GM: And now, for the second chapter.
AGM: Poor Knuckles, that's certainly some pain he's going to be in..
DGM: Teehee!
GM: …that's just sick. He does his duty to the world, and loses his life, and you laugh?
DGM: Dude, you are so bringing me down.
AGM: At least there is some Knuxouge…
Disclaimer: Green
Magicite does not own Sonic, nor any affiliated characters. Nor does
he own Sega or Sonic Team
Another week, another visit from the famous, and some would say infamous, treasure huntress, Rouge the Bat. Though this was a potential threat to his Emerald, which, as all powerful and good as it was it, could drive him to the brink of insanity, Knuckles enjoyed the visits, and though he would never admit it, it was a break from the wearisome loneliness that came from guarding a giant glowing green rock.
"Come on, Knucklehead, it isn't like you're actually using the Emerald for anything!" Rouge really didn't care for the Master Emerald anymore, she had found a new interest in the Echidna guardian, but she couldn't admit her feelings either, she was Rouge! The treasure huntress with a heart of ice! There was no way she could just admit her feelings.
"How many times do I have to explain that the Master Emerald isn't just a rock? It's a gem which contains infinite power, which is accessed easier than with the seven Chaos Emeralds, and negate their power, or do you not remember the Biolizard on ARK?"
"Oh, Knuckles, that was under the belt. Which I wouldn't mind…" She smiled seductively at the red guardian, who began to blush at her comment, "What's wrong, Knucklehead?"
"It's hot out here, and unlike you, I don't have pampered air conditioning for about 90 of the day." Knuckles managed to salvage an excuse which actually had premise. "You're not going to get the Master, so I suggest that you leave."
"Oh come on Knuckie, you know that you don't mean that. What would you do without me? Other than waste all your time on an emerald that no one cares about. Chaos Emeralds are all the rage, not some Giant Master which is as big as you." Rouge moved closer to the guardian, who was starting to fume over how his Emerald was being criticized.
"You do not understand the power of the Master Emerald! You can't… no one can, it is a mystery even to myself, its Guardian."
"Well, that's obvious; you aren't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, now, are you?" The bat teased him, laughing, "Oh, come on, Knucklehead, it's a joke, get over it."
"Do you know what, Batgirl?" Knuckles was insulted, she mocked his intelligence. He wasn't dumb, he just didn't have the street smarts or experience she had. She hadn't lived on an island her entire life. "If you're lucky, one day you will be confused by the Master as well. The only way you can truly appreciate what it is isn't to know everything about it, because if you do, it loses its beauty, and when that happens, it will never be the same, it could never be recovered."
"How long did it take you to come up with that?" Rouge teased again, and sat down on one of the steps on the altar. "What, can't I sit down?" She looked up at the guardian, and inwardly chuckled; he had no idea how to deal with this situation.
"You aren't trying to steal the Master Emerald?" Knuckles looked suspiciously at Rouge, who sighed, and looked up at him.
"It is considered polite to answer a lady when she asks a question, Knucklehead."
"You're a lady? I would have guessed more of a courtesan…" He began to laugh, only to feel the sharp pain of her hand across his face.
Rouge had gotten up and slapped him, "You deserve that." She acted like a floozy sometimes, but that was only to help her achieve her goals. "And you should know what a word means before you use it!"
"Well you're the one who called yourself a 'lady'." Knuckles put a gloved hand up to the mark on his face, still stinging, "I don't see why you even bother to come here anymore, you're not going to take the Emerald away from me." He looked at the bat, inquisitively.
She felt his gaze upon him, and looked away, "Is there another reason for me to come here?" Take the hint, Knuckles…
Knuckles looked at her, then around the shrine, ruins all around him, of his ancient civilization. A thought hit him like lightning, "I can't believe you! You're raiding the ruins! Those ruins were home to my ancestors!" He raised a gloved fist in anger, but didn't strike. The anger was visibly affecting him, "How could you!"
"What!" Knuckles, you idiot! I'm not interested in ancient artifacts! "Knuckles, I'm not interested in ruins! They aren't my finesse…" Rouge backed away from the Echidna on the verge of rage.
"Then why…?" Knuckles put his fist down, trying to contain his rage. No blood must be spilled upon the Shrine of the Master unless the Shrine is directly attacked.
