Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The hum of the vehicle on the asphalt slowly coaxes the echidna to consciousness. His eyes force themselves open, and he hisses in pain.

Damn, it hurts.

His purple eyes adjust to the darkness, and he finds himself staring at the ceiling of a vehicle. The vibration of the vehicle moving massages his aching joints, but also leaves him feeling somewhat uneasy.

He blinks, and turns his head to get a better understanding of his environment. To his right, he faces the back of the driver and passenger seats. The light from the vehicle's interior seeping through. And to his left-

His eyes widen in shock.

The Master Emerald, faintly illuminating with it's green hue and wrapped in some sort of rope, sits neatly in the back of the vehicle.

He tries to sit up, to get a better look, but the moment he moves his head upwards using his neck, pain hits him like a truck.

The echidna groans, and as much as he would love to jump to his feet for a fight, he knows that he's in no condition.

He looks down at himself, and notices that he's covered in bandages. He also notices that he's lying on some sort of slightly-elevated cot.

The echidna swallows, his mouth is dry like a desert. He looks back at the Emerald.

The giant gemstone seems to be fine. No cracks, no blemishes. Just wrapped in rope.

He sighs, and lays his head back down on the pillow of the cot. He hisses again in pain, and he tries to recall the situation.

But the second he tries to remember, to put the pieces together, his head feels like it's split open, and he groans again.

"If you keep trying to move, you'll just feel worse."

His blood ices over upon hearing those words. He recognizes that sultry voice from anywhere.

"R...Rouge...?"

His eyes dart around wildly, trying to find the source of her voice. She's not with him, so she must be...

"Rouge...?"

"I heard you. What?"

"Where?"

"Where what?"

"W...Where are...you...?"

"Driving, Knucklehead."

He turns back to his right and sure enough, if he squints, he can make out the wings of a bat peaking from the driver's seat.

Suddenly, it all comes flooding back to him.

The thieves, his brutal interrogation, the hurting, the pain, the blood.

The sound of gunfire, the smell of smoke, alarms blaring.

Her blue eyes gazing at his damaged form.

Her sweet scent filling his nose as she drags him from his cell.

Her hands tending to his injuries.

Her hands...covered in red...

...blood...

"Rouge."

She huffs. "What now?"

"What happened?"

"Ask me later."

"Rouge...did you kill them...?"

Silence.

"Rouge...please...tell me it's not true."

"Why?"

He pauses. "Are they alive?"

"Why do you care?"

"...Because... because you'll go to jail."

"So?"

"Rouge...you killed them...that's serious..."

"I had no choice."

Another pause.

"Are you in trouble?" The echidna asks.

"It depends on who you ask."

"Rouge, tell me."

"I'm fine."

"Do you need someplace to go?"

"...What?"

"You can stay...on Angel Island..."

"No, I can't."

"You can lay low...until this is behind us..."

"You're not making any sense, Knucklehead."

"Rouge...you saved me..."

"I saved the Emerald."

"Rouge...please..."

"Knuckles, stop."

"Rouge..."

"Stop talking, or I'll knock you out."

He says nothing more, and after a few minutes he falls back into unconsciousness.

The rays of light seep through the rear windows of the vehicle, and the red echidna stirs from his rest. He opens his eyes, and turns towards the source, to his left.

The Master Emerald sits in the back, still in one piece. The sunlight reflects off it ever so slightly, painting the interior of the vehicle in a dazzling green.

He focuses his vision, and he sees the sun steadily emerging from the horizon. The rays of sunlight peaking through several trees.

The vehicle is still moving, he can tell because it's still vibrating, the purr of the engine somewhat soothing him.

"Rouge."

She doesn't respond.

"Rouge, where are we?"

"Far away."

"How long...how long have I been asleep...?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe a few hours."

"The sun...is rising..."

"Yes it is. I may be a bat, but that doesn't mean I'm blind like one."

If he wasn't so injured, and if the situation wasn't so dire, he'd smirk.

"Rouge."

"Yes?"

"How long have you been driving?"

No answer.

"Rouge, tell me."

"I've lost count of the hours."

"You need to rest."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

She doesn't say anything, and he continues.

"So...are we going to talk about it?"

"No, we're not."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

He grits his teeth. "Don't be snappy with me."

"Listen Knucklehead, I'm not in the mood."

Her tone is...tense. The echidna has never heard her speak in that tone of voice before.

(It scares him.)

"Rouge."

"For God's sake, what? I'm trying to drive."

"My offer still stands."

"Your offer?"

He swallows. His throat is still parched.

"If you need to stay somewhere, until this is...fixed, I will allow you to shelter on my island."

"Thanks, but no."

"Are you sure?"

"Knuckles, you've asked me twice and my answer is still the same. What makes you think that if you ask me again, it'll change?"

He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out.

A few minutes pass in silence.

"Rouge."

She sighs heavily. "Yes?"

"Do you have a plan?"

She scoffs. "Of course I do."

"Then what is it?"

Her wings twitch ever so slightly, he can see them move from the angle of his vision.

"The plan is to get the Master Emerald and you back to Angel Island. Then I have to rendezvous back with Shadow and Omega."

His eyes widen. "Shadow?"

She's silent.

"Shadow was involved in this too?"

"Well...yes."

"Does G.U.N. know too?"

"That's none of your concern."

"So they don't know."

"I never said that."

"Rouge, what will you do when G.U.N. finds out?"

"They won't."

"Says you."

"They'll take care of the mess."

"You mean your mess."

"Would you rather be dead, jackass?"

He blinks. It's not often that the feminine bat calls him anything other than Knucklehead.

"Rouge, please...listen to me."

"I mean, I'm driving, so I can't really leave."

"If G.U.N. finds out what you did, and they will find out, do you really think that they'll just let you off the hook so easily?"

"They've seen worse."

"They've never seen this from you. You were a thief, not a murderer."

No response.

