Through the Monitor Chapter 7: Knuckle Down
Tikal, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, The Master Emerald, Mighty, Eggman, Echidnaopolis', Rouge, Julie-Su, Sally, Sonia and Amy are copyright to Sega and whoever else owns the copyright. We intend no copyright infrignment with this story.
This chapter was written by: Ryu the Weredragon, Rusty Raccoon and Alex Warlorn.
Charlie Kisner was lost. A mere two months after his friend Timothy disappeared, he had ended up following a strange light, and it brought him to the middle of the forest on the outskirts of town, before it just vanished. Why he followed it, he wasn't quite sure.
"Man, if Ben were here, he'd make some joke about how he's surprised it didn't happen earlier, I'm sure of it!"
He sighed. If he had paid more attention to his surroundings when following the strange light, he probably wouldn't be in this mess...If Sean were here, he'd say that it was the aliens leading him into a trap to cut out his brain.
Of course, Sean said that anytime he went camping. Which was left him near the forest to begin with. He had just been pitching his tent when he saw the strange light, figuring it was just some fire flies and it couldn't hurt to look for a second, he hadn't exactly thought to take any of his equipment or supplies with him. After all! It was just a short look! And how he had no idea where he was, andany landmarks he usual knew about were nowhere to be seen, he was in personal uncharted territory.
Ugh! If only he had thought to bring his radio! Or even a map! Not that it would have done any good; his watch's compass was busted, (oh Sean would have loved that). It was reasons like this that his friend Kyle the gamer nut never went camping with him, kept talking about this sort of thinghappened all the time. Well, it was a first time for Charlie! Heck even Sean would be help at this point; at least he would be company! He still wishes that Sean family hadn't up and moved without a word to anyone!
The trees all looked alike. He really didn't believe the old fairy tale, but now that they were pretty much all he had to go by, he really did really appreciate the tale of the guy who put a put a scarf on one tree holding treasure only to have the fairies do the same to every tree.
If only if maybe he had memorized the position of the sun to the horizon for this time of year. Could have, should have, didn't!
As he walked though the woods, he stomach growled. The granola bar and small bag or cookies he'd brought with him in his coat when he saw the firefly were gone. He looked around the woods, wondering what (if anything) he could eat. He didn't exactly know what types of berries or plants were safe and the last thing he wanted to do was to risk getting himself in more trouble by making himself sick.
He heard a chirping sound to his left and darted his head in that direction. He saw a chipmunk standing several meters away, eating a nut or berry, he couldn't tell. He thought of capturing the critter and cooking it but that thought made him feel worse then the hunger. Eating strange berries was bad enough ... killing a forest creature seemed immoral at this point. Besides, he thought, a chippy wouldn't offer much nutrition for a human, and he had no real way to catch it, not to mention cook it. He didn't need a parasite infecting his body that was for damned sure. Besides, they we're too fast for him. He watched the creature eat, jealous that it knew of a safe source of food. Shaking his head, he mentally punished himself for being jealous of a rodent. He decided to keepwalking; maybe he'd find some acorns or chestnuts ... something he figured he could eat. Certainly no one would've sprayed pesticide, not this far out.
He kept walking, the leaves cracking under his shoes and the scents of the forest appealing to his adventurous side. He also noted that he'd need to find water, even if it was too dangerous to drink, he'd need to bathe, lest he smell bad andattract a bear or who knows that else. As though on queue, he heard flowing water nearbye. Was that there a minute ago? Sean would say this was too convenient, to run away. That was easy to say when you're not starving and dehydrated, even though he feared a trap, he was too desperate to run away. Without a second thought, he dashed off towards the source of the sound.
Following the sound as well as he could, he did come across a stream. The oddest thing is how clean the water seemed. It's as if this place was undisturbed by animal and man for ages.
Falling to his knees, he cupped the water and drank, not tasting mud, nor feeling anything moving inside his mouth. He had often heard how clear water did not mean safe water, but at this point he was too thirsty to care. He had started to pitch camp early in the morning, and now it just after mid-afternoon. Combined with the walking he had been doing and the real lack of protection the traitoroustrees could have provided, he needed water, or pass out.
Charlie remembered a basic law of civilization. Follow the path of a body of water, and you'll find other human beings. So as it was, Charlie began to follow the river, drinking as he went. He didn't feel any hotter, he wasn't talking to little green elves, and he didn't see snakes under his skin, so he had to assume for the moment the water was safe. As if he had a choice.
Charlie continued with this course of action until it was almost twilight and the shadows started to lengthen all the more. Sure he was going to have to march all night or get eaten by some nocturnal predator, (and maybe still get eaten or tripped on something in the dark and break his neck) Charlie saw the thing he was just beginning to think he had no hope of seeing, Smoke. And not the huge billowing tower of smoke you'd see from a forest fire, but the wispy trail of smoke you'd see from a campfire. And it looked like more than one! Yes! Whoever they were it had to be better than being eaten alive by wild animals while you slept! Setting his internal compass the best he could, Charlie made a beeline towards the smoke just as the first couple of stars started to come out. Ignoringthe trees completely and staying slowly enough just to avoid tripping on something, Charlie would have punched through the rocks in his path of he could. By his math he knew he had to be getting closer to the campfire, one of them had to have a cell', he could use it call his friends and family tell him he was all right!
However, hunger and stamina took their toll, and Charlie began to feel like his legs were made of metal. Heavy metal, the kind that's hard to move. No, he was so close!
Convinced he was going to collapse before reaching anything except the Pearly Gates, he saw figures running towards him carrying torches of all things, he just made out shadows in the dark, and Charlie felt dizzy and his eyes were unfocused. Finally, he felt legs give up; the last thing he felt was a pair of soft hands catching him from behind.
"I shall protect the Master Emerald. I shall protect Angel Island. I shall protect my people and their way of life. I am the Guardian." He said to himself, feeling rather lonely with only the Master Emerald itself for company. But it was his fate, his duty. For he-
Charlie was shook awake, ugh; normally his dreams of Knuckles involved Rouge, Julie-Su, Sera, Sonia, Amy, and a whole lot of beach side property and of course a no clothing sign right there standing out of the sand. So what happened to that dream? Was it too much like his real life somehow? Where the heck was he anyway? His bed was never this rough. And which girl's hand was on his shoulder right now? And since when did any of his girl friends wear magenta and white body make up on their arms?
Charlie bolted up, feeling the hand leave his shoulder. He looked behind him to see a woman he didn't recognize in clothing that appeared almost tribal. Magenta and white body paint adorned her body. She smiled at him; something about her smile calmed him, making him feel at peace.
"It's all right, I won't hurt you. You're with friends here," she said, her voice calm and relaxed.
"Who are you?"
"My name is ... Sarah, you're in our village. We saw you collapse last night," she said.
Indeed, Charlie seemed to be in a tent of some sort. A scent not unlike incense and extinguished campfires surrounded him. He was still wearing his pants but someone had removed his shirt at some point. Someone had painted a letter in script he couldn't recognize at the center of his chest in the same magenta on Sarah's body. Despite not being able to read it ... he knew it somehow; it felt connected to his dreams. What was going on? He never heard of any native tribes living in these woods, certainly not ones that wore body paint and clothing that seemed almost Aztec ... or perhaps Toltec in origin. But that was impossible; he was in the wrong part of the world, and century to encounter either of them.
