Chapter 7 – Hands of an Angel.

The ring of the doorbell coincided perfectly with the musical ting of the microwave. Of course, Shadow and Sonic both dived for the same thing at the same time, resulting in a pile up in front of the kitchen door. The bell rang again as the two tried to disentangle themselves from the organic wreckage

"Just a minute", Sonic called out, just before whispering to Shadow, "man, you're always in the wrong place at the wrong time, Shads". The black hedgehog shot him a poisonous glare as he wrenched his legs free.

"So sayeth the faker; you get the door I'll get dinner" he commanded, scrambling through the kitchen door before Sonic could come up with a retort. Cursing gently under his breath, the Sonic straightened himself up, dusted himself off and set off to the front door. He was curious despite himself; neither of them were expecting company and Tails would have phoned first, so this was a surprise.

"Hi, come on…Amy? What are you doing here?" Sonic was slightly disconcerted at the sight of the pink hedgehog, and even more disconcerted that she was carrying a small suitcase. She looked up at her hero, smiling sadly but making no move to pounce on him as she usually did,

"Hi Sonic, er, can I come in a minute?"

"Sure, um, come on" he beckoned, trying to think what kind of scheme Amy was trying to concoct this time. He was a little concerned by now, both by the fact that Amy had a suitcase and the fact she hadn't leapt on him like she normally did when she called round. He led her into the kitchen as Shadow finished plating up their meals.

"Hey Amy, what brings you here?" the ultimate life-form enquired, eyes straying to her suitcase just as Sonic's had. Amy pulled a seat out for herself and sat down gently, eyes clouded with doubt and worry,

"Well, I got a call from Rouge earlier when I'd just got back to hers. She asked me to check the windows were shut, of all things. I mean, she's supposed to be on holiday after all and…"

"Right, that's interesting but its not really answering the question Amy. What happened next?" Shadow probed, not wanting to get bogged down in extraneous details. Amy looked confused for a second before starting and getting back on track,

"Oh sorry; anyway I checked and one of them was loose. I told her this and she went ballistic", Amy's tone went up as she described Rouge's outburst, "she was like, ordering me out, saying it wasn't safe to stay there. I remember she forced me to promise I wouldn't stay there for the night and said I come here. So, here I am" she finished simply, looking around at her two hosts.

That wasn't right; from what I remembered of her, Rouge was cool under pressure. Something was wrong here and Amy could be in danger because of it. Shadow came to a conclusion in the blink of an eye and saw his decision exactly mirrored in Sonic's eyes. He gave a small shrug and moved off,

"I guess you're staying here for a while then, at least 'til Rouge gets back" the black hedgehog said slowly, secretly hoping that Rouge would get in touch soon and clear this mess up. As he turned to prep his curry with salt, Amy leapt up and gave a successful victory pose as Sonic's head sank into his hands.

"Do I get to sleep in Sonic's room?" Shadow was forced to bite his glove to choke back the laughter; it may have been said in innocence but that statement was just priceless. So was the look on Sonic's face; it looked like he'd try to blush and blanch at the same time, resulting in a face like badly mixed strawberry ice-cream. Shadow was forced into damage limitation exercises before the blue hero fainted.

"Sorry no, not unless you've got a flamethrower and machete handy", he managed to say with a straight face, "Sonic has yet to master the art of tidying his room; in fact he's yet to even understand the basics". Amy scowled and turned around, looking up at Sonic as he glared various promises of pain at Shadow.

"Is that so", she seized his arm, dragging him off towards the door, "well we'd better start your learning then; I need to sleep in a tidy room, so let's go". Sonic dug in his heels as he tried to shake her off but failed as the remorseless pink hedgehog slowly ground down his resistance.

"Amy, no really, it's not that bad, Shadow's only having a bit of fun", he gave a pleading glance to the black hedgehog, abandoning any pretence of dignity in the face of being forced to tidy his room, "aren't you Shadow?" There was a twinge of compassion at the blue hedgehog's pathetic expression and he buckled shamefully.

"Well, maybe it's not that bad…" he started, but it was too late; Amy was gone and Sonic's final howl echoed throughout the flat,

"Amy, no I beg mercy, please for the love of God".

"Not a chance, I despise untidiness, so you're cleaning up your act", Shadow's keen ears picked up a door being opened as the female hedgehog began again, "oh this is criminal. Roll your sleeves up Mr Messy; this is going, and this, and this…"

"Nooooo!"

"No good howling like that; go get me some bin bags and a cloth, this is gonna take a while".

