FicWad

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Disclaimer: The Sega characters belong to Sega. The song in this chapter is trademarked Evanescence.

Dedicated to Orin, for her inspiration and influence. I hope this lives up to her.

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The Floating Island, also known as Angel Isle, was a relative calm place with a rainforest untouched by eyes for many years. In the heart of the island were the coveted Chaos Emeralds and the more powerful Master Emerald. Though most things concerning the Chaos Emeralds were dangerous forces, the island itself was a relatively peaceful place. Hidden more elusively in the island was the last of the echidna race.

Moonlight shined through the canopy layers and cast blue spots of light on the forest floor. The soft earth was moist with rain and dew; since little sun shined down to the ground. It was no surprise that the accumulation of water caused many streams and puddles. The ground itself was muddy and was only held together by the roots of mammoth trees. Of course, in order for the ground to stay stable, there had to be a lot of roots. A lot of roots caused many to trip over them while traversing the forest paths.

The water mattered little to her, at least at the moment. She gazed out at the world of the night, peaceful and serene. She had often heard others depicting the night as a scary place where danger lurked everywhere or darkness that consumed you to oblivion. Those people didn't know the night. Those people were the ones who frolicked in the sun, and could only see using the moon in the dark. She hated those people. It was no surprise that a nocturnal hated the early risers.

She sighed, tilting her head more in her hand. The effect caused a pull on her face, making her frown even bigger. She blinked her eyes a few times, watching the light from the moon light the clearing then disappear into the depths of the forest. She brought her legs up to her chest on the ledge she was sitting on, wrapping one hand around her legs while the other supported her head. She brushed her hair over her shoulder, letting off another sigh. She had no idea how boring her job had become. Why had she taken this job anyways?

A small splash. Her ears twitched. A sound as soft as that was loud to her. She knew who caused it instantly, but turned to the sound anyway. With her sensitive night vision she could clearly see who the figure was, but even if she didn't have that advantage she could still tell.

The surplus of water caused puddles just awaiting their chance to become lakes, which they eventually did. The moon reflected off the countless surfaces of water, making the black figure easy to spot in the clearing. She smiled, the shape comforted her, or rather, who was that shape.

She watched him as he knelt over, scooping up water in his cupped hands. She always thought of his hands as big and clumsy, of course she learned soon enough that they were far from that. Nevertheless they were still big, so he held a lot of water in his palms. He brought the cupped hands up, throwing the water onto his face. His face moved back a bit in reaction, while the water flew past him. Silver droplets grazed the night air, and precious few remained attached to his fur. In the moonlight they weren't red, like the water was supposed to be on him, but silver like liquid metal; a silver that, no matter how diluted, would always sparkle.

He brought his hands to his sides. She remembered hearing once that if your hands are bigger than your face that's a sign of cancer. That was when the person who told her that knocked her own hand into her face as part of the joke. But if the fact was true, he was certainly a suspect of having it. But his hands were more than big; they were powerful and firm; dangerous too. His hands rested at his sides, while he took in deep breaths. She knew who he symbolized that instant. He was the mountain. Only the mountain could breathe with such intensity.

The water dripped down his snout and down to the ground again. She suspected the drops might go find more of their friends in a puddle somewhere. She smiled, white teeth poking out of the corners of her mouth. She stayed motionless, just watching him wash himself. It seemed that even such an everyday gesture had an intensity to it. He was always intense; so serious. Oh, how countless times she had tried to make him lighten up, to make him laugh. No luck yet, but she was still trying. She would've liked to see him laugh. She wondered how much intensity he could put into laughing.

/Dear my love, haven't you wanted to be with me?/

The figure knelt back down, and scooped up more water. Instead of just splashing it onto his face, he threw it on even harder than the last time. He threw his head back, hair flying and fanning out behind him. The silver droplets flew past him, reflecting the blue instead of the silver of the moon. It looked like a painting done with spray paint, because of the way everything was so apparent yet shrouded by blacks and dark blues.

She herself knew how badly his shade of red and the shade of blue in the water clashed. But the way it was presented showed perfect unity and harmony. Especially the way his hair flew back. They flew with the untamed look of his land. They reminded her of tentacles, grasping out at the air or the water that flew past. As said before, the water didn't interest her that much, but there were other reasons she watched it fly through the air.

His eyes opened, the same intensity shown there. In the darkness they would've been unrecognizable, merely a dark color in the glowing white. In the light they'd be almost transparent, showing more white than purple. But in the mix of light and darkness presented there, they became dark violet with an almost blue hue around them instead of just plain white.

He stood up in a warrior like pose. Many times had she seen movies where the fighter stands against the sun, which somehow gives the impression they're dangerous and strong. Of course they're all movie effects. It took a fighter of true strength to look strong against the background of the moon. The moon gave off an aura of mysteriousness and hidden power, so to look strong in the moon you actually had to be powerful. She wondered if she could carry it off as well as he could.

"Why are you watching?" he asked quietly. There really wasn't much of a tone, but the deepness of his voice added one.

"There's nothing else to watch," she answered exotically. The words rolled off her lips, much like a lie. Only instead of a lie, this statement was mostly truth. Mostly. It was truth wrapped with untold evidence, but it was still part truth. She smiled slyly; if he could only see her face he would instantly start firing off questions. But he couldn't. Even though their contrast of fur colors made her easier to see in the dark she could hide herself easier, which greatly made up for that.

He grunted and stalked back inside, the water still dripping down his muzzle. It was funny how his eyes seemed to cast a purplish look on the rest of his body. He was still dripping wet, but she decided not to point that out. It was bad enough she disturbed the mood before. It was great pleasure to watch him, since that was as close as you could get sometimes.

She looked longingly at the place he had once stood, and then resumed her watch. Though she couldn't get him out of her head each time she looked at the moon.



"Your watch over?" he asked her as if expecting some excuse.

"Yes, the sun's rising," she yawned stretching her arms out. He nodded curtly, and walked past her.

"Rouge. . ." he said in a gruff voice stopping his walk. She almost thought he was talking to the forest or the rising sun since he didn't turn to face her. "It means a lot. . . you coming out here and all."

Rouge was speechless for a second and resorted to blinking. "N-No problem," she said, groping for the words.

The red echidna turned so one eye faced her, one violet eye now becoming transparent in the sun's light. "Why did you come up here?"

Rouge blinked again. All this time, he'd never asked or really cared about her reasons. He seemed a bit agitated about it at first but he let her stay. Since when did he ever care? "I-I-um," once again Rouge could not find the words.

"Please don't tell me it's so you can be closer to the Master Emerald," he spat sternly. "Because I might throw you off the island if you did."

Rouge abruptly stopped her stuttering and bit her lower lip. Sure that wasn't her reason, but it was still an insult that he think of it as a possible reason. Her face flushed with anger. Her arms retracted from their outstretched position and took residence in fists on her hips.

"It's not, FYI," she huffed. She gave one last huff before crossing her arms in front of her chest. Suddenly she heard a faint sound. . .chuckling? She uncrossed her arms to see Knuckles's shoulders slightly going up and down. He was, laughing?

"And you call me too serious," he chuckled looking at her over his shoulder again. Rouge opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out were the beginning sounds of words. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't make the rest of the words come out. She finally resorted to crossing her arms over her chest and turning her back to him. At least then she could hide her blush and not admit defeat.

"Seriously, why did you come?" he said, finally ending his chuckle.

Rouge concentrated hard on forming words, only thing was she couldn't find the words to form. Why did she come up here? It hadn't been that long, so how could she have forgotten?

