Trials of the Earth

by Universalshroom

After meeting a strange person, Cory is thrust into a new world with exciting adventures. This will be my longest fiction ever, and will feature many arcs and complex story lines. I might listen to your input if you review.

37. The Island

Null looked down at the water below as he flew with Tails on his plane. Below him flew an exact replica, only distorted by the waves. Clones. Was he a clone? What constitutes one as a clone? Or was he just a man made entity?

I reflect on my reflection

As I ask myself the question

Who am I and I am still who I am?

I don't know

Am I a man?

Or am I a man made entity?

(Am I a man made entity)

If I'm a man made entity, then I'm a very manly man made entity

(very manly man made entity)

Am I a man made entity?

(man made entity)

Or am I a man?

(Am I a man?)

If I'm a man, that makes me a man made entity of a man

(a man made entity of a man)

I look into these eyes

And I don't recognize

The one I see inside

It's time for me to decide

Am I a man?

Or am I a man made entity?

(Am I a man made entity)

If I'm a man made entity, then I'm a very manly man made entity

(very manly man made entity)

Am I a man made entity?

(man made entity)

Or am I a man?

(Am I a man?)

If I'm a man, that makes me a man made entity of a man

(a man made entity of a man)

Here I go again

I'm always running out of line

I think I made up my mind

THIS IS WHO I AM

I AM A MAN MADE ENTITY THAT WAS BORN OUT OF THREE MEN WHO WERE EACH MAN MADE ENTITIES FROM DIFFERENT TIMELINES.

Null smirked as he pushed Tails, almost making him fall into the deadly waters. Tails gasped and stared wide eyed at Null.

"Hey, stop it! I'm taking you to the island where knuckles lives, you need to stop making fun of me and punishing me!" Tails yelled over the roar of the engine.

"Heh, nothing personal, kid." Null laughed, pulling out a shuriken and cutting his arm, only to heal it once again using his chaos emerald powers. Cutting had always been a passion of all three of the trio that now made up null, but now with the power of the chaos emeralds, he could do it as much as he wanted. He liked to see the warm, crimson blood flow down his arm slowly. It made him excited.

"There she is…" Tails said. Up ahead a tropical island with ruins appeared before them. It was tropical and it had a lot of trees on it like palm trees. It looked like a jungle with a lot of palm trees and foliage and grass and stuff. The sand on the beach led into a jungle looking area with palm trees that gave it a tropical look. The tropical island was covered in a jungle of grass, foliage, and palm trees. Overall, much of the grass on the island was green, much of the forest on the island was a jungle, and much of the beach had palm trees on it. The beach on the island had palm trees on it, it led into a green forest that looked like a jungle. The ruins on the island were within the green jungle that came out of the palm tree covered beach. The island wasn't very big, but what sections existed were either a beach with palm trees, or a green jungle with ruins.

"I'm not impressed," Null said, crossing his arms. He jumped out of the plane and flew to the island.

"Hey Null," Tails said, landing his plane on the island, "You can enter a super state if you have all of the emeralds, you know. I saw Sonic do it a few times before!"

"Huh, how do you-" Null was cut off by loud music playing.

