So sorry about the long wait! You know life, sometimes you can breeze through it like the sky and other times it likes to hit you like a mallet. But anyway, back to the story, with Sonic and Knuckles preparing for an epic duel and Sonia and Aleena preparing the satellite, will everything go smoothly, or will Robotnik end up uncovering their elaborate plans?
Find out in this exciting addition of : The Sonic Underground Finale!
Sonic takes the full force of Knuckles's pounce and the trees shake with the power of the impact. Sonic holds Knuckles in place with his heels digging into the ground, and they both growl at each other. Sonic tucks his legs under Knuckles chest. POW! Knuckles is flung off of Sonic and backflips twice before landing harshly on the floor, creating a dust cloud as his heavy metal spines kicked up the dirt. In less than a second, Sonic dashes forward and punches Knuckles straight in the cheek. WHAM! He stumbles over and over before driving his solid left claw into the dirt and swinging himself back around in the direction of Sonic. Sonic braces himself before Knuckles tackles him and the two are sent somersaulting into the trees. Shrapnel is sent flying when Knuckles manages to grab Sonic and hurl him into the metallic leaves of a tree. Sonic falls down and Knuckles lunges at him with his claws, going for his throat. Sonic flips out of the way and Knuckles obliterates the tree trunk behind them. When Knuckles turns around, he is kicked sharply in the jaw by Sonic's lightning fast sneaker. The impact sends Knuckles soaring and Sonic leaps after him. Knuckles's is face gritted in pain, but he winces his eyes open when Sonic hovers above him midair. He makes a grab for the airborne hedgehog but instead takes a devastatingly powerful axe-kick to the chest. With a sharp cry, Knuckles plummets to the floor with massive force, the shock is so strong that he bounces before lying still on the metallic floor.
Sonic rides out the spin he placed on his body and directs himself toward the direction of a roboticized tree. With one hand on the trunk, he whirls around and around the tree before his feet meet the ground. Knuckles is slowly getting up and Sonic is slowly walking closer to him. He is confident that the battle is won, so he prepares to make his move. He has to knock Knuckles out and bring him back to the lab, and then they'll work out the kinks from there. Considering their main "kink" is the fact that Knuckles is a robot, that's another issue altogether. But for now, he's ready for action. With incredible speed, he closes the distance between him and Knuckles and winds up his arm deliver a knockout punch.
Without warning, Knuckles throws a shard of metal at Sonic, which grazes the hedgehog's arm before he is able to hit him. Sonic stumbles back, and Knuckles uses the distraction to tackle the hedgehog with all his force. Knuckles pins Sonic to the floor and Sonic backhands the crazed echidna. Stunned, the echidna tries to slash at Sonic's face, but Sonic had already begun to kick him off. With a heavy shrug, Knuckles is flung away from Sonic, who had already begun to run away. With a swift maneuver, Knuckles jumps forward and grabs Sonic's leg. Using tremendous explosive power, he clenches onto Sonic's leg tightly and spins him around and around to gain power.
"GRAAAHHH!" With a frightening roar, Knuckles flings Sonic into a tree and Sonic bashes into it with dizzying force. The shock of the maneuver causes Sonic to scream as he collides with the trunk.
"YAH!"
Knuckles's roar had reverberated all throughout the island, reaching Sonia and Aleena's sensitive hedgehog ears. They each stopped their activities to listen and each pay attention with horror as they hear Sonic's scream follow shortly after. Without a second thought, Sonia flips on her cloaking device and leaps off of the roof, heading for their direction.
"Wait!" Queen Aleena yells after her, but Sonia can't hear anything, her mind is too clouded with the hope that she is not too late. Even though Queen Aleena wishes she can chase after her daughter, she has neither the speed nor option to do that; she has to finish installing the satellite, or the island will parish. With serious haste, Queen Aleena types away at the small keyboard, hoping to finish up before everything goes up in smoke.
