The chap is dedicated to my friend, Tachan, who had thought up 2 more characters for this story. How bad is it that in all MY Sonic fics, she has more OCs than I do XX… just kiddin'… Rita, Arsenal and Kagami are all her creations, and Ryu, Kana, Raz, and Dalton belong to me. I kinda forgot who first made Morgana… (sweatdrop)
Chapter 3:
The City?
Ryu arrives in Station Square
It was dark that night near the land with the Knuckles Tribe lived. Ryu was walking to his destination, after killing two guards that were in his way. His mission tonight was to head to the Altar of the Master Emerald and steal it from the Knuckles Tribe. He opted to go alone after hearing rumors of a horrible water demon looming near the altar. He dare not endanger his fellow Seers. Besides, he felt he could slay this monster alone.
The young gray fox was walking in the darkness, being careful not to be spotted by any guards. When he got to path that led to the altar, he armed himself with his sword and kept going forward.
"I'm almost there…" He thought to himself, his heart was pounding in his chest from anticipation. "And no guard, devil or demon will… what?" He quickly ducked behind a rock after he saw her. The girl who was sitting on the ground, playing with the little blue creatures he had never seen. More importantly, she was part of the Knuckles Tribe. "I'll have to kill her fast, I can't give her time to alert the guards." Before Ryu could charge towards her and attack, another person appeared out of nowhere.
"Sorry I'm late, Tikal…" The figure said, with a familiar voice that Ryu knew. When he fully materialized, Ryu saw whom it was, and was shocked.
"Phantom…" Tikal looked up and smiled warmly to him. The person she was speaking to was a white echidna with blue rings in his dreads. The Seer named Phantom, who was a part of a tribe who hated the Knuckles Tribe.
"What is he doing here?" Ryu said to himself quietly. "And how do they know each other?"
"Tikal…" Phantom looked as if he had bad news. "I just found out from Queen Morgana. She started training for the Seer Army. Tikal… she wants to destroy the Knuckles Tribe."
Tikal looked at the moon quietly. "My father… he's been using our forces to take over nearby lands. He started a conquest… that I fear will mean the end of both Tribes."
"What's this?" Ryu thought to himself while watching the scene. "He's giving that woman information about our Tribe? And she's the Chief's daughter?" Ryu kept his thoughts quiet so he could keep watching.
"Is there anything we can do to stop them?" Phantom asked, filled with concern.
"I don't know…" Tikal said sadly. "My father won't listen to me…I've tried countless times to persuade him, but he's so determined on world conquest." Her eyes shed a small tear that Phantom catches and wipes away. She looks at him as he holds out his hand,
"Don't cry… please…" Phantom whispered to her. She grabbed his hand and let him gently lift her to her feet. They were now face to face. "We'll keep trying…trust me."
"Phantom…" Tikal said in a quiet whisper.
"Dammit…" Ryu said quietly. "Can't hear them…" Ryu snuck up closer, hoping not to be discovered.
"One day, the world will live in peace." Phantom said with a small smile. "This is my promise to you…"
Tikal let her tears flow and began to close the gap between her and Phantom. After a few moments, their lips met in a loving kiss and didn't move and say a world for some time.
Ryu saw this, and got furious. "Now I see… Phantom is a traitor… He's helping that woman so her tribe can destroy us." Ryu held a white knuckled grip on his sword. "I can't allow this… I'll kill them both!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ryu rushed at the two lovers screaming a horrifying battle cry. The two parted and looked at him in shock.
"R-Ryu?" Phantom shouted as the fox got closer. "STOP!" Before Ryu ran his sword through him, Phantom vanished and Ryu ran through him.
"What!" Ryu stopped running for a second. Suddenly, Phantom grabbed his arm and tackled him to the ground, holding him down with great force. "ARRRGH! GET OFF ME YOU BASTARD!"
"Ryu." Phantom said calmly. "What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking that, traitor!" Ryu spat back, gritting his sharp fox fangs. "Son of a bitch! I'll kill you!"
"Is he a friend of yours?" Tikal asked Phantom while looking at the struggling Ryu.
"Unfortunately, yes…" Phantom said with great annoyance. "Usually, he knows how to behave himself."
"Go to hell!" Ryu shouted at him. "Both of you…"
"You must be Prince Ryu…" Tikal said with a smile. "I'm Tikal. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Ryu…" The fox grinned evilly. "I kill people like you." He groaned in pain when Phantom put more pressure on his back. "Ow!"
"That's not nice…" Phantom scolded.
"Phantom…" Tikal looked at the poor fox on the ground. "Get off him."