The marathon of tidying the hedgehog's bedroom began just as second journey was started; at the Station Square peer, a figure that three Mobians now knew and reviled as Seraph kicked off from the highest building around and began a long journey to the last known position of his prey. A search of the shipping logs had only compounded the flying shadow's previous confusion; no ships had left at the time he'd calculated would have accounted for the position of Rouge's phone. In fact, only one ship had left the port all day, and that had been at half-past five in the morning. The figure had mostly been preparing for most of the day; this was going to be a plunge into darkness fraught with potential enemies. For that matter, a slender bandolier was now clipped across the traveller's back; this bandolier contained a selection of blind, smoke and concussion grenades. His leather armour now seemed to glisten more than normal leather should; a precaution against the nature of his targets. Several tracking devices were positioned within easy reach as he used his chosen transport with the greatest of ease.

A risk was being taken; there was minimal chance of potential rescue should these fail. However, with the final two targets within reach, the risk could be taken.

As the heart of Angel Island pulsed gently, its guardian sat atop it, mind at ease as he let it all flow through him. From here Knuckles could, indirectly at least, feel everything that was happening on his island; it was like being the brain of some vast, comatose creature. He could feel, but not very well at a general level. As he concentrated on certain aspects of Angel Island the sensations became more clear; he could feel the wind whistling through the Mushroom Grove as if it were tousling his own hair, the shots of Nack's pop-gun irritated him like flea bites, as did Rouge's movements as she kicked at a rock at the waterfall, the bone-shattering strikes scattering chips of stone in all directions as she prepared herself for a fight that may or may not occur. As he homed in even more, he found his admiration for the bat growing; she'd just suffered a minor breakdown yet had been training since he had started monitoring the island. That wouldn't have been possible for a weaker person; it would have taken days for them to recover at the least. Knuckles sighed a little; despite the unfortunate circumstance, it had felt good to hold someone close to him like that, hold them like he had never been held. Maybe…no, this wasn't the time; it was possible that a stranger was coming and it was his sworn duty to be ready. He pulled himself out of the close proximity of the waterfall to the whole island. If what Nack and Rouge had told him about Seraph was true, he was going to need the advantage of being able to pick his fighting ground.

The face told the story; he'd only ever seen it on two classes of people; those who were about to go completely insane and those that had just walked onto the scene of a gruesome murder. Shadow absently wondered which it was as Sonic, blue quills streaked through with grime and white gloves now grey, staggered into the kitchen, breathing shallowly and eyes unfocused as he mechanically gulped the tea Shadow had thoughtfully provided. The black hedgehog smirked,

"So, how was it then?" If looks could kill he realised as Sonic growled at him,

"I…will…hurt…you…Shadow".

"Oh don't be so amateur-dramatic", Amy demanded, casually wiping her hands on a paper towel before throwing before throwing it into the bulging bin, "that wasn't too bad; I was expecting worse". Both male hedgehogs goggled at her, mouths agape; Shadow trying to imagine if that wasn't too bad what bad must be and shuddering, while Sonic was trying to come to terms with someone, anyone, marginalising the hell he'd just been through. Amy frowned, then smiled wickedly,

"What's the matter; cats got your tongues?" Both exploded,

"That was…"

"His room's…"

"…sheer hell!"

"…a bomb-site!"

"Hee-hee", Amy giggled at their expressions, "oh come on, it wasn't that bad", she repeated before turning a hard glance on Sonic, "but I expect it to stay that way, mister".

"Seig heil" the hedgehog muttered, in his mind cursing the fact she was right; his room had been a tip and he had needed to do something about it; Amy and the threat of the dreaded hammer had been just the catalyst he had needed to get off his butt and do it.

"What was that?" The question broke into his thoughts, followed rapidly by a panicked shout of,

"No, we've just paid the fridge off, no hammers". Sonic turned to find himself in the shadow of the Piko Piko hammer's head. Luckily, his mind, wishing desperately to preserve the body it found itself lumbered with, provided the lips with a quick response,

"I said sure fire", he gabbled before calming and resorting to charm, "and thank you Amy; if anyone was going to get me to do as mammoth a job as that, it was you". Damn, that was smooth; note to self – charm is a good thing for fan girls. Amy appeared to be in shock, her massive hammer wobbling in her grip as the words sank in. She lowered her weapon as she stared at Sonic.

"You mean it Sonic?"