What was going on? He felt a warm hand touch his right shoulder; it felt nice, as though energy were flowing from her into him. Or perhaps this was his imagination. Sean would love this he thought, encountering an ancient race such as this and they seemed friendly. His friend would probably think they were abducted by aliens and had returned to Earth, heck even that they -worked- for the aliens.
He could picture the lad's inquiry now 'how else did they build those pyramids so perfectly?' The young lady was probably getting impatient, so Charlie knew he had to say something.
"Thank you for helping me out," he said.
Man, she's beautiful, and so cute. Okay, get a hold of yourself Charlie; don't go falling in love with her!
"You are most welcome Charlie. I'm sure you have many questions. Please, let's get you something to eat and drink, I'm sure you're feeling hungry and thirsty," she said.
Why did she look familiar and why was he feeling such strong emotions? He didn't even know what she wanted with him. Sean would have said she was putting him under a spell and wasn't who or what she appeared to be. Even Charlie was wondering, something that for him meant something was up.
Then again, she WAS cute, and it may have been his hormones talking. That's definitely what Timothy would say. He knew him too well...
"Wait a minute... How did you know my name?"
"It was written on your jacket."
He sighed. He wouldn't put it past his mom to write in his jacket while he wasn't looking.
Charlie calmed himself; it wasn't like he hadn't fallen in love lots of times before. His little black book would stand witness to this fact. And what was one more pretty face? He had also saw he had been wrong about her age now that he was fully awake. Before she seemed an adult woman, now he saw she was his age of sixteen.
The top she was wearing he saw had no lower strapped, giving his imagination a good vacation for some nice round details.
However the body paint she was wearing was almost just as intriguing, he wondered if it was all really tattoos, no way she could spent that much time each morning putting it on. Unless of course she was someone very important, heh, but that kind of stuff only happened in the movies. Of course, so did stumbling upon lost tribes where there was no logical reason for there to be one.
As he reached for his jacket and shirt, Sarah stopped him with a grasp on his arm. "I'm sorry, but the paint will smudge if you put your cloths back on so soon, please, let the air dry it out first, then you can put them back on." Not wanting to upset the lovely form before him, Charlie complied.
"Now please, follow me." She walked through the tent's door, which was a number of hand made beads. Charlie followed. It wasn't like he had any other choice. He seriously doubted this place had anything remotely electronic: That was his first thought. No phone lines, no antennas, nothing. Then again, they didn't think him a God or an invader, so they must have had some contact with the outside world. Maybe she was one of those social groups who just believed in the super simple life style, or onor one of those attractions where people lived just like before modern technology for a certain number of months each year.
He also saw Sarah's pad was one of the biggest. The others were about half the size of hers, there was another about a third larger than hers, but it had multiple entrances. He saw a number of campfires. The same ones that brought him here he knew.
He also saw he had slept almost to noon. Now that he had some broad daylight, he could fully take in Sarah's features, and when she turned around to look at him, he could tell she was doing the same. Geez, the last time he saw a girl that willing to get down she charged cash check money order and made you sign a disease transmission waver.
Of course those girls weren't half as pretty, or half as clean and polite as the one looking at him now.
Tanned skin, black, back hair, bare feet, long dress in greens and beige's the same zigzag and squarish patterns as on her body. And of course the top mentioned before.
The tent or huts were -not- made by Hollywood, some were too half hazard, while others were in too much disrepair, while others were in good repair. Not the way a director or writer would want it for a viewing audience.
A couple of men and women glanced at him, all dressed in similar style to Sarah save for her top, (the rest of the women wore full body dresses). He spotted a couple of kids who saw him as an oddity. Ick. Yep, primitive tribe all right, the kids just paint period.
But all in all, none of them seemed all that alarmed, scared, or angered by his presence, there wasn't even a casual indifference, he was just here. When Sarah stopped at a long table, he knew one thing; these people really liked their grapes. Nearly everything here had grapes of some color as part of the dish. It was almost too much and made him want to call out 'End Program.'
"Are you hungry?" Said Sarah suddenly out of the blue, she was certainly friendly to a guy she just met, then again, this place didn't look like it normally had to deal with sexual offenders or criminals of most sorts. Charlie knew the irony in -that. He also knew the answer to her question. Yes he was hungry, very much so now that she mention it! He hadn't eaten anything in almost a day! And all grape platter or no, he was in!
"Yes, thank you, can I have some?"
"Be our guest, take your fill, it is alright."
Charlie figured everyone else would be eating soon since everything was already out, and what the hey, he -was- hungry!
Charlie first took a single purple grape into his mouth and chewed on it. He liked grapes okay, but this was unlike any grape he'd ever tasted. His mouth exploded with so much flavor it was sensual experience. He looked back at Sarah as he finished it.
"I've never tasted a grape quite like that; that was incredible," he said, already wanting more.
"Please, feel free to have more. It pleases me you enjoyed it," Sarah said.
She didn't have to ask him twice. Charlie almost dug into the grapes with a ravenous ferocity; he gobbled down two more purple ones, then two more, repeating the process until he'd have twenty of them. He had stains by his mouth but he didn't care, these things were too incredible to pass up. He soon noticed the onesto the left and right of the purple ones, red and black ones respectively. He moved over and sampled two red ones. Oh man, he thought, these were even better then the purple ones, if that was even possible. He'd soon had another dozen grapes before moving onto the black ones. Like a party in his mouth, their intense flavor seemed to dance with the others. When he'd had a dozen of those, his only regret was that he was full.
"Thank you; those were incredible! How did you grow them?" he asked of Sarah.
"Oh," she said, folding her arms above her legs, "I cannot tell you that, it's a secret handed down from generation to generation in our tribe," she said.
"Okay. So ... what do we do now? I need to find my way home. My family and friends must be worried sick!" Charlie said.
"Please, don't go yet. You haven't fully recovered from your journey, we're MILES from the nearest city," Sarah pleaded.
"So you mean that if I did bring my cell, I'd be out of range?", Charlie joked.
Though some of the other tribes-members stared at Charlie, Sarah giggled, "I guess you could say that."
Charlie sighed. It did seem like a shame to leave here so soon after coming here... Not only that, but the Sarah girl was really cute... maybe he would stay... but just for a bit. If a plane or something comes by, maybe he could signal it with something.
One thing occurred to Charlie thou. He hadn't caught the name of this place. Or what exactly it was doing out in the middle of nowhere.Then again, he could always ask that later. For now, he would look around. After all, he'd never been in an actual hidden village before... especially one that had people in it.
Charlie saw the village, camp, whatever' population was small (he'd say thirty tops, he wondered if they suffered from the damage of internal breeding) but packed in, there was only one 'road' if you could call it that through the place, lined with fires guarded in with stone foundations.
He found he was again faced with the 'trees all looking alike' problem outside the camp, and the only real landmark was the village itself. He did want to leave and get home, but Sarah again insisted that it would take a full day to travel there and he had already slept half the day away.
Charlie reluctantly knew thus he had to wait till the next morning to head out. And just hoped his family didn't call in the army for him. Charlie asked if any of Sarah's friends had a radio, or maybe even a signal light, but she explained that they had nothing that needed electricity. Perfect. Charlie felt like he was going to go stir crazy waiting till tomorrow morning, running his hands through his brown hair, he paced back and forth in front of his keeper's hut. Feeling his distress, Sarah suggested he try meditating. Charlie had never been into the whole 'commune with nature' stuff, but it wasn't like he had anything better to do. Leading him like she would a blind man through thewoods, they were soon at a river-less spring. The center bubbling up on a smooth flat rock at the center of the shallow pool.
