Second to Last Chapter Guys!
When we last left off... well, you guys have already read the story. Enjoy!
Radiating sunlight evaporates any potential clouds overhead. The vegetation thrives in this zone, feeding off the nourishing rays, enriching their leaves with invisible wonder. Wind carries the scent of honey and flowers wafting through the thick forested land with an irreplaceable sweetness. A landscape once torn with the ravages of war now remains strong, pristine and magnificent, suspended supernaturally in midair by the infinite power of the Master Emerald. It is an island worthy of the angels... very much worthy of the guardian who so devotedly protects it.
A waterfall breezes rainbow mist into the air, catching on the sunlight peeking through the tops of the trees. Dewdrops dance on the leaves of the trees as morning breaks the horizon, and the chiming of nature's tune reverberates through the atmosphere with a calm whistle. In the small clearing of this paradise island, a young man lay sleeping blissfully under the sun's comforting warmth, noiseless under the protection of his home. Outstretched and relaxed, it would seem to the average person as if he had never known strife in all his days, yet the truth could never be more distant. As one of Mobius' greatest heroes sleeps under the canopy of the blue sky, a breeze skims the grass, pushing the small green streamers against his warm cheek….
As the grass tickles him, Knuckles blinks his eyes open to the sun, instinctively giving them cover with the crook of his arm. He takes long yawn, sweet air flowing easily through his lips, and stretches his small body against the grass, rolling in the warmed glade. He adjusts himself and folds his arms into a headrest, exhaling happily and admiring his home for all the beauty it beholds. He smiles at the trees and sniffs the crisp air. A small blue butterfly lands on his nose.
"Hey there little guy," Knuckles says, watching its colorful wings flap slowly. "How's flying goin' for ya? Anyhow, you came to the right place." The butterfly stays for a couple seconds, then flaps its wings and flies away, quickly discovering Knuckles is not a flower.
As it flies away, Knuckles watches it make its leave, vaguely jealous, yet satisfied.
"I sure wish I could fly wherever I wanna go…" The thought of leaving the island has crossed his mind on numerous occasions, but he has no idea what the world is like out there; wherever, whatever, "there" is. And besides, he has responsibilities to uphold, tradition to follow, and nobody to meet when he goes there. And he would never give up his island for anything.
"This sure is a nice place…" Knuckles says aloud. The next words that come out of his mouth surprise even him, because they form the second he thinks them. "I just wish there was someone to share it with…" Despite the random thoughts, Knuckles remains cool and collected, relaxing under the sun; but of course, why would he feel nervous?
As Knuckles lay on the island, he comes to a unanimous decision. Though his father had referred to it as the Floating Island, probably to Knuckles' ease as a toddler, Knuckles finds it much more fitting to bestow upon it the name given to it by the distant ancestors of his race. After all, the island is much more than just an island, it was the birthplace of his bloodline, and it means the world to him.
"Angel Island…" He announces distantly. And from that moment, it was called just that.
A large ship crashes against the billowing waves and humongous swells as it tries to maneuver itself away from the vicious winds of a hurricane; crewmates are hard at work keeping their lives afloat on the hazardous waters, working in chaotic cooperation with one another as the ship's captain hollers his commands. The brain and soul of the vessel, Captain Gallagher Squid knows that his ship, the Sea Horse, is being kept afloat just barely, yet the margin between waterlogged and still chugging is still there, and that's just enough to move the captain to keep going. His eight tentacles are capable of almost everything involving strength, including the very difficult task of steering the ship's wheel during the strongest of storms; much like this one. Though his appearance looks soft, he owns a rock-solid mind, and he's prepared himself for almost anything that could come his way.
"Ah-hoy mateys! Survey the horizon! Charge for the eye of the storm!" Yells the captain in a gruff and weathered voice.
Crewmates adjust the sails and tie down loose equipment, a frantic jumble of so many things to be done to steer the massive entity. All their lives hinge on the survival of the ship, and Captain Squid is a man that will not disappoint his loyal crew. He is built for the ocean, and even though he himself could survive the waves if it were to come to that, many of his Land-Mobian sailors depend on him to keep them safe.
One sailor boy, a fairly new addition to the crew, is still trying to get his sea legs, a very difficult thing to do for a farm-raised rabbit such as himself. Because he has no legitimate job to do other than cleaning, he's panicking about the ship, the first massive storm he has ever experienced firsthand. He dodges to and fro between the active sailors, trying both desperately to stay out of the way and avoid the falling ropes and other things from the masts above him. After nearly getting killed by three falling buckets, he quickly rushes to the railing of the ship, hanging his head over the side and letting his ears dangle. At least here, he can't possibly be in the way. He suddenly feels very sick, so after steadily turning green for a minute, he pukes into the waves below, feeling embarrassed about his own uneasy stomach. He lifts his head up to see if anybody caught him, and that's when he sees it.
No, not it, them.
Out in the distance, floating on a torn bowl-shaped piece of metal, are two people, badly injured. Two wolf-like Mobians, one scrawny, one very masculine, and both are completely unconscious. As the waves rip and twirl, their odds of surviving until end of the storm appear increasingly bleak.