"I don't think so, Tikal…" Phantom gave Ryu a noogie. "He's just a little fussy…"
"I'm not fussy… I'm pissed off." Ryu looked ahead and saw one of the blue creatures starting at him with cute eyes. "Get out of my face…" To his surprise, a lot of the blue creatures were around him. "What is this?"
"The chao seem to like you, Ryu…" Tikal said with a smile. "Tell me… you say that you kill, right?"
Ryu just nodded. "…"
"But why? Are you commanded to?" Tikal asked him in a soft voice. Ryu, although still a little angry, had calmed down. It seemed as though he was ready to talk…
Ryu opened his eyes and looked around. He saw twisted metal on top of him, covering his view. After he pushed it off him, he climbed back to his feet and looked around. The ruins were slightly more damaged and scrap metal littered the ground around him.
"Sonic!" He called out and walked to various piles of scrap. "Sonic!" He saw a lump of blue fur on the ground. "Sonic?" He kicked the lump gently with his foot, and watch it stand up right. Sonic, although coughing out sand and dust, was still alive and well.
"Lousy Eggman…" Sonic growled and coughed up another puff of black smoke. "Nearly killed us!"
Ryu was busy looking to the distance. In sight, there was a part of the ruins covered with stones and wooden crosses. "At least… he didn't destroy that…"
"You say something Ryu?" Sonic looked at him, and recalled the fight. "Hey! He got your Emerald, right?"
Ryu slowly turned and looked at the blue hedgehog. "The Chaos Emeralds… they have the power to save lives. But at the same time, they can easily take lives." Sonic didn't say a word, but nodded to show he agreed. "Whoever that was who stole my Emerald, no doubt has great knowledge of their power. And considering the weapons he used on us, will no doubt use them for destruction."
"You're preaching to choir…" Sonic said. "Every time Eggman gets his hands on an Emerald, something bad happens."
"You too, seem to have a knowledge of the Chaos Emeralds' power." Ryu continued. "You even knew about the Chaos Beasts, a power known only to Seers."
"Oh… are you a Seer?" Sonic asked. Ryu shook his head. "No, huh…"
"I just happen to know about them, that's all." Ryu said in an uneasy tone. Sonic could tell something was up, something Ryu didn't want to say.
"I actually got all that info 'bout the Chaos Beasts from a Seer friend of mine." When Sonic said that, Ryu's ears twitched a little in interest. "A buddy of mine named Phantom."
Ryu felt a jolt in his body. "Phantom?" Ryu's old friend and mentor, the one Seer he trusted above all else. "You know Phantom the Echidna?"
"Yeah." Sonic smiled and nodded. "Helped us out with Eggman a while back. Do you know him too?"
"…" Ryu was silent for a while, until he finally nodded. "Yes… I need him to speak to him concerning that Emerald."
"I'm not too sure where he is… but I know someone who might!" Sonic said. "How 'bout I take you to Station Square with me?"
"Station Square?" Ryu said. "Where is that?"
"Only one of the largest cities in the world!" Sonic ran up to Ryu and grabbed him arm. "I'll get us there in no time!" With a blast of speed, Ryu and Sonic started their trip to Station Square.
Ryu had to fight back against the wind blowing against his face. "Such speed…" Ryu managed to say. "How do you do this?"
"Just born with it…" Sonic chuckled and speed up. "YEEEEEEAH!"
Unbeknownst to them, a certain vampire bat was hovering over the sky watching them… "Dammit!" Dalton cursed to himself. "He lost the emerald… but he's heading to Station Square…" He started flying back to his Queen's lair. "I gotta tell Morgana!"
In Station Square, at the Hospital…
Rouge had taken a seat outside the emergency room, where they were working on Knuckles. She sat there silently and kept looking at the door every 15 seconds, waiting to hear something on Knuckles' condition.
"What's taking them so long?" She said, filled with worry. After a while she couldn't take it anymore and slightly opened the door and peaked inside. To her shock, the room was empty. She opened it all the way and walked inside.
"Sorry miss…" Someone's voice made her jump in surprise.
"Wah!" She turned around and saw a nurse holding a clipboard.
"I'm afraid you're not allowed in...HERE!" The nurse screamed when Rouge grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
"Hey!" Rouge yelled at the nurse while shaking her. "Where the hell is the echidna that was in here! Knuckles!"
"He's…in…room…311…resting!" The nurse said while her voice vibrated.
"Why didn't anyone tell me!"
"We're…a…very…busy…hospital…and…just…forgot! PLEASE MISS! STOP SHAKING ME!" Rouge stopped and let the dizzy nurse go. "Phew… I'll take you up there to see him…"
"Uh… thanks…" Rouge said scratching her head and grinning sheepishly.
