DRAGON HEROES

Alrighty, we've got another adventure, and this time Knuckles jumps in, but not initially for what we had hoped for! Read and find out what will happen in this adventure!

Clash of the Heroes

Chapter 1 – Malicious Lies

Knuckles the Echidna spent the night in solitude guarding the Master Emerald on the altar of the Angel Island. It had been years since he last heard from his friends, but he does not care as he preferred being alone than being under the company of others. All the same, he did not want them to see his face as he had a noticeable scar in his right eye and another close to his left eye, as a result from the countless fighting he had been engaging in, even during the times of peace. At first it bothered him that his face was partially disfigured, but as time went on, he does not mind anymore and thought it made him look much tougher than before.

Looking up to the stars, he sighed as he thought deeply to himself, but not before checking on the Chaos Emerald that had been resting next to the Master Emerald. Both gems glowed brightly, making the area appear colourful.

"Now this is the life," he said. "Peace and quiet, nothing but me and the gems, and the beautiful sight they're giving to the island."

But little did Knuckles know that his peace was about to be disrupted. While he relaxed and stretched his arms out, a sinister robot was looming above, accompanied by the familiar Eggmobile piloted by Doctor Eggman. As the mad scientist eyed Knuckles, he grinned maliciously, knowing just what his plan was going to be.

"There he is, Sharkinator," he said to his robot. "And look, he's got the last Chaos Emerald! This will be perfect for setting up the stage to finally get rid of that meddling hedgehog and obtaining all the Chaos Emeralds!"

"It's no doubt that you are brilliant with executing plans, doctor," replied Sharkinator.

"Now then," began Eggman. "You are the swiftest of the Robot Masters, and I trust that you will not fail this mission like Metal Mantis and Cybird."

"Absolutely, Eggman," said Sharkinator. "I've heard about their defeat at the hands of Sonic and the dragons, and I am prepared to avoid making the same errors that led them to their destruction."

"Excellent," said Eggman as he evilly rubbed his hands together. "Prepare to distract the echidna, and once he's at the right spot, I'll do the rest!"

Without suspecting anything, Knuckles continued to gaze up to the sky. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise. Alerted, he readied his fists.

"Hey! Who goes there?" he asked sharply. "That better not be you, Rouge! If you're here to cause trouble, then you'll have to talk to my fists! Come out, wherever you are!"

But there was no reply. Just then, an unidentifiable shadow zoomed through the area and swiped the Chaos Emerald in front of Knuckles' eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled as he gave chase. "Stop right there, you thief! You really are asking for it! Get back here with the Chaos Emerald now!"

Knuckles continued running after the thief, but the figure was zipping so fast, that soon the echidna lost trail of it. He scoured around the island forest irritably, trying to find the thief.

"Where, where did he go?" he asked to himself. "I swear, when I get my hands on that creep, I'm gonna…"

"Lost something?" echoed a voice.

Stunned and bewildered, Knuckles looked around, but found no one in sight. He assumed that the voice belonged to the thief, but then considered that it could not be as he had disappeared, and he faintly recalled hearing that voice from somewhere before.

Soon, from out of the darkness emerged a tall rotund old human with a pointy nose, a bushy grey moustache and goggles in his eyes. Although he looked very different as he had a glass dome on his head revealing his brain preserved in a greenish-blue fluid, Knuckles quickly recognised him.

"Eggman?" he asked in disbelief. "No, it can't be! You were dead!"

"Yes, it is me, Knuckles," replied Eggman. "And it's a long tale regarding how I'm still alive."

Knuckles glared at the doctor. "What are you up to this time?" he asked harshly.

"Oh, nothing, really," said Eggman. "However, I couldn't help but notice that you were searching for, oh, I don't know, a Chaos Emerald, perhaps?"

And with that, Eggman displayed from his pocket a shining Chaos Emerald.

"That's the Chaos Emerald that thief stolen!" exclaimed Knuckles. "Give it to me right now!"

"Hold on a second there, Knuckles," smiled Eggman. "Surely you should know that I happened to have grabbed it from the thief who took off with it. I wouldn't give it to you just yet, unless you want Sonic to get his hands on it."

"Say what?" asked Knuckles. "You mean Sonic's back? How do you know that?"

Eggman grinned. "Why, yes he is back," he continued in a polite manner. "But he's way in over his head, wanting to have more power, so he decided to start hunting for the Chaos Emeralds, if only I could have stopped him."

Knuckles felt puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"As you may or may not know, I have turned over a new leaf," lied Eggman as he tried to appear as sincere as possible so Knuckles could believe him. "I am now trying to use my brilliant genius to make this world a better place, but the hedgehog is in the way and is devoted to gaining power so he can bring it to ruin. Of course, what do you expect from a criminal mastermind like Sonic?"

"What?!" spluttered Knuckles as he angrily clenched his fists. "That son of a…!"

"That's the spirit, Knuckles!" encouraged Eggman. "Be aggressive and ruthless! Sonic is not to be underestimated! He's already got two of the Chaos Emeralds, and you better get them from him and make sure he is completely incapacitated!"

"I'm going to see to it that the blue bastard will not get away with this!" seethed Knuckles. "He has really done it now, and he is going to pay, big time!"

As Knuckles scurried away, Eggman watched with a devilish smirk on his face and he turned to the Master Emerald.

"What a foolish and gullible echidna," he chuckled to himself. "He was just too easy to deceive! It pays to be a good manipulator, and while he is distracted trying to dispose of Sonic, I shall be taking the Master Emerald. This will give the Death Egg indestructible power, and I will become the supreme ruler of not only this world, but the entire galaxy!"

Laughing maniacally, Eggman approached the Master Emerald and prepared to steal it from the altar.

Author's Note: Oh dear, Knuckles has not overcome his gullibility and still has not learned from his experiences with Eggman. Like they say, "old habits die hard." Let's see what happens next in the next chapter.