A/N: Hey all! I'm sooo sorry that it took me such a long time to update. I had a gigantic case of writer's block...From experience, I can honestly say that writer's block and perfectionism do not work well together. In addition, this chapter was kind of hard for me to write because I kept picking out little elements that I did not like. This eventually resulted in huge changes, even to the point where I reorganized the entire thing.
Secondly, upon looking over this chapter again...It's really long. I promise I won't ever write such a long chapter again, ever! I promise! Forgive me! (-cries-)
Also, I had a hard time choosing whether to use Knuckles's or Knuckles'...Eventually I decided to go sans "s" because "Knuckles' " is so much more pleasant to look at.
Oh, and I made cookies for all my lovely reviewers! (In the shape of my favorite little echidna's head, of course!) I just wish I could...you know...actually give them to you. The computer doesn't seem to like it when I jam cookies into the CD drive...Uh, anyway! (-Sweatdrop-)
Just a thought before I start...
Recently, I realized that, as well as referring to make-up, "rouge" is the french word for "red." Now, think of the color of Knuckles's fur... Red + Red! They are destined for each other! (-Threatens Shadow with a toothpick, colored cellophane still attached!-)
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, etc. created by SEGA or Sonic Team. All similarities with non-SEGA characters are purely coincidental.
And without any further ado...
Chapter 3 - The Guardian and the Thief
Knuckles sat trembling and alone atop the shrine of the Master Emerald, where the precious stone had rested only hours earlier. Heavy drops of rain poured down from the bulging charcoal clouds above, soaking through his brilliant ruby dreadlocks and adding to his overwhelming misery. Though this discomfort normally would not have vexed him after years of isolation, every comfort that he knew had unraveled before his eyes. Doubts now plagued his mind, eating away at his conscience and causing his stomach to churn ceaselessly.
Some guardian I am...
The echidna was leaning forward slightly with his arms folded in his lap. Drooping his head in shame, he listened to the hypnotic patting of the raindrops against the surface of the shrine and the surrounding verdure. His right hand moved over the white, crescent-shaped symbol on his chest. Clenching this hand into a fist, he closed his eyes and endured the sting of the piercing water as it pounded on his fresh wounds. A wave of pain pulsed through his left cheek, and he gently caressed it with his other hand as the sharp, salty taste of his own blood became more apparent in his mouth. He let out a stifled gasp as he applied a bit too much pressure to the tender area, setting his jaw aflame in inconceivable agony. In reflex to this nearly-intolerable pain, he gritted his teeth and snarled loudly. This, unfortunately, only augmented his suffering.
"Damn it all!" the echidna shouted, rising to his feet. The sound reverberated for a few moments only to be overcome by the faint roaring of the ocean. The pain had subsided to a bearable point, but Knuckles knew that he would have to deal with these gradually dwindling spurts of anguish for several days.
Knuckles quickly became aware that he had lost most of the feeling in his left leg, and he sat down gingerly as it began to wobble under the weight of his body. He exhaled deeply as he examined it, noting where it still ached and where it had just become entirely numb.
This is quite a situation that I've found myself in...
Once again, the wounded echidna raised a fist to the symbol on his chest and sighed. He had become feeble, an excuse of a being not powerful enough to be entrusted with the protection of such a mighty jewel. Now, as a result of his incompetence, the Master Emerald had been stolen right before his eyes, and he had been unable to prevent such a theft. Angel Island had fallen into the raging ocean, and the guardian now sat helpless atop its vacant shrine.
The echidna attempted to stand again, but he found that his injured leg refused to support his weight. Having managed to bring himself about halfway up before realizing this, he landed with a thud on his rear, groaning loudly as the force of the impact rippled throughout his body. As he sat detached under the torrential downpour, Knuckles allowed his eyes to wander and his thoughts to roam through the archive of his mind, searching for any clue regarding this recent turn of events. The rich forests of Angel Island were shrouded by layers of thick, pale mist; Knuckles had often dreamt of losing himself amidst the abundant foliage only to find that the Master Emerald would lead him back to its precious shrine. The forest had also been the setting of his most recent dream.
