Chapter 7
Knuckles awoke that third morning to be greeted by a cold rush of air. Shivering, the guardian went over to his window and pulled it shut. The Echidna looked back towards his bed to see Amber laying there with the covers up to her chine. Knuckles smiled at her.
The red warrior made his way over to Amber and was about to wake her up when he heard a dark voice.
"Well, well, well, having fun with my sister?"
Knuckles whirled around to see two eerie red eyes in the darkness.
"Is that you Shadow?"
The creature stepped forth to indeed be the dark hedgehog. He looked at the guardian with a hint of anger. Knuckles was a little taken back by Shadow's look and cleared his dry throat to speak.
"What do you want Shadow?"
The dark hedgehog smirked at him. "I have a proposition for you Echidna."
Knuckles arched a brow. "Oh really, what kind of proposition?"
Shadow closed his eyes. "I would like to see if you are worthy to be with my sister."
Knuckles looked confused. "What do you mean by worthy?"
Shadow opened his eyes. "I want to see if you can protect her."
Knuckles' confused face turned to an angry one. "Of course I can protect her!" He spat at the hedgehog.
Shadow smirk grew slightly. "Then you wouldn't mind proving it?"
Knuckles looked back at the sleeping Amber and then back towards Shadow. "How?"
Shadow turned around. "By fighting. You and I will fight each other."
Knuckles' mouth dropped. "But how? You can turn into your Super form at will!"
Shadow faced the Echidna again. "Yes, but I will not transform for this battle. You don't even have to beat me, just land one punch right here." Shadow said pointing to his cheek.
Knuckles smirked. "Aren't you being a little cocky?"
Shadow's smirk turned into a frown as he walked closer to Knuckles. "Believe me Echidna, if I even used a quarter of my full strength the Echidna race would really be extinct."
Knuckles thought for a second. He knew this was true. Shadow could easily defeat him especially since he could turn into his Super form at will. But since he was suggesting otherwise he decided to give in.
"Alright Shadow, you've got yourself a match! When and where?"
Shadow smirked. "In the backyard in one hour. Bring only yourself."
Knuckles nodded as Shadow disappeared. Knuckles went back over to Amber and looked at the sleeping beauty he would be fighting for.
Rouge's Bedroom
Shadow re-appeared in none other than Rouge's bedroom.
'Why do I keep on coming here? It's not like there's anything important here.'
Shadow's gaze traveled to the bat asleep in her bed. He couldn't help but take in the full beauty of her, even in her sleep without any kind of make-up.
Shadow shook his head. 'Why am I thinking about this?'
The dark hedgehog made his way back towards his 'personal' dark corner of the room and leaned against the wall.
One Hour Later
Knuckles and everyone else was down in the kitchen eating breakfast. Everyone was socializing except for Knuckles whose thoughts were on his fight with Shadow.
'I think if I attack him with my strongest punch, knowing him, he will try to block it and be caught off guard by the force of the hit.'
Knuckles was still deep in thought and Amber noticed this. "Are you okay Knuckles?"
Knuckles snapped out of his trance and looked at her. "Oh yeah, I just have to go to the bathroom."
Amber smiled and turned back to the others while Knuckles got up and headed outside.
Backyard
By now, the rain had almost completely submerged the grass on the once lush green ground. All that was left was dirty brown water on top as rain continued to pelt against the ground. Silently, without anyone noticing, Knuckles exited the house through the back door. He made his way to where some would call the middle of the yard and waited.
'I wonder if he's even going to show'- His thought were cut short by a deep voice. "I see you came."
Knuckles turned around and faced Shadow who was standing on top of the roof looking down upon him.
Knuckles smirked. "Of course, I never back down from a challenge!"
Shadow smirked at his comment and replied. "Maybe you should've backed out of this one." Shadow used the roof as a boost and shot off towards Knuckles.
The Echidna side-stepped and attempted to finish the fight quick by elbowing Shadow in the back. Before he made contact however, the dark hedgehog disappeared. Knuckles growled as he retreated his arm only to feel a fist bury itself in his back.
Knuckles' mouth opened as his entire body arched from the blow. Not giving him a spare second, Shadow delivered a roundhouse kick to the red warrior's back, sending him flying into the mud.
The Echidna got up slowly and faced Shadow who was smirking. "You might want to lay a fire under those feet if you want to hit me."
