"...Oh, hey! There's Angel Island!" Sonic exclaimed, pointing to a large island floating over the ocean. He handled the controls gently, wanting to make a safe landing.
"Oh wow..." It was the one thing in this world that looked familiar to Knuckles. Everything else may have been different, but this dimension's Angel Island looked a lot like his childhood home.
Sonic was pretty amused at how amazed Knuckles was; it was pretty cute to him.
He landed the plane down, then moved away from his 'seatbelt' and got up, hopping out of the plane.
Just as Sonic had described, a 'smaller version of Knuckles' sat at the top of a shrine, right in front of a gigantic green emerald. He looked down to Sonic, mildly unamused. "What do you want, Sonic?"
Sonic smirked. "Well hello to you too, sunshine."
"Hi!" The taller Knuckles called out, jumping out of the plane seat. He could barely contain his excitement over getting to meet himself. "I'm you from another dimension!"
His smaller double blinked, staring at him. "Uh..." He frowned, then looked over to Sonic. "Okay, what'd you do?"
"Nothing!" Sonic said with a small laugh. "He's serious. He accidentally came here from another dimension and I'm just helpin' him get back home!"
"...Really?" he asked, raising a brow disbelievingly as he stared at his clearly-different counterpart.
The taller Knuckles ran up to the shorter one.
"Hi, Knuckles, I'm Knuckles!" he said. "Though of course you probably knew that. Do you like grapes? Wait, of course you do, you're me! Oh my gosh, can I call you Knuckles Junior? Oooh, how strong are you? You don't look very strong, no offense. Hey, do you play piano?" Knuckles rambled on and on.
Sonic covered his mouth and tried his best not to snicker.
The clearly-much-more-annoyed Knuckles raised a brow as his large counterpart rambled. He took some offense at apparently not looking strong to him and his 'Knuckles Junior' comment, then held a hand out. "You wanna go right now then, 'tough guy'?" he asked.
"Take him to school, big Knux!" Sonic cheered, waving his hands in the air and wanting to tease the smaller Knuckles as much as he could.
Knuckles (the taller one) gave Sonic a confused glance. "But I don't know where to find a school!"
Sonic tried again not to snicker. "It's alright! I meant 'show him how strong ya are'!"
The smaller Knuckles huffed, taking the opportunity to beat his counterpart since he was distracted. In a swift motion, he picked him up despite the size difference, then threw him off the shrine.
"Foul play!" Sonic said, pouting slightly.
Knuckles (the one who got thrown) stood back up, barely fazed.
"Wow, I'm awesome!" he exclaimed, referring to his shorter self. "Hey, you should totally consider being my sidekick!" He was only half-teasing when he said that.
"S-sidekick?" the smaller asked, feeling a bit insulted. He crossed his arms, then looked over to Sonic. "Look, just tell me what you came here for."
"Oh, right," Sonic said with a chuckle. "Tails said you have a Chaos Emerald and we need it to send the big Knux over here home," he explained, jabbing a thumb at the larger Knuckles.
"And why should I just hand it over so easily? You're so reckless all the time, how do I know if I can trust you with it?" he asked, pulling out a red Chaos Emerald to show it to him. "You'll probably drop it on the way back..."
Sonic frowned. "Hey, c'mon! Gimme some credit!"
A sigh quickly followed from the smaller Knuckles, who held out the emerald to his counterpart, though not quite sure if he could trust him. He was a little too... cheery, for his liking. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
The taller Knuckles grinned. "You can count on me!"
For a moment, he was distracted by how pretty and shiny the emerald was, then he remembered what he was here for and carefully took it from his counterpart.
"Thanks, me!"
Sonic sped back to the plane and waved to the larger Knuckles. "Let's get goin' then!"
"Okay!" Knuckles replied with a smile.
He waved at the smaller Knuckles. "Bye! It was nice meeting me!"
He waved back, though clearly still confused at what had just occurred.
Sonic hopped onto the wing, then waited patiently for his 'seatbelt' to get into position.
Knuckles hopped into the seat. "Ready when you are!"
Sonic nodded, sitting down on Knuckles' lap and readying the plane for take-off. He couldn't imagine what the other Knuckles was thinking seeing them so close like that, but it still made him a little flustered. "Here we go!"
The plane lifted off, and the two were up in the sky once again.
"So... where are we going now?" Knuckles asked.
"I guess we go after the Chaos Emerald next," Sonic replied. He paused, then giggled and tried to look up at Knuckles from the position he was in. "The way you were throwin' questions at him reminded me a lot of Cream, y'know?"
"Cream?" Knuckles was confused. "What are you talking about?"
Sonic stared at him, shocked. "You don't have a Cream in your world? Oh, you've gotta meet her then! Her and Vanilla and Cheese are just—" He stopped himself before he turned the plane in a different direction, frowning a little. "Oh, uh, right. You're probably in a hurry to get back home, huh?"
Knuckles hesitated. "Well... I don't mind staying a bit longer..." he said. Truth was, he didn't really want to leave just yet.
Sonic quickly brightened back up, thought he tried not to look too excited. "So, y'don't mind a little detour?" he asked.
