This is my first Sonic fic, so if I get some details wrong, or anything like that DON'T freak out on me, m'kay? This takes place in the Sonic X universe, and (hopefully) puts a little explanation as to why Knuckles' personality changed so drastically from the Movie OVA into X. It helps to actually see the movie first, just to let you know. Oh, and Sonic X, too.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic, Knuckles, or Tails. They belong to SEGA and anyone affiliated. I don't even own Knuckles' hat. It came from the movie. All flashback parts are scenes from the movie. I don't own them, either.

When sitting for a while, doing nothing, one begins to notice small things, like the shade of green the grass is, or the exact angle of the sun in the sky. And leaning back against a gigantic green emerald, Knuckles the echidna was slowly being taken by boredom. When the emerald wasn't lost, unfortunately, Knuckles' job was almost too easy.

For most, this would mean that a chance to go away and experience something interesting would be welcomed, but to this echidna, it always felt too strange. To anyone else, reuniting with old friends was a pleasure, but nowadays, Knuckles tried not to enjoy freedom when he had it.

He didn't want to let himself down.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky; nothing to cast any relief from the relentless sun. Knuckles could see the heat reflecting off the ground in waves. Folding his hands behind his head, Knuckles sighed, his eyes half closed. He didn't have much to do nowadays. He remembered back when he was just a treasure hunter, and he didn't have to sit all day and just watch for anything, or nothing. A small, rather sudden breeze rustled his dreadlocks, making his eyes pop open and bringing him back to alertness.

In the distance, Knuckles saw something moving through the grassland. Curiosity got the better of him, and he stood, leaning against the emerald for a moment. Scratching the back of his head, Knuckles started his descent down the stairs of the ancient ruins, keeping his sights on the object that was rolling through the plain, glancing back every now and then to check on the emerald, more out of habit than anything.

As he stepped into the grass, there was another gust of wind. He couldn't help but notice it was in a different direction than the last time. The object blew towards him, into a clump of grass that hid what it was. Knuckles stepped through the plants and moved aside some of the sprouts.

His eyes settled on a very old, faded cowboy hat. Gently, he picked it up, his eyes searching over it, landing at the very top, where there was a large black spot on the top, charred. He smiled as memories flashed behind his eyes.

An explosion. Knuckles peeks from his hole and looks, holding the brim of his hat.

"Hmm."

Tails is stuck. But he can get to Sonic if the treasure hunter can just distract Metal Robotnik. He holds steady his hat as he frees the kitsune.

"Who are you?" the man on the other line of the video phone asks.

"I'm Knuckles, I'm Sonic's best friend!"

The magma. It's spreading.

"Knuckles! Stop the magma!" The echidna looks up, lifting his hat so he can scratch his head.

"I dunno..."

"Ahh! My hat's on fire! Help!"

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Now we're even, Sonic!" the echidna turns and runs. The hedgehog chases after him.

"Why did you hit me?" Sonic shouts with mock rage.

"I was getting you back for stepping on my head!"

"I never did that!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Well I don't remember!"

Knuckles smiles despite himself. He hadn't thought he'd ever see it again.

"I'm Knuckles, I'm Sonic's best friend!"

That stuck out to him. When he thought about it, lately, he hadn't been much of a friend to Sonic at all. Another breeze. Annother direction.

"Hey, Sonic." Knuckles, said, keeping his eyes down on the hat as he traced around a small hole in the top of the hat.

"I hope you remember that thing," came the reply, though there wasn't much humor in his voice.

"Can I have some help?" Knuckles asked sarcastically, though his voice didnt make it evident. There was a sigh and the sound of Sonic tapping his foot. He sighed, muttering something like 'unbelievable'.

"It was a joke," Knuckles muttered, looking up, though Sonic was behind him.

"Really? I didn't think you were capable." Sonic said, a bit bitterly.

"You're angry." Knuckles sighed, "You know, usually that's my thing." This evoked a short-lived chuckle from Sonic.

"Not really angry. I'm a little ticked perhaps, at the way you act nowadays." Knuckles shrugged. He couldn't deny it.

"Knux, you act like you don't really care. And dude, without you, my next closest friend from Tails is Amy. Amy, Knuckles, Amy." Knuckles flinched. That girl followed Sonic everywhere, and even though she was... nice, she wasn't exactly counted as a friend. Even Sonic wasn't that good.

"I know, Sonic." Knuckles said, his heart sinking. It was painful to hear his best friend say that. He clutched his hat with an iron grip.

"If you knew, you wouldn't act like that."

"I'm sorry." Knuckles said, clenching his fist. There was silence for a minute.

"Oh, wait, whoa. I didn't expect that." Sonic joked. Knuckles turned around. The hedgehog was smiling. Knuckles smiled, and the two shared the grin.

"So, we're cool?" Knuckles asked hopefully.

"Way past." Sonic said, and the two exchanged highfives. Knuckles placed the hat on his head, patting it fondly.

"Ah, memories."

Okay guys, thanks for reading. Reviews are great, critique is welcomed! Tell me how it could be better! :)

-Tara