ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
literature
Thorns of Chaos: Chapter 6 ~ Duty vs. Freedom
Deviation Actions
Literature Text
The night was calm in the skies. Calm and unassuming. The few clouds that floated in the wind were fluffy and nonthreatening, so one would not have to fear the elements. Yes, it was a rather peaceful night.
It was nights like these that bored Rouge the Bat to death. Normally, she'd be at her self-named nightclub, Club Rouge, mingling and sparring with the clientele, especially in her special outfit which did everything it could to show off the hotness and strength of her knockout body. But tonight? Nope, tonight she was stuck on Angel Island in her regular attire, alone. Why? Because she was staking out the only reason she'd be here in the first place.
She sat on a big, sturdy branch, in a tree high above the pathway that led to Red Mountain Zone, watching the Master Emerald Shrine. In her vision lay the titular gem, and its guardian, Knuckles the Echidna, who stood his guard, eyes closed, unmoving, save for his black dougi belt blowing in the wind as it held up rather green and worn out cargo pants. One would argue that he was the reason she was there, but Rouge wouldn't admit that to save her life.
Either way, there she was, watching the shrine. For five hours. 'Screw it,' she mentally decided and leapt off her tree, flying directly to the shrine itself and landing in front of the guardian. "It's about time, bat girl," Knuckles greeted sourly before Rouge even opened her mouth. "Huh? What do you-" He cut her off with a bored growl. "I knew you were there in that tree from the start. I commend your patience, but enough is enough." He snapped his eyes open with a fierce glare and, got into a Ba Ji Quan fighting stance. "Now, either state your business - like I even have to guess - or leave." Rouge just sighed. "Honestly, why do you have to make this so damn difficult? It's just a-"
"No, it's not!" Knuckles shouted. "The Master Emerald has been under my family's watch for generations! It's my duty and responsibility to protect it, and frankly, I don't expect you to understand that!" Rouge's ears twitched at that insult. "Excuse me?! You think I don't understand responsibility?! I'm not just a treasure huntress, dumbass! I have to put my neck on the line every time the government tells me to, whether I want to or not! If I fail a mission or something goes wrong, I'm as good as dead! You may have this whole island to worry about, but I've got an entire nation on my back with nearly every mission!"
Knuckles flinched a bit. He did not know that. Still, he stood his ground. "Ok, ok, you got me there, my bad. But, that has nothing to do with the Master Emerald!" Rouge groaned in annoyance. "You still don't get it! Don't you want to do more with your life than watch over that thing? See the world? Have fun? Get laid? Anything?!?" The echidna sighed heavily, but remained firm, changing his stance to Karate. "Of course I do. Not a day goes by when I don't think about what other people are doing with their lives, and what I could be doing with mine if I weren't stuck here."
"Then why stay here?" she asked, keeping eye contact to make sure she got an honest answer. He gave her one. "Because I have to. I didn't ask for this duty, but I've got it. This is my purpose, and I will not avoid it." Rouge gave him a confused, but even stare and sighed. For the life of her, she could not understand why he would choose to be bound to a duty that, as far as she knew, absolutely no one was holding him to. It made no sense to her whatsoever. 'Hm. Then again, I guess that's what I like about him. His resolve and determination are admirable.'
Before the conversation could continue, Rouge's transceiver started beeping. Recognizing the tone, she immediately answered it. "This is Rouge. Go ahead." Knuckles finally relaxed his stance and watched her. "Huh? I'm on Angel Island, why? Yeah, he's here, but... Um, ok, whatever." Confused, she reached within her cleavage (enjoying the reaction she got from Knuckles as he finally noticed her outfit) and brought out her second radio, switching it on immediately. "Ok, Shadow, go ahead."
"The both of you need to listen carefully. The Doctor's on the move again, and we need to make a decisive strike against him." Knuckles asked, "Why us? Shouldn't Sonic be enough to handle him?" Shadow answered, "Normally, but I've seen glimpses of the forces the Doctor's amassing. I cut his numbers down to size, but recent events have made my efforts moot." Rouge replied, "Yeah, but that still doesn't explain why you need us for this. Whatever the Doctor's plans are, a whole task force strike shouldn't be needed, right? It's not like Metal Sonic's rebellion again or anything like that, I'm sure."