"Just please… be gentle with him, ok?"
Later in room 311…
"WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' ROUGE?" Knuckles was being squeezed by Rouge, who was overly excited to see him.
"I'm so glad you're alright!" Rouge said with a big smile.
"Is that why you're trying to kill me!"
The nurse sighed and walked away. Before she left, the other patient in the room called for her.
"Excuse me, ma'am." It was Kuruso, holding an empty glass. "Could I please get some more apple juice?"
"Of course!" The nurse smiled and took the glass from him.
"And while you're at it…" Kuruso said with a smile. "Ya don't suppose you could undo these handcuffs ?" Kuruso's left arm was handcuffed to the hospital bed to keep him from escaping. The nurse held a clipboard over his eyes. Kuruso read it. "'Until the patient's week long observation is complete, patient will remained handcuffed to the bed to prevent attempted escape.' But how am I supposed to go to bathroom like this!" Kuruso was surprised when he felt something be put in between his legs. "Oro?"
The nurse put a bedpan under Kuruso. "There you go… Be right back with your juice." She walked out the room with a smile.
"This is embarrassing!" Kuruso cried out. He turned and saw Rouge and Knuckles looking at him. "Hey… could you unbolt this bed from the floor and possibly push me to the elevator? I can maneuver myself from there."
"Not a fan of the doctor's, huh?" Rouge said with a small laugh. "What are you in for, if you don't mind me asking."
"Not at all, ma'am…" Kuruso nodded. "I was attacked by an echidna…"
"Attacked?" Rouge eyes went wide.
"Yeah…" Kuruso growled. "Lousy, dread wearing… pointy nosed… big handed…Oro?" He looked at Knuckles, who was glaring daggers at him. "Oops! Ha-ha-ha… sorry…"
It was nighttime in the city, and the streets were practically empty. Only a few people remained out at night, usually around the Casino District of Station Square. One person, however, stayed away from the bright lights of the Casino and hung around in front of a fancy Banquet Hall.
The person standing there was a light pink echidna female. She wore in her dreads black spiral ribbons, wore a black tank top and light pink baggy pants, complete with light pink sneakers. Around her neck was a light brown gemstone that shined in the moonlight.
"Geez, Kagami!" The girl turned her towards the person who said her name. Standing behind her was Kana with an annoyed look on her face. "How come you get the pleasure of fighting him tomorrow?"
"Because…" Kagami turned around and looked at her. "Queen Morgana knows I can get job done."
Kana groaned. "I can't believe I'm being upstaged by some singing whore!" She kicked the ground.
"It's convenient…" Kagami said. "A lot of people will be at this grand dinner tomorrow night. While I perform for them." Kagami was a well-known singer, or so she made herself seem. She was actually Morgana's right-hand girl. "With hundreds of people at risk, Ryu will have no choice but to come."
Kagami's status, of course, made Kana very hateful towards her. "Fine then! Have the little fox! I got the Master Emerald for Queen Morgana! I'm just 6 Chaos Emeralds away from being her right hand girl, and I WILL find them all!" Kana turned around in a huff and started walking away. "But you know…" Kana turned around with a sly grin. "When I do take your rank, you'll have to do whatever I want… and even though I despise you, you are kinda cute…" (Yes… she does enjoy both men AND women. PLZ don't complain!)
Kagami scowled and shook her head. "Like that'll ever happen…" She looked at the building one last time, and was mentally preparing for the next night.
The next morning, in the Mystic Ruins…
"Here we are, Ryu!" Sonic said while he and Ryu stood near the subway tracks that lead to Station Square. "All we gotta do is take the subway, and we're in the city!"
Ryu was too busy looking around. Everything was so… green, and alive. "It's been so long since I last saw leaves and grass…"
"Spent a lot time in that desert, huh?" Sonic said. Shortly, they could both hear the subway train approaching. "Hey, it's here!"
Ryu looked over and saw some light heading towards him. Instantly, his attack mode kicked on. "Look out!" Ryu jumped on the track with his sword drawn.
"RYU!" Sonic quickly pulled him off the tracks before the train could hit him. "What are you doing?"
"I thought it was a monster." Ryu simply said.
"You really haven't gone out much…" Sonic sweat dropped. "It's just a train. It's gonna take us to the city."
The train doors slid open and the speaker voice could be heard. "The train to Station Square is now departing."
"Who said that?" Ryu said, once again, ready to fight.
"Just the loudspeaker… C'mon!" The door slid open and Sonic walked it.
Ryu followed and stepped in, although his tail was still sticking out the train. The door closed and caught his tail. "Ouch." It opened again and Ryu pulled it in as quick as he could. He examined his tail, which had a red mark on where it got caught.
