Knuckles asked afterwards. She nodded her head and smiled to herself. She had finally admitted her feelings and Knuckles felt the same way too! She felt on top of the world, and so did he. She laid her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.
Just then Mario and Luigi appeared from nowhere and stood in front of them. Rouge sat up quickly and Knuckles cleared his throat.
"Have a pizza on the house!" Mario said, passing them the pizza.
"Bugger off!" Knuckles growled.
"Say pretty please with the macaroni cheese on the top." Luigi said teasingly.
"Will you stop talking about cheese?" Rouge shouted. The question was met with silence. "Oh all right. Please leave, pretty pretty please with macaroni cheese on top."
"Thank you. Come Mario, Tails will be pleased with-" Luigi started.
"Luigi, shut up! You weren't meant to say that!" Mario hissed before dragging Luigi away.
"Did he just say that 'Tails will be pleased'? I knew he was up to something!" Knuckles asked angrily.
"Probably." Rouge said offhand. "But now we have to worry about something else. This pizza has garlic in it so if we eat it, we won't be able to kiss each other for at least two days." She explained.
"We're in a bit of a rush aren't we?" He asked amused.
"Look who's talking." She replied before leaning forward to give him a last kiss. They broke apart a few seconds later and ate the pizza, pretending that nothing ever happened.
************************
"I'm so dead." Tails gulped when he heard Rouge and Knuckles' conversation.
"Hey, you never know, they may forget what I said." Luigi replied.
"But don't you think they're so cute?" Mario asked.
"It makes you want to." Luigi replied before starting to sing a song (Note: Luigi's part is in capitals and Mario is in normal type):
BOOM BABY, BOOM BABY Boom baby, boom baby
I WISH EVERY LITTLE BEAT OF MY HEART COULD TELL YOU HOW I FEEL
AND I WISH EVERY LITTLE BEAT OF MY HEART COULD SHOW YOU IT'S FOR REAL
AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DO TO ME
EVERY TIME YOU'RE NEAR ME I CAN FEEL THE BEAT
IT'S THE POUNDING OF MY HEART
OH YOU MADE IT START
WHEN YOU DO WHAT YOU DO TO ME
Oh it's the moon; hey it's the moon,
Yay it's the moon, oh it's the moon
I bet ya, every little beat of my heart
Can tell you how I feel
This love's for real
Now I can't shake this feeling
But I don't think you even know
I tried to hold it in but here it comes and then there it goes again
Yes it's steady pounding
I love the way it's sounding
It makes me want you more
And it's like I said before
It's the pounding of my heart
Oh you made it start
When you do what you do to me
OH IT'S THE MOON; HEY IT'S THE MOON
YAY IT'S THE MOON, OH IT'S THE MOON
DID I SAY EVERY LITTLE BEAT OF MY HEART
COULD SHOW YOU IT'S FOR REAL
THIS LOVE'S FOR REAL
So one plus one makes two
That's me and you and I don't know about you
But we know that it's boom boom
'Cos when you're there my heart goes zoom zoom
And we know that you want a little
Boom, I need you for the things that you do
Forever, let me wanna stay true
Boom baby, boom baby
YES IT'S STEADY POUNDING
I LOVE THE WAY IT'S SOUNDING
IT MAKES ME WANT YOU MORE
AND IT'S LIKE I SAID BEFORE
IT'S THE POUNDING OF MY HEART
OH YOU MADE IT START
WHEN YOU DO WHAT YOU DO TO ME
Oh it's the moon; hey it's the moon
Yay it's the moon, oh it's the moon hey
I bet ya, every little beat of my heart
Can tell you how I feel
Oh it's the moon, it's the moon
************************
"Can you hear that?" Knuckles asked.
"Yes, shall we go and have a look?" They both stood up and walked over to the bush. Mario and Luigi carried on singing, not realising that Knuckles and Rouge were standing behind them. Just then, Knuckles saw Tails sitting there and grabbed him in a Homer Simpson's stylee.
"Why you little-" He started and Tails responded in the typical way by making strangled noises.