Closing his eyes, the pensive Knuckles growled softly and folded his arms across his chest. Though he had fallen asleep while defending the Master Emerald, the stubborn echidna knew that the dream he had experienced of late had not been the reason that the Emerald now glittered in the hands of a crook. He had allowed himself to become weak, and now the fruit of his carelessness stood before his eyes. As the thief fled even further from the Master Emerald's home, its guardian remained atop the shrine without any means of moving from his spot, let alone to pursue the criminal. The entire matter infuriated him, although most of his rage was due to his current feelings of incompetency and shame. His actions towards the thief were a direct response from his own emotions. While it was true that he had been in a state of dreamful slumber when the intruder first arrived, the gem had been swiped from under his nose while he was fully conscious and prepared.
His blood was boiling with dishonor and frustration, but he knew that he could do nothing until he had recovered to the point where he could present a fair fight. Massaging his aching left jaw, Knuckles opened his eyes and stared into the misty forest as countless thoughts swirled in his mind like blades of grass caught in a savage tornado. No matter how many times he tried to rationalize the event that had just unfolded, the echidna found that he was unable. Regardless, he knew that he would have to learn from his mistakes if he expected to regain possession of the Master Emerald. He could not allow his emotions to interfere with his important burden, even if it meant the abandonment of his own deepest desires.
When Knuckles had begun to nod off earlier that evening, he found himself thrust rather abruptly into a fantasy. As was habit for him, the guardian was standing in front of the Master Emerald and gazing about his moonlit island. The air was tranquil and sweet, and the thick grass was swaying gently in the soft breeze. However, Knuckles stayed vigilant as he crossed his arms and remained completely quiet.
After a few minutes, a faint rustle of leaves escaped the utter silence of the tenebrous forest. The echidna became still for an instant as he tried to identify the source of the sound. The noise itself had not been too loud, so he suspected that it may have been a nocturnal creature merely going about its business. Even so, he kept his focus in case he had been mistaken. Then, as the Master Emerald began to glow even more brilliantly, Knuckles sensed a very remote presence nearby. It was not necessarily threatening, but he was certain that this aura did not belong to anything native to the island. As the stranger drew closer to the shrine, the Emerald's guardian squinted at the forest and waited anxiously. A loud crack echoed through the treetops; the intruder had explicitly revealed his location.
Knuckles glowered and clenched his fists, his flaming violet eyes boring into the shadowy figure that now stood at the edge of the dense forest. With small, cautious steps, he made his way across the plush grass under the endless expanse of stars, running his eyes along the figure's slender curves and sides. The form shifted slightly as he came closer, and he soon became aware that it was slowly backing away from him. His body froze, his muscles tense, and he listened carefully to the sounds of snapping twigs and his own heavy breathing as he prepared to advance once more. Though he was confident in his own abilities as a proficient guardian, his heart was thumping audibly in his rib cage, racing as if the Grim Reaper's scythe was lingering only a few inches from his neck.
In the passing of an instant, the figure darted away, a black shadow lost amongst the overgrown trees and bountiful shrubs. Knuckles sprung forward and quickly entered the forest, frantically searching every rock and tree branch as his feet moved independently onward. A native bird cried out in shock as he leapt onto a flimsy tree branch from which he had a decent view, steadying himself against the sturdy boughs. For a moment, he listened for any sign of this aberrant intruder.
Snap!
The petrified echidna could not react so much as to turn his head before he felt the weight of another shoved into the center of his back, forcing him off the branch and face-forward into the soft soil below. The creature who had struck him landed in front of his nose with a soft thud, and he heard its retreating footsteps as he gently pushed his body upwards to a standing position.
"Bastard!" he exclaimed under his breath as he held his aching rib cage and winced slightly. After steadying himself, Knuckles gritted his teeth and began to move quickly in the direction that the stranger had fled. He was not very far behind now. In fact, he could hear the faint padding of feet only meters in front of him, where he knew there was a small forest clearing...
Inching forward ever so cautiously, he kneeled down to peer through the dense vegetation that separated him from this visitor. What he discovered when he peeped through, however, was a large, curious eye.
"I figured that it would take you a while to find me, but not quite this long, Echidna. You had me worried that you might have gotten lost!"
Knuckles fell backwards, landing on his bottom. His wide eyes and slightly trembling body indicated that he had been spooked by this unexpected intrusion. The creature, who had pushed aside the underbrush and stepped out in front of him, was giggling madly, clutching her sides in sheer glee. He could see her entire body now, outlined against the dark woodland. Though her identity had been blatant from the moment that she opened her mouth to mock him, being able to see her seemed to make his blood race through his veins. As ashamed as he might be that she had employed such trickery in order to jest with him, he knew that what he felt as he gazed up at her was deeper than the mask of anger and stubbornness that he donned to hide his true feelings.