Not if the sailor boy has anything to say about it.
He looks on in complete shock, and then he immediately recognizes what he has to do. He throws himself from the edge of the boat, much to the shock of passer-by sailors, who watch in horror as the boy plunges himself into the savage waves below. Before the boy hits the water though, he extends his ears, using them to glide toward the two hurt men as far as he can. A wave blindsides him from the right, and he hits the water with a painful SMACK!, sloshing through the thick unforgiving waves toward the two men.
As a group of sailors watch the event in terror, one man races toward the captain to alert him. Meanwhile, another man yells something mandatory. "MAN OVERBOARD!" others join in, concerned for the safety of their crewmate.
As the captain catches wind what the men yell, he hurries over to the source of the voice, only to be met by the man who had rushed over to alert him in the first place.
"Captain, Johnny took a dive!"
"What?!"
"Little Johnny! He jumped ship!"
Without any more explanation than that, Captain Squid heaves himself off the railing of the Sea Horse and the men look after him hopefully. They are only a small ways away from the eye of the storm, yet this is making those last couple hundred feet all the more difficult.
Johnny splashes frantically through the waves, coughing and wheezing as the water severely hinders his progress. He's starting to become weak as the water pounds on him from all directions, disorienting him, though not enough to make him lose sight of his targets. Suddenly, he feels himself being lifted from the water by something, and looks to see that it's Captain Squid, who is lifting him up with one of his eight tentacles. The captain turns back toward the ship, but Johnny is not about to give up on the two strangers.
"Wait!" Johnny yells. "There's two guys on a raft, they need help!" The captain turns to Johnny, who's still up in the air, and looks to him quizzically, he didn't quite catch what he said.
"What?!" The captain yells. Johnny points out into the distance and the captain can't quite catch what he's pointing at, but after a second, the large waves die a bit, and he can see the two men Johnny was referring to.
"Well I'll be…!" The captain swims out toward the raft and reaches the two men. He wraps one tentacle around the scrawny one, and two for the large one. Even with half of his tentacles available for swimming, the captain manages to make it within eyesight of the boat.
Once the crew sees him with his….cargo… they toss him a life-preserver, and he grabs it gratefully. Ten men are needed to heave all the others onto the turbulent boat, and when they reach, the ship rocks off to the side. Men keep their holds on the railing, but the tempestuous waters threaten to throw them over just like Johnny.
"Hang on to the boards men!" Captain yells as the shaking and shifting of the boat continues. After a particularly violent shift of movement, the ship abruptly calms down, and sunlight appears overhead. They have made it through to the eye of the storm.
The collective sighs of many sailors fill the boat, yet a few men, including the Captain and Johnny, are still trying to figure out the place of their two new 'passengers'. With three others, Captain Squid carries the newcomers to the interior of the vessel, and places them in the hospital ward. For the bigger one, they have to place two beds side-by-side to give him enough room to lie down.
Even after all of that, the two have still not woken up. They have scratches all over their bodies, and the clothes they are wearing have been torn much. Interestingly, it appears as if some portions of their clothes have been burned off, more so for the scrawny one than the other, who showed no signs of ever having a shirt in the first place. This is believable, considering that his hulking form has little chance of finding a decently sized shirt in any typical retail. After Captain sends two nurses to tend to their wounds, he immediately sets to work alerting the towers at Port Mobius that he made it out of the storm alright.
He returns to the Captain's quarters and flips on his radio, patching into the correct frequency. Hiding in the doorway is little Johnny, who is curious as to what the Captain's going to do. After all, he did jump from the railing of the ship, and that is, if it didn't already have to be said, extremely prohibited. But in the meantime, Captain Squid is busy trying to get in touch with his friend at the control station, Captain Squeegee.
"Captain Squeegee, Come in Captain Squeegee, do you copy?" There is no response for a while, but when he adjusts the frequency and repeats himself, he gets an answer.
"…Gallagher? Arr, Thank the good graces you're all right... There was a blisterin' storm out there laddie, what happened?"
"Aye, we ran into some tough swells, but we pulled through in the nick of things."
"Yar. That's a fine thing to hear. Any casualties?"
"None, in fact, we seems to have netted a couple of floaters. Live ones."
"Well I be… recognize' them?"
"Not now, but I be investigatin' soon enough."
"Aye, well, ye know what t'do if ye be needin' more help."
"Aye, chao me friend."
"Safe travels." The captain switches off the radio and then, without turning around, addresses the boy. "John…" The boy starts for a second, then tries to back out of the doorway, but is caught once again by the captain's words. "Ye know how much jumpin' ship is reckless and uncalled for. It's a mistake worthy of bein' kicked from the crew…"
"Oh please cap'n! I jus' saw the guys an' I di'n know whadda do! I jus…I mean…" The captain puts tentacle on Johnny's head mid-sentence and stops him.
