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27; Thank you Drax for reviewing! This update is a little late so i hope you're still around to read it! A new day, a new chapter!

Sonic; -_- Oh boy

Knuckles; Hey, look guys! *comes in with a huge black classical bike* i got one i got one!

Sonic; Why? You don't need a bike and how'd you get it?

Knuckles; Urm, i kinda burrowed it. Hey, watch me! *gets on, revs it up and drives around the garden. Then he crashes straight into a wall and the whole thing blows up*

27; Do you think we should have warned him first?

Sonic; Nah!


Disclaimer; We do not own Sonic or his blue fur... and no we will not be held responisble for Knux's actions.


Sally went downstairs and went to check on Knuckles to see how he was getting along but was terrified when she did not see him in the lounge. His condition was serious and needed to rest as much as he could. Dashing around the home she could not find him, until she looked outside from her bedroom window. She gasped. Knuckles was outside, right by the lake. She ran downstairs.

Knuckles coughed and his body jolted. The sudden movement made him keel on his side, towards the water. He fell in. Water splashed onto the grass. The echidna opened his mouth to call for aid but only breathed in water. In his weakened state, he could not swim. His legs had gone numb and the lake was so cold. He tensed and his body hardened all over. He had to swim to the surface but he knew he wasn’t able to.
Sally ran outside and halted at the edge of the lake. He must have fallen in. She saw the splashes on the ground. She plunged her hand down in the water and searched for him. The lake was not that deep at the banks.
She felt something soft and grabbed onto it. She pulled it up and Knuckles was pulled out of the water. It was his gloved fist that she had held onto.
Sally took Knuckles into her arms. He was soaked and he was shivering fiercely again like last night. His eyes were shut and he was gasping for air, choking and coughing. Sally swiftly took him back into her home and got some towels. She sat him in her lap and began to quickly dry him.
“Sally?” Red groaned, trying to lift his heavy eyelids, “Where…”
“Knuckles, what did you think you were doing?” She wasn’t angry but she could have lost him. She was worried and still in shock after rescuing him. She kept herself busy by rubbing his soft red fur dry.
“So… sorry…” Wheezed the ailing echidna, shaking in her arms, “I didn’t know…”
The note of fright and sadness made Sally weep for him. “It’s okay now,” she told him, “you’re safe.” Knuckles fell unconscious, still contorting but this time a little milder. Sally took out her communicator from her pocket and called for Sonic.
His image flickered on the screen. “Oh, hi Sal!” He said.
“Sonic,” cried Sally, “please come back home. Knuckles has had an accident. He fell in the lake and he’s ailing too fast. I don’t know how to comfort him. He’s… he’s shaking again!”
“All right, all right, slow down. I’m on my way.” And the screen went blank.

Sonic raced as fast as he could through the trees and hills back to Knothole but this wasn’t easy. Every tree stood in his path. He sped through bushes, jumped over logs and ripped past huts and small buildings that the citizens had built. Sally’s voice rang in his head, heard the panic in her voice. Something bad must have happened while he had been away and he felt bad for not being there. His friends meant so much to him. He could not bear to let them down. They counted on him.
Running for almost thirty minutes, he made it home.

He found Sally sitting in the lounge near the fireplace with the echidna in her arms, blankets covering his body. He was glad to find him not shaking. The fire was crackling away, lending the warmth that Knuckles desperately needed.
“Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner, so what happened?”
Sally offered him a seat beside her. “It must have happened soon, after you left.” She began calmly, “I was in headquarters, researching further into the poison when I thought I had better check up on Knux. I thought he would be on the sofa but he wasn’t there. I got worried.”
Sonic nodded, “he must have wondered off.”
“I know but his legs…” Sniffing, she continued, “I saw him outside, right out by the lake in the garden.” She briefly paused. “I ran out to get him but it was too late, he fell in.” With tears building up in her eyes she painfully told the hedgehog the rest of the tale. “And now he’s finally stopped shaking but he is unconscious.” She ended.
“But he’s gonna get better, right? He was so bright when I gave him something to eat, and he was smiling and everything!”
“I don’t know. Nothing much else has come up from my research. But I do know that his shaking is damaging his spine. If his seizures continue, he’ll lose the use of his legs.”
“God no…” Sonic clenched his fists tightly, “then we’ve got to put an end to those shakes.”
“How?”
“You should know!”
The look on her face told him she didn’t.

In the morning things were no better. In fact things were worse. Rouge came round, the bat that had helped Sonic save Mobius before, though she could not be trusted by the freedom fighters. She worked with Shadow and chose to go her own way. She was a spy.
Sally opened the door, surprised to see her anywhere near Knothole. “Hi, Rouge. Long time no see?” She was unfamiliar with the bat and wasn’t very fond of her either.
“Yeah, I guess so. Where is everybody? Tails is fighting with Amy, the Chaotix team are back in the Special zone and I can’t find Sonic or Knuckles. The cute echidna is not on the Floating island. Weird huh?”
“Why? Do you need help?”
“Well, no! I just wanted to see them! Haven’t in months! Can I have a cup of coffee?”
Sally was hesitant. “We’re kinda busy at the moment.”
“With what? Laundry again? I can’t get enough of it!” She laughed, clear sarcasm in her voice.
Sally let her in. “You can’t stay long,” she insisted, “there’s been an accident and…”
“Give it a rest! Where’s my coffee?”

