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Chapter 16: Assurances

"Okay, forgive me, but I really don't see what the problem is," Silver said as he readjusted his weight onto his other foot.

Sonic turned to face the chrome hedgehog. "Usually when we bring all 7 Chaos Emeralds together, I become Super Sonic and Shadow powers up as well. But that's not happening."

"You mean your emeralds have lost their power?" Blaze asked.

"It looks like it," Sonic said and studied the green and blue emeralds in his hand.

"But...why?" Amy asked.

"Could it be because of the Sol Emerald I have?" Blaze asked.

Sonic shrugged. They needed Tails right now. He raised his wrist up to his mouth but Amy grabbed his arm before he could punch a button on his wrist comm.

"Sonic, don't bother Tails. He needs time off. He's on a date right now, and you know how much you hate it when someone bothers you when we're together," Amy said.

Ah, this was true. They would have to put their heads together and figure this out.

"Shadow, do you know anything about this?" Sonic asked him.

The hedgehog shook his head slightly, though he had his suspicions.

Silver turned to Rouge and whispered, "What's his problem?"

Rouge just shook her head. "He's always like that," she whispered back. "He's just had a rough past is all."

"You would defend him," Knuckles muttered.

Sonic sighed. He felt like he was losing his team here. Amy had that ever present worry on her face (he knew it was for him), Knuckles was inexplicably pissed, Rouge looked hurt, Shadow was, well, Shadow, and Silver and Blaze knew nothing about the Chaos Emeralds. Goodness, did he have to do everything himself? This was all Shadow's fault. Looking at him just then, Sonic could tell he knew more than what he was saying. Why did he always have to be so difficult? Sonic had to resist an urge to spin dash the hedgehog, knowing that would not be wise right now.

Focus, Sonic. Right. The Chaos Emeralds. For whatever reason, they weren't working. Could it have something to do with-

"The Master Emerald," Knuckles suddenly said, and felt his heart clench. Something was seriously wrong now, he could just feel it.

Everyone glanced at him. "What about it?" Rouge asked.

"It's in trouble." Understatement. He could feel a dread deep in his bones, pulling at him, beckoning him back to the shrine. Knuckles clenched his huge fists and started breathing heavily. "I have to check on it."

"Wait, don't run off yet," Sonic said, and then his eyes flashed and something clicked. "The Master Emerald controls the Chaos Emeralds, right?"

Oh gosh that was it. No, no, no, now he had to get to it. Knuckles took off, not caring that he was leaving his friends behind. Whoever was messing with his Emerald had another thing coming.

"Knuckles, wait," Rouge said and she took wing to chase after him. "I'll come with you."

The echidna wanted to say something sarcastic, but honestly he couldn't think of anything. He was just so...angry.

It was just what he needed right now to deal with his girlfriend's ex. It didn't help that she seemed a little attached to him still. And Knuckles had always felt a little jealous of their relationship.

I mean, Rouge was just so...gorgeous. She was the type of girl that could turn heads and silence a room. And she'd never been shy to flaunt it, either. Knuckles had always hated that side of her, that flirty side. In his heart of hearts, he knew it'd come back to bite him.

Did I not tell you that this would be a problem? his conscience reminded him. She's no good for you, let her go back to Shadow.

ARGH! What was he doing brooding about some girl for? The freaking MASTER EMERALD was in trouble. Bad trouble, too. He just had this dread in his core, telling him, warning him-

Suddenly Rouge was right in front of him, and Knuckles had to pull up to keep from bowling her over.

"We need to talk," she said, her hands resting on her curvy hips. Why did she have to be so, so...

"Now is not a good time," Knuckles growled.

"Too bad," the bat said and glared right back at him, her attitude shining through. "Because we're talking."

Knuckles crossed his arms and glared at her. If she wasn't so darn gorgeous he would have decked her in the face already.

"Now, tell me why you're so upset."

He huffed. "Oh, hmmm, I wonder why."

"Don't try and tell me that this is about some Emerald."

"Oh yes, because everything on this planet revolves around you, doesn't it?" Knuckles spat.

"This time I know it's about me. Because you're clueless enough to think that I like Shadow."

"And that would be a stupid conclusion?"

"Would you just calm down and listen to me for once, Knucklehead?" Rouge snapped. "There's nothing between me and Shadow, ok?"

"Then why did you run off with him?"

"Run off?" she shrieked. "I had a talk with him, so shoot me!"

The echidna huffed.

"Listen, Knucklehead: A long time ago, Shadow and I were dating," Rouge said, and Knuckles frowned more (if that were possible). "But it's over now, trust me. And it didn't even last that long.

Knuckles wanted to believe her. He knew that he would have to trust her. Now trusting was normally something that came so easily to him, but, as he'd told her last night, Rouge was just different. It was against all common sense he had given a girl like this his heart.

You're scared of getting hurt.

He had no idea where that thought came from, but it hit him like a sledgehammer. He, Knuckles the Echidna, Fearless Guardian of the Master Emerald, was afraid. No, not of any bot or monster (as if) but of a girl. See, things like...love, relationships, those weren't his strong points. Dealing with the whole female population in general was not his strong point. And Rouge? She had almost too much experience in this field. That was intimidating. He felt that there was a chance that she would just leave him and he'd be hurt. And emotional pain was way different from the physical pain he could deal with.

"Did he...hurt you?" Knuckles asked, surprised at how much his anger had dissipated.

"No, no, nothing like that," Rouge said, glad she managed to calm him down. "He just...wasn't for me. Wasn't ready for a relationship after what happened between him and Maria."