Telling him she didn't want him to catch his death of cold, Sarah explained it was best he took his cloths off while at the spring's center. Charlie blushed, but Sarah promised not to peek. Who knew? Maybe it would get the paint on his chest off, he had to ask what that was about anyway.
Stripping and handing off his attire to Sarah, her back turned, Charlie was soon in splash range of the spring. He felt the water run down his hair and over his body and into the pool below. At least he was finally getting that shower he wanted. Not really sure what to do, Charlie just waited, doing his best to stay calm, the sound of the moving water and the feeling of it against his skin helped.
He wasn't getting any closer to the secret of the universe, but at least he didn't feel like ripping his hair out anymore. In fact, the place itself was pretty calming, more so than anyone place he found during his nature hikes. He had to remember to find this place again after he got home. (assuming his parents ever let him hike again.)
"I think we should get going." Said Sarah out of the blue.
Charlie started, he saw from the sun it was once again twilight. Looking down at himself in the pool he saw reluctantly that the paint hadn't washed off one bit. He wondered for a bit about tattoos, but knew how silly that was.
His mind though was more on how he had really just killed an afternoon just by sitting and thinking. He must have fallen asleep.
Handing him a home made towel, Sarah didn't try to look as Charlie put his pants and shoes back on. However he knew she took some glances, not that he blamed her. He took it as a compliment personally.
Asking about the markings, Sarah explained they were meant to give him vitality and strength. Charlie decided not to challenge her belief. Sarah could see the time in the spring had helped him unwind, and was pleased. However, Charlie wasn't happy to find some animals had stolen his shirt and jacket when they had been away. At least none of the other guys there wore anything up top so he didn't stand out.
Sarah escorted Charlie back to the village, by now the temperature was going down, yet Charlie didn't feel cold even with his state of undress and damp hair. He was feeling tired, unusual considering how late he'd slept to.
"So, where exactly did your people come from? I've never heard of a village in these woods, I would've thought someone would have seen you by now."
He knew Sean would have a field day with that one; he'd talk about government-controlled satellites and how the men in black spied on everyone with their stealth helicopters. Charlie did have to admit however that is was unusual for this village to exist and no one to have seen it. Just how were they hiding?
There were already fires burning by the time the duo arrived back in the village. Sarah led Charlie to one near thecenter where several of her people had gathered around. Charlie guessed it was some sort of ceremony and was curious about it. Sarah asked him to sit down beside her; he complied without saying anything as he didn't want to risk offending her. Sarah and the group chanted several phrases Charlie didn't understand. He wasn't sure if it was the heat from the fire or his imagination but he felt a little dizzy while they chanted. That sensation faded when they stopped.
"What was that?" Charlie asked.
"Oh, nothing, just something we do daily, don't worry." Sarah said.
She led him back into her tent. He was exhausted by now, feeling as though he'd been working hard all day long. He laid down on the makeshift bed she had for him and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he felt the sensation of falling and everything seemed to go silent.
He opened his eyes and was on another world. He was still in the woods, but he was Knuckles again. This seemed normal. He stood up and looked around, wanting to know what was happening. He felt strong, adrenaline coursing through his veins, his senses picking up scents and sounds his human equivalents wouldn't be able to. He walked, looking forsomething but what? He heard someone approach him from behind. Acting on instinct, he did an about face going into a defensive stance as he waited for who or whatever it was to enter his field of view. It's sound grew louder, he could hear it breathing, he could smell it sweating; it was nervous, yet it still pursued him. He wanted to know why. With this strength, you'd have to be insane to take him on, or perhaps suicidal. The bushes in front of him parted and all he saw was a bright light. Again, the falling sensation and he found himself staring at the top of the tent. It was a dream. His heart was pounding but otherwise he was fine. He sat up, looking down at his pale red skin, he seemed uninjured and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The white chevron towards the top of his chest was still there. His hair brushed against his neck and he looked about. Where was Sarah? Why did he feel like she knew why his dreams were so intense? He stood up and walked out of the tent, the warm morning sun beaming against his chest. He'd always loved that feeling, hence why he never wore a shirt.
Charlie came out and saw the others in the village. However, just because he dressed slightly different than the others, with jeans instead of the more tribal garbs, they shunned him. He really didn't care what they thought. He'd always been a loner. However, he was wondering where Sarah was. She wasn't the only girl who he had met that he'd liked. He'd had liked a lot of the girls who had came through their town traveling, but they never really stayed around that long.
He eventually found the other redhead (Sarah) near the largest tent, which was pretty much town hall.
"Hi, Sarah," he said while blushing. Oh great, he thought, like I need to be any more red...
The problem about being so different was that the only friends he had, besides the girl in front of him, were people who had came through the village. Timothy and his band, Kyle the intellegent, Sean the conspiracy Theorist, Benjamin the extremely quick, Blair the... 'rollerblader' he called himself, among others (He wasn't exactly sure what Rollerblades were.) He hadn't seen his parents in the last few years either, so he had been taken care of by Sarah. He vaguely remembered them telling him stories about these human-like animals, his favorite of which was the Echidna, Knuckles. However, some of his friends have stopped visiting as of late, and he was determined to figure out why. Sarah though didn't point out his blush and instead simply greeted him.
"Hello Charlie. I'm sorry for not waking you, but you seemed so peaceful that I couldn't help myself. It seems your journey to visit your friends will have to wait till tomorrow."
"It's okay, I just hope that they haven't all up and vanished by the time I visit them."
"I'm sure you'll be seeing them all again soon enough."
Charlie didn't know what Sarah was smiling about but then again he rarely did, it was simply one more thing that attracted him to her.
"With the harvest season already over, I figured this was the best time to go." Charlie thought out loud.
"I'll do my best to wake you tomorrow then, but you know the next harvest isn't for some time."
"Yea but I don't want to have just enough time to say 'hello and good-bye' to my friends when I see them next."
"I understand. There are those who will be happy and dread that you won't be going quite yet."
"Oh yea, so who promised himself to you after he beat me today?"
"I didn't catch any of their names, however they're all waiting at the fighting ground already."
"Good, then I won't have towait for them," Cheered Charlie as the two walked into the central tent just to pick up Charlie's spiked boxing gloves the men (and some of the women in recent years) wore for their fights. If anything, it would take Charlie's mind off his friend's troubles and help him regain his focus.
Going to the clearing just outside the village, Charlie already found today's challengers waiting for him. Some nervous, some focused, all of their eyes on him.All of them were wearing only leather crotch guards and their body paint, their sandals and any other attire on the side of the ring, marked by a very tight nit fence of ankle high sawed off branches sticking out of the ground. Taking off his shoes and pants and placing a crotch guard of his own over his undies, Charlie stepped into the ring and made a few practice punches.
His first challenger disappointed him by going for an illegal move and trying a kick to the head. Which Charlie blocked, bent, and left the cheat hopping on one foot out of the ring on the shoulders of his friends. Two of the other teens there looked at each other, and made a hastily retreat, barely remembering to pick up their sandals on the way. The next guy ran like a bull, coming at Charlie head on, determined to tackle him out of the ring, Charlie remained perfectly calm, timed it just right, and side stepped. The guy had to slow for another run, but Charlie didn't give him the chance. He gave one punch, and then two more, followed a quick jab that might as well have been on fire from the impact. The guy was flat on his back before he knew what hit him.
