(Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic Boom or any of the characters, all credit goes to the original creators at Cartoon Network. Please support the official release).
(Side Note: This takes place after the events of "Knuck Knuck Who's Here?", and is also an alternate ending to this episode).
~A Wild Yet Happy Family~
Today was not a very good day for Knuckles, and yet it seemed to have started out okay but then it all went downhill after that Eggman battle.
Let's start from the beginning: it was another day on Seaside Island, Team Sonic was engaged in one of their usual battles against Dr. Eggman and his robots. Though the Badniks and Ball Bots kept coming, Team Sonic was easily able to handle them. Amidst the fight, Knuckles asked Sonic for a lift.
In response, Sonic activated his Enerbeam, which Knuckles grabbed; Sonic then swung Knuckles around before releasing him, sending him flying through a trio of Motobugs. Knuckles took his time to gloat while flying, but failed to see where he was heading and ended up hitting a boulder head-first, which knocked him out.
After hurriedly ending the battle, Sonic and the others brought the unconscious echidna back to Sonic's beach side shack. Knuckles woke up with amnesia, so his friends tried to jog his memory by reminding him of certain things about himself.
After suffering from another head injury, courtesy of Sticks scaring him, Knuckles regained his memory but then remembered that he was the last of his kind. Not wanting to be alone, Knuckles resolved to find a foster family.
Going to the Village Center, Knuckles visited several houses to offer himself as a foster child to the residents. However, he was turned down repeatedly, making him more and more desperate. At first, he thought he had found a new home with an old wolf lady named Mrs. Vandersnout, but she just wanted to use him for free manual labor.
Not giving up on finding a family, Knuckles went to Gogoba Village to try to join the guilt-tripping Gogoba tribe. The Gogoba Chief initially welcomed Knuckles, but when he offered his assistance to a Gogoba who needed help removing a boulder from the village well, the Chief proclaimed that Knuckles could never be one of them as his friendly and helpful demeanor was an insult to their guilt-mongering culture.
Later that day, back at the beach, Knuckles found Lady Walrus with her two sons, and requested to join her family; Lady Walrus agreed, but only if Knuckles tried to be the daughter she always wanted. Knuckles thus joined Lady Walrus and her family at Meh Burger, dressed up as a girl.
Eventually, Knuckles ended up fighting with Stradford over a Meh meal toy. This prompted Lady Walrus to withdraw Knuckles' inclusion into her family, as he had failed to exhibit proper lady-like behavior. Despite Knuckles' attempt to regain her favor, Lady Walrus left with her family.
As night fell, a depressed Knuckles sat alone in the Village Center at night, during which Charlie and Belinda, the villainous couple, came across him. Belinda had agreed to welcome Knuckles into their family, much to Charlie's confusion, to which she explained her ultimate plan for revenge against Knuckles: by welcoming him into their family, they could prey upon his vulnerabilities and turn him to the side of evil. As Charlie and Belinda laughed in agreement, Knuckles joined them, blissfully unaware of their evil plot.
Knuckles had fun with his new "family", even going so far as to defend them when Sonic brought up the obvious fact that Charlie and Belinda were villains that tried to destroy him. Telling Belinda and Charlie about what Sonic said, the pair decided to put their plan into motion. As they admitted to Knuckles that they were villains, Belinda reminded him about how they took him in, and if he wanted to remain in their family, he had to become a villain too.
Though silent, Knuckles agreed to the demand. Later on, as Sonic, Tails, Sticks and Amy returned from the new falafel place, they were attacked by Charlie in his mech suit and Knuckles, the latter of whom informed his friends that he was just helping his family.
Following Belinda's instructions, Knuckles attacked his friends with a series of ground pounds which Team Sonic barely dodged. As Charlie then attacked with his mech suit, Sticks managed to trap him in her net until Knuckles blew his friends away and helped Charlie back up. Sonic went in for a spin attack at Charlie, but had to move away when Knuckles barred his path, unwilling to hurt him.
Belinda thus had Charlie use Knuckles as a "human" shield while he attacked the heroes. As Knuckles told Charlie that he was treating him roughly despite having faith in his "unconditional love", Charlie blurted out in frustration that they were not family and that he was being used. Sufficiently convinced he was on the wrong side, Knuckles shoulder flipped Charlie's mech suit to the ground so his friends could land the finishing blows.
After Charlie ran off with Belinda, Knuckles began to walk away dejectedly. His friends had questioned if he was feeling alright, so he gave them a fake smile and said he was just fine.
But he wasn't fine, he was now beyond miserable and depressed. All he wanted was a family that would love him unconditionally, but all he got were people who either rejected him or used him for their own selfish desires.
As he sat all alone in the middle of the forest, Knuckles buried his head in his knees as he began crying. During his sorrowful sobbing, he looked up at the sky, "All I want is a loving family! That's all I ask for...why? Why are you punishing me? I didn't do anything wrong!", he said as he wept.
