The following week on Angel Island was uneventful. Knuckles kept quiet as he trained, in front of the shrine steps, practicing slow, simple katas so he wouldn't stress his body back into paralysis. After Rouge's help, further examination discovered that the echidna had very nearly fractured his spine. Fixing that would have required a hospital, so Knuckles was indeed fortunate that Rouge was there and willing to fix him up. Thankfully, she was feeling graceful enough not to hang it over his head.
Unfortunately for him, it didn't help. Knuckles had spent the entirety of the following evening trying to comprehend what he had just been through. The gravity of his situation hit him hard, and the more he thought about his behavior towards the bat, the worse he felt.
He had indeed been too firm with her. He still thought he was right not to completely trust her, but that was no excuse to be an asshole. Protecting his home was one thing, but he had more than overdone it. Not even Rouge deserved to be treated that way. Yes, she had taken advantage of him more than once, but here she was now, actually trying to be of help to him.
Still, he knew next to nothing about her. Usually, he lived by the steadfast belief that there was even a shred of good within everyone, but with Rouge? For whatever reason, it was different in her case. It both saddened and pissed Knuckles off at the same time, and it showed. He thought he had their routines and roles figured out all these years, but now? It's like everything was turned upside down. He didn't know what to do.
To make things worse, she - apparently - had been holding back during their duels. He knew she was strong, but Knuckles had no idea she could kick like THAT. One more slip up and she'd probably kill him, but he couldn't just let her do whatever she wanted. After all, what would happen when Eggman was defeated? Would they go back to their usual ways? Would things change for good?
Knuckles, being a simple echidna, had absolutely no clue. That happened often (he knew perfectly well his intelligence was limited due to his lack of off-duty experience throughout his life), but this? This was absolutely terrible, and the more he thought about that, the lower he sunk.
For nearly 18 years, he had protected the Master Emerald and all of Angel Island as best he could on his own. Now, all of a sudden, he's been forced to share his lifelong duty with a bat chick two years older than him, who rivaled him in strength and hunting experience, who he couldn't trust, and…who he still had feelings for.
It was too much to handle for the solitary echidna. So, for the first time in his life, Knuckles gave up. He became silent, sullen and withdrawn, keeping to himself and following whatever command Rouge gave him - none of which, oddly enough, included leaving her alone with the Master Emerald – without so much as a single objection. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing more he could do. His duty, his role in life, and his home, for the time being, were no longer his own to claim and command.
As far as he knew, there was nothing left to live for after this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Rouge's end, she was glad he was treating her better, but she could tell it was mostly out of guilt and confusion (and a reluctance to be sucker kicked again). A big part of her loved having so much power over a man, and she basked in it for the first few days of Knuckles' recovery. Whatever she wanted, be it information on various zones on the island, or simple patrolling routes or even secret areas only he knew of, he gave her. No macho grandstanding, no asserting himself or his position, no nothing. Just simple, silent submission. To her.
He wasn't happy about it, but he followed orders and she was drunk with the power her new superiority gave her...at first.
By the third day, she began to reconsider going back to the joint protection plan she originally proposed as something seemed...off, if not predictably dull.
By the fourth day, Rouge began to notice the extremity of Knuckles' new personality. Still, she shrugged it off, as she was used to such behavior from Shadow.
By the fifth day, she was getting annoyed. The angst of her "little brother" she could deal with, but this? This was truly childish.
By the sixth day, she deduced that Knuckles had become a shell of his former self. She didn't just humble him earlier. Somewhere along the line, Rouge had broken the echidna. When she fully realized this, she was initially disgusted. What kind of man acted in such a manner just because a woman kicked his ass? Only weak little boys acted like this!
By the seventh day, as she watched his katas from halfway up the steps with a frown on her face, Rouge had half a mind to knock him upside his head, tell him to man up and get over it. Before she did, though, she reluctantly began to consider something, thinking back to the argument they'd had prior to learning of Tails' own hospitalization.
Guarding this island and that gem wasn't just a job to Knuckles the Echidna. It was literally his whole life, his sole reason for living. He had grown so used to it that the possibility of having it taken away from him even the slightest bit was agonizing. He had dealt with it when fooled by Dr. Eggman and when the Master Emerald had been shattered or stolen, but as long as there was a chance to get things back in order, he'd be okay.
Now, though? Having no control over his life's purpose? His whole reason for being usurped by someone he barely knew or trusted? This, Rouge realized, was a heavy blow to his already fragile ego as a male. Knuckles, having no other recourse to think of, shut down. Hell, he might as well have rolled over and died back in Azure Lake.