"Yeah, I do", he was surprising himself; he hadn't really intended to be this honest but he was in full flow and couldn't stop now, "I'm a hero and should set a better example than that. Besides", his eyes flicked to Shadow, who was humming the tune of 'Smooth Operator' with an ill-concealed smile, "Blackie over there wouldn't have the guts for a job like that in a month of Sundays". The black hedgehog whipped round, red eyes blazing in a way that reminded the other two hedgehogs uncomfortably of Mecha Sonic.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Sonic should have let it drop, but pressed on recklessly,

"I called you Blackie, Blackie". Shadow roared and launched himself at Sonic, who laughed nettlingly and dodged round the table; it had become apparent very early on in his recovery that the name Blackie made Shadow see red.

"Amy, I need to borrow that hammer a sec". The ultimate life-form seethed as he raced to try and catch his blue counterpart.

"Nuh-uh", the female admonished, sniggering at their antics, "you've just paid off the fridge remember?" She watched on as the two of them played a fascinating game of chase. Boys, she thought quietly, always trying to be better than each other, but liking each other at the same time. As the speeds the two hedgehogs used increased, Amy sighed as she realised she'd probably have a second clean-up job on her hands before the night was out.

This appeared impossible. Discarding hallucinations as a possibility, there appeared to be a large island floating in the air. Despite the physical inconceivability of such a phenomenon, it was within the area the targets most likely occupied. The possibility existed that the targets were here. The choice was inevitable; extended reconnaissance of this environment was necessary.

After hovering for a few seconds, seemingly sizing up the task now facing him, the emotionless kidnapper set the engines to full and flew like an arrow towards Angel Island. As his relentless progress ate up the distance, the first few specks of rain began to fall.

In a secluded chamber at the heart of Angel Island, Knuckles felt a tiny, almost insignificant tap at on of the outer extremities of his ancestral homeland. The echidna tensed then proceeded to focus on the area of impact. As he did, a scowl germinated and then flourished on his normally passive features; this was not a presence he recognised. Unlike the gentle massages that came from guests of his island, this movement felt like glass being ground into his skin; an interloper. Having pinpointed the general area of invasion and plotted the most direct route of interception Knuckles felt his heart lurch; by sheer dumb luck or darker design, the invader had landed closer to the waterfall where he'd left his two charges. Easing himself from the connection with his home soil, the echidna kicked off from the Master Emerald and ran outside, feeling the rain spatter his fur and the chill of the breeze. The light had nearly faded completely and he had to move fast to protect the unsuspecting duo.

The island appeared uninhabited. The rain and deepening darkness would interfere with aerial reconnaissance; progress on foot. Mark the path.

Alone in alien surroundings, it was a cautious advance with Spyder in hand; the blade left a trail all but invisible to those who didn't know how to look for it; tiny slits in tree bark, a perfect cut in a leaf or a blade's worth of grass mysteriously trimmed. If he'd moved at his normal speed, Rouge and Nack may have been left without a prayer.

Knuckles caught the wind and glided with all his determination and indomitable will behind him. If his unexpected guest was Seraph, he had landed right between Hidden Palace and the waterfall where Rouge was. Knuckles was incensed that a stranger was on his land, worried that the intruder may hurt Rouge and curious as to what this mysterious bogeyman actually looked like. In other words, Knuckles was getting ready for a fight.

The trail was clear. No resistance encountered so far. The elements were hindering the search. Place of rest required. The reconnaissance would wait until maximum efficiency could be attained. A sound, close by. Possibly natural fauna. Prepare for possible assault from natural predator.

Knuckles had landed a safe distance from where he remembered breaking contact and had swiftly but silently worked his way towards the waterfall. The darkness wasn't so much of a problem for him due to his low-level night vision, but the rain was making hearing anything almost impossible. He almost missed it; there was someone nearby, he could tell this foliage had been parted recently by something that walked on two legs. Moving into a ready crouch, the echidna crept forwards, expecting the need for conflict at any given moment. It was only due to his excellent sense of smell that he actually avoided running into the intruder; leather wasn't usually found on his island for obvious reasons. Stopping dead, Knuckles cocked his head and willed his eyes to function in the darkness. After a couple of agonisingly long seconds they obeyed and Knuckles was able to pick out a shape in the shadows. Barely breathing, Knuckles was able to get a clear look at his enemy.

Seraph, if it was him, was facing away from him and appeared to have some kind of leather fetish. Every inch of him was covered in the dully reflective material except his boots, which appeared to have especially thin soles and made little noise when he moved. Some objects that looked suspiciously like coconuts were clipped to his back. As an estimate, Knuckles guessed he was taller but not by a lot, but as the other Mobian stopped dead and stiffened, he realised the time for watching was over. Raising himself to his full and imposing height, Knuckles threw down the gauntlet.

"Hey!"

Not a natural predator. Turn and observe the source of the shout; identification possible. Certainly male and most likely a friend of the targets. The knife was replaced. Remember the law should conflict arise.