Luckily for Sonic he was awake before the bat arrived so early in the morning and he didn’t like it one bit. Knuckles was scared of her. He had his reasons. The hedgehog had been sitting in the lounge going through his old photo album when she came in. He shivered at the prospect of seeing her but he had to protect Knuckles. He looked down at the echidna lying beside him one last time. Then he was up on his feet and met her in the hall.
“Not you again, Rouge.” Said the disappointed hedgehog, looking her up and down disapprovingly.
“I had to stop by. Thought you might be here. Where’s Knuckles?”
“You can’t see him right now…” Sonic began but he was sharply interrupted.
“Oh, so he is here is he?”
Sonic folded his arms. “Look, just get out of here. Come back when the world is in danger again.”
“I don’t think so. Egg man has gone. The world is a much safer place.”
“Not with Shadow and Super Sonic.” Sonic told her matter-of-factly.
“And besides…” She continued, ignoring him, “we should be seeing each other more often. I mean, we are friends you know.”
“Well, I’m going to go back down to the lab.” Sally said, “I have work to do.” And she walked away.
“So, you have a problem with me seeing, Knuckles?” Rouge smirked, gazing at the furnishing of the hallway.
“Let me explain. We’ve had an accident…”
“I thought he was in the Floating island, so what is he doing here?” Asked the bat, flexing her black wings.
“Shut up and let me talk!” There was a slight pause. Then he said, “we went on a mission. We got a call from the Marble zone.”
“Oh not there! That place gives me the creeps!” Rouge didn’t even give Sonic and his tale another thought, “last time I went there we…”
“Will you let me finish?”
“Yes, sorry…” Her voice was empty of emotion.
“We came across these flowers…” And Sonic explained about the bitter mission, which turned out to be a trap. A trap to destroy his friend. Rouge was taken back.
“So, is he okay?”
Sonic shook his head. “I’m sorry, but you can’t see him right now. He’s sick.”
“What? Let me see him!” She pushed past Sonic and opened the lounge door, suspecting that the hedgehog had been guarding it. And there, lying on the sofa was Knuckles.
Rouge gasped, surprised, shocked. She ran over to him, began shaking him to wake.
Sonic thrust his arm out in front of her to stop her thoughtless actions. “Leave Rouge.” His words were firm, short but effective. She slowly shook her head.
“You just don’t know how much I care about him.” She said. Then she saw Knuckles stir.
The red echidna opened his eyes. He slowly sat up, rubbing his head. Then he looked up and noticed Rouge and Sonic beside his sofa.
“What’s… going on?” He coughed.
“Oh honey! Are you alright?” Rouge took his hand and squeezed it warmly.
“What are y-you doing here?” Knuckles inquired. He hadn’t seen her in a long time.
“I came to stop by. Didn’t know where you were. I got worried.” She replied.
“Well, you’ve seen him and you know where he is, now go!” Sonic commanded her, but yet again she paid no attention to him. Instead she turned to Knuckles.
“Can I help you with anything?” She asked, “and what are you ailing from?”
Knuckles was confused. “Me? Ailing?”
Sonic sighed, defeated. Maybe Rouge could help a little but if anything; she would only cause more confusion for Knuckles.
“You’ve been poisoned Knuckles, so you’re resting. Me and Sally are finding a way to make you better.” He said, trying to lift his spirits.
“I can’t be sick. No way. I’m just a little run down.” Knuckles looked up at Rouge for support but she made matters worse for him.
“Don’t worry handsome!” She grinned, “you just relax! We could get a wheelchair for you if you’re a little wobbly on your feet!”
Knuckles growled.
“Enough. Rouge, out.” Sonic pulled her by the arm.
The bat let go of Knuckles and stumbled backwards, “I want to help!” She cried.
“We’ll call you when the world’s in danger.” And Sonic showed her out the door.
The bat folded her arms. “I’ll be back.” And with a single flap of her wings, she was gone.

“Why… why, Rouge? And to have seen me like this?” Knuckles asked himself, shaking in the lounge, finding the blankets itchy and uncomfortable. “Am I sick? And I… I can’t feel my legs!” He heard voices, shouting at him, yelling. He clutched his head in despair. His vision got darker, water returning to his eyes. Then, everything went totally black.


27; Geez, another cliffhanger!

Sonic; *sorts through the bikes debirs* you know, i think Knux is dead

27; What? Do you know CPR?

Sonic; Nope, and you might get done for animal cruelty

27; What? me? He was the one who was asking for an accident!