Author's note: Now that I've got some of my regular reviewers to review this story, I guess it wouldn't hurt to continue it.
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Chapter 4: Meanwhile
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The air of Holy Summit was crisp and clear, and it was getting a little cold out. Not that Knuckles and Rosebat noticed; they were in the middle of a fight. Now, though, they were both a little worn out.
"Okay, you got a couple hits in, I'll give you that," Knuckles panted. "You're a pretty good fighter. You know, you look familiar to me. Sort of like that bat girl who's always after the Master Emerald… or the hedgehog girl who's always after Sonic…"
"Rouge and Amy?" Rosebat confirmed. "That's… well, there's a reason for that. Just sit down and listen, and I'll explain everything."
"Sit down and listen" was something Knuckles rarely bothered to do, but he complied as Rosebat began to explain everything.
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Back in Emerald Town, Sonic, Tails and Cream had just left the alleyway and were on their way back to Tails' lab. It was terribly windy, and Tails' tails flapped like flags.
PAF! A page from a newspaper blew right into Sonic's face. As he peeled it off, an ad printed on the page caught his attention. "Hey, you two," Sonic called out, "take a look at this."
"Triple-treat super-special ruby necklace," Tails read. "The perfect gift for your loved one."
Sonic whistled as he looked at the picture. "I bet Rouge would love to get her mitts on one of those. According to this, they were on sale last night."
Hearing this, Tails snapped his fingers. "Wait a minute! Cream, is this necklace the 'gift for Sonic' that Amy was going to buy last night?"
"She made me promise not to tell," Cream repeated.
"When Amy made you promise not to tell," Sonic retorted, "do you think she considered the possibility of getting subdued by and promptly fused with Rouge the Bat?"
Cream shook her head. "Well… okay, I guess I can tell you. Yes, I believe this is what she was going to buy."
"Yes, that'd make sense," Tails figured, "but still… a necklace? Sonic, you don't wear jewelry, do you?"
"No, I don't," Sonic responded, "but you know Amy. She's probably so shortsighted she wouldn't even care. Er… forget I said that, Cream."
"It's okay, Mr. Sonic," Cream replied. "Heaven knows what Amy would've done if she'd heard that, though."
Sonic winced at being called "Mr. Sonic" by Cream once again, but the three of them continued on their way.
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Knuckles folded his arms. "Now let me get this straight. The two of you got combined when you used Tails' tele-whatever, and now you can't get yourself separated again?"
"That's right," Rosebat confirmed.
"Well, it all sounds like hooey to me. I am not buying that ridiculous fable until I get some proof."
"Proof?"
"Yes, proof. See that rock over there? Give it an Amy Love Hammer strike."
This sounded simple to Rosebat, so she approached the rock, drew Amy's hammer, and pulled off a perfect Love Hammer swing attack. The rock cracked.
Knuckles nodded. "All right. Now hit it again, this time with Rouge's Charlie Kick."
Rosebat put away the hammer in response to this, and spun around with a Charlie Kick, showing off Rouge's skill and prowess. The second strike to the rock caused it to split in two.
"All right, I'm convinced," Knuckles finally said. Being mostly brawn, Knuckles had an eye for fighting moves, and he knew these moves when he saw them. They were definitely the moves of Amy Rose and Rouge the Bat.
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Meanwhile, in a remote base which had recently been set up inside an inactive volcano, a bald man with a mustache was working on something. There was no question that this was something big, something devastating, something that Emerald Town would dread.
At that moment, a scout robot entered the room. "Dr. Eggman! Robot 943 reporting! I am back from my surveillance!"
Dr. Eggman turned. "Oh, so you are? You weren't supposed to be back for another hour!"
The robot who'd just spoke now seemed a little flustered. "Yes, I know… my apologies, Dr.… but I witnessed something that I think you should be aware of."
Robot 943 plugged itself into the monitor and showed a surveillance tape of Rosebat fighting Knuckles. "The winged character seems to be a hybrid of subject 'Amy' and subject 'Rouge'," it explained. "You can see how it uses maneuvers exclusive to both."
"Ah, I see," Dr. Eggman figured. "Keep rolling."
As the tape continued, the doctor listened to Rosebat explaining the whole situation to Knuckles. "Show no more!" he interrupted as the explanation finished. "This is a very interesting prospect. Upload that tape, then go back and surveil that character. I have a feeling."
These orders were obediently followed as Robot 943 uploaded the tape file onto Dr. Eggman's main computer, then left the base. Stopping his work for a moment, Eggman chuckled evilly.
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I bet you were wondering when he'd come into all this, weren't you? Well, that's all for this chapter.