[MATURE] Shadow/Knuckles
Content Warnings: Aphrodisiacs / Drugging / Restraint / Injury / Biting / Violence / Cross-Dressing / Humiliation / Loss of Consciousness / Emotional Distress
The sky over Angel Island was peaceful that day as well.
Knuckles stood guard before the Master Emerald as usual, gazing up at the sky and listening to the wind rushing through the clouds.
The steady sound of footsteps approached across the stone pavement. Knuckles called out, and Shadow’s low voice answered.
“Everything still the same today?”
His expression was as unreadable as ever, but there was a certain softness around his eyes.
“Same as always. The wind’s a little noisy, though.”
“I see. …I brought you something.”
With a small nod, Shadow held out a little paper bag. Knuckles took it and peeked inside, and a soft, sweet scent drifted up.
“Cookies? …Oh, they’ve got fruit in ’em.”
“I thought you might like something from outside the island for a change.”
A faint smile touched Knuckles’ lips, and he started toward the hut.
Shadow followed silently behind him. After quietly looking up at the Master Emerald behind them, he murmured,
“…I may be busy for a while.”
“Hm?”
“For a few days, perhaps longer. I don’t think I’ll be able to come here for some time.”
Knuckles turned and looked at Shadow, then faced forward again and opened the door to the hut.
“If you can’t come, then you can’t. You don’t have to push yourself.”
“I want to come. And I’d rather not have you thinking that just because I can’t come for a while, I’ve forgotten about this island—or about you.”
Without turning around, Knuckles scratched his head and set the cookies down on the table.
“Got it. I’ll make some fruit juice, so sit down and wait.”
Knuckles set two cups filled with freshly squeezed fruit juice on the small table, and the sweet-and-tart scent of fruit spread through the cramped hut.
He immediately bit into one of the fruit cookies Shadow had brought, his face lighting up. At the sight of it, the corners of Shadow’s mouth softened ever so slightly.
As he ate his cookie, Knuckles began chatting about nothing in particular.
How things had been on the island lately. How the Master Emerald was doing. A bird with unusually colored feathers that had taken up residence in the forest.
With his juice in one hand, Shadow quietly listened, giving the occasional response.
A small, quiet hut. Sunlight spilling in through the window. Freshly squeezed fruit juice. …Knuckles’ cheerful voice. I never knew there could be a place in this world that felt this comfortable.
Shadow narrowed his eyes as he gazed at Knuckles and breathed in the scent of the hut.
Mixed in with the smell of fruit juice and cookies, he thought he could detect Knuckles’ scent, reminiscent of summer grass—the same scent he had noticed at Mount Cor. Without thinking, Shadow found himself leaning his nose toward him.
Their eyes met.
Shadow quickly straightened himself, looked back at Knuckles as he munched on his cookie, and murmured,
“…This next mission looks like it may be a difficult one.”
“That so? If you’re saying that, it must be pretty serious.”
Shadow didn’t answer.
An agent’s work came with obligations of confidentiality. If it were an incident involving Knuckles, or if he were formally asking for his cooperation, that would be another matter. But Shadow had no intention whatsoever of sharing the details of this mission with him.
“It’s a dangerous mission. …When it’s over, I’ll come back to this island to see you.”
Knuckles stared into Shadow’s eyes. Those clear red eyes were filled with quiet resolve.
Knuckles said nothing. He merely gave a small snort, closed the bag of cookies, and drained the juice from his cup.
“When you get back, let’s eat the rest of these cookies together.”
With that, Knuckles put the bag of cookies away in the cupboard and returned to his place before the Master Emerald.
Knuckles had learned the term “Anti-Ultimate Life Form” entirely by chance.
West of the modern metropolis of Central City, beyond a stretch of wasteland swept by dry winds, lay a small town called Gillian.
“Air’s as bad as ever…”
The smell made him want to pinch his nose. Oil, alcohol, garbage, and something he couldn’t quite identify all mingled together in the thick, clinging air.
This was a place that had formed as drifters who couldn’t fit into clean cities like Central City gathered here after running out of anywhere else to go.
