Greetings Readers, I hope you've enjoyed it so far. As I stated earlier, this story is EXTREMELY long, but it's done! I just gotta upload it! Don't worry, it doens't take that long to read, but it's much much longer than your average story, so yeah. Please review!
Brown-eyedFiction
"What?" Knuckles asked in disbelief.
"It's in ruins the whole place was demolished…" Tails spoke solemnly.
Knuckles just looked at the twosome his eyes shifting between them. It couldn't be true…could it?
"We saw it on the news," Star added sadly.
"…That can't be right," Knuckles waved them off.
Seriously a huge city like Westopolis, in remains? Sounded a little farfetched, no? "Look, I'm sorry about what happened to the city, but what do you want me to do about it?" he answered after a moments pause. "I have to stay here, and guard the emerald. If what you say is true, then it's in more danger now than before."
"So, what you're not going to help us then? Don't you think it's vital to maybe find the chaos emeralds?" Star argued, growing annoyed. What kind of man was this? Refusing to help was one thing she never did.
Knuckles gave her a sharp look, "If you knew anything about the chaos emeralds then you would know that they only have dangerous potential when all are together. And I happen to have one with me, so there is absolutely no way that kind of power will be released."
"You have a chaos emerald?" Tails spoke up. "Is it safe?"
Knuckles only nodded still eyeing Star "And I intend to keep it that way."
A thunderous explosion suddenly erupted causing the trio to fall over. The entire island began shaking violently and the first explosion was soon followed by a second one. Debris showered over them and Star buried her head in her arms. "What the hell is going on?" Knuckles shouted above the roar.
"Hey! Do you think that maybe this is the enemy that attacked the city?" Star shouted back sarcastically.
Tails let out a shout of frustration, "Well, maybe we should go protect the master emerald!"
Star couldn't help herself, "Wow, now there's an idea."
Knuckles jumped up first as another explosion erupted to his right. The blast sent him to the ground again, but only for matter of seconds. He soon was on his feet again, and Star glanced over the edge of the cliff as a small aircraft arose from the sea. "Who is that?" Tails shouted over the bellow of the plane's engine. "It looks like a UFO!"
Star watched in awe as a hatch door opened on the aircraft and two black figures emerged. They looked like a cross between a bat and a dragon with silver skin and a long tail. The moment they emerged, they swooped over to the top of the shrine. "That son of a-" Star murmured to herself. She jumped up and made her way over to the staircase. The moment she placed her first step on the stairway, the ground a few feet from her was blown to the sky. She lost her balance, and fell, badly scraping up her knee and her forehead. The small trickle of blood raced down the side of her now exposed leg, however she barely felt it. Whatever those things were, they were heading straight for the master emerald, and that Knuckles guy. She had to get up there. It became her responsibility.
"Star watch out!" Tails called from a safe distance. She gathered her bearings, and once again climbed the long staircase. The ground continued to shake but Star pressed onward. She reached the top much faster this time and her eyes immediately went to Knuckles. "What the hell are you doing up here?" he called over the blasting. He didn't hear a response however because one of the bat-like creatures dove at him sending him rolling away.
"You know what, you watch for those bad things and I'll get the master emerald." Star spoke firmly as she dashed over to the gem.
"You'll do what? Are you insane!" Knuckles snapped his head around only to allow the second creature to clobber him.
Star ducked behind the emerald and caught her breath. "I know what I'm doing…. I hope." Star stood up straight and took a deep breath. "Well, here we go again"
Her hand landed on the smooth cool surface of the emerald and in a split second, the sounds of explosions and the shouts of Knuckles suddenly evaporated. Star was once again swallowed by the bright light and her scrapes no longer hurt her. A soothing voice echoed throughout the brightness but its words were not audible.
Then, just as before, the light vanished and Knuckles voice rang throughout her ears shouting at her to wake up.
"Tails, up here!" he was saying. "They're gone. All of them."
Tails' voice let out a gasp. "Did they do that to her?" He was obviously referring to her head and knee. Star groaned and moaned and felt two large hands scooped her up. Star's eyes fluttered open and met with Knuckles' violet ones again. "What happened?"
"You tell me." Knuckles sighed, exasperatedly. Star stiffened when she felt his grip on her tighten just a little. "You have some explaining to do."
Suddenly Tails spoke up, "Uh….hey Knuckles….where's the master emerald?"
Knuckles turned to face the center of shrine with Star still in his arms. Sure enough, the alter was empty. The emerald was gone. Knuckles' gaze went back to Star, "Where is it?" he asked accusingly as though she had taken it. However, Star didn't hear him. She was too preoccupied with the strange tattoo of a gem that had suddenly appeared on her wrist.
It was outlined in black and seemed to have a tint of green to it. "Um… I think this is it." She mumbled.
Knuckles glanced downward and his eyes narrowed. "What are you-?" he halted in mid-sentence. "Holy shit! You-you absorbed it?" The very words slipping off his tongue sounded odd, but the thought was pure insanity.
