A/N - Well here's another chapter that needed to be split in two, otherwise it would be an even longer wait before it was ready and it would be really long.

Stallion6 of Deviantart - No, but that's a good guess.

Stitchfan 82 - I'm glad you still enjoy the story. Yeah, it's a pity they had to rescue Robotnik but there it is; if they hadn't the future almost certainly would have been changed and would have been much worse. In answer to your question I do not have a Doctor Who Build Your Own Sonic Screwdriver kit so I don't know if one could build Tails' version with it. Tails got his screwdriver to work on wood, which the Doctor had not done so I guess that's what you would need to add to build Tails' sonic screwdriver.

Guest - Thank you for your words on the fight scene since I feel like I have trouble with scenes like that so I'm glad you liked it. I do not know who win in an all-out, no holds barred fight between Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic has the speed but Knuckles has the brawn. Your guess is as good as mine.

Weekj2001 - Thank you. I'm happy you like my story as much as you do. Yes, characterization really is the life blood of a good story. It can be heavy on plot and full of action but if the characters don't work the whole thing will fall flat. I'm glad you think the characters are good.

As always, standard disclaimer: Neither Doctor Who nor Sonic the Hedgehog belong to me. Doctor Who is property of the BBC. Sonic The Hedgehog SatAM is property of Sega and DIC. The only things that are mine are the story itself and any original characters I might come up with. Please read and review; I always appreciate feedback. Constructive criticism is welcome, however no flames please.

48 – KNUCKLES' ATTACK

"Doctor we need to go back now!" yelled Knuckles over the alarm.

"We're already on our way" the Doctor called back as he manipulated the TARDIS controls. Maybe he manipulated them too fast, or maybe they ran into some vortex turbulence, either way the TARDIS gave a violent shake, practically turning upside down and throwing everyone around who wasn't holding onto something (which was everyone except the Doctor and Sarah Jane both of whom, through sheer automatic reflex brought on by long experience, had grabbed the console) before abruptly returning to normal.

Tails, Sonic, Bunnie, and Knuckles were all lying on the floor in a heap. Unfortunately for everyone Knuckles was on the bottom. Tails, who was on top, immediately leaped off the pile and joined the Doctor and Sarah Jane at the console. Sonic and Bunnie were not so lucky.

"GET! OFF! ME!" Knuckles roared as he shoved the hedgehog and rabbit off of him so hard they went sliding across the floor.

"Hey dude, calm down!" called Sonic as he slid to a stop, "it's not like we fell on you on purpose."

"I don't care" growled Knuckles as he got to his feet and brushed himself off, "Doctor I hope this sort of thing doesn't usually happen with your ship."

"Oh hardly ever" said the Doctor.

"Only about once every other trip" said Sarah Jane who smirked as the Doctor threw her an annoyed glance.

"Well it better not happen again before we get back" said Knuckles, "we need to get to the Master Emerald right..." Knuckles trailed off as he heard the noises from the TARDIS indicating that the ship was landing.

"We're here" said the Doctor.

"Then why are we still moving?" asked Sonic as everyone could feel a very slight downward motion.

"That's not the TARDIS" said the Doctor, "the Floating Island is sinking at a very slow rate."

"That's slower than the first time we were here" said Tails.

"The drain on the Master Emerald must be less" observed the Doctor, "the Weeping Angels must be taking less energy from it so the Floating Island doesn't hurtle out of the sky."

"Mah stars!" said Bunnie, "that would be a catastrophe!"

"But the Master Emerald!" exclaimed Knuckles, "why didn't you bring it inside the ship like you did before?"

"Ah, yes, about that" said the Doctor, "you'd better look at the view screen" the Doctor turned on the screen and they all gaped at what they saw. The Master Emerald appeared to be right outside, but standing on top of it and turned slightly away from them was a Weeping Angel.

"That's right outside the doors" said the Doctor, "I'm sorry Knuckles but the TARDIS will not bring a Weeping Angel on board. The consequences of that would be disastrous."

Knuckles ground his teeth in frustration. He furrowed his brow, trying to think.

"When you say 'right outside the doors'" said Knuckles, "do you mean if you open them right now then when I look straight ahead outside I'll see the angel and Master Emerald?"

"That's usually what 'right outside the doors' means" said the Doctor. Knuckles snapped his fingers.

"You!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at Sonic, "blue smart-mouthed fast guy!"

"That's Sonic to you!" yelled Sonic.

"Yeah, whatever" said Knuckles, "do you have total control over your speed?"

"Is that a trick question?" demanded Sonic.

"Fine" said Knuckles, "if you were to spin someone round and round at your top speed and then let go could you aim them exactly where you wanted them to go?"

"In a Sonic Second" said Tails, "I've seen him do it. He's even done it with me."

"Good" said Knuckles, "then I want you to do that with me. We're going to open the doors of this place and you're going to send me towards that Weeping Angel's head!"

"Now wait a minute – " the Doctor started to say but Knuckles cut him off.

"Do you have a better idea?" Knuckles said, "those things have been draining power from the emerald for days and now it's going to stop."

"Where's the other angel?" asked Tails but everyone ignored him.

"Knuckles you'll be taking a tremendous risk" argued the Doctor, "you don't know if you can even dent the angel, let alone seriously damage it."

"The Master Emerald is my responsibility" said Knuckles, "and I will protect it however I have to. You can either help me or you can get out of the way." There was a tense pause as the Doctor and Knuckles stared at each other. Then the Doctor nodded.

"All right" he said, "I'll open the TARDIS doors on your mark. The rest of us will keep our eyes on the angel. Just be careful."

"That's more like it" said Knuckles. He turned to Sonic, "okay hot shot, do your thing."