Knuckles sat there for hours, crying miserably until he eventually tired himself out and fell asleep. When he did, it began raining; Knuckles shivered in his, trying to stay warm. It wasn't like he had somewhere to take shelter from the rain in because in addition to not having a family, he didn't have a home either.
As he slept, something emerged from the nearby bushes. A shadowy shape walked over to Knuckles on all fours and sniffed him, then it let out a noise that sounded almost like a bark; just then, more shadowy shapes came out of the bushes and walked over to the sleeping echidna. They then grabbed him by both of his arms and began dragging him away.
[Time Skip]
A few hours later, Knuckles rolled over in his sleep, noticing that he was suddenly swaddled in a pleasant warmth. This was odd because Knuckles remembered it being really cold when he fell asleep, he slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was something white and fluffy.
Knuckles sat up and saw that the white fluffy thing he was lying on was a wolf, a wild one not a Mobian; it was large with pure white fur and blue eyes, Knuckles looked around and saw that not only was he inside a large cave, but there were also five other wolves sitting around him.
There was one with black fur, two smaller ones that were black and white respectively and the last two were grey and brown. Now, Knuckles wasn't that smart but, being a nature lover, he had basic knowledge about some animals. He knew that female wolves were somewhat smaller than the males; they are shorter, and seem thinner while the male wolves on the other hand, were bigger, fluffier, and heavy set.
That's how Knuckles was able to tell that the white wolf he was lying on, the second black wolf and one of the grey and brown ones were the males because they were much bigger and looked more muscular than the other ones; he also noticed that the female grey and brown wolf had a swollen belly, meaning she was pregnant.
Knuckles was now curious as to why he suddenly woke up in a cave with a pack of wolves, that's when he remembered he fell asleep in the middle of the forest. "Did you guys bring me after I fell asleep and it started raining?", he asked.
Being ordinary wolves, they couldn't speak but the large white male gave Knuckles a few licks on the cheek, which made him giggle. Then the other wolves moved closer to him and licked him as well before curling all around him, forming a big, warm and fluffy pile. Knuckles quickly realized what this meant: he finally found a new family, a pack of wolves. And while they may have been wild animals, Knuckles knew they cared for him.
He laid back down in the middle of the pile and fell asleep again, swaddled in the combined warmth of the pack.
[Time Skip]
The next morning, Knuckles sat in the cave with the pregnant wolf while the others were out hunting. Knuckles had quickly figured out the social hierarchy of this small pack: the large white male was the alpha, the first black female was his mate, the smaller black and white wolves were their pups and the two grey and brown ones were unrelated to them but still a part of the pack.
Knuckles figured that know that they took him in, he was now the youngest member of the pack but then again, he didn't know how wolves aged so it was his guess. He laid on the pregnant female's back, looking up at the ceiling of the cave. "I'm gonna need to get you guys some ribbons or something because I need a way to tell all of you apart", he said.
The female responded by nuzzling her snout against his head, Knuckles liked the gesture because he could feel the affection from it. Soon, the other wolves came back with dead rabbits in the jaws. The alpha male nudged one of the dead rabbits towards Knuckles, but he was repulsed by it as he fought to keep himself from vomiting.
"I'm sorry, but I don't eat dead animals", he said. He then looked down in sadness thinking his new family would immediately disown him because he wasn't a carnivore but then the grey and brown male ran outside and then came back ten minutes later carrying an enormously long radish in his teeth.
Knuckles was surprised but happy as he took the vegetable and began eating it while the wolves ate the rabbits. After having breakfast, Knuckles got up and was about to head back to the village when he saw the wolves attempting to follow him. "No! You guys stay here, I promise I'll be back. I just need to get something", he said.
[Time Skip]
Knuckles went into the village several minutes later and walked into the local pet shop.
"Can I help you with something, sir?", asked the shopkeeper.
"Yeah, do you sell pet collars? Like, in different colors?", asked Knuckles.
The shopkeeper pointed towards the back shelves to where there were dozens of pet collars in a variety of colors and designs, Knuckles grabbed six of them and paid for them before he left, heading back into the forest. On his way back, he was thinking up names for his new family members so he would be able to tell them apart.
The wolves were lounging around in their cave when Knuckles returned, they all looked visibly happy to see that he came back like he promised. "Hey guys, told you I'd come back. And now, I've got these collars to put on you and give you names so I don't mistake you for each other", he said.
Knuckles sat down and gestured for the wolves to come towards him, he placed a different collar on each one and gave them each a name.
Reuben: the white alpha male wolf who wore a blue collar.
Jinx: the black alpha female wolf who wore a red collar.
Twist: the white female pup of the alphas who wore a pink collar.
Midnight: the black male pup of the alphas who wore a green color.
Cocoa: the pregnant female grey and brown wolf who wore an orange collar.
Sunny: the male grey and brown wolf who wore a purple collar.
Knuckles looked at his handy work, the wolves sniffed the collars but didn't try to take them off. Knuckles smiled, "Now I know who's who!", he said. That's when the wolves tackled him to the ground and started licking him, "G-guys, s-stop! That t-tickles!", Knuckles laughed.