"Rouge...he got Tails."
"W-What?!" exclaimed Knuckles. "Dr. Eggman made his move by taking Tails down first," Shadow elaborated. The guardian couldn't believe what he just heard. Fury started boiling inside him, but it was halted when he saw the look on Rouge's face. Instead of her usual expression of calculating indifference, she looked, well, worried would be an understatement. "Hello? Are you two still there?" asked Shadow on his end.
Upon seeing Rouge frozen, Knuckles decided to curb his anger and gently took the radio. "How bad is he, Shadow?" Said hedgehog replied, "Pretty bad. He was bloody and bruised. Whatever the Doctor sent after him was too much for the kid to handle on his own, even with his intellect, and something tells me that was Eggman's intention." Knuckles growled in stifled rage. "I see. Um, is he..."
"No," Shadow said, "He's alive. There was a bit of drama earlier this morning, but he's stable now. We're at the central hospital in Soleanna's New City." Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good..." He would have said more, but Rouge immediately snatched the radio from him, hissing through gritted fangs, "We'll be right over," and shut it off, putting it back where she had it.
"Let's go, Knuckles." The echidna hesitated for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. Whatever was bothering Rouge could be looked into later. Right now, they had somewhere to be.
It was nights like these that bored Rouge the Bat to death. Normally, she'd be at her self-named nightclub, Club Rouge, mingling and sparring with the clientele, especially in her special outfit which did everything it could to show off the hotness and strength of her knockout body. But tonight? Nope, tonight she was stuck on Angel Island in her regular attire, alone. Why? Because she was staking out the only reason she'd be here in the first place.
She sat on a big, sturdy branch, in a tree high above the pathway that led to Red Mountain Zone, watching the Master Emerald Shrine. In her vision lay the titular gem, and its guardian, Knuckles the Echidna, who stood his guard, eyes closed, unmoving, save for his black dougi belt blowing in the wind as it held up rather green and worn out cargo pants. One would argue that he was the reason she was there, but Rouge wouldn't admit that to save her life.
Either way, there she was, watching the shrine. For five hours. 'Screw it,' she mentally decided and leapt off her tree, flying directly to the shrine itself and landing in front of the guardian. "It's about time, bat girl," Knuckles greeted sourly before Rouge even opened her mouth. "Huh? What do you-" He cut her off with a bored growl. "I knew you were there in that tree from the start. I commend your patience, but enough is enough." He snapped his eyes open with a fierce glare and, got into a Ba Ji Quan fighting stance. "Now, either state your business - like I even have to guess - or leave." Rouge just sighed. "Honestly, why do you have to make this so damn difficult? It's just a-"
"No, it's not!" Knuckles shouted. "The Master Emerald has been under my family's watch for generations! It's my duty and responsibility to protect it, and frankly, I don't expect you to understand that!" Rouge's ears twitched at that insult. "Excuse me?! You think I don't understand responsibility?! I'm not just a treasure huntress, dumbass! I have to put my neck on the line every time the government tells me to, whether I want to or not! If I fail a mission or something goes wrong, I'm as good as dead! You may have this whole island to worry about, but I've got an entire nation on my back with nearly every mission!"
Knuckles flinched a bit. He did not know that. Still, he stood his ground. "Ok, ok, you got me there, my bad. But, that has nothing to do with the Master Emerald!" Rouge groaned in annoyance. "You still don't get it! Don't you want to do more with your life than watch over that thing? See the world? Have fun? Get laid? Anything?!?" The echidna sighed heavily, but remained firm, changing his stance to Karate. "Of course I do. Not a day goes by when I don't think about what other people are doing with their lives, and what I could be doing with mine if I weren't stuck here."
