Knuckles woke up shivering in spite of the sun in his eyes and the heat rising from the ground. He squinted at the tall rock walls stretching up on either side. The sun shone directly down between then. It must be close to noon. He started to sit up but his head swam and he thought better of it

"Sonic?"

"Hey Knux, I thought you were going to sleep all day. Want some breakfast? It's some sort of pastry. Pretty good."

Knuckles grimaced.

"No."

"You sure?" Sonic bounced over and waved something sticky under his nose. Knuckles' stomach threatened to revolt. "Bit late for breakfast maybe. Lunch? Early dinner?"

"I said no." Knuckles tried sitting up again, more slowly this time. "Anyway, what do you mean, 'pastry', where'd you get pastry? Where are we?"

"I hit a bakery first light, it was the only place open before things got busy, we're outside a little town a few hundred miles from the base." Sonic answered in one breath. "It would have been further but you fell asleep." He paused. "Um and then fell off."

"You mean you dropped me."

"Well you sort of slithered down," Sonic admitted readily. "Y'know I think you're heavier asleep than you are awake."

"Unlikely."

Sonic shrugged. "You know you really ought to have something. When was the last time you ate?"

"Mind your own business." Knuckles shifted uncomfortably while trying not to display that discomfort. "I'll eat when I'm hungry."

And when my guts stop feeling like someone stirred up a whirlpool there, he added silently.

Sonic shrugged again. "Up to you. It's just you're looking a bit green about the gills. Not a good colour with red, that's all I'm saying."

An angry retort rose to Knuckles lips about how Sonic would look sick too if he'd been the one captured and probably well on his way to being dissected, but he sighed and didn't bother.

"Is there anything that isn't sweet?" he asked instead.

"Not sweet?" Sonic looked genuinely surprised. "There might be a roll or two."

Eventually a couple of soft baps were unearthed at the bottom of the bag Sonic had hastily stuffed. Knuckles nibbled at one cautiously, more interested in the water bottle he'd also snagged.

The nausea had abated slightly by the time he'd finished the first roll and the muzzy feeling in his head started to clear. The pained blur of the previous night's events slowly turned into a more coherent memory.

Knuckles put his second roll down. He rather wished they'd remained a blur.

"Sonic," he said.

The hedgehog turned from where he was removing a steaming pan of water from the remains of a fire. Not a saucepan Knuckles noted distractedly, but a cake tin--the bakery again.

"What I said last night--" Knuckles forced himself to look away from the fire and meet Sonic's eyes. "I should not have said it. What happened was not your fault." He dropped his gaze and stared at his roll. "I was not entirely myself."

Sonic cocked his head to one side. "Hmm. Argumentative... Attacking the wrong person... Talking rubbish... I'd say--"

"Don't." For once Knuckles seized gratefully on Sonic's ability to make light of any situation. "Oh and by the way that 'not your fault' only applies to the natives wanting to use me as a science project--our being here in the first place, most certainly is down to you and your bright ideas."

This time however, Sonic was the first to look away. "I know that, Knuckles."

Caught off guard by this sudden contrition, Knuckles cast about for another topic. He pointed at the contents of the bag Sonic had brought from the bakery, now spread across the rock.

"Why the tablecloth? A little formal for out here don't you think?"

Sonic returned to the fire and tin of water. "It's for clean bandages." He pointed. "In case you haven't noticed that foot of yours is looking decidedly manky."

"Manky?" Knuckles regarded Sonic. "And I'm to be doctored by someone capable of such a masterly diagnosis as 'manky' am I?"

"Well you can try it yourself if you want."

In answer, Knuckles reached for his injured foot. There was a worrying warmth extending all the way to the ankle. He frowned, leaned forward then gasped as his injured ribs protested.

"You were actually considering it weren't you?" Sonic said shaking his head in disbelief, as Knuckles sat back, panting. "Man, if ever someone didn't know how to take help when it's offered..."

"I do not need anybody's help, hedgehog." Knuckles grunted in pain but did not pull away when Sonic reached to undo the soiled bandage. "I can look after myself."

Sonic shrugged, "You don't have to need something to know it's sometimes useful anyway." He finished peeling the bandage off and reached for the now lukewarm water. "And how exactly were you planning to get out of that base without help?"

"I was planning--" Knuckles gritted his teeth as Sonic worked on the wound but didn't stop speaking, "to wait until they tried to take me back to my cell then flatten them like I flattened you and force them to show me the way out if they didn't want their heads ripping off."

"Oh." Sonic looked so surprised at this ready answer that Knuckles broke into a gasping laugh. He laughed even harder at the startled expression on the hedgehog's face when he clearly took the rasping sound for some form of distress.

"Well, that's very--direct." Sonic said after his surprise had passed and a smirk returned to his face.

"I thought you'd appreciate it." Knuckles flopped back full length on the sand, suddenly exhausted.

Despite the mid afternoon sunlight Knuckles fell back to sleep almost as soon as Sonic had finished cleaned and re-bandaging his injury. He had claimed it would just be a nap before they set off again come nightfall but looking at him Sonic doubted he was in any fit shape to travel, even with help.

But they could hardly stay here either. It was too small. Someone would quickly notice if food and supplies went missing too often. He could forage further afield but that would mean longer periods where Knuckles would be on his own, and while Sonic didn't doubt his ability to put up an almighty fight if discovered, the reality was that if the human army came inforce they'd both be outnumbered. Running would be the only practical escape. And that was something which Knuckles was certainly not capable of until his foot healed.

Knuckles stirred restlessly and mumbled something in his sleep. Sonic paced anxiously, trying to make a decision. He might have used the word 'manky' but he knew the word 'infection' too, and that foot looked bad.

Knuckles knew it too, Sonic had seen it in his expression. How often had he had to treat his injuries alone on the Floating Island? Obviously it was often enough that he hadn't even considered having Sonic help -- even resented it.

Sonic thought of himself as pretty independent but Knuckles had been outright angry at having to accept help.

Sonic shook his head wryly. Knuckles was really going to hate what he was going to do next.

---End Section 3---