Paper Luigi X
Chapter 37: Slight Darkness vs. the Unknown
"Oh ho ho no…you're gotta be kidding. This is a prank, right?" Malon exhausted, throwing her hands in the air. "Knuckles is the one who's caused all this? UGH."
"Hey, you're the ones who wanted me to show my face-"
"YOU'RE the one who stole our map, and you're trying to say that it's our fault?"
"All I wanted was to take the map and find the compass piece for myself. But then you decided to follow me, and now instead of hindering you, it looks like I've lead you to the edge of the ruins after all…" Knuckles then gestured behind him, revealing white bricks scattered everywhere. "These, again, are only the edge of the ruins. Up a little more is the real destination, which I'll just be headed to-"
"Oh no you don't!" Malon yelled, chucking Blooey who was also wailing out a battle cry. The blooper make hard contact with the back of Knuckles' head- "What the-OUCH!"- then played the same song she used to trap Luigi under the table on Bosco's so long ago. Knuckles instantly found himself with a throbbing pain and trapped in a cage.
"You are not going anywhere until you explain everything!" Malon declared.
"I don't have to answer to you. And if you don't mind-" Knuckles pulled the bars apart and escaped easily. "-I'll be on my way again."
"Knuckles! How did you get here?" Tails asked, though a bit shakily. "Last time I checked, you certainly weren't able to teleport!"
Knuckles stopped walking, as if it had hit a nerve, but then continued like nothing happened. "Hm, that's funny. Last I checked, you weren't able to either. And look where you end up at…"
Tails put up his hands and backed off. "I tried…"
Malon patted Tails on the shoulder. "Don't feel too bad about it. After all, it's only Knuckles-"
"What did you say?" Knuckles growled, now up against her face with a threatening fist. "You know better than that than mess with me!"
"Back off, you're obviously as lost and confused as the rest of us are…" Meta Knight trailed, stepping between Malon and Knuckles. Knuckles sweat dropped while gritting his teeth.
"I don't have a single clue as to what you're talking about!"
"Hmph, that's not a shocker-"
"Shut up!"
Meta Knight pulled out his sword and lightly poked Knuckles with it. "Leave, or I'll make you leave."
"Like you threaten me. You're just a waste of time…"
Luigi, standing the sidelines with the partners, looked like he had just seen the very God of Destruction before him-despite it not being Chaos.
"That's Knuckles! Him?"
Knuckles stopped his stare down with Meta Knight and turned his attention to Luigi. Luigi nearly collapsed on the ground.
"Of course, if you'd like to punch him, feel free to do so-"
"Blooey…" Malon grunted with a warning tone. Blooey let out a high pitched squeak and cowered behind Torque. Knuckles walked up to Luigi and asked, "Who are you?"
"No! Don't hurt him!" Tails cried, jumping in between both his friends. "He's just a really nice guy, that's all! He's never seen you before, so-"
"Sheesh I may be tough and apparently stupid-" he glared at Malon. "-but I'm not just going to wail on anyone I feel like! Especially a guy like…really, who is he?"
"This is Luigi! He's one of my new best friends and we're searching for the Marvelous Compass Pieces so we can save a sweet princess and if you even try to hurt him he'll crash down on you like a Green Thunder or something and that's Torque- he's my Soul Partner- and Blooey, and Jerry, and Hayzee-"
"Tails!" "Way to blurt out 75 percent of out motives…"
Tails covered his mouth and said a muffled, "Whoops…"
Luigi trembled, covering his head. "Please…don't hurt me…"
"I just said I wasn't! Man! Some Green Thunder you are…" Knuckles then cried out as a brown boot made sharp contact with the side of his skull. "OW! Why do you keep aiming for my head?"
"Cuz you're being mean to Luigi!" Malon snapped.
"HEY!" Luigi suddenly screamed, causing several birds to fly out of the forest. Everyone froze and gawked at him. "Uh, sorry…you guys are all just yelling at each other when we could either be getting to the bottom of this whole Knuckles thing or heading into the ruins ourselves!"
"He's got a point. Maybe we should all just calm down…" breathed Hayzee.
"Why don't you just go home, Knuckles. It's obvious we don't want anything to do with you-" Malon started, until Luigi stopped her.
"You think I want to be trapped here in some forest in a foreign world?" Knuckles asked, clenching his fists.
"I knew you were lost and confused," Meta Knight stated.
"And I told you that you were full of yourself! Look at that!"
"O-kay, you wait just a second-"
"Guys, break it up!" Tails requested. Knuckles shook his head and held out his palm.
"No, wait…you and me. Fight. Now."
