Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are property of Sega.

As they ran down another nondescript hall, klaxons and sirens blaring in their ears, Rouge and Knuckles had no idea this would be the last time they ever saw each other. Twenty minutes ago they had confronted the Eggman, high and mighty in another one of his giant machines, Metal Sonic and Robo Knuckles calmly waiting for the heroes.

It had been a momentous fight. Rouge still wondered how they had all survived, some better off than others. Both the doppelgangers and Robotnik had once again been routed, but Shadow had been incapacitated. Shadow had opted to confront his copy's copy, and had almost trashed Metal until the sly robot had maneuvered him into Robotnik's crossfire. All hope had seemed lost for the black hedgehog as Metal closed in for the kill, until Amy had backhanded Metal away. The left side of his head crushed, Metal had retreated further into the base, none of the heroes giving pursuit.

Robo Knuckles, however, quickly learned that the Cyclone could not fight all that well without the use of it's Vulcan cannons. Tails had been trapped inside his mecha as Robo Knuckles systematically removed armor sections of his defenseless target. Rouge had taken over the fight at that point, figuring if she could hold off the real thing, a faker should be no problem. She was right.

All that, however, no longer mattered. Far ahead the corridor was being sealed off, another one of Eggman's dastardly traps to prevent anyone escaping from the self-destruction of another one of his bases. Knuckles, seeing their chance of escape slipping through their fingers, dashed ahead, hoping to catch the door and hold it up while he waited for Rouge.

He was almost there…

A few feet more…

SLAM!

It was closed, with not a seam to rip it open. Rouge caught up seconds later, panting. She didn't seem deterred in the slightest however.

"I can hack this open. I managed to wirelessly connect wile we were sneaking in."

Knuckles didn't say anything, opting instead to turn back down the corridor, waiting for any pursuers. He didn't have long to wait. Marching down the hall came a veritable army of E-100 series robots, all guns trained on the pair of them.

"We're going to need that open, fast."

Rouged paled, but quickly turned and began her hopefully short task of opening the door. Knuckles stared down the wide hall, trying to fathom how far back the army stood. He finally decided that the number was inconsequential and opened fire.

"Thunder Arrow!"

One, two, three fell before his attacks, but more came forward to fill their places. And they kept marching. Knuckles let loose another volley, calling the power of the Controller to his body. When the gap had closed to within twenty feet, he leapt into action.

They fell like flies before his mighty onslaught. Metal gave way beneath his powerful punches, made even more so by the Chaos Energy flowing through his body. Unfortunately, sheer numbers began to overwhelm him and like a flood they began to push him back towards Rouge.

The echidna spared a glance back, and paid for it. Searing pain shot up his arm as a bullet sliced through his arm, imbedding itself in the metal floor below him. He shrugged it off however, opting instead to fuel his anger even more with the pain. His efforts redoubled and the flood finally came to a standstill. Knuckles raced back and forth, a recurring path of destruction that seemed to have no end.

Rouge could feel the sweat run down her face, and her gloves were saturated. The Doctor seemed to have improved upon his security measures since her last incursion into a base. A sudden lull in the firing however, sent an adrenaline spike into her body. She turned, but already knew what she would see. One row deep, the robots had finally decided to divide their fire, and Rouge blanched as she realized that there was no cover, no time, and no chance.

Alarm bells went off in Knuckles head as Rouge screamed. He instinctively dived toward the bat when she vocalized her terror and rolled to a stop in front of her. It seemed as if one gunshot had gone off as the E-100s let loose.

She averted her head, the sound of bullets piercing flesh too much for her to bear. When she did finally look, Knuckles was on his knees, blood pouring from multiple wounds. She ran forward, but he rose back to his feet on his own power. As he stood, she saw a small pile of mushroomed bullets at his feet, and as she watched, she could she the bleeding slow and finally stop.

His gloves were shredded, and she saw multiple dents in the wall. Even though many of the robots had found their mark, Knuckles had still managed to deflect a large number of their projectiles.

The power of the Master Emerald flowing through him, he glanced over his shoulder at his companion. He looked exhausted. His eyes had sunken in, his cheeks were drooping, and he looked ready to cry. He didn't say a word, but he didn't need to. Rouge ran towards him, arms outstretched, as if she was going to catch him. She never got the chance.

Rouge smacked into a solid wall of Chaos Energy, completely filling the hall, sealing the two off from each other. Tears mingled with the sweat upon her face as she pounded on the wall, unable to reach the crimson echidna. He set his face, drawing upon the Controller to keep him alive for just a little while longer. She thought she could hear a whisper as his own tears started to fall . . .

"I'm sorry."

She was blinded as roaring green flames leapt out of nowhere to incinerate the hallway on the opposite side of the wall. It was strangely silent, but Rouge managed to fill that void of sound with heartracking sobs. After what seemed like an eternity, the invisible wall finally gave way under her assault, and she caught him.

He was in remarkable condition for having just been in an inferno. Most of his fur had been singed off, and his gloves and shoes were gone, but on the whole he was physically unharmed. When she looked into his eyes however, Rouge could tell the painful truth.

"I'm dying."

She could not think of a response, and so closed her eyes and let the tears flow.

"Get out, while you still can."

Rouge nodded weakly, and opened her eyes to look at him.

"I'm sorry that I've put you in this position. But I wouldn't take any of it back. Not a moment."

For one brief moment his eyes shone, and he thrust himself up and planted his lips against hers for s fleeting kiss. But that action cost him. As he fell back into her lap, he started wheezing, and his eyes started to glaze over.

"That . . . was nice . . ."

He closed his eyes, and took one last shuddering breath.

A/N: I've already got plans for a sequal if anyone wants one. Just please leave reviews. Thank you much. - Light Hawk