This would not do. She did not willingly sacrifice a month of her life to babysit a grown man, no matter how much she cared for him. This was NOT the strong, determined, brave echidna she had somehow allowed within her heart. This was NOT the stern, unmovable guardian who was capable of matching wits and blows with her. This was NOT the same young man who selflessly led the Resistance to win the Phantom Ruby War at sixteen years old.
And this certainly was NOT the Mobian who would stop the Doctor if he indeed came calling. Was she strong enough to take on Eggman by herself? Certainly. Was she prepared to go to war if needed? If she had to be honest with herself, no, not alone. Admitting this to herself forced the Calamity Baroness' parting message back to memory…
"Remember, dear, pride can empower your mind, but it can also enslave your heart…"
The Baroness was right, and coming to this conclusion made Rouge's heart ache. She did not regret asserting herself, but Rouge knew that she had gone overboard as well. She had to fix this. She had to get him to refocus, whatever it took.
She needed her Knucklehead back.
With a sigh, she called out, with a loud, very firm tone, "Knuckles! Get over here!" He actually flinched in fear so hard, he tripped over his feet before he could finish his kata. He walked over to her slowly, head down, eyes lowered, unwilling to say or do anything to upset her. "Yes, Rouge?" he asked, with a bent knee, "What do you need?" This response confirmed her suspicions. "First," she began, lowering her voice, keeping a firm tone, "I need you to look at me."
"Why?" he asked sullenly. "What did I do wrong now?" Rouge said, "What? You haven't done anything wrong except-" He immediately tensed up. She blinked in confusion. "Knuckles, what are you doing?" He simply answered, "Now I know I screwed up, so if you're going to kick me again, please, just get it over with."
Her ears fell. It was worse than she thought. Talking wasn't going to help if he was this far gone. She would have to do something drastic.
"I'm not going to kick you, Knuckles, if you do this one thing for me." He nodded. "What is it?" Rouge held back a smirk and said, "Give me the Master Emerald."
Knuckles' head lowered even further, and his fists clenched. He just KNEW this was coming. But what could he do? In his muddled mind, he was powerless. "All right." With a dominant stride, Rouge walked up the steps to the Emerald. Her movements were deliberately slow, her stance loose. She made it up the steps and was about halfway to the Emerald when she heard a voice from behind her. "Can I ask you something first?" She grinned as she answered, "Go ahead."
"Why do you want it?" he asked from atop the steps. "I thought you wanted us to protect it together." Trying hard to keep a straight face, she turned to him and replied, "That, I'm afraid, was a lie." He whipped his head up at that word. "Wh-Wh-What?"
'*giggle* Ok, Rouge, showtime. Let's make it a good one…'
"All that crap about you and me keeping this thing out of the Doctor's hands? I made it up, dumbass. I just wanted this lovely, priceless beauty for myself. You know I always have." Knuckles looked absolutely crushed. "S-So all the arguments, the fights, n-nearly k-k-killing me…" The bat nodded, flipping her hair dramatically, "All part of the con, to crush your will. And I must say, it worked out better than I expected. The male ego is so fragile, but yours? It's downright pathetic. I really should've done this years ago, in fact."
Knuckles sunk to his knees. "All this time...you've been tricking me..." Now was the moment of truth. "Yes, dimwit, I tricked you. AGAIN. Now, since you're too broken to stop me, I'll take what's mine." With that, she turned on her heel and resumed her slow march to the Master Emerald, all while Knuckled murmured, "You tricked me...you tricked me...you tricked me..." In the back of her mind, Rouge worried that her plan was backfiring, that she had pushed him to the point of no return. But, she had to do this. She had to try. She needed this to work.
Rouge stepped up to the Master Emerald, loudly proclaiming, "All of the world's gems are mine to keep! And now, I have the greatest of them all! Thanks for being such a wuss, Knucklehe-" A hand on her shoulder interrupted her.
'Hook, line and sinker,' Rouge thought as she was roughly turned around. She began to smirk...until she caught the look on his face. Rage. Pure, unadulterated rage. And swirling around him was his ki, burning red as he gritted his sharp teeth. He pounded his fists, and the Shrine shook each time. With a tone that promised pain, Knuckles growled, "NO ONE. MAKES A FOOL. OUT OF KNUCKLES. WITHOUT PAYING FOR IT."
