Rouge and Knuckles stared at each other in shock as the latter had complimented her. However, they heard nearby shrieks.

"What the hell was that?!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"I'm not sure..." Rouge began, "It sounds like they aren't in danger though.." She said, her ear twitching.

"Weird..." Knuckles replied.

Everything changed when three figures arrived on their boards. Knuckles and Rouge only groaned once they had seen who they were.

"Oh. It's you three." Knuckles groaned in annoyance. "Why are you here?!"

"You know why we're here!" Jet exclaimed.

"Yeah! We're here for the green rock!" Storm exclaimed.

"For the record, this was that dweeb's idea!" Wave said with a sneer.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Knuckles yelled as he was about to pounce on Jet, but not before he heard the sound of the Marvelous Queen. It was headed straight to where everyone was! Rouge knocked the red echidna away from the air bike.

"AHA! WE'VE ARRIVED!" Fang shouted at the top of his lungs. Bean and Bark were just barely hanging on.

"YOU!" Jet screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"TAKING WHAT'S MINE YOU BIRD BRAIN!" Fang replied, jumping out of the Marvelous Queen to get close to Jet's face.

As the two leaders bickered, Rouge and Knuckles were nearby. The former was currently on top of him as Knuckles groaned in pain.

"...Rouge... you're crushing me..." Knuckles let out. Rouge nodded as she got off of him slightly, though she was still on top of him. Knuckles' eyes widened as he saw that Rouge's chest was close and pressed onto his chest. The white bat blushed a deep red as she got off of him entirely.

"...YOU...PERVERT!" Rouge said with a shriek.

"ME?!" Knuckles replied. "YOU"RE THE ONE WHO CRASHED INTO ME!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE I WAS PROTECTING YOU, YOU IDIOT!" Rouge exclaimed.

"Gee, I didn't know we were in the middle of a lover's quarrel!" Wave's voice taunted as she watched the two from afar.

"LOVERS?!" Knuckles and Rouge shrieked in unison.

"Yeah, lovers!" Storm repeated, earning a smack from Wave.

"You idiot! That's what I said!" Wave exclaimed with a snarl as she backhanded her Albatross teammate.

This small interaction between the two was just enough for Knuckles and Rouge to get away and go to the altar, both were in fighting stances.

"...You do know what you're doing, right?" Knuckles asked in a quiet tone.

"Yes!' Rouge replied through gritted teeth.

The duo patrolled the shrine. Somehow, Jet and Fang were still going at it.

"YOU KNOW WHAT!" Fang started. "I DON"T NEED THIS! BOYS, GET THAT ECHIDNA!"

Bean and Bark nodded as they began to approach Knuckles. Bean got Knuckles' attention by approaching with a bomb. He tackled the green bird away from the altar and began to strike at him. Bark jumped in front of his green partner to block Knuckles, whom the latter headbutted onto the ground. Knuckles punched at the yellow polar bear as Bark flipped him over with ease. There was a loud crack as the red echidna let out a loud groan, which nearly startled Bark. He immediately put his hands up in a surprised mood.

"Bark! The boss said-" Bean started before Bark picked him up and ran into the opposite direction. The polar bear couldn't bear to hurt the red echidna even more than he already was.

"WHAT?! WHY ARE YOU BACKING DOWN YA MOOKS?!" Fang snarled as he screamed at his team, not until Jet threw a pebble at him.

"Ha! While you were distracted, my team is on their way to get the goods!" Jet explained in a haughty tone as he pointed to Wave and Storm, who were indeed on their way to altar as well.

"You're not getting through us." Rouge spat.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Wave taunted. "You're not even a good jewel thief!

The white bat's left ear twitched. "A WHAT?!" Rouge yelled.

"That's right!" Wave said with a smirk. "I bet you I've stolen WAY MORE than you have! I mean, you have the opportunity to steal the Master Emerald, and instead you're helping this red idiot?"

"HE IS NOT AN IDIOT!" Rouge said, as she delivered a swift kick to Wave, sending the latter off into the distance as the former went after her. That meant only Knuckles and Storm were there. They stared at each other for a hot minute.