[Time Skip]
Knuckles was able to adjust to his new life with his new family; as it turned out, wolves didn't really do much. Each pack guards its territory against intruders and may even kill other wolves that were not part of their pack. Wolves were nocturnal and will hunt for food at night and sleep during the day.
So at the moment, Knuckles was lounging inside the cave, taking a nap with his new family; the twin pups, Twist and Midnight, were curled on his belly while his head was laying against Reuben's back. Just then, Knuckles communicator went off, waking up everyone in cave including him.
He groaned in annoyance before answering it, "Ugh! What is it?!", he muttered into the communicator. "Knuckles, Eggman is attacking the village! We need your help here!", Sonic's voice called out. Knuckles groaned as he hung up, standing up and stretching; he hated being disturbed from a sound sleep, but he knew he still had to defend the village from Eggman.
He ran off into the village to join his friends, not noticing that the wolves were following him.
[Time Skip]
Knuckles arrived just in time to help the others fight Eggman's robots, he punched a Ball Bot before dodging a Motobug.
"Knuckles, where have you been? We were worried about you", said Tails.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking. I just needed some alone time to think about what happened, and I feel much better now", Knuckles said though he hadn't elaborated about what he meant.
Just then, Knuckles was pinned to the ground by a Mantis Bot. It raised one of its metal claws and was about to attack him when it was suddenly knocked to the side by a white blur; Knuckles looked up to see, to his surprise, Reuben tearing the Mantis Bot apart with his teeth.
Then he saw Cocoa and Sunny lunge at the Bee Bots and Crab Bots, and Twist and Midnight attacked the Ball Bots; Jinx walked over and started sniffing Knuckles, checking to see if he was okay. He patted her on the head as he smiled, "Its okay, Jinx. I'm alright", he said as she licked his cheek.
After destroying the robots, the wolves surrounded Eggman as they all growled angrily. He was quite lucky that he was hovering a few feet above them in his Egg Mobile, otherwise they all would've lunged at him. "Okay, I didn't know you fools got yourselves some pets but I don't want to be near them!", he said as he left.
The wolves calmed down as they surrounded Knuckles, showing him with affectionate licks. His friends stood nearby, looking at him in confusion.
"Um Knuckles...what's going on?", asked Amy.
"Oh guys, I want to introduce you to my new family: say hello to Reuben, Jinx, Twist, Midnight, Cocoa and Sunny. There's also the little one in Cocoa's belly but I haven't thought of a name for them yet since I don't what gender they are", Knuckles replied.
Now his friends were even more confused, "You found a new family...in a pack of wolves?", asked Sonic.
"Yeah. Yesterday, I was really upset when I couldn't find a family but these guys gave me shelter from the rain. Then this morning, they brought me breakfast, so I went to a pet shop and got them collars and gave them names so I can tell them apart", said Knuckles.
While the others were confused, Sticks gave him a smile of approval. "Well I'm happy for you, pal! You finally found the perfect family for yourself", she said. Knuckles smiled before he let out a yawn, "Well...its time for us to head back. We're supposed to be sleeping right now, later tonight we're going hunting. Well actually, I won't hunt since I don't eat dead animals but it'll be fun to run around the woods at night", said Knuckles.
He then walked away with his pack following him into the forest, Sticks kept smiling at him while the others just held confused expressions on their faces. "Um...how are you okay with this?", asked Sonic.
"Because this is a good thing! Knuckles found himself a family and, unlike you, they'll do a much better job teaching him survival skills. It's a win-win situation", Sticks countered.
"Sticks, I don't think it's normal or even healthy for Knuckles to be living with a pack of wolves", said Amy.
"Why not? He doesn't even have a home here on the island. Living with wolves is wrong but living in the middle of woods without a house is okay? At least, with them, he'll be safe and warm inside of a cave", Sticks argued.
"Sticks, we know you care about Knuckles' wellbeing. We do as well but-"
"But nothing! If you guys really do care about Knuckles, you'll leave him alone and let him be with his new family. That poor guy's the last of his kind and you saw how miserable he was trying to find a family, this is for the best", Sticks said cutting Tails off.
As she walked away, the others stood there pondering over whether or not this really was for the best.
[Time Skip]
Back in the cave, Knuckles and his pack were curled up in a pile, fast asleep. Soon, the sun had set and nighttime had come; Reuben was the first to wake up, he untangled himself from the furry pile and let out a bark, waking the others.
When Sunny moved, Knuckles fell backwards and woke up after his head hit the flat ground. He looked up to see everyone stretching and getting ready to leave the cave, that's when he looked outside and saw that it was dark, meaning it was nighttime.
Knuckles stood up and stretched, "Oh right. It's time to go out and hunt, well then let's go!", he said excitedly.
The pack ran out of the cave with Knuckles following, at first he tried to run on all fours like them but it just wasn't working; his body wasn't anatomically fit to walk that way, so he just decided to keep running on two legs. They soon came upon a river and the pack bent down to drink, Knuckles did the same, enjoying the clear and crisp taste of the fresh water.