Grimy buildings crowded against one another along the narrow alleyways.
“Well, tools are cheap around here.”
Knuckles rolled his shoulders as he made his way through the maze of narrow streets.
Tools and woodworking equipment for maintaining Echidna relics. Chemicals and cloths for taking care of those tools.
Gotta keep my tools in good shape if I’m gonna keep the ruins clean.
As he walked along thinking about that, he suddenly heard a voice coming from an alley beside him.
“Would you give it a rest already?”
It was a smooth, feminine voice, though there was a faint edge of irritation in it.
Knuckles casually tilted his head and peered into the alley.
“Heh, come on. What’s wrong with having a little fun with us?”
“We’re bored, you know? Right?”
Several men had surrounded a woman.
She was dressed in muted colors and wore a wig, apparently trying to make herself look more subdued than usual—and yet Knuckles recognized her immediately.
“…Rouge?!”
The word left Knuckles’ mouth before he could think. The next instant, his body moved on its own as well.
He charged in with a Spin Attack and sent the men flying in an instant.
Ignoring the groans of the men who had been slammed into the wall behind him, Knuckles landed directly in front of Rouge.
“Hey, Rouge. What’re you doing in a place like this?”
He greeted her with a broad grin. Rouge stared at him blankly for a moment, mouth slightly open—then narrowed her eyes at him in exasperation.
“…Thanks for the rescue. But, Knuckles…”
She put a hand on her hip and sighed.
“I was in the middle of a delicate mission.”
“Delicate?”
“Yes. I was deliberately letting them hassle me so I could get information out of them.”
Knuckles scratched his head.
“Sorry. Been a while since I saw you, so I just kinda jumped in.”
The casual way he said it made Rouge laugh despite herself.
“Well, fine. They’re not the only targets I can go after.”
As she spoke, Rouge quickly pulled out a device and began operating it.
She was probably rearranging her contacts.
Knuckles paid it little attention, simply watching her hands absentmindedly.
“…?”
A string of text flickered at the edge of his vision.
At that angle, the privacy filter should normally have made the screen impossible to read. But Knuckles’ exceptional eyesight caught the tiny letters hidden behind it.
“‘Anti-Ultimate Life Form’…?”
He had read it aloud without thinking.
Rouge’s fingers stopped.
“!”
She quickly pulled the device against her chest and looked at Knuckles. His expression hardened.
The Ultimate Life Form meant Shadow.
And this term had “Anti” attached to it.
Knuckles didn’t know what it meant. But the unpleasant premonition crawling up his spine was unmistakable.
“…Does it have something to do with Shadow?”
Knuckles looked Rouge straight in the eye.
His gaze demanded an explanation. It wasn’t mere curiosity. There was anxiety in it, and anger, and concern.
Rouge silently met his gaze, then lowered her eyes as if giving the matter some thought.
After a moment, she asked quietly,
“Shadow hasn’t told you anything?”
At those words, Knuckles felt his heart clench. Even so, he refused to let it get to him and shot back,
“Shadow’s been helping me out a lot lately. Is something bad going on? Is he okay?”
Rouge glanced around and let out a small breath.
“…This isn’t really the place to talk. Let’s go somewhere else. My safe house is nearby.”
With that, she beckoned Knuckles to follow her.
Knuckles went after her, and the two disappeared into the backstreets of Gillian.
Rouge’s safe house was on the third floor of an old apartment building.
From the outside, it looked like any other run-down apartment building. The stairs creaked, and cracks ran through the walls here and there. But the moment Knuckles stepped inside the room, he noticed the difference.
A portable anti-surveillance device. Several intelligence-gathering terminals. Notes, photographs, and maps pinned to a board on the wall.
The place was cluttered, yet orderly. One look was enough to tell that this was a workspace.
“Sit there.”
Rouge gestured toward the sofa with her chin, then picked up a kettle in the kitchen.
A little while later, she set two steaming cups on the table and sat down in the chair opposite him.
“So. Back to what we were talking about. Shadow really hasn’t told you anything about this?”
“…Yeah.”
Knuckles told her about the last time he had seen Shadow, a few days earlier.