"Well?" urged Knuckles raising an eyebrow.

"My own reasons," she replied. She wasn't happy with her answer but at least that would satisfy Knuckles's curiosity, or at least make him go away.

"Whatever," he sighed walking off again. "You never did tell me, even the day you came here you wouldn't say your reasons. I figured you'd tell me sooner or later."

Rouge 'hmphed' and strode to the back of the cave. It was a small, but deep inside was a big inner chamber where the Master Emerald hovered over its pedestal. It glowed a strange glow while, underneath it in grooves in the pedestal, were the Chaos Emeralds shining all the colors of the rainbow. The Master Emerald seemed to be a prism of the colors, changing colors on whatever color dominated the others. It was like a contest for survival, which emerald could outshine the others.

"Enjoying the view?" asked a voice. Rouge jumped only to see gentle Tikal approach, her hands crossed innocently behind her back. Rouge frowned and looked cross.

"Sorry about that," Tikal apologized, "you know how it's my duty to watch this chamber during the day?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Rogue shrugged off.

"You seem a bit relieved since Chaos Zero took the night shift."

Rouge shivered. The thought of the blue behemoth gave her nightmares and taunted her in the dark, the one place she was most comfortable. Also he glowed, like radioactive waste. Could water be toxic? Rouge brushed off the goose bumps on her arms.

"Tell me Rouge," inquired Tikal floating slowly towards her. "Why did you come up here? You remember the night you came?"

"Yes," Rouge replied quietly.

"I promise I won't tell anyone, not even Knuckles," said Tikal. Rouge was about to turn her down, but seeing the glow in Tikal's eyes made Rouge believe the young echidna was telling the truth. Rouge smiled.

"Well. . .I guess it all started the night I came. . ."



It was rare there was anything but peaceful weather on Angel Island, but once in a while there was a storm. It so happened the floating island was passing under a storm, taking it on full blast due to its high altitude. Winds threatened to pull the roots out of the soil. The water that usually just sat in puddles was now being flung in every direction whipping across the land. Leaves and brush were flung into the air, after being smacked into the air by flying water.

"We'd best stay inside!" Knuckles called down to Tikal. He was at the mouth of the cave, looking out on the storm while Tikal huddled inside. His voice echoed down the walls of the cave, becoming as loud as the roar of the storm by the time it reached the echidna girl's ears. She cast fretful eyes to Chaos Zero.

"Will everything be alright?" she asked her oldest friend.

"/Nature will take its course soon enough. It will be kind to all those who stay out of its way/," replied Chaos Zero in a gurgle only Tikal could understand. Tikal blinked worriedly. She had a sinking feeling something would stand in nature's way that night. She had learned that anything that was assured safe always had a dangerous irony.

"Whew, it's a real whipping one, that storm," Knuckles whistled as he made his way down the cave staircase. He ran a hand through his dreadlocks, trying to cast away the droplets of water. After that alone did no use he finally stooped down to shaking his head like a dog, spraying water on the otherwise dry walls of the cave.

"You have a branch stuck in your hair," Tikal pointed out. Knuckles plucked the branch from his head with a sigh.

"I hope the island weathers well tonight," he said turning the twig over in his hands. It seemed almost snapped in half, and soaked thoroughly with water. Of course it was only a mere branch. The strong trunks of the trees would surely hold up better than the twig did, but for the guardian it seemed to foreshadow the events to pass.

He did not predict that another water soaked life form would come into his care.

Chaos Zero gurgled suddenly, casting his orbs of eyes up to the stalactites. Though he had no eyelids, Zero seemed to blink.

"What's wrong?" asked Tikal, hovering by his side.

"/There's somebody out there/."

Tikal's eyes widened in fear, as did her mouth to the floor. She knew well the fury of nature, mostly from having one as a close friend, and Zero had not said 'something' but 'somebody'.

"So, what is it?" asked Knuckles shaking his hands dry. Tikal seemed the only one who could communicate with Chaos Zero.

"There's somebody out on the island in that storm!" Tikal cried urgently. Knuckles's reaction was no different than hers. Like a gallant knight he dashed out into the storm, leaving Tikal at the entrance with the wind whipping in her hair.

"Hello? Hello!" Knuckles called out into the storm. His deep voice seemed to meld into the thunder while pink streaked his face with the lightning. Knuckles held a hand in front of his face to shield off water or anything else that might blow his way. He gritted his teeth, leaning his face into the wind. His dreadlocks blew raggedly in the wind occasionally whipping into his face.

'Was Tikal really serious?' /Knuckles asked himself as he gritted his teeth against the storm. He both loved, and respected his island, and he really didn't like defying its wishes to stay covered. What really got to him was that those wishes could be for his own good. 'Who in their right mind would be out here?'/

The howling of the wind continued to persist. Knuckles strained just to keep on his feet. Due to his honor he could never let himself fall victim to the wind. Of course, his honor was the only thing propelling his further. The pelting rain had made his skin go numb, the wind obscured his vision to almost blindness, the thunder and howling filling his ears to the point they would burst, his teeth clamped together his jaw was beginning to hurt; only a metal strength could pull Knuckles through the pains of his body.

"Hello!" Knuckles managed to cry out. He was sure his throat was going sore from trying to overpower the thunder. Suddenly, the biggest piece of debris Knuckles had ever seen flew right into his face. He fell over backwards, releasing the grip his feet had on the ground. He was sent flying back, along with whatever had hit him. Knuckles was flipped through the air, finally tumbling to the ground due to gravity; the only force that could overpower the wind at this point. The guardian sank his fingers into the soil, though it did little use since it was flying up into his face. Knuckles groped to pull himself up, only managing a knee. Pushing himself against the storm's force, Knuckles turned his head to look over his shoulders. It wasn't easy; for once he managed to turn his head most of the way it whipped right into position making his neck crack. His dreadlocks, thankfully, were blown away from his face. Squinting his eyes, Knuckles could make out a shape in a distance; a mere ghost in the rain's mist. Knuckles closed his eyes, judging the distance and concentrating on the task he was about to do, and let go.

Knuckles was again sent flying back at the wind's mercy, only this time he was going to use it to his advantage. Using it like a satellite uses a planet's gravitation to fling it out into space, Knuckles was flung right near a tree where he sank his claws in. Looking down, Knuckles could see a figure holding onto the tree's root while the rest of the torso was flailing in the wind. He really didn't know who this stranger was, and he really didn't want to know. He really didn't like it when anybody trespassed on his island, since there was a great chance of thieves. He was very close to letting this trespasser just weather out the storm on their own, but he just couldn't leave them out there. Knuckles was protective, but not merciless.

Knuckles bared down all of his strength to reach his hand out to this stranger. At first he/she didn't respond.

"Grab my hand!" Knuckles called out, straining his voice even further. He could now tell the head area of the figure, as it turned to face his outstretched limb. Slowly the figure wrenched one of its hands from the roots, sending it flying into the wind and making the body furl like a flag. Knuckles could hear the figure screaming, a high-pitched girl scream.

Fighting against the ravenous force the figure once again reached for Knuckles's hand. The two hands inched closer, and closer, closer still. . .