Just then, his pack all began growling menacingly. Knuckles was confused, "Guys? What's wrong?", he asked. He soon got his answer when he looked across the river, there was another wolf pack standing in front of them; these wolves all had reddish brown fur and yellow eyes, and they were also growling menacingly.
Knuckles knew exactly what was going on: this new pack was a rival pack and they were encroaching upon his pack's territory. He also knew that a fight could break out between the two packs, which would result in some wolves getting hurt or even being killed.
Knuckles didn't want that, he just found his new family and he didn't want to lose them in a pack dispute, so he did exactly what they were doing: Knuckles crouched down on all fours and started growling loudly and threateningly at the rival pack.
Wolves weren't colorblind, they were able to see variations of the colors yellow, blue, and grey. So while the rival pack couldn't make out Knuckles' red fur, they still saw him as a large yellow, blue, and grey beast that snarled and growled at them in a manner that suggested he wanted them to get lost.
The rival pack whined in fear as they ran off with their tails between their legs. Knuckles stopped growling and blew a raspberry at where the rival pack once stood, his own pack excitedly bounced around him; he felt confident with himself as he had just protected his pack from a violent dispute.
After that, Knuckles continued running through the forest with his pack, the cool nighttime breeze blowing through his dreadlocks; they came upon a cliffside that overlooked the entire village and, from that vantage point, the full moon could be seen.
The wolves sat near the edge of the cliff and began howling at the full moon, Knuckles liked it. It was so beautiful, it almost sounded like they were singing; Knuckles then sat down next to them, his legs dangling over the side of the cliff. He pointed his head up to the sky and let out a howl of his own, it sounded a bit shaky but it mingled with the melody of the other howls.
[Time Skip]
Down in the village, from his shack, Sonic could hear the howls. He noticed that one of them sounded less like a howl and more like someone imitating a howl; he knew it was Knuckles doing it and he couldn't help but laugh at how funny it sounded.
"Aw Knux, you goofball. Maybe this is for the best, after all you sound pretty happy", Sonic said.
Over at his workshop, Tails was trying to sleep but the howling was keeping him up. He reached into his side table drawer and pulled out a pair of earplugs, placing them in his ears. "I'm just starting to think this is good for you Knuckles, but couldn't you be quiet?", he said going to sleep.
Inside her burrow, Sticks heard the howling just as she was going to bed. She had a warm smile on her face as she could distinguish Knuckles' howl from the actual wolves, "You really sound happy out there, Knuckles. I'm happy for you", she said as she went to sleep. The howls didn't bother her as she slept, to her it sounded like music.
In her house, Amy was the only one who wasn't content with the situation. In fact, she was beginning to believe that this whole thing wasn't good for Knuckles psychologically development. "I need to go to the library and do some research about this! This isn't healthy for anyone, let alone Knuckles", she said.
[Time Skip: Three and a half weeks later]
It was nighttime again and Knuckles was trekking through the forest with his wolf family, helping them hunt. Knuckles never ate the flesh of the animals they hunted but he did use his super strength to bring down any particularly large prey they wanted like a fully grown moose or buck.
Just then, there was a snapping sound. Knuckles looked to the side and saw a fully grown wild bear standing a few feet away; he suddenly became scared but not for his safety, but for the safety of his pack. Being a pack of only six, one of which was pregnant, these wolves would never be able to take on a bear.
Just like with the rival pack, Knuckles crouched down and started growling at the bear. The bear growled back and roared, charging at the echidna.
"Guys! Run and hide, I'll take of this!", he shouted at his family.
The bear tackled Knuckles to the ground and swiped its claws at his face, scratching his cheek. Knuckles hissed in pain but the attack suddenly awakened something within him, he snarled and then lunged forward, biting the bear's throat. He sunk his teeth in as far as they could go, his canines piercing the bear's skin.
The bear roared with pain but Knuckles didn't relent, he kept biting down on the bear's throat; he forced the large animal down onto the ground, onto it's back. The bear thrashed desperately, scratching at Knuckles' arms but the red echidna ignored the pain as he sank his teeth in further.
Then suddenly, Knuckles quickly pulled his head away from the bear's throat, tearing it out; the bear quickly bled to death as Knuckles hunched over it panting heavily as blood dripped from his muzzle. Curiously, he licked some of it off, savoring the taste on his tongue.
"Tastes like metal, but...its not too bad", he said. In fact, Knuckles was now really curious. He reached his head into the bear's exposed throat and tore away some of the flesh with his teeth, he chewed it a few times before swallowing it. "It tastes a little weird but it's not too bad, maybe I can hunt with the others and eat this. As long as I don't attack any Mobians, I think this will be fine", he said.
Knuckles then beckoned his pack to come over now that it was safe, the others gathered around the bear's carcass and began eating the meat while it was still fresh; Knuckles ate it too, actually enjoying the taste of raw meat and surprisingly, it was sitting just fine in his stomach.
