“Not long now, my darling…” A crimson red echidna smiles as he and his girlfriend were sat on the grass, beneath the Master Emerald altar. The male echidna gently rubs his girlfriend’s stomach with his hand and holds her close. The young female sighs happily as she gently holds her boyfriend’s head in her hands as he lays down into her lap. “Indeed… I cannot wait any longer. Soon we will have a little guardian…” The red echidna, named Knuckles, nods as he lifts his girlfriend’s shirt a bit before placing a gentle kiss onto her pregnant belly. The young female echidna-bat, named Maia, giggles softly, feeling a bit ticklish from the kiss. “That tickles, sweetie!” Knuckles lets out a small chuckle before holding Maia closer to him, continuing to rub her pregnant belly. He wags his tail as he feels a small kick from the baby and leans in closer to Maia. “When are you due, my love?” “Today or tomorrow. Only…” “Only what?” “I… I am quite nervous. W-What if the egg doesn’t come out?” Knuckles gently pulls Maia into a hug as he places a kiss onto her cheek. “Don’t worry, my love… everything will be okay. I have prepared everything that you will need…” Maia smiles subtly and nods as she places her hand onto her belly. She soon gasps as she feels a strong kick and grits her teeth a little. Knuckles leans over and feels her belly, anxiously. “Are you alright?!” Maia holds onto her belly and soon slowly attempts to stand up. She groans in pain and falls back to the ground, panting heavily. “N-no! I think the egg is coming!!” Knuckles feels a sweat drop run down his forehead as he notices Maia’s breathing becoming quicker. He gently scoops her up into his arms before running towards the forest. He begins to panic as he soon hears Maia scream out in pain, clutching her stomach. “K-Knuckles! I-It’s getting closer!!” The young male nods and soon sighs slightly as he notices that he was getting closer to their island home. He runs over to the door and kicks it down before gently laying Maia onto cushions, which were laid across the floor. He then kneels down in front of her and takes her hand into his before moving down to her legs. He gently lifts her dress and look up at her, a blanket laid across his hands. “Don’t worry, my love… keep breathing, okay? And push whenever you need to.” Maia nods as she holds onto her belly, feeling the egg ready to emerge from her lower region. She pants heavily and grunts as she attempts to push. ----------------------------------------- “The egg is almost here, Maia! One more push!” Knuckles makes a nervous expression as Maia screams out. She pushes a final time and the young male smiles as he catches the egg in his arms and gently wraps the blanket around it, attempting to keep it warm. “It’s out, Maia… you did it!” Maia, who was now exhausted, pants as she looks up towards Knuckles. She smiles subtly as she notices a large brown-coloured egg in his arms and points to it, weakly. “Is… is that... our baby?” Knuckles smiles as he walks over to her and kneels down beside her, showing the wrapped egg. Maia reaches out her hand and smiles at Knuckles as she touches the egg. “Yes, my love. You did really well at pushing it out…” Maia sighs contently and closes her eyes as Knuckles gently uses the blanket to rub the egg. He kisses it and places it between him and Maia, admiring its shiny shell. “K-Knuckles? C-can you tell whether it has a girl or boy puggle inside?” The young male smiles and nods slightly. “I think I may be able to tell. Since this puggle is related to me and you, it may have the Master Emerald’s power within it. I might be able to use it to find out…” Maia lays back as she watches Knuckles gently places a hand onto the egg. He moves his head closer to it and soon closes his eyes, making a fully concentrated expression. After a few seconds, he makes a curious expression and opens his eyes before turning to Maia. “The puggle is pretty small at the moment so I wasn’t able to fully tell what the gender is…” Maia giggles softly as she places a hand onto Knuckles’. “It’s alright, my love… we’ll love our little puggle no matter what the gender.” Knuckles smiles as he gently caresses Maia’s cheek. “Of course, I’m sorry. I guess I’m a bit impatient…” Maia giggles a bit. “That’s Sonic’s job… not yours, my love~” Knuckles smirks a bit as he leans in close to Maia and the egg. “I know~” ----------------------------- A few days after the birth of Knuckles and Maia’s egg, Maia takes a long rest as Knuckles protects their egg. Whilst wondering through the forest on Angel Island, the young male looks around, cautiously, as he holds the egg close to his chest. The egg was wrapped within a blanket, which was tied around Knuckles’ chest. “I wonder what this rumour is that Sonic found out about…” Knuckles thinks to himself as he continues to wander, checking the egg every so often. “I just hope I can find out about it soon, especially if it’s about Angel Island.” Since leaving Maia to rest on Angel Island, Knuckles had ventured to Station Square in order to meet with Sonic to ask about the rumour he had heard. After walking a few miles further, Knuckles soon stops and steps to the side as a blue blur shoots past him, almost hitting him. He growls a bit, angry that Sonic nearly hit him and the egg. “Hey, watch where you’re running, Sonic!” The blue blur overhears the voice and soon reverses and jogs over to Knuckles, putting a hand behind his head. “Eheh, sorry Knux…” Knuckles grunts in annoyance and soon notices Sonic curiously looking at the blanket in his arms. He smiles a bit as he moves the blanket, revealing the egg to him. Sonic opens his eyes widely and points at the egg. “Whoa! Knuckles, is that a…?! Is it yours?!” Knuckles sighs and shakes his head a bit as he holds the egg closer. “Yes, it is an echidna egg, Sonic… and yes it is mine. Well, me and Maia’s I mean…” Sonic smirks a bit. “Wow Knux, I didn’t know it was Echidna Mating Season yet~” Knuckles grits his teeth as a noticeable blush appears on his face. "It's not to do with Mating Season, Sonic! Maia wanted a baby and so did I, so we had one..." Sonic chuckles a bit and waves his hands around a bit. "I was only kidding, Knuckles. I think it's great that you guys finally had a baby. Sammy, Kazu and Miles are gonna be really happy to have another cousin! Oh and congrats to you both too!" Knuckles chuckles a bit as he looks down at the egg, noticing Sonic wagging his tail, happily as he looks at it. The young echidna begins to walk beside Sonic as he looks around, protectively holding the egg closer in case there was any danger close by. "Yeah... thanks. Now, what was this rumour you were gonna tell me about?" "Oh yeah! I heard somewhere that Angel Island may be falling again..." Knuckles stops in place and grits his teeth a bit, remembering that Maia was still on the island, resting. "W-what?! But the Master Emerald is still on the island! That can't be right!" Sonic shrugs a bit. "It's just a rumour, Knuckles, it could be false..." "But it could be true too! Maia's still on the island, I have to go and get her before the island starts to fall!!" Sonic notices Knuckles getting angry and soon places both hands on his shoulders. "Knux, listen to me! Everything is going to be fine! If you want, I can go and get her and bring her to Station Square instead, unless there was anywhere else you wanted to take her..." Knuckles takes a deep breath and exhales, trying to calm himself down. "I'm sorry... I just don't want her to get hurt. I know that she wants to set up a nesting spot somewhere in the Mystic Ruins but it's still too close to the island. I want to be the one to take her though, she is still exhausted from the birth..." Sonic nods as he looks around. "I understand, Knux. Tell ya what, how about you go and get Maia and I'll take the egg back to Station Square until we know that Mystic Ruins is safe, deal?"