Sonic couldn't stop laughing. "Sorry Ryu! I shoulda warned ya!"
Ryu set his tail down. "Worst things have happened…"
Later, the train arrived in the city's train station.
Again, the loudspeaker spoke. "Welcome to Station Square."
Ryu stepped out of the train… in awe. He looked around at the clean and well-built train station. "Is this… a city?"
"This is just the train station buddy." Sonic grinned. "Wait til we get outside." Sonic saw the train door closing. "Hey! You better move…"
The door closed on Ryu's tail again… "Ouch."
Once they got outside and were walking around, Ryu kept his head up high. He looked at all the tall skyscrapers and cars driving around. This was his first time EVER in a modern city. "Wow…" He whispered out. "Everything here is… tall…" He looked and saw a store with a large window. He walked up and stared into it. There were a lot of cakes and baked goods on display. "I haven't had cake in such a long time…"
"Hey Ryu!" Sonic called out to the fox tourist. "Hope you don't mind, but I'm gonna head to the hospital. Wanna meet a friend of mine?"
"Uh… sure." Ryu got away from the cakes and nodded.
When they got to the hospital, they walked through the sliding doors (Ryu held his tail in front of him, just to be safe.) and went up to Amy's room.
Sonic stepped in cautiously. "Amy?"
"SONIC!" In a split second, Amy had Sonic in a tight hug. So tight, he was choking! "Oh! I'm so glad you're here!"
"Amy!" Sonic choked out. "I can't breath! PLEASE!"
Ryu walked in and looked at the pink hedgehog. "How can you breath like that, Sonic?"
"I CAN'T!"
"Huh?" Amy let go of Sonic and looked at Ryu. "Hello there." She said cheerfully.
Ryu nodded. "Pleasure to meet you." He looked at Sonic, who was on the ground, coughing and panting. "Are you well?"
"Y-yeah…" Sonic coughed out. "Amy! You almost killed me!"
"I'm sorry Sonic… I'm just so happy to see you!" She said excitedly.
"So why are you in the hospital anyway?" He asked the girl hedgehog.
"Well…" Amy stopped smiling. "I was… caught in a fire…"
Sonic was shocked. "A fire? Where? What happened?"
"I was a toy store, checking out some stuff, when a bunch of really bad looking guys came around. They attacked the owner and even set his place on fire!"
"What did they look like, Ames?" Sonic asked her.
"I didn't get too good a look of them… one was a tan echidna and wore these strange tribal clothes."
"Tan echidna?" Ryu thought to himself.
"Looked like he was the leader, and… that's all I can remember. You might have better luck if you asked the storeowner. He's right next door."
"Cool." Sonic started heading to the door. "I'll ask him…" But Amy clomped onto him again, hugging him tightly.
"Oh Sonic!" She cried out. "Don't leave me so soon!"
"Amy! Let go of me!" Sonic struggled to break free. "ACK!
Next door, in Knux's and Kuruso's hospital room…
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…" Kuruso was fast asleep in his bed, still handcuffed to the bed.
Knuckles was wide-awake, looking at the small meal the nurses had given him. He stabbed what looked like lumpy oatmeal with his spoon. "What a lousy meal…" He said to himself and sighed.
"That looks like mush." Knuckles was startled when he hear her voice. Rouge walked in holding a plate covered in aluminum foil. "How about a real breakfast?" She took the mush away from Knuckles and handed him instead the plate. When Knuckles unwrapped it, there were scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast made just for him. "You better be grateful. I don't make breakfast too often."
Knuckles took his fork and started eating the eggs. "Huh… you're the last person I'd expect to cook… and it's not half bad either."
"Is that all you have to say to me?" Rouge crossed her arms and huffed. "The reason you're still alive is because I brought you here."
"I would've just healed naturally…" Knuckles said, snapping into a piece of bacon. Rouge got mad at his remark.
"I never got a thank you from you, y'know!" She walked up and snatched the plate of food from him.
"Hey!" He saw her walking towards the open window, threatening to drop it. "No no no! Don't do that! Ok! Ok!" Knuckles sighed and closed his eyes. "Thanks…"
Rouge smiled. "Close enough…" She happily gave him his food back, which he happily got back to wolfing down. Rouge sat in the chair next to his bed and looked at him. "So… are you upset? About what happened yesterday?"
Knuckles was in the middle of his toast when she asked that. He stopped and looked at her. "Well… yeah…"
Rouge sighed sadly. "Oh…"
"It feels like I failed at being a Guardian… That I let the Master Emerald down…"
"You didn't fail… or let the Emerald down, y'know. You fought as much as you could to protect it. So I don't think you failed at all."