"I don't know. Are you sure those creatures didn't take it?" Star looked up sadly.
"I don't think so." Knuckles glanced away and over to Tails. "There was this bright light, and then everything was quiet. The monsters were gone and so was the master emerald. And you didn't have that tattoo before right?"
Star shook her head. "Do you really think that I absorbed it?"
"Not so much the emerald itself, but the power within the emerald? That could be… almost like Sonic and the chaos emeralds"
"But, why me?" Star asked the obvious question. "Why not Sonic?"
Tails' eyes darted to Star's knee. "Well, we need to get you bandaged up first. Then maybe we can figure this out."
"And what am I supposed to do?" Knuckles whirled around to the empty alter. "In case you haven't noticed, the master emerald is gone!"
"Actually Knuckles, you're holding the emerald in your hands, in case YOU haven't noticed." Tails smirked.
This remark caused Knuckles to glance down at Star, who in return smiled. "Hi."
Knuckles only rolled his eyes, "This is gonna be a long week."
The trio boarded the plane and in no time at all they were air born. The flight back home was a bit more intense and I don't mean because of the weather or any aliens attacking.
The engine of the plane died slowly and Knuckles hopped out first. Tails jumped out next and he and Knuckles offered to help Star out.
"No, thanks, I think I got it." Star insisted. She hopped out and hobbled over to the front door.
Knuckles and Tails shrugged at each other and followed her.
"I think she has a concussion." Knuckles whispered.
Inside, Amy sat patiently reading a book. Sonic had gotten home a few moments ago and was presently getting dressed after taking a much needed shower. The house had that warm mist like feeling to it, and smelled like his shampoo. All though he had the fastest feet in the world, Sonic was so slow when it came to his bathing. The time ranged from thirty minutes to a full fledged hour and a half, depending on how long the hot water lasted.
She looked up when he walked into the room with a towel around his neck. "Feel better?" she offered cheerfully.
"Yeah, I guess so." He sat down next to her and pressed the tip of the towel into his ears to get rid of the excess water. "Where did you say Tails and Star went?"
Amy closed her book Obviously, she wasn't gonna get any reading done. "Tails took her to Angel Island to check on the master emerald. They said they'd be back later."
"I hope they'll be okay." He muttered quietly.
Amy smiled, "Don't worry about it. If that girl is anything like her cousin, she'll be the cause of anything that happens."
"Yeah, I guess you….hey!" Sonic laughed tossing a pillow at her. Amy only giggled, "So what are you gonna do with your shoes? I think they bit the dust," she laughed eyeing his bloody, filthy kicks lying over by the back door.
"Ah, it will come off." Sonic mumbled, but when Amy laughed harder, he stood up. "Fine, I guess I'll have to show you." He made his way over to his soapbox sneakers and dumped them into the sink. "Watch and learn, Ames"
Amy merely shrugged as Sonic turned on the sink and poured about a handful of soap into the mix. The bubbles arose quickly and pretty soon both of Sonic's arms were covered in the bubbly soap. It was that moment that the front door opened and Star hobbled inside. A few moments later and Knuckles and Tails entered the household.
"Star, hey are you okay? Well, hi Knuckles." Amy greeted. "What brings you here?"
Knuckles said nothing; he just followed Star into the kitchen.
"Don't mind him, he's just grouchy." Tails piped up, taking a seat next to Amy. "What happened to Star?" she asked considerately. Tails grabbed the remote, "We had a run in with some aliens."
This remark caused Amy to tilt her head and raise an eyebrow. "Do I want to know?"
"Probably not, all you need to know is that Star now has the master emerald."
"Okay, fill me in." Amy smiled placing her book on the table.
Back in the kitchen, Star hopped over to a chair by the kitchen table. This gave her a good view of her cousin. "Hey, Sonic."
"I'm cleaning my sneakers." He snapped, grumpily not even glimpsing at her.
"Kay, just asking." she laughed raising her hands defensively.
Knuckles suddenly appeared by her side and kneeled down by her knee. In one hand, he held a bottle of peroxide and in the other a handful of bandages. "This might hurt a little." He mumbled.
"Great, as if scratching it wasn't enough." she replied sarcastically. Suddenly moody, he looked up at her.
"You want me to do this or not?" he snapped pouring just a little more peroxide into the cotton swab than necessary. As tenderly as a guy with humongous hands could, Knuckles dabbed the scratch. In moments it fizzed over and he listened as Star groaned inwardly.
"Ow, owe, ow!" Star squinted biting her lower lip. Oddly enough, Knuckles watched her and felt a strange little numbness form in the lower part of his stomach.
Meanwhile, Sonic was looking at both of them, with an eyebrow raised. Star glanced up as Knuckles put the bandage on her knee. He smirked at her and she stuck her tongue out.
"So…what's up?" he chuckled. Star stood up and walked around Knuckles and made her way to the bathroom. It was then that Amy and Tails walked in the kitchen.
