I thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.
Night swept over the landscape. The dark skies illuminated by the stars above. Ahead laid a building, numerous searchlights pointed up into the skies.
From a tree nestled in the foliage, Rouge hung upside down, spying through her Treasure Scope. Seeing the building before her, she smiled. She unhooked her feet from the branch she hung upon and flew towards her destination.
Inside the building, the hallways were empty. Not a single soul was wandering. In the heart of the building itself, a tall cylindrical case stands. Inside is a shiny white Diamond. Numerous security cameras have all eyes on it…except for the security guards watching; one who'd rather be more interested in a book of marine animals and two others in the middle of a poker game than doing their job.
On the camera footage, Rouge walked towards the Diamond and jumped over the ropes blocking the pedestal, the alarms started to go off.
Ignoring them, she gazed at the Diamond with a glittering smile. "Ah…" she cooed. Jumping in the air, "Hyah!" Sending a sharp kick at the glass case, she cut through the glass in one swipe. The glass dome of the case slid off, leaving the Diamond open for taking, of which she does with two delicate fingers. "Hello, gorgeous!" She smiled, gazing at the gem with a sublime smile.
Immediately seeing the footage go down, the first guard pressed two buttons. All the doors and windows around the facility begin to shut, aiming to keep the intruder inside. The other two guards ran off to capture her before the first guard followed behind. All three sprinted through the corridor and drawing their weapons, they dashed into the room. Only to gasp in surprise…
The glass case laid on the ground and, along with the intruder, the diamond had disappeared. And in its place rested a card. The guards walked up to the card, picking it up and glanced at it with confusion. A big magenta heart glittereded at the top-center of the card, mimicking a V-shape under the point for the blue and pink outlines of the card to follow into a border. The rest of the card was painted a deep blue as the words 'Thank You' were signed in bright yellow cursive, a pink heart added at the end. Underneath that was Rouge's outline concealed in black and purple save for her eyes glowing yellow and a smile on her ruby red lips.
Hearing a gasp from his cohorts, the first guard looked up and his mouth dropped open; the roof of the building had been lifted off….giving the intruder her chance of escape….
Flying through the city, Rouge's silhouette is outlined by the moon. In her right hand, she holds the large Diamond, looking down at it with a smile. "You may not be a Chaos Emerald, but you'll do, for now…" she murmured as she held it tight, flying off into the night.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
That morning, Sparkle was reading the newspaper as Cream was with Cheese, sitting in bean bags and playing a small game of Gonggi or Korean Jacks; having found a few colored rocks to play with outside in the forest. Ever since the soccer game, Albert agreed to give them some newspapers to know what was going on around Station Square, just to keep them up to date with the news, even if they were menial. But what was on the front page was an exception.
'Late last night, the world's largest diamond was stolen from the National Museum' the main paragraph began. 'Law enforcement authorities were baffled by the outbreak of precious gem robberies, but private sources told the reporters that they believed this was merely the biggest in a series of jewel thefts that had plagued Station Square in recent days.' A photograph of the same card the guards had found was printed in color smack-dab at the top center of the front page.
Sparkle gasped, seeing the card, then her eyes narrowed. "Rouge…" she growled to herself, gripping the edges of the newspaper with her hands.
"Sonic?" Amy entered from the kitchenette, a piping hot pizza in a tray balanced in her hand. She looked around for him but no sign of her blue boyfriend. "Hey, Cream, Sparkle, have either of you seen Sonic?" She turned to her fellow females.
"I think so…" Sparkle raised an eyebrow at her, glancing away from the paper.
"The last time we saw him he was with Tails and Knuckles, but I'm not sure where they went." Cream answered, placing down her blue colored stones to look at Amy.
"Chao!" Cheese nodded, backing up the orange rabbit with vigor.
"That's too bad. Hey, feel like having some pizza?" Amy frowned but then smiled with enthusiasm.
Cream leapt to her feet. "Yes! Are you sure it's okay?"
Amy winked, "You bet it is! Sonic's loss is your gain!"
Both Cream and Cheese beamed with happiness as Amy placed the pizza on the table, but Sparkle folded up the newspapers and stood up. "I'll be with you three in a minute. Right now, we need everyone to hear what I've found out." Before either of them could reply back, she zipped off in the blink of an eye.
Sparkle zoomed through the trees, keeping an eye in the sky for the Tornado.