Sonic and Knuckles are duking it out close-combat style in the middle of the lot. With each intensely accurate move, the other either blocks, dodges, or counters it, and with the groundbreaking speed to which these moves are executed, neither of them is giving an inch. Knuckles kicks and Sonic ducks, Sonic punches, but Knuckles dodges, Sonic kicks, and Knuckles deflects it. It's a maddeningly repetitious cycle. Sonic's is quick, but each of his impacts is met with Knuckles's incredible strength. Knuckles is strong, but Sonic's rapid movements prove to be a challenge for the determined Robian. Paired with Sonic having increased power from the Chaos emerald and Knuckles covered in Robotnik's metal armor, this fight is roughly 50/50. With the odds in anyone's favor.
Suddenly, Sonic lashes out and the two are flung away from each other to opposite sides of the lot. Sonic grasps his arm, which is bleeding slightly from the cut, but he is in no way willing to show any sign of weakness to his opponent. Both of them are slightly worn out, but Sonic is showing more signs of the conflict than Knuckles. They both have labored breathing, but Knuckles has considerably less cuts than Sonic due to his metal armor. But even so, Sonic is not willing to let defeat rear its ugly face, not when he's got a job to do. He stands tall and fleers at his opponent derisively, hoping to gain a familiar response from his once dear friend.
"Some people just don't give up, do they?" Sonic says, not getting even a hint of personality from Knuckles. "Knuckles," Sonic starts, "you know, the only reason your acting like this is because Robotnik told you to. I'm going to stop this Knuckles, you're my friend." Knuckles snorts at this.
"Dr. Robotnik has ordered me to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog. I must destroy Sonic the Hedgehog. It is my directive from the Doctor. Must Obey Robotnik. You are Sonic the Hedgehog; therefore, you must be destroyed. Must obey Robotnik. Must obey." Knuckles once again starts into his fighting position and Sonic flinches when he gets into his.
"Oh well, looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way." Sonic yells loudly as he lunges for Knuckles.
From the inside of the main resistance laboratory, Manic is busying himself with the dispersion of the de-roboticization satellites when another man informs him of some rather startling news.
"Manic sir, Squadrons 1, 3, and 7 have all informed us that they have each obtained a Chaos Emerald. What are your orders Manic?" Manic responds promptly and directly.
"Put me on line with each of them." The soldier leads Manic to a computer and activates the communicator, as soon as the calibrations were complete; Manic takes hold of the microphone and speaks into it clearly to give them the much needed direction.
"Squadrons, make sure those Emeralds are contained in lead-lined cases, having that kind of energy unprotected on board an aircraft could lead to serious complications. Once in the city, hand-deliver them to the Alpha laboratory in the residential district, make sure that the Emeralds are placed at least ten feet apart from one another. Do not attempt to interact with the Emeralds in any other way. I repeat, do NOT attempt to interact with the Emeralds in any other way. Am I clear?" Manic says.
"Affirmative." Assures the soldiers.
"Excellent, now proceed with your missions." Manic turns to the soldier behind him and gives a firm order.
"Report to me if any other squadron has found a Chaos Emerald; if anything goes wrong; make sure that I am one of the first ones who hears about it, agreed?" says the serious green teen. The soldier nods his head and salutes his diminutive leader. Manic is completely straightforward and direct with his commands, following a careful plan with just enough room for tractability. Everything that goes on in the laboratories, the city, and the Floating Island is crucial to the overthrow of Robotnik, and Manic knows that he is not going to mess it up. Manic then turns his head back to some of the hacked surveillance footage on the island. He can see Sonic and Knuckles duking it out, but he is concerned about the fact that Sonic discarded his Chaos emerald. He knows that Sonic must have had a good reason for not using its energy, but he just hopes that it was the right one; Sonic is struggling, and Manic knows he is. He hurts with him.
"Come on bro… Be careful..." Manic says to the screen.
Sonic and Knuckles lock hands and stare fiercely into each other's faces. Sonic's deep black eyes are reflected in Knuckles's grid-like yellow ones. Knuckles gives a terrifying animalistic growl and Sonic gives one back to him. With dizzying swiftness, Sonic shoves Knuckles's hands down and causes him to lean forward, in mid-fall, he strikes his face with his elbow. Unfortunately, the maneuver does not topple the echidna; Knuckles stares at Sonic's shocked face and yells out as he knees Sonic in the chest. Sonic begins to fall before Knuckles grabs his arms and whips him onto the floor with extreme force; he does over and over again until he throws Sonic off to the side into another tree. Dents are left where Sonic's body struck the solid metal floor, and the tree is bent where he was thrown. By now, Sonic is hurt, and it is apparent that he is losing badly. Knuckles walks over to the incapacitated hero and raises his scratched up claws high into the air. The sunlight gleams off of the mechanized arm as it reaches its optimal height for penetration, and without a single emotion on his voice, Knuckles says "Objective complete."