The figure in front of him turned slowly to face him, and Knuckles felt twinges of both disappointment and apprehension. Disappointment because Seraph didn't appear to be the killing machine the photo he'd seen spoke of, but apprehension because by turning round, Seraph had exposed his most distinguishing characteristic. There wasn't an inch of skin showing on this guy; even his head was completely obscured by a black leather mask and that sent a shiver up and then down Knuckles' spine. He couldn't read the face of his opponent and that would be a disadvantage if it came to a fight. Which, if his luck ran true to form, it almost certainly would. Seraph didn't appear to be moving so it fell to him to make the first move. What to say though; he didn't want to give too much away but he certainly wanted the Mobian to get the impression he wasn't welcome.

Knuckles Echidna. The previous research proved useful. Powerful upper body strength and the ability to glide and dig at a rapid rate. Known associate of a target; targets possibly nearby. More reconnaissance necessary when interaction concluded.

Knuckles licked his lips and narrowed his eyes slightly,

"I take it you're Seraph then?"

Interesting and useful knowledge; targets in recent contact with this individual. Prepare the tracer. Reply in the affirmative.

A single, slow nod was the only response he received, but that was enough. So Rouge had been telling the truth earlier; he really did exist. His lip curled as he brought his hands up and made an offer he'd made only a handful of times in the past.

"I have no quarrel with you directly, so you may leave this island in peace and vow never to return". Something tells me he's not going to take me up on that offer the echidna though dourly. He was not disappointed.

This territory must be his. I am a trespasser. This territory shelters my targets. Debt of trespass now owed. Terms unacceptable regarding the current mission. Unfortunate but unavoidable. Remember the law – prepare for hostilities.

A shake of the head later and Knuckle's guard shot up, the action mirrored by the echidna's opponent. The mysterious Mobian entered a stance Knuckles was unfamiliar with as the echidna challenged,

"Okay then, we'll do this the hard way". Giving a yell that echoed off the trees, Knuckles advanced into the fray, fists lancing towards the angel in black.

Not very far away on the island, a certain bat pricked up her ears and gasped. Knuckles, and fighting; even over the waterfall she recognised that war shout. Nack noticed her change in face and stopped dead.

"What is it Rouge?" The bat turned to face him, eyes hard as she realised what must have happened.

"Knuckles is fighting, three guesses who". Nack quickly slapped her shoulder, acknowledging the severity of the situation,

"Annie getcha gun"; the weasel threw his pop-gun over one shoulder and got ready to move out, "lead the way; we've got to move quick". She was already gone, trying to track down the fight by her ears alone.

Knuckles led, his iron hard fists blurring the air as he made to circle his opponent, getting himself between Seraph and where Rouge was. He managed to accomplish this with relative ease; it was then he realised that, despite the twenty or so punches he'd thrown, none had actually connected properly. He'd felt impacts on his fists and forearms and hastily asserted that Seraph was holding back and blocking most of his strikes. Still, he was where he wanted to be and snarled as Seraph backed up a few paces, seemingly glaring at him in a calculating manner. It was then that Knuckles noticed what had been so unnerving about the leather clad stalker. How can he see through a mask with no eye holes?

The echidna is no longer moving. He may be protecting the target's location. New objective; trace this opponent. Try to end conflict in non-hostile manner.

Knuckles watched as his opponent backed down a little; maybe he hadn't been expecting someone as competent as he was to fight him. Following the movement of the figure, the echidna tensed as a single hand moved; it went from left to right, then pointed at him and repeated the movement. It may have been a distraction, but the pose was all wrong for that – the echidna blinked as he deduced what the gesture actually was.

Seraph wanted him to move out the way.

Right, now that's something new – asked politely to move over on my own island; the echidna shook his head, dreadlocks shaking as his breath frosted the air in front of him. He moved for no-one, especially on his home turf and especially when the stranger was going after something he wanted to protect.

The offer was rejected. Style is based loosely on boxing. Impressive strength and stamina. Reach lacking. End the fight swiftly. Pain but nothing disabling.

Seraph appeared to take up a slightly different stance; examining it, Knuckles realised this was a more aggressive form of fighting. It enabled his leading leg to kick swiftly, and his arms were going to be threatening. Knuckles based his stance more towards defence and waited for the attack to come; he was not disappointed.