Speak of the devil, it was flying over the city; Sonic himself was spinning a ball on his finger and lying back casually while Tails and Knuckes were by the main control.
"Spot anything?" Knuckles asked.
"No." Tails pulled back on the lever, causing the Tornado to veer left, making Sonic to fall off. "Nothing there." Tails turned his head to the right, not noticing Sonic slip down on the left side of the plane, his face smushed up against the glass as he nearly fell off.
Knuckles nodded, "Keep looking! We can't afford to lose any more Emeralds!" The echidna turned back around and raised an eyebrow, realizing Sonic has vanished. "Oh great…where'd he go?!"
To both the hedgehog's and echidna's ignorance, Sonic was barely holding on to the Tornado with the ball underneath for dear life.
"There they are." Sparkle stopped when she saw the familiar blue blur. She put her index finger and thumb in her mouth and whistled loudly to catch the trio's attention.
"Huh?" Tails snapped out of it and looked out the window, seeing Sparkle standing by the edge of the forest. She was motioning with big arm waves for them to come down.
"Better go see what she wants." Knuckles nodded as Tails hummed in agreement. He quickly began to land the plane, back in the forest for concealment. Once landed and the engine was off, the three left the plane to meet with Sparkle. Sonic may or may not have nearly passed out in front of Sparkle after hanging upside down from the underbelly of the plane and got a little sick from it.
"Boys, I need you to come to the warehouse right now. We need to talk." Sparkle said straight to the point. The boys saw the look and in her eyes and knew…it wouldn't be good.
Back at the warehouse, all six gathered at the kitchen table. While Sparkle stood at the very head, everyone else was seated. Amy and Cream on one side, Sonic and Tails on the other and Knuckles taking the other head of the table parallel to Sparkle.
"I know you're all wondering why I called you here. Well…" Sparkle slapped down the newspaper onto the table with both hands, the robbery in plain view for all to see.
"A jewel heist?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.
"Take a good look at the card." Sparkle emphasized, pointing at the main picture. Five sets of eyes squinted down at the card, and then it hit them.
"Is that…?" Tails asked.
"Rouge the Bat was sent here, too." Sparkle nodded in confirmation.
"What does she want with the jewels though?" Knuckles asked.
Sparkle shrugged, just as curious as the others. "There's no telling what trouble that bat's going to get into."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Elsewhere…
Within one museum's walls, a heavily armed guard with the initials FIB branded on his jacket stood before an ornate glass casing. He had his partner open the case and with thick gloves, placed a purple Emerald on a small plush pedestal. Making sure it's upright before having his partner slip the casing back on.
"Hmph. Let's see if that threat Dr. Eggman gets his meaty hands on this beauty." The agent sneered as he tapped away at a couple of buttons on a touchpad to activate a high-tech security module. "This dude is quite the maniac…" he murmured.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, soldier." His commander responded from the main entrance/exit of the exhibit where the Emerald was housed. "Eggman is dangerous, yes, but don't forget: behind every madman is a genius that can't be copied. It won't be easy either by capturing him or letting him try to obtain all the emeralds. We must be on guard."
At the sound of some raps on the door, albeit a rhythmic one, two more FIB agents opened the doors and a number of GUN agents entered. The commander looked at the new agents that entered the room. He urged them to talk with a small nod.
"We ran some tests on a couple of bots that were left behind by Eggman. The results were…in a word: inconceivable. It turns out that his technology is far superior to the technology we possess." The lead GUN agent spoke.
"Is that so?" Another FIB agent asked. "Either way, it can't change the fact that something HAS to be done about him!"
"Well…what about Sonic and…his team?" One GUN agents brought up.
"Oh? You mean these unusual animals from that soccer game that had aired just a few days ago?" The commander asked.
"Is it really wise to let a team of….alien creatures try and take a crack at stopping a mad genius?" The same scientist who was thwarted by said animals growled with a controlled voice. All eyes went to him.
"And what makes you say that?" Another GUN agent asked with a raised brow.
"What I'm saying is, gentlemen, is it truly wise of us to be letting those animals run around freely with their quills and fur filled with destructive power shedding while going out for a jog?! Do you really want to let THEM be the ones to take down Eggman?!"
"Well if they can't….then who?" The last FIB agent reiterated as the men in the room looked at one another with indecisive faces.
However, unknown to all of them, a certain bat was hiding in the shadows; having heard everything from start to finish.