"Then why stay here?" she asked, keeping eye contact to make sure she got an honest answer. He gave her one. "Because I have to. I didn't ask for this duty, but I've got it. This is my purpose, and I will not avoid it." Rouge gave him a confused, but even stare and sighed. For the life of her, she could not understand why he would choose to be bound to a duty that, as far as she knew, absolutely no one was holding him to. It made no sense to her whatsoever. 'Hm. Then again, I guess that's what I like about him. His resolve and determination are admirable.'
Before the conversation could continue, Rouge's transceiver started beeping. Recognizing the tone, she immediately answered it. "This is Rouge. Go ahead." Knuckles finally relaxed his stance and watched her. "Huh? I'm on Angel Island, why? Yeah, he's here, but... Um, ok, whatever." Confused, she reached within her cleavage (enjoying the reaction she got from Knuckles as he finally noticed her outfit) and brought out her second radio, switching it on immediately. "Ok, Shadow, go ahead."
"The both of you need to listen carefully. The Doctor's on the move again, and we need to make a decisive strike against him." Knuckles asked, "Why us? Shouldn't Sonic be enough to handle him?" Shadow answered, "Normally, but I've seen glimpses of the forces the Doctor's amassing. I cut his numbers down to size, but recent events have made my efforts moot." Rouge replied, "Yeah, but that still doesn't explain why you need us for this. Whatever the Doctor's plans are, a whole task force strike shouldn't be needed, right? It's not like Metal Sonic's rebellion again or anything like that, I'm sure."
"Rouge...he got Tails."
"W-What?!" exclaimed Knuckles. "Dr. Eggman made his move by taking Tails down first," Shadow elaborated. The guardian couldn't believe what he just heard. Fury started boiling inside him, but it was halted when he saw the look on Rouge's face. Instead of her usual expression of calculating indifference, she looked, well, worried would be an understatement. "Hello? Are you two still there?" asked Shadow on his end.
Upon seeing Rouge frozen, Knuckles decided to curb his anger and gently took the radio. "How bad is he, Shadow?" Said hedgehog replied, "Pretty bad. He was bloody and bruised. Whatever the Doctor sent after him was too much for the kid to handle on his own, even with his intellect, and something tells me that was Eggman's intention." Knuckles growled in stifled rage. "I see. Um, is he..."
"No," Shadow said, "He's alive. There was a bit of drama earlier this morning, but he's stable now. We're at the central hospital in Soleanna's New City." Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good..." He would have said more, but Rouge immediately snatched the radio from him, hissing through gritted fangs, "We'll be right over," and shut it off, putting it back where she had it.
"Let's go, Knuckles." The echidna hesitated for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. Whatever was bothering Rouge could be looked into later. Right now, they had somewhere to be.
Suggested Collections
![[Art Trade] - BroHogs](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/f16a7e0a-36f9-43cc-941f-4347a9ae6890/d7nmiug-629a85e0-cb63-4967-b573-f79ae3e6a5fa.png/v1/crop/w_92,h_92,x_0,y_0,scl_0.46,q_70,strp/_art_trade____brohogs_by_joeadok_d7nmiug-92s.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MjAwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZjE2YTdlMGEtMzZmOS00M2NjLTk0MWYtNDM0N2E5YWU2ODkwXC9kN25taXVnLTYyOWE4NWUwLWNiNjMtNDk2Ny1iNTczLWY3OWFlM2U2YTVmYS5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MjAwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.K_Pwbzi9ZspPnot5INxnKnHDeHCDBKUTYWHz51QcrEc)
Featured in Groups
Chapter 5: fav.me/d6lbkf2
Chapter 6: You just read it.
Chapter 6: You just read it.
Chapter 7: fav.me/d729p7q
The treasure hunters are informed of recent events and take action.
This chapter took longer than I intended, but that goes to show how sucky my life is.
Oh, and don't worry. Shadow and Amy are still the main focus of this story. I'm bringing in additional characters, however, because they need development, too, damn it.
All characters owned by SEGA.
© 2013 - 2024 UltimateGameMaster
Comments2
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Ooooo a little KnucklesxRouge huh? Yay!! 