The Past is a Blast

by Lykcan

Knuckles was minding his own business around the Master Emerald until it unknowingly sent him back in time. Now trapped in an ancient version of Angel Island the guardian must find a way back while dealing with its previous inhabitants, and maybe he'll find something missing to his life along the way. Contains some elements from the Sonic 2 movie for our favorite red echidna.

Hello there, Lykcan here! This is the second fanfiction I made so hopefully I am improving bit by bit. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters and locations are owned by Sega.

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The Past Is a Blast: A Knuxikal Story

"ACHOO!"

Knuckles the Echidna sneezed, wiping his nose with his gloved hand as he laid next to the Master Emerald on a small patch of grass. He was currently at the altar protecting the enormous gem from any villains or thieves planning to steal it. It wasn't just the Master Emerald, but seven others like it but much smaller called the Chaos Emeralds were also perched onto smaller altars that encircled the large green one in the center. For Knuckles, this was a lifelong duty he was entrusted with to ensure that the gems don't fall into the wrong hands and be used to annihilate or take over the world. Because he takes his job seriously, he has almost never ventured out beyond the boundaries of Angel Island he was currently in. Add to the fact that he's the only last known echidna alive within his species, he almost has no interaction with anyone else and lives in solitude next to the altar. This made him skeptical of anyone that comes to the island to communicate with him because either he'd believe they were planning to fight him or steal the emeralds, or both. He doesn't mind the loneliness though, having been through it almost his entire life so a life without contact with any source of civilization is good enough for him. At times he does feel like wanting some company every now and then but he keeps those thoughts astray either by eating or training his martial arts which primarily focuses on boxing techniques.

The emerald guardian sighed as he closed his eyes, thinking on whatever comes to mind. He already ate, did some training, washed because he does care about hygiene, and did any errands that involved him going away from the altar for a little bit. His day is pretty much almost the same every time as any other: wake up, eat, guard the emeralds, train, shower, eat, sleep, repeat. It didn't bring him joy nor did it dampen his feelings, but it was enough that at least he's doing his duty right for his ancestors. For that part he is aware that he is the last of his kind and has read the ancient scribes from long ago. What he knows was that the land was ruled by an echidna warlord that conquered several empires until they were wiped out mysteriously. There were no recorded documents to explain what happened but for Knuckles he didn't really care. Heck he didn't know who his parents were as the Master Emerald showed him the knowledge on how to survive in a harsh world and from there he adapted. He did know that there were guardians before him but to him he didn't mind not knowing more about them. Besides searching the nearby ruins of the tribe back then for any more recorded history he was also an expert treasure hunter, digging a lot and searching for any jewels or priceless artifacts.

Knuckles opened his eyes lazily and got up, sighing once again while looking around. The day was bright and there was gentle wind that blew upon the valley below. He looked back to see the Master Emerald shining in all its glory, along with the seven Chaos Emeralds sitting snug on their smaller altars. He smiled a bit, getting up and doing some stretches.

"*Yawn* I think I can put in some extra training today." he said to himself. Walking over to a nearby bucket he has he reached into it and cupped fresh water out, drinking it. After having his fill he walked back to his spot and raised his fists.

"HAH!" Knuckles punched the air repeatedly, utilizing several styles that he learned himself to sharpen his reflexes. He added a couple of kicks as well to place more variety in his fighting and sometimes would flip in the air, throwing several punches and kicks along with drill attacks. He did this for at least an hour and with a final uppercut, stopped his fist mid-air watching the air blast upward from the tremendous force. The red guardian grinned in satisfaction "That should do it." he said wiping some sweat off his face.

He turned back to the Master Emerald to make sure its safe and just like every day, it remained there unmoving. Grunting in approval, Knuckles stretched once again and went back towards the bucket to get another drink. What he didn't notice was the Master Emerald glowing a bit brighter…

'Good thing no one hasn't bothered me so far. Sonic and Tails must be out there fighting Eggman or something, but luckily they're not around and don't need my help.' he thought as he took another sip. "I should get out more but who would guard the altar? Heh like I'd ever allow anyone else other than me to protect it and I won't fail you like last time Master Emerald." he said looking back. His eyes widened however.

"W-What's going on?" Knuckles asked himself, seeing the large gem glow brighter. "Master Emerald, I haven't called for you. What is it?" he said to it curiously. The jewel continued to glow brighter and brighter to which its guardian had to shield itself from the luminescence. "MASTER EMERALD!" he yelled.