"Listen pal, I need that emerald for the boss!" Storm declared.

"I'm not your pal." Knuckles said with a growl. "You're not getting this Emerald."

Knuckles tackled the grey albatross onto the ground and they exchanged punches for a while. Knuckles gained the upper hand for a bit and he punched right through Storm's stomach. The grey albatross groaned in pain as the red echidna packed quite a punch (literally) towards him.

Meanwhile, Rouge eventually caught up to the purple swallow and Wave crashed into a nearby tree.

"Don't even bother getting up," Rouge replied in a dangerous tone. "I'll keep kicking if you do so!"

Wave spit out some blood from her beak/mouth as she turned to the white bat.

"You know... you're a crazy bat." Wave said with a scoff as she got up. "You're not fit to be a treasure hunter at all. You're too distracted by stupid Red over there, that you forget your senses." She replied with a taunt.

"What are you implying?" Rouge inquired as she stared at the purple swallow.

"My team and I noticed that you've got feelings for Knuckles." Wave said with a slight smirk, making Rouge go silent for a bit. "You really want that red buffoon, don't you?" She taunted.

"You listen here!" Rouge started. "I am NOT in love with Knuckles!" She said with a huff.

"You sure about that? It wouldn't bother you if he found some other girl to like?" Wave said with shit eating grin, as she began to circle around her. "He is good looking, though he'd be quite the stupidest boyfriend in the world!"

Rouge delivered a swift punch to the purple swallow's face as the latter stumbled a bit.

"Aww... did I strike a nerve?" Wave taunted as she gut punched Rouge, the white bat screamed in response.

"No way! You punch too much like a little girl!" Rouge replied, flapping up into the air.

"I WHAT?!" Wave shrieked as she tackled the white bat. Rouge was taken aback at the purple swallow's strength.

"Ooh, there's that strength again." Rouge said with a smirk as Wave growled and punched her, only for the white bat to dodge. "You call YOURSELF a treasure hunter? You seemed to be getting distracted by little old me~" Rouge taunted. Wave merely growled as she tried to strike at her again, only for Rouge to dodge and kick her again.

"Listen up you purple angry bird..." Rouge said. "There is no way in hell am I letting you touch the Master Emerald." The bottom of her boot was on the purple swallow's chest to restrain her.

Wave was genuinely scared, however she hid this and glared at the white bat.

"...I may not like him all the time, but I know for a fact that Storm will crush him..." Wave said with a slightly sinister grin. This caused Rouge to get off of her in shock... and then Wave had hit her again.

Knuckles on the other hand wasn't having much luck. The aforementioned albatross was currently gaining the upper hand... much to the chagrin of the red echidna.

"Gr... if only I wasn't so bruised..." He said to himself through gritted teeth. He piqued his attention towards Rouge and panicked for a bit when he could not spot her. He hoped no one had hurt her...

"What's the matter Big Red? Too weak to fight today huh?" Jet's voice chimed in. He looked over to the red echidna before him, who was panting heavily.

"You know damn well I could easily take you." Knuckles said with an angry expression.

"Oh please you green tea kettle, this GEM is MINE!" Fang's voice snarled as he was driving in the Marvelous Queen. He fired at a laser at the trio as he swooped down to try and get it.

"NO! NO ONE IS TAKING IT!" Knuckles shrieked as he started to chase the Marvelous Queen around.

"YOU DON'T GET IT YA RED PUNCHING MACHINE!" Fang said with a slight snarl. "That gem is wanted everywhere! Just think of all the riches I'll get with that sweet Sheila over there!" The jerboa said, pointing the bright green gem before him. His eyes turned to money signs as the sniper/hunter envisioned himself sitting on top of a pile of money.

"That is EXACTLY why I WANT IT!" Jet interjected, causing Fang's vision to burst. "Think of all the money I'll get by owning this! All the luxuries I could get, maybe I'll get even more fancier gear than Wave's ever made!" He said with a slight grin. Indeed, Jet had also envisioned himself resting on a lot of money.