"Knuckles drop him!" Rouge commanded and Knuckles gradually let go of him. Tails smiled to himself at the thought of Knuckles obeying someone's order. Yet again, he grabbed him by his neck. "Knuckles, if you don't stop it now, I'll dump you!" Rouge said and Mario and Luigi sniggered as Knuckles plus Rouge went red.
"All right but only if you promise not to tell anyone ok? I would prefer to do it myself." Knuckles said.
Tails nodded his head and ran away quickly. Mario and Luigi looked from Knuckles and Rouge to where Tails had gone. They then quickly stood up and walked away after Tails.
"Are we actually going to tell anyone?" Rouge asked.
"No. I want to see whether Sonic is really ignorant or if he's just stupid." Knuckles smiled. "I'm sure Eggman and Shadow will work it out when we next see them."
"You think Shadow's still alive?"
"Of course he is. He's in Australia but we're going to have to find Pikachu first." Knuckles reassured. They put the pizza box in the bin and walked back to the hotel, arm in arm.
************************
Knuckles woke up the next morning and soon wanted to go back to sleep. He felt really tired but he sat up when he heard Rouge in the bathroom. Rouge singing in the bathroom (Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!).
"And all my life,
I've prayed for someone like you
And I thank God
That I've finally found you
And all my life,
I've prayed for someone like you
And I hope that you feel the same way too
Yes I pray that you do love me too." Knuckles glowed scarlet as Rouge entered the room but continued the song.
"Say, I promise to never fall in love with a stranger
You're all I'm thinking of
I praise the Lord above
For sending me your love
I cherish every hug
I really love you." He finished the song and hugged Rouge.
"Good morning. Are you all right? You've gone a bit red." Rouge smiled slightly.
"Yeah just a bit hot. I think I'll have a shower." He quickly walked to the bathroom and shut the door.
"How many times can I make him go red in the next few days, I wonder?" She said to herself.
She didn't have to wait long until Knuckles was ready and they walked down to breakfast where Sonic and Tails were already eating.
"Hello, you're up late! Want some of mine? I'm a bit stuffed." Sonic greeted and pushed over his plate.
"We had better go after this because Australia is quite far away." Tails said. The others nodded their heads and when they had finished, they set off to find the Tornado. They found it where they had left it near the Trevi Fountain. They got into it and set off for Australia.
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S. Chensu: Bless them, they're so cute!
Knuckles: ^-^;;
S. Chensu: Aw, little Knuckles all embarrassed?
Knuckles: I am not little!
Luff: *Mutters* I'm sure Rouge would agree with you there.
Rouge: What did you just say? -_-
Luff: Nothing! *Edges away quickly*
S. Chensu: I love those two songs! All about love and giving your heart to someone else-
Yugi: *Suddenly appears* Believe in the heart of the cards and you can do anything!
Luff: I thought you had gone!
Yami: Sorry about him, he does that sometimes.
Bakura: He's not the only one, you puny Pharaoh!
Téa: Now break it up you guys, we're all meant to be friends.
Joey: Shut up Téa. Nobody insults Yugi like that and gets away with it!
Tristan: Joey, calm down!
Joey: Charge!
*Whole group apart from Téa and Tristan end up in huge dust cloud, the occasional limb glimpsed briefly*
S. Chensu: *Grabs megaphone* What the f**k are you lot doing in here? This is a /Sonic/ fanfiction, not a Yu-Gi-Oh! one!
*Yu-Gi-Oh! people get up quickly and brush themselves off, looking at S. Chensu nervously*
Yugi: sorry about that, we'll be leaving.
*Group run off screen as fast as they can*
Shadow: Wow Sonic, they're faster than you are! I didn't think it was possible for pathetic humans to move like that.
Sonic: Oh ha ha ha! Very funny!
Eggman: Shut up you two, this is getting very boring.
S. Chensu: I agree. Please read and review and any flames will be used to set fire to Yugi *See Yugi with quivering lip and puppy eyes tied to a very large skewer*
Luff: No I won't let you hurt him!
S. Chensu: Fine, I'll set Tails on fire then instead *See Tails with quivering lip and puppy eyes also tied to a very large skewer*
Luff: Ok then.
Tails: What?!