"Easy lad, yo heart be in the right place… I be lettin' it slide, but only this time." After the captain goes off to see to the two men, Johnny reveals something startling.
"Captain, I din' see till they were on board…but I recon'ize those two."
"Aye, you do?" The captain says puzzled, raising his eye patch.
"Yea! It was all o'er the radio. Parrently, they names be Sleet an' Dingo, and they help'd the Queen beat Robodnik yes'rday! Swear it!"
"Youngin's like ye shouldn't be swearin'." The captain says, still contemplating this new evidence in his mind. "Well I be. Those two be some lucky scalawags…"
"Yessir! They use ta work for Botnik', bu' they ended up helpin' the Queen in the end! Whaddya s'pose we do cap'n?" The captain rubs under his chin for a moment, and then turns back around to Johnny, who is anxiously awaiting his response.
"Well… I guess if it hadn't been for those two hooligans, Robotnik woulda sent us all down the drain… But still, they be worthless ruffians, workin' for Robotnik like they did. Huntin' the Queen's kiddies."
"Yeah…" Johnny says reluctantly, spinning his toes on the wooden floorboards, "but them almost died… savin' everyone. Maybe we oughta… give 'em a second chance? I believe tha's the right thing to do." The captain looks at Johnny expressionless, and Johnny shies his eyes away to the side, stealing occasional glances at the captain only to find that he is staring straight at him.
"Aye…" Squid says absently, pondering. Johnny looks on nervously, somewhat wanting the captain to go easy on them. Suddenly, he speaks again, cool and collected. "Their wounds will be treated; even I'm not heartless… But…. *sigh* the second this ship be dockin' at Port o' Mobius, we shall let them on their way. No goodbyes, no thanks you's, no cops on scene. They were two good for nothin' thugs, yet I'm about as sure they want to be forgettin' about their past with Robotnik just as much as we want to be forgettin' ours. And if them aim'd to die for the queen…then I guess they be some good in em'"
"Really Cap'n?" Johnny says hopefully, going on his tiptoes and lowering his ears.
"Arr… they get one last chance. If we see their sorry mugs again, straight to the slammer they be going." As the captain is saying this, Johnny is too excited to listen all the way. As soon as the opportunity presents itself, he rushes downstairs to the hospital ward, and is greeted by the other crewmates, who patted him on the back for his rather reckless heroism.
For some reason that the Captain can't understand, Johnny really cares about the two known as Sleet and Dingo. Like they were heroes, even after all of the things they had done to help Robotnik in the past. As he sees Johnny scurrying down the hall, he feels both dumbfounded yet humored. The boy looks to the two former criminals as heroes, yet forgets that they were once criminals when he does. Sometimes, it seems, it may be better to let go of the past.
"Yarr…" Captain Squid mutters to himself, slithering down the hallway with old pride, "A child's awe be blind…"
Grand Desert…5 miles from New Mobotropolis…Two days after the Final Battle with Robotnik.
Scrap metal and flaming parts strew the landscape in a hodgepodge of broken bits; the true purpose of whatever it could have been an impossible guess. The sun is just coming up over the horizon, revealing the dead landscape to the rest of the world. The light of the flaming scrap dims against the unbeatable glare of the sun, and all that's left of the Serum 4 is absorbed into the sand, leaving harmless metal blotches on the ground. The scene looks like the grounds of a battlefield, difficult to believe that it is merely fallout.
Silence fills the air as the crackling flames dissipate, and the sun is beginning to brighten up the crimson colored clouds.
CRUNK! CLANG! A sheet of metal shifts off to the side, and a menacing gloved hand comes from beneath a pile of scrap. Gears and pieces of the shredded hull litter the floor around him, along with the cushy leather chair and airbag that probably prevented his death. The body's rotund disposition and ridiculous mustache identify the figure in their own right. In gruesome miracle, it appears as if the mad scientist has survived the attack enacted on him by the heroes of Mobotropolis.
As he lifts his heft from twisted metal, he rubs his head, waking himself up from having slept in that pile of garbage. As he looks around and blinks his eyes into focus, he is stuck wondering about the location at where he is at.
"Ugh…" He groans, still feeling groggy from the massive blow to his head. "Where am I?" The mad scientist grumbles. But, as soon as these words reach his ears, he wonders something else, something much more pressing.
"Wait a minute… who am I?" The genius racks his brain for an answer, but no matter how intensely he thinks, he cannot come up with the answer to his own identity. He searches around the vicinity for clues, and finds a chunk of metal with a logo on it. Under the logo is a company name.
Robotnik Inc. the logo reads, and the doctor takes this into consideration, not bothering to keep his thoughts to himself, after all, nobody is around to hear them.
"Robotnik incorporated…? Hmm…" Holding the piece of metal in one hand and stroking his mustache with the other, he comes up with the answer. "Oh yeah….that's my name isn't it? I remember now…Dr. Ivo Robotnik!" he says his name with natural pride, but he does still not fully comprehend what it means. Looking around for more clues, he sees a sheet of paper tumbling along the floor. He runs over to it and picks it up. It's revealed to be a newspaper. On the cover is the painting of a blue hedgehog and the silhouette of a figure with a question mark on it, they both appear in front of a castle.