"…Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Haven't I always been nice to you?" Rouge said, making Knuckles laugh a little. "What's so funny?" She was hurt a little by his laughter.
"Let's get real, Batgirl. You're never really that nice to me to begin with."
"What? Because I try to steal your precious emerald?" Rouge was smiling now as was Knuckles. "Sorry, babe, but once I got my eye on something, I don't stop until it's mine."
"And what happens if you do get it?" Knuckles asked.
"What?" Rouge was now speechless. She had never really thought about that. "Well… I… uh…"
"Don't tell me you don't know!" Knuckles laughed out loud.
"Shut up!" Rouge started bonking Knuckles on the head. "Knucklehead! Don't make fun of me!"
"Ow ow ow!" Knuckles tried to protect himself. "You don't wallop an injured person, Rouge! Ow!" He grabbed her hands and stopped her.
After a few moments, they both were silent, and staring into each other's eyes. Rouge's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as he held onto to her hands. "K-Knuckles?"
"Yeah, Rouge?" Knuckles asked, face turning red too.
"Do… do you hate me?" She asked him, while her hands shook a little from being nervous.
Knuckles kept a gently hold on her hands and said his answer. "No… I don't hate you… why would I ever hate you?"
"So… you like me then?" Rouge asked, shaking even more and turning brighter pink.
Knuckles remained silent for a few moments while his heart beat faster. Just as he was about to answer…
"YATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Knuckles and Rouge both let go of each and looked a Kuruso with shocked faces. Kuruso was grinning and smiling happily. " Yatta! I knew you two were a couple!"
"WHAT!" They both shouted in unison, while blushing.
"Me and this Knucklehead!"
"Me and this Batgirl!"
"I heard it all! All the way from…" Kuruso started imitating Knuckles' voice. " Why are you being so nice to me? And all the way too… "He then imitated Rouge's voice. "So do you like me then?" He laughed, until Rouge ran up and strangled him. "GAK! ORO!"
"Don't ever imitate me!" She yelled while gripping his neck. "I'll tear your lungs out and beat you with them! You understand me?"
"Oh…" Kuruso started choking. "Y…yes! I won't… ever do it again! UNCLE! UNCLE!" She let him go so he could catch his breath. "Wheeze…wheeze…cough!"
"What's going on in here?" A familiar voice asked while walking in.
Kuruso coughed and choked. "Miss Rose?"
Amy stepped in to check on Kuruso, and saw Rouge next to him and Knuckles in the next bed. "Rouge and Knuckles? You're here too?"
"Obviously…" Rouge said while crossing her arms. "Why are you here?"
"Yo!" Another person walked in. "Storeowner?"
"Sonic!" Knuckles said when he saw him step in.
"Hey, Knuckles…" Sonic gave him a thumbs up. "Didn't know you'd be here."
"Grrrr…" Knuckles growled. "I was attacked by two assassins and they took the Master Emerald!"
"Ah… so you're the current Guardian of the Master Emerald then…" Ryu walked in, standing near Sonic and Amy.
"Yeah, and who are you?" Knuckles half asked, half demanded.
"Ryu…" He introduced himself.
"Ryu what?" Knuckles said.
"Just Ryu…" The fox shrugged.
"Great…" Knuckles sighed. "Ya picked up another weird guy, Sonic…"
"So anyway…" Sonic had his back turned on Knuckles and was talking to Kuruso. "Can ya tell me what happened to you and Amy?"
"HEY! Don't ignore me!" Knuckles shouted at him.
Kuruso got a good luck at the blue hedgehog. "Oro? Are you… Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"The one and only." Sonic grinned. Kuruso handed him a Sonic Plushie."
"Yatta! Have a Sonic Plushie!"
"Uh… thanks… now about what happened."
Kuruso stopped smiling and looked serious now. And looked at Amy. "Can you close the door?"
Amy nodded and shut the door tight. "What's wrong Kuruso?"
"Can you all keep a secret?" Kuruso asked in a low tone. They all nodded.
"It all started 2 weeks ago…"
Kuruso is sweeping up the store and getting ready to close it for the day. When suddenly, the bell on the door rang and someone walked in.
"Sorry sir." Kuruso looked at him with a smiling face. "We're closed for the night." He got a look at his customer… a giant brown bat.
"Don't gimme that crap, human…" He hissed. It was Dalton. "You have something we need…"
"Name's Kuruso, and I dunno whatcha mean, sir."
"I think you do…" Dalton stepped closer to him. "It's shiny and green and quite important…A Chaos Emerald…"
Kuruso stopped smiling. "I don't have it… please leave…"
Dalton laughed, as he got closer. "Well then… if you won't tell me, then I'll just tear this place apart and…" He was met with a shotgun in the month. "HUH?"