Rouge: Ok people, time to leave, nothing to see here. Just review before you move on please.
Luff: Ok peeps, this episode isn't half as long as the last one, so you don't have to fall asleep!
S. Chensu: Are they supposed to?
Luff: Err.no idea! Anyways, this episode Sonic and co. are off to Italy! And guess what that means?
Knuckles: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Sonic: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Luff: What are you saying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! For?
Sonic: Umm. *runs off side of screen*
Luff: -_-;;
S. Chensu: Yes, anyway, that means ^_^. Knuckles and Rouge are- *Eggman gags S. Chensu*
Eggman: Shut up! You're giving the whole thing away!
Yugi: Yeah!
Everyone else: 0.o
Yami: Yugi, you're in the wrong fic! C'mon! *Grabs Yugi and pulls him out of the screen*
Luff: Umm, Kay.that was a bit weird. Anyways, the disclaimer! DON'T READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHO IS IN HERE! We do not own Mario or Luigi, they are © Nintendo, so is Bowser. If I haven't mentioned any other characters that I should've, we don't own them either. I think. We also don't own the songs 'Boom Boom' and 'All my life'. We do own the story though.
S. Chensu: On with the story!!!
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Episode five: The curse of macaroni cheese
Knuckles woke up the next morning feeling better and suddenly remembering that he no longer had any casts, he put his upgrades back on.
"At last!" He practised some punches and when he was satisfied, he walked down the stairs. He entered the kitchen and saw that everyone was already eating breakfast. He glanced at Rouge but she was looking downwards.
"Hello, up at last are you? We've been up for hours haven't we Gelest?" Zelgan said cheerfully.
"Yes, unfortunately. I need to go back to bed." Gelest replied, yawning. Knuckles sat down and Sonic passed him a bowl of cereal.
"So you're going today?" Zelgan asked.
"Yes we had better. We had a great time here though and I want to thank you for letting us stay with you." Sonic said.
"That's all right. Not much had been happening anyway. I hope the search for your friend goes well." Gelest replied.
"Which reminds me.take this." Sonic passed over his communicator to Zelgan. "We'll call you when we find Shadow and maybe we'll come and visit again."
"That would be nice. Thank you. But now I think you will have to go if you want to get to Italy before night fall." Zelgan said. They stood up and walked to the garage.
They sat in the Tornado and Gelest was pleased to see that Knuckles and Rogue had stopped giving each other evil looks. They weren't actually talking though but it was a start.
"Bye Zelgan, bye Gelest!" Tails called out as they flew away. They waved back and soon they were in space, heading for Italy.
************************
"Here at last!" Sonic announced as they landed by the Trevi fountain in Rome.
"It's nearly night time! What are we going to do?" Tails asked.
"Why don't we book some rooms in an hotel for the night and look for them in the morning?" Rouge suggested.
"That would be a good idea apart from the fact that we have no money." Sonic pointed out.
"Well it's lucky that I carry some plastic round with me eh?" Rouge replied. She flashed a credit card and they wandered around until they found the Hotel Alexandra. It was a three star hotel and was very stylish.
They entered the lobby and Rouge walked up to the desk.
"Do you have any rooms available for two nights?" She asked. The receptionist tapped a few keys on the computer in front of him.
"Yes we do. How many rooms will you be wanting and will they be single or double beds?" He asked.
"Two rooms please, both of them with single beds." She replied. He tapped a few more keys.
"Would you like them to be next door to each other?"
"If that is possible, yes please." More keys were pressed.
"How will you be paying?" She handed over the credit card and the rooms were paid for. "Dinner is from 7-10 pm and breakfast is at 8 am. Enjoy your stay here." He stood up and brought over two keys. "Both of the rooms are on floor five." Rouge took them and thanked him.
The group walked over to the lift and took it to floor 5. Walking along the corridor, they found their rooms, no. 142 and no. 144.
"Just a second you guys. Who is going to sleep where?" Tails asked. They hadn't thought about that and Rouge and Knuckles still weren't talking to each other. Sonic of course, had totally forgotten about this.
"That's obvious Tails. You can share a room with me and Rouge and Knuckles will share a room." Sonic said. Tails buried his face in his hands and sighed.