Charlie punched the gloves together. "Next?"
The next bowling pin came at him both arms spinning, not realizing how it left his center wide open. He was sure to realize the tactical flaw in his strategy when he regained consciousness. The next one did some final stretches and entered the ring, not making the mistake of attacking blindly like the last ones had in hopes of catching off guard. No, this guy actually made Charlie come to him. Charlie did a jackhammer of multiple punch, which his opponent kept hopping back from towards the edge of the right, at the last second he stepped the side nearly sending Charlie over the branch trunks.
He tried to give Charlie a hand for the rest of the way with a swift hammer blow that Charlie avoided most of the force by shift his torso at the last possible moment. Charlie almost broke the rules himself by kicking back as he recovered. His opponent didn't give him a chance to truly recover as he used one arm to defend while the other went straight for the attack. Charlie stumbled back across the ring getting his center of gravity back. Faking another stumble he let one of his opponent's punches sail over him, he countered with an upward double hammer blow to the jaw. The opposer fell over, flat on his back, he looked up Charlie, knowing the rules said he just lost.
Charlie however helped him up. Nice to see one of real fighters taking a crack at him rather then these guys with their heads in their pants looking at Sarah. His opposite number was grinning himself as his way of saying that he was promising to beat him next time.
Charlie looked over to see Sarah was breathing heavy almost as much as him. Charlie walked back towards Sarah, a smile on his face and sweat running down his chest and face. He felt invigorated and his heart was racing.
"Good work out Charlie," she said, handing him a towel and his shoes.
He put them on and draped the towel around his neck, before changing into his pants.
"I still know I could have done better," he said.
Sarah put her arms on his shoulders,
"There's always room for improvement for anyone Charlie, no matter how skilled you are."
Charlie nodded before they headed towards the hot spring, he always enjoyed a soak after fighting, and it helped to clear his mind. They walked to the spring and when they got there, Charlie sat down on the shore, sticking his legs into the water. The mist hit his face and he listened to the water flowing. Sarah knelt behind him and massaged his shoulders, Charlie always loved that and he closed his eyes and already was feeling more relaxed.
"I still wish I could have seen my friends today," he said.
"There will be other days," Sarah said.
Charlie nodded before standing up and removing his pants and shoes and walking into the water. As with yesterday, he went into deep thought and time passed quickly. Beforehe knew it, it was almost nighttime. He stood up and walked to the shore, the water dripping off of him. Sarah handed him a towel and he dried before getting dressed.
"It's late, let's get home," she said.
Charlie nodded and they walked home together under the stars. They again repeated the chant from the previous day before Charlie went to bed.
That night, he dreamed of being in a city hedidn't recognize yet at the same time felt familiar, as though he'd been here before but it was so long ago that he didn't remember it. He was walking on one side of a road and he heard his friends' voices on the other. He looked in their direction of the voices and saw an anthro hedgehog and fox with two tails as well as an armadillo walking together. He didn't understand this, they sounded like his friends but they appeared to be someone or something else. He felt a desire to go see them and tried to cross the road but the traffic was heavy. This was one reason he hated the city, there was no traffic in the woods and no noise. He tried calling out their names but the noise drowned his voice out. It grew louder until it hurt his ears, he yelled out something just as everything went fuzzy and he found himself bolting up covered in sweat and breathing hard. Another dream; Why were they getting so intense lately and what do they mean? Why did these fictional characters sound like his friends? Charlie stood up and ran out of the tent, all the way to the spring and looked at his reflection. His skin was still its' normal brilliant red shade, save for the beige on his jaw. His reddish brown hair was still shoulder length. He looked and felt normal, so what was going on? He heard someone approaching and turned to see Sarah walking up to him.
"I thought I'd find you here Charlie. You seem troubled, what's wrong?" she asked.
He told her about the dream.
"Dreams are often our minds way of telling us things about ourselves. It could be you see things in these charactersthat remind you of things about your friends."
"But, I don't know who these people are. My friends sometimes mentioned games; maybe they mentioned ones with these people. But why would I dream those people are talking with my friends' voices? I need to try to find them ... today, I have to know what's going on," he said.
"There is no need to rush head long into things." Sarah pointed out. "Acting foolishly will gain you nothing. As for the deeper meaning of your dream, it is just possible that there is a deeper connection between these characters you saw and your friends. Perhaps you only thought they were mentioning games and were talking about important figures in their knowledge of the unseen?"
"I guess that's possible . . . "
"Of course it is, perhaps these animals you saw are their guardian spirits and you lost contact with them simply because they are searching them out."
Charlie had to admit Sarah's explanation was possible, and it would explain why he was seeing these events in dreams.
Still. "But my other friends had no idea where they went."
"When one has a spiritual calling, one doesn't exactly leave a note saying when they'll be back."
Charlie knew Sarah was right about that. As their Medicine woman, this was right up her ally, and far be it from him to question her knowledge on the subject matter.
"Since you and your friends share such a common bound, it's possible a spirit meant for you exists as well, and if you hear its call . . ."
"I'll find where my friends are?"
"Very likely." Sarah finished.
"Also, I have something for you." She handed him a pair of studded weights with straps. "If you wear these on those 'shoes' of yours today, then take them off tomorrow, you should be able to get a faster walking pace going without tiring out so quickly."
"But should I really train at a time like this?" He asked looking at her intently, her red body making her single colored white body paint stand out all the more.
"If this is a calling of the spiritual, it might be proper to have all parts of yourself ready, mind, body and soul."
Charlie knew she had him again and calmly put the studded weights on his shoes. It felt like he was carrying around rocks tied to his legs.
"So what do I do to prepare my mind and soul?" He asked.
Charlie dusted off his pants as he got up, standing his normal five feet to Sarah 4' 7'.
"First we get some food in you, you've barely eaten since the day before yesterday."
"Oh yea . . ." Charlie replied. "You know food isn't exactly the first and last thing on my mind."
"Oh I understand." Sarah returned taking upon herself the role of lead per-usual wether Charlie approved or not. Being Medicine woman did give her some privileges.
The community breakfast was already well under way when Charlie and Sarah sat down. Both moons already down and the sun was up. Charlie, as usual, ate twice as much as most others there. Everyone wondered how he could down so much and stay so buff. Charlie thought about how his friend Ben could do the same with 'chilidogs' if he remembered correctly. Of course when he was done, his pants were a total grape stained mess, it was going to take all day for the women to wash them out. The others might look at him a little less rigidly if he went around in regular dress for a day, but Charlie wished it would be for something a bit more real.
Sarah had long ago had her fill and calmly waited for Charlie to finish his making up of today and yesterday's meals. Going back to their hut, Charlie took off the jeans and gave them to Sarah who would take them to the other women for washing. He meanwhile was stuck with his small cloths and his beige and green kilt to match Sarah's dress.Just like the other men wore.
As she was gone Charlie thought. So he had to prepare his mind and soul too eh? He wondered if figuring it out was part of the process itself, it was the kind of sly well meaning thing Sarah would do. Looking at a rough mirror he stared into his own purple eyes. Trying to find some deeper meaning in his dreams like Sarah said, sadly it all came up blank. He was usually good at finding answers when looking within, the stress of not seeing his friends' had gotten to him.