"Hmm… a kingdom for which I can take over…?" Robotnik says hopefully, a malicious smile growing on his face. But as he finishes reading article to its entirety, he comes to a shocking conclusion. "What?" Robotnik complained, flabbergasted. "I've already tried to take over this kingdom?! Well…that's just fantastic." He throws the newspaper off to the side and sits down in the dirt, trying to recollect more than what the news story had told him. His heart is still wicked, that much can never be changed, but the problem is just this, he's forgotten exactly how to be evil. He thinks of Sonic, his longtime spikey haired nemesis, and his blood boils furiously. He hates that hedgehog; that much he remembers. As he looks around and sees broken scraps of his last robot, Titaumaton Robotnik Mach 1, he realizes just how badly he lost the fight. He leans back and holds his forehead, something troubling him greatly. And that says something.
"Wow, turning people into mindless robotic slaves?" Robotnik squints his eyes and sighs. The news story explained that explicitly, and he just can't believe that it's true. But after the pictures and the explanation of the true story, he eventually believed, and he did not like it. "That's just terrible! Was I really that crazy?" He laughs at his own ludicrousness for a while, and then puts his other hand on the floor, reveling in the hilarity at this. "And banning music? Oh, that's just plain mean." He continues to laugh, then stands up again, speaking in a loud and boisterous tone. "MUA HA HA! Well, no matter! I'll just try again! Something different, and this time, it will turn out different! I'll defeat that hedgehog if it's the last thing I do! MUA HA HA HA Ha ha…."
The old Robotnik that once was is now gone, left in his place by a new…more reckless evil-doer. What's more, he's forgotten every specific detail about fighting with Sonic and his family, including Knuckles. He doesn't remember the red echidna at all. Without his long-time knowledge of evil to back him up, it's as if he's become an evil rookie all over again. In a way, this one is more ambitious than calculating, and more jovial than the last one. Whether this is bad or worse, nobody can tell quite yet, but what does ring true is this…
Sonic's going to need a lot more rings.
But one question is still left unanswered. As the large egg-shaped man's laughter dies down, his mustache lowers and his eyes furrow as he realizes the full extent of his situation.
"Wait. How am I going to get out of here?" The silence of the desert around him fails to answer this question.
He tries to put the scene around him into focus, but his eyes can't quite catch the horizon before him.
"Boy, I need some glasses…"
"Triplets born, the throne did await,
A seer warned of a deadly fate,
To give up her children, separate,
To have bid her time,
To have lied in wait.
The children have grown,
Learned what is right.
Leaders of the Freedom fight.
They sought their mother,
And she they did find,
United as parent,
As sister,
As brothers,
All kind.
They have learned,
That the time had come,
For them was earned,
Task impossible for some.
The road though riddled with love and fear,
The winding paths did shed not a single tear,
The shades of Chaos have shined bright,
Shunning Evil,
Embracing Light.
And through the Pain,
The stakes,
The fears,
It is to tyranny their faces leered,
For chaos saved the world that night,
Shunning Destiny,
Embracing Right."
"What was that grandfather?!" Knuckles yells from dozens of feet at the top of Athair's mountain home. One year after the intense fight with Robotnik, not that he remembers it; Knuckles' life has returned to normal. He is now at Athair's mountain home, impatiently awaiting something that Athair proclaims as an 'end to legend'. Whatever. To Knuckles, it doesn't really matter, life goes on.
He's standing on the side of the mountain, balancing himself with one hand on the steep wall of rock. While steadily gaining frustration, Knuckles is hard at work manipulating the two metal antennae of a television set to gain a broadcast signal. His grandfather contacted him especially for the great event, yet, to Knuckles' dismay, had not yet told him what that event was.
"Never mind boy!" Athair called. Knuckles groans, and then adjusts the poles again.
"Is it working Now?!" Knuckles yells. After glancing into the cave, Athair shakes his head.
"Not quite yet boy! Keep it going!" Athair yells back.
Not knowing what this 'special event' is paired with Knuckles constantly receiving a "no" from his grandfather when inquiring about the T.V signal are putting him a bit on the tense side.
"Alright!" Knuckles responds bitterly; yet at the same time, he shows a nominal lack of disinterest. After one particularly harsh adjustment, Knuckles accidentally breaks two feet from the TV antenna. "Gah!" He shouts in momentary franticness. He shiftily looks from side to side, wondering if any birds had caught his stupidity. Trying to recover from the accident he leans the broken piece against a rock, making sure that his grandfather should not see his massive blunder if he were to walk out. Moments later, lo and behold, Athair walks from the cave and calls up to him.
"What happened Knuckles?!" Athair shouts.
"Uh… nothing grandfather!" Knuckles lies, shifting his flustered gaze toward the broken wire for a second. "Uh…Now?" He asks anxiously.
"Well, whatever you did, the T.V is working now!"
