It was a pleasant day at Angel Island. Knuckles leaned against the steps to the altar of the Master Emerald, basking in the warm sunlight. He was very much enjoying the day…
…Until they showed up, of course.
His day potentially ruined, the echidna grunted and stood up.
"What are you up to now?" he called resignedly.
A blue hedgehog's head popped out of the bushes, and a two-tailed fox dropped in from the sky.
"Well, duh! I just wanted to check up on my good buddy!" Sonic grinned.
Knuckles frowned, and tapped his foot in a strangely Sonic-esque manner. "I know you're here for something. Just… get it over with, would you? It's not like I'm one out of a thousand that just has to put up with an annoying blue hedgehog, and thankfully, his less annoying sidekick."
"Hey!" protested the fox.
"Do you have any sense of humor?" Sonic asked disgustedly, turning to face the echidna.
Knuckles raised an eye ridge. "I do. You just wouldn't like it."
Sonic smirked. "Try me."
Seconds later he was hurtling toward a switch that opened up the passageway to Hydro City. His head rammed into the switch, and he fell into the pit that had just slid open.
"I-HATE-YOU-KNUCKYBRAINS!"
Tails looked at Knuckles, who looked mildly amused at the situation, despite Sonic's calling him 'Knuckybrains.'
"I warned him, didn't I?"