Sighing to himself, he went outside and climbed up one of the thick wood poles that dotted the settlement, sitting yoga style to begin the process of clearing his mind. He would hear the mother of all's voice if he would only listen. He wasn't scared of falling off; he had done this so many times it was like second nature to him. Plus it gave him the solitude yet company he ached for. Yes he would be at peace; his mind would be as solid as the mountain, as steady as stone, and his soul would be open to everything for him to feel.
"Charlie!" Sarah called. "I finished collecting my herbs!"
Charlie snapped awake, looking down to see Sarah with the pouch at her side, showing that indeed she had finished her errands.
"Now get down there before you break your neck!" She mocked scolded.
"Come on, you know that doesn't happen." He replied back knowing it was all in good fun.
All the same, Charlie jumped, went down about twelve feet in the air down, and landed without a scratch.
"Show off."
"Hardly."
"I can see just from the look in your eyes that you feel better."
"I do. I feel ready for anything that any test could throw at me."
Sarah became mysteriously (more than usual) solemn. "There is no such thing as 'ready for anything' because anything is a very big word. Beware it Charlie, beware it always."
Charlie was speechless.
"Come inside, there are some maps I got from my -fath- the elder of the surrounding areas to help you journey to your friends since it won't be the other way around this time."
"I never get lost."
"There is always a first time. I brought dinner with me so we won't risk ruining them at the community table."
Shrugging but not wanting to worry her, Charlie complied, wasting the evening memorizing maps of the surrounding area, most of which he knew by heart anyway. He knew every tree by sight alone. Sarah however insisted he learn them all precisely, since her duties prevented her from going with him. At last it was too much and Charlie fell asleep on the maps.
Charlie seemed to awake in a car of some sort. Physically he seemed a bit different then he remembered being but any desire to figure that out was overweight by the fact that the car seemed to be traversing some sort of roller coaster, either that or somewhere where the terrain was just like one; in fact he saw a loop ahead of him. His first instinct was go get out of the car but it was going too fast, he decided to stay in it. He knew he should have felt nervous as it approached the loop but he felt a strange calm, as though he were at peace with himself and his environment. He grinned wildly as the car went through the loop, any gravity effects feeling pleasurable rather then painfull, dizzying or nauseating. He could help but hmmm in joy as he felt the wind blowing his dreadlocks behind him. As the car finished the loop and attained excellent speed as it flew through the road ahead of it, Charlie heard something approaching from behind, he turned his head to see a blue blur jump up and into the car to his right. He felt better now, as though almost everything was right with the world.
"Hey man, I've been looking for you for so long," he said.
"Looks like I found you pal," the blue hedgehog, who Charlie knew was somehow both his friend Ben and Sonic.
"But where's Kyle?" Charlie asked.
As though on queue he felt a breeze above him, that breeze was followed by someone landing behind him. He knew right away who this was, he could recognize it's scent; not to say his new passenger smelled bad, Charlie was well adapted to using all five of his senses. While he didn't have to look back, he wanted to. He looked right into the innocent, teal eyes of his vulpine friend, well perhaps companion. He sometimes found him annoying yet at the same time, a friend of Sonic's was a friend of his.
"Hey buddy, long time no see, where you guys been? I've been looking for you!"
"We've been ... around, don't worry you'll see us soon."
"Wow, we're all here but" he didn't have time to finish that one before he felt something rush to his left. He looked to see an armadillo running beside the car.
"don't forget me, Knuckle-head!" he said.
"So you're all here? You guys look like you belong here," he said, looking down at himself "I belong here too. Now I'm starting to get it."
The car came to a stop and everyone climbed out. They all ran to a cliff overlooking a beautiful bay with the suns setting. Below, Charlie was sure he saw a familiar walrus swimming with a raccoon on his back. He felt someone touch his shoulders and knew it was Sonic.
"Don't worry about us anymore Pal, we'll be waiting for you, you're almost here!" he said.
Everything faded and Charlie found himself waking up on the same maps he'd fallen asleep on.
"It was just a dream again, but it felt so real. I have to tell Sarah," he said before standing up.
Charlie had gotten out of bed, and stumbled a bit. He always misjudged the distance between the bed and the ground! One of the things he got from his father that he wished he didn't,clumsiness.
"I'm just glad nobody saw that. If Tim or Ben saw that, they'd never let me live it down."
He dusted his kilt off. He really hated these things. They reminded him of skirts. Stupid traditions. Privately, he wondered if the one to make up the tradition about the Kilts was a woman who liked to see men suffer. At any rate, he put back on his shoes, complete with the weights, and went outside to find Sarah. Strangely, she wasn't waiting at any of the usual places today. Did he sleep in again? If an outside observer were to look at the village, they'd see all the members, including Charlie, shrinking a bit, every few seconds.
While walking near the bay, Charlie took a slight sidelong glance at his reflection... Oddly, he noticed his hair was braided into Dreadlocks, like most of the other members of the Tribe. Actually, he felt that they looked better that way,
"Sarah must have done it," he reasoned.
He walked to the bay, seeing the sun rising over the horizon. He walked alone the long platform when he saw Sarah sitting on a rock near the edge. He could feel the water spraying his face, it was a pleasant feeling, he could smell the morning mist raising from the water as the sun heated the air. He walked up to Sarah, who turned her head to face him.
"Ah, you're up Charlie, you're looking well," she said.
"I feel great today for some reason. I had another dream last night," he said.
"Oh, tell me about it and please, sit down," she said, tapping an area of rock to her right.
He complied and she put her right hand over his shoulder. He loved the feel of her hand on his shoulder, her skin was always the right temperature and she always had a clean, almost innocent scent to her. He alwayshe always felt at peace when he was around her, as though she made everything right in the world. He told her about the dream, this time it had feel so real and with the sense of being lost replaced with a sense of adventure and his friends finding him, it had a much different feeling to it.
"I think you're soon to find your friends Charlie, tomorrow is the day you'll set out to find them. But first, you forgot the chant last night, you know better then that!" she said.
"I'm sorry, I guess I got distracted. So, why did I see my friends as these people and why did it feel so right? I feel like I know them, but as these people not as the humans I thought they were."
"The mind is a curious thing Charlie. Perhaps you were looking for humans because you see them as friends as well? Perhaps you feel a connection between yourself, your friends and humans, or perhaps your friends do and you were looking for that connection and they're going to help you to find it? When you find them, you'll start to understand." she said.
"Yes, you're right of course," Charlie said.
"Now, let's get to your chant," Sarah said.
They both stood and walked with a nice cool breeze at their backs towards the camp. Charlie couldn't help but hold her hand, he felt a warmth from her, an energy of sorts. He didn't dare ask her about it, he respected her too much for that. When they arrived back in the camp, Sarah arranged for everyone to come to main fire. They all did and Charlie sat down as requested. He closed his eyesas he listened to the group begin the chant. The woods seemed to resonate in his ears and stimulate his mind. For a short few seconds, he felt a breeze blowing on his lower body as though something were wrong but it soon passed as the words of the chanters calmed any worries he had. Although he didn't realize it, his kilt had vanished, but he wasn't really naked as this was now the norm for him andthe others. the idea of wearing clothes would have been bizarre to him now. He and the others had also lost more height, yet Charlie seemed to gain strength and confidence. When the chanters stopped and Charlie opened his eyes, Sarah was standing there with a smile on her face.