Rouge watched Knuckles' face soften. Everything she had told him had been the absolute truth. She'd been a little hurt he didn't believe her at first, but knew her reputation preceded her.

"He's just a friend to me, Knuckie. I'm...I'm sorry." And with those words that were so hard for her to say, the bat wrapped her man in a tender embrace, using her wings as well as her arms. Rouge was once again surprised at herself and her actions.

There was no game to this, no trick- it was just her and him, him and her. Why was it that Knuckles could bring out the little girl in her that just wanted to be loved with no strings attached? She just wanted someone to hold her, protect her, let her know she was valuable and more than just a sex object.

"You shouldn't be sorry," he said. "That was my bad. I overreacted."

"I understand. But- you have to believe me that I'm not going to cheat on you, Knuckie. I love you. You know that, right?"

It was just what he needed to hear. Knuckles' incredibly strong arms pulled Rouge closer to him, his hands linking just beneath her wings. He planted a kiss on her neck before whispering, "I love you too, Rouge."

He wished that he could just keep standing there, holding this beautiful girl, but their was still pulling in his heart, reminding him of his duty and his Emerald. Yet he was glad that they were able to work this out and come to an understanding.

Knuckles released the bat from his grasp and held her not quite at arms' length, studying her light green eyes. "Rouge, I have to check on the Emerald."

Right. Their Emerald. She nodded. "Let's go."

...xxx...

"The Master Emerald controls the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic told Silver and Blaze. "That's all I know."

Silver turned to Shadow. "What do you know?"

Red and gold eyes met, and then the red were veiled by black eyelids.

"Doctor Eggman Nega," Shadow said as he crossed his arms.

Blaze spun to face him. "Nega is here?" she demanded.

"He is. And he's no Eggman. Much crueler and smarter. Which is why you all should let me handle this."

"Wait, have you fought him?" Silver asked.

Shadow didn't answer immediately, and turned to face Sonic. "It appears him and the Doctor have made some sort of agreement."

"So Eggman and Nega have teamed up?" Sonic asked. This wasn't good.

Shadow nodded.

"Well, then why don't you team up with us then?" Sonic offered.

Shadow blinked. "I will show you where their base is. But don't expect any other favors."

Fair enough. "Well, then what are we waiting around for?" Sonic asked and was about to make a leap for the X-Tornado when Amy grabbed him by the arm. Jeez, how did she get to be so fast? It was the second time she'd grabbed him in the past few minutes.

"Sonic...are you sure you're ok?" the girl asked him with big eyes.

"I'm me, remember?" Sonic said, a little annoyed.

Amy huffed. "Jeez, I was just making sure," she said and glared at her careless boyfriend as she released him. Sonic raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are we still taking the X-Tornado?" Silver asked.

Sonic broke the strained gaze with Amy and jumped into Tails' plane. When he tried to start the engine, though, the engine merely sputtered. "What? Low fuel?" Sonic said incredulously.

"I told you Tails never filled it up," Amy said and she rolled her eyes.

"We'll have to go on foot, then," Blaze said.

Shadow turned to face the direction of the nearby clearing. "The base is about 100 miles East of here."

"Uh, you guys go on, we'll catch up to you," Sonic said and then turned to Amy, but the girl wasn't looking at him.

Silver and Blaze exchanged glances.

"I'm not waiting on you, Sonic," Shadow said as he narrowed his eyes.

"You don't need to, I'll get there before you anyway," Sonic shot back.

"Hmph," the black hedgehog huffed and turned to the two visitors.

"We're ready," Blaze told him, and the two hedgehogs and the cat took off.

Sonic tilted his head a little and walked over to Amy, gently taking her hands in his. Amy, however, refused to meet his eyes.

"Let's just go, Sonic, I don't want to talk right now," she said quietly.

"We need to." He asserted.

Then they would. It just wasn't fair, Sonic had every advantage over her. He was faster, he was stronger, he was Sonic and he had her heart.

"Amy, please look at me," Sonic requested.

But that was the one thing she could not do. She knew that as soon as she met Sonic's green eyes, she would start to cry. And she cried way too much as it was. Amy wanted to show Sonic that she could be strong for him for once. That she could deal with the fact that he was a hero and in constant danger. Maybe it was too late for that; she'd already had her little outburst. But she could redeem herself now, if she could just keep staring at Sonic's shoes...

Sonic sighed and put his hands on her shoulders. He could deal with the pain and swelling of his ankle, the Chaos Emeralds being un-powered, a villain worse than Eggman, but Amy being sad and worried he could not handle.

"I'm gonna be ok, Amy. But I need you to smile for me. Then I'll feel better."

Amy couldn't respond, the pressure on her eyeballs was too great. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not - ah dang it, Sonic's shoes were now red blurs. There was no way she could look at him now. She felt so ashamed, because she knew she was just being her typical overemotional self.

"I'm sorry Sonic," she blubbered. "It's just...you run yourself ragged and someone has to worry about you. You're not going to do it yourself."

Suddenly one of Sonic's hands was lifted from her shoulder and reached to gently clasp her tear-stained face. He lifted her head a little so she finally met his loving eyes and tenderly wiped the sides of her muzzle, his gloves absorbing the overflow of her emotions.

"I know Amy, I worry about you, too," Sonic admitted. "I don't like putting you in danger. But I know that you'll follow me anyhow." Her small laugh was a relief to him. "It's just something that we're gonna have to face. Together, right?"

Amy nodded and the corners of her mouth curved up a little. "Thanks, Sonic."

"Anytime," the famous blue hedgehog said and kissed her softly. "Now c'mon, we got a world to save."

Sonic scooped Amy into his arms and headed off towards the base to face both of their fears.