"Hm, who knows what interesting little tidbits you can pick up if you hang around long enough!" She smiled cunningly.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The tv that same day was showing live footage of a new piece of work added to the town's museum. The camera zooms in on the purple gem, and Sparkle's eyes widen when she sees what it was.
"There's an Emerald at that museum!" She shut off the tv and zoomed towards the warehouse's back door. "Where's Sonic?" She asked, seeing only Tails by the Tornado, preparing to leave.
"He left already, and it's about time I head out, too." Tails shrugged as he hopped into the main seat and readied the engine to life. "Let's take off!" He shouted for Sparkle to get on. She slammed the door shut and hopped onto the wing before the Tornado began to fly. The sun having set long ago, making way for nightfall. All stood still outside the museum…
"Now... to see if I can find another emerald." Rouge smiled, jumping forward from the tree branch she was secured on and landed just several feet away from the gate. Aside from the security cameras and lasers that covered the gate, nothing else was there….except for one thing.
Just as Rouge takes one step towards the gates, the team jumped out from the bushes, blocking her only entrance point.
"Well, what's this?" Rouge raised a curious eyebrow at the newcomers.
"I had a feeling you'd come here, Rouge." Sparkle clicked her tongue, taking a step forward.
"My, my. If it isn't Sparkle the Hedgehog." Rouge pursed her lips with both amusement and irritation. Her icy eyes narrowed at the purple hedgehog that stood in front of her.
"Don't think it'll be easy getting past us." Sonic warned, he and Tails flanking Sparkle's left and right respectively.
"All those jewel heists seemed too good to be true…but seeing as you're the mastermind, then it clicks into place." Tails nodded.
"Might I ask why all of you are here as I am?" Rouge inquires with a suave voice.
"We need those Emeralds to help us get back home." Sparkle curtly answered.
"Oh?…The Chaos Emeralds you say? Then tonight must be my luck! You want what I'm after as well…but either way this goes about, that jewel will fall into SOMEONE'S hands. And it will be me." Rouge challenged with a raised eyebrow.
"If you want that Emerald, you'll have to go through us!" Knuckles smashed his fists together, red electricity surging through his gloves.
"Six versus one…can you handle that?" Amy smirks, gripping her hammer with vigor.
"Don't test me." Rouge hissed. All stood still. Sparkle and the others stood ready while Rouge checked her nails nonchalantly. They stared at her and she at them…..no one made a move.
Then she flew at them. And they flew towards her, power surging…
She merely smirked and in a flash vanishes in the blink of an eye.
"Huh?! Where'd she go?!" Tails shouted as they stopped their attack.
A promiscuous yet arrogant giggle sounded behind them and turning, all six turned to look at Rouge, standing atop of the bars of the gate by her tiptoes. "All six of you versus little ol' me? Quite a big move…yet also too predictable!"
"Get back here and fight us!" Sparkle growled, in no mood for games.
"You'll have to catch me first~!" Rouge winked and vanished once more, her laughs echoing through the surrounding forest.
"We need to go after her!" Sonic shouted, zipping off soon after he said so.
"Wait! We won't know where she's gone!" Sparkle shouted, trying to stop him, thinking it was a trap. The others run after, trying to either stop Sonic or try to locate Rouge in the dense forest.
Sonic managed to run ahead by several feet, keeping a lot of distance between him and his teammates. He slowed to a halt and began to scan the area for any sign of the bat herself. Only shadows and fluttering leafy branches surrounded him, the soft dirt under his feet.
"Hm…she couldn't have gone far…but all I see is trees for miles on end!" He grimaced, only to feel a sharp kick in the face, making him lose his balance. He grabbed the side of his cheek, only to wince as he felt pain.
"What the-?!" He gasped, feeling the spot that was likely to bruise later. He didn't have the chance to finish speaking when another kick landed at his face, the other side this time, which managed to make a sharp cut at his cheek. Sonic hissed, feeling some crimson blood bead at the surface.
"Grr…where is she attacking from?!" He wondered.
"Right here~!" He heard Rouge whisper behind him, only to double kick him from behind and send him to the floor. He didn't have the chance to land when he felt a foot smash into his stomach. He choked out a scream as Rouge, smirking from below him, kicked him high up into the trees. She flew after him, and sailing just above him, delivered a hard nail kick down at his back and smacked him into the earth with a loud, dull 'thud'.