"I wasn't lost!" he snarled, glaring directly into her eyes. "Perhaps if someone had not tried to kill me along the way, I wouldn't have taken so long to get here!"
Knuckles rubbed his side in retrospect, and the creature laughed quietly. She approached him carefully and bent down, offering her hand to the resentful crimson echidna. He watched it for a moment, considering his options, and took her hand in his. As soon as he was on his feet once more, he loosened his grip and tried to pull his hand out of her grasp, but she clutched it even tighter and nodded towards the clearing in tacit invitation. His cheeks were warm and he knew that they were reddening, so he turned his head to the side in the vain hope that she would not notice his discomfort. He did chance a quick look at her as they entered the tiny area, and her mouth was fixed in an amused grin as she eyed him playfully. This humiliated him even further, yet the very circumstances seemed to fill him with a joy that he had longed for during the months that they had been apart.
When they had come to the center, the woman released his hand and smirked delightedly at him, shifting her weight to her left foot. Her silky white fur was bathed in the warm moonlight, and her bewitching aqua irises seemed to radiate an internal light. She had folded her thin ebony wings at her back, although the edges were visible on either side of her feminine torso. Instead of the tight black jumpsuit that he normally spotted her in, however, she had simply chosen to wear a long black coat that stopped just below her knees. Despite the simplicity of her outfit, she looked truly gorgeous as the moon smiled down upon her and her unknown antics.
Knuckles had, after absorbing this marvelous sight, proceeded to turn an even more vibrant shade of scarlet. The bat chuckled softly and locked her eyes with his. For a moment, they remained silent as if figures frozen in a picture frame. Then, the bat allowed her eyes to fall and she closed them in quiet contemplation.
Becoming increasingly aware of the awkward situation that he had found himself in, Knuckles began to violently ponder, Why am I here? What am I doing? Why the hell would she put me through all that trouble just to get me here?
Suspecting the worst, the echidna's muscles suddenly tightened, and he shot her a menacing glare. Raising his right fist to eye level, he took a step backwards. The bat opened her eyes once again and sighed softly, folding her arms in front of her chest and slowly shaking her head.
"All right, spill it!" Knuckles yelled, and the bat tapped her foot subconsciously. "Was luring me all the way out here part of some clever ploy of yours? Tell me now!"
The bat lifted her eyes to the sky and frowned.
"Actually...I need to talk to you about something."
The echidna stomped forward and thrust his fist in front of her nose. He glanced back in the direction of the Master Emerald's shrine, dearly hoping that he had not fallen for some sort of well-planned diversion.
"If that was true, why did we have to come all the way out here to talk, bat girl?" he spat, and she placed her left hand on his fist.
"If we had talked there, we both know that you would have been too focused on that precious gem of yours to think logically about what I tell you, Knucklehead!" she retorted in a bitter tone.
Knuckles sighed deeply, lowering his fist. Although he did not entirely trust her, he knew that she had made a valid point. Averting his eyes, he merely responded, "Fine, Rouge...fine. What seems to be the problem?"
A few gentle drops of water met with Knuckles' face, and he looked up at the sky. Although it had been clear only moments before, he noticed that wispy gray clouds now enveloped the moon like a thin, silvery veil. Rouge took a step towards him, unresponsive to the diminutive crystal beads that now clung to her smooth fur. She tilted her head to the heavens for a moment and watched the clouds stir and dance around the moon.
"You really are...quite devoted, aren't you?" she remarked, smirking as the pallid moonlight filled her clever eyes. A gentle wind ruffled her fur, and she turned to face the echidna with a smug expression toying at the corners of her mouth. He shot her a puzzled glare, and she exhaled with a soft, content sigh. "Always thinking of that Emerald of yours...You don't seem to want anything else."
Rouge allowed herself a few subtle chuckles, and Knuckles growled as he tried to combat his volatile temper and give a meaningful comeback. Eventually, he managed to shout, "Don't be ignorant! I must guard the Master Emerald, just as my ancestors were charged with doing!" He pondered his words for a moment, then added, "And don't assume that you know how I think!"