"Whatever, I don't mind." Knuckles said quietly and Tails stared at him. Rouge shrugged her shoulders.
"Well now that that is sorted out, let's go and have something to eat!" Sonic said cheerfully.
They had dinner and afterwards, decided to go straight to bed, as it had been a long day.
"I'm pooped! I'm going straight to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow, ok?" Sonic announced as they stood by their rooms.
"Night Sonic, night Tails." Rouge and Knuckles both said.
"You too." Tails replied and they entered their separate rooms, closing the doors behind them.
************************
Rouge and Knuckles entered the room and the first thing they noticed was the bed. Not the beds but the bed!
"Oh no, this is all I need!" Knuckles said just a little bit too loudly. Rouge looked so hurt at what he had said that he lowered his head in shame. She shook it off though.
"It looks like it's a twin bed. That's probably why they are together." She commented. She kicked off her shoes and got into the bed. "Aren't you tired?" She asked.
"What? Oh yes, sorry about that." Knuckles shook his head and placed his Hammer Gloves on the table before kicking off his shoes as well. He got in the other side of the bed and if they had tried to move any further apart, they would have fallen out. Silence fell on the room as they both tried to get to sleep, which was surprising difficult even though they were tired.
************************
Knuckles woke up and promptly fell out of bed, landing on his head. Rouge sat up awake and leaned over to where Knuckles was grimacing.
"Good morning. Are you ok?" She asked amused. Knuckles groaned in reply and sat up. Rouge got out of bed as well and walked to the bathroom. "Just going for a wash, be ready in a minute." She called out and disappeared into the bathroom. Knuckles decided to have a look through the window and walked to it.
The area was empty and the only life around was the pigeons sitting by the fountain. The sun had only been up for a couple of hours so it was still quite cool. The statues created large shadows and looking at it, you would never realise that this was a capital city.
About half an hour later, Rouge finally finished in the bathroom and Knuckles ran in there, as he really needed the toilet. Rouge only had to wait five minutes when Knuckles came out again.
"Did you actually go near any water while you were in there?" She asked.
"Of course I did. Unlike women, we only take a few minutes in the shower." He replied.
"Shall we go down to breakfast?" She asked.
"Shouldn't we wait for Sonic and Tails?" He looked a bit worried at what she had just said.
"They probably won't be up for ages." She walked out of the room and he followed her.
They entered the dining room and found a table for four by the window. They ordered breakfast and they couldn't think of much to say, so they sat in silence. This didn't last long though as Sonic and Tails soon arrived.
"Had a good night's sleep?" Sonic asked cheerfully.
"Not too bad. Apart from the bit where I fell off the bed." Knuckles felt the bruise on his head.
"How did you fall off?" Tails enquired.
"I must have ended up right by the edge during the night and when I woke up, I just rolled straight off." Knuckles explained. Just then, Rouge and Knuckles' breakfast came so Sonic and Tails ordered some as well. When it arrived, they ate their food in silence and they soon finished it.
"Where shall we go to first?" Tails asked.
"Why don't we have a look at St. Peter's square? It's the most famous square here." Rouge suggested.
"How do you know that?" Tails asked. Rouge shrugged her shoulders.
"I've wanted to come here for a long time." Tails thought her eyes flickered to Knuckles but he didn't seem to be listening.
They left the hotel and walked until they found the square. The place had started to wake up a bit and now the cafes were open for business. Bright umbrellas lined the sides of the square and a few people were sitting under them. They looked at some of the names of these cafes, including 'Galassia', 'Treviani' and 'Mario and Luigi's Pizza Parlour'.
"Do you think that they might be there?" Sonic asked.
"No, I don't think so." Tails said sarcastically. "I think they own the cafe."
"Oh yeah, so they do. Could be why it's called Mario and Luigi's Pizza Parlour." Sonic pointed out. Tails sighed and led them into the café.
Two men, one of them taller and thinner than the other, immediately greeted them. They both wore dungarees but one wore a green t-shirt while the other wore a red t-shirt. They both had moustaches and wore hats.