"Thank you Charlie, that was excellent. So, how are you feeling?"
"Strong ... focused ... balanced. I need to run, I need to exercise. When I see my friends tomorrow, I want to impress them!"
Sarah walked over to the Echidna and put her hands on his shoulder, kneeling down she looked him in the eye. They say the eyes are a window into the soul, her soul was showing honesty, compassion and love.
"Don't worry Charlie, I know they'll be proud of you, as I am."
"It's great to know that you'll always be here for me, Sarah."
Sarah then grew silent, "..."
"What? Was it something I said?"
"It's nothing . . . it's just, when you see your friends you might not be able to see me for a while. I'm just worried about waiting for that long . . . But I know you'll find someone to make you very happy in the mean time."
"I see...", Charlie said, with some sorrow in his voice. His somewhat 'connected' eyes looked into the female echidnas, "Just promise me you'll wait for me."
"...I'm... Not sure If I can promise that..."
"What? Why?" Said Charlie appalled.
"Because I have no idea what's waiting for either of us in the future. I can see road signs. Read maps. But in the end, I don't know which way down the fork in the road you'll take."
"Come on Sarah, you know you're the only one for me."
"You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that. But like I said, the future can always change things. We'll see what happens at the end of the road."
"Don't worry, I won't forget," Charlie said confidently.
Sarah at these words seemed to be struck with a knife in her gut and mist entered her eyes. "I-I- . . ." She ran off. Everyone in the circle was as confused by her actions as Charlie. Getting up and standing open mouthed for only a second, Charlie then ran off in the direct she had gone, the weights on his shoes pulling him down, but he was too concerned to think and try and take them off.
"Sarah!" He called her name and repeated it several times, but she had already run out of sight. What was that? Why had seen been upset like that? Charlie wandered for a few minutes, he had no fear of getting lost, not in the least, he could navigate these forest blindfolded if he needed to. Using the natural spikes in his hands he climbed up one of the trees, certain he'd get a better view. At first all he got a better view of was the twin moons. That's when he saw her, crying (first time he remembered seeing her cry except for when her grandparents died) her arms wrapped around her knees, leaning against one of the trees, he quickly clipped down and ran to where he had seen her, wishing he was able to fly, or at least glide somehow, they were both equally impossible for him. He sensed her closer, closer, until at last he was right on top of her. She must have sensed him too since she looked up at him tears on her face fur.
"I know you have to leave." She said. "You came here to leave. It is your duty to leave. As it is my duty not to come with you. Still I don't want you to go, but I know that would be selfish of me. I'm sorry you had to come here just to leave, I really am. I'll accept whatever judgment I'm given when I finally lay to rest. But know that I do love you."
"Sarah . . . what are you saying?"
"I- … I' ll … I'm … I will explain when you leave. But please, can you do something for me before you leave tomorrow?"
"What?" Said Charlie worried about Sarah's sanity.
"Kiss me."
"Kiss you?"
"Please," Sarah pleaded.
Charlie didn't have to say another word, he saw the pain in her eyes, she needed this and he realized he did to. He loved her and he knew she felt the same for him. He knelt down beside her and put his arms around her back. He leaned in closer to her, close enough to hear her breathing and feel it on his face. Her breath was warm yet sweet, her eyes were so inviting, to gaze look into them was bliss. He closed his eyes and moved closer to her, his lips made contact with hers and they embraced in a deep long lasting kiss. If he didn't know any better, he'd have sworn he could feel her emotions as they kissed. He felt her love for him, which only heightened the experience, he felt her sadness over something she was hiding and over his having to leave. But, whatever was wrong, it just didn't seem to matter, all that matter at that moment was his feelings for her and hers for him. The world seemed to stop around them and his awareness of their surroundings faded as everything in him was focused on her. Then, as soon as it began, it was over. They both released the kiss, and as everything came back to Charlie, he looked Sarah in the eyes.
"That was ... intense!" he said, his voice hushed.
"Yes ... thank you Charlie, I needed. I needed to know this is worth it. My emotions ... this is more important then me," she said.
"What is?" Charlie asked, genuinely confused.
"I can't explain it ... but it has to do with your dreams. I can't say more, I so badly want to say more but I can't. I just need you to trust me that everything will be all right and tomorrow ... you'll know what you'll need to do."
"All right, I trust you," he said.
"Come on, let's get something to eat," she said.
Charlie nodded and they both got up and headed back towards the village. As before, Charlie feasted on the grapes and water that was available. He had eaten enough to be full within ten minutes and turned back towards Sarah, who was waiting for him.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" she asked. Charlie nodded.
They walked out of the village together before taking each other's hands. Sarah's hands were so soft and cool, they made Charlie feel relaxed. They walked under the warm sun to a grove just beyond the springs. Charlie would sometimes come here to mediate, the sounds of the birds and chattering of the squirrels and chipmunks calmed him. Sarah sat back against a tree and invited Charlie to lay his head in her lap. He did so with a smile on his face. As he lay there looking up at her face, the brushed some of his dreadlocks with her hands.
"So, I will see my friends tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yes, you will be reunited. They will be happy to see you as well."
"I just wish you could come with me," he said.
"I know, Charlie, I know."
Charlie nearly feel asleep in her lap and when he once again became aware of the passage of time, it was nearly twilight out and time for his second chant for the day.
"We better get going." Said Sarah reluctantly. "We don't want to miss the Chant twice in a row."
"Do we have to? We already had a chant today."
"Not the same thing I'm afraid . . . I wish we could stay like this forever . . . but the world isn't that kind." Sarah stood up, forcing the male echidna to his feet. "We should get it over with." She muttered.
"Yea, no point in dragging it out making everyone wait for us." Charlie found he had to agree.
The couple returned to the camp that had been the home of their tribe and their themselves as as long as he could remember and found everyone else was already in the circle waiting for them. Charlie got into his meditative pose as always, waiting for the chant to begin that would strength his spirit on his journey to visit his friends while he was away from the bones of his ancestors. What was different was a pair of soft furry arms slowly wrap around his chest.
"Sarah?"
"This one, maybe it's meant for both of us, maybe this one, I'll just share with you, maybe this one, you don't need you don't need to be alone for." She whispered calmly in his ears, her dread locks mixing in with his.
This was unusual but none of the others objected to this and all got into fighting poses and began to chant. Charlie closed his eyes, letting only the chant remain. But it did not. Something else remained. Sarah's touch around him remained, it became part of the chant, as unseparable as every word that was said, every sensation of touch could not be pulled apart from the chant. Charlie felt himself strengthen as he always had from the words of his fellow tribesmen. He could feel the power of the twin moons, and mother Mobius flowing inside him and through Sarah. He was one with the world. Charlie felt the power, it flowed through his legs, his arms to the tips of his spikes, through his brain to the tip of his snout and down his spines ever as they touched Sarah's. All too soon the chanting ended and Charlie stood up, his arms and legs all slightly bent ready to react at a moment's notice. Sarah stood up with him, still holding him. She looked into his violet eyes and he looked into her topaz ones. "You're almost ready." Sarah said, a hint of regret and loss in her voice.
"I was born ready." Spoke Charlie in a voice deep, solid, and firm.