"When G.U.N. finds out, you will be arrested. Or worse. They cannot let what you did stand."

"How do you know?"

"Because otherwise you wouldn't have done all this in secret. You wouldn't have asked Shadow and Omega for help."

"I-"

"Rouge, for once in you life, stop being so damn stubborn."

"Do not talk to me that way. Not after what I did for you."

"So it wasn't just for the Emerald then?"

"Knuckles."

He stops talking.

(He's still frightened of that tone.)

Ten minutes pass, of silence and the occasional bump in the road.

"Rouge, please at least think about it."

Silence.

"Rouge?"

Still silence.

"Fine. Give me the silent treatment then, but my offer still stands."

He shuts his eyes, and unconsciousness overpowers him once more.

The abrupt stop of the vehicle jolts the male echidna awake. He tries to sit up, but groans in pain. He hears the door of the vehicle open, then close shut.

"Rouge?"

She doesn't answer him. Outside, he can hear Rouge's voice, speaking softly to someone else.

He shuts his eyes and strains his ears, but he can't make out the words.

Eventually the voices get more distant, and Knuckles opens his eyes, the ceiling of the vehicle greeting him once again. The sun is in a different position, and Knuckles deduces that it is early afternoon judging by the direction of the light rays.

Suddenly, the doors in the back of the vehicle swing open, and the echidna braces himself. He turns to his left, and sees a familiar looking robot peeking in.

"O...Omega...?"

"Greetings, Knuckles the Echidna. It is I, E-123 Omega. Be not afraid, I come as an ally with Rouge."

"...Where is Rouge?"

"She is conversing with Shadow."

"...Shadow's here too?"

"Affirmative. Please wait here while I relocate the Master Emerald to the helicopter."

Helicopter?

The large robot extends his arms, and carefully picks up the Master Emerald. He leaves Knuckles' field of vision, but after a few minutes he returns to the red echidna.

"Be careful with him, Omega."

The robot extends his arms and gently grasps the edges of Knuckles' cot. He slowly pulls him out of the vehicle, and Knuckles winces at the sudden brightness outside.

Omega carries the echidna in his cot, and Knuckles looks around. The air is hot and dry, and the sun beams down on them like a laser from the light blue sky.

A desert?

The robot begins to move, towards a black government helicopter. Knuckles tries to strain his neck to look around, but the moment he tries his muscles scream in protest, and he hisses in agony.

When the two of them get closer, Knuckles can see the G.U.N. acronym imprinted on the side of the helicopter.

Omega lifts the echidna warrior in his cot inside the helicopter, and slides him against the interior wall.

"Please stay here."

Knuckles huffs. "Well, I can't really go anywhere now can I?"

Omega does not respond. He turns his back and walks away, leaving the echidna alone again.

"Rouge. The Master Emerald and Knuckles are secure."

"Thank you Omega, I'll take it from here."

Two figures suddenly appear in the open door of the helicopter. On the right stands Shadow the Hedgehog himself, arms crossed and faced morphed into his trademark scowl. And to the left...

His eyes widen.

Rouge stands there, arms crossed, mirroring Shadow's posture, but she's not smiling. Her make-up is smeared and messy, her clothes are torn, and there's still specks of blood on her.

But her eyes...

Gone is the usual flirtatious sparkle, instead replaced with an icy blue stare. Her expression seems...pained.

It's Rouge the Bat, but it's not the Rouge he knows.

Shadow grunts. "Knuckles. I would say it's good to see you, but you look like Hell."

The red echidna hums. "You're not wrong."

The black and crimson hedgehog grunts again, then turns to Rouge.

"I acquired everything you asked for."

The tired bat woman turns to her companion. "Thank you, Shadow. This was a huge help."

He nods curtly. "I assume you'll take care of everything here on out?"

"You assume correctly."

"Omega and I will deal with any stragglers that try to catch up to you. For now, drop off Knuckles and the Master Emerald at the island, then meet us at the rendezvous.

"I will. Thanks again, Shadow."

He harrumphs. "You owe me big time for this."

"I understand."

The hedgehog and the bat turn away from the echidna, and Knuckles frowns. The two of them walk out of his sight, their voices muttering to each other discreetly but in intense conversation.

After a few minutes, only Rouge returns. She slides the door shut to the helicopter, and restrains the Master Emerald, carefully not making eye contact with Knuckles.

When she's finished securing the large gemstone, she turns to the injured echidna in his cot.

"Hold still while I buckle you in."

The echidna doesn't reply, and just stares at the winged woman as she restrains his cot.

Minutes pass in fragile silence. Occasionally his purple eyes make contact with her blue ones, but her irises are careful to not reflect any emotion.

When she's finished, she exhales, as if she was holding her breath. Then she turns away from the wounded red mammal.

"Rouge."

She freezes. "What?"

"Can you fly this thing?"

She cocks her head, but doesn't turn to face him. "Yes I can."

"How do you know how to pilot a helicopter?"

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me."

"You can say that again."

The second the words escape his mouth, he bites his tongue in bitter regret.

He expects her to snap back with a vicious retort, but to his surprise she's silent.

Rouge climbs to the front of the helicopter, and prepares herself for takeoff. She dons the helicopter headset, and powers on the aircraft.

Knuckles feels the chopper leave the earth, the sound of the spinning blades drumming in his ears.

He looks again at the Master Emerald, in all of it's glory, and sees his distorted reflection in the facets of the large gemstone.

He's angry.

Angry at that stupid rock for causing so many problems. Angry that said rock caused him to become so...powerless. Angry that said rock caused Rouge to-

to-

He grunts in annoyance and stares at the ceiling of the aircraft.

He wants to fall asleep again so his body can heal.

He doesn't.

Chapter Text

The echidna and the bat don't utter a single word to each other while in flight.

Knuckles takes the time to try and move his injured body little by little, and he's somewhat successful. He manages to shift his fingers, then his hands, and eventually his arms. He's still in pain, but it's less severe than it was before.