Sonic groaned in absolute pain, his back and his ribs screaming in agony from the sharp kicks he was given. He felt too weak to get up, his arms shaking. They gave out and he fell back into the dirt, down for the count.
"Sonic!" Tails came barreling through the underbrush. He gasped, seeing him facedown in the dirt, knocked out. "Oh no….!" He gasped, kneeling to inspect him. He was beaten up, some scratches at his face, a small bleeding cut and a low pulse. "Don't worry….we'll get her!" He promised as he quickly flew off, the others rushing to gasp at Sonic and going off in a different direction.
Sparkle, being the last one, scoffed seeing him out. "I swear, you always go rushing in without thinking. One of these days, something really bad is going to happen and you'll have no one to blame but yourself." She grunted as he hauled him onto her shoulders and carried him to a safe place to rest.
Tails quickly darted through the trees, looking for any sign of Rouge. But not even his honing device could pinpoint her location. "She couldn't have gone far…." Suddenly from out of nowhere, an onslaught of Rocks began to pelt Tails, making him nearly lose control of his flight pattern. He tried to quickly use evasive maneuvers to dodge the rocks, to no avail.
He quickly swerves in another direction for safety…but looking through the shadows, he could see Rouge's shadow keeping pace with him. He grit his teeth; time to fight back.
He quickly snaps several tree branches off and launching them with a powerful slingshot device, he tried to pierce Rouge with the makeshift arrows. But her speed was too fast for him to just hit her, instead imbedding into the tree trunks.
She quickly zipped off eastward, and he followed quickly. Trying a few more times to hit her until he ran out of tree branches. He flows overhead as she stuck to the ground, but after passing through a thicket of leaves, she had seemingly vanished. Tails gasped,
"Where'd she go?!" He looked around, unaware that his target was flying just above him.
Rouge smirked as she dive bombs Tails, keeping her wings tucked in.
Tails looked behind him as he saw a shadow looking overhead by the moonlight. But just as he turned, he was hit in the sternum by a strong elbow. The force of the blow sent him hurtling into the floor, his body making a huge divot before stopping. He tried to get some air into his lungs, but Rouge landed just before him and gave a smile, one that didn't quite reach her ears.
"Sorry….but I've got better things to deal with than you and your other friends~." She cooed before pinching a nerve between his neck and shoulder, putting him out of the fight. 'Two down….' She thought before flying off.
Amy quickly surveyed her neck of the woods, not finding any sign of Rouge. "She's rather crafty…but nothing me and my mallet can't handle…" she narrowed her eyes, the grip on her weapon tightening.
Suddenly, from the underbrush, some leaves rustled and she turned at the noise. She prepared to smack whoever or whatever was trying to sneak up on her and moved closer. Taking tiny steps forward, she reached a hand out and pulled back the top of the bush, prepared to bring the hammer down only to stop as a squirrel runs out of the spot she was preparing to hit. "Oh….huh. I could've sworn something was-!" She couldn't finish her sentence as from the trees, Cream dropped down and nearly hit Amy with a strong kick had the pink hedgehog not countered using the body of her hammer to block it. Amy was pushed back by a few feet as she looked up at Cream. "What the hey?!"
"Amy?! I thought you were Rouge!" Cream apologized.
"What?! What would make you think I'm-?!" Suddenly, a white gloved hand grabbed her face, and another at Cream's. The girls gasp as the female bat's visage came into their line of sight. She smirked as she twisted her body and flung either female to the sides, their bodies making huge divots in the dirt.
Rouge smiled as she landed on both her feet, flicking her wings before tucking them in. "If you don't mind, I'd love to join you~!" She smirked down at the girls. Cream hoisted herself onto her elbows, her body still on the floor and Amy was on one knee, wincing at the pain that blossomed in her sides from the drag through the dirt.
While Cheese had hidden in the shadows to avoid getting confronted by Rouge, she saw from behind her spot of the tree trunk Amy's hammer. It must've slipped out of her grasp when Rouge ambushed her and Cream. She had to get it to her…somehow….
"I guess my plan to get you both in the same spot has worked well. The last two to try and take me on were either too boring or a little problematic…but now I have more chances to rise above. And eliminating both of you at the same time should get me one more step closer to gaining that Chaos Emerald." Rouge sneered.
"Hmph. Quite ambitious of you…" Cream growled.