"Good day, gentlemen and lady. Will you be wanting a table?" The fatter one asked.
"Are you Mario and Luigi? And if not do you know where they will be as we wish to talk to them." Tails explained.
"Yes, I am Mario and this is Luigi. We shall talk once we have found you a table." He replied. They followed him and Luigi to a table by the window. The group sat down and Mario and Luigi grabbed two chairs so they could sit down too.
"Will you be wanting anything to drink?" Luigi asked.
"Can I have a cappuccino please?" Rouge asked.
"I would like a glass of water please." Knuckles replied. Luigi looked at the others.
"Will you be having anything?" He asked. They shook his heads and he turned round. "Bowser, give us a water and a cappuccino!" He shouted. A few moments later, a huge turtle appeared. It had a shell but it also had huge spikes everywhere. It had flaming hair and stood on its hind legs. He carried a tray and gave Rouge and Knuckles their drinks. They thanked him and he left.
"So then, what did you want to talk to us about?" Mario asked. Sonic explained the whole situation and when he had finished, they thought for a few moments.
"I don't think we've seen anyone of that description. I think we would remember him. I'm sorry we couldn't help. Why don't we show you some sites instead?" Mario suggested.
"That would be a great idea! But don't you need to be here?" Tails asked.
"We just get Bowser to look after the place. Shall we go?" Mario said. They stood up and left the parlour.
They led the way and they were soon by the Trevi Fountain. While Rouge, Knuckles and Sonic were throwing coins into it, Tails took the opportunity to ask them for their help.
"I need your help in a plan I have." Tails said to them.
"What are you planning to do?" Mario asked. Tails explained the whole situation with Knuckles and Rouge.
"So I was thinking, seeing that this is the most romantic place in Europe, you could help me get them together?" Tails asked.
"We could help you, but how?" Mario asked.
"Just show us a park or something that they could spend some time alone in tonight." Tails said. Luigi turned to Mario.
"How about the Aurelia Park? It has some secluded spots." He suggested. Mario nodded his head.
"Thanks you two. Can we go there next please?" Tails said. They nodded their heads and they walked over to the others, who were sitting on the edge of the fountain.
"Right, now we're going to show you the Aurelia Park. It's not too far away, luckily." Mario said and he led them up a hill.
They saw the park at the top of the hill. It was quite big with shaded parts and there were loads of couples wandering around. There was a lake and people were feeding the ducks. They walked along the path and soon they reached the top of a small hill. They looked down and Rome was laid out below them. They could even see the sea from where they were.
"This is called Venus' Peak." Mario said and there was a bench, but Tails remained standing.
~This place is perfect for my plan. Now all I need is some way of getting them up here.~ Tails thought to himself as he tapped his fingers together evilly.
"So then, where are you going next?" Mario asked.
"We're going to Australia. I suppose you know someone there?" Sonic asked.
"We do actually. Ask for Pikachu although you will probably find him at a beach." Luigi said. "Do you want to see some other places?"
"Do you know where the best shops are?" Rouge asked.
"Ah, we appear to have a shopoholic. The best place for you is the Spanish Steps. They have all of the designer shops there." Rouge's eyes lit up at the thought of designer shops.
"Not shopping! I hate women and shopping, you can't keep them apart." Sonic said.
"Luckily there is a nice café we can go to while Rouge goes shopping." Mario said.
They returned to the city centre and soon they were met with a shopper's dream. Gucci, Versache and many more were sitting there waiting for people to enter them.
"See you guys in a few minutes." Rouge shouted as she ran to the first shop.
"More like a few hours." Knuckles said. They walked over to a street side café and sat under a red and yellow umbrella. They ordered drinks and talked to the owners, as Mario and Luigi knew them. The three of them were told many an anecdote as the remembered the good old days.
It was starting to get dark when Rouge came back. She looked pleased with herself but there weren't any bags.
"Umm.Rouge, where are your bags? After all, you spent enough time in there." Tails asked.
"I couldn't carry them all with me, so I left them there and they'll get delivered to the apartment when we find out the address." She replied. They stood up and Mario and Luigi walked back with them to the hotel.