"Yahh!" With a harsh shriek, Knuckles brings down his heavy claw on Sonic, only to be flung across the lot by a sharp kick to his temple. Knuckles hits the metallic tree with such incredible force that the tree is split in half, his voice crackled and fizzed when he speaks, and when he hits the floor, he scratches the dirt out of pure shock. He looks around furiously to find his attacker, and it does not take long to find her.
With a dull brown pack on her back, Sonia is panting heavily with tears pouring down her cheeks. Seeing the girl had made Knuckles hesitate for a split second before springing back into fighting position and lunging for her.
In Knuckles's mind, the sight of the pink hedgehog had reminded him of his directive, Destroy the Sonic Underground, but at the same time, he felt something completely unfamiliar. But though it felt utterly alien, it's as if he's felt it before, it only serves to confuse him. Before he can even act clearly, he lashes out at the pink hedgehog only to see that she rushed behind him and delivered a powerful kick to the back of his head. Knuckles stumbles on the floor and attempts to get up, but he cannot get his mind straight. What is it that's going on…it's too peculiar, is he…thinking? He suddenly remembers the identity of the girl, Sonia the Hedgehog of the Sonic Underground; he must destroy them, but what is holding him back? He begins to repeat his directive in his mangled mind. I must destroy the Sonic Underground, Sonic the Hedgehog…Manic the Hedgehog… So..S-S-on-S-S-Sonia-a? Sonia the Hedgehog….Sonia…SONIA?!
The name sends the once-ferocious Knuckles to his knees in utter confusion; he grasps his head in painful comprehension, but at the same time, he does it in utter blindness. Sonia is stunned, but she gets a weak grasp of what's happening.
"Fight it Knuckles! You remember me! It's Sonia! Fight it; you don't want to do this!" Sonia yells louder and louder. She drops the backpack with the emerald and slowly approaches the struggling echidna; but instead she walks with her hands out in submission and her voice soothing.
"Knuckles…remember me? You love this island…We're your friends….Knuckles the Echidna; that's who you are, not Robotnik's puppet. We all care about you…" Sonia says kindly.
Just as Knuckles looks as if he's coming into grasps with everything, Robotnik's voice booms through the microphones in his head, sending a painful wave through his mind.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" yells Robotnik, "DESTROY THEM ALL!" Knuckles shoots his eyelids open and springs up, grabbing Sonia by her throat. She squeaks in shock as she is lifted off of the ground by Knuckle's brute strength, and she stares down at her attacker with sorrow. Knuckles lifts his hand and prepares to strike her soft throat. But before he does, he stares into her eyes, surprised by what he sees. Unlike Sonic, her eyes are not intense, not in the least; in fact, her eyes are sad, they even had tears pouring down them, which made Knuckles stop and just look at her, he is confused and wondering why her eyes look like that. Without even thinking, Sonia pleads with him.
"Knuckles please…. Listen to me, don't you remember, we were here…its different now, but it looks the same without the metal…Remember? In this exact place." Out of a strange feeling, Knuckles looks around the area, not letting go of Sonia, but not tightening his grasp either. A small feeling arises, but Knuckles quickly shoves it down and stares back at Sonia with his arm raised harshly.
"Must Obey Robotnik. Robotnik says to destroy the Sonic Underground. You are from the Sonic Underground; therefore, you must be destroyed. Must obey Robotnik.." Before letting him finish, Sonia continues to try and break through to him.
"Robotnik killed your father Knuckles! You told me that here! You hate Robotnik and committed your time to help us defeat him. You can't let him defeat you! Your stronger than him Knuckles, he can't break your heart!" At this, Knuckles tightens his grip on Sonia's throat and raises his arm at her even harsher, tensing all his muscles. Sonia has no idea what she said, but even through her constricted airway, she pleads with him.