"…but also pretty cocky!" Amy finished with a snarl as she kicks off the floor and sailed at Rouge, fists branded. Cream followed her and leapt above, stretching her leg out for a strong Nail kick.
Rouge blocked them both with her forearms, and the three flew into a fighting frenzy. They whirled around and flew through the space with fast vigor, making the tree branches shake. Cheese took the chance to sprint for Amy's hammer and drag it into the bushes for safety.
Amy tried to chop at Rouge with a hard elbow from above, only to get countered with a hard left hook by Rouge, sending her slamming into a tree trunk. Cream managed to kick Rouge in the ribs with a hard flying Side kick. Rouge revived quickly as letting out her wings, she flew at Cream and tackled her to the floor. Pressing a heeled foot down on Cream's wrist, the orange rabbit tried not to wince in the pain. Rouge smiled, finding amusement in her pain.
Cheese saw this and frantically flew at Amy, dragging the hammer behind. She squeaks profusely until catching Amy's attention. Upon seeing her mallet with the Chao, she grabs her trusty mallet with a mouthed, 'thank you' and ignoring the pain in her back, she runs at Rouge.
"Victory is mine." Rouge chuckled, Cream tried to get the foot off her wrist before it could snap just as a hammer flew into her vision and hit Rouge, sending her into the treetops. She swallows down her pained cries as Amy helps her up.
"You okay?!"
"Yeah…she could've broken my wrist if you didn't intervene…thanks!" Cream smiled, thankful for her fellow female's help as Cheese snuggled into her Owner's hands, chirping happily that she was safe.
"What are teammates for?" Amy smiled back, putting away her hammer just as Rouge popped out from the foliage, shaking off the loose twigs and branches clinging to her. She scowled down at the two girls.
"How interesting…I'm afraid I may have underestimated your strength. Engaging you both had proven me wrong: that even if we are of the same gender, you both are fighters beneath those cute exteriors!"
Amy and Cream say nothing, staying perfectly in their battle stances back to back, glaring up at Rouge. Suddenly to their confusion, she smiled.
"But you're forgetting…I'm also just as experienced."
In the blink of an eye, Rouge flew at them, wings flapping swiftly, and sent two hard kicks to their stomachs, hurtling them back. Both nearly lost breath from the hard strike, but recovered, sending flurries of punches at Rouge, who blocked them all swiftly with her arms. Rouge threw up her right leg into another sharp sidekick at Amy, making her stumble back out of breath. Cream blocks the roundhouse sent to her head by Rouge, the former retaliating with a fast jab, but Rouge was faster, grabbing her by the arm and flipping her up and over her back and sending her onto the floor. Cream yelled, the strain of the hard ground. Amy caught back her breath and approached Rouge just as Cream leapt back to her feet with Cheese's help, facing Rouge. Rouge merely smiled, seeing the two start to crumple, and all that was left for the finishing touch.
With a curt nod to her partner, Amy and Cream ran at Rouge for either side, utilizing their practice kicks from before but Rouge blocked them all with grace and swift body movement.
Amy was forced back by a punch to the sternum, and nearly fell over. Rouge smiled: now!
Before Cream could blink, she felt the wind get swept out from under her feet by Rouge's legs and landed on her back once more, this time yelling in agony. She winced as she curled into a ball, too pained to get up and fight.
"Cream!" Amy yelled just as Rouge spun and let out her wings, the rounded edge of the combined skin and fingers hitting her across the face with a sharp thwip! Amy screamed as she fell to the floor, face down into the dirt, and down for the count.
"Hmph! Now all that's left are the other two and then nothing will get between me and my precious Emerald~!" Rouge laughed triumphantly as she flew off from the scene of the fight. Amy weakly reached for her mallet but her arm fell limp before it fully stretched out.
"Ch-Cheese….!" Cream whispered weekly, her loyal companion zipping up to her with sad eyes. "Don't worry about me….f-find Sparkle…or Knuckles…tell them to stop Rouge….she's coming for them…!" Cheese chirped obediently with tears in their eyes and flew away to warn the last two friends standing. Cream smiled softly as her Chao fled before succumbing to the pain and passed out on the soft dirt floor.
Sparkle traversed the grounds carefully, gird on high alert. After putting Sonic at the base of a tree to rest, she started walking around, hoping to spot Rouge from anywhere. She didn't even know how the others were faring and if they were…may whatever is above help them…
Staying close to the gates, her eyes were darting left and right.
