Disclaimer: I do not own Knuckles, Rouge or any of the other official SEGA characters. Aki is property of me.

Thank you everyone for your kind reviews! I don't think I'm that good of a writer, so the fact that people like my story is very reassuring. Please continue to review, it makes me very happy! By the way, this entire chapter is one big flashback, just so no one will get confused.

Also, due to some language in this chapter, I'm bumping this story up to Teen. Just to be safe…now, here's Chapter 2!

Protector-Chapter 2

"(sigh)…Stupid Sonic…"

Knuckles laid on the floor of the temple, staring up at the cloudless blue sky of Angel Island. Sonic and his friends hadn't visited the island since they were too busy fighting off Eggman's E-Cyborgs. And honestly, Knuckles was very jealous.

"I'm up here guarding the emerald, and he's down there having a brawl. How come he gets to have all the fun?" he muttered to himself. "Heh…if it were me down there…" Knuckles jumped up and clenched his fists, ready to fight. "I'd knock out each and every one of them myself!" he shouted as he punched a nearby pillar into rubble.

As the dust settled, Knuckles looked over at the Master Emerald. Even though he wanted to fight and wanted to help his friends, he knew he had no choice but to remain on the island. "This sucks…" Knuckles slumped back down on the floor with a heavy sigh. "I wish I could have some of the action for once…instead of sitting around doing nothing…"

"Sounds like that Emerald's more trouble than it's worth…"

"I guess sometimes…"

"I'll gladly take it off your hands for you…" Knuckles' eyes widened as he heard the click of a gun behind him. Without a second thought, he grabbed the intruder's arm, hurled him over his shoulder and slammed him into the ground with a thud. Knuckles quickly got into a fighting stance, ready to attack, until he saw who the intruder was…

"…Fang!"

"Long time, no see Knuckles…" The purple weasel smirked as he got up off the ground. He dusted himself off and adjusted his hat, then looked back at the stunned guardian. "How long's it been since we last saw each other, huh?"

"Not long enough…" the echidna growled, barring his teeth. "Why are you on MY island?"

"For the Master Emerald, of course. Why else do you think I'd waste my time with this dump of an island?" Fang eyed the giant emerald. "I'm sure a nice rock like that would fetch a handsome price on the Black Market!"

"And you think I'm just gonna let you take it?" Knuckles snarled at the bounty hunter. Suddenly, he charged forward with a yell, smashing his fist into Fang's snout. The weasel flew backwards several feet, but quickly landed on his feet and countered with a roundhouse kick, taking the guardian by surprise and knocking him down the stairs to the ground below.

While Knuckles attempted to get up, Fang dashed down the stairs, ready to deliver another blow. But Knuckles quickly rolled out of the way and got to his feet behind Fang. He grabbed the weasel's bent tail and swung him around, flinging him into a nearby tree.

"Had enough, weasel?" Knuckles glared as the weasel shakily got back up to his feet. Fang wiped away the bit of blood that came from his mouth, and grinned in response. "I'm just getting started…"

The two continued to fight, unaware that they were being watched by another "intruder…"

"Who'd have thought Knucklehead was so strong…" Rouge thought to herself as she viewed the fight from her hiding spot atop one of the pillar that hadn't already been smashed by the fight. "Was he holding back when he fought me all those times?" She continued to watch the two combatants, silently rooting for Knuckles.

The red echidna delivered another hard punch to Fang's chin, knocking him to the ground. As the weasel struggled to get back up, Knuckles glared down at him, a superior smirk on his face. "Learned your lesson, Mr. Big Shot Bounty Hunter?" he grinned. "No one's touching the Master Emerald as long as I'm around!"

Fang still stayed hunched over on the ground, his mind racing. "Damn Knuckles…forgot how strong he was…making a fool outta me like that…" He dug his fingers into the dirt and smirked. "But no damn echidna's gonna stop me from getting my paws on that rock…"

Thinking quickly, Fang grabbed the dirt and threw it in Knuckles' eyes, blinding him long enough for the crafty weasel to get back on his feet. And with one swift kick to the gut, Knuckles was down on the ground.

"Now here's a lesson for you, Knuckles." Fang laughed, twirling his gun around his finger as he watched the echidna struggled to get up. "No one stops me from getting what I want." Fang stop twirling his gun and aimed it right at Knuckles' head. He glared darkly at his fallen opponent. "No one…"

He pulled the trigger.

But it wasn't Knuckles who lay bleeding on the ground.

It was Rouge.

Just mere moments before Fang pulled the trigger, Rouge flew out of her hiding place and shoved Knuckles out of the way. She got him out of harm's way just in time, but wasn't fast enough to save herself.

All was silent for a moment as Knuckles tried to process what just happened. "Did that batgirl…Rouge…did she just…save me?" Knuckles had no idea why she was even on the island, much less why she took a bullet for him. "Rouge…why did you…?"

"Stupid bitch…" a voice snarled. Knuckles snapped his head up to see Fang, still holding the gun, glowering at the bat with disgust. "Oh well…her fault for getting in my way…"

"…What did you call her…?" Knuckles said, his voice quivering. Fang turned to see the echidna back on his feet, his body trembling with rage, eyes burning with anger. "What did you just call her!"

But Fang didn't get a chance to answer Knuckles' question. With a great yell, he struck Fang in the face, knocking him through the forest, off the edge of Angel Island and crashing down into the ocean below.

Knuckles just stood there, letting his body stop shaking before he rushed over to where Rouge was. "Rouge…Rouge!" Knuckles knelt next to, gently shaking her by the shoulder. "Rouge! Are you all right? Please, say something!" But Rouge didn't say a word. Knuckles glanced down at her side, where blood was flowing from the bullet wound. She needed medical help, fast.

"Hang on, Rouge…" Knuckles carefully picked the wounded bat up in his arms. Wasting no time, he took off from the island and started gliding towards the mainland.

A:N: Well, I promised the 2nd chapter would be longer. Hope you guys enjoyed Fang's appearance in the story! This was a bit tough to write, especially trying to make the fight scene exciting. Next time, we switch back to the present time as Aki tried to help Knuckles sort out his feelings for Rouge. Until next time, R&R!

- Shameless Plug #1: Don't know what E-Cyborgs are? They're the main baddies in my fan comic, Sonic Chaos Adventure, as well as most of my stories. Like I said, this story takes place during my comic series. Visit my author's page for the link to the Sonic Chaos Adventure comic to find out more about the E-Cyborgs!