Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any related characters.
Full Summary: Before Sonic and before the Master Emerald, there was only you. Knuckles and Rouge at age 8 as they progress through childhood, life, and adulthood. Not your typical "they're kids!" fic. There will be Knuckles/Rouge friendship and romance in later chapters. I can already tell you that this is gonna be a long series…
Warning(s): AU and Fan-characters…you've been warned. If you don't like, just avoid it at all costs.
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When We Were Young
By SapphireWhiteTigress
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Chapter I – Moving and a Bat-Girl
Eight-year-old Knuckles the Echidna grumbled annoyingly as he crossed his arms and glared at his parents. Being eight wasn't exactly the definition of fun, in fact, it was quite the opposite. All he could think of at that moment was how unfair his life was and to make matters worst, his parents either didn't notice or didn't really care.
He voiced his thoughts. "I hate it."
His father sighed and rubbed his throbbing head. He was a tall, masculine, red echidna that held an atmosphere of authority. "Knuckles, we've gone through this a dozen times already. It really isn't up to you. And besides, it'll be a good opportunity for you to make some new friends."
The young echidna narrowed his eyes. "I don't want any friends." He stated, wanting that to be the end of the conversation.
His mother kneed down so that she was eye-levered with her hot-tempered son. She was a kind and gentle pink echidna with beautiful violet eyes. "Knuckles, you want us to be happy, don't you? And we want you to be happy, that is why your father accepted the job offer in Station Square."
Knuckles angrily turned his head from his parents and pouted. His father was a journalist, and Station Square was home to one of the largest journalism corporations in the world, such as the "Daily Planet" on Superman. It was a great honor to get a job there and the pay wasn't half bad, either. But Knuckles was against the idea. Moving to Station Square would mean he would have to leave his home on Angel Island, and Angel Island was the only place he felt that he belonged.
"I hate it," he repeated in a murmur. "It's not fair." He turned teary eyes to his parents. "It's not fair!" He yelled and ran in his room, slamming the door behind him.
His mother moved to go after him, but was stopped by her husband. He shook his head and said in a low voice, "Let him be, he'll get over it." He glanced at the closed door with sadness in his eyes. "He'll realize what we're doing for him is a good thing."
The female echidna slowly nodded her head and heaved a great sigh. "I hope so…"
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It just wasn't FAIR! Knuckles didn't want to leave the only placed he called home for eight years of his life. Now that his father got that stupid job, all of this would be gone. Sure, he hadn't any friends on the small island in the sea (it's not floating), but he never cared for friends. There was no place on earth such as the lush green island in which he resided on and now he must leave that all behind.
'Stupid dad taking that stupid job just to ruin my already stupid ruined life... Just because I'm eight I can't do anything about it!' Knuckles ranted on inside his mind and plopped himself down on his bed, grabbing a plushy of a small brown tiger. He didn't care that he was eight and still carried around a stuff animal, in fact, that tiger was the only friend that young Knuckles had.
It's not that Knuckles didn't want friends, it was the fact that nobody wanted to be his friend, mostly because of his 'ugly' knuckles, or his twisted looking dreadlocks, or maybe because he gave away this aura that he was just a plain ugly freak. Of course, all of that wasn't true, because Knuckles was actually a very attractive eight-year-old, just misunderstood. He always stayed to himself and even in school he wouldn't socialize with his fellow peers.
He sighed and rolled on his back, staring at the cream colored ceiling. "I hate my life…" He whispered before drifting off into a sleepless slumber.
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Two weeks later, Knuckles looked upon his new home with grief. It was a large apartment building and he would be living on the top floor with his parents. It wasn't half bad; or rather the outside didn't look too bad. He had yet to venture inside the apartment building as the movers hauled in their belongings. He took a deep breath and followed one of the huge gorillas that carried three boxes marked with the words "kitchenware" into his apartment suite. Luckily, there was an elevator since his new home was on the 27th floor.
He slowly dragged his feet into the small elevator compartment and waited as the gorilla pressed in the required floor number. He noticed that they weren't the only ones in the elevator as he was standing next to a mother and her child, who looked to be around his age, possibly a little younger.