The one hand the figure kept on the root snapped off before she could grasp Knuckles's hand. She was flung back into the wind, going airborne. Without a thought, Knuckles let go of the tree that anchored him safely, and cast himself voluntarily into the air once more. Using his dreadlocks Knuckles managed to keep close to the figure, but not close enough to grab her. Knuckles tried desperately to gain control, fighting the wind's urge to toss him around like a leaf. Wind and rain pushed him off course countless times yet Knuckles knew he only had so much time before he and the figure hit the rock that was approaching. So he used the wind's force, along with his gliding power, to fly closer to the figure. He almost overshot it, but he grabbed a flailing arm and pushed down against the air to avoid the rocks he knew too well were approaching.

Somehow, whether luck or fate, Knuckles managed to push down far enough to avoid being scraped off the cave's entrance, and fell right through the opening near the bottom of the rock. Knuckles rolled on the cave floor, the figure's arms wrapped around him as they tumbled down the stairs. Knuckles didn't really like rolling, that was Sonic's expertise, especially rolling around with a stranger. Somehow that just didn't come out the way he wanted to think of it.

When the two finally landed with a thud at the bottom of the cave steps, both were wet and tired and not particularly fond of the position they were in. Knuckles landed on the bottom with whoever it was on his chest. Knuckles's head was throbbing from the pain of the landing, so it was a little hard to open his eyes and focus at the same time. He groaned, and rubbed his head on the floor hoping it would ease the pain since he had no strength to raise his arms to rub his head. He started groaning, as did whoever was on him. He recognized that voice, now that the roar of the storm was gone. Knuckles opened his eyes to see the bearer of the voice, which only made him despise his current position even more.

"Knuckles! Are you all right?" Tikal asked worriedly, running to his side. Chaos Zero separated the two bodies, laying the stranger next to Knuckles.

"Yeah, nothing major," Knuckles panted. "How's she?" Tikal looked over at the stranger. "She had better. . .have. . .a concussion or something. . .I want. . .to make sure. . .what I did was worth it. . ." Knuckles heaved out.

"Thanks. . .a lot. . ." the figure next to him panted out with just as much sarcasm. She then closed her eyes and fell unconscious.

"You know her?" asked Tikal, helping Knuckles into a sitting position.

"Yeah," Knuckles replied, finally catching his breath. "Rouge the bat."



"You're lucky to have made it out alive," Tikal said as she cared for the stranger.

"I could've handled that storm," replied the stranger, wincing a little in pain as Tikal applied some of the old cures present on the island. Due to the lack of contact with civilization, they didn't have a modern first-aid kit. Instead, Tikal knew by heart the remedies of her people for any ails.

"You would've died had it not been for Knuckles," said Tikal as she wrapped some leaves around the stranger's wounds on her arms. Tikal tied the leaves with vines in a makeshift gauze wrapping.

"Well, that may be true. . ." the stranger replied. She didn't sound as apprehensive as she did with her first remark, meaning she was finally beginning to accept what had happened.

"May I ask how you know Knuckles, and why you're here?" asked Tikal while still mending to the bruises. Tikal had never seen a bat before, but most of Rouge's body parts were no different than Knuckles's. There was a major difference: Rouge had wings. Tikal had no experience with wings, since none of Sonic's friends had ever had any. She could tell they were broken from the way they stuck out, but she wasn't sure how to put them back into the right angles. Maybe she could ask Knuckles, after all, he seemed to know her. . .

"Me knowing Knuckles is the reason I'm here," the stranger said with a bit of a sigh. Tikal tilted her head to one side.

"What could be so important you would brave a storm like that?" the young echidna asked gently.

"It's just something I felt like doing, as crazy as it sounds," the stranger replied turning her head away from Tikal with a smile. "Tell me, is he happy that I'm here?"

"Knuckles treats any intruder like an invasion. He does want you to heal first though. You're a little of a burden to him," Tikal answered with sympathy. She was never one to deny the truth.

"A burden. . ." the stranger whispered. She blinked her eyes a few times. "Is the storm over yet?"

Tikal snapped out of her trance and gazed up at the cave's ceiling. "It should be over soon. Either the storm will end or the island will pass through it. I hope you're comfortable with your surroundings, it's going to be a while until you'll be able to get out."

The bat stared up at the ceiling, the stalactites of a cave. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." With that Tikal left. Even though the environment was very new to her Rouge felt more at home, like a bat in a cave.



"You're up?" Knuckles asked surprisingly as Rouge walked right up and sat next to him. She still had the bandages on her arms and legs, and some splints for her wings. Knuckles remembered all too well when Tikal asked him how she was supposed to fix them. Knuckles actually had to recall from memory how Rouge's wings were supposed to go. He really didn't like recalling any memory about her, but he told Tikal how they were supposed to be angled.

"You expect me to stay down there until I'm completely healed?" Rouge purred. She couldn't hide a bit of pain in her voice.

"Yes, that's what you get for fighting nature," Knuckles remarked with a shrug.

"You were out there too ya know."

"Only to save a stupid bat's ass."

"Thank you for noticing," Rouge chimed back. Knuckles blushed for a second, and then turned his head away.

"Look, I don't want another one of our old arguments."

"Well, you're the one who started it all; starting in the same old tone that started up most of those arguments."

"I guess you're right," Knuckles chuckled.

Rouge blinked her eyes in shock. 'Did he just agree with me?'

"But get this straight, I want you to go back wherever you came from as soon as you can fly."

'Figures' "Thanks for the compassion," Rouge huffed crossing her arms.

"Did you expect anything more from me?" Knuckles scoffed, getting up. He started to walk away.

"Why?"

Knuckles stopped. "Why what?"

"Why. . .do you want me off this island as much as possible? Is it your whole guardian thing, or is it me?"

"A little of both."

"Again, thanks a lot!"

"Hey, I have a duty. You have no idea the responsibilities I have."

"I'm not that careless!"

"Well compared to me you are!"

Rouge was a bit taken back. Although Knuckles had technically won the argument, he had revealed a bit of himself to her. Sure it was a bit unintentional, but it was still there.

"Just heal, ok?" Knuckles said curtly as he turned and walked away again.

/'Well, that didn't last long, like always.' /Rouge stuck her tongue out at Knuckles's back. She then turned her back to him and crossed her arms firmly over her chest. Pressing on it caused a little pain, causing a small yelp. Rouge tried her best to hide it, though she assured herself that Knuckles had left. She sighed in relief.

'What is it with me, that I have to live up to a line with him? He's not that special! But if so. . .then what did I come out here for?'



"Do you always stand guard?"

"Yes, why?"

"Just seems a bit boring."

"So what if it is?"

"Is it always boring?"

"Must you ask questions?"

"You're asking questions now too."

Knuckles groaned. "Just. . .go away."

Rogue hunched her shoulders and clenched her fists in anger. "You have no idea how to treat a lady!"

"Real ladies don't go around in hurricanes."

Rouge's blush turned into a rash of anger. "Well if you're going to be picky. . ."

Knuckles chuckled. "Don't like your words being thrown back at you either?"

The rash turned into an epidemic on Rouge's face. She opened her mouth to retort something back, but held against it. She let the silence be her answer. After all, it was the best she could say.

The chirping of crickets followed, and Knuckles resumed duty once more.

"Don't you ever get bored?"

"Will you ever stop asking?"

"Answer and I'll stop."

Knuckles sighed in defeat. "Yes, yes I do. Now shut up."

Rouge's bottom lip curled back until it made contact with her teeth.

"Why do you want to know?" Knuckles said. Not once had he turned his back to face her.

"I just wanted to see. . .after all. . .it seems boredom is your weakness."

"Believe whatever you want to believe."

Rouge remained silent for a while. On a whim she asked, "Don't you ever want to escape?"