A sudden blast of light engulfed the shrine as it sucked Knuckles in. The Chaos Emeralds around it emitted the same light which lasted for several seconds. The wind picked up as the light expanded further and further until it started dimming back. The glow retreated back towards the Master Emerald and eventually the altar was in full view again. What was not in full view however… was Knuckles.

He was no longer anywhere at the Emerald Altar.

In a familiar land…

A bright light appeared above thick jungle and faded to reveal one Knuckles the Echidna who shielded his face with his arms. Moving his limbs out of the way quickly, his shocked expression stared blankly at the horizon and noticing that he was several feet in the air. 'Ah crap…'

"AAAHHHHHH!" Knuckles started falling towards the earth, flailing his arms and legs. The tall trees came to his view and acting quickly grabbed onto its branches.

"FUCK!" he cursed as his grip wasn't enough to latch onto them, but it did slow his fall. Thinking fast he spotted an incoming horizontal branch and with both hands swung from it, coming up a tall trunk and with both legs kicked off it towards the ground. Due to how fast he was going his landing wasn't perfect and ended up rolling onto the dirt trail floor to a complete stop.

"Ughhh what happened?" the red echidna muttered, picking himself up and shaking his head to remove unwanted leaves and dirt. Regaining his senses he looked around to see that he was in a large jungle, hearing several animals from within and a couple of the flora shaking. Knuckles was in awe that he would appear in here, though for him it looks strangely familiar…

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" a loud and frightened voice roared through the jungle, startling the guardian. Looking behind him with fists at the ready, noticed several bushes shaking violently and upon them revealed… a middle-aged two-tailed kitsune running for their life.

"Is that… no that's not Tails." Knuckles mumbled, noticing that the fox had tribal tattoos on them along with a leaf skirt, sandals and gloves. Half of their left ear was missing and several scratches appeared on their body with blood coming out. "PLEASE HELP!"

The red guardian ran up to them. "What do you need?" he stopped them to ask. The kitsune however looked more mortified and covered himself in fear. "NO NO DON'T HURT ME!" judging by his yell, it was a male and looked like he was going to soil himself.

"Hey relax bud! Just tell me-."

WHOOSH!

Knuckles sensed it and grabbed an incoming spear before it landed on him. He growled and snapped it in two with a clench of his fist. Looking down he noticed it being rather primitive looking with a couple of feathers on it, along with some snake designs on the hilt. The terrified kitsune saw this and became even worse.

"OH PLEASE SOMEONE SAVE ME!" the fox cried in agony, brushing passed Knuckles and disappearing further into the jungle just as the red echidna stretched out his hand. "HEY! Ugh why does this always happen!"

"YOU THERE!"

Knuckles growled in annoyance and turned around. Only for a stunned expression to hit him instantly. In front of him were…

Echidnas…

'W-What.' was all Knuckles could think. There in front of him were males of his kind, sporting several white tattoos on them with tribal skirts, sandals and gloves with blue bracelets on the hands and feet. They all had pinkish-red fur and were of differing heights, each of them also holding a weapon such as a spear and a bow and arrow.

"No way…" the emerald guardian whispered, seeing that there were more of his kind right in front of him. He shook his head, hoping that it was all a dream and even pinched his arm. It hurt. This wasn't a dream.

"Don't just stand there! Look for the fox!" one of the echidnas yelled at Knuckles. It broke him out of his stupor and he looked back irritated. "What fox? I didn't see anything." he replied. The echidna warriors ran up to him and stared him down.

"Don't try to lie to us, or you'll suffer for treason." a large echidna having a snake head tattoo on his head, threatened him. Knuckles huffed in annoyance, assuming that this was their leader. He then grinned as he sensed how strong they are. "Who says I'm lying. I just got here so I wouldn't know."

The snakehead echidna raised his spear instantly, his group doing the same with the archers aiming their arrows. "You had one chance brother. Now you'll pay…"

Knuckles merely pumped his fists together, his smirk getting wider. "Good, I need some punching bags anyway." And from that he bolted towards them.

POW!

The snakehead echidna was struck HARD by Knuckles' punch and flew towards a tree, smashing through the trunks and leaving a trail of devastation as he kept crashing into several more trees. The sounds of the tall shrubs were heard as they fell and dust clouds arose into the air. The other echidna warriors watched in shock then looked back at Knuckles who jumped back slightly and got ready for battle. "Who's next." he said with a leer.