They were bats, and the little one was dressed in a pink short sleeve shirt with a small heart printed on it and white pants with matching pink and white shoes. She seemed to have noticed that the echidna was looking at her and turned deep green eyes on him.
He quickly downcast his eyes and started playing with a hole in his shirt that he somehow acquired from the move.
The girl smirked and slowly walked over to him and pulled hard on one of his dreadlocks, causing the echidna to scream out in pain. "Ow! What was that for!" He growled with both hands held protectively on his head. He turned to the girl and glared at her.
She smiled innocently. "I never saw you before. Who're you?"
Knuckles narrowed his purple eyes and turned around, crossing his small arms over his chest. "None of your business, bat-girl."
This time the little girl's eyes narrowed. "Hey! That's no way to talk to a lady, you jerk!" She yelled, hitting him on the head.
This time the girl's mother intervened. "Rouge! That's not how a lady is supposed to behave! Now apologize to that little boy." Her mother gave her a warning glare.
Rouge looked up at her mother and frowned. "Fine." She took a deep breath and glared at Knuckles. "Sorry," she murmured quietly.
Knuckles shrugged it off. "Whatever." He turned around and waited patiently for the long elevator ride to end. He really hated elevators.
Not before long, the elevator doors slid open with a slight 'ding' and all passengers, including that lady and her loudmouth daughter, stepped out. Knuckles followed the mover guy into an apartment which had the doors held wide open.
The bat-girl stopped and called to him. "Hey! Dreadlock boy!"
He sighed and turned to her.
She smirked. "I guess we're neighbors than, huh?"
"Oh, great, just what I needed. A stupid bat-girl as a neighbor. This is going great." He groaned, turning around and heading into his new home.
She smiled as she watched him disappear inside of the room and went into her own home, closing the door behind her.
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A few hours later, Knuckles sat in the dining room of his new home, a plate of spaghetti in front of him. He wasn't really in any mood to eat. He already hated being here. He growled and looked up at his mother who sat across from him and than to his father who sat next to her.
"I want to go home," he said, cutting through the dead silence in the room.
Both parents exchanged a look and sighed. "Knuckles," his mother started. "I know that you miss your old home, but this is our home now."
"And besides," his father continued. "Don't you think this place is a lot better?"
Knuckles shook his head irritably. "No."
His father glanced around the room. Unpacked boxes littered the floor and reached to the ceilings. They had a lot of unpacking to do and it would probably take weeks to really settle in and make this a home they could cherish, but they were determine to make this move work for their son. "Once we get everything settled, you'll start feeling right at home, trust me."
Knuckles finished his meal in silence, knowing that nothing will ever change his parents mind. After dinner, he started to set off for his new room, but was stopped by his mother. "Knuckles, dear," She placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. He stopped and waited for her to continue. "I know that this was sudden, but you have to understand…we did this for you. You'll appreciate it when you're older." She hugged her son. "Now, get some sleep, we'll have to get you into your new school tomorrow."
Knuckles nodded numbly and sauntered off into his room. He softly closed the door and stood in the dark for a few minutes before making his way to his unmade bed. He was in no mood to fix it right now, so he just threw himself on it and forced himself to sleep. He wasn't looking forward to tomorrow.
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Little something from the Author: Well, there's chapter one. What do you think? Please, no flames. Reviews would be nice, but aren't essential. Helpful criticism is encouraged as long as they help me improve, but only if you actually like the story. This story will be updated once a week or every other week, depending on reviews (sooner if requested, each chapter is pre-made).
It took me four days to figure out a title for this little story, and it just…randomly hit me while browsing through the C2s that had nothing to do with it. ;;
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Chapter II – School and an Attack
Once at his new elementary school, it took his mother twenty minutes to get everything straighten out with the principle, and doing these twenty minutes, Knuckles waited impatiently outside of the office. He hated school. And to have gone to a school he never even heard of, Eastshore Elementary? What kind of name was that for a school? They weren't even in the east!
While he waited for his mother to do whatever the heck she was doing that was taking so long, Knuckles had a little visitor.
"Hey, you!" A voice called from down the hall that caused Knuckles to whimper in annoyance.