Suddenly, from the shadows, a small figure emerged: it was Cheese. Sparkle dropped her guard for a moment.
"Cheese!" She shouted as the Chao raced over to her, squeaking frantically. "H-Hang on, slow down, you're talking too fast!" She hushed the small Chao-Chao to breathe carefully. "Okay…now tell me, what happened? What's got you all worked up?" Cheese began to act out what happened between Cream, Amy and Rouge; Sparkle understood in no time flat. "She took them both down at the same time?! Why that little-!"
"Sparkle!" Knuckles burst out from the underbrush, stopping before her. "I found Tails, he's out cold!"
"Great…first Cream and Amy, now Tails! Guess we're the only ones left…." Sparkle clicked her tongue in annoyance. But just as she spoke, from up above, Rouge dove down, aiming a kick at Sparkle, who countered with her own and sent her hurtling back. Rouge skidded in the dirt by the balls of her feet, smiling wickedly at the two before her.
"Right you are~!" Rouge winked. "All I have to do is take you both down and that Emerald is as good as moi's!" Sparkle growled, ears pricked up, fur on edge and power coursing in her veins. Knuckles placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"Calm down." She stopped growling to look behind her at him. "Getting angry won't ensure us a win. You need to think clearly so we can gain the upper hand."
"….And I know how to try that…." Sparkle nodded, her head cleared of any fury. She placed her hand over Knuckles', giving him an assuring smile before taking it off her shoulder and facing Rouge. The Echidna was surprised by the gesture and tried not to blush as Sparkle charged at Rouge, lightning blazing; she curled into a ball before launching herself at Rouge.
"You think a directional attack will work?" Rouge smirked before using the Drill Spin and in a horizontal lunge, she met Sparkle halfway, the two girls clashing in a fierce explosion, black smoke smoldering the area. Rouge unfurled from her Drill attack, scouring the smoke for Sparkle, only to catch her at the last second too late. The latter ran at her with power and sent a 360 degree frontal kick to the Bat's chest. Rouge screamed in pain at the contact and hurtled back, breaking several trees down as she flew. She smashed into the next tree and dented a crater into the trunk. She slid down and fell face first into the dirt.
Sparkle smiled. Her plan had worked: by using the charge attack first, it would've caused a smoke explosion giving her enough cover to deliver a surprise attack from the smoke itself. "Not so cocky now, are we?" She taunted and walked forward only to stop: Rouge was gone, the small outline of her form left in the dirt. "What?! Where'd she-?!" Her words cut off as a force to the back hits, making her fly forward with momentum as she slammed into a tree face first.
"Sparkle!" Knuckles shouted, having seen what happened from his spot by the gates. Rouge had head butted her from behind, looking a little worse for wear.
Rouge laughed with a frown, "You've got more bite than the others! I'm going to enjoy our little fight~!"
"Sparkle!" Knuckles ran to her fallen form by the tree. "You okay? Let me help you!"
"No…!" She grits her teeth while staggering to her feet. "I can handle her…!" She clutched her right side, glaring daggers at Rouge who was holding left shoulder in pain. "This is nothing I can't deal with…!"
Rouge grinned at those words before flying at Sparkle once more. Just as Sparkle prepared to counter or dodge, Rouge vanished in the blink of an eye. She gasped, "She's gone!" Sparkle tentatively looked around, eyeing the trees to see where Rouge could've fled. But when she looked up-
"Hyah!" Rouge used her Screw Kick to send a high kick over Sparkle, pushing her into the dirt. Leaving Sparkle stuck in a Crater, Rouge took her fury out on Sparkle with multiple hits from her fists and wings. "Thinking you could take me on was the worst mistake you've made! A horrible mistake! I've never lost to anyone and I won't lose to a mere hedgehog like yourself!"
"Enough!" Knuckles yelled, having watched the beat down from the sidelines for far too long, grabbing her by her wings and slammed Rouge into one of the trees. Only to pull her away from it and slam her into another. He repeated it over and over, not hearing Rouge yelling at him to let her go. He threw her onto the floor and sent a hard punch to her gut and she shrieked in utter torture, coughing up spit from the impact. Knuckles panted heavily from throwing her around and turned back to Sparkles, trying to dig herself out of the crater. He helped her out, seeing the damage Rouge caused: Her face was starting to swell a little from where she gained most of the lashings and her lip was starting to bleed. "You okay?…"
"Ugh ...not really, she got me good…." Sparkle coughed weakly. "But…I have an idea…." She urged him to come closer and she whispered her plan to him. Knuckles' eyes widened as he looked at her.