"What?!" Knuckles calls, both because Athair's voice isn't particularly loud, and because he is somewhat astounded that his mistake might have fixed his problem.
"I said its working boy!" Athair yells, slightly louder. "Come down from there! Just don't hurt yourself!" Knuckles smiles to him then yells back.
"Alright Grandfather! I'll be there in two shakes!" With that, Athair slowly walks inside the cave. Taking a big sigh of relief, Knuckles glances that the broken antenna in his hand. Without any second thought, Knuckles chucks the piece off the mountaintop, and it soundlessly falls into the chasm at the bottom of the basin between the mountains. Knuckles looks out at it, making sure that it has disappeared, and then releases his grip from the almost vertical rock face.
For a second, time slows, and Knuckles sees his movement from the top of the mountain to the brilliant fairy blue overhead; then his eyes catch the ground quickly approaching him. Still a safe distance away, the rapidly growing floor does not even make him flinch. Showing off to no one in particular, he finishes his backflip off the mountain, spinning 180 and doing three more flips before outstretching his arms. Once he flings his arms back, his spines catch the wind. He feels a strong push upward as his body slows down midair, and pretty soon, he's less than a couple feet from the ground. He relaxes himself, and his body falls the three feet to the floor, and he places his hand on the floor to steady himself. He stares at the ground for a second, and then stands up tall, looking with odd pride at the top of the mountain. He brushes off his hands and closes his eyes as he walks with confidence toward the cave.
"Not a scratch." Knuckles says with sly smile. His tone tells everyone around him that he feels invincible. He thinks it was around age fifteen when he learned at first how to glide, but he can't be sure, after all, he's already established that he is terrible at keeping track of time. In fact, he can barely remember what age he was when he changed the island's Chaos Emerald into the Master Emerald; he knows he was fifteen, but only after getting affirmation about it from Athair. As for the memory itself, he remembers a bunch of flashes of light, then the shrine coming up out of the floor, but almost nothing afterward. The ritual was kind of cool, Knuckles recalls, but he found it a shame that there was nobody else there to see it. He still can't remember why he changed it, so he simply chalked it up as an "it's harder to steal if it's ginormous" thought. Come to think of it, he can't even remember the fire that burned a lot of the trees on the Angel Island, but then again, he was probably on the other side of the island when it happened. Come to think of it, was it even a fire? All he knows is that when he traveled there many of the trees were missing, and there was odd scorch marks and uprooted branches where they used to be. Oh well, couldn't have been anything else. Could it? Hmm… Anyway, even though it was younger when he first learned to glide, his spines have since gotten a tad bit longer, and he's honed his skills in the air much more. He's gotten a bit more… hot-headed, but it does little to impact his duties as the guardian of Angel Island. Angel Island… Ah. He still can't get over that name; it sounds way past cool.
Certainly, in any "imaginary" eyes that could have been silently watching over him and the Royal Family would have certainly been impressed by his leap. After witnessing everything that had happened to Knuckles in the past, this theoretical person feels positive that he had made the right choice. His past fears can no longer haunt him, and Robotnik's influence hasn't been able to reach him under the protection of his ignorance. The question of whether or not it was ethical has always crossed his mind, yet he always tends to lean towards the answer of yes. After all, it's what it took to save his life. And what doesn't kill you…well, Knuckles can prove the result. This abstract person disappears from the scene, and Knuckles walks inside the cave.
The inside of the cave is unimpressive. A small embroidered rug, a shelf full of magical artifacts and such, a cauldron at the back of the cave, a couple of paintings on animal skins, some wobbly bamboo chairs, and a couple of old throw pillows are pretty much all there is in the room. There is also a fire pit with a kettle hanging over it, surrounded by about four medium sized stone logs. Not that Athair has that much company anyway. The whole space seems a little too 'caveman-like' to Knuckles, but he finds it an upgrade from the last time he saw it. Then, it looked more like a witches' house. Knuckles struggles to find out how he had the time to re-decorate the place, but then again, like he thought earlier, he's horrible at keeping track of time.
Before long, Athair manages to find the channel he was looking for on the dinky forty dollar TV, and Knuckles is somewhat unsurprised to see that it is a news station. He's half-kneeling, half-sitting on a burgundy bean bag next to the T.V, vaguely enjoying his grandfather's company.
"Why are we looking at the news Grandfather?" Knuckles asks, hand on chin, staring idly at the screen.
"Because Knuckles," Athair says excitedly, slightly out of character for the seasoned old spell-caster, "We are going to be witnessing Queen Aleena and her three triplet children finally enter into the castle of Mobotropolis."
"And… why should I care?" Knuckles says blandly, rolling his eyes. He's never concerned himself with the affairs of Robotropolis, Mobotropolis? Whatever, it never had anything to do with him, so he never had anything to do with it. It's just how things went on.
Athair smacks Knuckles on the head with a newspaper; once he reels from the blow, Knuckles rubs his head and looks at Athair in angry embarrassment.