"Maybe reborn . . . this shall be our last night together."
"Last night! But, I don't want to leave you. I love you, how can I exist without you?" Charlie asked, his eyes tearing up, obscuring his vision. Sarah brushed her hands against Charlie's cheeks as she brushed away his tears.
"I don't want to say goodbye either Charlie but we have to part. We were meant to walk a different path. I don't know if we'll see each other again in this life time or otherwise but I do know that you're meant for something bigger, much bigger. In time, you'll come to realize how important the ... task you have ahead of you is and why we cannot walk the same path," she said.
"I ... understand," Charlie said.
He and Sarah hugged under the light of the twin moons, symbolically both full that night. Charlie felt so comfortable in her grasp that he fell asleep in it.
"Goodbye Charlie and ... thank you," Sarah said as she petted his hair.
In his dreams Charlie saw himself not as an echidna, but as his human self wearing clothes. He was standing on his street with Ben, Kyle and Timothy, all in their human forms. He was shaking their hands, feeling like he was saying goodbye.
"Don't worry, we'll see you soon Charlie, this isn't goodbye," they all said.
Charlie nodded and turned around only to see himself standing before him.
"This is where we part, but know that I'll always be a part of you. Even when you think you're someone else and out saving the world; I'm still inside of you. You'll still see them, but not as they are now, as the people they've become," the image of him said.
Charlie turned around and saw Sonic, Tails and Mighty in the place of his human companions, he felt as though he knew them. These weren't just video game characters, they were as real to him and his human life and friends.
"Go to them Charlie ... it's time," the vision of Charlie said.
Before Charlie could react, everything went fuzzy and he awoke. Knuckles found himself waking up in his home on the floating island, memories of the dream already hazy, memories of the last few days fading, the entire experience feeling as though it were a dream he was quickly losing focus on. With a sigh, Knuckles wondered if there was something to these strange dreams. Either way, we knew he had to see Sonic and Mighty, and yes, even Tails, despite finding the little guy annoying, he had to admit a part of him admired the fox, not that he could let anyone know.
"Humph... Why am I caring where Sonic is anyway? Not like it's any of my business...", he said to himself, mostly to reassure himself he wasn't going soft. Of course, he still felt he had to find them. Not that he'd call any of them friends... Mighty maybe. He was pretty sure nobody would bother the Master Emerald right now; Eggman seemed to be too busy trying to stop 'that blasted hedgehog', and no one had heard from Rouge in months. He blushed slightly when thinking of her. Quickly he shook himself of the thought. Well, ready or not, I'm coming guys. However, he didn't have to even leave the Island, for when he left the current location of the Master Emerald, he saw Sonic and his friends.
"Yo, Knuckles!", shouted the Fox.
"Sonic, Tails, Mighty. What are you three doing here?"
"...You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Mighty stated.
"Try me."
The Trio explained that something seemed to force them in the general direction of the Master Emerald. Unexpectedly, Knuckles didn't mock Sonic for thinking such.
"That's interesting."
Sonic grinned and turned to Mighty and Tails, "Guys, this Knuckles is an impostor! We all know the real Knuckles doesn't believe anything I say!"
As usual, Knuckles was offended, "Hey! Take that back, blue boy!"
Mighty sighed, Here goes argument number #200...
Tails watched the two go at it for a while before speaking to Mighty, "Shouldn't you stop them before someone gets hurt?"
"...Normally I wouldn't get involved, but CONSIDERING it's such a long drop," Mighty stated, before he walked up to his two friends. With a swift motion, he grabbed their heads and conked them together.
"Oww!", both of them whined.
"I'm almost POSITIVE. That's Charlie," Mighty stated.
"How do you know, Tim?", Asked Tails.
"Know anyone else that hotheaded? And I mean other than Sonic."
"Not really. Ben and Charlie are on the top of that list..."
"Ha ha, very funny, Kyle," Sonic remarked.
Knuckles was confused for a moment. However, his dreams did have him as someone named "Charlie"...
"Have you guys been having strange dreams lately too," He Asked.
"Dreams?", all three of the outsiders asked at once.
"Ever since I got back to the island, I've been having dreams about a human and all of you are there going by different names . . . the ones you just called each other. Have you been having the same visions as me?"
The three looked at each other then at Knuckles.
"Knuckles." Said Tails. "Do any parts of those dreams seem familiar at all?"
"No, not really, it's about as real as these other dreams I've been having living among a bunch of primitive echidnas." He decided to leave out anything about Sarah, he had enough females to worry about in the waking world.
The three seemed more confused then surprised by this. "Echidnas?" Tails had to ask.
"Yes, they almost looked like a lost tribe, but not any I've ever seen. Like a memory at the back of my mind. The human images I talked about just seem symbolic, these images of the echidnas seem like actual memories almost."
"Almost?"
"I do have a sense of reality kid."
"Oh suuure. Considering the time you thought Sonic was an enemy", Mighty spoke up sarcastically. "When it should have been obvious."
Knuckles looked ready (more than usual) for a fight. "Hey! Eggman at least was polite! Unlike this loudmouth show off and his whinny tag along shadow."
Mighty slapped his forehead, Oops. Me and my big mouth. It looked like the verge of another brawl as Sonic's quills bristled.
"What you say!"
"That what I thought of you when we first met. Now I know you're a decent loudmouth show off and a smart whinny tag along shadow."
Mighty now spoke up again, "...Knuckles, I don't think now's a good time..."
Knuckles' face was stern. "Look, I've learned for myself that if you might not like the answers then you're better off not asking the questions. Otherwise suck it up, get over it, and do your job."
Mighty sighed, "I'M the one who asked the questions, Knuckles."
Knuckles looked towards the direction of the master emerald. "I've learned that asking too much about the past leaves you in the past. If you don't focus on the here and now, the world just passes you by. Those old-, the Elder Guardians have shown me that much."
Knuckles would have said what he thought out load, but he knew about the slew of hidden camera his ancestors loved to peer through to keep an eye on him every time he sat down to meditate to when picked his nose. And he'd rather not have to sit through the 'respect thy elders' speech again.
Knuckles crossed his arms. "So how exactly did you know about my dreams in the first place?"
Sonic but a hand behind his back grinned painfully. "Er, we got told by some flying clown in a purple jester's hat."
"Yeah, he said his name was NiGHTS", Mighty added.
"I think he was the one who told us to come here." Tails completed the lie.
Most would have seen through this, but Knuckles' gullible brain spared a childhood free of facing the realities of civilization (while not the heartless way of nature), while not trusting a word Sonic said, would believe what Tails and Mighty had to say. Besides, it was too absurd not to be true.
"If both of you say so," replied Knuckles simply. His following voice was dead pan. "So you were brought here by powerful visions, just to say hello, I'm touched. I know it's not my birthday so anything else?"
"So I take you're still gonna glue yourself to your pretty green giant rock?" Baited Sonic.
"The -Master Emerald- needs protection. And the Brotherhood would be livid," Knuckles was thinking of other words, "If I tried to do something proactive with myself again."
Tails sighed, "Lousy brotherhood."
Knuckles gave Tails a swift 'kill' sign. Tails promptly closed his muzzle.
"Well, there is one more thing, but, considering the Brotherhood doesn't want you to DO anything," Mighty said, nonchalantly.
"Oh, and what's that?"
"I was gonna ask you for a match to see if you've gotten any better since the last time I saw you. You were way too slow," Mighty said with a smirk.
