Kinda had a case of food poisoning, so I couldn't finish this chapter when I initially wanted to. Happy July! ^_^
20 - The Reunion of Shade and Imperator IX and Knuckles and his Friends Reunite
Meanwhile in Albion, away from Knuckles and Tikal, we're led into a dark room, far away from where Knuckles and Imperator IX fought. It looked way bigger than it actually was, but a few burning flames within this room would cast shadows that would show off just how small this room actually was.
But this room wasn't empty. In fact, a few grunts and deep breaths within the room here and there would conclude that. But who was making these sounds and where in the room was it coming from?
"Sorry, guys. I can't seem to loosen the rope…", a kid's voice said.
"Well, try harder! You know I don't like being tied up! These legs weren't built for confinement!", another voice yelled. Now we know that these 2 are tied up, and from how the tone of voice sounded, this was someone who definitely didn't want to stay tied up, as he's rushing this kid to untie them free.
"Relax, Sonikku! I'm sure Tails knows what he's doing, but now you should let me keep you some company…", another voice said. This must be a female's voice, as the tone of voice sounded more flirtatious than the other 2's...or maybe this was a guy, instead. Who knows?
"Ugh, Amy...stop scooting so close to me…", 'Sonikku' groaned. Well, now we know who these 3 were; Tails, Amy, and Sonikku, but why were they tied up?
"Wow, I didn't know heading to Angel Island in this timeline would get us in this situation. Maybe it was super sacred property at this time, and they must think were intruders or something…", Tails assumed. Well, now we know why they're tied up.
"I swear, whoever "they" are will wish they didn't mess with me…", Sonikku groaned.
"Relax, Sonic, I'll get us free before you know it.", Tails reassured, but nonetheless he continued to struggle with the tightly tied rope...using his tails. Apparently, Tails's tails were prehensile.
Amy sighed. "I can't believe I'm actually this close to you, Sonikku! It's like a dream come true, only worse, but not exactly bad enough to be a nightmare!", Amy whispers.
Sonikku-correction, Sonic, sighed. "I know, right? I never expected us to be so...close…", he drew out the last word with a very uneasy tone whilst also trying to scoot away from Amy.
Sonic felt Amy scoot closer to him. "You seem tense. Don't worry, you'll always have me, no matter what happens to us…", she mumbled.
Sonic hummed. "Yeah, I guess you're right...just-don't touch me, okay…?", he grumbled, trying to scoot farther away from Amy despite the limited space they had within the tightly-tied rope.
Amy chuckled quietly enough so that Tails didn't hear them. "How ironic of you to say such words, Sonikku. Look how close we are to each other, and you call this "not touching"..." Well, she wasn't wrong...
Sonic groaned. "You know what I meant - just-don't do no funny business to me…", he responded.
Amy nodded, acknowledging Sonic's words. "Well, sure, if by funny business, you mean-", but she was abruptly interrupted by a sudden jolt coming from Tails. Apparently, he gave up with untying the rope.
"I'm sorry, guys. I can't really get this knot loose…", he mumbled.
"That's cool. That's just more time with me and my Sonikku!", Amy giggled.
They all froze when they heard footsteps approaching. A bit of outside light began to creep through the crack of the entrance. The being that entered was what looked to be an echidna, but it definitely wasn't Knuckles. This one looked different; this echidna's hair was a bit shorter than Knuckles's, and it physically looked more female. She was wearing a mask, as well as an outfit with magenta markings that gleamed brightly. Despite these attributes, however, she didn't look as intimidating as she should've.
"Who're you?", Amy asked.
The being didn't respond. Instead, she approached the confined trio and took out a sharp knife. Tails tensed up.
"I think she's gonna kill us!", Tails whispered.
"Hey, are you trying to kill us? Cause with me, that's never gonna work!", Sonic said, but instead of, say, "killing" them, the being grabbed the rope they were tied up in and cut right through it, ripping it and thus freeing the trio.
"Oh, um...thanks…", Tails says, stretching a bit.
All 3 stood up and loosened their muscles.
"Whew! It feels good to be free again.", Sonic sighed, jogging in place. "Thanks a bunch!"