Meta Knight swept his cape in front of him as his eyes glowed. "No. I never fight anyone unless they too have a sword or for self-defense. Never just for…fun, like you're implying."
"C'mon Meta Knight! Beat this guy senseless!" Malon cheered. "You're perfectly capable!"
"I know I'm capable. But there's no honor if it isn't a decent match."
"Ah, trust me-" Knuckles grabbed the cage he was briefly trapped in, threw in toward a few trees, and knocked ten of them down. "-I think I'm pretty worthy! Listen…if I win, then I keep the map and go looking for the piece all by myself."
"And, if I were to take this challenge, what would I get if I win?" Meta Knight questioned, eyeing him ever so suspiciously.
"I lose…I'll leave."
"Take him on, Meta Knight!" Malon and the partners cheered. Luigi and Tails exchanged nervous glances.
"Your friends have spoken!" Knuckles struck a battle pose. "So…we gonna rumble?"
Meta Knight pointed his sword at Knuckles. "Your defeat will be mine."
Knuckles grinned, showing his fangs in the process. "Cool."
He then jumped up, then burrowed back into the ground. Meta Knight quickly tried to fly up to avoid it, but Knuckles shot out of the ground so fast he made contact with Meta Knight anyway. The swordsman tumbled upward in a haze, only to be bashed back down toward the ground by a massive punch. Knuckles landed on the ground then charged at Meta Knight. Meta Knight saw him coming, rolled out of the way, tripped Knuckles with his sword, then sent the echidna crashing into a tree.
"Take this!"
Meta Knight flew at high speed toward Knuckles, sword extended. Knuckles quickly climbed the tree, pounding his fist into it, resulting in Meta Knight getting his sword stuck in the bark. While he fought to pull it out, Knuckles jumped back down and rammed him into the tree.
"A taste of you own medicine, eh?"
Meta Knight grunted and pulled his sword out fast, elbowing Knuckles hard in the shin. He let out a yowl and started dancing the pain off, allowing Meta Knight a chance to strike. Meta Knight disappeared in a golden blue as he used his tornado move, hitting Knuckles several times and sending him flying.
"Ah, you can't get this kind of action at home!" Malon laughed.
"You find entertainment in this?" Luigi gawked. "This is nothing short of simply barbaric!"
"Luigi duck!"
"Duck? Where-OOMPH!"
Knuckles collided with Luigi and both went spiraling into yet another tree.
"Ow…"
"Sorry, Thunder, lost my focus…" Knuckles said quickly before jetting back into battle. Luigi, slumped upside down against the trunk, gave Tails a look.
"Way to go- now you've got him calling me Thunder…"
Tails hoped his grin would get him out of this one…
Knuckles flew right at Meta Knight, but his punches were skillfully blocked by the golden sword.
"Hm! Not too shabby!" Knuckles nodded, impressed.
"I am not to be messed with."
Meta Knight snuck a quick slice into Knuckles' side, knocking him into a bush. Knuckles spat out some leaves then tore a perfectly good tree out of the ground, roots and all. Tossing it at Meta Knight, Knuckles jumped up in a flash and started running the length of it. Meta Knight grimaced, but his sword proved to make an excellent axe as he held it before him and sliced the tree straight down the middle. He wasn't expecting Knuckles to come out of nowhere and bop him on the head, though.
"Argh!"
As Meta Knight was briefly weakened, Knuckles picked up both halves of the tree and swung them around madly. One swooped over the rest of Team Luigi, causing an arise of several complaints.
"Watch where you're swingin' your trees!" "Are trying to kill someone! ?" "My hair!"
Knuckles ignored the comments and threw one half into the air while using the other to try and hit Meta Knight. Meta Knight leaped at the right moment, using the second half to gain some air. He slice his sword right through the first, cutting it in two, then slicing madly at the newly made fourth…and unintentionally created a totem pole.
"What the-"
"HIYAH!"
Meta Knight was smacked upwards by the second half, though he recovered quickly and prepared a Dive Stab on Knuckles. Knuckles tossed the remaining half up, then jumped up after it. He punched it in two like it was simple twig, then kicked the three fourths (not counting the totem pole) at Meta Knight's direction. Meta Knight charged right through them and straight into Knuckles, plowing them both into the ground and even making the earth shake. The rest of Team Luigi was bounced up and ended up in a pile.
"Jeez, keep it civil!" hissed Jerry, crawling out from under Luigi and Torque.
"Who's gonna win?" Blooey asked anxiously.
"I say Meta Knight. He's practically blowing Knuckles off!" Malon said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Yeah, but Knuckles hasn't done any of his truly devastating moves yet!" protested Tails, still feeling a need to defend his friend, even if he was being a Knucklehead.
