That kiss was all the last thing Knuckles remembered from that night. Past that, it all got a bit blurry. He heard Rouges voice, more giggling, presumably from Shadow, then...nothing, his mind had become a complete blank. So when he awoke in an unfamiliar bed, with no indication of how he had got their or who's bed it was, Knuckles couldn't help but panic and let out a surprised scream, regretting it afterwards. His pounding head was the only thing that seemed sharp now, everything else was slow, tired, fuzzy. His eyes seemed matted together with some sticky glue, his throat dry. He coughed heavily to clear the statement phlegm that had gathered there, then reached out with his hands, stretching his stiff body. But as his hand travelled further along, it came into contact with something. Something solid...

Knuckles froze. He didn't know how or what was in the bed with him, but he had a few vague ideas, all which didn't seem good. He reached out and touched the thing again, trying to decipher what it was. But before his slow brain could come up with an answer, he heard Shadows voice boom out through the room, no longer cheerful and rebel like, which was what the previous night had been like but menacing and full of anger.

" What are you doing in my bed!" He shouted, but groaned afterwards and clutched his head. Knuckles sat up, finding the hedgehog stood by the door frame, massaging his forehead and leaning against the frame for support. Knuckles put his hand round the object and found it was just a book. Apparently Shadow liked to read before he went to bed and didn't put the books back. Never the less it was a relief that he was alone in the bed. But then another question emerged in his head. " Why are you even in my house?" Shadow said, asking the question before Knuckles could. The poor animal had no memory of how he had got out of Rouges apartment, let alone into Shadows, so all he could do was shrug. Apparently though, a shrug wasn't a good enough answer for the now even grumpier hung over hedgehog. He let go off the door frame, stormed over and threw the covers off of the bed. " Out!" He commanded. Knuckles got up quickly, feeling rusty, then remembered his last memory. He didn't want to piss off and already pissed of hedgehog, but on the other hand, he knew this would probably be the last opportunity to ask.

When Knuckles didn't move, Shadow starting approaching him menacingly, ready to pummel the echidna out of his house if necessary. However, the hedgehog was halted in his tracks when Knuckles asked

" Why did you kiss me?". There was silence. Shadow stared at Knuckles, wide eyed, mouth closed. His expression cold but confused at the same time. For a while Knuckles thought he wasn't going to answer, but when he did, he might as well not bothered.

" I didn't. You must have dreamt it. Now get the fuck out of my house!" Shadow commanded, screaming the last sentence in his speech. Knuckles didn't need any more encouragement and bolted out of the house before he got a suntan chaos blast style.

It didn't dawn on Knuckles until he had walked a few blocks , deep in thought about Shadows answer, that he no longer had a place to stay. He couldn't go back to Rouges now, even if that kiss was a dream, he wouldn't want to go anywhere near that bat anymore and it was obvious he wasn't welcomed at Shadows. He wandered for a while, looking for a hotel. But then realising, he didn't even have any money. People stared at him as he walked alone, and he began to feel a degree of self loathing again. He began to think as he walked pointlessly. Perhaps Shadow was right, maybe the kiss was a dream, he had dreamed of strange things like before. Then there was his 'conscience', your true love will soon reveal themselves? Yeah, like there just rushing over to find me now. He must still be sick. He thought of the emerald, he couldn't go back to that...could he? He reached up and felt the scars on his forehead, wondering at their real origin, wondering what he could possibly do now.

But, just as he removed his hand, his scars set alight again, sending horrible pain shooting through his head and numbing his brain. The creature he had seen once in his dream materialised out of the air, half solid and glowing with horrible pulsating, purple light. Knuckles shrank back, looking round in panic and seeing no-one else even paying attention to the demon, they simply walked by it as if it a horrible, slimy, dragon-like creature with no legs and a cracked emerald embedded into his chest was something normal. The pain in his head subsided and he was able to view the creature in an upright posture. It sneered at him, in anger, it's face flowing like it was liquid. Knuckles gulped, knowing he had done wrong, knowing the emerald had come to teach him a lesson. He felt the bruise on his side reappearing. The emeralds lessons were always harsh ones.