"CHARGE!" the echidna warriors cried out and rushed towards him. Knuckles saw this from a mile away and jumped into the air, flying towards the ground and punching it. The result was a shockwave that cracked the earth and rattled the floor, causing the other echidnas to lose their balance. Not only that but the pummel also dispersed air blasts that sent some of them flying back and crashing into trees and bushes. The ones that regained their balance ran towards him however.

The first one swung his spear at Knuckles hoping to land a blow, but the latter simply grabbed it and pulled the warrior towards him. A supersonic punch met the native echidna's face as Knuckles kept the momentum going and sent him into the ground. He sensed another incoming spear and sideswiped under, using his leg to hit the other warrior's and causing them to trip. He turned quickly and smashed his fist into their stomach, the other male echidna belching out blood and fainting.

SWOOSH!

Knuckles dodged incoming arrows and spotted two archers up in the trees; two other spearholders rushed at him in a zig zag formation. Thinking fast he ran towards a tree and quickly climbed up using his legs to push off that tree and latch onto the next one, repeating the cycle while avoiding the arrows. He then reached a branch tall enough to meet the archers and with impressive leg strength, took off with both fists in front of him and pummeled one of the archers into the tree.

"GAH!" it let out in pain yet Knuckles threw his fist into his face, his head meeting the bark and causing it to crack from the immense force. Blood came out of the echidna archer from both nose and mouth as he fell down from the tree. Knuckles dodged another arrow from behind and rushed at him, the archer becoming scared to move as the emerald guardian grabbed his face and smashed it into the bark behind him. Seeing him clearly knocked out, Knuckles hopped back down and landed gracefully, sidestepping a spear thrown at him. He looked ahead to see the two spearholders doing the same formation again and with a grin, Knuckles pistons his fists into the ground and digging inside.

"W-Where'd he go?!" one of the echidna warriors asked his partner. They both looked down inside it but unfortunately it was too dark to see. Looking irritated they got back up and searched around the perimeter, hoping to find him.

"Any luck?!" one of them yelled to the other.

"No not ye-AHHH!" was all the second warrior was able to say until his voice was cut off. The first warrior ran to his position and noticed that his peer was gone. He looked around for any sign of him but he just disappeared in a flash. It was until he saw below him that there was a freshly made hole in front that he jumped back and aimed his spear at the ground. "C-COME OUT Y-YOU C-COWARD!" he yelled, piercing his weapon into the ground.

"Let's see who the coward is now…" a deep voice sneaked into his ears, eyes widening as blistering pain was felt all over his body. Knuckles threw a volley of punches at the warrior, several bones can be heard breaking and severe bruises forming all over. Landing a strong uppercut Knuckles then threw his other fist forward and slammed it into his stomach, the echidna warrior coughing up blood and smashing into a tree several feet away.

"Heh, that was too easy." Knuckles said cracking his 'knuckles'. He searched around to see if there were any others for possible surprise attacks but didn't sense anything, so he looked at the direction from where the fox and the echidnas came from. "If I want answers, I'll have to go this way." he said to himself. Before he could take another step…

SNAP!

His elevated confidence overlooked his awareness and he felt the floor give in, falling into the ground and hitting what felt like wood. "GRAH!" he let out. Rubbing his head of the dizziness, he looked around and noticed he was in a makeshift cage dug into the earth. He heard another snap to which the missing top part of the cage fell onto it, essentially trapping him. "Well that's just great." he muttered.

He decided to hold out for a bit and luckily it paved off, hearing a couple of voices from the top until he felt himself being lifted. Upon seeing light once again, he looked around to see more echidna warriors surrounding him. The ones he beat up were being treated for their wounds as the ones still conscious told them about what happened, one of them coming up to Knuckles in noticeable anger.

"So you were the one that hurt my men." the male echidna, sporting diagonal-lined tattoos on its body said to him. Knuckles crossed his arms and grinned. "Yeah and what of it, they were pretty weak."

"SILENCE!" the echidna was quick to raise his spear at Knuckles, who was unfazed at the fact of feeling sharp metal near his throat. "You dare harm my warriors, your former brothers… you are no longer one of us."

"When was I ever one of you?" Knuckles spoke defiantly. "I just came here from somewhere else and have no idea what's going on. Also, you're not getting your hands on that fox you got that?" the red guardian leaned forward, feeling the metal digging a bit more but not minding it. "He's long gone."