Rouge is just trying to focus on piloting the helicopter, scanning the sky for any signs of Angel Island. She's grateful that Shadow and Omega were on board with her "mission." Without their help, it would have been ten times more difficult.

Both of them think that they are furious with each other regarding the incident.

(They're not wrong, but they're not right either.)

After two and a half hours of silence, Rouge flips on the chopper intercom switch, and speaks.

"Knucklehead."

The echidna raises his head slightly. "Yes?"

"ETA to Angel Island is approximately ninety minutes."

He cocks an eyebrow. "...And?"

"I'm just telling you."

"Well, thank you for telling me."

He hears her scoff. The conversation ends.

Ten minutes later, Knuckles speaks.

"So, we're just going to pretend that everything is normal?"

Rouge does not reply.

"Rouge?"

Silence.

He rolls his eyes. "The silent treatment seems very immature for you."

Rouge is still silent. Knuckles decides to push his luck.

"I just find it...bizarre, that's all. That you had the opportunity to take the Master Emerald for yourself, and leave me. But you saved me with it."

Rouge says nothing. Knuckles continues.

"It's very out of character for you to actually risk your life for someone else's. In fact, it's almost like you decided to help me for another reason."

No response.

"If you think that by saving my life that I'll just happily let you keep the Master Emerald, you're mistaken. You had nothing to gain from doing this, but you went ahead with it anyway."

Rouge is still quiet, but the energy in the air is almost electric. Like gas waiting for a spark to ignite.

"Maybe you're not as heartless as I thought."

There's a long, long pause. Knuckles tries to speak again, but to his surprise, Rouge beats him to it via intercom.

"You think I'm heartless?"

"Somewhat."

"Well, if I'm heartless — maybe I should just throw you off the chopper into the ocean while I'm at it, and keep your stupid Emerald."

"But you haven't."

"Because maybe I have other motives for doing so, even though I'm supposedly 'heartless' to you."

Knuckles is about to reply, but Rouge cuts him off.

"But while we're on the subject, who is the one who's heartless here? The woman that saved your life, as well as your precious over-sized gemstone, for apparently no gain? Or, the stubborn man who questions the woman constantly, and practically spits on her valiant gestures, because he thinks that she cannot be trusted?"

The echidna grits his teeth. "You can't be trusted, period."

"Yet, you trust me enough to let me fly you back to your god-forsaken island in the sky. And you trust me enough that you offer to let me stay at said island because you're somehow worried that my actions will have drastic consequences."

"Well, maybe I should rescind my offer then. I only made the offer because I thought it would be fair to repay you for apparently saving my life."

"You think that I'd like to stay on your tropical hellhole? Following that, you think that me staying on Angel Island is a fair exchange after saving you damn life?"

"What do you want me to do then?"

"Nothing. I want you to shut up and be grateful for what I did. I want to drop you and that stupid rock off at your island, and then I want to go home and take a nice, hot bath."

The male echidna huffs. "Fine. I'll shut up."

"Good."

Twenty minutes pass of tense silence.

"Rouge."

She doesn't answer.

"Rouge."

"I thought you said you would shut up."

"Not until you tell me why you did it."

"I don't have to tell you jack."

"Then I'll just keep talking."

Rouge exhales through her nose.

"I know you saved me for a specific reason. Were you bribed? Threatened?"

"It's impossible for you to have rescued me because you care. I know you don't. All you care about is yourself and your gemstones. Unless, I'm wrong?"

Rouge grinds her teeth, her grip on the helicopter steering tightens.

"Maybe you do care about me after all. But that doesn't mean everything you've ever done is immediately forgiven and forgotten. You're still a lying, manipulative, sneaky little thief."

Something inside Rouge snaps like a twig.

She switches the helicopter to autopilot hover, launches herself from her seat to the back of the helicopter, and grabs Knuckles by the fur on his chest, pulling him face to face with her.

"What-"

"You're right, you tomato-colored asshole! I don't care about you! I only went through all of that heroic bullshit because the ghost echidna girl asked me to!"

Time seems to stop.

Knuckles gapes at her. "Tikal...?"

"She came to me while I was asleep! She showed me what happened, she saw the soldiers hauling you and the Emerald away!"

"Why...why didn't she go to Sonic? Or Tails?"

"Because she couldn't reach them! That's what she told me!"

"So...she came...to you?"

"Yes. She asked me to save you and that damn rock! She said that if I didn't, they would kill you, and the planet would be doomed!"

"And...you said yes?"

"I did. Because despite everything you believe, you're right about one thing: I'm not as heartless as you think."

A cold silence fills the air.

Rouge abruptly releases the male echidna from her grip, then turns around and climbs back into the pilot's seat.

"...Rouge..."

"I don't want to say anything more to you. And if you have any decency left, I would appreciate you to stop trying to talk to me, period."

Knuckles shuts his mouth.

The rest of the ride is somehow more quiet than it was originally.

Angel Island gradually emerges into view from the clouds. Rouge steadily maneuvers the helicopter towards the floating island, scanning for the Master Emerald's stone altar.

She would ask Knuckles for instructions, but she chooses not to. She doesn't feel like having another quarrel with the hot-headed echidna.

Eventually, she sees the top of the altar peaking through some tropical trees. She flies the chopper towards it, and carefully lands the aircraft in a tight spot in front of the giant marvel.

"We're here."

Rouge powers down the helicopter, removes herself from the cockpit and climbs into the back of the chopper, to Knuckles.

His breath catches, and he waits for the other shoe to drop.

"Can you get up?" Rouge asks.

Knuckles gradually pushes his upper body upright, but when he tries to move his legs, the pain strikes him like a viper.

He grits his teeth and groans. Rouge sighs.

"Looks like you're not fully healed yet."

"What gave it away?"