The bat grinned even wider and folded her arms in front of her chest, eyeing him flirtatiously.
"Oh, how do you think then, Echidna?"
"That's beside the point!" he snapped, flushing an impressive shade of red. She was beating about the bush, and he could tolerate it no longer. However, as he was about to open his mouth to urge her to speak, she held her finger to her lips to silence him. The warmth gradually dissolved from his cheeks, and he watched and waited as her lips remained shut.
Enormous drops were now beginning to fall on their heads, but Rouge continued to act as if she did not mind this. They stood there in a state of absolute silence until the bat gave a small snicker that she quickly suppressed.
"All right, I'm sorry," Rouge began, smirking at the damp echidna. "I think that this news may annoy you a bit, though..."
Knuckles turned his cheek to her and grunted loudly. Rouge seemed to interpret this as his way of requesting that she continue, so she took a step towards him and placed her hands on her hips. He noticed this move out of the corner of his eye and turned back to her, gazing fiercely into her eyes.
"Well, Knuckles..." she continued with a sly grin, "remember how I told you that I had quit using my treasure hunting skills for the government?"
The echidna glared at her suspiciously, raising his left eyebrow. After Earth had been saved from the death wish of Professor Gerald Robotnik, Eggman's vengeful grandfather, Rouge had mentioned that she planned to leave her current line of work due to "too much work and too little pay." Knuckles recalled this conversation, yet he felt as if he had forgotten a vital part of what Rouge had said. For some reason that he could not begin to imagine, the context of that discussion was quite blurry and in the dark for him. In the end, Knuckles figured that he had a broad enough picture of her words to provide an honest reply. After a long hiatus, he flatly responded, "I remember."
Though the rain fell all about her and streaked down her glossy fur, Rouge appeared to be completely impervious to everything that surrounded her. No fiber of her body had lost its luster under the brutal weather. From her fur to her makeup to her snug black coat, everything was flawless. Thoughts like this congested in Knuckles' mind, and he failed to notice that his cheeks had filled with heat and that he now felt a bit lightheaded. Unfortunately, he also failed to realize that Rouge had fixed him with a rather curious stare.
"Do you want to hear what I have to say or not, Knucklehead?" Rouge asked, waving her hand before his eyes. Knuckles blinked a few times and closed his eyes, ashamed at where his thoughts had wandered.
Well...flawless...except that attitude of hers... he thought, then shook his head violently. What the hell is wrong with me?
Rouge took note of his unintentional gesture and frowned, scratching her head.
"You don't want to know?"
Knuckles glanced at her furiously and took a step backwards.
"Of course I want to know!" the echidna practically yelled at her, and she covered her ears out of habit. She merely sighed and crossed her arms.
"All right, sheesh..."
The smirk returned to Rouge's lips as she stretched her wings and met his gaze.
"I actually did quit that job, you know. The president wasn't too happy about losing his best agent...Oh well! I have better things to do with my life!"
Knuckles grinned and chuckled softly.
"It's just like you to be so self-centered..." he replied, which led Rouge to fix him with an agitated expression. "I'm surprised that they let a little thief like you go without much questioning."
"They're not all as untrusting as you, you know," Rouge giggled, then looked away. "Of course, you need to protect the Master Emerald...which leads me to my original intention in coming here."
Knuckles shot the bat a solemn glare, and she turned to face the direction of the shrine.
"If I were you, I would watch that treasure of yours closer than ever. It's more powerful than the combined might of the Chaos Emeralds, so we don't know how long it might take for someone to try to use that for their benefit...whether it be Eggman or worse." She smiled sincerely and gazed up at the moon, which was still visible through the translucent clouds. "I'm done trying to steal from you, but you should definitely watch your back."
With those words, Rouge crouched and pushed up from the ground, flapping her wings slowly as her body ascended through the dense raindrops and into the heart of the severe storm. Knuckles took a few hurried steps forward and watched as the bat's dark figure passed behind the treetops and to her unknown destination. He wanted to call out for her...to bring her back to the island...
Out of fear of the mockery that he would inevitably receive, he did not.