Here I come, rougher than the rest of them

The best of them, tougher than leather

You can call me Knuckles, unlike Sonic I don't chuckle

I'd rather flex my muscles

I'm hard as nails, it ain't hard to tell

I break 'em down whether they're solid or frail

Unlike the rest I'm independent since my first breath

First test, feel the right, than the worst's left

Born on an island in the heavens

The blood of my ancestors flows inside me

My duty is to save the flower

From evil deterioration

I will be the one to set your heart free, true

Cleanse yourself of them evil spirits that's in you

Streaking lights, loud sounds, and instincts

Are the elements that keep me going

I am fighting my own mission

Nothing's gonna stand in my way

I will be the one to set your heart free, true

Cleanse yourself of them evil spirits that's in you

Won't be frightened, I'll stand up to all the pain and turmoil

Just believe in myself, won't rely on others

Get this power to wipe out the havoc and anarchy

This is my planet, gonna fight for my destiny

Here I come, rougher than the rest of them

The best of them, tougher than leather

You can call me Knuckles, unlike Sonic I don't chuckle

I'd rather flex my muscles

I'm hard as nails, it ain't hard to tell

I break 'em down whether they're solid or frail

Unlike the rest I'm independent since my first breath

First test, feel the right, than the worst's left

I have no such things as weak spots

Don't approve of him but gotta trust him

This alliance has a purpose

This partnership is only temporary

I will be the one to set your heart free, true

Cleanse yourself of evil spirits that got in you

Won't be frightened, I'll stand up to all the pain and turmoil

Just believe in myself, won't rely on others

Freedom will be waiting when serenity is restored

This is my planet, I shall not surrender

Won't be frightened, I'll stand up to all the pain and turmoil

Just believe in myself, won't rely on others

Get this power to wipe out the havoc and anarchy

This is my planet, gonna fight

Won't be frightened, I'll stand up to all the pain and turmoil

Just believe in myself, won't rely on others

Freedom will be waiting when serenity is restored

This is my planet, I shall not surrender

The new porcupine on the block with the buff chest

In the wilderness with the ruggedness

Knock, knock, it's Knuckles, the bloat thrower

Independent flower, Magical Emerald holder

I'll give you the coldest shoulder

My spikes go through boulders, that's why I stay a loner

I was born by myself, I don't need a posse

I get it on by myself, adversaries get shelved

Yeah, knuckles came out of the forest or jungle or whatever.

"Yo my dudes, what is up guys?" Knuckles the Echidna said.

"Shut up, Echidna. I'm on an important mission for…" Null stopped and froze. His head ached with the pain of mental personality clash. He needed to focus. It was his mission, it was for himself, "for myself."

"Woah there dude just take it easy there man."

"I currently have all seven chaos emeralds and I need to acquire the master emerald."

"Woah ho ho there man, I don't just give that away man. I can't just tell you dudes how to get the master emerald dudes, tell em, Xavier Renegade Angel."

A sentient water bottle appeared beside Knuckles, "I don't care about anything I just want to kill myself!"

Knuckles laughed, "You're immortal, Xavier Renegade Angel!"

The water bottle jumped into the ocean, probably killing a turtle or something with the pollution it caused. Knuckles continued to laugh. This guy was weird. Null had no idea what the hell this loser was doing. He probably went insane on this stupid palm tree covered island.

"You idiot, I need to get the master emerald and you are going to tell me how!"

"Woah man, just take it easy man. I have it right here but you'll need to fight me for it, by the way it nulls all chaos emeralds, dude!"

"Too bad, I already have one that does that!"

"Woah dude you learned that each emerald has its own power wowie that's crazy I didn't think that would happen!"

Null grunted and pulled out his z- saber and shurikens. Knuckles pulled out his knuckles and stood at the ready. Tails covered his eyes, not adjusted to violence. Null charged forward toward Knuckles at a high speed, swinging his z- saber in the process. Knuckles tunneled underground.

Null jumped back and looked around. The Echidna could be anywhere and appear at any time, he had to be ready. He began blasting the ground with his guns, trying to draw him out of the ground. Suddenly, he jumped out of the ground directly underneath Null, punching him upwards and sending him falling down hard on his arm.

"I don't wanna fight ya man! I just wanna get some grub!" Knuckles said as Null flew back.

Null picked up his head and cracked his neck, "Even a child could pull off a move as simple as that, you are less than me and you should worship me."

Null backflipped and tipped his helmet, smirking. He ran toward Knuckles with his shuriken at the ready, throwing it toward Knuckles. At the last minute, the red echidna tunneled underground, Null's shuriken flying past him and hitting a tree. Null grunted and began slashing at the ground with his saber, making sand fly up and creating a dust storm. Null yelled out in frustration as Knuckles appeared once again out of the ground and pushed out with his palm to hit Null.

Null's vision began to blur. He needed to stay focused. This would not be how he went out. He needed more power. The emeralds were deactivated now, but Null knew that the deactivation was merely a trick, anyone could reactivate them if they had the willpower. Null got up onto his feet and swept the sand from his shoulders and glared at Knuckles.

"You haven't bested me, virgin loser. I have the power of a thousand concentration camps," Null smirked, "You can't defeat me, I am immortal."

Knuckles jumped into the ground once more. This time, Null was ready. He jumped up onto a palm tree and pulled out his guns. He then filled the entire beach with his bullets. As the dust cleared, he couldn't see Knuckles anywhere. This bastard was harder than he thought. Hard as nails.

Null pulled out his z buster and began to charge his shot. A ball of light formed at the end, becoming bigger and bigger as time went on. Null began to grunt as the energy began to grow exponentially, pulling it from an unknown source. Null closed his eyes and felt the power of the bolt within himself. As he fired the bolt, he switched the direction so it fired backwards back into his z buster. He grunted as a red aura covered his body and swallowed him whole. He felt everything inside himself burn with power.

Pain shot through his body as the energy filled his entire body. Pain, electricity, and heat. He screamed as he channeled this power into his core. He began to glow and the entire island seemed to grow silent and watch as he began to scream. Knuckles jumped from the ground and stared at Null as he screamed louder and glowed brighter.