"Because child," Athair says, moving the newspaper with his words. "This event marks the fulfillment of destiny." Athair sets the newspaper on the T.V and paces the room, explaining the legend to Knuckles. "You recall meeting the Queen on her visit to the Floating…*ahem* Angel Island?"
"Yeah?" Knuckles answers and questions simultaneously, slightly more interested now that it involves him.
"Well, recall that she had left a note, have you since read it?"
"Yeah," Knuckles answers, "The note said I would be an ally…heh!" Knuckles grumbles to himself a little and crosses his arms. His temperament leaves a bit to be desired. "But I never even met her kids. Guessed destiny was screwed up with me, huh?" Knuckles chuckles and leans back in the bean bag; Athair smiles to himself.
"That, you can certainly say, my boy."
"But oh man oh man!" Knuckles jumps off his beanbag and starts punching the air at the mouth of the cave. "If I'd ever got my mitts on that scuzball Robotnik… ooh boy, would he be sorry!" He punches the air with his gloves a couple times, he then kicks once, loses his balance, then plops back down on the beanbag chair. "Hmfh! Well, maybe I'm goin' off a bit too much. I mean, I've never even met the guy." Athair ponders this.
"Honestly Knuckles," Athair says, looking to his grandson with great wisdom. "I believe that you're assumption of him is… fairly correct."
"Hey look!" Knuckles says interestedly, pointing to the screen. "Story's comin' back on!" Knuckles gets out of his beanbag and helps Athair down onto it, then he rushes over to another portion of the cave and grabs a wobbly chair. He sets it down near the television and sits on it backwards. Typical 16-year-old.
"Coming up soon, we bring you to the newly refurbished city of Mobotropolis, which was once ravaged by the brutal tyrant, Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Allow me to describe to you the details of his regime in a brief announcement…"
Having heard the story of Robotnik's downfall about a million times before, Knuckles wasn't all-too-keen in hearing it being said another time. And frankly, Athair is also getting a little bored of it. The recap plays over again in his head.
An injured Queen fell into her children's arms… the Resistance gained intelligence on a de-roboticizer from the Queen… learned of Robotnik's evil plans from an infiltration mission (the location was assumed to be in the desert, as far as he heard)… Set up de-roboticizers through the city…Robotnik invaded, all the citizens were restored.
The next portion actually intrigues Knuckles every time. The prince, partnered with a mysterious warrior, had become magically infused with positive Chaos energy, and they, (in a bout of intense awesomeness as Knuckles puts it), had defeated Robotnik's final destruction robot, Titaumaton Robotnik Mach 1. Once it was defeated, that stranger was never seen again, well, never seen at all; nobody ever figured out what he looked like except for the prince, but he had said that the warrior preferred to be left alone. Kind of reminded Knuckles of himself. Apparently, the Resistance had used the Chaos Emeralds to do it, so Knuckles had, for a little while at least, felt somewhat responsible for saving the world. Some may say it gave him a little bit of well-deserved pride, but Athair can attest that it gave him a big head. Anyway, it was just a little detail; he's already gotten over it.
"Hey Athair," Knuckles inquires, bored of the reporter's story.
"Yes Knuckles?" Athair answers, equally as bored, not that he would admit.
"You know that legend you told me about…? Like, the whole….cryptic, spooky one or whatever?" Knuckles waves his hands a little to represent the mysteriousness of the legend, but Athair knew what he was referring to even before he did so.
"Yes." Athair affirms, looking at his grandson with subtle curiosity.
"You know that part with…. 'Shunning destiny, embracing right' thing? What does that mean?" Athair sets his hands on his cane and chuckles a dry, yet pleased, laugh.
"That my boy," Athair says, turning to Knuckles with a smile, "Is something I feel is best left enshrouded in its own right." Athair turns back to the TV and Knuckles looks at his old head quizzically. Pretty soon, he simply shrugs his shoulders and turns his attention back to the broadcast, which is just finishing its summary of Robotnik's overthrow.
"…kingdom restored to its previous glory. We take you now to the front steps of our wonderful kingdom, where the queen and her three children are ascending the steps to the castle."
We are brought to the steps of the Castle Mobius, exactly one year after the intense battle with Robotnik. The castle was in complete shambles before, dilapidated, grey, and half of it broken off from one of Robotnik's Swat Bot factories. But a year of friendly cooperation, volunteer work, and the support of Aleena's millions of considerate citizens have restored the castle to the architectural wonder it was before. The entire city has undergone a magnificent transformation, as well as the people who had lived in it. A shining city it is, sidewalks and streets have been cleaned up, and trashcans now have recycling bins placed next to them, encouraging care for the environment even further. Homes have been opened for the homeless and elderly, something that Robotnik would not even consider doing. In addition, many creative people have begun to incorporate plants and the environment into the architectural designs of their homes, some looking more like works of art than houses. Vegetation has been planted all over the city, and many buildings have been redesigned and painted, giving entire kingdom a new, beautiful look. Community projects are greatly encouraged, many parks have been added for children to frolic and play, crime has gone down severely, and family owned businesses are booming, bringing culture and life to the once-drab streets of the kingdom. Even the air is fresh; the plants that decorate the city clean and refresh the atmosphere, providing a healthy environment for its residents. Now that the taxes have drastically reduced and the economy has started flowing smoothly once again, everyone is doing splendidly, and yes, that includes our four heroic protagonists.