Shadow had come to Angel Island as usual. He had said that he was going to be busy for a while. He had said, “This next mission looks like it may be a difficult one,” but had told Knuckles nothing more.
Rouge scratched behind one ear and grimaced.
“…You’re not an agent, but you’re on good terms with the World Government for now. And if I officially treat you as someone ‘connected’ to Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form, I have enough authority to give you the bare minimum of information. Of course, Shadow has that same authority.”
She gave a small sigh.
“Which means Shadow didn’t want you to know about this.”
Knuckles furrowed his brow, pursed his lips, and scowled.
“Well… I guess, as far as Shadow’s concerned, I’m just some unrelated guy he happens to see once in a while.”
Rouge stared at Knuckles, eyes wide.
“Unrelated? Oh, please… I wonder what Shadow would say if he heard you call yourself that.”
Rouge looked up at the low ceiling of the cramped room and sighed.
Not long ago, she had heard directly from Shadow how he felt about Knuckles. The situation was becoming almost painful to watch.
Knuckles himself didn’t dwell on it. He simply moved on and looked back at Rouge.
“So what exactly is this ‘Anti-Ultimate Life Form’?”
Rouge slowly drew in a breath, then let it out.
“—Anti-Ultimate Life Form: Uni.”
She spoke the name quietly.
“It’s the codename for a genetic weapon created to destroy Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form, from the inside.”
Knuckles’ fingers unconsciously tightened around the armrest of the sofa.
“It’s being developed in secret by an anti-government organization that broke away from an organization directly under the World Government. If they complete it and release it, Shadow won’t be the only target. It’s a weapon that interferes with genetic structures themselves, so it could become a threat to living things all over the world.”
“…!”
Knuckles felt as though all the blood in his body had suddenly begun flowing backward.
A weapon created to destroy Shadow.
And that weapon might end up bringing harm to every living thing.
Knuckles began to understand why Shadow had described the mission as “a bit of a challenge” and hadn’t wanted to say anything more about it.
Is he thinking all this happened because he exists?
A genetic weapon created for the sole purpose of targeting Shadow could end up putting the entire world in danger.
Was Shadow trying to shoulder the whole thing by himself?
He gave me hell for trying to carry everything about Angel Island on my own.
Knuckles had meant to worry about Shadow, but somehow, the more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.
“We’re still investigating, and the information we have is fragmentary. What I’m doing right now is intelligence work from several different angles, trying to find out how far along Uni’s development is.”
Rouge lightly tapped the screen of her device with one finger.
“Shadow’s working separately from me. He’s infiltrating a facility that may have been used for experiments involving Uni in the past—trying to find out how far the project got, whether any samples are still there… things like that.”
Knuckles glared into space, drained his drink in one gulp, then turned to Rouge.
“All right. Let me help with the mission.”
“…What?”
Rouge’s natural voice slipped out before she could stop it.
“Let you help? Listen, this isn’t some part-time pizza delivery job. It’s not a job cleaning toilets, or packing apples into boxes, either. Those kinds of jobs are necessary to keep society running, sure. But…”
“Quit treating me like a kid. I know this isn’t some ordinary job. I know it’s a dangerous mission.”
Knuckles looked Rouge straight in the eye.
“We’re talking about some dangerous weapon that could drag the whole world into this, and Shadow’s right at the center of it, isn’t he? Knowing him, he’s probably thinking he can handle the whole thing by himself.”
“You know him well. He’d never say it out loud, but yes, that’s probably exactly what he’s thinking.”
Rouge gave a wry smile and took a sip from her cup.
“I’m not an agent. But I can still be a collaborator. I’ve done it before, haven’t I?”
“That’s true, but…”
Rouge knitted her brows, looking slightly troubled.
Shadow won’t like me getting Knuckles involved at all…
Rouge understood—or at least thought she understood—the weight behind Shadow’s decision not to tell Knuckles about any of this.
But the red guardian standing before her already wore a look of firm resolve.
“What about the Master Emerald?”