Pushing hard off the back leg, Seraph exploded into life, covering the ground separating the two in seconds. Knuckles thrust his guard out ready to absorb any blows, but that proved to be a mistake. Like lightning, a snap kick smashed into his foremost fist, jarring his arm and knocking the guard away for a fraction of a second. A swift counterpunch was absorbed by a forearm, the deadly spurs on that gave the echidna his name defeated by the leather encasing the arm. Knuckles gave ground but couldn't get away completely; he grunted as a pair of torpedoes cracked into his chest and then Seraph sprang away, resuming his stance as naturally as water flows downhill. Rapidly assessing his condition, the echidna realised the damage was minimal as his thick muscles had absorbed most of the impact. Snarling at losing first blood, the echidna went on the offensive.

This quick regrouping appeared to catch Seraph off-guard; Knuckles smiled dangerously as he landed a punch squarely on the left bicep of his opponent. He followed up his advantage, trying to connect with a telling blow, but in a display of gymnastics the black figure back flipped and cart wheeled away from the steaming echidna. As he ended his routine and took up another stance, Knuckles received the impression that Seraph was less than impressed.

The delay was increasing; finish and resume reconnaissance.

As Seraph advanced again, Knuckles tracked his every movement, waiting for the perfect second to strike. It was a difficult wait, but then, there!; a microsecond gap in the dark figure's defences. Quicker than thought, Knuckles lashed out, expecting to connect with a blow that would have had pretty much anyone on the floor sucking in oxygen. That, however, didn't happen and as his wrist was seized in an iron grasp the echidna knew he'd made a mistake by striking too soon.

While one hand tied up the echidna's guard, Seraph let fly with the second, free hand; a short, thundering jab to his opponent's floating ribs. Though Knuckles had a high tolerance for pain, a hit like that caused even him to gasp and straighten for a second. Capitalisation was swift; the grip left his wrist and something hard slammed into the echidna's muzzle, causing the fighter's vision to blur and nose to start leaking blood. Enraged, Knuckles swung with both fists, catching his enemy a stinger on the shoulder but the move left him overbalanced. Seraph rolled with the punch and dropped; as he did so he swung his entire body round, leaving a single, straight leg trailing. Knuckles couldn't dodge as the sweep caught the back of his knees, pitching him straight onto his back. Reflexively, his arms dropped to break his fall; a reflex that did more harm than good. Whipping back round from his crouched position, the sweeping leg swung up then down in a vicious axe kick, connecting solidly with the prone echidna's stomach. The impact drove the air forcefully out of Knuckles in an involuntary gargle of pain as he sat up straight.

Rouge's heart froze; that had been Knuckles, she was sure of it. Her imagination swarmed her with horrid images again and she forced herself to go faster, panic lending her speed. Nack trailed in her wake as she tore into the undergrowth, her enhanced hearing allowing her to home in on the fight with unerring accuracy. As she ran, she prepared to fight; Knuckles may need her help and she would not be found lacking.

Tracer deployed.

As Knuckles fought for air, a strike to the side of his head sent him sprawling again. Damn it! Through a haze of pain, he forced himself upright, expecting more pain but it didn't arrive; Seraph was too busy recovering his own stance to inflict more misery on the red warrior. Lungs heaving horribly, Knuckles raised his guard once more, determined not to get caught by a cheap tactic like that again. It was only his instincts that prevented him looking around as something crashed through the bushes at his back; he only prayed it was friendly and not some thug Seraph had employed. Relief washed through him as a voice, a voice that a few hours ago would have struck dread into him, challenged,

"I'm the one you want; come dance with me". Rouge the Bat took up her normal fighting stance and took a long look at the Mobian who was hunting her.

Seraph struck an imposing and sinister silhouette; the rain dripping from his pitch-black leather reinforced the image of a soulless killer, as did the unreadable mask that passed for his face. Rouge had an advantage over Knuckles in this fight; she was fresh, keen and almost wanting this battle. Motioning Knuckles to catch his breath, she moved forwards and gave a disdainful sneer, beckoning the silent figure forwards with a single finger.

Target in sight. Note she protects the innocent. The situation has changed. Taking impossible without damaging target. Weakening target logical.

Nack cautiously approached Rouge's voice; against Seraph, he wasn't going to last long in a fist fight. It was obvious Seraph was here, he caught sight of his nemesis as he pulled his gun off his shoulder. As he crept up behind his fighter friends, he realised the Knuckles looked in a bad way and that, as Rouge occupied his enemy's attention, he'd probably never get a better shot than this. Throwing caution to the wind, Nack thrust himself to his full height, brought his gun to his shoulder and bellowed,

"Down!"