"You're welcome." Knuckles muttered, after her. He glanced over at Tails, Sonic and Amy watching him. "What?"
"I am beginning to see an attraction." Amy smiled, cheerfully. Knuckles whipped around to face her,
"What - an attraction! T-To that scrawny little-" he paused when Tails and Amy burst out laughing, "you're joking."
"So, Knuckles, what brings you to our humble abode?" Sonic smiled resting an arm on the chair that Amy had sat in. Tails parked it beside her.
"She absorbed the master emerald." The fox said calmly. "We think that, like you, she has that same ability to use the power of it."
Sonic shook his head, "What? Wh-No way, you don't really believe that? She "absorbed" it? Like a sponge? Oh wow." It really was a funny concept if you thought about it. "And what, are you gonna tell me that she can go super? Like me"
"Well, as of right now, no." Tails shook his head. "But I'm not ruling out the possibility." "Tails, do you realize what you're saying?" Sonic half laughed.
"With this kind of power, she could be targeted easily." Knuckles spoke almost grimly. "Every enemy you have out there will be after her, including those new ones you found."
It's was Amy's turn to go wide eyed. "New enemy?"
"Look, those aliens are no big deal. Nothing I can't handle." Sonic protested shrugging.
Knuckles shook his head, "Aliens? Are you telling me aliens attacked you? Those creature things could be another masterpiece of Eggman for all you know."
"So you saw them?" Amy tilted her head to the side.
"Lizards with wings? Oh, yeah, they're so scary." Knuckles rolled his eyes.
"Oh so that's why they were beating the shit out of you?" Star appeared from the hallway with a towel around her neck. Clearly she just got out of the shower. "Because you were scared? Gees, men are such babies." She sat down on the other side of Amy and gave the echidna a witty smile.
Knuckles crossed his arms, "The odds were against me"
When Tails let out an abrupt laugh, Knuckles stood up and made his way over to the sofa. "I'm gonna crash on the couch. Let me know if you get any other tattoos, piercings, other body parts just appear randomly, ect," He jumped and landed on the couch grabbing the remote, "Have a lovely evening princess."
Star resulted in rolling her eyes and turning back to face the rest of them. "I think he likes me."
Amy only chuckled, "Don't men have a weird way of expressing their feelings?" she asked Star though obviously talking about the blue hedgehog that stood not far from her.It was Sonic's turn to roll his eyes as he turned back to his task of desperately trying to get his precious sneakers clean.
"If you two are going to "girl talk" take it into the other room.Star and Amy only shook their heads before walking away to talk. Men, can't leave with them, can't live without them.
This left Tails to be the only one in the kitchen now. Since the "meeting" had been adjourned he hopped down from the kitchen chair only to travel over to next his best friend and hop on the counter. "So do you really think Star can go "super"?" he asked, his tails flicking with deep interest.
Sonic shook his head, "I'm not sure. I mean I have to have all seven chaos emeralds to go super…I don't thing the master emerald has that kind of power."
"What do you mean?" Tails cocked his head to the side, a bit confused.
"It has the power to neutralize the chaos emeralds so unlike the other chaos emeralds when placed together it doesn't amplify their power. It's a different "kind" of power….I don't know it's hard to explain…" he sighed a bit frustrated with the whole scenario.
Tails took this all into consideration, what Sonic said had a good base, but still…Tails thoughts stopped abruptly as he watched the water turn a putrid dark color. He watched as despite this Sonic kept frantically scrubbing away. Tails thought it was a hopeless matter, but his friend was just too stubborn to know when to call it quits…"What happened?" his young eyes widened.
Sonic stopped; for once Tails watched his friend's usual confident smile waver, his expression falling a bit. He couldn't tell Amy what had really happened, let alone a young Tails. "Just some fighting…that's all…" he trailed off trying to make it sound like it was nothing.
Either A: Tails didn't catch the wanting to change topic or B: he just flat out didn't care before he pursued it anyway.
"You're not hurt so it can't be your blood. What happened?" Tails was now thoroughly concerned in all the times he had traveled with his friend he had never seen him as distraught as he was now. Of course Sonic was too hard-headed to let anyone else know that something had happened now in Westopolis. No, he'd go on an act like it was just a couple of battles and nothing was wrong so no one would worry. No one would suspect otherwise.
Tails wouldn't have pursued the topic with such earnest if it hadn't been for the fact this obviously bothered him. Besides Sonic was being short…he was usually very giving when it came to information now that he was locking down it was a sure sign something had gone wrong.
"It's awful out there Tails. What I saw other there…I wouldn't wish on anybody," he paused with heavy sigh.
Tails had seen the pictures on the television but to think of seeing it first hand, he couldn't imagine. He turned and yet there was still something that his friend wasn't telling him. It was like the 800 pound elephant in the room always there but no one wanted to talk about it.
"What else?" he prodded.
"…..just got a visit from an old "friend"…"