“I’ll only be away from the island for a night or two at most, right? I can take my eyes off the Emerald for a little while. If something happens, I’ll deal with it when it happens.”
Knuckles grinned, nodded, and folded his arms.
Rouge fell silent for a moment. Then her expression changed as though an idea had just occurred to her.
“Oh, um… actually, that works out perfectly.”
“Hm?”
“My colleague and I just happen to be looking for a collaborator who’s ‘well-built’ and ‘looks like an amateur.’”
“Oh!”
Knuckles leaned forward.
“Well-built, I can do! But what do you mean by ‘looks like an amateur’?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
Rouge gave him a wry smile, though she seemed to be enjoying herself.
“We can’t have anyone realizing you’re a spy, so we need someone who doesn’t look like one. Someone who isn’t too polished and just naturally looks like some ordinary guy off the street.”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Today, it’s the highest compliment I could give you.”
Then Rouge hesitated slightly, choosing her words as she studied Knuckles’ reaction.
“…All right. First, let’s have you try on the ‘outfit.’ Then we’ll decide whether you’re really suited for the job.”
“Outfit?”
Knuckles tilted his head.
“It’s intelligence work. You’ll need a disguise.”
“Makes sense. I’ll do whatever it takes!”
Rouge stood up, inwardly sticking out her tongue.
Don’t blame me if you regret that later.
“Then come with me.”
Still not entirely sure what was going on, Knuckles followed Rouge out of the apartment.
In one corner of Gillian stood a plain building with few windows.
From the outside, it looked like an ordinary office, but this too appeared to be a base of operations for intelligence agents.
When they stepped inside, they found the white cat Knuckles had infiltrated Mount Cor with before—Cui.
“Hey, Rouge. You’re earlier than I expected…”
Cui looked up, then caught sight of Knuckles coming in behind her. His eyes widened.
“Knuckles?”
“Hey. Cui, right?”
Knuckles raised a hand in casual greeting. Cui lifted one eyebrow ever so slightly.
“I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
Then, lowering his voice enough that Knuckles couldn’t hear, he asked Rouge,
“I wasn’t expecting Knuckles. Does Shadow know about this?”
“Looks like Shadow doesn’t want Knuckles involved. But Knuckles was the one who offered to help.”
Rouge gave him a meaningful glance, and one of Cui’s ears twitched.
Cui had already more or less realized that Shadow was deeply invested in Knuckles.
Perhaps out of consideration for Shadow, his expression grew tense as he warned Rouge in a low voice.
“If Shadow finds out about this, we’re going to have a problem.”
“It’s Knuckles’ own decision. And he may look simple, but he’s actually very good at what he does.”
Rouge brushed off Cui’s warning without batting an eye and turned toward Knuckles.
“Anyway, since this is an intelligence mission, you’ll need a disguise. I want you to work as our ‘collaborator’ for tonight’s infiltration. Let’s get you changed in the back. We’ve got several sizes ready.”
She gave Knuckles a light pat on the shoulder and started down the hallway.
He had been told this was a dangerous mission, but Knuckles felt some of the tension inside him ease.
Rouge was here.
Cui was here too.
The mission might be dangerous, but he had reliable allies he could fight alongside. There was nothing to be afraid of.
With his guard completely down, Knuckles followed Rouge without a second thought.
The room in the back had been turned into a makeshift fitting room.
Racks were packed with costumes, and a large full-length mirror stood beside them. Makeup supplies covered a table near the front, while the shelves above were lined with wigs.
Rouge picked up a bundle of fabric lying nearby and turned toward Knuckles.
“Okay, stand right there. I’ll put it on you.”
“No, I can do it my—”
“It has to be fitted properly. Come on, arms up.”
Rouge had taken complete control of the situation, leaving Knuckles with little choice but to do as he was told.
Preparing for a fight was one thing. Disguising himself for intelligence work was something he had very little experience with.
Well, if Rouge says so…
While he was thinking that, Rouge’s practiced hands slipped the fabric over Knuckles’ body.
“Perfect fit. I think it’s going to look great on you.”
“Feels weird trying to move around in something this frilly.”