"No problem. Now, let's get out of here. You have a visitor that's eager to see you…", the being explained.
"A visitor that's eager to see us? Wait, is it Knuckles?", Amy asked.
She nodded. "Now, let's go! You don't want to stay here for any longer! You must return to Angel Island. I'm sure Tikal will grant you access.", she explained.
"Tikal? Who's that?", Tails asked.
"Look, I have no time to explain, just look for a young, orange-haired echidna. You must leave now!", she pleaded.
"Alright. Let's go, you guys!", Sonic shouted.
"I'll take you there…", the darker being says.
Sonic shrugged. "That's cool.", he says.
But once they made it outside of the room, they were stopped by none other than Imperator IX. The dark being pointed his scepter to the escapees.
"You've escaped! But how!?", he shouted.
The smaller dark being turned to face IX. She removed her mask and out shone a familiar face. She furrowed her brows as she approached IX, patiently waiting for the consequences to come.
"Shade!? You broke them free!?", he asked.
"I might've…why…?", she asked, pretending to be ignorant of the whole situation.
Sonic chuckled, smirking at what looked to be the same being that trapped him and his friends. "Well, looked who showed up…", he mumbled. Yes, these 3 knew who this familiar face was...well, they didn't know his name, but they recognized him.
Amy growled and pulled out her trademark Piko Piko Hammer and slowly approached the dark being. "Hey, you tied us up for no reason! Explain yourself!", she yelled. She, however, couldn't advance forward when Shade extended an arm in front of her, blocking her path.
"Don't come any closer; I'll handle him.", Shade says.
Sonic was next to approach the 2 females. " Hold up, Shade. He's the one who trapped us. I think he deserves a taste of his own medicine…", he added, rolling his neck and cracking it a few times.
"No, just leave. I can handle him…", Shade responded.
Sonic raised a brow. "You sure? Because I can bring him down in 1 hit!", Sonic says with a smug tone.
"Thanks for the offer, but it's still a "no" from me. This might get very personal and I don't want any of you in my way…", Shade muttered, weighing her head down. "Now, go. Knuckles will be very eager to see you 3. I think it will be quite a precious reunion, even though I won't be present for it…", Shade explained, a smirk taking over her face.
Sonic shrugged. "Oh, well, suit yourself. Come on, Amy, put the hammer down and let's go…", he explained, beckoning towards Amy. Amy looked towards Sonic with confusion before shrugging, ridding of her hammer and walking towards Tails, as does Sonic, and with that, the 3 fly off into the distance. Meanwhile, Shade brings her focus back to IX.
"You traitor! You're befriending those hideous intruders!? How could you defile your glorious race for these trespassers!?", he asked, obviously very livid towards Shade, but Shade wasn't intimidated. Far from it, actually.
She pointed a finger accusingly at IX. "I think I should be calling you the traitor. Remember my arm? Remember when you just...mercilessly cut my arm? I was but a wee child, and you hurt me badly. It bled, and I thought I was going to die at just the tender age of 6, and there you were, wondering why I never came back to my clan…", she explained.
"I might've broken some rules from time to time, but I didn't know any better; I was only a child learning how to fight for our clan...and yet, you still insisted on punishing a child so brutally. I ran away because of your way of disciplining our clan members. It's foul. You need to be gentler to our people, make sure they don't smell like the rotting blood seeping from their wounds of punishment…", she finished.
"You might've just been a mere child, but even the youngest have to endure consequences if they don't acknowledge my rules. Bear in mind that I was simply teaching you how to fend for yourself! This world is too dangerous for those who are defenseless, especially at a time such as this where our rival clan plans to destroy us for good!", IX responded.
"I'm well aware of that, but I believe you should discipline your kind in a more passive manner. If anything, wounding them would render them less obedient, such as I.", Shade argued.
IX growled. "That's untrue! You just don't take well to authority is all!", he argued as well.
Shade shook her head. "Either way, I will be getting my revenge, and once I defeat you, you'll rethink your ways of discipline for sure!", she growled assuming a fighting stance.