On the other end, Kuruso held it with his finger on the trigger. "I don't want any trouble, sir. I run a quiet business and prefer it greatly if you not threaten it. Now there's the door… leave now and don't come back…"
Dalton narrowed his eyes and started walking towards the door. "It's a nice toy store… be a shame if something happened to it…" Dalton grinned evilly and walked out.
"Instead of him coming back… another person did." Kuruso continued. "A tan echidna with a red jewel around his neck. He set the place on fire and stole the Chaos Emerald…"
"So you lost your Chaos Emerald, too?" Ryu asked. "A man named Eggman stole mine."
"The jewel sounds a lot like the ones our attackers had, Knuckles…" Rouge whispered in the echidna's ear.
"Might be some connection…" Knuckles whispered back.
"There's more you guys…" Kuruso continued. "You see, I'm more than just a storeowner. I'm part of the SSAF."
"Are you serious?" Rouge exclaimed. "They're the elite!"
"Yeah… and I'm an Honor Guard so I'm the elite of the elite… originally that Emerald was placed in a special vault that only top ranking officials could access. But after a failed attempt by a man named Robotnik to steal it, I volunteered to keep it myself. I kept it in the shop at all times, special radar blockers where set up inside so no radar could detect the Emerald. But the ones who stole the emerald… I'm not sure how they knew, but they knew I had it."
"We need to find the person who knows about the emeralds a little more than we do." Sonic suggested. "I'll see if I can track Phantom!"
"Phantom…" Knuckles scoffed. "Not that lousy Seer… still don't know why you trust him."
"He was a big help in our last adventure, that's why!" Sonic shouted. (Refer to Espio's Little Sister)
"Seers are vile, cruel people!" Knux argued. "They slaughtered my people years ago!"
When Ryu heard this, instantly he was upset and sad. "I'm sorry…" He thought to himself.
"Well like it or not, he's gonna help us out!" Sonic started heading towards the door. "Amy, you don't mind showing Ryu around the city, do you?"
"Sure, but where are YOU going?" Amy asked her hero.
"I gotta see someone…" With that he ran off and left.
"Oh… really?" Amy said, getting a little annoyed.
"Uh-oh…" Rouge said. "Sonic's in trouble… And I don't wanna miss it!" She grinned slyly.
"Me neither!" Knuckles got out of bed and headed to the door.
With that, everyone left the room and was going to follow Sonic. Except for…
"Oro?" Kuruso struggled with the handcuffs. "What about me? Guys?"
Sonic had made it to his destination. A lone apartment in the city. He knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer. The door was opened and a female greeted him.
"Hello!" The female was a pink hedgehog that wore her quills in a ponytail. She had on a maroon tank top and maroon pants.
"Yeah…" Sonic started speaking. "I need your help with something… I heard that you're a top notch hacker?"
"Depends on who's asking…" She looked all around outside the door. "Are you with the police?"
"No."
"Oh… come in then!" She moved and let Sonic inside. She looked around again and shut the door. What she didn't know was 4 certain people were watching them from the rooftops.
"Who is THAT girl?" Amy asked, jealousy dripping from her tone.
"Looks like Sonic decided to cut you off, hun…" Rouge said with a small smile.
Amy growled loudly and clenched her fists tight. "That… two timing… no good…"
"Technically…" Knuckles started to explain. "Sonic doesn't acknowledge you as a girlfriend, so he's free to do…" A Piko Piko Hammer in the skull interrupted him. "Owwwwwww…"
Amy held her hammer tight, gritting her teeth and seething in anger. "I'm not gonna let Sonic go that easily! I'm gonna clobber that girl into next year!"
Ryu tried to stay out of it, but he ended up saying the WRONG thing. "I assumed that you were his lover, Amy. But it seems that this girl…"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
The girl had led Sonic downstairs into her basement. "So…" She started to say as she sat at a desk where her laptop was placed. "What do you wanna know?"
"I'm looking for someone named Phantom…" Sonic explained. "But I don't think he'd be in any data Miss…"
"Call me Rita…" Rita started typing in her laptop. "I'm pretty sure he'd be somewhere in some form of database… " After a little more typing… "But I can't find anything about him."
"He has with him the Red Chaos Emerald… if that helps."
"Oh! That's easy…" Rita typed some more. "I can hack into one of the radar sites and see if they detected the presence of a Chaos Emerald nearby."
"Cool!" Sonic grinned.
"But what don't you have your little two tailed friend do this for you?" Rita asked.
"His radar was destroyed a while back, and he needs a lot of time to fix it. He told me he heard about you, that you could hack into anything."
