I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog, but you probably knew that.
"Why you…" Knuckles roared and swung his fist at Sonic. He watched, infuriated, as Sonic yawned, then, at the last instant, disappeared. Then Knuckles felt a tap on his shoulder. Infuriated, he spun around, directing another fist at Sonic. This time, he saw Sonic actually wave at him and poke at his knuckle-spikes with a stick before speeding away again.
"You're too slow," Sonic taunted, then zoomed beyond sight.
Knuckles slumped to the ground, defeated. He was nothing. That mean, haughty, super-speeding hedgehog toyed with him day in and day out. He tried so hard, but he couldn't touch his rival. Rival? Ha! He wasn't even that anymore. Finding that self proclaimed "Ultimate Life-form," Shadow, just made it more obvious. While he was cool, Shadow was cold. While he was strong, Shadow was stronger. While he was fairly quick, Shadow was just as fast as Sonic, faster maybe. When Knuckles used the Chaos Emeralds, it was embarrassing. Sonic turned Gold. Shadow either turned silver or gold, keeping his red head marks. What did he get? Pink. Knuckles sometimes wondered if it was simply out of pity that Sonic even played with him any more. He thought back to the early days…
Knuckles' first meeting with Sonic was nothing but pitiful on his part. The evil doctor, Robotnick, easily fooled him into working for him. He took out Super Sonic with a surprise attack, then ran away. Time and again, he would make Sonic's quest hard (from safe locations), but the hedgehog would always return. When they actually fought, he was defeated easily by the speed demon who went on to the Doctor, unfazed. The "Eggman", as Sonic seemed to love to call him. That began a set of quests, always with Sonic taking the lead. Sometimes they would be on the same side, sometimes Robotnick would fool Knuckles into working for him again. Time after time, alongside or against Knuckles, Sonic would always complete every quest, best every challenge, seemingly with no difficulty at all.
Everyone loved Sonic. He had the devoted sidekick, Tails. Cream and Cheese both trusted him. Big liked him. Even Robotnick had shown that he really didn't want Sonic dead, and was willing to work alongside him against tougher foes, like Chaos, the monster that terrorized the city they were staying in when they were on Earth. At least, Knuckles thought, smiling, at least he didn't have to deal with Amy Rose's affections. Then he thought of Rouge, winced, and trained his thoughts elsewhere.
How could he even be having these thoughts? He was tough. He was invincible. At least, he was on the outside. Inside, everyone is venerable. "Tough as nails"? Hah! He wished.
Was he really fooled by Robotnick? This was a question Knuckles often asked himself. Perhaps not. Perhaps he just wanted an excuse to duel Sonic. He hated the feeling of inferiority. Surely if he kept fighting, he would win one day, wouldn't he? Maybe not. Knuckles slumped down even further. What was the point? Every time he tried to even match up slightly to Sonic's power, he ended up embarrassed. Should he quit? Maybe he should just go back to his island and isolate himself for a few more years. But he knew that he wouldn't be satisfied with that sort of life again. After being in the fast-track with Sonic, that seemed mind numbingly boring. But what to do?
Knuckles' thoughts were interrupted by a loud tsew and an explosion. Within seconds, a gust of wind blew in his face. He squinted his eyes to protect them from the dust cloud.
"Why are you laying there? Are you hurt?" Sonic asked.
"No," replied Knuckles, annoyed. "What's going on?"
"Come on!" shouted Sonic, ignoring the question. Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed Knuckles' wrist and ran at full speed. "We need you!"
Maybe he would fight a while longer.