For once there wasn't a sigh of frustration or defeat. Knuckles seemed to be mulling, or at least waiting to release an inner part of his soul. "Some times."

Rouge was getting tired of Knuckles's monosyllabic tone. She was beginning to get tired of him. "Well don't you get tired of this whole duty thing?" she asked exasperatedly.

Rouge sounded so worked up, yet Knuckles was so calm. "Yes, some times."

/And dear my love, haven't you longed to be free?/

"You certainly don't act like it," Rouge mumbled.
"There's no use complaining about it, that's why," Knuckles said in a clear, calm voice. He seemed to contrast Rouge's frustrated mood in every facet.

"There's no use keeping it bottled up inside either."

"I think of it a lot better that way."

"Why?"

"Just stop asking questions."

"Why?"

"Because you're being annoying."

"Why?"

"Because you are, and you can't be anything else!"

"Well excuse me!" Rouge screamed. She angrily crossed her arms in front of her chest again. "Why?" she asked resuming her game.

Knuckles snorted and ignored her. Rouge narrowed her eyes. "No way in hell he's getting out of this that easily!"

"You're easy to annoy," she pointed out.

Knuckles snorted again and ignored her, turning his full attention to the landscape.

"Well if you're going to be like that!" huffed Rouge. Silence passed for a time between the bickering two.

Rouge curled her knees up to her chest, causing a little pain. She hugged her knees, thankfully that didn't have a bitter reaction. /"Now he's really being a jerk, he's supposed to argue back at least! He should give me that courtesy!" /Rouge's cheeks puffed out in anger. In frustration she stole an angry glance at Knuckles, who was still taking guard to ignore her. In fact, he didn't look annoyed at all. He was so silent, alert yet not paranoid. Thoughts of annoying the echidna passed through Rouge's mind. She began to think, pondering him. Maybe she could try a different approach.

"You look, so lonely," she said quietly. Knuckles spun around in surprise./ /

/I can't keep pretending that I even don't know you/

"What?" he questioned her.

"You do," she repeated.

"Whatever," Knuckles shrugged off.

"Are you as lonely as you look?" Rouge asked him, picking her head up from her knees.

Knuckles let out a small gasp of surprise. "Of course not, I have the Master Emerald, and that's all I'll ever need," he said proudly.

"Oh, big deal! A huge rock to keep you company! And you say I'm obsessed over it!" Rouge argued back, reverting from her serious tone. She had little care of her voice tone as long as the message got across, but she didn't know that her present tone only gave Knuckles more reason to ignore her.

Knuckles sighed. "Go heal someplace else will ya?"

"Aw, getting tired of me?"

"Yes."

Rouge let out a growl and walked back into the cave. After learning to lie as a profession, she began to hate honesty.




Night came, along with Rouge's natural senses. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't get to sleep no matter how dark it was. The darkness itself seemed to keep her awake.

Finally tiring of rolling around trying to sleep, Rouge went up to the surface. Going up she passed the Master Emerald's pedestal. Opportunity and temptation surfaced. Rouge's fingers twitched.

Suddenly she heard a faint sound behind her. It was like the dripping of water, only much louder. A small glow seemed to be cast on her as well. Turning around she saw none other than Chaos Zero looming over her; the darkness of the cave bringing out his ferocity. Rouge screamed and ran, running up the stairs to the entrance. Why she ran up those stairs were beyond her. It could've been just the closest exit, or the knowledge Knuckles was up there.

Rouge emerged into the world of the night. It was a new moon, so everything was in its own shadow. She liked it that way. It was harder to be seen with no light reflecting off her fur, and it was easier to see the darker it was. Rouge pulled herself up to one of the rocks bordering the entrance of the cave. Being so used to flying she hardly used climbing unless she had to. Heaving up her weight onto the top took a while.

'Damn ankle' Rouge cursed silently. "If only I hadn't twisted it tripping over that stupid tree root! Then I wouldn't have needed to be saved. This is all your fault!"

The view was worth it. The sight of the forest in the night, just mere cotton balls soaked in black ink on the horizon. To any outsider the island appeared only in outline. But Rouge could see better than that. She carefully opened her wings letting the night breeze ruffle through them. Aside from the cuts everything else had healed. It was enough to fly, but not far. After a while she became entranced by the serenity that enveloped her, so much it made her suspicious.

'Where is Knuckles?' she thought after going a while without his intrusion. Scanning the cave with her night vision didn't reveal the guardian standing guard anywhere. Curious, and a little scared since she knew Knuckles well, Rouge managed to make her way down. When the process of climbing against the rocky surface became too tedious, Rouge jumped off and used her wings to catch the air and soften her landing. She landed gracefully, without a pain in either wing.

'Guess I can fly sooner than I thought,' /Rouge smiled to herself. 'And the sooner. . .I can leave,'/ she added remorsefully. Quickly shaking that out of her mind - and that Knuckles might be watching - Rouge went out to find where the echidna had gone.

"Knuckles?" she called softy, "where'd you go?"

Rouge's ears twitched. Tilting her head so her ears followed the sound, she identified it as labored breathing. Thoughts flashed through her mind of Knuckles injured and straining to breathe while teetering off a rocky outcropping. Rouge quickly followed the sound, tripping over rocks in the process. The breathing was soft, but became steadily louder.

When she did find Knuckles he was neither hurt nor straining to breathe. He was sleeping.

'He's ok,' Rouge thought with satisfaction. She then switched to a more selfish tone. 'And he made me worry like that? Geez, wait until I wake him up and rub it in his face that he's. . .'

Rouge turned to the sleeping Knuckles. His hands were folded neatly in his lap while his back leaned against the cave wall. She expected him to look like he was meditating or on guard on his sleep. Instead all focus and concentration was gone from Knuckles. His legs stretched out while his head was bowed slightly. Knuckles looked just like a sleeping child.

It was humorous; the echidna that had once insulted her was innocent looking in his sleep. Bending down, Rouge brushed up some of the dreadlocks that had fallen forward over Knuckles's face. She looked up into a more bizarre sight. The lines of agitation, the fierce stare, the hunched shoulders and always puffed out chest, the snarl. . .all gone. Never had Rouge ever seen Knuckles so relaxed, around her anyway. Knuckles gave off the impression of invincibility, fortitude and strength. Now he just looked tired, exhausted. The invincibility had melted away, so was this the real Knuckles? The one beneath all the duty? The one not sworn to the Master Emerald? Was this the person inside? The one who had saved her?

/And at sweet night, you are my own/

Rouge smiled sweetly at Knuckles's sleeping form. Sure, he was a pain in the ass, but only because of his stupid duty. This was the Knuckles she had come up there to see; the Knuckles who wasn't a supreme fighter; the Knuckles she had come to like. Rouge let go of Knuckles's dreadlocks letting them fall back down covering his face. It seemed even Knuckles wanted to hide that part of himself. The corners of Rouge's mouth lifted up again in a small smile, before Rouge ran to the mouth of the cave.



Knuckles yawned and stretched his hands above his head. Knuckles brushed his dreadlocks out of his face and scratched his left ear lazily. Knuckles pulled his body upright, though still leaning on the cave wall. Not much light streamed as far back as he was in the cave, so Knuckles had time to rub and adjust his eyes for the daylight. Dragging his body to the mouth of the cave, he met with a figure silhouetted in the rising sun.

"Rouge?" Knuckles asked drowsily still rubbing his eye. Rouge turned and looked at him over her shoulder, her eye glinted softly in the sun's light.