The echidna warrior shook with rage at this with his spear close to killing him but pulled back to control himself. "You will be tried and executed. I will see to that… traitor." he said with venom. Knuckles rolled his eyes at his threat. "Let's see if you can. Just anything to get out of here."

The echidna warrior growled. "MEN, TAKE THIS TRAITOR TO THE CHIEFTAIN AT ONCE!"

With that, Knuckles felt the cage with him in it being lifted by the tribesmen and were taking him to where the fox originated from. 'Alright just have to see where things are and hopefully if I'm right… shouldn't be hard to find. But why did the Master Emerald take me here…?'

In a large village…

"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

"KILL THE TRAITOR!"

"GLORY TO THE TRIBE!"

"FOR THE CHIEFTAIN!"

Knuckles heard several shouts around him as he and the other echidnas that captured him walked into their homeland. The red guardian looked around to see several huts that housed others of his kind with mainly men shouting insults and death threats at him, the women and children watching with either fear or anger. Knuckles sighed and shrugged it off, looking forward and coming up a large shrine up ahead.

'The Mystic Temple? So that means… the Master Emerald sent me back in time!' Knuckles thought figuring it out. He watched as they passed the giant landmark of his species' origin, designs of several snakes on its surface with stairs that led up to the top of an opening to go into. 'Man, the shrine looks way better back then that it is now in my time. The inside should still be heavily guarded though.'

Taking his gaze off of it he looked around secretly in hoping to find a certain altar. Just before they turned a corner did the red echidna noticed a gleam in the distance, giving off a green hue.

'There it is! Now I just have to bust out of here without causing too much ruckus, and out of these.' Knuckles then looked down at his hands. Large stone handcuffs were placed around his wrists that restricted his arm movement and prevented him from escaping. He sighed, knowing that he'll figure it out anyway and having gone through stuff like this before.

'The tribe is just how I read about in the scribes: violent and savage, only wanting to conquer others for their own selfish gain.' His train of thought was cut off as they approached a very large structure made of stone with various staircases leading up to several entrances. It looked a lot like a colosseum.

"Hope you aren't getting sleepy traitor. You'll be wide awake enough to know of your impending death." the same echidna that had the spear on his throat said to him. Knuckles merely grunted as several other echidnas got up front and pushed through two very large doors with snake designs as well. 'These people are nuts. Snakes, really?' he thought as the group took him further into the structure.

They reached a dark room to which Knuckles could barely see in, feeling the cage coming down to the floor and landing hard on the ground. "Ugh! Could've been smoother ya know." he asked the tribesmen.

"Shut it traitor, you won't make it out of this alive." another echidna threatened, he and several others raising the top part of the cage and two others going upfront and lowering the front part of the cage. Knuckles mentally facepalmed. 'I could've escaped easily.'

"MOVE IT!" the emerald guardian felt a stab behind to which he growled, nonetheless walked forward with the handcuffs rattling on his wrists. He stood in the empty room and in front of him were two large doors that led somewhere, the other one which they came through starting to close as all the echidna warriors left and he was all by himself. "Good, some peace and quiet now."

Curiosity got to him now as he eyed the doors in front of him. Walking towards them he placed his ear next to the wooden frame and heard several voices from the outside. It was a lot louder than what he heard in the village and by the way they echoed, the structure would be enormous from the inside.

Knuckles huffed and wiggled his handcuffs a bit. "This shouldn't be hard to break out of, but then again I haven't done much before so why not see what's going on in this nutjob place." His eyes fell to the floor in shame, however. "Then again I was born from this nutjob place."

"BRING ME THE DEFECTOR!"

His ears picked up a loud voice from outside and several footsteps were heard from outside his door. Gulping a bit from nervousness on what he's about to encounter, he took a deep breath and released. "You got this Knuckles, you got this…" he said, the doors opening…

Loud screams pierced the ambient air outside to which Knuckles winced at the noise. He wasn't accustomed to it since he mainly lived in peace and quiet, but to him it showed that his hearing was very sharp. He looked around to see hundreds of echidnas big and small on stands watching him angrily, throwing stones at the emerald guardian who dodged each of them. He took another look at the area in front of him and thought one thing. 'I'm in an arena.'