"Not at all!" Knuckles replied. "I'd like to meet Cream."
Sonic changed directions on the plane, and the two eventually found themselves at Vanilla's house. Sonic hopped out excitedly, then headed for the door, knocking as politely as he could.
There were sounds of light footsteps coming from the other side until the door open, a young rabbit standing in the doorway. Her face instantly lit up as she saw Sonic. "Mister Sonic! What a nice surprise!"
The blue hedgehog giggled. "Yo, Cream! I brought a new friend with me today to meet cha."
"A new friend?" she asked, her eyes growing wide with curiosity.
"Mhm!" Sonic nodded firmly. "It's a little hard to believe, but he's Knuckles from another universe!"
Her curiosity peeked, Cream leaned to the side to stare at the plane, looking up at Knuckles. She flapped her ears, then flew up to him. "Hello, Mister Knuckles!" she exclaimed, holding her hand out politely. "I'm Cream the Rabbit!"
Knuckles smiled wide. Oh my gosh, she's so cute!
"And I'm Knuckles!" He gently shook her hand. "Nice to meet ya, Cream!"
A larger rabbit peeked her head out of the doorway, having heard the earlier conversation. "Hello, Knuckles! Would you like to come in?"
Sonic turned to her. "Hey, Vanilla! Yup, me and Knux came to hang out for a bit. He wanted to meet you guys!" he explained.
"Then please, do come in!" she said with a smile, gesturing inside.
Sonic smiled and walked in, with Cream following closely behind.
Knuckles followed everyone inside the house.
"Wow..." he said as he looked around. "Nice place!"
"Thank you! I always try to keep it clean in cause I get surprise guests; like today!" Vanilla said with a giggle, walking over and sitting down on the couch.
As soon as she was done speaking, a blur of light blue suddenly rushed at Knuckles, hugging him tight.
"Oh, sorry! That's my chao friend, Cheese," Cream told him. "He loves meeting new people!"
"I've never heard of a chao before," Knuckles said. He smiled at the little creature.
"You're a cute little guy!" he said with a chuckle.
"Chao cha!" Cheese exclaimed in reply, wiggling its arms excitedly.
"Let me show you around!" Cream said as she gently grabbed Knuckles' hand. "This is the living room." She pointed to the floor with her free hand. "That's the kitchen." She pointed to her right, the carpet transitioning into a tiled floor as the kitchen was connected to it. "Oh, and upstairs is my room and Mama's room!" she added, tugging on Knuckles' arm to lead him upstairs.
Knuckles followed Cream upstairs, grinning at her excitement. He found it adorable.
The young rabbit led him into her room, which was filled with assorted toys and plushes. "Like it?" She asked, releasing Knuckles' hand and twirling around, promptly throwing her hands out.
"Yeah!" Knuckles replied. "It's really nice!"
"I even have plushes of all my friends!" Cream told him. She went over to her plush collection, then showed him each of her plushes one by one.
"...here's Miss Amy, here's Mister Knuckles, here's Tails..." She then held out a Sonic plush. "and Mister Sonic, of course!"
"Cool!" Knuckles replied with a smile.
As Cream put the plush back down, she couldn't help but notice Knuckles' extra focus on the Sonic plush. "...Ah, which one's your favorite?" she asked.
"That's a tough choice..." Knuckles replied.
The Sonic one, he wanted to say.
"...This one?" Cream asked, holding out the Sonic plush once more, an almost-innocent smile on her face.
"U-um..." Knuckles stammered. He couldn't stop himself from blushing.
Cream giggled. "You must really like Mister Sonic, huh?"
"Uh... I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Knuckles responded, smiling nervously.
"But you're blushing," Cream pointed out, pointing at Knuckles' face.
Vanilla poked her head into the doorway. "Is he?" she asked, walking inside. "Sorry. Sonic left to go deliver the Chaos Emerald to Tails and I couldn't help over-hearing," she added, holding out one of her long ears for emphasis.
Knuckles' face flushed even more in embarrassment. "I, u-uh..." He had no idea what to even say.
Vanilla looked over to Cream. "Cream, you shouldn't pry into matters that aren't your business," she said sternly, though also being very gentle. "...But..."
She turned her attention back to Knuckles and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I've been around many people in my days and I know how to read someone's expressions. Something's bothering you about that, right?"
Knuckles sighed. "I-I dunno... I guess I kinda, sorta, um..." He brought his voice down to a whisper, blushing hard. "...have a teeny tiny little crush on him maybe?"
It was an understatement for sure, but he was too embarrassed to say what he really felt. Yet, somehow, even though he'd only just met them, he felt safe talking to Vanilla and Cream.
Vanilla smiled softly. "There you go. That must feel at least a little better," she said.
She gently grabbed his hand, then took him back downstairs, sitting him on the couch and taking a seat next to him. "If something's bothering you, you don't have to bottle it up. You can tell me," she told him.
"Yeah!" Cream exclaimed as she came downstairs. "Mama's like a mama to everyone!"
Vanilla giggled, though waved a hand dismissively, knowing that it'd probably be a more comfortable experience for Knuckles if it was one-on-one. "Cream, how about you take Cheese up to your room with you and play for a while?"