"Rouge!" Knuckles said with a bit of surprise as he instantly sprang awake. Rouge only blinked back.

After a small staring contest, Rouge yawned and walked right past Knuckles. "Well, if you're up and about, I guess it's your turn."

'My turn?' Knuckles muttered to only himself.

"The sun's coming up so I guess I'll go to bed then," Rouge sighed strutting to the back of the cave. "Just tell me when your shift's over."

Knuckles could only blink as Rouge disappeared into the fleeting darkness. Narrowing his eyes Knuckles scratched his head feverishly. 'What the hell? What did she mean?' Knuckles shrugged it off and continued his watch. 'I'll never understand her, so I guess there's no use trying.'




"That's the tale?" Tikal said in a light scoffing tone.

"Hm, yes," Rouge sighed caught up in her reminisce.

"I don't remember clearly, but Knuckles just let you take guard?"

"Didn't have much of a choice, I'd always find him sleeping at night."

Tikal nodded. "So?"

"Just the way it's been," Rouge shrugged off.

Tikal blinked at Rouge. "I'm afraid I don't understand some parts of your tale."

"It's complicated," said Rouge walking away. "Wake me up at sunset."




"My shift?" Rouge asked Knuckles's back as the guardian stood poised on the rock like a statue in front of the sun's retreating form.

"Guess so," Knuckles sighed, breaking his still pose and hopping down from the rock. Rouge took her post on the same rock while Knuckles made his way to the back part of the cave.

"Ya know you're welcome to stay out here and keep me company."

"Why would I want that?" Knuckles snickered. Even with his back turned he could feel the steam coming from her nostrils. "Why would you want that?"

The heat Knuckles could sense coming from her disappeared. "Fine, a simple 'no' would've been enough!"

"Why don't you answer the question?" Knuckles retorted, knowing full well he had cornered Rouge. He turned around to see Rouge with her back to him, though he could see her shoulders raised up in anger.

"Because it gets boring out here," she muttered stubbornly, though Knuckles heard.

"Is that why you were watching me? And since when have I ever counted as company to you?" he said, deciding to take advantage of his roll.

Rouge sighed, her shoulders coming down. "Look, if you don't want to stay just say so."

"Well I didn't say I wouldn't."

"It's kinda funny, but you're hinting it really strong."

She could hear Knuckles snort behind her. In an instant the echidna was sitting on another rock bordering the cave's mouth, though slightly lower than the one she was on.

The moon rose slowly, creeping up over the horizon. Soon the dark blue sky around the moon spread throughout the rest of the sky. One could only wonder if the moon was moving towards Angel Island, or Angel Island was moving toward the moon.

"You remember. . .the day I came, right?" Rouge asked quietly with hopes to start a conversation, or at least quench her curiosity.

"Yeah, you wanna start that up all again?" Knuckles grunted.

"Then you remember the question I asked you?" Rouge said quietly yet cautiously.

"Which annoying one?" Knuckles remarked.

"The one about. . .you wanting to escape."

Knuckles remained silent for a while. "Oh yeah, that question."

"Well, if you could trade places with me, would you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Knuckles asked her dryly. "Why would I ever do that?"

"Because I can leave this place, you can't."

/Take my hand we're leaving here tonight/

For a time the only answer Rouge got was the wind in Knuckles's dreadlocks. "I'd never trade places with you, just the thought of you being me is frightening."

Rouge snorted. 'So that's the way it is eh?' "Well if you could just leave, would you?"

"Why are you asking questions?"

"Just be glad they're so obvious."

Knuckles snorted.

"You know, you're just as sheltered as Shadow was," Rouge chuckled. To her Knuckles seemed mad, or at least agitated.

"Fine, you want to know?" Knuckles snarled through gritted teeth. "I do want to escape. I do want to have fun. I do want to live life as a normal down on the ground. I do want to go on adventures. I do want to go out on dates. I do want to just slack off and goof off and just hang out. I do want to just screw this whole duty thing, and I do want you to sew your mouth shut."

Rouge turned away, edging a bit away from Knuckles. 'Geez, never knew he could be so touchy.'

The anger and tension dissolved when Knuckles sucked in his breath and let out a deep sigh. The calmness returned to him, making him blend in more with the night sky.

"Just don't tell anyone else that," Knuckles added. "It's bad enough I told anybody at all." With that he pushed off the rock and again made his way to the inner chamber of the cave.

/There's no need to tell anyone/
/ /
"Why are you so afraid I'll tell?" Rouge purred just before Knuckles could get far enough away from her not to hear.

"Because I don't trust you that much."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I won't."

Knuckles stopped. "Why? Why resist the chance to humiliate me?"

"Because. . .that would be just mean."

"Mean? For you?"

"Mean, as in, not fun anymore."

"Oh, I see, humiliating me all at once just eliminates the fun torture huh?"

"No, it's just, no joke should be that into personal matters," Rouge added remorsefully, almost in sympathy.

Knuckles blinked at her. 'Who does she think she's kidding?' "Mind elaborating?"

"What you did, it was very personal, and honest. I may be sneaky, but I'm not heartless. I respect you too much for that." 'Crap, why'd I have to go and say that last sentence for?'

Knuckles again blinked at her. 'Is she being, fully honest? No catches or anything?' "Thanks," he added with some gratitude, though with doubt that the gratitude was deserved.

"Besides," Rouge added before Knuckles could walk away, "I know what it's like to be tied to this place and never be able to fly anywhere else. I hate it. I can see why you want to leave."

Knuckles still had doubt that Rouge wasn't acting, or had any ultimatums, but seeing her like this was refreshing yet scary at the same time. She had let down all acts and possible motives and was finally being straightforward. Then again this wasn't he Rouge he was used to. He had heard of people being 3-D, but Rouge was going on 4-D. Not really knowing what to believe, and feeling a bit sorry for her, Knuckles decided to go along with her act or rant; whichever it was.

"Yeah," he added with weights attached to his voice, "but. . ."

"But other people need us, I know," she finished for him. "Makes you want to just. . .run away. . .I used to travel all over, nobody holding me down. It was a great feeling. . . to shed all cares. . ."

'She's really being honest.' "We can't just abandon them. . ."

"But as much as we hate to admit it they're weights, no matter how much we care," Rouge's voice slightly cracked.
/ /
/They'd only hold us down/
/ /
Rouge turned around and looked Knuckles straight in the eye. The two didn't have locked gazes of glares or fighting glances, but remorse and understanding. For the first time, Knuckles had found something in Rouge he could truly relate to, something he was sure about her. In her eyes was doubt, sadness, the truth. The same doubt, sadness, and truth that had bounced within his own mind-all clashing so he was so confused-yet, looking at the feelings displayed in her eyes, Knuckles could feel the squabbling forces subside. For once, Knuckles was sure she was telling the truth.

The moon had long since completed its cycle and was now moving to make room for the sun. Dark blue gave way to red, pink and purple. The sky seemed to rupture as red flowed through it, like blood leaking out. The intensity was the strongest in this sunrise than in any other Knuckles had ever seen. The redness soon cooled down, dying down to a few pink spots here and there.