"Yeah…" Rita shrugged her shoulders. "It's all for fun. I don't bother anyone, so no one can catch me! Ah! Found it…" On her screen, a little red blip flashing over a large rocky area. "This is the Emerald location yesterday. He's somewhere in Red Canyon."
"Great!" Sonic pounded his fist in his hand. "I can get his help now. Thanks a lot! Say… uh…"
"Don't worry… you don't need to pay me… this time…"
"No… Could you run a search on one more person? Like, get some info 'bout him?"
"Yeah. Just tell me who."
"His name's… Ryu…"
Amy was outside trying to open the locked door. "Darn! She locked it!" Amy immediately pulled out her Piko Piko Hammer.
"Whoa!" Knuckles protested. "Let's be a little more calm about this!"
"Yeah…" Rouge said with another sly smile. "We don't wanna walk in on them if they're…"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Amy smashed the hammer into the door. Instead of breaking open, the door simply shook a little. "It's a steal door!"
"Someone must REALLY not want us in there…" Rouge said with a shrug.
Amy looked at Ryu, who had a sword at his side. "Hey! I never noticed that sword! Cut the door down!"
"Why would I want to do something like that?" Ryu asked.
"Cuz if you do…" Amy smiled. "I'll buy you WHATEVER you want."
"What is he, 7?" Knuckles asked. "You can't just bribe him like that."
Ryu pointed to the bakery they were near. "Cake…"
"That's all you want, cake?" Amy raised an eyebrow. Ryu nodded and drew out his sword.
"JUUHAZEN!" Ryu took a stance and slashed his sword into the door. Instantly, the door snapped off the hinges and split in two. "Let's go…" Amy, Rouge, and Knux were stunned.
"Uhhhhh… right!" Amy shouted and ran inside, armed with her hammer. "SOOOOOOONIC!"
Ryu put his sword away and stepped in. Rouge and Knuckles hesitantly followed.
"Huh?" Rita could hear the noise. "What was that?"
"SOOOOONIC!" Sonic was shocked stiff when he heard Amy.
"Not good!" Sonic ran for the nearest exit, which was the same way Amy was coming from. With great aim, Amy nailed Sonic in the face with her mighty hammer. "OOOOUCH!"
Amy looked at Sonic, then at Rita. "Grrrrrr…"
"Uh…" Rita held up a peace sign and grinned. "Hello there…"
"How dare you…" Amy pulled her hammer off Sonic's face and approached Rita. "Try to steal MY Sonic from me?"
"Hey hey hey!" Rita waved her hands defensibly. "I'm not trying to take Sonic! He just needed me to do some computer hacking! That's all! I swear!"
"You mean it?" Amy threatened her, gripping her hammer tighter.
"YES!"
Amy growled a little, but put her hammer away. "Ok then. You better be telling me the truth though… or else…"
Rita smiled nervously and nodded her head. She didn't even the notice the info search for Ryu was complete. But when Rouge, Knuckles, and Ryu walked in, Knuckles noticed the screen immediately and walked over to it.
Amy ran to Sonic, helped him off the floor and hugged him tight. "I knew you'd be true to me, Sonic!"
"LET GO OF ME!" Sonic choked out. "I can't breathe!"
Rouge was laughing out loud, while Ryu stood there watching. "Is this what it's like nowadays?"
"Nah!" Rouge said in between laughter. "Only with her!"
Knuckles read what was on Rita's laptop while she watched Amy hug Sonic to death. In mere moments of reading, Knuckles tighten his fist and started to shake with anger.
"Knuckles!" Sonic cried out. "HELP ME!" However, the echidna ignored him, making everyone look at him. "Knuckles?"
"What's wrong, Knuckles?" Rouge asked as she walked towards him. But she stopped when Knuckles walked past her and towards Ryu, who stood with an emotionless frown on his face.
"You…" Knuckles narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He gave Ryu a good strong punch in the eye and knocked him down, causing everyone to gasp.
Ryu fell on his back and sat up. The punch to his eye had caused it to blacken and swollen. "What… what was that for?"
"For my ancestors, you bastard!" Knuckles shouted. He jumped to Ryu's throat and started to straggle him.
"Knux!" Sonic ran over to them and pulled Knuckles off of Ryu. "What the hell is wrong with you!"
"Why don't you read what's on that little screen?" Knuckles looked at the laptop. "It's got some interesting facts about our new friend here…"
Rita spun around and looked at the screen. She began to read it out loud. "It says 'Prince Ryu of the Seers…'"
"Ryu?" Sonic asked him. "You're a prince and a seer? But you said…"
"I know…" Ryu looked at the ground. "I know I said that I wasn't one… but…"
"Read on." Knuckles commanded Rita.