The echidna curled his fingers into fists and held them in front of his face as the rainwater dripped from his soaked dreadlocks. Rouge had not told him any information that he had not already thought of on his own, but to hear her mention such things provided a strange blanket of security to him as he prepared to return to the shrine and go about his duties as guardian. One idea in particular struck him as odd in light of the desirous treasure hunter's egotistic personality. She had mentioned that she no longer wished to steal from him, although the powerful Master Emerald was something that any obsessive jewel thief would lust after.
Turning to trod along the woodland paths once again, Knuckles shook his head and sighed deeply. He knew that he could not allow his mind to drift from the Master Emerald's protection. However, thoughts of the bat girl seemed to swim through his mind whenever he saw a bird sing sweetly in the trees, an odd cloud float lazily across the sky, or a leaf float delicately through the air. She was everywhere, from the tiniest pebble at the foot of the Master Emerald's shrine to the vast, sparkling ocean that lapped far beneath the island. As much as he told himself that he did not care about her well-being, the tough guardian could not quite seem to force her out of his mind. Thus, he tortured himself with lengthy days and sleepless nights in hopes that he could completely eliminate all visions and dreams of her. The protection of the Master Emerald was his destiny, and this path of thought compelled him to take such serious measures in order to cleanse his thoughts of the voluptuous bat that danced so persistently in his mind.
As Knuckles traveled, the storm became even more ferocious. His thick dreadlocks flailed behind him as he attempted to push through the onslaught of the harsh winds. Lightening flashed viciously in the sky as the thunder rumbled with such intensity that Knuckles was beginning to develop a sharp headache. The trees offered little defense against the enmity of the elements, for their branches were being cruelly blown every which way by the relentless gales. Knuckles threw his arms in front of his face as he moved forward in the inclement weather, determined to reach the Master Emerald's shrine.
Plop!
A particularly giant raindrop landed right between the echidna's amethyst eyes, exploding. He blinked a few times, looked all around him, and blinked a few times more to find that he was staring at a dark, overcast sky as he laid next to the glimmering Master Emerald. His heart beating rapidly, Knuckles sat up and glared into the forest. With the exception of the sudden storm, everything was just as it had been before he had chased Rouge to the clearing.
Knuckles sighed and leaned back against the Master Emerald. Despite his efforts, he had fallen asleep again. The chase, the meeting, and Rouge's words had all been a dream.
The storm only worsened as time marched steadily on. Strong gusts ravaged the island, throwing showers of leaves into the air and threatening to uproot even the sturdiest of trees. Knuckles stood before the Master Emerald, watching his surroundings closely. Such bleak, blinding weather was a perfect opportunity for a seasoned gem thief to strike. This reason was precisely why Knuckles now stood with fists at his sides, ready to deter any attackers that might seek to take advantage of this environmental anomaly.
This is rather strange, the guardian thought as he raised his eyes to the darkening clouds. When I fell asleep, the sky was perfectly clear. Man, how long did I sleep?
Another violent squall assaulted the echidna's face, and he held his arms out in front of his face in hopes of blocking the water. Instead, both his face and arms were pelted by piercing raindrops and howling winds. Recuperating promptly, Knuckles turned to the Master Emerald and placed his right hand on it, running his palm along the side. The beautiful jewel was completely unaffected by the feral winds and raging water.
The velocity of the winds increased once more, and Knuckles squinted into the storm. His senses had been distorted by the strain that the weather demanded of his body. The only sounds that met his ears were the bellowing of thunder and the whipping sound of the leaves as they were literally torn from the forest trees. Therefore, when a mysterious form passed above his head with a low swoosh, the guardian stood rigid and concentrated on his direct surroundings. However, as he began to turn back to the forest, Knuckles experienced a slight sensation of unease and quickly identified the cause. Holding his fists in front of his body in a combat position, Knuckles growled and clenched his teeth.
"I know you're out there! Show yourself!" he called out, scanning the edge of the forest with his eyes.
Without any further invitation, a figure dropped down before him, landing on the steps below with a loud clack. Knuckles immediately sized up this intruder, taking note of his steel-soled, heeled boots and curves and...
Knuckles shuddered as he gazed at the visitor, taking a few steps back.
The figure was, in fact, a very curvaceous bat dressed in a tight black jumpsuit, white boots, and white elbow-length gloves. Pink hearts covered the toes of her boots and her chest area, and her outfit revealed quite a bit of her smooth tan skin. Her fur was a pristine shade of white although it had been darkened by the excessive water that now clung from it.