Despite the unfamiliar sensation of being wrapped in thin fabric, Knuckles stayed still and let Rouge do as she pleased.
Partway through, he felt something cold being fastened around his neck.
“Hold still for a second… There. Now go stand in front of the mirror.”
Knuckles did as he was told.
In a perfectly calm voice, he was just about to ask, “So, how do I look?”—
Then he saw himself in the mirror, and a bizarre sound escaped his throat.
“Hyoh!?”
The yelp was so absurd that, for one split second, Rouge nearly burst out laughing.
But with the pride of a professional agent, she somehow managed to keep her facial muscles under control.
—Standing in the mirror was Knuckles, dressed in a maid outfit.
It looked nothing like the modest, cute sort of maid dress one might normally imagine.
The fabric over his chest was cut daringly open, with only thin straps and tiny scraps of cloth barely covering the essential areas. The back was almost completely exposed, leaving his well-developed back muscles on full display.
A black leather collar encircled his neck, with a thin chain dangling loosely from it. The skirt was unbelievably short, looking as though the slightest movement might send it flipping up.
Long, sheer stockings clung tightly to his thighs, emphasizing the lines of his muscular legs.
White frills were scattered all over the outfit, but no matter how one looked at it, this was no “modest maid dress.”
It was a tacky, sleazy maid-style costume.
“W-W-W-WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?”
Knuckles turned bright red and hurriedly covered his chest and skirt.
“D-Don’t worry. Everything that needs to be covered is covered.”
“It is NOT covered!!”
Technically, all the important parts were hidden. Psychologically, however, Knuckles did not feel covered in the slightest.
“I-I’m supposed to infiltrate the place dressed like THIS!?”
“That’s right.”
Rouge answered without a hint of concern.
“Relax. It looks good on you.”
“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO RELAX!?”
His shout carried all the way into the front room, where Cui was waiting.
“…Of course this is how it turned out.”
Cui calmly muttered to himself as Knuckles’ shouting reached him from the back room.
He had just looked up from the information terminal he had been studying when the door opened and Rouge came in, dragging Knuckles along with her.
“S-Stop! The sk-skirt’s moving! Wait, just—!”
“Come on, walk with some confidence. You’re going to attract a lot more attention tonight anyway.”
And what Rouge dragged into the room was—
Knuckles in a maid-style costume with an absurd amount of skin exposed.
“……”
Cui’s golden eyes narrowed slightly.
“GAAAH! Cui! Don’t look at me!!”
The instant their eyes met, Knuckles jumped and tried to hide behind the door, only for Rouge to drag him back out and plant him in the middle of the room, hunched over in embarrassment.
With his left hand, he desperately held down the skirt that looked ready to flip up at any moment. With his right, he covered his chest, which was barely concealed by a few straps and scraps of fabric. His face was bright red, and his eyes darted nervously toward the floor.
“Wh-What the hell is this…? What even is this…?!”
His voice cracked, and he looked ready to cry.
Rouge and Cui both took their time looking him over.
Then—
““A perfect amateur.””
Their verdict came in flawless unison.
“THAT’S NOT A COMPLIMENT!”
The two of them skillfully ignored Knuckles’ protest.
Without changing his expression, Cui cleared his throat lightly, operated the terminal, and began explaining in an even tone.
“The infiltration target is an underground club secretly frequented by celebrities from various countries with a taste for the perverse. On the surface, it operates as an entertainment venue catering to what might be called specialized tastes. Behind the scenes, however, illegal transactions and information trading take place there. It’s not a place the World Government can afford to ignore.”
“And this time, apparently someone connected to Uni has been coming and going from the club.”
Rouge picked up where Cui left off.
“The VIP we’re targeting apparently has a thing for ‘well-built amateurs.’ Muscular men who don’t seem too accustomed to places like this. Someone who couldn’t possibly look like an operative sent by the World Government—someone with absolutely zero spy vibes.”
“…So that’s why I’m dressed like this.”
Knuckles grimaced, still holding down his short skirt. Cui nodded.
“That’s right. Your cover is that you’re some poor guy who was sold to a sleazy club to pay off a debt. The contrast between the outfit and your appearance and mannerisms is remarkably perverse.”