" yOU ArE no LONGEr mY guArdiAn, YoU wOrthLeSS PeICe oF dIsCUstiNG fLEsh" The emerald spoke in it's strange, semi- telepathic way. Still no-one noticed. But Knuckles almost jumped for joy at the freedom that he thought the emerald had just offered him, but then he reconsidered it. He had done wrong and the emerald was rewarding him? There must be more to this, he thought to himself. " BUt I StiLL hAVe PoWer oVEr yOU, And I neEd AnoTHer gUardIAn, one FRom yOur blOOd" the emerald said, moving his head so it pointed in another direction. Knuckles followed it's eyes, seeing some echidna wondering around, looking in the shop stores. She didn't look too great either, a little overdone in make up. Knuckles didn't get what the emerald meant at first, but then realised he wanted Knuckles to get some random girl pregnant so it had another guardian.

" I'm not sleeping with her!" Knuckles yelled aloud, causing people to stare and laugh at him. To them, it looked like he was talking to himself. It wouldn't be the first time.

" If You DO nOT MakE aN HeIR GuArdiAN-" The emerald threatened, but was cut of by his former guardian, who had suddenly spotted a weakness in his once all powerful master.

" You'll what?" Knuckles questioned, agitating the emerald. Right now, he couldn't careless if people were staring, he was getting the upper hand on the emerald, something he was though rally enjoying. " Kill me? If you do that, master, then who will create the next guardian. Let's face it, you need me". The emerald remained silent, Knuckles decided he wanted to rub it in further, enjoying the fact he had some power over the emerald for the first time. " And besides, you had a guardian. Rouge was pregnant! And it was mine! So why didn't you use that? Oh mighty one!" Knuckles said smugly, being sarcastic and glad for it. The emerald showed no emotion, again not speaking. " I'll tell you why, because you don't have as much control over things than you would like me to think. That's why you didn't stop Rouge from having the abortion! You couldn't!"

" tHE bAt WILl Be PunISed fOr Her criMES" the emerald said blankly. If it was feeling the strain, it wasn't showing it. But then, Knuckles doubted it could. The echidna laughed at what the emerald had said.

" Fine, I hate her anyway" Knuckles said in an uncaring voice, turning round and walking away from the emerald. It let out a growl and said in it's echoey voice

" CoME bAcK guARdiAN" it commanded, but Knuckles ignored it and kept walking. Then, without warning, the scars along his head fired up again, more intense than he had ever felt them burn before, and he collapsed against the pavement, writhing in agony. He tried to fight it's force with his own chaos strength, but it proved worthless and draining. Knuckles turned over and looked at the looming emerald, staring him in the eye, his fear gone.

" You can't do anything to me" the former guardian muttered, meaning every word. The emerald recoiled slightly, sizzled and boiled seemingly in rage, then the pain ceased. Knuckles looked up the emerald in shock as a figure that was becoming familiar tackled it. His alter ego was half solid too, but that didn't stop it from wrestling the emerald to the ground. From where he fought the creature looked up and shouted to Knuckles, straining

" Fight the emerald Knuckles!". The emerald creature threw his guardian off, giving Knuckles an evil filled stare, then saying in a voice far deeper than it's usual and far more forbidding

" I WILL FIND A WAY" and with that, they both disappeared, leaving Knuckles alone in the middle of the street, surrounded by a group of people, staring at him. He looked round in confusion and agitation.

" Is Rouge really pregnant?" One asked. Another piped up and added

" And it's yours?"

" Why were you on the floor?" A little kid squeaked from the front of the crowd. Knuckled grew more agitated at these stupid people who didn't understand his life and ignored them, shoving his way out of the ring that had surrounded him and marching down the street, determined to get away from everything. As he passed them he heard a son ask his father

" What's wrong with that man daddy?"

" He's just some crazy person, leave him alone" the dad answered, thinking Knuckles couldn't hear. A tear came to echidnas eye, hating the words just used to describe him but wondering if it was true. Was he really going crazy?