Rouge purses her lips and rolls her eyes. "I didn't expect you to magically heal overnight - but upper body movement is good enough if you ask me."

She turns to the chopper door and slides it open. Then she pulls out several military-looking crates from the other corner of the chopper. Knuckles blinks, he didn't notice them before.

The bat woman takes one crate at a time and places them methodically in the grass next to the helicopter. Knuckles strains his neck to see what exactly Rouge is doing.

Rouge opens the first crate, then closes it. She opens two more, and closes them too, tutting in annoyance. Then she opens another crate.

"Ah. Here we are."

The former thief takes out several items: bandages, gauze, cotton pads, antibiotic ointment bottles, and all sorts of medical supplies.

She bends down further into the crate, sifting through more items.

"What are you looking for?" Knuckles asks.

"These."

She removes herself from the crate, holding two folded-up plastic looking...stilts.

"What...what are those?"

Rouge doesn't reply immediately, and instead climbs back into the helicopter, to Knuckles again.

The bat knits her eyebrows in concentration, tinkering with the stilt-like objects. Then, there is a soft "click", and the stilts unfold into to unknown looking objects to Knuckles.

"Take these."

The echidna accepts the objects. "What are these?"

"Crutches."

"...Crutches?"

"They help you move around using your upper body."

"...I...I don't understand."

Rouge's icy blue eyes make contact with Knuckles' amethyst ones. "Do I really need to spell it out for you? Your legs aren't healed, but your arms are better than before. Do the math."

Something clicks in the echidna's brain. "I see."

"You rest your armpits here, and you grip here. Then you propel yourself forward using your arms."

"...Okay."

He positions himself with the crutches, then musters the strength to haul himself upright. He propels himself, and moves toward the chopper door.

"That's it." Rouge says in a somewhat encouraging tone.

Knuckles, using the crutches, hops down from the helicopter chamber to the grass on the island ground.

He winces again at the sudden amount of sunlight that greets him. But after hearing the familiar sounds of the birds and bugs, as well as the tropical smell of the local flora, he feels overwhelmingly relieved.

He's home. He's safe.

...Almost.

He turns to the bat woman inside the chopper. Rouge jumps out of the aircraft, onto the grass, and meets his gaze.

"...Thank you." The echidna says reluctantly.

"Don't mention it."

"...Rouge."

She turns away and focuses on unpacking the G.U.N. helicopter.

"Rouge, please."

She tilts her head. "What?"

"I...I'm sorry."

"You're sorry."

"Yes."

"Pray tell, what exactly are you apologizing for?"

He wants to snap back at her, but he controls himself. He's in no position to be fresh with her.

"I'm sorry for being ungrateful, and I'm sorry for disrespecting your generosity."

"What you did was...right. And I don't give you enough credit sometimes for doing the right thing. So, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

Knuckles feels an invisible weight be lifted off his shoulders.

"But, that doesn't mean I can stay."

"Why not?"

"Because I have things to do."

"Rouge, where will you go?"

"I have to rendezvous with Shadow and Omega, remember?"

"But what about the kidnappers? What about G.U.N.?"

"Don't worry about it."

"But I am worried."

"Knucklehead, it's out of your control. So I will repeat myself: don't worry about it."

"But-"

She raises her hand. "Enough. This conversation is over. We need to put the Emerald back and check your injuries."

He tries to speak, but no sound comes out. Rouge climbs into the helicopter, and grabs the ropes securing the Emerald.

"It's heavy, I'm not sure if-"

The words die in Knuckles' throat as she gradually hauls the Master Emerald out of the aircraft, pulling the giant gem onto the ground of the levitating island.

"...Oh..."

Rouge releases the ropes, and stretches her limbs.

She's stronger than I thought, the red mammal thinks.

The winged woman turns back to Knuckles. "You're right, it is heavy. So I'm going to leave it here for now, because there is no way in hell I can fly it all the way to the top of the altar by myself."

"O...Okay..."

She sits on one of the crates. "Come here. I need to see your wounds."

His eyes widen, but he obeys. The echidna carefully approaches the bat.

"I don't bite," Rouge says simply.

Knuckles once again has the urge to quip back at her, but he keeps himself composed.

They're face to face again, and Rouge scans his body.

"Let's start with your arms."

Knuckles says nothing. Rouge removes the bandages on his arms, and inspects each injury.

While she tends to his wounds, Knuckles tries to avoid eye contact by starting anywhere but at her.

He's...nervous. He's never been in this close of proximity to Rouge.

Minutes pass in silence as the feminine bat treats Knuckles injuries. He tries to avoid putting weight on his injured legs, so he just hangs there awkwardly with the crutches.

Rouge notices this, and pulls back after she's finished with his arms.

"Can you sit down?"

She gestures to the crate behind her, and Knuckles propels himself to the crate. He slowly, slowly, sits down on the crate, and winces as his legs bend.

"How do you feel?"

"I...I'm in pain, but I'll manage."

She hums, and continues from where she left off.

"Is anything broken?"

He thinks for a moment. "I don't think so. My bones are basically steel. My organs and muscles? Not so much."

Knuckles swears he briefly saw Rouge smile.

Rouge inspects the bruises and lacerations, and replaces the bandages delicately.

Knuckles feels...awkward. He wants to break the odd silence, but he doesn't know how.

After fifteen minutes of Rouge replacing his bandages, she finishes and steps back.

"Wait here."

Knuckles doesn't reply, but cocks his head in confusion. Rouge turns to one of the crates, opens it, and pulls out little packages with the G.U.N. acronym.

"What-"

"Catch."

She tosses him a medium-sized water bottle with clear liquid. He grabs it mid-air.

Water.

He suddenly remembers how dehydrated he is, and frantically opens the bottle and chugs the water.

Knuckles finishes the bottle in twenty seconds flat, and wipes his mouth.

Rouge walks towards him, her arms full of small silver bags and some more water bottles.

"What's...what's in the bags?"