"Rouge..." Knuckles grumbled as he fixed her with a menacing glare. His heart was throbbing loudly...Could it truly be her? She did not respond nor appear to be cognizant at all. This enraged the red echidna, and he took a step towards her as he held out a fist threateningly. "What are you planning on doing this time? Stay away from the Master Emerald!"
Once again, Rouge failed to respond. Knuckles felt warmth rush to his cheeks as his temper started to rise. Apart from his occasional dreams, he had not seen the bat in months. He wanted to convince himself that this was for the best, yet the echidna felt a well-concealed twinge of happiness as he stared into her stunning crystal eyes. Thus, he became easily frustrated when the bat refused to utilize her regular selection of mockery and wit in response to his words. Knuckles practically expected her to shatter the silence at any moment with a rude, witty comment about his temper or foolishness.
Knuckles punched the air beside her head in rage and glared directly into her unblinking eyes.
"What's wrong with you?"
Without the slightest intimation of having heard his question, Rouge grabbed his arm with her left hand and lashed out at him with her right foot. Instinctively, Knuckles jumped; the kick passed just below his feet. Rouge quickly let go of his arm and ran hastily up to the Master Emerald. She ran her hands over the surface, assessing its mass and size. The guardian, still shocked from this unexpected strike, shook his head violently and charged at the bat, thrusting his fist at her head. Tilting her upper body back to dodge the punch, Rouge reacted by kicking out with her left foot. This time, Knuckles backed up and prepared to dodge a second kick, but Rouge was a step ahead of him. She quickly followed her initial strike by ducking under a counterattack from the echidna and delivering a swift diagonal kick that her opponent could not evade.
Knuckles let out a short cry of agony as he staggered backwards a few steps and gripped his left leg. Rouge's attack had landed precisely on its target. Knuckles' fist, however, had grazed her shoulder as his counterattack carried through, but the bat did not appear to be in pain from the glancing blow. Wincing as he raised his chin to watch her, Knuckles inhaled deeply and held up his tight fists as he tried to revert to his fighting stance.
"What are you trying to do, Bat girl, kill me?" he screamed, urging her to answer his questions. To his surprise, she smirked and shrugged. Knuckles stood still as she turned to the Master Emerald and stretched her wings, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Slowly, she flapped them and rose until she was hovering just above the luminous gem.
"The Master Emerald..." Rouge murmured in a voice that Knuckles could barely hear. He took a few steps forward, ignoring the spikes of pain now pulsating in his leg.
"Don't even think about it! You know how dangerous it would be if the Master Emerald fell into the wrong hands!" the echidna yelled through the howling of the fierce winds.
Rouge gently wrapped her arms around the Emerald, flapping her wings quickly as she struggled to lift it from its shrine. Knuckles growled and cussed under his breath, advancing on the bat. Surprisingly, she had managed to get a decent grip on the enormous gem. However, she was in no situation to defend herself should he choose to throw a punch at her...
Instead of merely attacking Rouge, Knuckles grabbed her leg and shouted, "Listen!" at the seemingly oblivious bat. She stared at him with a sour expression, flapping her wings at a faster pace.
"Stop it, Bat girl! You won't be able to bring that anywhere in this weather, anyway! Now put the Master Emerald down!" the echidna shouted, his temper mounting to an unbelievable point. Rouge, of course, absolutely refused to obey. She closed her eyes and began to flap her wings even faster, grunting softly from the additional weight of the echidna. Knuckles felt his feet begin to leave the ground and snarled vehemently at the bat. Slowly and cautiously, he reached up with his left hand and grasped Rouge's arm in a desperate attempt to loosen her grip on the Master Emerald.
"Let go of me!" she snapped as Knuckles tightened his grip. He was intent on saving his Emerald. Rouge shook her left leg, which the echidna was clinging to, but he refused to budge. Without hesitation, she pulled her right leg back and glared down at Knuckles. "I said...let go!"
The poor echidna saw it coming, but it was already too late. Rouge drove her metal-bottomed boot into Knuckles' cheek with incredible force. The resulting impact was so intense that the guardian, in a state of shock, released Rouge's leg and arm and plummeted straight into the stone surface of the shrine. Knuckles slowly sat up, holding his jaw in utter anguish. The bat girl, on the other hand, realigned her grip on the Master Emerald and flapped her wings hurriedly in order to escape. Now fully aware of Rouge's intentions, the echidna stood up and began to run in the direction that she was flying, ignoring his aggrieved leg.