Knuckles glared, but knew he couldn't do much about Mighty. Whether or not they were equal in strength was debatable, but Mighty was also quicker than he.
"...Anyway, I suggest you see your parents. On our way here, your Mom told us she wanted to see you for something.. Don't know what," Tails spoke up.
"My Mom? She usually doesn't want to see me for anything."
"Maybe she's just starting to miss you."
"Come on, they can't kill you for seeing your family. Tell you what, I'll stand guard until you come back," Mighty said, "I'd say Sonic could help me, but you know how he hates to wait."
"I heard that!"
"It's true though, right?"
"Yeah..."
Knuckles got on his knees and slowly put his fits on the ground, clearly in inner turmoil Mighty thought. The Armadillo didn't notice Tails take to the air or Sonic speed-port away from where he was standing. Knuckles suddenly yanked himself up, along with the rocky ground Mighty was standing on, and did a discus that landed Mighty in a body of water a few yards off.
"I suddenly feel much better somehow." Knuckles said analytically. "Thanks for the message guys," Knuckles said as he ran off, Mighty dog paddling to the side of the pond.
As Knuckles raced through the jungle, forest, and what not that made up the floating island island's wilderness he did so with the grace and skill of only one such as he who knew the floating island inside and out. Echidnaopolis' skyrises soon came into view. Knuckles after all these years still felt it looked out of place after all those years of having nothing modern here in the island. And having it turn out to be under his nose this whole time.
Stepping out of the nature to which he was home to into the foreign environment to which the rest of his kind considered him, he got the normal 'welcome back Guardian' from the locals who saw his family almost as demigods due to the mystic air they put around themselves. Ugh. Sometime the only thing that had made this city bearable was Julie-Su. Julie, a reformed terrorist stuck in a permanent workrelease program with Knuckles' supervision. Julie hated having to owe anyone anything, much like Knuckles himself. She considered most other echidnas to be techno-phobic, an irony since Knuckles thought they hid too much behind their toys. But she still would rather be with Knuckles, someone who actually cared weather she lived or die, than with those who considered her just a number. She was official considered the Guardian's personal enforcer. Or just a bad branch on the family tree to be cut off. She wanted to stand on her own, yet at the same time the idea of being totally alone maddened her. Knuckles knew that was familiar somewhere. If only . . if only she hadn't gone away . . .
Standing at one apartment building in particular, Knuckles resisted the strong urge to just climb up the sides of the structure and knock on the window, he went inside the front door, walked into an elevator ignoring the words of greetings from those around him, and pressed the floor level he wanted.
It would be so much easier if I just climbed up. Thought Knuckles riding in what to him was the far too slow lift. An eternity later the glob cage in the glass tube opened and Knuckles escaped. Coming the door he wanted he knocked, he only waited a second before a middle aged echidna in a yellow dress and a number of crisscrossing white bands in her bright red spines answered the door. Look at him with awe for a few seconds before "My baby!" She hugged him almost crushingly sobbing how wonderful it was to see him again.
"I'm ... happy to see you too Mom," Kunx stammered.
"I wish you'd come here more often. Please, come in, have something to drink and eat, you're so skinny, when was the last time you ate?"
"Erm, well um," he stammered, not used to this level of attention.
He followed her into the apartment and she asked him to sit down in the living room in a leather chair in front a group on windows that overlooked the city. It was a site he wasn't used to seeing and it made him feel uncomfortable. When one is used to the jungle, seeing such a site can be disquieting. His mother came back into the room with a plate of various snacks.
"What would you like to drink?" she asked.
"Just water please," she answered.
"You sure? You haven't lived until you've experienced some of those specialty drinks we have here. I thought I didn't need them either, until I tried one," she said.
"Thanks but water is fine for now. There's something I needed to talk to you about, but I'm not sure how to explain it."
"What is it son? Does it have something to do with your return?"
"Yes, I've been having these dreams and now my ... friends are telling me they've had similar ones," he said, telling her about the dreams.
She sat down beside him after getting him a glass of water, as he drank it, she spoke.
"Maybe you're due for some sort of adventure with these people. I can't explain why you were seeing yourself as a human but maybe there are humans out there you need to help somehow, perhaps people that can relate to you somehow?" she asked.
"Maybe ... I just don't know, it's so confusing," he said, putting the glass on a desk and folding his hands together.
His mother stood up and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I know it's hard and I wish I could have been there for you but in time, we'll come to realize what these dreams mean. Know that I'm here for you now, I may have been unable to be here for you before, but I'll never leave you again."
"Thanks Mom," he said.
"So, how long are you going to stay? I can arrange accommodations for you if you'd like," she asked.
"I have to leave soon ... I'm sorry. I have important tasks I need to complete. Besides, my friends would never let me hear the end of living with my mother," he joked.
"Very well then son, I understand that you need to do what you need to do, but before you go, there is something else I want to give you," she said.
He watched her walked out of the room and down a hall, when she came back, she was holding a of something that reflected off the sun light, she handed to him and he thanked her for it. He stood up and she kissed him on the left cheek, even as he felt embarrassed. They said their goodbyes and he left the apartment.
Knuckles looked at the weapons as he put them on over his gloves, the razor shape blades fitting perfectly his natural spikes. Likely something else his dad had, or knew about but didn't want his son to know about or have. He had to give his one on the score board for finally getting something past her Ex.
Knuckles knew it was his duty to protect the Master Emerald. Weather it was no longer Chaos' prison cell or not. He couldn't spend his entire life just -waiting- for trouble to come to him when it was out there. Just -wait- for trouble to come to you? How stupid was that? He was going to bring himself -to- the trouble for a change. And thus protect the Master Emerald, and more importantly his family the best way he could, for he was Knuckles The Echidna, Guardian.
A red echidna sat alone in the forest, nothing there in the clearing with her except some stones that showed where bond fires had been lit centuries ago. She scooped up a double handful of soft black Mobius in her hands. She held it close to her chest as if it was somehow something dear. If she tried hard enough, she could just hear the noises of her people in one of her two sets of memories.
"Ya know you took longer than ya need to on that one."
"I had to . . ."
"I guess, I can understand you wanting to be just a healer rather than being the ignored daughter of a war hungry chief who lead his people over a cliff."
"Only . . . in part." She dropped the dirt back on the ground and stood up not facing her companion. "While I knew the reality of things, what I was experiencing, it was as much a past and present to me as it was for me. It felt good to have an innocent life again."
"And the kiss from a guy you know ya can never have?"
"I wasn't lying when I said I loved him, the memories created, the past that was born here, I had to know if it was real. I don't know if you can understand this, but when you love someone, you know the ultimate test of that love is when you have to let them go."
"Girl . . . you have no idea what I've had to let go." He said, his voice holding it's own demons.
The voice held a sort of regret next. "Look, I can handle the next one if you want, you can stay here a little longer if you really-"
"No." Sarah replied. "I stayed here to say good-bye. I know what's at stake. Do you know whose hearts we're waiting for next?"
"Yes . . ."
"Then let's go." Sarah's form changed.
"But there's somethin' I need to tell ya first."
"Eh?"
"They are finding the hearts they need too. And believe me, they aren't being half as picky as us."
"Then we better get going." Both figures vanished. Leaving behind pasts and memories, buried, maybe forgotten, but never gone.