"Can you two be at Venus' Peak tonight at eight O'clock?" Tails asked Mario and Luigi quietly. They nodded their heads. "And bring a pizza or something." Tails added.
They arrived at the hotel and they waved goodbye to Mario and Luigi.
"Thank you for showing us the sites." Knuckles said and they disappeared.
"Shall we go and have dinner?" Sonic asked. The others agreed and as they were walking to the dining room, Tails grabbed Rouge's arm.
"Rouge, Sonic asked me to tell you to meet him on Venus' Peak at eight tonight." He whispered.
"Why does he want to meet me there?" She asked, puzzled.
"He wouldn't tell me. He just said not to tell anyone else." By now, Sonic and Knuckles were looking at them with interest. "But isn't Gucci really expensive? How did you afford it?" He asked loudly.
"Quite easily when you have a job." She replied and entered the dining room.
They ate dinner and listened to Rouge telling them what she had brought. It seemed to be, from the way she was talking, a whole wardrobes worth of clothes. When they had finished dinner they walked back up to their rooms.
"Knuckles, Sonic asked me to tell you to meet him on Venus' Peak at eight." Tails whispered to Knuckles. When he frowned, he continued. "He wouldn't tell me anything else." Tails said, shrugging his shoulders. He caught up with the others and Knuckles was left feeling a bit confused. He shrugged his shoulders and entered his room, after saying good night to Sonic and Tails.
"Just going for a shower ok?" Rouge said and she ran into the bathroom.
"That's weird, she only had one this morning." Knuckles said. "Oh well, it gives me the chance to go at least." He walked out of the room and set off for Venus' Peak.
He wasn't the only one though. As soon as Knuckles had gone, Tails had run down the corridor and flew as fast as he could to Venus' Peak. He found Mario and Luigi standing by the path on the hill.
"What do we do now?" Luigi asked. Tails looked around and found a large bush quite far back.
"We hide in here and wait for them to come. Then we." And he continued to explain as they settled themselves down.
************************
"Right, now I just have to get out of here by the window." Rouge said to herself as she looked at it. She grabbed the ledge and lifted herself up onto it. She pushed the window open but it would only go half way. "Nevermind, I should be able to get through."
She wasn't doing too badly until she got stuck. She tried to push herself out and finally popped out.
"Arrrgh!" She shouted as she flew through the air. She quickly stopped herself and started to flap her wings. "I really need to lose weight." She said to herself before setting off.
************************
"Hmm.looks like Sonic hasn't arrived yet." Knuckles said to himself as he stood on the hill. A few minutes later though, he heard someone approaching and turned to the sound. He was surprised (Note: although we weren't) to see Rouge appear.
"What are you doing here? And where is Sonic?" Rouge demanded.
"I don't know! And I should be asking you that question, Sonic was meant to meet me here." Knuckles replied.
"What do you mean? He was meant to meet me here! Tails told me so." She huffed.
"He told me too! Why am I even talking to you?" He shouted and turned away from her. She did the same and stared stonily ahead for a few seconds until she sighed.
"Knuckles.I'm sorry. I should never have shouted at you." She admitted. She turned around and found him staring at her.
"I'm sorry too. For everything I said." He whispered.
"Why don't we sit down? It looks like Sonic isn't going to turn up. Wait until I see that Tails, he won't know what's coming!" Rouge sat down and so did Knuckles hesitantly.
They sat in silence staring at the full moon, which had risen into the sky. It cast a silvery light on the hill and stars twinkled in the sky. Rouge turned to Knuckles.
"Knuckles." She started.
"Yes Rouge?" He asked.
"Knuckles, I need to tell you something. It's really important." She said. Hearing this, Knuckles turned to her but stared past her. "I.I.I like you." She finally said but he misunderstood her.
"That's all right then. I didn't want to be hated for the rest of my life." He said.
"I don't mean it like that. I mean I.really like you. What I'm trying to say is.is." She stumbled and Knuckles leant towards her. He kissed her lightly on the lips and her eyes widened in shock. She then relaxed and kissed him back.
"Do you mean like that?" Knuckles asked afterwards. She nodded her head and smiled to herself. She had finally admitted her feelings and Knuckles felt the same way too! She felt on top of the world, and so did he. She laid her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.