Rouge didn't think, didn't consciously react to the command, her reflexes were honed well beyond that point. She threw herself to the floor, allowing the weasel the clear shot he needed. Seraph seemed to look straight at Nack as he pulled the trigger, the weasel regretting that he'd never see the look on Seraph's face before he died. The dark figure, however, seemed reluctant to give Nack any reason for regrets; having also heard the warning, his legs parted in a classic splits manoeuvre, ducking him under the bullet. Knuckles, the only one still on his feet, saw his opponent down and charged, roaring as Nack cursed himself for missing.

Firearm. Possibility of severe wounding exceeding acceptable risk level. Distract and withdraw.

As the echidna ran towards him, Seraph's arm shot out and a small, black object landed at his feet. With a concussive blast, there was a bright flash that completely destroyed the night vision of all present. Under cover of the temporary blindness, Seraph leapt to his feet and sprinted away into the darkness and cover afforded by the foliage behind him, not flinching as bullets whined overhead.

Nack snarled savagely as he unloaded shot after shot in the direction Seraph had fled; there was next to no chance of him hitting the retreating assassin, but there was always hope. He still couldn't believe Seraph had cheated him a second time by dodging that bullet and cursed himself repeatedly for missing; the gun had been his last possible trick and his opponent now knew of its existence. Having expended his current payload, the weasel turned his attention to where Rouge was dealing with Knuckles.

Completely disorientated by the blast of the flash grenade, Knuckles was lost in a sea of white light, temporarily deafened by the bang. As he tried to make out anything other than vague shapes, a buzzing filled his right ear and gradually, he was able to turn to face it. Something, a hand, touched his glove and he pulled away, forcing weary limbs to adopt the guard stance as he expected a surprise attack. However, as the hand touched his glove again, some sense returned to his ears and he was able to make out the gist of the statement.

"Knuckles it's me" Rouge shouted, keeping herself just within arms reach of the echidna but able to spring out again should he swing. He had taken more of the grenade than either her or Nack and was temporarily blind and, she cursed Seraph again, deaf as well. Lucky it was just a flash-bang; a real grenade would have completely screwed all of us she thought carefully as she repeated herself slowly. After a few more seconds, Knuckles appeared to hear her and lowered his arms.

"Rouge?" he shouted. She winced; he must not have fully recovered his hearing yet. She quickly examined his injuries, impressed at his fortitude despite herself. His nose was bleeding and he appeared to be winded, but other than that appeared to be in good nick. Nack was guarding them with a fully loaded pop-gun and she doubted heavily that Seraph would return for a while, not after coming as close to death as he just had. Then again… she didn't know anything about what he'd do next; going on no information was anathema to her but she was having to put up with it. Ignoring the possible risk of a repeat attack, she move back to Knuckles, hands raised in a pacifying gesture,

"Yes, Knuckles it's me" she said, louder than normal; she approached as the echidna let his arms fall, breathing deeply and clutching his side. Broken rib she questioned in a second of panic; if Seraph had managed to hurt Knuckles like that, she and Nack were in trouble. And Knuckles would be injured for a while, something she didn't want…oh, not again; she realised that looking at the echidna now, she couldn't just walk away as she once might have done; she wanted, no needed to help him. Just like he helped me – the bat walked closer to him, gently prying his arm from his injured side and looping it round her neck.

"Lean on me" she said gently, hoping Knuckles would hear her in his current state.

Someone took my hand away from my hurt ribs; they weren't broken but they sure felt like it. Rouge, even through a bloody nose I could smell her, moved in close and, what was she doing, she moved…

"Lean on me".

Those words cut through the fog, I can tell you. I wasn't incapacitated by any stretch of the imagination but that offer, from Rouge, hit me hard in the soft centre. Normally, she'd have come up with some sarcastic comment about not avoiding the flash but now she just let me, no offered for me, to support myself on her slim shoulders. It was an offer I was grateful for; my side still ached and it was going to be a long walk back to the waterfall.

"Let's go back" Knuckles said in a gasp, trying not to use Rouge too much as a support. The bat nodded and Nack instinctively took a position in front of the duo, covering them with his deadly gun and sharp senses. The journey back to the waterfall took roughly quarter of an hour, compared to the two or so minutes it had taken Nack and Rouge to get the fight in their mad dash. On their slow, steady way, a thought struck Rouge, and Knuckles felt the bats' shoulders shake. Having mostly recovered his hearing, the echidna lowered his voice.

"Something funny?"

"I just thought" Rouge explained, smiling as the irony gods had a laugh at her expense, "this time yesterday we'd have been clawing each other's eyes out, but today we lean on each for support. Just, struck me as ironic, really" she tailed off, unsure of herself as Knuckles didn't respond immediately, refocusing her mind on the journey ahead. Left foot, right foot, left foo…

"Makes you wonder what tomorrow will bring" Knuckles quipped, chortling slightly at the thought as Rouge tried to make sense of the words. Had it been just a simple sentence, or was there a double meaning inflected in the echidna's statement? While she'd publicly expect the former, deep inside herself she prayed for the latter.

