Author's note: Man, that Deltoran Merchant sure knows how to ridicule a guy. Usually I like the attention, but that latest review upset me for some reason. Anyway. Next chapter!
Segment 3: Echidna Not
Chapter 3: The Settlement
(Leo)
Knuckles approached a large stone slab lying on the ground. Kim and I together would barely have been able to move the thing ourselves, but Knuckles pushed it aside practically effortlessly. I envied his strength.
Below the slab, a staircase led down. "It's in there," Knuckles explained. "The demons don't like light, so they put their settlements in dark places."
"That'd make sense," I figured. "Let's go, Kim."
The staircase led down to the bottom of the cave, which was obviously rather dark, despite the light shining down from the entrance. Out of habit, I tried to shoot a Light Feather, but ended up looking rather stupid. I heard Kim giggle.
"I think the crystal ball is just ahead," Kim said once she was done laughing. "I can feel a bit of dark energy. It's kind of spooky, actually."
Now that I thought about it, I felt it too. I have to admit, it scared me a bit as well, but I didn't show it. Instead, I approached the source of the darkness: another crystal ball.
"This is it," I announced. "I'll do the honors."
Those words said, I lifted my hand, brought it forward, and placed it on the surface of the crystal ball. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, the crystal ball started acting up, and just as before, Kim and I were sucked into it.
Our landing was a bit smoother than it had been last time, but we still landed a bit roughly. Looking around, we confirmed our location as a dark version of Echidna Fields. The sky was in twilight, and the general area looked deserted.
Kim came up with the idea of visiting the Master Emerald shrine, and we quickly located it. Some character who looked like Knuckles was sitting in front of the shrine, glancing intently at where the Master Emerald was supposed to be mounted.
I clapped my hands, attracting the attention of what was obviously D-Knuckles. He jumped to his feet with a start and faced the both of us. "Who goes there?" he demanded to know.
After a short silence, I stepped forward. "I am Leo. Next to me is my sister, Kim. I assume you are this world's version of Knuckles?"
"You assume correctly," D-Knuckles explained. "What brings you here?"
"Before we cover that," Kim interrupted, "let me ask you something. If this is a demon settlement, how come there aren't any demons around?"
"That's because they're deeper in," D-Knuckles shot back. "I'm stronger than they are, so I'm here to guard the settlement and the jewel. It just doesn't make sense to put the weakest first, then work slowly up to the strongest."
Kim nodded. "I see."
Suddenly, D-Knuckles stood up. "Wait a minute. Now that I get a good look at you, I think I recognize you. Two fox characters… a joined tail… aren't you the duo that invaded the Verdant Woods settlement?"
"That's us," I confirmed. "News travels fast, doesn't it?"
"The demon leader, Z, told us all about you. He's… wait, why am I telling you this? I won't let you have the jewel I'm guarding!"
With that, D-Knuckles approached the location where the Master Emerald resided on the light side of the world. Mounted at that location was none other than the second Black Emerald.
"This is a Black Emerald," D-Knuckles explained, displaying it in his hand. "It's a unique jewel similar to your Chaos Emeralds, only it's a negative version of it. It has many of the same properties, but its energy is pure darkness."
I smirked, noticing that Kim had taken this opportunity to sneak behind D-Knuckles and make a grab for the Black Emerald. D-Knuckles saw this coming, however, and lowered the Emerald before she could touch it.
"Nice try," D-Knuckles boasted, "but if you want the Black Emerald, you'll have to go through me!"
"So be it!" I decided.
Since Kim had slipped around D-Knuckles to the left, I made a move to the right, in an attempt to choke him with our common tail. D-Knuckles saw this coming, though, and threw it over his head.
Making the next move, D-Knuckles jumped into the air and curled into a tight ball, burrowing into the ground. The real Knuckles had used a move similar to this, so I knew where this was going.
Inspecting the ground carefully, I saw the dirt rise in a trail toward the two of us. Realizing that the trail was arcing toward Kim, I quickly pulled her to the side, and D-Knuckles popped out of the ground and delivered an uppercut punch to… the empty air.
Taking advantage of D-Knuckles' temporarily vulnerability, I swung Kim around so she could give him a good kick in the chest. It connected perfectly, and D-Knuckles was knocked over.
"You're good," D-Knuckles muttered as he got up. "I can tell by your fighting style that you, red, are the leader of the two of you. And you, purple, rely on your brother very strongly. That weakness will be your downfall!"
D-Knuckles held up the Black Emerald again. This time, he held it in his right hand, pointed his arm directly at us, and remained silent, as if concentrating his thoughts. Kim and I both flinched as a beam of concentrated dark energy shot out of the Emerald, directly at me.
That's the last thing I remember.
"That's the last thing I remember." I like the suspense that line generates when used to end a chapter.