Disclaimer: Not my characters, just my story.
A/N: Written for Dr. Sipp as part of the Boiz and Gurlz fic-request meme on LiveJournal. The request was Sally, Knuckles and "Why?"
SatAM based fic, and what could've happened had the show last long enough for Knuckles to become a part of it.
Lost Opportunities
© Scribbler, December 2007.
"Why, Knuckles? Why?" Sally falls to her knees and cradles his head in the crook of her arm.
He coughs but his glare is still recognisable – she could trace the contours of his scowl in her sleep. She went years without seeing him, but that doesn't matter. Knuckles has a way of getting under your skin from the very first encounter, making you remember him in perfect detail even when your kingdom is ripped from under you, the path of your childhood is changed overnight and you should have better things to remember than the shape of an echidna's nose compared to a hedgehog's.
"Why didn't you call us for help?"
"I'm the Guardian," he replies. "The Emerald is my responsibility."
And Robotnik is hers. Sally tries not to look and the chunks of green crystal scattered across the chamber.
They never planned for what would happen if their responsibilities intersected. They never thought it would happen. Robotnik didn't know about Angel Island or the incredible power stored up here. The island moves around and doesn't show up on any scanners. Even she didn't know Knuckles and his duty were still alive until recently, when Dulcy ploughed into the meadow with stories of another floating island besides the one that houses the Time Stones. Sally was so delighted to hear her childhood friend had escaped and stayed free all this time. The thought of Knuckles and his steadfastness gave her hope – a symbol for her the way she is a symbol for the rest of Knothole. Everyone needs someone else to look up to.
"I'm your friend," she says now, voice catching like a woollen sleeve on a nail. "You shouldn't have tried to fight them alone. You should've-"
"I should've what? Betrayed the memory of my father, and all the other Guardians before him? Let Robotnik and his stinking SWATbots just take the Master Emerald? Given up without a fight?"
"We could've helped you retrieve it from Robotropolis. You could've…" She breaks off. He could've done anything except smash it to stop it falling into evil hands. He could've called the Freedom Fighters with the communicator she gave him – called her. He could've hidden or run away to where the lasers couldn't find him and she didn't have to come rushing up here with dread in her stomach.
Knuckles sighs and leans back, easing his weight off the injured side of his ribcage. The harsh edge of white bone seems to grin at Sally. "The Emerald will be reformed," he says, softer than before, and Sally wants to shake him to make him stay awake for when Dulcy brings the village medic. "This isn't the first time in the history of the Guardians that it's been broken to stop evil claiming its power. I took a gamble on Robotnik not knowing that. He thought it was useless when its energy readings plummeted. His face was a picture…" Knuckles coughs again, wetly. Fresh blood stains his fur a deeper, darker red.
"You're a bigger idiot than Sonic," Sally tells him roughly. "It didn't have to be this way."
"I'm the Guardian," Knuckles responds, as though all possible explanations are contained within that statement.
"No," she corrects, holding him close and feeling his heartbeat flutter and slow. "You're my friend."
"I don't have any friends. Nobeast up here except me. Jus' me and th' Emerald…" His words start to slur and he's blinking faster than before.
"You're wrong," Sally urgently tells him. "We met when we were seven years old, remember? I was running away from home and stole a shuttle, but I couldn't handle it and crashed here on the island. You found me. We made friends. You flew me home. Friends do that sort of thing for each other. I've always counted you as my friend, even when we didn't see each other for such a long time."
"Don't know how to be a friend," Knuckles replies. "Only … a Guardian."
"I'll teach you. You can come to visit in Knothole and I'll teach you all about friendship, and you can practise by making friends with more than just Sonic and I. How does that sound?"
"Only how … t'be … Guardian." His eyes close.
"Knuckles? Knuckles!" Sally does shake him then, snapping his eyes back open to stare at her with pain and shock. "Don't you dare leave me. You're the last Guardian, remember? And the Master Emerald always needs an echidna to be its Guardian. That means you can't die. You're not allowed to die yet, do you hear me?"
He blinks at her, something strange in his eyes. "Not … necessarily … an echidna." He grabs her hand and Sally feels the moment the life goes out of him.
She feels it because that's the moment her world explodes into green sparks and a voice more profound than anything she's ever heard before fills her mind without going through her ears first.
"Greetings, my new Guardian…"
Fin.