Once they had all finished devouring most of the bear's flesh, Knuckles and his pack walked back to their den as the first rays of sunlight was beginning to peek through the foliage above; once they got back, Knuckles yawned as he laid down on Reuben's back while Sunny and Jinx laid on top of him. Twist, Midnight and Cocoa laid all around him, with a full belly and being swaddled in warmth, Knuckles fell asleep.
[Time Skip]
The next day, Amy was sitting in the village library for the fifth time in the last two and a half weeks. She had been doing research, trying to see if Knuckles' new behavioral changes were normal.
You see, he had only visited his friends once or twice in the last three and a half weeks, and both times were simply to help his friends fight some villains. Outside of that, Knuckles spent all his time with his new wolf family; though during his last visit, he was kind enough to stay long enough so his friends could ask how he's been.
Knuckles explained that he had adjusted to wolf life pretty fast and quite well, he enjoyed taking long naps during the day and going out to hunt with his pack at night. Though, he said he didn't eat any of the meat his pack hunted, he just helped them bring down large prey animals so they could eat while he just ate whatever wild fruits and vegetables he could find.
Sonic and Tails thought his new life was weird but they were just happy he wasn't depressed over not having a family anymore and Sticks applaud him for learning new survival skills, saying he was totally ready for when the aliens took over.
Amy, on the other hand, was deeply concerned for Knuckles mental health. He was supposed to a civilized, or at least a somewhat civilized, Mobian like the rest of them. He shouldn't have been living with a pack of wild animals and picking up their behavioral habits.
She was in the library looking for any explanation for what was going on with him, "Still nothing! Come on, there has to be something! Ugh, maybe I'm just being paranoid or looking too deeply into this-"
Amy cut herself off when she came across a section in the textbook she was reading, it said "Clinical Lycanthropy", and it had a long section explaining what it was.
"Clinical Lycanthropy? What is that?", she asked as she read the passage.
It stated that Clinical lycanthropy was defined as a rare psychiatric syndrome that involved a delusion that the affected person can transform into, has transformed into, or is, an animal. Amy read further as she came across the signs and symptoms.
The signs were a patient reported in a moment of lucidity or reminiscence that they sometimes feel as an animal or have felt like one, and a patient behaved in a manner that resembled animal behavior, for example howling, growling, or crawling. It also said that although the condition seemed to be an expression of psychosis, there was no specific diagnosis of mental or neurological illness associated with its behavioral consequences.
"But there has to be some way to treat this...", Amy trailed off as she kept reading.
The passage stated that currently, there were no definite treatments for clinical lycanthropy. It was thought to be induced due to an already-existing state of psychosis, or other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and so the current method of treating the symptoms was to treat the underlying conditions.
"But Knuckles doesn't have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, so this has to be something else...", Amy whispered.
That's when she suddenly remembered Knuckles low level intelligence and how impressionable he was, he almost had the same mentality as that of a child. Not to mention, Knuckles had previously been so adamant on finding a family, seeking love and affection.
Amy opened another book on child psychology and looked through it, she found a section that said that depriving children of a loving family environment causes lasting damage to their intelligence, emotional wellbeing and even their physical stature, according to the most extensive study of social deprivation yet.
Knuckles was the last of his kind and had no real family, and because of this lack of familial love, he was suffering from an extreme form of neglect and needed to find a family group to attach to. Amy wrote down all her findings in a small notebook she brought with her, jotting down all the details before she put the books away and left the library.
[Time Skip]
Sonic, Tails and Sticks were in the village square buying some ice cream when they heard a familiar voice call out to them.
"Hey guys, what's up?!"
They turned to see Knuckles approaching them, "Oh hey Knux, how's it going? What are you doing here? Isn't this the time of day when you would be napping with your new family?", asked Sonic.
"Yeah but, I kinda missed you guys so I came to visit. Are you getting ice cream? Can I get one too?", said Knuckles.
Tails smiled as he purchased a strawberry cone and gave it to Knuckles, who happily began enjoying his frozen treat. Just then, Amy came running up to them, "Guys! I need to take to you about something important-"
She was cut off when she saw Knuckles, her face almost going pale. "Knuckles...what's that red stuff on your face?", she asked cautiously. It was only then that the others also noticed the dried red smears on the echidna's muzzle. Knuckles reached up and wiped some of it away, staining his glove.
"Oh yeah, that's blood", he said.
"WHAT?!", Amy shouted. She had no idea what was more frightening: Knuckles having blood on his face or how nonchalantly he said that it was blood that was on his face.
"Yeah, last night, my pack was hunting and then a bear showed up. I didn't want them to get hurt so I tried growling to get it to leave and when it didn't, I fought it", explained Knuckles.
"But how'd you get blood on your face?", asked Sticks.
"Oh, I uh...I tore its throat out with my teeth", said Knuckles.
His friends jaws were practically on the floor when they heard him say that, they were unbelievably flabbergasted by what they heard. "Then, when my pack started eating it, I decided to try some. Turns out, raw meat tastes a little weird but it's not that bad. And then when we were done, the sun was rising, so we went back to our den and went to sleep", said Knuckles.