Manic, Sonia, Sonic, Aleena, all walking side-by side up the steps to their birthright, the Castle Mobius, the pride of Mobotropolis. They are all smiling, refreshed from their efforts, marveling in the beauty of the kingdom…THEIR kingdom. Since the events of Robotnik's takeover, the family has not changed much, besides them all being refreshed and relaxed, and that Queen Aleena is once again wearing her Royal dress. Luckily, the sleeves reach all the way to her wrists, hiding the ugly scar left behind by Robotnik's whip. As all of them take their proud steps up the castle, Aleena glances to her children, smiling contently; her children turn and smile back to her, happy. They have waited so long for this, to walk through the doors of their beautiful castle, together.
Manic gives his hand to Sonia, and she takes it, giving her hand to Sonic, and so forth until Sonic is holding Aleena's hand. As they reach the final steps of the castle, they turn to gaze upon the sea of people that have gathered to see them enter. The gardens are full of people watching with cameras, video recording equipment, and cellphones, wanting to capture the event forever.
The family all step onto the terrace of the castle, standing honorably toward the crowd, similar smiles decorating their bright faces. They all stare off at their pristine and wonderful kingdom in admiration, how such a place could have ever been as bleak as it once was. But now, in the reception of their loving citizens, they feel the weight of the past lift off of them. They stare off into the future and know; they know that no matter what tribulations or obstacles that will most certainly arise, they will go on, protecting the world they love.
In unison, the family throws their arms to the sky.
The crowd shouts and applauds this triumphant symbol over evil, for the future prosperity of the Kingdom of Mobotropolis. As they turn to step inside the castle, the guards open the doors, and the family walks in victoriously.
After all the heartache, tears, pain, exhaustion, stress, and separation, this moment is victory, proving evil that even against all chance that it's no match for love.
…
Inside, the siblings think they know all of what to expect, but upon entering, they find that the room appears very empty and dark, all of the curtains are drawn, and there are no lights on. Sonic has a bad feeling, as do both of his other siblings, yet Aleena feels no tension at all. As the castle doors close, the siblings hitch their spines in defense, yet they still manage to keep their voices calm. It's not like they know something is going to come out at them, it's just a defensive reflex.
"Uh, mom?" Sonic says, mimicking confusion yet feeling cautiousness. "What happened to all the lights?"
"Oh, it appears that I have forgotten to turn them on." Aleena says in a ditsy tone, smiling to herself a little bit. Sonic can't quite put his finger on it, but he feels as if she's hiding something.
"Mom?" Manic questions in a less successful attempt at keeping his voice from sounding nervous.
"Lights Please!" Aleena yells into the room. Instantly, the curtains fall down, flooding the room with brilliant sunlight and the sounds of confetti poppers and party blowers. Surprised at first, the triplets take a step back and get in battle stances, unaware that the celebration is all for them.
Suddenly, the faces of everyone in the room hit them like a ton of bricks. They stand speechless at all of the familiar smiles, and they look at them equally as stunned, yet happy above all else.
"We finally got all of them together." Cyrus says, tucked under the arm of a much larger lion, one that the siblings hardly recognize without all the metal implantations.
"It took far more time that we would have preferred," Cyrus's father Lionel says while petting Cyrus on the head, "but I would say that we made pretty good time. Of course, it wouldn't be a true family reunion without everyone here."
Uncle Chuck is the first one to speak. "So Sonny boy, I see you've found the rest of your family. Aleena." Chuck tips his head with a cocky voice and Aleena waves her hand. "Brother." She and he coordinated the setup, intending it to be the surprise of the children's lives. Well, second best. She looks down happily at her kids, who are still trying to take in the whole scene without losing their heads.
Sonic's adoptive parents… Lady Windermere…Ferrell… Uncle Chuck… and their mother. All in the same room, ready to reunite with the children they've come to know and love through all. The children do not know exactly how to react, and are currently in the limbo between falling to their knees in happiness and running as fast as they can into their loved ones' arms. Suddenly, in the presence of their divided family, they become small… childlike, letting the innocence and love of childhood flood into them. And they act impulsively in the best of ways.
"D…Daddy?" Sonic stutters, his voice small and overwhelmed, much like the last one he had seen them with. "M...Mommy? Ch-Chuck…?""
"Sonic!" They exclaim in unison, approaching Sonic quickly with outstretched arms. Sonic scrambles towards them, leaping into their arms excitedly and happily. Laughing and sobbing all at once. Manic, spurred on by Sonic's behavior, runs into the arms of his old foster parent, and Sonia into hers. All at once, the room is filled with laughter and happiness, and the old parents exchange the first words to their kids in what feels like forever.