Luckily, Seraph didn't make an appearance on the way back and the battle weary warriors made it back to the waterfall. Nack, who had been silent on the entire journey, mind in turmoil as the missed shot, his missed shot, replayed over and over in his head, spoke softly,

"We can't sleep in the open, we'd be easy targets".

"I know", Knuckles said carefully, gently lifting himself away from Rouge's supporting shoulders, "follow me". He led on, getting closer and closer to the waterfall as the two targets swapped confused glances. One of the perks of being a guardian, Knuckles thought carefully as he picked out the correct path, you can always find a place to hide. He gritted his teeth; he hated the feeling of being forced to hide from an attacker, especially on his island, but this time it couldn't be helped. He'd underestimated Seraph's skill and cunning and he'd been lucky to get away as lightly as he had. The rational part of his mind was trying to explain that fact, but there were glaring inconsistencies; Seraph had been in the perfect position to deal him heavy, if not crippling, damage but hadn't. He shrugged as his mind returned to more important matters. The spray from the waterfall caught in his fur as he carefully moved behind the curtain of water, beckoning the others to follow as he raised his voice,

"Not much further, we'll be safe here for the night".

Nack gave a whistle as he glanced round the small chamber Knuckles had led them to; the chamber looked like it had originally been eroded naturally, but had been artificially extended into a dry, small niche. A good place to hide he realised as Knuckles lay down, tenderly stretching himself out on his back. Rouge kneeled as he sat down; the tension grew until he could bear it no longer,

"I'm sorry you two".

"Wha'?"

"I shouldna missed", the weasel cursed, again thinking about just how much that missed shot could cost in the long run, "not from there; Seraph should be six feet under by now".

"If you two hadn't arrived when you did, the same might have been true for me". The weasel looked over as Knuckles smiled and rubbed his stomach, "how'd you know where to find me anyway?"

"With the amount of noise you make I'd have found you blindfolded", Rouge chortled before looking concerned, "he catch you in the gut?"

"Yeah, stings like hell" the echidna admitted. His eyes widened a little as the bat approached him,

"What are you doing?" he asked quickly as she kneeled by his side.

"Hold still, this'll stop your stomach from cramping up" she stated, one hand resting on the echidna's stomach. He hissed as she pressed gently,

"Ow; this isn't helping".

"Yeah it is, you'll feel it in the morning" Nack said, recognising the bat's actions as a kind of massage that would keep the blood flowing to the damaged tissue; it'd be painful but worth it in the long run. Knuckles nodded, submitting to the pressing and releasing of Rouge's hands, and glanced at her as she asked gently,

"Why'd you fight him anyway?" The echidna had to come up with something on the fly; he didn't want Nack to know about the Master Emerald unless it was absolutely necessary. Luckily, his agile mind hit on a solution.

"I saw him land", he began, closing his eyes as Rouge continued the massage, "he was too close to you two for comfort and I couldn't get past him. I had to fight him to get to you. Don't stop, that feels great" he added, the pain in his belly fading as Rouge worked her magic. The bat scowled playfully,

"Don't get comfortable, I'm only doing this because you were dumb enough to get hurt looking out for me", is that strictly true – errrr – thought not, she turned away slightly to hide a faint flush, "what's his fighting style like?" she asked, curious as to her foe's abilities; you could tell a lot from someone by the way they fought.

"Painful", Knuckles managed to joke before turning serious, "No, seriously, I don't really know much about it. He was kicking, punching and grabbing equally as well".

"That's about right", Nack stood up after fully reloading his gun, "Seraph's good; he'll adapt to his opponents". Ain't that the truth the weasel thought grimly, remembering the circumstances of years ago. Knuckles nodded at Rouge, whispered his thanks and turned to Nack.

"I need your phone a second". Both treasure hunters looked at him as though he'd gone mad, but the weasel handed it over.

"What are you gonna do with that?" Rouge asked, curious as to what the echidna had in mind. Knuckles ducked towards the cove entrance, answering over his shoulder,

"I'm getting us some help".

Typical, Sonic groaned inwardly, just when I finally get ready for bed. The blue blur had brushed his teeth and narrowly avoided Amy in the hallway; he'd had a suspicion she'd been after a goodnight kiss…his insides squirmed. Kicking off the covers, the hero moved to where the phone was anchored to the kitchen wall, next to the fridge.

"Hey, this is Sonic".