"Wow buddy, you are hardcore!", said Sonic.
"No kidding!", said Tails.
"I am so proud of you! You're a true survivalist now, Knuckles! Now I know I definitely can count on you when the robo-apocolypse happens!", Sticks said with a smile.
It was at that moment, when she realized that none of her friends could see the real problem going on, that Amy decided to put her foot down.
"Guys, don't you see what's wrong with all this?!", she shouted.
"What are you talking about, Ames?", asked Sonic.
"I'm talking about how it's not healthy for Knuckles to be living in the middle of the forest with a pack of wolves! Did you not hear him just now? He just said that he killed and ate a bear! If he continues to live with them, he'll slowly begin regressing into a more primitive Mobian! He needs to speak to a specialist", Amy said.
Suddenly, Knuckles became very angry. He pushed Sonic, Tails and Sticks out of the way as he confronted Amy, "What are you trying to say? You think I'm crazy or something?!", he yelled.
"Knuckles, no! I'm not saying you're crazy, I'm simply saying that your new family could be affecting your mental and psychological health. You're a Mobian, you shouldn't be living in a cave in the woods, hunting animals for food. It's not normal!", said Amy.
The two didn't realize that a small crowd was beginning to form as their yelling had attracted attention.
"Who are you to tell me what's normal and what's not?! You're not the boss of me!", shouted Knuckles.
"No but I am your friend, Knuckles. And I know what's best for you! You need to stop living with those wolves or else-"
"No you don't know what's best for me! Who do you think you are? My Mom?! Who are you to judge me?! You have no idea how I feel, how miserable I was trying to find a family but everyone on this damn island either rejected me or used me! Now I finally found a family who cares for me and you're telling me to leave them because they're making me crazy?!", Knuckles yelled cutting Amy off.
He then glared down at her, breathing heavily as tears began falling from his eyes. Amy's ears drooped, feeling guilty for making him cry. "Knuckles, please don't cry! I didn't mean to upset you, I was only thinking about your wellbeing", she said.
Knuckles looked away in anger, "My wellbeing...please! If you did care, you'd help me get a home so I wouldn't have to live out in the woods! Instead, I'm out in the cold and rain while you're nice and warm inside your little house! You don't really care about me cause if you did, you'd help me!
"I'm nothing but a joke to you! It makes sense since you love being the know-it-all of the group while I'm the stupid idiot that you love to talk down to! Well, I'm done! I'm going back into the woods and I'm not coming back! You guys can call me on my communicator when Eggman attacks and I'll come help, but outside of that, I'm not coming back!
"I don't wanna live in a place with people who treat me like a crazy, stupid person!", he shouted before turning away. Amy tried reaching out to him, "Knuckles, wait! You can't go back, you need help!", she shouted.
Knuckles pulled his arm away, "Leave me alone, Amy! I said I'm not coming back outside of helping when Eggman attacks!", he shouted.
"But Knuckles, please! You're my friend, I'm just trying to help you-"
"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!", Knuckles screamed loudly as he backhanded Amy.
She fell to the ground, holding her now injured left shoulder and looked up at Knuckles, what she saw scared her immensely. Knuckles had crouched down on all fours, growling menacingly like an angry wolf, drool dripping from his maw.
Amy slowly backed away, shaking in fear; Knuckles just kept growling at her, looking like he was going to pounce on her at any moment. The rest of Team Sonic, as well as the small crowd, stood around the scene. They were all on edge, wondering what was going to happen.
Just then, as Knuckles moved a bit closer towards Amy, he caught a glimpse of the fear in her eyes. He suddenly stopped growling as he felt guilt building up within him, he slowly backed away as tears welled up in his eyes again. "I'm...I'm sorry...", he whispered as he ran off into the forest.
As the team surrounded Amy to help her up, she couldn't help but look down in guilt and sorrow. She stayed quiet as Sonic lifted her up into his arms in order to carry her to the hospital, the crowd all looked on in confusion and concern, except for one particular individual who got a devious idea.
[Time Skip]
Back in the forest, Knuckles sat leaning on his arms on a tree stump, bawling his eyes out.
"I hurt her! I hurt Amy, I hurt my friend! What is wrong with me?! Maybe...maybe she was right...I don't even know who or what I am anymore!", he sobbed.
While he was crying, Knuckles was approached by his pack. They all sat around him, looking at him; Knuckles could almost swear that he saw sadness in their eyes, as if they felt sympathy for him. Jinx walked over and licked the tears from his face, he sniffed as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug.
"I don't know what to do! I don't wanna leave you guys, you're the best family I could've asked for but maybe Amy was right. Maybe I am slowly turning into a wild animal, I just...I just don't know anymore...", he trailed off.
Knuckles sighed as the other wolves gathered close to him in a fluffy group hug, he laid against Jinx's back as he sighed and drifted off to sleep. But suddenly, a loud noise scared him awake; Knuckles looked up to see that he, along with his pack, were locked within a cage.