"You're sure that'll work?"
"I don't have any other ideas…but it's our last shot. She's too weak to do anything else….and she'll have to follow through…." Sparkle eyed Rouge weakly sitting up.
"….Alright." Knuckles nod. "Leave it to me." Knuckles charged up his fists before starting to wreck house around the forest, breaking down a few trees, sending dirt flying everywhere.
"What's this….another one of your tricks?" Rouge spat with venom, standing on shaking legs. Knuckles keeps smashing into the earth with vigor, making a clear and clean path towards Sparkle, looking worse for wear but still standing tall. "If this is your idea of distracting me, it won't work!"
"No…it's not. I thought YOU were better than this, Rouge. But seeing as you can still get your butt whooped by me and the others just goes to show how WEAK you are. Pretty pathetic if you ask me~." Sparkle said with a scowl, trying not to smile at how Rouge was gonna have an aneurysm.
"You…y-y-y-you….I'll kill you!" Rouge flapped her wings and soared right to Sparkle, the path Knuckles left for them left wide open. Sparkle smiled as she let Rouge come to her and then jumped at the last Moment. Putting power into her back foot, she hurtled it at Rouge's face, kicking her clean across with one powerful swipe. Rouge screamed as she smashed into the floor, her face beaten and bruised. She weakly let her head fall into the dirt and her eyes slipped shut, finally beaten.
Sparkle panted, falling into one knee and smirked at Rouge's prone body. "Game, set and match." She quipped with a victorious smile before the last of her energy left her and she fainted. Knuckles managed to catch her before she could hit the ground.
"Geez you're so reckless…" he scoffed, but happy she finished the job.
"Sorry, Rouge, but you let your pride get in the way." Sparkle smirked down at her enemy, as Knuckles kept her hoisted while they made their way into the museum.
Standing in that same secured room as this morning was the Purple Emerald. Sitting gloriously in the center of the room, it shone under the glass casing untouched. Sparkle and Knuckles approach the artifact. Knuckles carefully removed the glass case and Sparkle reached a hand out and took hold of the Emerald. Only to frown…something felt off about the Emerald. The other two felt like it had heft to them, but this one….it felt far lighter…she glared at it hard in the dark…
"This isn't an Emerald, it's nothing but a paperweight!" She realized! Just as the museum's light turned on, shining down on the two. Blinding them both, the two could barely make out a scientist walking out of the shadows. But it wasn't an ordinary scientist…this was the same one the group encountered days ago and tried to capture them!
"Well, well! Seems like the mice took the cheese and snapped the trap~!" He chuckled darkly.
"Leave us alone!…" Sparkle growled, getting on edge just from seeing this maniac alone. She hadn't forgotten what he did…and it still stuck with her like a rash; there but ready to itch at her skin until it made her nuts.
"Why?…so you can go running around, leaving your quills and fur full of destructive power out in the open?" The Scientist sneered, hands clenched at his sides.
Sparkle's eyes darted everywhere around the room, trying to find an opening she and Knuckles could jump through. But with how bright the lights of the museum were, she could barely make out the space of the room. Shielding the light over her eyes, she tried to look, but spotted something on the scientist's coat. A nametag, small and silver, engraved with the name 'Dorian Vetheran'…. She was so focused on the name and branding it into her mind that her eyes almost passed over a blue flash blending in with the shadows, making her smile a tad.
'So he got better?' She thought.
"Nobody believed me when I told them about you. It seems there's a lot of people, whole countries who want respect and they'll do anything to get it. Once I reveal the menaces you are, my respect-!" Vetheran's monologuing was cut short when he got shoved down by a blue blur who protected Sparkle and Knuckles with his arms out.
"Sorry to crash the party, Dr. Menace, but it's time we skedaddle!" Sonic grinned before grabbing the fake crystal from Sparkle and threw it with such force to the floor that it shattered into a thousand pieces. The projectiles forced Dorian to turn away so he wouldn't get hit. But when he turned back, all three had vanished before his eyes. His hands clenched with fury, eyes fiery with anger, letting out a scream into the empty room….
"NOOOOO!"