Knuckles did not respond but charged at the hedgehog. Shadow also charged and both met with each other, locking fingers. Both were pushing with all their might when Knuckles felt himself scoot back a little. Shadow lowered his head as he continued to push the Echidna until finally he retreated his still locked hands and pushed Knuckles back onto the ground.
Knuckles raised his head only to meet with another blow from Shadow. Knuckles fell on his back as Shadow picked him up by the neck. "Hmph, looks like it's over."
"Not by a long shot!" Knuckles retorted as he sent one of his fists at Shadow who once again disappeared. The Echidna fell to the ground gasping for air when Shadow came from above and kneed Knuckles in the back.
Knuckles fell to the ground once more as Shadow got off him. The hedgehog smirked at his fallen opponent. "Listen , it's over. You can't land a single blow."
Knuckles' body slowly twitched as he pushed himself off of the ground. "It's not over yet."
Rouge The Bat's Mansion
Amber started wondering what was taking Knuckles. 'He's been gone a while, maybe I should check on him.'
Amber got off the couch and went into the downstairs bathroom to find it vacant. 'Maybe he's upstairs.' But when she checked however, he was not there. 'Where could he be?' Amber's eyes drifted to the window. 'It's really coming down good.'
'Wait a minute, what's that?' She thought as she saw a red and black figure moving in the rain. Her eyes widened as she ran downstairs. Everyone was still in the living room when she came down.
"Guys, Shadow and Knuckles are fighting." She yelled. Everyone's eyes widened as they all jumped off the couches and ran outside.
Backyard
Knuckles just barely managed to dodge another blow from Shadow when he heard splashing. The red one turned his head to find everyone running towards them. Shadow also looked but not as long as Knuckles as he found out when a fist collided with his stomach. Knuckles reeled over in pain as the group reached the two.
"What are you doing?" Amber screamed at them. Shadow looked at her and back at the fallen Knuckles. "Sparring."
Rouge stepped forth towards Shadow with a scowl on her face. "More like slaughtering! You know he can't fight you!"
Shadow looked away. "He agreed to it."
"That doesn't mean you have to do it." Rouge yelled. Amber, who was helping Knuckles up and everyone else's eyes traveled to the person who spoke.
"If I would have backed down , I would've been a coward." Shadow retorted.
Rouge folded her arms. "Yeah well, maybe you are a coward!"
Shadow faced her again. "What did you call me?"
Rouge smiled evilly. "You heard me! A COWARD!"
Shadow's eyes seemed to twitch as he shot her a glare. "Take that back."
Rouge turned her back a little. "No!"
"I said, take that back!" Shadow said stepping closer.
Rouge became alarmed at his advance and stepped back. "Shadow, what are you doing?"
Shadow smirked and appeared before her in a flash. Rouge shrieked and almost fell over had Shadow not caught her by the arm. Rouge looked up at him. His grip was not tight but still made her feel uneasy.
"Shadow, let me go." She yelled.
"Not until you take that back!" Shadow said, his fur flashing to dull yellow as a golden aura surrounded him.
Rouge was most definitely alarmed now that he changed into his Super form as he lifted her off the ground and high into the air. He then took his fingers and created a golden circle that bonded Rouge's wings behind her back.
Rouge's eyes widened as did everyone else's. Amber was about to transform when Knuckles held her back. "He'll hurt her!" Knuckles hook his head and smirked. "Just wait."
Shadow stared at the bat in his arms. "Last chance, take it back!"
Rouge looked up at him. "N-No!" She stammered.
"Wrong answer." Shadow stated as he released the bat.
Rouge plummeted through the air at high speeds and was a bout to hit the ground when a golden flash caught her. She looked up to see Shadow who had a huge smirk on his face.
"Now will you take it back?" Rouge simply nodded as Shadow snapped his fingers and the golden rings disappeared.
Rouge jumped from Shadow's arms, faced the dark hedgehog, and slapped him in the face. "Don't you EVER do that again!"
Shadow, who was unfazed, smirked. "Of course not, as long as you won't insult me."
Rouge just huffed and went back into the house. Shadow's Super form faded away as he made his way to Knuckles. With lighting fast speed, Shadow grabbed the Echidna's fist and shoved it in his own face.
Knuckles only looked confused as Shadow lowered the Echidna's fist, two dark red holes now in his right cheek. The dark hedgehog smirked while walking back inside. "You have earned the right."