"Rations."

"Rations?"

"You know...food."

She hands him a bag, and he opens it. Inside are small packets of nuts, dehydrated apple slices, crackers, raisins, and some meat jerky sticks.

"It's not a five-star meal," she states. "But it's better than starving."

Knuckles stomach growls loudly, and he empties the contents of the bag into his palm, and eats.

The two of them sit on the crates, eating and drinking in silence. The sun begins to set below the horizon, painting the island in an amber-orange light.

When they finish, Rouge gets up from her crate, and walks back to the helicopter.

"Where are you going?" Knuckles asks.

"Nowhere, going to sleep."

"Now?"

"I have not slept in almost forty-eight hours Knucklehead. I'm exhausted."

She then jumps up to the chopper, on the top rail. Rouge hooks her boots to the rail, and pulls out some straps.

Knuckles looks at her in confusion and mild alarm.

"What...are you doing?"

She restrains her boots to the rail, and lets herself hang there. The woman looks at him, upside down.

"I'm going to sleep."

"...Like that?"

"...Yes?"

"But why?"

She shuts her eyes and sighs in annoyance. "I am a bat, we sleep upside down sometimes."

She wraps her wings around her body, as if they were a blanket.

"I didn't know that."

"I don't do it often", she continues. "Only when I'm very deprived of sleep, it's like meditation."

"...Huh."

After ten minutes, Knuckles hears soft snoring from the upside down woman.

He carefully guides himself to the grass below the crate, avoiding any weight on his legs.

He lies in the grass, staring at the pink-purple sky, the stars beginning to emerge.

There's a lot of things you don't know about me.

Knuckles yawns, and closes his eyes. Tomorrow she'll be gone.

(In the back of his mind, he feels slightly disappointed, but he'll never admit it.)

The gradual hum of something stirs the echidna awake. He opens his eyes, and he sees something approach him from the dawn sky.

What...?

He sits up, fully awake, and gazes at the object approaching. The humming gets louder.

"Rouge," he calls.

She's still asleep.

"Rouge!"

"-Whu-?"

Her eyes snap open, and she quickly unhooks herself from the chopper. She tenses herself for a fight.

Knuckles and Rouge stare at the object as it lands in front of them. To Knuckles, it looks like some sort of weird baby helicopter. To Rouge, it looks like a G.U.N. messenger drone.

"Rouge...what is-?"

"Hang on."

She slowly approaches the drone, her arms up in defense.

After a few seconds, Rouge concludes that the drone is not a threat. Upon closer inspection, she sees a note attached to one of the drone's arms.

The bats snatches the note, unfurls it, and...

Her blood ices over. She feels her stomach drop to her boots.

"Rouge?"

She doesn't reply.

"Rouge?"

Knuckles grabs his crutches and makes his way over to her.

"Rouge? What is it?"

He looks at Rouge, and he's taken aback by her expression.

She's scared. Very scared.

He looks at the note in her hands, and read three simple sentences:

Rendezvous compromised.

Not safe.

They know.

-S

Knuckles looks back at Rouge in worry, and Rouge's blue eyes reflect panic.

Crap.

Chapter Text

Before Knuckles can say another word, Rouge suddenly drops the note and ascends.

"Wha-wait!"

She ignores him, and flies away alarmingly fast, towards the northeastern part of Angel Island.

"Rouge!"

She neither responds nor looks back at him, and in few seconds she's completely out of sight.

Knuckles lets out a curse, and hobbles back to the spot where he had been sleeping.

As much as he would like to pursue the bat woman to ask more questions, he's physically unable to since he's still recovering from his injuries. On the other hand, if Rouge did indeed leave Angel Island territory, then it's no longer his problem.

The echidna warrior sits down, and thinks.

I've never seen her react that way.

Knuckles has seen Rouge when she's surprised or shocked, but he's never actually seen her lose her nerve like that. Rouge has always been cool, clever, and self-composed, even towards dangers like Robotnik.

But...

Rendezvous compromised. Not safe. They know.

G.U.N. knows.

Okay, so G.U.N. knew about her assault on Knuckles' kidnappers, surely that wasn't a terrible, awful thing?

Right?

The kidnappers technically initiated the conflict, so if Rouge was in fact rescuing him and the Master Emerald for the sake of the planet – like she had mentioned earlier – there couldn't be any major consequences.

She did the right thing. She did a heroic thing.

So what exactly had made her so terrified in that moment?

'Rouge...you killed them... that's serious...'

'I had no choice.'

Knuckles knew Rouge, unintentionally for the most part. They begrudgingly have had to work together whenever their world was in critical danger or otherwise. She had also occasionally tried to sneak on his island to steal the Master Emerald, which resulted in their standard back-and-forth banter and sparring.

She'd tease him, harass him, flirt with him...

(She flirts with everybody, he argues. A deceptive tactic so the enemy can drop their guard.)

Rouge...was not a killer.

At least, that's what he had thought, until now.

Knuckles softly pounds his fist against the earth, his mind turning.

He's missing something. He's missing several key pieces in this frustrating puzzle regarding Rouge and G.U.N.

The red echidna lifts his gaze to the morning sky.

She's gone now. So...that's that I suppose.

He lies down against the ground once more. If he's going to resume his duties as Guardian of the Master Emerald – he needs to regain his physical strength. He needs to rest.

Fifteen minutes later, he's sound asleep. But not without pondering exactly where Rouge had flew off to.

The ex-thief lands near a cluster of palm trees, next to some overgrown shrubs and vines.

After she catches her breath, she checks her surroundings, making sure she is completely alone.

"Shit."

She messed up. She got caught. She's a dead woman walking.

"SHIT!"

In her anger, she violently kicks one of the palm trees, and the bark splinters from the force.

Idiot. Idiot. IDIOT.

Why? Why did she do something so stupid? Why hadn't she just called one of the Knucklehead's buddies and let them deal with him? Why did she listen to that stupid ghost echidna???