He got up and tried to break it open, but the cage was too strong. The wolves were whining in fear, their tails between their legs as they couldn't comprehend what was going on. Just then, Knuckles heard a familiar voice laughing; he looked up to see T.W. Barker standing outside the cage with his two stunt bears.
"Well well, I've caught me a pretty special group of critters, didn't I?", he said.
"What...what are you going to do with us?!", Knuckles asked fearfully.
"You, my boy, have been living these wolves for quite some time. And according to your pink friend, you're becoming one of them. That gave me an excellent idea: I could travel around and charge suckers to come see the "Echidna/Wolf Man", I'd make a fortune exploiting you! Don't be too worried about your "family", though. If you behave, I won't hurt them!", said T.W. Barker.
Knuckles once again struggled to break open the cage as T.W. Barker got into the truck it was attached to and began driving off, he was about to give up when he remembered he still had his communicator on him. Knuckles turned it on, calling Sonic.
[Time Skip]
Sonic was in his shack taking a nap when his communicator started beeping, he looked at it to see Knuckles calling.
"Knuckles, what's up?", he asked.
"My pack and I were kidnapped by T.W. Barker, he's gonna exploit us for money like circus freak shows! Help us!", Knuckles shouted.
"Okay, hang on Knux! I'll go get the others and we'll help you!", said Sonic as he sped out of his shack.
[Time Skip]
Knuckles sat quietly in the cage, trying to comfort his pack as they were still scared. "Its gonna be okay, my friends will come and help us", he whispered to them reassuringly.
Just then, Team Sonic blocked Barker's vehicle, forcing him to make an impromptu stop. He rolled down the window to address them, "Out of the way! I got ten cities full of saps just waiting to cup up their cash for a chance to meet the "Echidna/Wolf Man"!", he said.
"We're not gonna let you exploit Knuckles and those innocent animals for your own personal gain!", Tails said.
"Good for you, I wasn't asking for you're opinion! Stunt Bears, dispose of these uncultured deadbeats!", said Barker as the Stunt Bears came out in the front of Barker to fight against Team Sonic.
"You think a couple of trained bears can stop us?", Sonic asked in a cocky tone.
Just then, several Ball Bots and Scorpion Bots appeared.
"Must you always instigate with rhetorical questions?", Amy said in annoyance.
The Scorpion Bot shot fire at them, everyone on Team Sonic dodged the attacks and began fighting the robots.
"Where'd he even get all these robots?", asked Sticks.
"Got them for a pretty penny from Eggman", said Barker.
During the fight, Sonic spin-dashed into the cage, breaking it open. "Come on, let's go!", Knuckles shouted to his pack. They jumped out the cave and joined the fight, Knuckles punched a few scorpion bots as Reuben and Sunny attacked the Stunt Bears; the other wolves attacked the Ball Bots, slashing them with their claws.
Suddenly, in the middle of the fight, Cocoa collapsed to the ground whining loudly as if she was in pain. Everyone stopped when they heard this, Knuckles looked at his packmate as his eyes widened in fear. He tossed the Scorpion Bot he was holding aside and ran towards the fallen wolf, "Cocoa? What's wrong?!", he shouted.
The rest of the team and the wolves gathered around as the grey and brown female wolf whined in pain, Knuckles looked down at Cocoa's swollen stomach and quickly put two and two together. "She's about to have her pups! I've got to get her to our den!", he shouted.
"You go, Knux! We'll take care of Barker!", said Sonic.
Knuckles nodded as he gently picked up Cocoa and began carrying her back to the cave, the other wolves following close behind. Once he got to the cave, he gently laid Cocoa down as she whined in pain. "Its gonna be okay, Cocoa. Just breathe and push, okay?", he said soothingly as he rubbed her belly.
Cocoa whined as she pushed, her first pup emerging from her body in a bloody mess; Sunny bent down and ripped its umbilical cord with his teeth before licking it to stimulate it. The second pup soon came out, Sunny repeated the same process with this one and doing it again when Cocoa pushed out her third pup.
Knuckles noticed her belly was still swollen, meaning she still had one more pup left but it seemed to get stuck and wouldn't come out. He thought it over for a minute about how he could help and then got an idea, "Uh...this'll be gross but I don't have any other choice", he muttered.
Bracing himself and clenching his stomach, Knuckles reached in and pulled out the last pup, his gloved hands covered in blood and amniotic fluid; he set it down carefully as Sunny went to slice its umbilical cord and stimulate it, Knuckles sat off to the side trying to keep down the nausea that was building up inside him.
When he finally stopped feeling so sick, he looked up to see all four of Cocoa's pups nursing while Sunny licked her forehead affectionately; Knuckles smiled as he slowly crawled over to his pack and sat a few inches away from Cocoa, he knew better than to get too close to a female wolf who just had pups, so he kept his distance for the moment.
Twist and Midnight walked over to him and began licking the blood from his hands, "Uh...thanks guys but I don't that'll be much help", he chuckled.