"Prince Ryu was the adopted heir to the Seer throne 1000 years ago. He was adopted by the Seer Queen at the age of 6 and raised to become King one day after his mother's rule. However, at age 12, he broke away from the throne and decided to be… an assassin?"
When Ryu heard that word, he shook his head and stared sadly at the ground. "No… that's not how it happened…"
Rita continued to read. "Prince Ryu, along with several other assassins, felt that their main objective would be to 'cleanse the world of those who craved war.' They started a bloody crusade against the other most powerful tribe in that time, the Knuckles Tribe. Soon he became their leader and the assassin group murdered hundreds of Knuckles Tribesmen for the next few years…"
"Now do you see, guys?" Knuckles said with spite in his voice. "How can you be friends with one of those who killed the people of my tribe?"
"This can't be true…" Amy said quietly. "Is it, Ryu?"
"Of course it isn't!" Sonic was defending him. "That's gotta be another Ryu!"
Ryu stood on his feet and looked at everyone. "No… I'm sorry… but it's all true… I did kill a lot of people of the Knuckles Tribe in my past…"
"But why?" Rouge asked. "Why would you murder them?"
"Because I hated them…" Ryu admitted. "I saw all the troubles my people were suffering… drought, famine, my tribe was suffering from rare diseases and dying everyday… But I saw that… the Knuckles Tribe was flourishing, because of the Chaos Emeralds they had… They were the reason we were suffering…"
"You son of a bitch!" Knuckles broke free from Sonic and slammed Ryu against a wall. "You're lowest form of scum in the world! I know everything about your little assassin group! You called yourselves the Saviors of Justice… IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE!"
"No!" Ryu shouted back. "I don't think that way of myself!"
"Liar!" Knuckles punched him again while still holding him by the throat. Sonic tried to intervene, but Knuckles knocked him away. "Because of you, I'm the last of my tribe! Because of you, I have no freedom! Because of you, I can't know the truth about my people!"
"You want to know the truth about your people!" Ryu pushed Knuckles away and drew his sword. He pointed it towards Knuckles throat, who stood perfectly still. "If I told you what your tribe was really like, you'd beg for me to kill you… You tribe was selfish… heartless warriors who killed innocent people just to become stronger!"
Knuckles growled and glared at Ryu with a death look. "You have no right to even be alive…"
Ryu's arm started to shake with fury. "You may be right… but I can easily take away yours…" Ryu's eyes suddenly snapped open wide and he saw what he was doing. He gasped and his mouth dropped open. "I…I…" Ryu put his sword back and backed away from Knuckles. He started to walk back upstairs and started to run out the house and into the city.
"Ryu!" Sonic got back on his feet.
"Let him go…" Knuckles said. "Did you see what he was going to do? He was about to kill me."
"You tried to kill him first…" Rouge commented. Knuckles looked at her and saw she was angry. "If Sonic hadn't stopped you, you would have straggled the life out of him. Is that any better than what he would have done?"
"I should have never tried to find out that stuff 'bout Ryu." Sonic said. "I should have known seeing how upset he was when I asked him about it."
"Upset?" Knuckles scoffed. "He's proud of what he has done…"
"You're wrong." Sonic narrowed his eyes. "He hates himself… I can see it in his eyes. He gotta find him, I wanna hear it from him."
"What!" Knuckles protested. "You're actually gonna look for that murderer?"
"No." Sonic walked past Knuckles and heading back upstairs. "I'm gonna go look for RYU…"
"Wait for me, Sonic!" Amy ran after him, but kicked Knuckles in the shin as she past.
"Ow!" Knux held his shin in pain. "Darn girl!"
Ryu ran in the city streets, trying to get as far away from Sonic and the others as possible. Knuckles' words burned fresh in him mind. 'You have no right to even be alive…'
"Damn! I shouldn't have come!" He yelled at himself in his mind. He turned a corner and ended up in an alley. He saw a garbage dumpster and went behind it. He leaned against it and slid down to a sitting position. "Why did they have to find out about my past?" He slammed his fist against the dumpster, making a loud sound that no one seemed to notice. "Damn that echidna…" Ryu's eyes felt heavy; he hasn't slept for a while and was now feeling the fatigue. Quietly he let his eyes close and he fell asleep.
But it wasn't a peaceful sleep…
ARRRRRGH! I couldn't put the fight scene in! This chap ran too long so I have to put it in the next chap. Usually all my chapters in most of my stories contain at least one battle scene, and if not that, a comedy chapter. I can safely say this was a comedy chapter! PLZ review and tell me whatcha think and DO look forward to next chap!