Rouge still sat there, looking at him. Only now she was smiling. A faint smile, since she was trying to hide her fangs, but still a smile. Knuckles had never seen Rouge smile before, at least without a smirk or witty comment. She looked so sincere, so out of character. Another first was seeing her against the red sky. Knuckles hardly ever saw Rouge out during the daytime, and against the brightening sky her eyes seemed to shimmer. Maybe she seemed so out of place she fit, a nocturnal in the sun's light, or maybe her eyes were designed to reflect the moon's light and had a different effect in the sun. The reds seemed to meld into the white of her fur, causing some pink shadows on her. When she wasn't hiding in moonlight or draped in darkness, Rouge seemed. . . pretty.
/ /
/So by the morning's light/
/ /
Knuckles turned away, feeling a blush beginning to creep up on his face. "I'll go tell Tikal to take up her post," he blurted out before rushing down to the Master Emerald's chamber.
/ /
/We'll be halfway to anywhere/
/ /
Rouge's smile disappeared. She frowned, and laid her hands limp in her lap. She could feel pain, though not in a physical sense. Was she just. . .hurt? Rouge frowned even more, her eyelids becoming heavier from sadness and fatigue. She slid off the rock and tried to find her way back to her roost before she fell asleep on her feet. She gripped her arms, still feeling that pain sinking into her. Was this what she did to others?

"Knuckles," Rouge managed to utter, before shutting her eyes and making a mad dash for her roost.
/ /
/Where love is more than just your name/
/ /
/ /
/ /
Again the transition between the sun and the moon, the change between day and night, the times that she usually woke up. Rouge unfurled her wings, making room for her arms to stretch out. Deep inside the cave the only light was the Master Emerald, but she could see Chaos Zero taking up his post in the glow of the gem. Her time to watch.

She climbed down from her upside-down position and carefully walked past Chaos Zero. All her time there didn't make the monster seem less scary.

Usually she liked taking her post. It was during the transitions that she saw Knuckles, knowing how reclusive the echidna could be. Either that or she dreaded seeing him so he could poke at her faults with his usual banter. It was different that evening. She didn't want either to happen. She wanted to go back to sleep. In her dreams, she saw Knuckles on beaches and on trees. She usually had that dream, and she usually pushed it aside, but there was an extra that night. In all of her visions, Knuckles was smiling. He was so happy.
/ /
/I have dreamt of a place for you and I/
/ /
Rouge brushed past Knuckles, neither uttering a word. A quick exchanging of passing glances and the two ships passed. Not a cannon fired, or ripple disturbed.

Rouge herself considered the thought of just jumping off the coast of Angel Isle and coasting to land. She knew she could make it. She shook the thought away as if it were suicide. In a way, that's what it was.

It came to mind a small town that Rouge had frequently hidden out in back in her spy days. It was a secluded place, not many cable or satellite hookups out there. There, no one had any idea of the misdeeds that were reported on the news; otherwise they would've identified her. It was a pleasant little town, right on the coast actually. She could reach it easily, if she tried. But she couldn't. For reasons other than gems she couldn't turn herself away.
/ /
/No one knows who we are there/
/ /
Maybe she herself wanted a desperate leave. But she couldn't go alone, for her own personal reasons. She came up with the urge of kidnapping Knuckles and dragging him down with her. She chuckled at the thought. Was it for her own pleasures, or an act of kindness on Knuckles's part?

Or maybe she just wanted to punch the echidna out herself.

'Since when did I become so selfless?' Rouge thought to herself with a smile. 'What happened to my ego? Geez, is this what Knuckles did to me? If I spend more time here he might actually make me a hero.'

"Ready?" came a voice behind her. Rouge slowly turned around.

"For some reason, I lose track of time out here," she said softly.

"That's just the boredom sinking in," shrugged Knuckles. "I take it you were contemplating the hours away?"

"Pretty much." Rouge sighed. "How is it every day you make me more. . .honest?" Rouge asked in frustration.

"Well, when you're as deceitful as you, the only way you can go is up," joked Knuckles. "Why? You actually learn things from me? Like morals?"

"Must you rub it in," chuckled Rouge. For a moment they both let out soft laughter. "One day Knuckles, I'll teach you a thing or two."

"I don't think I want to learn what you could teach."

Rouge let out some laughter. It seemed she and Knuckles were becoming a bit friendlier, after all, they could make each other laugh now. Rouge turned to Knuckles who was sitting beside her. In his eyes were the reflections of the half day and half night. In his eyes Rouge saw a softness, not the usual glare she had gotten so many times from him. He also seemed more relaxed, at ease. He was smiling at her, just like in her dreams. It all came back to her all the time she had spent on the island, and all the progress she had made.

They were closer, friends perhaps, or maybe more? They could talk. They could relate. They could joke. And Rouge. . .wasn't as careful around him anymore. She could feel her guard slipping away with the breeze. With the slipping away of the cold exterior, came a warm sensation. A tingly feeling, and Rouge liked it. She didn't want it to go away.
/ /
/All I want is to give my life only to you/
/ /
"You'll change your tune, soon enough," smirked Rouge as she slid off the rock. "I could tell you so many things, actually. I could tell you about my world travels! Maybe even show you one day!"

"Heh, yeah right," Knuckles chuckled, though he only assumed it was a joke. "Like I would ever leave."

The warm feeling and her building anticipation came crashing back down; like the balloon had popped and was wafting back down to earth. It hit her like the ground and the balloon. Her fantasies dashed across the rocks of the cave. Knuckles had his back to her, so he couldn't see her look of despair.

Rouge blinked a few times, letting it sink in while trying to shove it away. Finally mustering up enough to move, she retreated back to her usual roost. With that uprising feeling came another one she had been trying to hide, the feeling of loss of success. She had come to the island to make progress, which she had seen in Knuckles's eyes, but now it felt as if it had all come to naught. Had she wasted everything? Rouge was not one to live with failure. She saw her one chance, and carefully began to-once again-plot.
/ /
/I've dreamt so long I cannot dream anymore/
/ /
His shift was now over, darkness settling over the land. Looking over his shoulder, Knuckles didn't see Rouge at all coming to make the switch. It was strange. She was usually punctual, or early. Knuckles shrugged it off his shoulders, deciding she had taken a longer sleep today than usual. He decided to go back himself and get her.

Entering the main chamber he saw the Master Emerald shining brilliantly, along with another figure that wasn't supposed to be there.

"Hiya Knux," Rouge purred, standing right next to the giant gem and leaning slightly on it.

"What're you doing?" Knuckles asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just walking. . .around," Rouge answered sauntering around the Master Emerald's pedestal.

"You alright?" gawked Knuckles, hoping for a snide remark knowing her.

"This Emerald. . ." started Rouge running her hand over the top of the gem. "This is what you truly guard, right?"

"You're smart enough to know," Knuckles said on edge. Though he had started to trust her, he could instantly recall Rouge's love for the Master Emerald.

"It's because of this you can't leave," Rouge said remorsefully, tracing the facets of the gem.

Knuckles snarled back. "I'm not going to steal it! You should know me more than that. I do know you well," Knuckles said through gritted teeth, not moving from his stance that would let him pounce on her if he needed to. "What do you want?"

"The one thing you want," stated Rouge. "Freedom."
/ /
/Let's run away I'll take you there/
/ /
"What?" asked Knuckles in disbelief.

"You should thank me Knuckles," said Rouge. "I'm going to set you free. You can go anywhere, anytime. Live."

"Huh?"

"I'm going to get rid of your oppressor, the one thing that weighs your shoulders down. You deserve much more," said Rouge eying the gem. "Much more than this!"