"Uh…" Now or never, Rouge, tell him and get it over with…"I was trying to find a good spot to open a Club. The scenery is quite good." She gave a sigh of relief when Knuckles blankly looked at her. I can't believe you're such a coward; that was the perfect opportunity.
"Oh." Knuckles blinked a few times, trying to process the information. Sonic is right. I really have no idea at all what females are thinking. "Well, as long as it isn't close to the Master Emerald, I suppose it's alright." Maybe she'll stop in more often too? I enjoy the company, and if she makes enough profit from this Club she won't want my Emerald, right? "And you'll have to check in with Big, make sure he's alright with it."
"Yeah… I suppose I will." I can't believe he took to that so well. She sat down again, Knuckles joining her, in his usual slumped position.
"Rouge… I've given this some thought…" Knuckles started, somewhat uneasily, "Ugh, this would be easier standing up…" The echidna stood, the Master Emerald twinkling in the sunlight, "Remember, when you asked me if I wanted to live with you?"
Rouge smiled, she remembered well, "Hey, are you energetic at night?" She was teasing him, "Oh my, what are you thinking about?" Looking back, it seemed almost mean, the keyword being almost. "Yes, Knucklehead?"
Knuckles took a deep breath, his amethyst eyes focusing on Rouge, "Well…. The answer is…" He stuttered out, Rouge stood up, Please, Knuckles… just say it…
"The answer—" Before he could continue, a low rumbling sound filled the air, and, as they looked around for the noise, a familiar robot appeared… Metal.
Metal Sonic rose to Angel Island, still covered in the blood of Tails, "We meet again, Echidna, remember your friend, Tails?" He held up his bloody robotic claw, "We had a disagreement, I'm afraid."
Knuckles stood, mouth ajar, Rouge stunned, she had cared for the kitsune in an almost motherly way…occasionally, that is.
"You!" Knuckles right arm trembled, "How could you kill Tails! I'm going to tear you apart!"
"Oh, so you have an idea of how Tails was killed." Metal Sonic replied, in what seemed to be a taunting way, considering he was a robot, "It pleases my sensors to know that you have a small idea how your young friend died… of course, that wasn't all I did to him before I let his life slip away…."
Knuckles couldn't take anymore details of the death of his young friend, "HE WAS A CHILD!" He leapt at Metal Sonic, fists aiming directly for his power source, the broken spike on his hand coming after his mostly undamaged one, screaming for vengeance. He felt the claws upon them, incredible strength stopping him in his tracks, holding him in the air.
"Remember Metal Knuckles?" Metal asked the Echidna, trapped in his hands, Angel Isle below them, "Don't you remember? Well, he's dead now, along with Tails Doll… and if I can't have my friends, then why should my carbon fake?" He swung Knuckles around him in a whirl, the Echidna unable to resist, Metal let go, Knuckles be flung off into the vast wasteland which they were above.
Rouge was trying to get a handle on things: Tails was dead. Not captured, dead. Having to deal with that the friendly kitsune was gone is hard enough on its own, but Knuckles was fighting with Metal Sonic… and losing.
She took off, flying after the stunned Knuckles, barely catching him, "Knuckles, I can't fly both of us back up there, you need to wake up!"
At the sound of her voice, Knuckles gained consciousness again, and with an angry growl glided onto the side of Angel Island, climbing up; Rouge, using her apathy to guard against Tails' death, was flying above Metal Sonic, in case Knuckles fall again.
Knuckles took another leap at Metal Sonic, grappling with his metal claws, hatred in his purple, enraged eyes.
Metal slashed at the Echidna, blood coming trickling out, joining the blood of Tails. Knuckles grabbed onto one metallic claw, ripping it apart, circuits showing, electricity flowing freely from the 'wound'. With a screech, alien to both organic and inorganic beings, "I'll just kill you now…"
Metal pressed his broken hand into the wounds of Knuckles, electricity flowing freely into the Echidna, frying the blood, Knuckles in terrible pain, screaming as Metal grabbed him with his uninjured hand, throwing him directly at the Master Emerald.
Knuckles flailed his arms, trying not to hit the gem which he had dedicated his life to, but to no avail. He crashed into the Master Emerald, it shattering around him, shards slicing into him.