Shadow couldn't settle his mind. After calming down from the initial shock of finding Knuckles asleep in his bed and recovering from the previous nights hangover, Shadow had more time to think about things more sensibly. He had woken up the morning lounged in a kitchen chair, giving him an aching back as well as a huge headache, so his mood was not the best. It worsened when Knuckles asked about the kiss they shared, although it was mostly Shadows doing, no matter how much he hated admit it. He had lied to echidna, saying it was a dream, but he knew it had happened and he felt so much shame because of it. He had sunk to an all new low, even worse than his weeks of continues drinking. But that wasn't the reason the kiss had bothered him so much, it was a feeling remembered from that night, a feeling of attraction towards the echidna. The brooding hedgehog had never had feelings like that for a guy before, even while drunk. So remembering them in the morning freaked him out, it was understandable. That was he had reacted so harshly to the echidna sleeping in his bed, perhaps it was overly harsh. He needed to sought things out. He took a look at himself in the mirror, saw the mess he was in. His fur, unwashed, clumped and greasy. Bloodshot eyes. His white patch of fur now grey with grime. It wasn't the greatest sight to see. He had to stop his drinking, before he did something he would really regret. He needed to turn his life around, perhaps first, by apologising to Knuckles.

The very thought of confronting the echidna made him want to drink again, and was encouraged further by the collection of half empty liquor bottles that had found their way onto his table. He knew he would be tempted to drink them. So while his ' turn your life around' phrase lasted, he grabbed every one of them and threw them out into the trash, where they broke and shattered and the liquid within them drained away. There would be no more drinking.

It took a while for Shadow to even get out of the house. In his mind, he needed to smarten himself up before confronting Knuckles, and that meant a hell of a long shower, massaging his eyes, watching his gloves and shoes and having a good shave. After all that was done he insisted on getting a proper meal into himself, because he swore he had been living off of greasy pub food for the last few weeks. After that he decided his breath smelt, so spent ages brushing them. He realised he was delaying, but why? He had no reason to be nervous around the echidna did he? Surely not.

When he finally coaxed himself out of the door, chewing a mint, he realised he didn't even know what to say to Knuckles. How would he explain everything that had happened? How would be explain the kiss?

Meanwhile, Knuckles had started his long trek back to angel island. He hated himself for doing it, but he had no other place to go. He couldn't stay in the city, he had no money and didn't fancy living like a tramp for the rest of his life. And angel island was the only place where you didn't get taxed just for living, but then there was the emerald...

" Fight it, don't go back" He heard his own voice echo in his head. He ignored it, wishing he could just go back to angel island and rot away in piece, without his own mind telling him what to do. He knew he was getting sicker and sicker...

" Knuckles!" He heard a voice shout. He swore it was Shadows. He ignored it. His mind was probably playing tricks again, why would Shadow be calling him? Curiosity got the better of him when he heard the voice call again, and he turned round to see a huge cloud of kicked up dust rushing towards him, at it's centre was indeed Shadow the hedgehog, running at full pelt towards him. He looked angry.

Shadow saw Knuckles, quickening his pace to reach him in time. The echidna looked like he was leaving the city, but Shadow had to apologise before he left forever. But he still had no idea what to say. He scowled angrily at himself, at his lack of knowledge in conversation, something Rouge really hadn't help him with. What was he going to do?

' He's gonna' kill me!' Knuckles thought, alarmed. Shadow was rushing up with a look of bloodthirstiness in his eye, coming straight for Knuckles and looking imposing. Knuckles backed away in fear, what had he done now? As Shadow reached closer and closer, Knuckles started to back away, first walking, then running at full pelt. But he knew even at his best speed he couldn't out run Shadow. And so, in what seemed to be far to shorter time, Shadow caught up with him, cutting off his path. Knuckles skidded to a stop, but not quick enough, he collided with Shadow full force and knocked them both over. Knuckles gulped, thinking he was really in for it now, but, to his surprise, Shadow got up, dusted himself off, and offered Knuckles his hand. Knuckles took it, still reluctant, as Shadow helped him up. Perhaps it's the calm before the storm, Knuckles thought to himself, but Shadow looked perfectly fine. His mood seemed to have shifted back to a calm, perhaps even wary one. Knuckles frowned, why did Shadow look so nervous?