Timidly, Rouge squeaked, "W-Would you believe me if I said I was kidding?" He shook his head and cracked his neck. Starting to get nervous, she asked, "Is, er, there anything I can do to quell that temper?" He answered with one word.
"RUN."
Unfortunately for him, it didn't help. Knuckles had spent the entirety of the following evening trying to comprehend what he had just been through. The gravity of his situation hit him hard, and the more he thought about his behavior towards the bat, the worse he felt.
He had indeed been too firm with her. He still thought he was right not to completely trust her, but that was no excuse to be an asshole. Protecting his home was one thing, but he had more than overdone it. Not even Rouge deserved to be treated that way. Yes, she had taken advantage of him more than once, but here she was now, actually trying to be of help to him.
Still, he knew next to nothing about her. Usually, he lived by the steadfast belief that there was even a shred of good within everyone, but with Rouge? For whatever reason, it was different in her case. It both saddened and pissed Knuckles off at the same time, and it showed. He thought he had their routines and roles figured out all these years, but now? It's like everything was turned upside down. He didn't know what to do.
To make things worse, she - apparently - had been holding back during their duels. He knew she was strong, but Knuckles had no idea she could kick like THAT. One more slip up and she'd probably kill him, but he couldn't just let her do whatever she wanted. After all, what would happen when Eggman was defeated? Would they go back to their usual ways? Would things change for good?
Knuckles, being a simple echidna, had absolutely no clue. That happened often (he knew perfectly well his intelligence was limited due to his lack of off-duty experience throughout his life), but this? This was absolutely terrible, and the more he thought about that, the lower he sunk.
For nearly 18 years, he had protected the Master Emerald and all of Angel Island as best he could on his own. Now, all of a sudden, he's been forced to share his lifelong duty with a bat chick two years older than him, who rivaled him in strength and hunting experience, who he couldn't trust, and…who he still had feelings for.
It was too much to handle for the solitary echidna. So, for the first time in his life, Knuckles gave up. He became silent, sullen and withdrawn, keeping to himself and following whatever command Rouge gave him - none of which, oddly enough, included leaving her alone with the Master Emerald – without so much as a single objection. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing more he could do. His duty, his role in life, and his home, for the time being, were no longer his own to claim and command.
As far as he knew, there was nothing left to live for after this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Rouge's end, she was glad he was treating her better, but she could tell it was mostly out of guilt and confusion (and a reluctance to be sucker kicked again). A big part of her loved having so much power over a man, and she basked in it for the first few days of Knuckles' recovery. Whatever she wanted, be it information on various zones on the island, or simple patrolling routes or even secret areas only he knew of, he gave her. No macho grandstanding, no asserting himself or his position, no nothing. Just simple, silent submission. To her.
He wasn't happy about it, but he followed orders and she was drunk with the power her new superiority gave her...at first.
By the third day, she began to reconsider going back to the joint protection plan she originally proposed as something seemed...off, if not predictably dull.
By the fourth day, Rouge began to notice the extremity of Knuckles' new personality. Still, she shrugged it off, as she was used to such behavior from Shadow.
By the fifth day, she was getting annoyed. The angst of her "little brother" she could deal with, but this? This was truly childish.
By the sixth day, she deduced that Knuckles had become a shell of his former self. She didn't just humble him earlier. Somewhere along the line, Rouge had broken the echidna. When she fully realized this, she was initially disgusted. What kind of man acted in such a manner just because a woman kicked his ass? Only weak little boys acted like this!
By the seventh day, as she watched his katas from halfway up the steps with a frown on her face, Rouge had half a mind to knock him upside his head, tell him to man up and get over it. Before she did, though, she reluctantly began to consider something, thinking back to the argument they'd had prior to learning of Tails' own hospitalization.
Guarding this island and that gem wasn't just a job to Knuckles the Echidna. It was literally his whole life, his sole reason for living. He had grown so used to it that the possibility of having it taken away from him even the slightest bit was agonizing. He had dealt with it when fooled by Dr. Eggman and when the Master Emerald had been shattered or stolen, but as long as there was a chance to get things back in order, he'd be okay.
Now, though? Having no control over his life's purpose? His whole reason for being usurped by someone he barely knew or trusted? This, Rouge realized, was a heavy blow to his already fragile ego as a male. Knuckles, having no other recourse to think of, shut down. Hell, he might as well have rolled over and died back in Azure Lake.