Getting the message, the young rabbit nodded, picking Cheese up and taking him upstairs with her.
"That should help things along," Vanilla muttered softly, gazing at Knuckles. "Would you like some tea?"
"S-sure," Knuckles answered. He hoped it might calm his nerves a bit.
Vanilla nodded sweetly, getting up and heading over to the kitchen. She took a little long to make the tea, but only because she wanted it to be perfect.
Once she was done, she poured the tea into a cup, which she cradled gently in her hands and took out to Knuckles. "Here," she said, handing it to him and sitting next to him once more. "I won't make you tell me anything you don't want to; I'm only here to listen to what you want to say," she assured.
Knuckles nodded and took a sip of the tea. It was hot, but he didn't really mind. It tasted wonderful, and it was very soothing.
"Well..." He hesitated, not really sure where to begin. "B-back in my dimension, I had a...a crush on... Sonic, but he's already dating someone. And then I ended up in this world, and... I think I love the Sonic here even more..."
He sighed sadly. "Problem is, I'm gonna have to go back home soon. And then... I'll never see him again..."
Wow, Knuckles thought, talking about it does help me feel a little better!
Vanilla giggled. "Isn't that sweet..."
She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "And let me guess; now that you've seen that the other Sonic has someone to love, you're even more afraid to tell this one how you feel?"
"Yeah..." Knuckles replied. "And besides, it won't matter anyway; like I said, I'll have to go back to my dimension soon."
"That's one way to look at it..." Vanilla mumbled, staring down at the floor. "But... are you sure you'd rather go back without saying anything?"
"I...I don't know..." Knuckles sighed again. "I dunno what to do. I guess I'm scared that if I confess... it'll hurt even more when I go back, y'know?"
"That's a fair point too," Vanilla said, saddening at the thought. "And I know you're worried about him not reciprocating your feelings as well. Still... if he does like you back, wouldn't it be nice to share at least one kiss before you left?" she asked. "Obviously, I wouldn't know of such matters, but I'd want a nice long kiss if I knew I'd never see the one I loved again..."
Knuckles was silent for a little while. Vanilla made a good point, but he still wasn't sure if he should confess to Sonic. He wanted so badly to tell him... but how would he move on with his life once they were separated?
Vanilla smiled softly. "Don't worry. Things'll work out, I'm sure." She giggled. "Either way, you both seem to have made each other very happy during your time together, if nothing else. Sonic smiles often, but his smile seemed a little wider this time around."
Knuckles turned his head to look at her. "Really?"
Vanilla nodded. "I think so. He looked happier than usual when I saw him with you earlier."
Suddenly, the front door opened, and Sonic walked through with his usual smile on. "Hey, sorry it took a while!" he said, closing the door behind him with his foot.
"Oh, Sonic!" Vanilla said. "We were just talking about you."
"Yeah?" Sonic asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity. "What about?"
Vanilla smiled softly. "It's a secret."
Knuckles took a big sip of what was left of his tea, hoping Sonic couldn't see how flustered he now was.
"Secret?" Sonic questioned, pouting a little. He chuckled right afterwards though, to let them know that he wasn't mad. "Alright then."
"So, Knuckles," Vanilla said, looking over at the echidna. "I'm sure you and Sonic probably have places to be, but would you like to spend some more time here? I'd be happy to make you lunch later!" she offered.
"If it's okay with Sonic," Knuckles replied, glancing hopefully at the hedgehog. Not only was he enjoying his time spent with Cream and Vanilla, but he was also excited by the idea of getting some lunch.
Sonic grinned. "A'course! Whatever you want's fine with me!"
And so, the two decided to spend the next few hours at Vanilla's house. They talked, had lunch, played games, and Cream even got Knuckles and Sonic to play with her plushies for a while.
Though, the fun didn't last forever, and both Sonic and Knuckles acknowledged that they were sent on a mission by Tails; they were probably slacking too much by hanging around and not searching for the emerald.
As they started to leave though, Cream rushed up to Knuckles and lightly tugged on his hand, holding something behind her back. "Mister Knuckles?" she asked, making a gesture to signal him to come closer.
"What is it, Cream?" Knuckles asked with a soft smile.
She pulled out the Sonic plush and lowered her voice. "I want you to have this. I'll leave it with Tails so you can take it back home with you, okay?" she whispered.
Knuckles was touched by this. "Aww, are you sure?"
Cream nodded, smiling wide at him. "Mhm!"
"Thank you. That's so nice of you!" He gave Cream a light hug.
"I'll miss you," he said as he began to head out.
Cream waved. "I'll miss you too!"
Sonic was already outside, sitting on the plane and waiting for Knuckles.
He smiled and looked over at him as the echidna got close. "Ready to get movin'? It's a pretty long ride to where the emerald is," he said.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Knuckles replied.
He got into the plane seat once more.
Sonic sat on his lap and flew the plane back up into the sky. "I'll try to get us there as fast as I can," he said, adjusting the controls as needed.
Knuckles was still flustered by having Sonic in his lap, but he decided to enjoy being so close to him while he still could.