“I keep telling you, THAT’S NOT A COMPLIMENT!”
Rouge, apparently unable to resist the urge to tease him any longer, grinned and slipped around behind Knuckles.
“Just checking something.”
Without warning, she casually flipped up the back of his skirt.
“WAAAAH!? HYAAAAAA!!”
Knuckles shrieked and frantically tried to clamp both hands over his skirt—
only to lose his balance and land hard on his backside.
The skirt had flown up, fully exposing the completely out-of-place women’s underwear Rouge had also taken it upon herself to choose for him.
Without so much as raising an eyebrow, Cui quietly remarked,
“Remarkably perverse.”
“I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN, BUT STOP SAYING IT LIKE THAT!”
Half in tears, Knuckles shouted as he desperately tried to adjust the tight-fitting costume every which way.
No matter what he tried to cover, however, there was no changing how revealing the outfit fundamentally was.
Watching him struggle, Rouge felt a shiver of rather tasteless pleasure run down the back of her neck—
then caught herself and shook her head.
Knuckles was willing. He was capable.
But perhaps he was simply too innocent for a mission like this.
“…Maybe this really is a bad idea.”
She gave him a pat on the shoulder.
“Knuckles. Maybe we should forget about having you do the infiltration. You’re not cut out for this. You really do look good in the outfit, though.”
“SO IT DOES LOOK GOOD ON ME!?”
After firing back without missing a beat, Knuckles suddenly jerked his head up.
“I-I’ll do it! I’m doing this!”
“What?”
“Someone’s gotta take on this dangerous infiltration job anyway, right? Then I’ll do it. Even if I have to go in unarmed, I can still fight with my bare hands.”
He said it without hesitation.
Cui glanced toward Rouge.
“In terms of appearance and combat ability, he is well suited to the role. If there are any concerns, one is that he belongs to the exceedingly rare echidna race. If someone there recognizes what he is, it could lead to some troublesome complications.”
Cui hesitated for just a moment.
“And the other?”
Rouge prompted him. Cui shrugged.
“…What happens when Shadow finds out about this.”
Rouge skimmed through the material that had just been sent to her terminal and answered breezily.
“Even if they figure out he’s an echidna, it’ll probably just mean a few more people hitting on him. We only have to keep the cover intact for one night.”
“You’re taking this awfully lightly.”
Knuckles couldn’t help but shoot back, though in a strange way, her casual attitude made him feel a little better.
“Besides, we already have intel saying there’s a good chance the target will show up at the club tonight. I don’t want to let this opportunity slip away.”
Rouge deliberately left Shadow out of the discussion.
That was one thing, and this was another.
Shadow was Shadow. Knuckles was Knuckles.
Rouge’s way of looking at things was levelheaded—and, in a sense, remarkably fair.
Still tugging his skirt downward to cover his thighs, Knuckles turned squarely toward Cui.
“Tell me the details of the operation.”
Cui gave a small nod, brought up the infiltration data on his terminal, and showed it to Knuckles.
“First, you’ll be brought into the club as ‘merchandise.’ On the surface, you’ll be presented as a new maid meant to draw in customers. Your real objective is to lure the target into approaching you, find an opening for conversation, and extract information from him.”
As Cui continued explaining, the determination in Knuckles’ eyes grew stronger.
Once he had heard the entire plan, Knuckles brought his fists together with a sharp crack.
“All right!”
The instant he shouted with renewed determination, his skirt fluttered lightly.
“Whoa!”
He hurriedly bent forward and clapped both hands over his backside.
Rouge shrugged, suppressing a laugh.
“Okay. …Let’s take it easy out there, Knuckles.”
“Damn it, I’m doing this… I’m doing it… I’ll do it!”
Muttering to fire himself up, Knuckles started walking.
No matter how humiliating the outfit was.
No matter how obviously inexperienced he looked, or how much people laughed at him.
—If somewhere beyond that humiliation lay information that might help save Shadow.
Something burned deep inside his chest, stronger than his embarrassment, stronger than his clenched fists.