Why did she have to play the hero???

And now, despite all of her ever-so-careful planning, G.U.N. knew! They knew all about how she had sparked an international conflict that could very well result in a god damn global war.

And she had dragged her two only friends down with her.

All because of the Knucklehead and his stupid emerald.

Rouge kicks the same palm tree again and again, her boot starting to blister from the abuse.

She can't go home. She can't even go back to civilization. The second that G.U.N. agents find out where she is, she'll be immediately captured and taken to an extreme top secret facility for either lifetime imprisonment or execution.

With one final kick, Rouge sinks to her knees after exerting all her stress to the unlucky palm tree.

Okay. Okay. Calm down. Let's think.

The female bat takes several deep breaths, and attempts to lay out a plan.

Rendezvous was no longer an option, thanks to Shadow's written and delivered warning telling her otherwise. She was grateful that the surly hedgehog had given her a notice in the first place. The odds of the messenger drone that Shadow had hijacked being tracked by G.U.N. were very slim. Nevertheless, the minute that Rouge returns to the Master Emerald alter clearing, she should destroy the drone.

When she returns to...him.

Her face scrunches up in displeasure.

As much as she despises the idea of sheltering on the echidna warrior’s jungle in the sky, it was her only option. She could leave and find another possible rendezvous location, but by doing so she risked walking into a trap.

I hope Shadow and Omega are alright.

The bat bites her lower lip. If they were already caught, she would never forgive herself. G.U.N. probably wouldn’t execute Shadow, since he is – well – The Ultimate Life Form. But they would most likely knock him out for another fifty years. As for Omega, G.U.N. would dismantle him, which wasn’t exactly a death sentence since his AI was certainly backed up on several different computers. Nevertheless – the two of them would not escape this without consequences.

All she could do was hope they were safe and keeping a low profile.

And keep herself safe too.

Rouge rises to her feet and begins to slowly pace around the palm trees.

How would she explain this to the echidna?

He wasn’t exactly well versed in geopolitical matters. But he could be discreet when he needed to be. She would need his cooperation (ugh) if she was going to work with him.

The only issue was that if the Knucklehead’s friends came knocking on his door (island), she would have to make him swear to not disclose that she was there. The last thing that Rouge needed was getting Sonic involved in this. Because then eventually Robotnik would get involved, and everything would instantly go to hell in a fiery hand-basket.

She could already hear him ranting to her about how “lying to friends is dishonorable” and “relationships depend on trust.”

But this was different. It was for their own good.

For...his own good.

Rouge stops pacing and sighs.

If I want his help, I’m going to have to level with him. I need him to understand just how serious this is.

She looks up to the sky.

Chaos help me.

It’s almost three hours later when Knuckles' eyes snap open upon hearing the sound of small beating wings approaching him.

He lifts his head, and Rouge the bat gracefully lands a few feet to his right, her boots softly touching the grass.

“You’re back.”

She looks up and meets his gaze. “I am.”

“So...now what?”

The bat woman hesitates, her eyes calculating something, then responds.

“I will accept your offer...if it still stands.”

The echidna silently studies her, then hoists his upper body upright.

“First, you’re going to explain yourself.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Despite the fact that I am a warrior, that does not mean I am not capable of understanding non-simple situations.”

“What if I don’t want to explain?”

“Then you can leave.”

Rouge scoffs. “So much for your hospitality.”

“Rouge, if you’re going to shelter on my island, I need you to be honest with me.”

The bat doesn’t reply. Knuckles continues to speak.

“Judging by your reaction to the short letter you received earlier, the scenario that you and I have been ensnared in is extremely dire. I need to know exactly what is at stake in order for us to work together.”

There’s a pause.

“If I tell you,” Rouge says, “it will only potentially put yourself at greater risk.”

“So being kidnapped and beaten to an inch of my life wasn’t already a great risk?”

“Knuckles, I am trying very hard to be noble here. Despite your ever-so-blatant distrust of me, I am not the kind of woman who enjoys putting innocents in the crossfire hairs.”

Knuckles attempts to retort, but she cuts him off.

“If you really want to understand what exactly is going on, I need you to keep my temporary residence a secret. And I mean a secret, Sonic and his fox buddy cannot know, period.”

The echidna scowls. “His name is Tails, and they are capable of confiding things, much to your disbelief.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then why can’t they know?”

“Because if they do, they will be killed.”

Knuckles tilts an eyebrow. “He’s Sonic. He gets himself almost killed literally every day.”

“Maybe so, but what about Tails? What about Amy Rose? Cream and her family?”

Knuckles is silent.

“This is not Robotnik were talking about. This is G.U.N.. Quite literally an army of highly trained militants who are capable of wiping out a city if they were given the order.”

“If I’m going to fill you in, I need your absolute word that no one except you knows that I am hiding out on Angel Island. This isn’t up for debate.”

There’s a long, tense pause, only filled by the sounds of birds and insects in the tropical island wilderness.

Knuckles shuts his eyes and inhales deeply.

“You have my word.”

Chapter Text

"Summon them."

The bound echidna glares at his interrogator in silence. The goon to his right responds by punching him square in the jaw, hard, for the ninth time. His eyesight blurs for a brief moment, the taste of copper on his tongue.

The interrogator sighs in feign annoyance. "If you summon them, all of this will stop."

Knuckles doesn't reply, the man in front of him shakes his head. Another punch in the jaw, the echidna grunts in pain.

"Oh, did that one hurt, hot shot?"

The red-furred warrior exhales out of his nose slowly. His interrogator cocks his head.

"Listen, Red. All you have to do is show us how that giant green rock works, and then we can let you go home."

Knuckles is silent. The man squats down and gets right in the echidna's face. He reeks of some sort of familiar stench, the tobacco sticks that are sold in human gasoline shops.