Just then Mario and Luigi appeared from nowhere and stood in front of them. Rouge sat up quickly and Knuckles cleared his throat.
"Have a pizza on the house!" Mario said, passing them the pizza.
"Bugger off!" Knuckles growled.
"Say pretty please with the macaroni cheese on the top." Luigi said teasingly.
"Will you stop talking about cheese?" Rouge shouted. The question was met with silence. "Oh all right. Please leave, pretty pretty please with macaroni cheese on top."
"Thank you. Come Mario, Tails will be pleased with-" Luigi started.
"Luigi, shut up! You weren't meant to say that!" Mario hissed before dragging Luigi away.
"Did he just say that 'Tails will be pleased'? I knew he was up to something!" Knuckles asked angrily.
"Probably." Rouge said offhand. "But now we have to worry about something else. This pizza has garlic in it so if we eat it, we won't be able to kiss each other for at least two days." She explained.
"We're in a bit of a rush aren't we?" He asked amused.
"Look who's talking." She replied before leaning forward to give him a last kiss. They broke apart a few seconds later and ate the pizza, pretending that nothing ever happened.
************************
"I'm so dead." Tails gulped when he heard Rouge and Knuckles' conversation.
"Hey, you never know, they may forget what I said." Luigi replied.
"But don't you think they're so cute?" Mario asked.
"It makes you want to." Luigi replied before starting to sing a song (Note: Luigi's part is in capitals and Mario is in normal type):
BOOM BABY, BOOM BABY Boom baby, boom baby
I WISH EVERY LITTLE BEAT OF MY HEART COULD TELL YOU HOW I FEEL
AND I WISH EVERY LITTLE BEAT OF MY HEART COULD SHOW YOU IT'S FOR REAL
AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DO TO ME
EVERY TIME YOU'RE NEAR ME I CAN FEEL THE BEAT
IT'S THE POUNDING OF MY HEART
OH YOU MADE IT START
WHEN YOU DO WHAT YOU DO TO ME
Oh it's the moon; hey it's the moon,
Yay it's the moon, oh it's the moon
I bet ya, every little beat of my heart
Can tell you how I feel
This love's for real
Now I can't shake this feeling
But I don't think you even know
I tried to hold it in but here it comes and then there it goes again
Yes it's steady pounding
I love the way it's sounding
It makes me want you more
And it's like I said before
It's the pounding of my heart
Oh you made it start
When you do what you do to me
OH IT'S THE MOON; HEY IT'S THE MOON
YAY IT'S THE MOON, OH IT'S THE MOON
DID I SAY EVERY LITTLE BEAT OF MY HEART
COULD SHOW YOU IT'S FOR REAL
THIS LOVE'S FOR REAL
So one plus one makes two
That's me and you and I don't know about you
But we know that it's boom boom
'Cos when you're there my heart goes zoom zoom
And we know that you want a little
Boom, I need you for the things that you do
Forever, let me wanna stay true
Boom baby, boom baby
YES IT'S STEADY POUNDING
I LOVE THE WAY IT'S SOUNDING
IT MAKES ME WANT YOU MORE
AND IT'S LIKE I SAID BEFORE
IT'S THE POUNDING OF MY HEART
OH YOU MADE IT START
WHEN YOU DO WHAT YOU DO TO ME
Oh it's the moon; hey it's the moon
Yay it's the moon, oh it's the moon hey
I bet ya, every little beat of my heart
Can tell you how I feel
Oh it's the moon, it's the moon
************************
"Can you hear that?" Knuckles asked.
"Yes, shall we go and have a look?" They both stood up and walked over to the bush. Mario and Luigi carried on singing, not realising that Knuckles and Rouge were standing behind them. Just then, Knuckles saw Tails sitting there and grabbed him in a Homer Simpson's stylee.
"Why you little-" He started and Tails responded in the typical way by making strangled noises.
"Knuckles drop him!" Rouge commanded and Knuckles gradually let go of him. Tails smiled to himself at the thought of Knuckles obeying someone's order. Yet again, he grabbed him by his neck. "Knuckles, if you don't stop it now, I'll dump you!" Rouge said and Mario and Luigi sniggered as Knuckles plus Rouge went red.