"Ah good, you're in". The hedgehog's eyes widened as he recognised the gruff voice on the other end of the line,

"Knuckles", he was speechless for a second; the echidna never called anyone, let alone him, so why the breach of protocol, "how you doing bud; been a long time…"

"Listen Sonic", he was cut off and noticed, with no small amount of concern, that Knuckles' tone was hushed and hurried, "there's a problem on Angel Island. I need you, Tails and Shadow up here tomorrow morning". Sonic didn't reply immediately; he was reeling from this – Knuckles never, ever asked for help, especially not from him, unless this was more than just a run-of-the-mill plot by Dr. Eggman. Gathering himself, Sonic quickly replied,

"We'll be there soon as Knucks; what's going on?"

"No time to explain", the echidna's voice was hushed further, "I'm here with Rouge and a weasel called Nack. Bring supplies; I don't know how long this'll last".

"Nack", a memory was triggered by the name and Sonic made a split-second decision, "I'm bringing Amy as well".

"Fine, just get here, this is life or death".

"No problem", Sonic couldn't resist a dig, "so, asked Rouge out yet?" The line went dead. After deciding it was still early enough to get through to Tails, the hedgehog made a second call and was assured the Tornado was ready to fly at last. Sonic told the kit as much as he knew and told him to get ready for an early start. He then called Amy and Shadow together in the kitchen.

"Just got a call from Knucks; he says he's got a problem on Angel Island", he looked at Amy, "he's there with someone called Nack". Amy's eyebrows raised,

"So what's the problem?"

"He didn't say but this is Knuckles remember; he never calls except in a crisis. Tails says the Tornado's ready to go, so we're flying there tomorrow morning".

"Fine" Shadow put in, "we'll help out our friend, but let's get some sleep first" he pointed at the clock on the wall. All three nodded and headed for their rooms before Amy stopped and turned to face Sonic, a gleam in her eye that made the blue hedgehog very nervous.

"Goodnight kiss?" she asked, closing her eyes and puckering up. As the next noise she heard was a slamming door she took that as a no, sighed and headed for her room when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She found herself looking into Shadow's crimson eyes,

"Don't worry Amy", the black hedgehog said with a small smile, "he cares for you; he's just afraid of commitment. Leave him a while and he'll come round".

"You think so?"

"I know so; come on, I live with the guy, I know what he's thinking about". A voice from Sonic's room silenced the pair of them,

"I'm thinking about beating you to death if you don't stop embarrassing me, Shadow the Hedgehog!" Holding in his chuckles in, Shadow looked at Amy, who was in a similar state. The two bade each other goodnight before retiring to their rooms.

Rouge was wondering just what Knuckles was up to when the echidna reappeared in the entrance to their sanctuary and tossed Nack his phone, smiling grimly,

"Done, Sonic and co will be here tomorrow".

"No", hope had flared in the bat's heart, but was rapidly swamped with guilt; she had said she wouldn't bring them into this, but just how had it turned out, "that's terrible; Seraph, he'll just, I didn't want them involved". Knuckles was taken aback by this,

"What?" Nack spoke up in Rouge's defence,

"She didn't want any of you lot involved in this; she thought you could get hurt and didn't want it to be on her head". This sent Knuckles reeling even further,

Is, is this true Rouge?" The bat nodded and the echidna simply blinked; She didn't want us hurt, that's just… he shook his head and tried to prove his decision to get the gang together was a good idea,

"Well, too late now; they should be here tomorrow" he sat down, noting the pain in his ribs was fading by now, "and when they get here you two are going to come clean about how you got into this mess". Nack shot to his feet,

"No way, it's not…"

"Yes it is", Rouge was up as well, glaring at her companion, "my friends are involved in this now. That changes everything and if the story can help, we're going to tell it, okay?" Nack met her eyes and capitulated, she was really determined in this. Well, I don't have to tell them everything the weasel thought carefully.

"Fine, I don't like it but I'll go along with it. Now you two get some sleep, I'll take first watch". The weasel stood and moved to the entrance, gun ready as Knuckles and Rouge made them as comfortable as possible on the bare stone.

A black hand shut off the receiver bead; though muffled, the tracer chip he'd placed on the echidna was doing an adequate job. Reinforcements were due tomorrow, but the journey here and fight straight afterwards had tired the hunter; acting tonight would be unwise. The chip embedded in his dreadlocks meant that Knuckles was now an unwitting beacon for Seraph's trackers; he could find the targets any time he needed to. Reclining in a suitable tree, the faceless Mobian allowed his body to shut down and rest. Tomorrow the hunt continued in full; the hue and cry was raised and the targets were in plain sight.