"We just want to help you. But we can't help you if you don't cooperate. Name your price and we'll double it – just summon The Emeralds. Please."

Knuckles growls, and spits right in the Interrogator’s face.

The man blinks, his face emotionless. He slowly stands back up to his full height.

"Fine," he says, coolly wiping the spit off his cheek. "Fine."

He turns his attention to the guard behind him.

"Looks like Little Red Riding Punk needs some persuasion. Why don't you go get some of your toys, Donny?"

The guard chuckles maliciously. "I was hoping you'd ask me that, sir."

The interrogator grins, then turns to Knuckles' assaulter.

"Donny and I are going to get some tools. How about you have a little fun with your new punching bag, Ted? I bet twenty rings you can't turn his cheek fur from red to black and blue by the time we get back."

The man named Ted grins wide, his teeth glinting in the cold, florescent light.

"That's a bet you're gonna lose real easy."

The interrogator laughs, "I sure hope so."

The two men leave the small, dank room, and Ted adjusts his steel-coated gloves.

"Sorry Red," he drawls, not sounding sorry at all. "But I can't look bad in front of my boss."

Knuckles shuts his eyes, and tenses up in anticipation for another round of punches.

They will get tired of this soon - he thinks - as Ted's fist connects with his jaw, the sickening sound echoing off the walls.

(He hopes.)

Knuckles wakes up from his brief nap and sits up on the island grass.

The G.U.N. chopper still sits in the place where it landed, the Master Emerald glittering beside it as the sun sinks from its zenith. The echidna deduces that it's late afternoon by its positioning.

The G.U.N. crates are also exactly where Rouge left them from yesterday evening, but the bat woman herself is nowhere to be found.

Dammit. Where did she go now?

He slowly moves his legs, and an enormous wave of relief washes over him as he pulls himself off the ground to stand. His legs were still sore, but it seemed to him that the crutches were no longer a necessity for moving around.

Before he had passed out a second time, he had tried to grill Rouge into telling him exactly what kind of mess she was trying to conceal. But she had muttered something about disposing of the messenger drone so it couldn't be tracked, and had flown off again with said drone in arms, leaving him with still no clear answers.

He must've fallen asleep while waiting for her to return.

That woman has some nerve. Treating me like it's her island that she's hiding out at.

The echidna's stomach groans loudly. He remembers that it's been over half a day since he's last eaten.

Knuckles turns to the scattered G.U.N. crates, but grimaces at the idea of snacking on more dehydrated grapes and over-salted nuts. He's craving something fresh, he'd kill for it.

The red warrior limps away from the improvised camp, into the tropical wilds. A pair of colorful indigenous wild birds fly above him in the trees, tweeting at each other as if they were having a conversation.

Knuckles had lived on this levitating island his entire life. He had hatched from his egg in a basket in an abandoned ruin, had sipped water from large leaves after rainfall, had slept in the soft, tall grass with the open night sky above him. There was no mother or father or any other kin. He had always been alone.

Well, not quite. The Chaos had been with him on Angel Island as well. He couldn't remember anything from his days as a hatchling, but he did recall moments where the Chaos had left bunches of berries for him, and had slept with him in a large pile on cold nights to keep him warm.

The Chaos were not an advanced species, per say. They were intelligent and had emotions, but they were also simple, language-less creatures. They ate food that naturally grew in the wild, drank from the pure waters of the Island's various ponds, and kept together in small packs.

What more could they need?

As the echidna trudges through the Island jungle, his mind dwells on the Chaos. He hadn't seen a single one emerge since Rouge had landed him and the Emerald in front of the ancient altar.

Perhaps they were hiding. They could probably sense that there was a visitor along with Knuckles, but it wasn't his usual visitors like Sonic or Tails.

Sonic...

Where in Chaos was the blue hedgehog? He remembered that Rouge had mentioned that when Tikal had appealed to her for help, she said that Tikal hadn't been able to reach Sonic in the first place.

Did Robotnik have something to do with it?

Did G.U.N.?

Suddenly, a faint but familiar scent floats by his nose, and he snaps out of his thoughts.

Angelfruit.

Knuckles stops dead in his tracks and looks around for the source. Sure enough, a few feet to his right is a tall tree with pronounced, snake-like roots. Nestled beneath the large, lush leaves at the very top are bunches of Angelfruit - their purple and yellow tones standing out like a beacon.

He begins to salivate as he rushes towards the Angelfruit tree. After nearly being tortured almost to death, he had forgotten how much he appreciated Angel Island's natural delicacies. Angelfruit was certainly at the top of that list.

The tree's trunk was far too thick for him to shake the fruit free into his arms, so he pulls back his arm and curls his hand into a fist. But before he can punch the tree to retrieve his prize, a sharp pain strikes his bicep like a lightning strike.

Knuckles immediately winces in pain, and recoils. He was still recovering from his wounds. Despite having no broken bones, his muscles begged to differ.

Damn it.

He grumbles at the fact that his body still needed time to heal. It was humiliating. He was the last of his warrior tribe, the Guardian of the sacred Master Emerald! He had been doing nothing but sleeping in and out for the past few days. Before he was ambushed and kidnapped he could bench press giant boulders and punch through stone walls like they were glass! Now, he couldn't even punch a tree to pry fruit loose from it.

How long was I kept there?

It couldn't have been that long. Otherwise he would've been dead by now. So what was wrong with his physique?

Knuckles circles the tree twice, and decides to switch strategies. He cracks his neck and firmly places his gloved hand on a small indent on the tree's trunk. Using it as an anchor, he pulls himself about a foot off the ground, bending his knees and jumping slightly to propel himself higher, and uses his other hand to grab onto a low branch.

At first, he seemed to have a solid grip on the tree bark. But the pain struck his body again, much more intense than the first time. He grunts, and releases himself from the tree in reflex, his feet hitting the ground with an audible thud.

Chaos damn it all!