Sonic's old family, save Chuck, talks to Sonic just as if he's five again, and Sonic cannot help but feel that way in their arms.
"My widdle baby!" Sonic's mother yelps excitedly, still holding her now-teenage son in her arms. Sonic's dad speaks to him then.
"My boy… Sonic! Come here!" Sonic hugs them both, then takes a step back and wipes his eyes. As he looks admiringly at his family, who, the last time he's seen them, were robotic slaves under Robotnik's control. Now, are they not only okay, living and breathing on their own accord, they are thriving… happy, despite all that they have been through, thrilled to see him and his siblings.
Sonia met hers with equal thrill, jumping into Lady Windermere's arms with uncontained excitement.
"Oh Sonia!" Lady Windermere shrieks gleefully. "My sweet little darling! Are you alright?" She sets Sonia down and looks over her hastily, making sure she was all there. "Were you hurt? Did you eat enough? Oh, you still look so thin! Where's Bartleby? Wasn't he supposed to protect you?" Windermere's nagging…something she has missed so, so much. So much in fact, that she neglects to formulate an answer pertaining her and Bartleby's divorce. But it doesn't matter, she's back, healthy, and happy to be reunited again. Sonia feels just like a little kid again. But remembering that she is not, her mind returns to the divorce between her and Bartleby…and She chuckles nervously.
"Ah ha…. Yeah… About that…" Sonia smiles.
Manic runs to his old guardian, the biggest and frankly, the most shifty-looking of the lot. But as Manic leaps into his foster father's arms, the gruff and tumble persona that Ferrell has taken to acknowledging has melted away, and he hugs Manic tightly, afraid that if he doesn't, Manic is going to disappear. After a long hug, Ferrell lets Manic down and pats the crazy green spines on Manic's head. That bright white smirk, those big sweet eyes, and his calm excitable voice are all too familiar to the former-thief Ferrell. Manic is his boy, and nobody would care tell him otherwise.
"Manic! Oh Manic, I thought I'd never see you again kiddo!" Ferrell says jolly.
"Ferrell!" Manic yells in disbelief, hugging his old foster father again. "Oh man Oh man! It's you Ferrell! I'm so glad to see ya!" He starts to cry and Ferrell strokes his head spines again, gently at first, then ending with a brisk ruffle.
"Don' go all soft on me Manic…" He sniffs and wipes his eyes. "You're gonna make me shed the waterworks…" He holds Manic close, and Manic snuggles closer to him, the only family he had for the first 11 years of his life, his father not of choice but by chance, and he wouldn't have him any other way.
"I missed you Ferrell…"
"I missed you too kid. Manic."
In the room with all this love, Aleena feels as if she falls sadly out of place. Sure, she has been with her children for a little over the last year, but even still, she knows that she can never replace the bonds that her children feel for their foster parents, the ones that have been real parents to them from the time they were just babies. As she turns for one of the other rooms, she stops to talk to Cyrus's father briefly.
"Lionel, my children are sure pleased to have met their families again."
"Yes…" Lionel says slowly, "they most certainly are my Queen."
"Do you think you can watch over them while I tend to something else at the moment?"
"What? You're leaving?"
"Yes, I'm sorry, but the government needs my presence, I just don't think…"
"Where ya goin' mom?" Says the nosy Manic, tugging on Aleena's dress with a bright look in his eyes. Aleena looks down at him in a sorry way, but she also does not know how to explain why she's going.
"Sorry sweetie," Aleena says, kneeling down and rubbing Manic on the head, "I have to leave right now… My advisors are sure to want to meet with me immediately." Of course, this is to conceal the real reason for her departure; she simply feels as if she's not needed. With their REAL families back, Aleena feels, with lack of a better term, useless. After all, her children have gone the most of their lives without her, so what's the use in trying to become involved now, especially since she already feels as if they've forgotten about her? It's not that she doesn't want to; it's that she feels she just can't. "It won't be long honey," Aleena continues, "I just need to talk to them for a little while, I will be back later…"
"Oh no you don't!" Sonic approaches her, smirking with happy, skeptical eyes. "We've looked too long for you mom!" He runs up to her and hugs her. "We're not gonna let ya get away that easy!"
"Yeah mom!" Sonia chimes in, coming closer, "It's not a family reunion without you! After all mother, we wouldn't be here without you, or the sacrifices you made to keep us safe." Aleena is touched.
"R-Really?' She stutters. She was certain her children would be too preoccupied with their foster parents to be concerned about her; after all, they've really only known her for so long.
"Aw, come here mom!" Manic yells, plunging the trio of children into yet another group hug. Suddenly, the foster parents join in, hugging their children as well as embracing their siblings. As love and acceptance fills the castle, the Queen and her brother, the middle class foster couple, an aristocrat, a former thief, and the Royal children are all together, happy. For as long as the parents were in their hearts and the children in theirs, they would forever be bonded by the grace of their diverse and loving family.
This is undoubtedly going to make a very interesting Christmas card.
One Chapter left! Please stick it through to the end, and thank you all so much for reading!