Sonic didn't need Knuckles to tell him twice. He grabbed Knuckles' left wrist and ankle, lifted him up and began spinning round and round, getting faster and faster until the wind he was generating was quite strong. Everyone else in the console room had to hold onto something so as not to be pushed up against the walls of the room. After a few moments Knuckles yelled for the Doctor to open the TARDIS doors. The Doctor did so and everyone, looking through the inner and outer doors, was able to see the Weeping Angel standing on the Master Emerald. Another moment and then:

"NOW!" yelled Knuckles. Sonic continued spinning until just the right second when he let go of Knuckles and the echidna soared through the TARDIS doors in an upward arc heading straight for the angel's head. Knuckles' right fist led the way but as he moved he brought his left fist up to just behind it.

WHAM! Knuckles' right fist hit the Weeping Angel right under the chin where the neck joined the head. The angel's head came off of its body and fell in one direction, while Knuckles used his left fist to punch the body in the opposite direction. The two pieces of the angel fell off the Master Emerald while Knuckles flew forward several more meters before hitting the ground where he did several somersaults before finally stopping.

As Knuckles stopped moving he realized that the Floating Island was starting to rise back up again. Then he was on his feet and rushing back toward the Master Emerald. When he got there he found everyone else had exited the TARDIS and was starting in amazement at the remains of the Weeping Angel. What he saw caused him to stare too. It was no longer stone. It had turned into a flesh and blood being that lay unmoving in the shrine of the Master Emerald. Blood leaked out of its neck and pooled nearby while the wings, now containing real feathers, lay flat across the body. When Knuckles turned again he saw the head lying at the edge of the shrine looking up to the sky with an unseeing gaze.

"You killed it" said Bunnie in a small voice as she looked at the body.

"Yes," said the Doctor in amazement, "you must be the first person that I've ever met who has actually destroyed a Weeping Angel. I don't think anyone has ever thought it could be done."

"Yeah, well I'm not proud of it" said Knuckles in a harsh voice, "but I'll do what I have to do protect the Master Emerald – even killing if there's no other way."

"I can't fault you for that" said the Doctor in a solemn voice, "especially because there probably wasn't another way."

"Is this the Weeping Angel's true form?" asked Sarah Jane.

"It would seem to be so" said the Doctor, "beings of flesh and blood when no one is looking at them who become quantum locked as stone when seen by anyone, even others of their race. Ironic, isn't it? It's supposed to be the perfect defense against all harm, but I'd say it's met its match today."

"What?" asked Sonic, "haven't they ever heard of hammers and chisels?"

"Whether they have or not" said Knuckles, "I've got quite a mess to clean up here."

"Not necessarily" said the Doctor, "look." They all looked at the body again. There was no mistaking it; the Weeping Angel was decaying at an extremely accelerated rate. Within only a few minutes it went from a full body, to barely more than a skeleton, to just dust lying on the floor of the shrine.

"It must have been very old to decay like that" said Sarah Jane breaking the silence that had fallen.

"Probably" said the Doctor, "nobody knows just how old the Weeping Angels are or how long they can live."

"Or where the other one is" said Tails suddenly, causing everyone to start in surprise and then to look around the area in apprehension.

"You're right" said the Doctor, "the other angel will be twice as dangerous now that it's alone. We should all stay in groups of at least three – no fewer."

"But wouldn't the angel leave, now that it knows it can be killed?" asked Sarah Jane.

"That would be nice" said the Doctor, "but until we can be sure of that we stay on guard."

"Let me scan the island" said Knuckles going to the Master Emerald and laying his hands on it. He closed his eyes for a moment in concentration.

"Yes" he said to the group, "it's still here. It's just out of sight somewhere in the trees watching us."

"Where it has the advantage" said the Doctor, "in the wooded areas it could pick us off one by one. Out here in the open we have the upper hand."

"Stalemate" said Bunnie, "what do we now?"

"That's a good question" said the Doctor.

"If we could get it into the open we could shatter it with our screwdrivers" suggested Tails.

"That's very cold blooded" said the Doctor sharply, "whatever we do I don't want it to be as ruthless as that."

"I was pretty ruthless" said Knuckles.

"You were doing your job," said the Doctor, "but you also acted in the heat of the moment. What Tails mentioned would be much more deliberate and I don't want him to do something like that." The Doctor rounded on Tails. "Is that really something you would want to do? To kill someone in such a deliberate manner?"

"When you put it like that – No" said Tails with a gulp.

"I'm glad" said the Doctor nodding his head, "now let's think."

There was a silence while everyone tried to think of some way to break the situation. Unfortunately Sonic was never a very patient person even at the best of times.

"I can't stand it!" he snapped, "I've got a beef with that thing and I'm not going to just stay here while it hides. Up, Over, and Gone!" Within a fraction of a second Sonic had shot up to high speed and rushed out of the clearing.

"Sonic wait!" yelled Tails reacting automatically. Before he could help himself he spun his tails up behind him and took off running after Sonic.

"No!" cried the Doctor in frustration, "it's too – why don't people ever listen?!" It looked like Bunnie was going to chase after Sonic and Tails but the Doctor held her back.

"Not you too" said the Doctor, "the rest of us need to stay together. If anything happens to Sonic or Tails we can trace them again through their communicators but we can't do that for you. And if we all split up we'll be easier prey."

"I, I'm sorry" said Bunnie recovering her composure, "but if anything happened to Sonic Tails would – "

"I know" said the Doctor, "and now they're both in more danger because of it."

"At least you didn't try to run off too" said Sarah Jane to Knuckles.

"I hope I have a little more sense than that – at least some of the time" said Knuckles.

Suddenly, from not that far away, they heard a blood curdling scream.

"TAILS!" yelled the Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Bunnie together.

(To Be Continued)