"Your eyes, Knuckles, they used to be so beautiful, and now look at them, they're all yellow and not the same anymore. Knuckles, I loved your eyes, I loved this island, and Robotnik's ruined everything." Knuckles starts to weaken and his hand starts to shake a little, these words, they're reaching him somehow… "We were on this island together…On that blanket…." Sonia weakly points over to the blanket on the grass, which just looks like a metal rectangle save for a small orange piece of cloth showing through the cracks on the steel. Knuckles shakes his head and fiercely looks at the small girl in his hand, he thrusts his hand forward toward her face and she flinches momentarily. He gets within two centimeters, but once there, he cannot fall through. He stops and Sonia looks deep into his eyes in both wonderment and confusion, she's scared, but also worried for him.
"Must…Obey…Robotnik…" Knuckles mutters with a fizzling voice. "Must destroy the Sonic Underground…Must d-destroy….You….must…be…" Knuckles stops talking for a moment when he gets an instantaneous flashback. He hears his own voice talking to Sonia, and sees her face buried in his chest, only it was not his chest, it couldn't be….There was no…metal… He looks down at his monstrous claws to make sure that he was made of metal, and that's when he sees his face. His eyes are gridded like she says, but there's water down his cheeks, he's crying; he knows he's crying but he doesn't know why! He turns once again to Sonia and winds his arm back to strike her once again, but this time his hand can't move in the slightest. It only shakes in place. His face contorts into a look of desperation, and he clenches his teeth at not being able to compute why he can't finish her off.
"Must destroy the Sonic Underground…Cannot destroy them….Cannot destroy Sonia…I don't WANT TO!" Knuckles tightens his grip on her throat and she knows that if she doesn't do something, he's going to choke her, whether he wants to or not.
"KNUCKLES! FINISH HER OFF!" Screams Robotnik through the microphones, but Knuckles cannot, Robotnik's orders fall on deaf ears.
"Knuckles…remember that wish I made…?" Sonia squeaks out, "It was that you would love me…as I do you…" This is all too much for Knuckles, he roars loudly and thrusts his fist toward Sonia, no stopping this time.
Out of the blue, Sonic rams his knee into Knuckles's ribcage, and sends him sprawling to the floor, unconscious. His yellow eyes fizzle out and the lights illuminating them turn off. Sonic catches his sister and straightens her out, and she begins her relentless nagging.
"You couldn't have waked up sooner?! I could have died!" yells Sonia, but Sonic just cuts in and quiets her.
"Nag me later. Robuttnik's gonna send his goons any moment now! We gotta juice outta here!" Sonia runs over and picks up Knuckles with Sonic following closely behind. "Wait!" Sonic yells as soon as they are nearing the metal trees, "One sec." He runs back to the lot and picks up the backpack, making certain that the emerald is still inside of it. He heaps it onto his back and runs back into the forest to meet up with Sonia.
"That would've been bad." Sonic says nonchalantly, they then disappear into the brush as Robotnik's robots circle overhead.
Queen Aleena had already finished installing the de-roboticization satellite a while ago and is now readying the airplane for departure. She checks the systems to make sure they are all functional, and she even circles the craft to look for damages. To her great pleasure, there are none. The sirens are blazing loudly overhead, and despite the limitless trust she has for her children, she is still concerned about their well-being. She shakes off these thoughts and remembers that they are great freedom fighters, but then she is reminded that they are still children, which is something everyone seems to forget. Despite the circumstances though, she has faith in them. With any luck, they are already headed back to meet with her, and they have Knuckles with them.
With all preparations ready, she hops into the driver's seat and starts the engine. Now all she has to do is wait for them to show up. That's not very long.
"START THE PLANE! START THE PLANE! START THE PLANE!" Sonic yells from the trees as he is helping Sonia carry the unconscious metal echidna to the large Swatbot vehicle. Sonic throws Knuckles into the back of the ship and hops in while Sonia takes up the seat next to her mother. With the frantic jab of the gas petal and twist of the steering wheel, the ship rockets away from the Floating Island, along with it the hopes of a new world.