With a smash Rouge's boot collided with the Master Emerald, along with a sound like glass cracking. Rouge's foot went right through the top and came straight down splitting the Emerald in half, thanks to the aid of her razor heels. The Master Emerald's fragility made the two halves shatter into glass shards that Rouge hadn't seen since the first time she met Knuckles. In fact, most were the same size as the shards. Maybe the lines traced into them still remained. In the flying shards Rouge could see her face, as well as Knuckles and Tikal. The two echidnas had looks of horror, but Rouge's kept a calmer look. A look of satisfaction; a sense of relief. Nothing could stand in her way now. Free.
/ /
/We're leaving here tonight/
/ /
While Rouge stood proudly admiring her work of the strewn shards on the floor, Knuckles went to work rushing about gathering as many shards as he could in his giant hands without cutting himself. Tikal flitted around pointing out the few that Knuckles had missed in his hurry. Rouge's satisfaction turned into disgust. After all her work he wanted to go back to square 1? Isn't this what he wanted?

Walking briskly past the frantic echidna Rouge scooped up one shard, a diamond with thin points at both ends, and put it in the one place Knuckles would never reach it. Safely tucking it between her breasts Rouge strode over to the edge of the island and jumped off beginning her glide down.
/ /
/There's no need to tell anyone/
/ /
Amidst all the chaos going on around him, and in his mind, Knuckles could not erase the sense of betrayal. His anger fumed, and he cursed himself for ever trusting Rouge. Though it was a startling change, something in Knuckles pulled at him that he had expected that. Some part of him never trusted her, and now it was poking fun at the rest of him, sneering that it was right all along.

Knuckles gathered all the shards on the floor, quickly piecing them back together while Tikal uttered a spell that would keep them together. Soon the Master Emerald began to take its original shape, and it wasn't long until the emerald was almost fully recovered. It puzzled Knuckles why Rouge hadn't bothered to just take it, let alone smash it, but he decided to leave that alone. It was a good thing she hadn't. After all, he was the one who shattered it last time.

"Knuckles," Tikal said fretfully with downcast eyes. Knuckles could instantly tell something was wrong since Tikal always looked people straight in the eye unless something troubled her. "There's a piece missing."

Quickly gazing over the emerald Knuckles saw a cavity at the top was still open. Knuckles fell to the ground, searching the floor for the missing shard.

"It's not there, I would've detected it before," Tikal said sadly, hinting at what had really happened but she couldn't say.

Knuckles rose, eying the Master Emerald. From his point of view it looked normal, but it wasn't complete. The dismantling of his own emerald distressed him, even when he had to do it, but it was nothing of its former beauty with the missing shard. Knuckles's fists curled up in anger, letting that sneering voice inside his head take control. He needed the strength of rage, of betrayal. Knuckles stormed off, taking to the air and gliding off the island.

"Use the Chaos Emeralds to help sustain the island," Knuckles called back. Tikal was too far away to be seen now, but he was sure she'd heard. Knuckles focused on the nearest shoreline, which wasn't very near at all. It then came back to him a statement Rouge had told him. Now he was beginning to see the truth of it. He could see what she was trying to do to him.
/ /
/They'd only hold us down/
/ /
/ /
Rouge awaited as the sun rose fully. It would take a while for Knuckles to make the trip. She hadn't gotten that much of a head start. Rouge touched the sharp tip of the shard sticking out between her breasts. She carefully shoved it back in, taking care not to jab it on herself. She couldn't help the nagging feeling within her. Was he coming for her, or the emerald?

Rouge sighed, followed by a small growl of thunder. Even through the sun's brilliance came the looming storm clouds on the horizon that seemed to distort the light. It made the scene looked disturbed more than natural. Rouge shrugged it off. She hated sunrises anyways.
/ /
/So by the morning's light/
/ /
The clouds had moved over the town by the time Knuckles had reached the shoreline. Though gliding itself wasn't an exhausting process the time it had taken seemed to tire him out, or rather the anticipation. Thoughts wrenched within him of concern for Rouge, that, and twisting her head off. His glide had nearly worn out by the time he managed to make a sort of landing on the beach, almost dipping his nose into the ground in the process. Walking up across the sand Knuckles could make out a town nearby, behind cliffs that he could easily scale. Over those cliffs came a strong wind that blew the wet sand back toward the sea.
/ /
/We'll be halfway to anywhere/
/ /
Knowing Rouge was probably hiding in the town, and that he could scale the cliffs easily, Knuckles pushed himself to make the small walk to the cliffs. His body was worn down, and he hadn't stopped to catch his breath yet. Frankly he didn't care. Though usually reasonable, no one had ever messed with him in such a way, nor would anyone else who hoped to live.

Thunder boomed in the distance. The sound rang through Knuckles's ears, making him aware of the reality of his fatigue. He covered his ears, only to have rain come dropping onto his head like pebbles. Knuckles put out a hand to shield his eyes from the rain casting them upwards to the tops of the cliffs. It was there, illuminated by a strike of lightning, was Rouge.
/ /
/Where no one needs a reason/
/ /
The two stood still for a moment, taking in the atmosphere of the other while the storm continued to persist over them trying to make them aware of it. Knuckles saw past the rain, thunder, lightning and all other elements pressing upon him. All he saw was Rouge, feeling his blood boil with anger and lips curling back to show bared teeth. He growled over the noise. Rouge stayed up on her roost, though she was too far away for Knuckles to make out her facial expressions.

Her wings fanned out, as she took to a small downward glide. Knuckles was surprised she didn't run away while she had the chance, even more that she came walking up to him without a sassy remark. Maybe he wasn't so surprised. Who was to say that he had known her enough to know what to expect. Maybe this was the way she really was.

Knuckles planted his feet into the sand, eyebrows drawn down to one point, fists curling and muscles tensing. Rouge walked up to Knuckles, without even a grand introduction on her part. She seemed so calm next to Knuckles's held back ferocity. Knuckles awaited her next move, hoping she would give up the emerald shard while she had the chance. If she didn't he'd strike her, fast and hard.

The last thing he expected was for her to wrap her arms around his shoulders and bury her head into his chest.
/ /
/"Forget this life come with me; don't look back you're safe now,"/ she sobbed into his chest. Knuckles dropped his arms, and his fighting stance. Taken back and shocked he didn't know what to do next. His mind screamed at him to strike her or demand the emerald shard back, but something within him told him to listen. He decided to listen to that small voice over the louder one of his mind, the same way he heard Rouge's sobs over the storm.

/"Unlock your heart, drop your guard; no one's left to stop you,"/ she cried now, nuzzling deeper into Knuckles's fur. As if on an instinct Knuckles wrapped his own arms around her, feeling her shoulders heave up and down. Rage seemed to be doused by the rain, and instead came sympathy. Empathy. As angry as he was Knuckles felt sorry for the creature crying into his chest.

The rain continued to persist, but neither one of them let up.

/"Forget this life, come with me; don't look back you're safe now," /Rouge repeated with more sobs between the words. She buried her head deeper into his chest, rubbing her nose against his fur. Knuckles could sense some redemption in her words, as if this was her way of saying she was sorry.
/ /
/"Unlock your heart, drop your guard; no one's left to stop you now," /she uttered again, succumbing to sobs.

Rouge's words finally penetrated into Knuckles's head, letting sink in all her meanings and motives; as if her essence was flooding into him, translating what she had said.

She cared enough to stay on the island with him. She cared enough to ask him straight-forward questions. She cared enough to smash the emerald just to get him off the island.

Knuckles was then blinded from the consequences of her actions, and put his head to the top of hers.

She smelled like rain, though that could be just because it was raining down on them.