" Knuckles, I want to apologise"

" Huh?" Knuckles couldn't help but let slip out stupidly. Shadow looked down, avoiding his eyes and said

" I'm sorry for being so harsh on you this morning. I was a bit shocked, you were in my bed"

" I'm sorry! I don't know how I got there! Honest!" Knuckles said, launching himself into an apology seeing as Shadow seemed to be in the right mood for it.

" I do" Shadow said, lowering his head, in shame. Knuckles raised an eyebrow, wondering if that kiss was real and if Shadow, in his better mood, would be confirming it. Sadly, the hedgehog spoke no more words about any relationship hints between the two and instead sniggered and said " You should have seen the look on Rouge's face" he drifted off as if in a dream. Knuckles stared at him.

" So we didn't...?"

" No!" Shadow confirmed sharply, then cleared his throat and said in a more controlled voice " Now, you look lost. I know you can't live with Rouge anymore, but I may have a place for you to stay" Knuckles became more interested. Shadow must have remember their conversation from last night, more than that, he figured out that Shadow must be feeling some sought of sympathy towards himself, something he was grateful for, and too think they were once rivals chasing after Rouge. That stupid bat, she could have been keeping us apart, perhaps we'll be great friends one day...' Knuckles began to go off in a dream land as he followed Shadow, thinking now he had a friend to rest on if things got to tough for him on his own.

But, after Shadow showed him around a small flat in a poorer part of town and left to go back to his house, Knuckles never saw him again. He spent weeks wondering in and out, doing the job Shadow had found for him, trying to figure out the cities complex tax requests, watching TV even. But all too soon he grew bored, he needed company, that was why he wanted to stay in the city in the first place. If he wanted a life of solitude, he would be back on the island by now, hallucinating images of Sonic and Shadow and Rouge. His 'conscience' continued to bother him, saying his he had taken the wrong path. He ignored it, but slowly, he grew annoyed at his own head, and ended up resorting to bashing it against the wall, smashing it with his own fists. After one particularly devastating fit of maddened rage, he drew blood. The cool trickle of it seemed to cool his mind, steaming down the boiling fury and reducing his mood straight down into the gutter. He feel on his knees, the single trail of blood dripping over his eyes and ran along his muzzle. He began to cry, silently, no moans of despair. His shoulders shook and he collapsed onto the ground, a loneliness so strong overcoming him that he didn't want to ever move again, he just wanted to lay there and die.

" Why don't you go and see him?" His glowing twin said, appearing out of nowhere. Knuckles grunted but didn't give a sensible reply, shuffling round so his back faced the hallucination. He was in no mood to talk to himself again. " Your too nervous to face him, afraid he won't like you" it said. Knuckles visibly ignored it, but in his head he was beginning to realise what his twin said was true, he was afraid to talk to Shadow, why? He didn't know. It wasn't as if Shadow was any threat to him, but he supposed that the hedgehog didn't want to know him, if he did he would have visited, right?

" I'm not destined to have any anybody, am I ?" Knuckles said, half to talking to himself and half to his conscience, which in a way, was the same thing. " I never knew my family, I was chosen to guard an emerald in isolation for the whole of my life, and even when I do break the vow and go to where there's people, I can't talk to any of them because I don't know how to socialise. Face it, I'm supposed to be alone, for all of my life. No-one will ever love me"

" Someone already does. They just don't know it, give it time Knuckles, and do what you want to do, it's got to be better than rotting away in here". Knuckles looked up, feeling he had hit rock bottom and he couldn't do anything to make it worse. He got up, cleaned his cut, masked it with and plaster, and set out, not even bothering to lock the door. It wasn't as if he had anything valuable in there anyway. Besides, he knew what he was going to do. " Going to see Shadow?" His glowing clone echoed in his mind. Knuckles nodded and the twin let out an uncharacteristically big grin. Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

" What?". The twin beamed and didn't answer, then vanished altogether from sight as Knuckles reached the front door. Goddammit why was he so nervous? He thought as he reached up and rung the doorbell, the chiming sound echoing through the hedgehogs house...

Authors notes

I know that's a horrible place to end it but I'm tired and if I didn't end it there it would have stretched on forever and ever. Thank you for your patience. Btw, the next chapter to Robotnics discovery should be up soon, I just having trouble getting inspiration.