"You filthy thief!" Knuckles called after her as he followed as fast as his body would permit. The Master Emerald was impeding her pace significantly. "You're insane if you believe that you can fly anywhere with my Emerald, especially in this weather!"
Knuckles gritted his teeth and the taste of blood filled his mouth, but he did not care. To say the least, he was furious at what the bat girl had accomplished and at what he had failed to prevent. At that point, an idea came to his mind. If he could keep up with Rouge until they reached the edge of Angel Island, Knuckles would probably be able to glide faster than she could fly with that giant Emerald. In turn, he would be able to reclaim what was rightfully his from the thieving bat girl.
Next time, the enraged guardian thought as he continued to run, I won't hold back. I'll kill her if I have to...but I need to get the Master Emerald back!
Unfortunately, as the wounded echidna pursued Rouge with all of his remaining strength, a couple horrible details were brought to his immediate attention. As he exerted himself more and more, a somber haze brewed in his mind. Knuckles shook his head vigorously as he tried to clear it, but weariness and vertigo had begun to take their toll on him. Simultaneously, the condition of Knuckles' afflicted leg was worsening. In order to withstand the pain, he found that he had to practically drag his leg along behind him as he ran, delaying his progress. If even the slightest bit of weight was placed upon the leg, Knuckles would experience what seemed like an eternity's worth of pain compressed into a ten-second outburst. As his pace stalled even more, the stubborn echidna knew that he had almost reached his limits.
The fleeing bat turned to watch Knuckles as he gradually slowed, came into contact with a protruding root, and fell flat on his face. He placed his palms on the ground and pushed his torso up for a moment, surveying the surrounding area, then shot an icy glance at Rouge. With great care, he attempted to stand up once more, but his left leg had completely failed him. The only thing that Knuckles managed to accomplish before the bat girl flew out into the receding storm was to mutter a very ambiguous phrase that not even her excellent hearing could pick up amidst the falling rain and driving winds.
"What happened to you, Rouge?" Knuckles repeated to himself as he regarded the retreating winged form. "For even you to have sunk to such a low...level..."
The guardian attempted to move his leg once again, and a wave of searing pain devoured his body. Rouge had come at him with the intent to kill in order to obtain the Master Emerald, and Rouge had morals, as obscure as they might be. No matter how gullible he had been proven to be, Knuckles downright repudiated the idea that she would have gone through the trouble and consequences of murdering someone in order to acquire such a gem...
Knuckles used the meager amount of strength that remained in his muscles to turn his body around and begin the long journey back to the Master Emerald's empty shrine. Digging his fists into the damp earth as if he were climbing a horizontal wall, the deserted echidna inched his way back to the only place where, perhaps, he could find a gleam of solace in the midst of the fateful storm.
The storm should be over soon, Knuckles thought as he stared distantly up at the clouds. The rain had diminished to a drizzle as he sat in meditation of the night's events. I wonder if the bat girl managed to reach her destination with the Master Emerald...This could become difficult if she dropped it into the sea.
Knuckles leaned back against the moist stones of the shrine and closed his eyes to the dainty droplets of water. In his current condition, the only wise action he could take was to rest and wish for a speedy recovery. He needed to set foot on the bat girl's trail as soon as he was physically able. Until then, the guardian could only pray that Rouge had not done anything foolhardy with the Emerald.
Knuckles lifted the back of his right hand to his aching forehead and sighed. Shortly after he had begun to drag his wounded body back to the shrine, he had lost consciousness from the combined might of overexertion and slight blood loss. When he had awoken, he had immediately noticed that the sky seemed rather distant. His view was polluted by a myriad of light sources, radiating from distant buildings. Angel Island had fallen into the sea while its guardian was blacked out, but he knew that this would happen as a result of Rouge's scheme. The rain persisted even after such a long period of time, turning the soil to earthy mush as Knuckles continued to work his way back. Thankfully, the echidna's leg had regained some of its feeling while he was motionless. He had managed to hobble for a portion of the trip, but his limb gave out on him before he managed to reach the shrine. The last leg of the journey was by far the most arduous: In order to reach the uppermost part of the shrine, Knuckles had to pull his limp body behind him solely using his upper body strength. Although the echidna was often credited for being perhaps one of the strongest beings alive, the frequent pounding of his injured leg against the steps that were situated beneath him was nearly too much for him to bear.