"Who do you think'll win Luigi?" they both asked at the same time. Luigi just about shrunk.
"Uh, I was counting on a draw…"
The partners groaned. "Of course." "Nice…not!" "You're really hopeless."
"I JUST WANT PEACE."
"Give up yet?" Meta Knight questioned darkly, spitting out a rock. Knuckles replied by socking him in the mask.
"Far from it, buddy. But I praise you for that move of yours-"
"Stop praising me!" demanded the knight, conking Knuckles -in the head- with his sword.
"I won't have a head left if I get out of this!"
"You're the one who said, "We gonna rumble?"
"Stop mocking me!"
Knuckles performed a uppercut, then grabbed Meta Knight and chucked him away. Meta Knight slammed into a tree, very vulnerable for Knuckles to jump off a branch and glide toward him. He hardly had a chance to move when Knuckles rammed him again, then tossed him toward the forest floor.
"Ow…"
"Fists beat some puny weapon any day!" Knuckles called, climbing up the tree, pushing off, then doing a flip and aiming a spiked fist at Meta Knight. Meta Knight reacted fast by sticking up his sword, forcing Knuckles to quickly veer away from his target. He did a stylish roll on the ground, only to be knocked down by another blow.
"This getting really old!" he shouted, performing a sweep kick and taking Meta Knight down along with it. "Time to kick it up a notch!"
"That was terrible!" Marlon called. "BOO!"
"No pun intended!"
"At least he didn't say "you'll get a kick out of this!" or something…" trailed Torque.
Meta Knight's eyes blazed as he swung again. "Oh, So then I guess this'll be a real hit!"
He slammed the flat side of the sword down on Knuckles' head -again- and also receiving groans.
"Don't follow in his bad joke tracks!" "Save it for Link!"
"YARGH!"
"Oopmh!"
Knuckles brought his leg straight up, kicking Meta Knight high up, then striking with a devastating punch to the stomach. The echidna then jumped up and started rapidly pounding on Meta Knight as if he was nothing but a mere punching bag.
"Oh no! Meta Knight!"
Meta Knight bared it all however. Then, when Knuckles stopped for the briefest second, Meta Knight swung his sword up and at Knuckles, followed by a very rapid spin of butt kicking.
"Yah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah-"
"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-NOT THE HEAD! OW!"
Meta Knight dealt a final blow, finally, and hopefully ending the battle by sending Knuckles ricocheting off a tree and plowing into the ground. Meta Knight swooped down and landed in front of him.
"…I think I was hit in the head too many times…"
"Yes, but you do look quite fetching in that dirt…" Malon snickered. Tails gave Malon and sharp look.
"You hardly know Knuckles! How come you're so anti-him? I've at least gotta know!"
"Don't you remember when we all met up at Peach's party so long ago…you and Knuckles, you two were talking to Meta knight and King Dedede about…something. I overheard while I was having a conversation with another other worlder, and Knuckles was being a real Knucklehead."
Tails thought long and hard. "I remember now! We were talking about…being tired of our own worlds…"
"Yeah. And then Knuckles said…"
Meta Knight narrowed his eyes. "He was going on about how I always had ability to teleport- the ability to escape…but as much as I wanted to, I wasn't about to abandon my world just because of what I thought…"
"And then Knuckles said…"
"…your loss…"
"Ugh, stop talking about me like I'm not even here…" Knuckles moaned, struggling to even just lay on the ground. "Ow…that spin of yours does a heck of a lot of damage…"
Malon glared down at him with shimmering eyes. "Quiet you! You have no idea what it's like to actually feel devoted to your world- just because someone happens to possess the ability to teleport off the bat, doesn't mean they automatically want to leave their world, regardless of Link's theory of how "You must have a will to leave your world" and stuff like that…"
"Actually that's particularly true…the only reason I even left PopStar was because I had a will to leave to find Kirby, but it turns out I have no need to do so now." Meta Knight explained.
"You guys don't get it, do you?" Knuckles grumbled, pushing himself up. "Meta Knight aside, how are you and Tails here, Malon? It was the exact opposite! You wanted to leave, and yet you couldn't teleport. What does that say?"
Malon said nothing, and Knuckles interrupted Tails before he got carried away in some complicated discussion. He pulled out a sea green emerald, slightly bigger than a Chaos Emerald, but still small enough to be able to carry around.
"Fate happened. I'm just like you-I was minding my own business, doing what I do everyday, which is my dedication to protecting this very emerald, and…perhaps for a split second…I wanted something different. Maybe just to leave the island. For a little while. But I swear, I had no intentions of leaving my world, darn it!"