This was the day that she long awaited for; to show IX that she didn't need to be a part of a clan where people got cut as punishment, that she can live without her clan, that she has the freedom to interact with whoever stepped foot on foreign property, even if it was restricted to only 1 race, however she wasn't entirely certain that she could defeat a being much more superior to her, but she wasn't one to give up immediately, especially when her and her friends' lives were at stake at this very moment.
Meanwhile at Angel Island, Knuckles and Tikal have just landed near the Altar. Tikal tried to distance herself from Knuckles, but she failed when Knuckles randomly called out to her. She jumped as he did so.
"Tikal…?", he drew out warily. "You sure you're not trying to do anything stupid?", he asked.
"I'm certain, Knuckles. I assure you that I'm not lying…", Tikal responded hesitantly.
Knuckles narrowed his eyes. "Hey, you hesitated! You sure you're not trying to do that "kill your dad" thing that you wanted to do?", Knuckles asked.
Tikal looked up to see 3 others heading their way. "Uh, hey, who's that!?", she yelled, running towards them. Knuckles looked up and saw pretty much the same people that Tikal was seeing. He blocked his face with his hand so as to get a better look at whoever was approaching them. When he was able to observe them long enough, his eyes widened.
"Wait! I know who that is!", he yelled out to Tikal before running towards them. "Tails! Sonic! Amy! Hey, you guys!", he yelled out to the ones in the air.
The one called Tails looked down to the direction of a gruff voice yelling at him. His eyes widened as he hurriedly landed towards the one who was calling him. When they saw who it was, they were overjoyed.
"Knuckles!?", they all shouted in unison.
Knuckles crossed his arms. "Hmph, so it is you 3…", he chuckled.
"Knuckles!", Tails shouted, running towards the echidna and practically bear-hugging him. Knuckles grunted in exertion from the sudden force applied to him from the embrace.
Finally, Tails released Knuckles from the embrace and dusted himself off. "Thank goodness you're okay; we've been looking all over for you!", he explained.
"Oh, yeah. Something weird happened and the next thing I know, I end up here. Some alternate version of Angel Island or whatever…", Knuckles explained, checking out his surrounding once more.
Sonic approached him. "Yeah, we know. Nice designs, by the way…", Sonic says, complementing Knuckles's tribal paint.
"Oh, thanks...I guess…", the echidna responded.
Tikal soon approached the 3 and bowed to them. "Greetings! I'm Tikal. I assume you're Knuckles's friends?", she asked.
"Yeah. I'm Sonic, and this is Tails and Amy!", Sonic says, extending a hand to Tikal. She responded by getting on one knee and taking his hand, giving it a small peck from her lips.
Sonic blushed. "Uh, well, I was...uh...expecting a handshake, but that'll do…", he chuckled nervously.
Tikal shrugged and got up once more. She assumed "handshake" was another one of those words from Knuckles's timeline that she didn't know about.
"I believe we must go. My dad will return any minute and he's not too good with strangers…", Tikal warned.
Amy raised a brow. "Why? Is he gonna tie us up like that other dude did?", she asked.
Tikal shrugged. "Probably. We'll just have to hide for the time being until we can come back here for tonight to set up bedding for you 3."
Tails smiled. "I'm sure he'll be asleep at that time, anyway, so I guess that'll work.", Tails responded.
"We'll be heading to our secret Chao Garden. I think you 3 will love it there!", Tikal giggled, heading to the direction of said Chao Garden.
Whilst following Tikal, Sonic suddenly remembered something from the past that he decided to bring up to Tails.
"Hey, Tails? You remember that time we went to the Hero Garden and you had that 1 Chao that, uh, kept blooming flowers around you?", Sonic whispered to Tails.
"Ugh, don't even remind me. It was the creepiest thing ever…", Tails responded with a shudder.
Sonic placed a hand on Tails's shoulder. "Ah, don't worry, buddy. Hopefully that won't happen again…"
"Yeah, I hope…", Tails sighed.
The 5 continued forward to Tikal's secret Chao Garden. Tikal thought it was a good idea to hide these 3 until further notice because she didn't want to have to all of the explaining should they get caught with those who weren't fit for the Knuckles Clan, especially if they were now her friends.
Not sure when the next chapter will come, but hopefully earlier than this one.