Since he had returned, his only thoughts were of Rouge and the Emerald that he had not safeguarded well enough. He had noticed a vital opening when she began to fly off with the jewel, yet he had chosen to try to avoid causing dire harm to her instead of giving his all for the Master Emerald. This was inexcusable for the sole individual who was charged with the protection of such a powerful stone. Why did he hold back? How could he have let himself fall into such a serious condition in which he could barely attempt to capture the thief? Such questions harassed his enfeebled brain as he felt his entire face become warm.
While one side of his mind poured out self-blame, the other pondered the actions of the gem thief. Knuckles knew that Rouge was quite aware of the Master Emerald's powers, and he doubted that she could possibly be rash enough to endanger the world for her love of gems. The thief had undoubtedly been Rouge herself, but her actions had been nothing short of malicious. Her methods had been haphazard and full of flaws, both characteristics that were lethal for a successful jewel thief such as Rouge. While a deft thief would have organized a meticulous plan to pry attention away from the object that she sought to steal, the normally-clever bat had simply run up to the Master Emerald and taken off with it. Part of the echidna had been impressed at the fact that she had managed to carry such a bulky entity, but he had long since set aside that thought.
What if the thief actually wasn't the bat girl? Knuckles now thought as he rested his head back against his crossed arms. No, that doesn't make any sense...She was definitely Rouge, all right...
He had thought of quite a few "possible" reasons, but nothing seemed to fit with the Rouge that he had encountered recently. He considered that she may have been forced to retrieve it against her will, but he figured that she was much too self-loving to perform such an undignified task, let alone one that involved possible murder. Could she have been under the influence of some infernal contraption invented by Eggman? The only weakness in this theory seemed to be that she had not been an absolute zombie as she went about her attack. Her sense of combat strategy and her speed still existed, and a very faint trace of her personality had been present in the few responses that she had provided. He also highly doubted that the infamous genius would have chosen to use someone with as much cunning as Rouge as his vessel to carry out yet another plot for world dominion. With a target like Sonic or Tails, for instance, he could have had a very important power: the trust of the people. Rouge had little fame of the sort with which to defend herself. Besides, Eggman's approach to stealing the Master Emerald would most likely have involved fooling the gullible echidna...
Knuckles scowled at the thought, emitting a low grumble. The shameless doctor never ceased to amaze him as he devised countless blueprints for the establishment of his "Eggman Empire," all foiled by Sonic and his companions. He had tricked Knuckles on numerous occasions in order to turn him against Sonic, yet the naïve guardian never seemed to suspect that his established foe might be feeding him lies. Sonic the Hedgehog did not do anything to make matters easier for Knuckles. He frequently made quips about the echidna's incredible gullibility and his blatant red coloring, which was infuriating. The fact that the Doctor had the nerve to fool Knuckles in the first place provoked his wrath, to say the least.
Opening his eyes about halfway, Knuckles gazed into the fading tempest. He knew that he could not determine what had driven Rouge to steal the Master Emerald for the time being, but he planned to find out. The next time that they chanced upon one another, he would not hold back as he had previously made the mistake of doing. He was the guardian of the Master Emerald regardless of what might befall the gem. As such, it was his duty to retrieve it and return it to Angel Island...
...It was his duty, even if he had to kill to fulfill it.
A/N: Hmm...That chapter was a doozy, and it's already 3:37 AM. :(
Knuckles: Oh, you think it was difficult for you? I get to sit here now with my jaw practically screaming while you write up chapter 4!
Author: Shush you...I'll just take longer to update if you keep nagging me like you've been doing for the past couple days... (-Scoffs-)
Knuckles: Hey! Do you have any idea at all how much it hurts to have a steel boot driven into your jaw?
Author: No. :P
Knuckles: ...I hate you.
Author: But I love you! You're such a cutie, Knux! (-goes off to watch more AMV's-)
Knuckles: (-Turning to readers-) You! Yes, you! (-Points at Kera-) She...is insane. So, feel free to leave a review so she might consider updating a bit quicker than usual...
Author: Good little guardian!
Knuckles: (-Sweatdrop-) Is she trying to torture me?