Just then, Knuckles heard branches break outside the cave. He looked up to see his friends standing outside, he stood up to walk over to them. "Hey guys, how's it going?", he asked.
"We took care of Barker. What about you? Is Cocoa okay?", asked Sonic.
Knuckles sighed, "Yeah she's alright, she had four beautiful little pups. I can't tell what they are though since I'm not supposed to touch them right now", he said.
Amy looked into the cave at the happy little wolf pack and then she looked up at the happy smile on Knuckles' face, "Knuckles...I'm sorry for trying to force my worldview onto you. I shouldn't have been so judgmental, you're the last of your kind and had no family prior. I really was in no position to judge you for finding a new family with these wolves", she said.
Knuckles breathed a tired sigh, "No...I think you might've been right, at least on one thing. I was turning into a savage animal and I ended up scaring and hurting you, and I'm sorry. I don't want to do that again but...I don't want to lose my new family either!", he said trying not to cry.
"There has to be some way for Knuckles to stay in contact with his wolf family without slowly devolving into a savage primitive", said Tails.
Sonic took a minute to think before he suddenly got an idea, "Wait a minute, you guys! I think I know someone who just might be able to help with this little issue", he said.
[Time Skip]
As it turned out, the person Sonic was referring to was a female Mobian koala named Francesca; she and her family ran an animal sanctuary back on the mainland, she had visited Seaside Island once and Sonic had saved her from getting caught in a landslide.
She had given him her number and said he could call if there were any animals that needed sanctuary or if he just wanted to talk. So, Sonic called her and explained Knuckles situation; a day later, Francesca came on a boat with her husband and two older brothers to transport the wolves to her sanctuary.
Even though Knuckles agreed to let his wolf family live in Francesca's animal sanctuary, he was still reluctant to let her take them. "Don't be so skittish there, mate. You can come and visit 'em anytime you want", she told him.
A week later, Team Sonic got on a boat and headed to the mainland, the sanctuary was located in a small town down south; the sanctuary was an enormous ranch surrounded by forests, the wolves had plenty of room to run around and they were fed fresh meat three times a day.
Knuckles immediately ran into the enclosure and his wolf family lunged at him, giving him affectionate licks. He was also happy to see Cocoa's four pups, all looking healthy and beautiful with their grey and brown coats.
On the way to the sanctuary, he had thought of new names for them after Francesca told him that they were two boys and two girls. The two girls were named Biscuit and Fifi, and the two boys were named Scout and Weasley; Knuckles spent the entire visit just playing and running around with his family while his friends were talking to Francesca how things were going.
At the end of the day, they had to leave and go back home. Once again, Knuckles was reluctant to leave but he knew had to and he knew this wasn't "goodbye forever", it was just "goodbye for now".
Soon, Team Sonic was back on Seaside Island.
"Well, guess it's time for me to head home", Knuckles said sadly.
"You got that right", said Sonic.
He then grabbed Knuckles by the wrist as he and the others led him away from the woods, "Wait, where are we going?", he asked. "Didn't you hear Sonic? We're taking you home", said Tails.
Knuckles was confused until they came upon a little red hut in the village not too far away from Tails' home/workshop. There was a fence around it, protecting the flowers that were planted all around the hut; they walked inside to see the interior of the hut: there was a small living room with a TV, a mini fridge and a fireplace, a bathroom and a bedroom.
"We didn't put a kitchen since you don't know how to cook and you usually eat with us, but we did put in a mini fridge to keep some fruits, vegetables and drinks", said Sonic.
"Amy and I planted to flowers outside to give the exterior some color and make the place look lively, don't forget to water twice daily. Amy was the one who decorated though", said Sticks.
"And don't worry about the electricity bill, I put them in my name so I'll pay them for you", said Tails.
"So...what do you think, Knuckles?", asked Amy.
Knuckles was utterly lost for words but within a few seconds, he burst into tears of joy and pulled his friends into a big group hug. "Thank you so much! This is the greatest thing anyone's ever done for me! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!", he said as he sobbed.
Knuckles couldn't have been happier than he was now, he got a new home and he was able to keep in touch with his wolf family. He still needed behavioral therapy to correct his animalistic behavior, but he was making progress.
His friends were also taking turns teaching him things like how to read and write, basic mathematics and anything else; they realized it was high time that they helped improve Knuckles' intelligence, they felt guilty for letting their friend be ignorant for so long without helping him.
Within three months, Knuckles had become smarter. He wasn't a genius but he was now able to read and write, and he wasn't so gullible anymore. He loved his newfound intelligence and would spend his free time reading books at the library so he could learn new things every day.
At the beginning of this whole fiasco, Knuckles despaired that he would never find a family and he would be all alone. He no longer had to feel that way because his friends were there for him and he found his family.
And as he laid down on his new bed in his new house to go to sleep, Knuckles couldn't help but think of the bright future that laid ahead of him. He may have been the last of his kind but he wasn't alone and he will never be alone again.
[The End]