"…what are you saying Knuckles?" Malon asked quietly.
"That this is all just one huge misunderstanding that we'd all hoped would be taken care of by fighting?" Luigi finally said, sipping a cup of tea as if he had just uttered something completely profound. However said tea was spat out as Jerry cried, "What the heck Luigi!"
"Sorry…but for a moment I thought I'd be the one who'd have to explain the predicament. Anyway, just finish the tale, Knuckles."
Knuckles gave a nod of respect. "Thank you…anyway, right after I had the "urge" to "leave", the Master Emerald- which is this, only at full size- suddenly showed me all these weird images…the map, the compass piece, and someone handing it to what I thought at the time was me. Then, without warning, it suddenly started glowing this bright light, brighter than I'd ever seen…and next thing I know, I'm in this stupid forest."
"And if you put two and two together, Knuckles thought the Master Emerald was telling him to find the map to lead him to the compass piece, since he thought that was how he could get back…" Luigi finished.
"Yeah…"
"Well…you should've said something instead of roping us into all this nonsense!" Malon exclaimed. Knuckles shrugged.
"I know…but I honestly didn't think you would/could follow me! And I only fought Meta Knight because, well, I got another image from the emerald as I was walking through the forest- it was of you guys. You were the one with the map, and the piece…apparently me losing was a sign that I need to get lost after all. See you…"
Knuckles started walking away until Luigi and Tails practically ransacked him to the ground.
"RGH! What are you doing?"
"Just wait! The Master Emerald doesn't just send you images of random things just because it can, right? There's always a purpose behind it!" Tails cried.
"What if…the image were telling you…to…oh dear…join us?" Luigi finished meekly.
Knuckles, Malon, and Meta Knight's eyes all shot open. "WHAT? YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING!"
"Well, Tails DOES possess somewhat of a point…that emerald of yours wouldn't go through all this trouble for nothing!" Luigi pointed out.
"Well, yeah, but…me? With you guys? I don't think so, Thunder!"
Luigi threw up his hands and stomped off. "Oh, isn't THAT beautiful…"
"I said I was sorry!" Tails called over his shoulder.
Knuckles, who was currently resting his head on his palm and tapping his hand against the ground, sighed, "Again, me? Join?"
"Well, I suppose you would be an asset Knuckles, but I'm still very wary of you…" Malon trailed.
"hmm…oh yeah. I'm definitely the guy you can't trust- because I'm apparently very gullible."
Tails muttered something under his breath.
"All right. Listen. I'll join your group until we get out of these forest/ruins, and then IF we seem to be able to trust each other, then maybe I'll stay…since I have no way home…and if things go wrong, I simply go my own way. I'm cool with that. Anyone object?"
"How will you be helpful to us if I easily, how you say, "kicked your butt?" Meta Knight questioned, causing Malon, Jerry, and Torque to chuckle. Knuckles jumped up and shook a fist at him.
"Shut up! My brain got all screwed around from the thrashing it received so I couldn't fight well! We can have a rematch when we reach the other side of the moon, but right now you should at least be focusing on getting that compass piece! Am I in? Or not?"
Meta Knight shrugged. "That's actually not my call."
"Oh? Then whose is it?"
Everyone pointed at Luigi. Luigi feebly pointed at a tree.
"So, Thunder's the leader, ah?"
"Well, I wouldn't say LEADER-"
"Still, apparently you're callin' the shots. Deal…or no deal?"
"What is this, a game show?"
Luigi squirmed for quite awhile before pulling his hat over his head and mumbling, "I am such a sucker…"
"Got that right!" chimed Blooey, Jerry, and Torque as Hayzee shook his head in dismay.
"…okay Knuckles. You can hang around with us until we…somehow…get out of here. Then, after that, we'll make the final decision."
Knuckles nodded. "Sweet. I promise- I won't be a hindrance!"
"All we ask is that you don't get on our nerves!" Malon snickered, though this time more light hearted than before. Knuckles smirked right back.
"I won't as long as you don't get on MINE."
Knuckles:
HP: 40
FP: 20
Moves-
Uppercut (4 atk)
Burrow (6 atk, takes two turns)
Knuckle Sandwich (8 atk, 7 FP, causes dizziness AND confusion)
Special Ability: Uses his fists to bash through almost anything/ can dig to find hidden items
"Well, no use standing around here!" Knuckles decided, already walking off. "The ruins are in this direction not too far away!"
Luigi shrugged and followed Knuckles, and Malon, Tails, and Meta Knight followed suit. The partners exchanged unsure glances, but ran after anyways.