Knuckles could feel his heart beating, not in the way that it did after he ran a mile, but he could also hear it beating in his head. He could feel the blood pumping in and out of it. He could feel the blood's warmth running through his system. He wasn't cold anymore.

Suddenly all the world consisted of, was Rouge clutching onto him for dear life.

/"We're leaving here tonight," /Knuckles chanted slowly. Rouge stopped sobbing long enough to look up at him from his chest. His eyes seemed far off; dazed in a sense. Rouge blinked in confusion, tears still in her eyes.

/"There's no need to tell anyone," /Knuckles said tonelessly, though a bit louder.

/"They'd only hold us down," /Rouge said with him. He turned to look at her, blinking a few times.
/ /
/"So by the morning's light,"/ they repeated in unison, Rouge perking up into a smile and a tone returning to Knuckles's voice.

/"We'll be halfway to anywhere," Rouge chanted happily next to Knuckles's unsure tone. She nearly hugged him in happiness. 'He's beginning to get it. I can tell.'/

/"Where love is more than just your name," Rouge nearly sang, but hugged Knuckles tighter instead. 'He's gotten the message. He's figured it out. He's not mad! He's free! He's with me."/

Rouge nearly squealed in happiness, awaiting Knuckles's next words. She was so sure, so positive that they'd be this close forever. Warmth and security flooded into her from being in Knuckles's arms. Never once was she so satisfied with her success. This time, it was her personal gain.

She felt Knuckles's pull her away from his chest, just so he could look in her eyes.

"Rouge," he said quietly, barely more than a whisper. Rouge hung onto his voice, savoring it, riled with anticipation.

"The emerald shard," he sighed, pulling her away and extending his open palm to her.

Rouge could feel herself break into pieces like the Master Emerald. She then felt those pieces break into smaller pieces, each one of her hopes. She felt all energy drain from her, not even enough to change her expression, which was still happy. Her eye twitched slightly. She could only blink while Knuckles still had his hand outstretched to her.

More seconds passed.

Her brain wouldn't process the information, that and she didn't want it to process. The shock absorbed her, incapacitating her. Her lower eyelid began to twitch more.

Then anger exploded.

Rouge pulled the crystal from its hiding place, scratching her breasts as she unsheathed it like a sword. For a moment Knuckles thought she would it hand it to him, until he realized the position she was holding the shard in the air.

The next moments Rouge saw in red.

Red Knuckles.

Red anger.

Red blood.

Rouge was left panting over Knuckles's fallen body, the anger still coursing through her. Rain flowed down her leathery wings, adding to the already bulged out veins. Her fangs were now out, in an attack rather than teasing way, had she closed her mouth she'd bite herself.

The shades of red lifted from her eyes, and Rouge saw what her clouded mind had done.

Mixing in with the puddle were snakes of red, seeming to flow out and dye the puddle that color. They slithered out from Knuckles's body, where the shard was planted.

Rouge went into complete shock, unable to move and tear her eyes away from the horror.

Knuckles's face was still frozen with happiness, only his eyes had changed in time to portray the shock. His eyes were wide, rain now pouring off them, with his mouth still in a smile.

Salt mixed with rain water as tears hit the ground.



/(Yeah, yeah, yeah)/

"Rouge?"

Tikal glanced up, still knotted with worry over the breaking of the emerald. Chaos Zero waited in the shadows, remembering the deed Rouge had just done on the island.

/(Yeah, yeah, yeah)/

"Thank goodness you're back," Tikal said relieved. "If we don't get the shard back into the emerald soon the island will fall."

Rouge didn't turn to the echidna girl. She didn't even flinch when Tikal shook her shoulders gently in happiness. This scared Tikal. Rouge was an emotional person, though most of the emotions she showed weren't very nice ones. Rouge remained cold, as void of emotions as her fur was of color. She even seemed paler, and damp.

"Rouge?" Tikal asked uncertainly, quick to trust.

Rouge didn't answer, or give any gesture that she'd heard. She walked right up to the pedestal, Chaos Zero taking a defensive stance should she try and shatter it again. Rouge made a small move out of the corner of her eye to see Chaos Zero.

/(Oh oh oh oh oh)/

She showed no fear.

Pulling out from between her breasts, came a glittering green shard. As if reacting to where it was supposed to go, the hole in the Master Emerald glowed.

/(Yeah, yeah, yeah)/

Numbly, as if performing an overdone task, Rouge inserted the shard into the gem. Once completed, the Master Emerald began to hover again, changing as the catalysts known as the Chaos Emeralds shined their light into it. It was if nothing had ever gone wrong.

"You've restored it," Tikal cried happily. "Knuckles will be so pleased. He might forgive you."

With her back turned, Rouge winced.

/(Oh oh oh oh oh)/

"Tikal?" she spoke softly. Numb, yet with numerous emotions held back.

"Yes?" the echidna answered, not sure what Rouge would ask for.

"I'm leaving the island."

/(Yeah, yeah, yeah)/

"What?" Tikal asked, a bit sad though neither of them were close. "Why?"

"My reasons are gone," Rouge smirked slightly through tears, finding humor in a most vulnerable mood.

Tikal could only blink in confusion as Rouge walked by her, head bowed so her face wouldn't show. Tikal trotted behind Rouge, following her to the edge of a clearing where, if standing in the right place, one could see the hidden room in the cave. Rouge stopped there.

"I know you may not know this, but Knuckles will be sad with your absence. He's grown close to you," Tikal said optimistically.

/(Oh oh oh oh oh)/

Rouge held back a sniffle. Turning a quarter turn she faced Tikal over her shoulders.

Tears, on a remorseful face, seemed to say something about a tragic goodbye.

"Knuckles. . .isn't coming back," Rouge said softly, as if breaking the news to a child while holding back her own bawling.

/(Yeah, yeah, yeah)/

Tikal's eyes widened. No words were necessary, Tikal's eyes seemed to ask Rouge every possible question. Instead Rouge gazed longingly past Tikal, almost as if what she was staring at grabbed at her heart.

Tikal followed Rouge's gaze, finding her staring at a tip of the Master Emerald visible from where they stood.

With her back to the echidna girl, Rouge gazed down at her own hands. Her gloves had been thrown away, stained too much by red. The blood had seeped down onto her hands, where, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wash away the red stains completely off her flesh. Seeping in with the blood was Knuckles's essence, as if his eyes didn't tell her everything she needed to know.

He trusted her. He befriended her. And, in his last moments, he loved her.

The stains marred her flesh, the same way his thoughts, now hers, stained her mind. She could never forget them. Rouge took to the air.

Tikal remained gazing at the object of Rouge's interest.

At the very heart of the Master emerald, where the tip of the shard Rouge had put in completed everything, was a small drop of red. It seemed like the core of the gem, though you had to strain to see it.

Tikal would not get Rouge's meaning until the Master Emerald spoke to her, in Knuckles's voice.

Tikal continued the guard the Master Emerald, with Chaos Zero by her side.

The only remnants of Rouge's stay at the island were the blood in the Master Emerald and the salt tears, which became a lake Tikal named '/Tear Waters'/.

/(Oh oh oh oh oh)/


*********************************

I really like this songfic, no matter how many flames I get for it. It took me months to write, and the kind of inspiration needed for this story was very specific. The song isn't well known, but it seemed to tell this story and I had to capture it.

Also, it's for Orin, so I made sure it was my best.

My first actual romance story also, comments would be appreciated.

And if Orin is reading this. . .thanks. . .

Play nice kiddies. ~ Orin
Ttfn!