Jayde and the Seven Shards [1]

24: Reunited with an Old Foe✔️

MUSIC: DVBBS & Borgeous - TSUNAMI (Original Mix)

A Few Hours Later

The red echidna huffed, smacking his palms together in annoyance. He didn't like working with that thieving bat anymore than working with Eggman, and now she had flown off ahead to grab the crystal and left him to find the podium himself, he hated her even more, "Stupid Rouge, just because she's a jewel thief doesn't mean she'll get this Shard. We need that to fight against Eggman, she can't keep it-"

"What's that, Knuckie? Talking to yourself about me? I'm flattered." The echidna's muzzle painted the same color as his fur, his eyes widening as he looked up into the tree to find the white bat sat cross legged on a branch. A small smirk printed on her face.

"I was talking about how much I despise you, that's all." Knuckles crossed his arms as he continued walking, Rouge flying down beside him.

"You know, as much as I love gems, I wouldn't steal these from Jayde. She needs them." Knuckles grunted in response, not believing the female beside him, "Besides, I've got my eyes on a much bigger gem." She grinned.

"Amy made the worse decision pairing us up." He muttered, glaring in front of him.

"Maybe she didn't. We do make a pretty good team you know." Rouge walked alongside the echidna, her feet stepping in front of one another. Teasing this male was the main reason she loved to be around him, he got angry quickly; which made it more interesting for her.

As much as Knuckles didn't want to admit it, he and the bat did make a good team. They could kick butt together and win anytime. The pokes and jokes she made to taunt him is why he disliked her so much, but they could hold a normal conversation - for about five minutes.

Knuckles' communicator started to bleep, making them look in front of them. On the podium was a small, luminous pink shard, twirling slowly in its place. Rouge flew towards it, her eyes sparkling, "Hello, gorgeous." She gasped, her hands clamping together. A large blast struck the white bat, a yell leaving her lips. Knuckles jumped up, catching her in the air before she hurt herself and landing safely on the ground.

The guardian wolf stepped in front of the podium an old staff in front of him. "You cannot steal this Shard! It is the last one on its podium, I fear that evil will arise!" his voice was fearful but it held strength within it.

Rouge shook her head, "That's wrong, the black and green ones are still on their podiums."

Knuckles slapped his fists together, "Yeah and we'll be taking them too." Rouge sent him a look to which he shrugged.

"You cannot!" the elder spoke, "They have already been stolen by a large man with a moustache in his hover machine. Evil will arise!"

"Eggman?" Rouge asked, turning to the red echidna. "Look guardian, we need that Shard to protect this world from that guy, so save us the fight and just give us the shard."

"Never! It's my duty to protect the shard; you have not proven yourself worthy!" and with that, his body transformed into a larger wolf, towering about the podium.

Rouge smirked and crossed her arms, "I guess we should put the theory of working well together to the test." Knuckles chuckled, before running towards the creature, his fists in balls as he was about to perform the first hit. The wolf growled lowly, running on all fours towards the red echidna, swinging its paw back, each of them slamming their knuckles together at the same force.

The red echidna's eyes widened at the amount of pressure straining on his skinny arm, his feet dragging along the ground at the best pushed him back. Rouge yelled out, performing her spin attack, slashing her foot into the creature's side. Barely weakened, the wolf let out a grunt before his other fist crashed into Knuckles, sending him flying back.