Suddenly, the seven emeralds appeared outside of him, shining bright from the power of the blast. Null smirked as he flew off the ground, the emeralds floating around him. They began to spin, first slow, then faster and faster as they flew closer to the man made entity. When they resonated together in front of his heart, a blast of light flew off of them and they disappeared into the dark abyss inside of Null.

Null closed his eyes and screamed as he felt more and more power grow inside of him. This was it. He could finally go super. The entire island shook as a golden light overtook Null. Knuckles and Tails covered their eyes as the power grew more and more.

"So this is what a true emerald wielder looks like…" Knuckles said slightly more normal than his usual demeanor.

Null thought back to his life before in the woods with Charmy and Vector. They were idiots but he loved them. Too bad they were both dead now. The golden aura turned black as he thought of this.

Null thought back to his life before in the space station with Maria and Gerald Robotnik. They were the only people he could trust, even if Gerald was a maniac. Too bad they were both dead now. The golden aura once again turned black for an instant.

Null thought back to his life before in the future in another dimension with X. He was an old friend, but something had changed as time went on. Too bad he was dead now. The golden aura turned black, this time not going back to normal.

Knuckles stared in awe as he saw within the black aura the silhouettes of three separate entities. Slowly they came together and the dark glow faded, leaving Null alone above the trees, a black aura surrounding him.

"I'd love to continue to chat, but I need to end you."

"Heh, man I'd love to."

Knuckles punched his fists together and the distant temple activated, glowing brightly as a green emerald on top began to glow. The master emerald.

"Now you'll see what you were looking for, the master emerald. Most people see it as a way to null the other emeralds' power, but those people are only half right. When the power of the emeralds becomes too much, the master emerald can also be activated in order to power up those who wish to stop the emerald wielder. That, my man, is too bad for you, I will now have no choice but to destroy you once and for all!"

A green aura surrounded Knuckles as a beam of light shot across the island, blowing trees back with its power. The beam hit Knuckles, causing him to float off the ground as he smirked at Null. The green aura engulfed him. His tail grew outwards to an unreasonably long length, spouting needles. His legs grew longer, growing white fur and needles, claws replacing his toes. His arms grew more buff and longer, growing talons out of his hands. He growled as his mouth grew bigger, his teeth becoming misshapen and his eyes bulging out of his head. The spikes on the back of his head grew out as the aura dissipated leaving behind a huge figure where the echidna once stood. It was Knuckles' omega form.

Null smirked and flew at the beast, shooting beams of energy from his z buster, amplified by the power of the emeralds. They were connected straight to his nervous system, giving him immense power. Knuckles swept his claws, beams of light flying out of them. Null dodged them and unleashed a barrage of giant shurikens at the beast, which were swiped at by Knuckles. The shurikens flew off toward the sea, exploding in a giant wave.

The wave travelled toward the island as Null shot toward Knuckles at an incredible speed. Knuckles swiped at the man made entity, but he was too fast. Null dodged every swipe and landed in front of Knuckles, blasting him with an energy beam just as the wave engulfed them. Null stared down as the wave retreated, leaving Knuckles behind looking nearly in perfect health, even under the poisonous water.

The beast jumped off the ground and flew toward Null, swiping and slashing mercilessly at the man made entity. Null dodged the claw slashes and pulled out his z saber, which was very long with the power of the emeralds awakened. He countered each claw slash with a slash of his own saber. The two fell as they finally made contact with each other.

"I am superior to you in every way. You are merely an insect, a parasite!" Null shouted as he threw another hundred shurikens at the beast. Knuckles roared as he swung his huge arm at the shurikens, swinging them around and returning them toward Null. Null sliced them all with his z saber, causing them to explode behind them. He jumped off the ground and flew straight at the hulking beast, shooting him point blank with his buster. Knuckles fell back and transformed back into his regular form, having been bested.

"You truly are worthy of the emerald. Go to the temple and take it. It is yours."

Null grunted, "If only you put up more of a challenge, loser." Tails waved goodbye as Null flew off toward the temple and landed on top of it. There, at the end of the temple, was the emerald. It was finally time to take it. He ran up to the emerald and grabbed onto it, attempting to pull it from its pedestal. The air around null glowed with an unworldly energy and Null was thrown back.

As he opened his eyes, he saw two figures on both sides of him. His vision came into focus and he saw the forms of shadow and Zero. Looking down, he saw himself as Espio. The seven chaos emerald flew from the three, circling around the final emerald, the master emerald.

Espio smirked, looking around. He knew only one would get the emeralds, but who would win? Would Espio come up on top and become the most powerful person on earth? Would Zero win and take his power to the future in another dimension to eradicate the opposition? Or would Shadow take the power and hand it over loyally to the president? Find out on the next episode of Cory in the House: Trials of the Earth.