This would not do. She did not willingly sacrifice a month of her life to babysit a grown man, no matter how much she cared for him. This was NOT the strong, determined, brave echidna she had somehow allowed within her heart. This was NOT the stern, unmovable guardian who was capable of matching wits and blows with her. This was NOT the same young man who selflessly led the Resistance to win the Phantom Ruby War at sixteen years old.
And this certainly was NOT the Mobian who would stop the Doctor if he indeed came calling. Was she strong enough to take on Eggman by herself? Certainly. Was she prepared to go to war if needed? If she had to be honest with herself, no, not alone. Admitting this to herself forced the Calamity Baroness' parting message back to memory…
"Remember, dear, pride can empower your mind, but it can also enslave your heart…"
The Baroness was right, and coming to this conclusion made Rouge's heart ache. She did not regret asserting herself, but Rouge knew that she had gone overboard as well. She had to fix this. She had to get him to refocus, whatever it took.
She needed her Knucklehead back.
With a sigh, she called out, with a loud, very firm tone, "Knuckles! Get over here!" He actually flinched in fear so hard, he tripped over his feet before he could finish his kata. He walked over to her slowly, head down, eyes lowered, unwilling to say or do anything to upset her. "Yes, Rouge?" he asked, with a bent knee, "What do you need?" This response confirmed her suspicions. "First," she began, lowering her voice, keeping a firm tone, "I need you to look at me."
"Why?" he asked sullenly. "What did I do wrong now?" Rouge said, "What? You haven't done anything wrong except-" He immediately tensed up. She blinked in confusion. "Knuckles, what are you doing?" He simply answered, "Now I know I screwed up, so if you're going to kick me again, please, just get it over with."
Her ears fell. It was worse than she thought. Talking wasn't going to help if he was this far gone. She would have to do something drastic.
"I'm not going to kick you, Knuckles, if you do this one thing for me." He nodded. "What is it?" Rouge held back a smirk and said, "Give me the Master Emerald."
Knuckles' head lowered even further, and his fists clenched. He just KNEW this was coming. But what could he do? In his muddled mind, he was powerless. "All right." With a dominant stride, Rouge walked up the steps to the Emerald. Her movements were deliberately slow, her stance loose. She made it up the steps and was about halfway to the Emerald when she heard a voice from behind her. "Can I ask you something first?" She grinned as she answered, "Go ahead."
"Why do you want it?" he asked from atop the steps. "I thought you wanted us to protect it together." Trying hard to keep a straight face, she turned to him and replied, "That, I'm afraid, was a lie." He whipped his head up at that word. "Wh-Wh-What?"
'*giggle* Ok, Rouge, showtime. Let's make it a good one…'
"All that crap about you and me keeping this thing out of the Doctor's hands? I made it up, dumbass. I just wanted this lovely, priceless beauty for myself. You know I always have." Knuckles looked absolutely crushed. "S-So all the arguments, the fights, n-nearly k-k-killing me…" The bat nodded, flipping her hair dramatically, "All part of the con, to crush your will. And I must say, it worked out better than I expected. The male ego is so fragile, but yours? It's downright pathetic. I really should've done this years ago, in fact."
Knuckles sunk to his knees. "All this time...you've been tricking me..." Now was the moment of truth. "Yes, dimwit, I tricked you. AGAIN. Now, since you're too broken to stop me, I'll take what's mine." With that, she turned on her heel and resumed her slow march to the Master Emerald, all while Knuckled murmured, "You tricked me...you tricked me...you tricked me..." In the back of her mind, Rouge worried that her plan was backfiring, that she had pushed him to the point of no return. But, she had to do this. She had to try. She needed this to work.
Rouge stepped up to the Master Emerald, loudly proclaiming, "All of the world's gems are mine to keep! And now, I have the greatest of them all! Thanks for being such a wuss, Knucklehe-" A hand on her shoulder interrupted her.
'Hook, line and sinker,' Rouge thought as she was roughly turned around. She began to smirk...until she caught the look on his face. Rage. Pure, unadulterated rage. And swirling around him was his ki, burning red as he gritted his sharp teeth. He pounded his fists, and the Shrine shook each time. With a tone that promised pain, Knuckles growled, "NO ONE. MAKES A FOOL. OUT OF KNUCKLES. WITHOUT PAYING FOR IT."
Timidly, Rouge squeaked, "W-Would you believe me if I said I was kidding?" He shook his head and cracked his neck. Starting to get nervous, she asked, "Is, er, there anything I can do to quell that temper?" He answered with one word.
"RUN."
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