"Um, Boss, I thought you said you would split it with me and Wave?" Storm interrupted.

"WHAT?! I didn't say anything like that!" Jet exclaimed.

The green hawk did not say anything as Knuckles eventually caught up to the Marvelous and tried to knock Fang out. A fight ensued as the two of the wrestled one another.

Rouge looked from where she was with wide eyes. Knuckles was sure fighting a lot, she thought to herself. Her face turned red as she observed the red guardian within the moonlight. The moon had shone on Knuckles on some nights... but today he was glowing brighter than he ever did.

"Wow... this is even more pathetic than I thought." Wave said with a scoff, who was on the floor after being beaten.

"Oh shut up!" Rouge shot back.

"What? Do I need to weave you two awone?" Wave asked in a baby like taunting tone. "Do you need your man to come fight for you?"

"He's not my man!" Rouge denied quickly.

Before any taunting could continue however, bombs were heard in the distance. Rouge and Wave's eyes widened, as did Jet, Storm, Bark.

Knuckles was knocked to the ground again. There was a loud crack as he let out a groan. He even coughed up some blood too.

"Ugh... what now?" He snarled, slowly get up from the ground.

"That dear Knucklehead, is my green mook!" Fang said with a creeping smirk.

Bean the Dynamite rushed in with his bombs in both hands. He had a maniacal look on his face as he flashed a crazed smile. A bomb detonated and blew up a nearby tree, launching it near the altar. Knuckles' eyes widened as he rushed over, but Storm tackled him again as Knuckles let out a yelp.

Rouge flew in not too long after. She was slightly scuffed up and limped a bit, but she too tried going up there... until Wave had come from behind and grabbed her by her wings. The purple swallow tossed her aside.

"Ouch..." Rouge cried out in pain. She spotted a familiar red echidna on the floor in pain as well. The white bat rushed over there.

"...We're losing... somehow..." Knuckles said in an annoyed tone.

"Don't say that, we'll stop them," Rouge replied in a gentle tone. She laid down next to him as well, having been out of breath. Why in the world were they getting defeated by those dorks anyways? Her and Knuckles had proved time and time again that they were much stronger than the Babylon Rogues or Fang and his "friends". Yet here were the two, bruised and out of breath.

"How in the hell am I losing..." Knuckles asked himself. He looked down at his gloves and groaned in pain. He weakly punched the ground in frustration. He panted heavily. Knuckles shifted his amethyst colored eyes to the white bat.

"None of this would have happened if you weren't here..." He mumbled.

"What?" Rouge asked.

"I said none of this would have happened if you weren't here... If you weren't... I would still be on my given duties protecting the Master Emerald." Knuckles said a little louder. His eyebrow ridge furrowed and he looked at the white bat with angry eyes.

"...What-"

"If you weren't here, my body would be in actual good shape to defend myself." Knuckles repeated.

"...Are you seriously blaming me for your injuries?!" Rouge gawked and turned red from swelled up anger. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"YES YOU CAUSE A LOT OF PROBLEMS FOR ME!" Knuckles shouted. Rouge looked at him with a scoff, but the red echidna just sighed.

"Ever since I met you...I can't think straight sometimes." He began hesitantly. "I think a lot about what will happen if you ever decide to show your face around this place. What would you do with the Master Emerald... what you would do to me." He rubbed his arm with his other arm and looked away from Rouge. Said bat looked at him in shock. She really couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What are you trying to say... Knuckles?" She asked in a quiet tone.

"...I..." He began.

However, before the red echidna could say anything further, the ground below the two began to shake violently. The trees shifted. A loud rumble was heard. The pair looked to see the Master Emerald by the altar shining in the night.

.

.

.

.

But it wasn't there.

hey all! no I am not dead, i've just been rather busy... I can't guarantee when the final chapter will come out, but it will definitely be in the works! i haven't abandoned these two, i promise.

(i've also published other stories. you should definitely read them if any of them suit your interests.)