"All right but only if you promise not to tell anyone ok? I would prefer to do it myself." Knuckles said.
Tails nodded his head and ran away quickly. Mario and Luigi looked from Knuckles and Rouge to where Tails had gone. They then quickly stood up and walked away after Tails.
"Are we actually going to tell anyone?" Rouge asked.
"No. I want to see whether Sonic is really ignorant or if he's just stupid." Knuckles smiled. "I'm sure Eggman and Shadow will work it out when we next see them."
"You think Shadow's still alive?"
"Of course he is. He's in Australia but we're going to have to find Pikachu first." Knuckles reassured. They put the pizza box in the bin and walked back to the hotel, arm in arm.
************************
Knuckles woke up the next morning and soon wanted to go back to sleep. He felt really tired but he sat up when he heard Rouge in the bathroom. Rouge singing in the bathroom (Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!).
"And all my life,
I've prayed for someone like you
And I thank God
That I've finally found you
And all my life,
I've prayed for someone like you
And I hope that you feel the same way too
Yes I pray that you do love me too." Knuckles glowed scarlet as Rouge entered the room but continued the song.
"Say, I promise to never fall in love with a stranger
You're all I'm thinking of
I praise the Lord above
For sending me your love
I cherish every hug
I really love you." He finished the song and hugged Rouge.
"Good morning. Are you all right? You've gone a bit red." Rouge smiled slightly.
"Yeah just a bit hot. I think I'll have a shower." He quickly walked to the bathroom and shut the door.
"How many times can I make him go red in the next few days, I wonder?" She said to herself.
She didn't have to wait long until Knuckles was ready and they walked down to breakfast where Sonic and Tails were already eating.
"Hello, you're up late! Want some of mine? I'm a bit stuffed." Sonic greeted and pushed over his plate.
"We had better go after this because Australia is quite far away." Tails said. The others nodded their heads and when they had finished, they set off to find the Tornado. They found it where they had left it near the Trevi Fountain. They got into it and set off for Australia.
***************************************************************************
S. Chensu: Bless them, they're so cute!
Knuckles: ^-^;;
S. Chensu: Aw, little Knuckles all embarrassed?
Knuckles: I am not little!
Luff: *Mutters* I'm sure Rouge would agree with you there.
Rouge: What did you just say? -_-
Luff: Nothing! *Edges away quickly*
S. Chensu: I love those two songs! All about love and giving your heart to someone else-
Yugi: *Suddenly appears* Believe in the heart of the cards and you can do anything!
Luff: I thought you had gone!
Yami: Sorry about him, he does that sometimes.
Bakura: He's not the only one, you puny Pharaoh!
Téa: Now break it up you guys, we're all meant to be friends.
Joey: Shut up Téa. Nobody insults Yugi like that and gets away with it!
Tristan: Joey, calm down!
Joey: Charge!
*Whole group apart from Téa and Tristan end up in huge dust cloud, the occasional limb glimpsed briefly*
S. Chensu: *Grabs megaphone* What the f**k are you lot doing in here? This is a /Sonic/ fanfiction, not a Yu-Gi-Oh! one!
*Yu-Gi-Oh! people get up quickly and brush themselves off, looking at S. Chensu nervously*
Yugi: sorry about that, we'll be leaving.
*Group run off screen as fast as they can*
Shadow: Wow Sonic, they're faster than you are! I didn't think it was possible for pathetic humans to move like that.
Sonic: Oh ha ha ha! Very funny!
Eggman: Shut up you two, this is getting very boring.
S. Chensu: I agree. Please read and review and any flames will be used to set fire to Yugi *See Yugi with quivering lip and puppy eyes tied to a very large skewer*
Luff: No I won't let you hurt him!
S. Chensu: Fine, I'll set Tails on fire then instead *See Tails with quivering lip and puppy eyes also tied to a very large skewer*
Luff: Ok then.
Tails: What?!
Rouge: Ok people, time to leave, nothing to see here. Just review before you move on please.