The echidna shouts in frustration, his anger making his natural red fur turn maroon.

The texture of the bandages wrapped around his body feel wrong to him, so Knuckles rips them off in his anger. He ignores the stinging on his skin and fur, and throws the material on the ground, seething.

As he furiously tears off the bandages on his left arm, he pauses.

Pronounced welts cover his lower shoulder all the way to his elbow. His natural red coloring had been reduced to a revolting shade of purple and black, the fur dry and the skin damaged.

The man - Donny - struck him with the taser weapon. The voltage pulses through the echidna, his flesh burning, and he screams in agony. The interrogator laughs. Donny strikes him again, below the previous wound.

-

A loud explosion. The smell of smoke. An alarm screeching in the distance.

A man's voice, cracking in pain, begging for his life. "I'll do anything! Please! Just-"

A sharp pop. Blood on the cold floor. Heeled boots clicking against it. The swift flap of a wing.

"Don't look at them, Knuckles. Look at me. Just look at me."

Rouge's voice in his ears, her scent in his nose, her gloved hands on his body, her gloves stained with blood, a gun strapped to her belt, a guard running towards them down the hall, Rouge pulling out her gun and shooting the guard in the head, he falls to floor dead instantly-

"Knuckles?"

The echidna yelps in surprise, and turns around.

Rouge the bat is standing in front of him. Her arms crossed and her head tilted.

He's on Angel Island. He's safe. He's home. Rouge's blood-stained gloves are gone, her heeled boots are covered in grass and mud. The birds sing in the distance and a breeze flows through his locks.

"Knuckles...? Say something."

He blinks. How long has he been standing there? He opens his mouth, a strange grunt from the back of his throat is the only sound that comes out.

Rouge's face morphs from confusion into concern. She cautiously takes a few steps toward him.

"Knuckles, you're scaring me."

The sentence seems to lull him back to his senses.

"You," he says, slowly. "You said my name."

The bat woman cocks her eyebrow. "And?"

"I...thought...you only called....me Knucklehead..."

She scoffs. "I know your name. I can call you Knuckles whenever I want to. Or, if you actually prefer Knucklehead, we can stick to that."

Knuckles comes back from his disassociation entirely. "Watch it, bat girl. You're still a guest on my Island."

She grins mischievously, their rapport resuming from its brief intermission. The grin transforms into a pout upon seeing the scattered gauze and cotton on the ground.

"You tore off your bandages," she scolds.

Knuckles huffs. "They were in my way. I don't need them anymore."

"You sure about that? I think your discolored arm begs to differ."

"I will be fine."

She shakes her head. "Don't come griping to me if you get an infection. What are you even doing over here?"

"I was hungry."

"There are more rations back near the chopper."

"I wanted fruit."

"There is fruit mixed with the rations."

Knuckles grits his teeth. "I wanted fresh fruit."

Rouge sighs, and Knuckles restrains himself from taking a tone with her.

"So, is that why you're hobbling through the woods?"

The echidna breathes through his nose, his patience shrinking. He points to the Angelfruit above him.

"I was trying to punch Angelfruit from the tree."

Rouge lifts her gaze to the said Angelfruit, then back to Knuckles. She doesn't reply.

"I could not punch the tree in my condition to retrieve the Angelfruit."

Rouge continues to look at him, her expression blank. Knuckles wants to throw something.

"Chaos, you are such a male sometimes," the winged mammal snickers. "Just ask me to get the stupid fruit for you."

Knuckles' stomach growls a second time, the noise making Rouge's snicker turn into a giggle. The marsupial warrior gathers up the last of his pride and patience.

"....Can you get the Angelfruit fruit for me?"

"Please."

"...........Please....."

The bat smiles. "See? All you had to do was ask."

Rouge then abruptly flaps her black wings, and hovers to the top of the tree. She pulls the Angelfruit free from it's leaves, gathering them in her arms, then returns to the ground, in front of the echidna.

"You're welcome."

Rouge had barely gotten the words out of her mouth before Knuckles snatches two Angelfruits from her arms and shoves one of them in his mouth. The skin and juices of the ripened fruit drench his tongue and teeth, and he audibly moans in satisfaction.

The noise makes Rouge's eyes widen slightly and her white facial fur turn pink. She sharply turns around and walks back to their amateur campsite, the rest of the Angelfruit bundled in her arms, the male echidna following her from behind, loudly wolfing down the Angelfruits.

When they get back to the G.U.N. chopper and supplies, Rouge drops the remaining Angelfruits on the ground.

"I disposed of the drone," she says nonchalantly as she stretches. "I also planted some sensors around the perimeter of Angel Island."

Knuckles chokes in the middle of his second Angelfruit. "You what?"

She turns back to him. "I placed small sensors around Angel Island. They're linked to my comm, so if someone tries to infiltrate the Island, I will know."

"You scattered technology across my Island!? Without asking me???"

Rouge frowns. "First of all, watch your temper. Second, if the people who abducted and tortured you try come back to finish the job; how else would we know if they had arrived?"

Knuckles growls. "You should have at least asked for my permission first."

"Well, too bad. It's already done. But now you know."

The echidna glares at Rouge, then sighs, and finishes his second Angelfruit. Rouge turns her back to him, observing the sloppy campsite in front of her.

"Rouge."

She shuts her eyes and takes a breath. "What is it now?"

"I kept my word. No more stalling, you have to tell me what is going on."

At first, Rouge doesn't move. Knuckles folds his arms to his chest.

"Rouge. I am honoring my end of the bargain."

The winged woman slowly turns to face him, her mind at war with itself, her teeth chewing the inside of her cheek in worry.

She meets Knuckles' steady gaze, his purple eyes studying her intensely. Rouge swears that for a split second she can see something faintly gentle in them, masked behind the seriousness of a warrior.

".....Yes. Yes, you are keeping your word."

She sits down on a lone G.U.N. crate.

"I will explain everything."