Metal Sonic hovered over the broken Echidna & his emerald, "I leave you to die in suffering." He moved, leaving the Island, and took one last look at Rouge, the treasure hunter, "You will never match Fang." And with that, Metal sped off, leaving Rouge unharmed.
She flew down to Knuckles' body, blood slowly trickling from it, pulling him away from the broken Master Emerald. Her gloves were now the color red, the color of blood…. The life blood of Knuckles.
"Knuckles, get up! You stubborn Echidna!" Rouge had Knuckles on the grass, not on the stone shrine, "Knuckles… please, don't die…" She took his head into her arms, holding him against her, trying to pacify him, his rough and uneven breathing, "Knuckles…"
The echidna slowly opened his eyes, and, reluctantly pushed the bat away from him, "Ro…uge…" He stood up, facing the Shrine, "You…ha…ve to hel..p me…." He stuttered out, falling forward, unable to keep balance.
Rouge pulled Knuckles up, wrapping her arms slightly above his waist, "Knuckles, we need to get you to a hospital…"
Knuckles faintly smiled, desperately wanting to give in, letting her hold him, allow her and her to worry over him, lovingly run her hands through his dreadlocks, let her love him…. But no, duty comes first. "I'm afr..aid that wil…l not help…" He closed his eyes, falling into her embrace, letting her hold him up, the weakness taking him, "Th…ere is no…thi..ng can prevent…" He coughed up more blood, a surprising amount for his size.
"Knuckles, you can't die…" Rouge, for all her barriers against emotions that made her weak, was crumbling. "Knuckles, listen to me—"
"No, Rouge." Knuckles slowly raised his head, fighting the pain, a display of his eternium will. "Rouge, my duty comes first. I am the Guardian of the Master Emerald…" He stood, blood still flowing from his multiple wounds, "I cannot leave this world with it in shambles…"
Rouge looked in horror, her memory of Knuckles putting the Master Emerald back together on the ARK so long ago. "Knuckles… at least let me take some of the larger pieces out…" Knuckles nodded, and Rouge gently moved her gloved hands to one of the wounds, grasping on the large green gem piece embedded in Knuckles flesh. "This will hurt…"
"I am… accustomed to pain…." Knuckles gasped as she slowly removed it, tossing the bloody piece to the ground, blood flowing from the area rapidly that the gem had once blocked.
"Knuckles… please, reconsider…."
"No. Better to die than to be unable to do my job…." Knuckles placed a gloved claw on her own, "I'm counting on you.."
Rouge, horrified by the demeanor of Knuckles, but continued her work, taking out the larger pieces of the once great Master Emerald. The blood staining about everything, only an occasional whimper coming from the static guardian, his eyes closed. "I'm done, Knuckles…"
Knuckles did not look at her, only focusing his attention on the large shattered remains. "The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos."
The remaining pieces of the Master Emerald ripped themselves out of his body, blood dropping to the ground, the other pieces collecting themselves to make the Master Emerald.
"K-Knucklehead?" Knuckles fell into her arms, his strength gone. "Knuckles…" She slowly lowered to the ground, sitting down, letting the object of her affection rest his head between her breasts, embracing him, no longer caring about the rapid blood flow. "Knuckles, I need to tell you something."
"Me…fi…r…st…." Knuckles gasped, weakly moving his head to stare into her emerald eyes, "My…ans…wer… is…yes…."
The blackened, thrashed apart tissue that once passed for her heart throbbed. He would have lived with me… I could have had him… Something she hadn't done for years was happening… real tears. "Every time I tried to tell you, something would happen. You would be an arrogant bastard or Shadow would come…" She shook her head, then adjusted it to Knuckle's, and pressed her soft lips against his own coarse lips.
Knuckles, on a good day, would not have reacted well. His tired heart, weakened from blood loss and the pain returning, gave its final beat as Rouge ended their first and only kiss.
Rouge felt the cold touch of death on her love; tears flowing freely, though she did not utter even a whimper. She simply squeezed the echidna, unable to do anything, the Emerald's aura covering the floating island, coating the bat and former guardian as the sun set.
So gently, you touched my heart.
Without meaning to, you captured me, the infamous thief.
I will be forever yours.