"Get on with it traitor!" an echidna warrior at the side of him spoke venomously, his spear prodding Knuckles at the back as he looked back in disgust. Walking forward the shouts turned into boos as Knuckles solely kept his eyes on the ground, feeling the sharp tip of the weapon poke his back. 'Easy now Knuckles, just relax.'

Eventually Knuckles and the other echidna came up to a podium above them which seated three others of his kind, though they looked more different than the rest and had extra additions. The one on the left had red fur with spiral tattoos on his face and body, accompanied by a tribal skirt and sandals with gloves sporting blue bracelets. The additions were that he wore a jeweled chest piece with snake patterns on it and possessed a feathered spear in his hand.

The one in the middle was more bulky and looked middle-aged, sporting a furred muzzle and untamed large eyebrows. His fur was also red in color and he had striped patterns on his face and dreadlocks. His chest piece had three feathers going down them and he wore a long tribal skirt that reached up to his ankles with sandals. Several arm bracelets cuffed around his elbows which matched the chest piece and he also had a feathered spear in his hand.

The last of the three was a lot smaller in stature and was quite different from the other two: in part that she was a female and instead of red fur, she had orange fur. She had a jeweled headpiece that wrapped around her head with a matching necklace, a white blouse that covered her upper body, a green skirt with tribal patters on it and wrapped sandals as well. The same jeweled bracelets were cuffed on her arms with blue bracelets on her wrists and unlike the other two as well, she didn't have any sort of weapon.

The three rose up to look down at their prisoner, the one in the middle raising a spear to silence the crowd. "Now then! We are gathered her to take the life of one of our own! One who brings heresy to our land!" he shouted as the crowd cheered from his words. Knuckles rolled his eyes at the old echidna. 'Yeah like that'll happen old-timer.'

"You there! How do you plead?!" the old echidna's rough voice spoke to him. Knuckles took another look around the arena and sighed. "Look I don't have time for this I have to get back to my own time!" Knuckles shouted back. The old echidna raised an eyebrow at this and pointed his spear at him. "You talk of some nonsense! I find you guilty and to be executed!"

More hollers from the echidnas around them roared the stadium to which Knuckles stared at him angrily. He was forced to turn around, but not without glancing at the orange echidna who watched him in concern.

The red guardian ended up face to face to a large echidna wielding a large battle axe and watching him menacingly. He sported several wild looking tattoos on his body, some resembling snakes prepared to strike. He had several feathers hanging upon a large chest piece with a couple of jewels on it. His face was hidden in a mask he wore that was from an animal skull; red eyes pierced through it to which Knuckles leered back the same.

"Fresh meat I can play with." the large being growled in delight, slamming his axe into the ground which caused several cracks. It wasn't enough to deter Knuckles however, his share of battles with Sonic and Tails being more intense. He only watched with minimal interest as the enormous echidna approached him and leaned down. "Fresh meat go bye bye now."

"Like that'll happen you overgrown prick." Knuckles answered back. The echidna warrior narrowed its crimson eyes at the emerald guardian. "What that mean?"

Knuckles only chuckled as he leaned further in, his forehead touching the mask. "It means I'll be the one taking you down."

"GRAAWWRRRRGHH!" the large tribe warrior roared, not liking what Knuckles said one bit as he raised his weapon high into the air. "YOU'RE DEAD MEAT NOW!" he swung his axe down hard, the crowd around them cheering at the incoming execution. However…

The red echidna stepped back quickly, the axe missing him by inches. From there Knuckles ran up to him at near sonic speed and headbutted his torso. "GWUAH!" the force was so strong that it knocked the wind out of the large creature, sending him flying into the wall with a crash. The emerald guardian shook his head and grinned. "You got a tough body, but you aren't so tough yourself."

Gasps and murmurs were heard from the spectators as Knuckles focused on his opponent. He noticed the rubble that fell being moved aside as the large echidna warrior came out of it, panting heavily. A couple of scars and bruises covered its body but other than that appeared to look even angrier. "NO ONE DOES THAT TO YAOTL! NO ONE!"

The warrior known as Yaotl charged at Knuckles, covering significant ground. The red echidna readied himself with a smirk. 'Luckily fighting Sonic honed my reflexes more.' he thought, and by the time Yaotl attacked he wasn't bluffing on that assumption.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" the old echidna barked out loud. He watched as Knuckles effortlessly dodged all the attacks and was looking pretty bored. "WHY WASN'T I INFORMED BETTER OF THIS?!" he yelled at the other male beside him who jumped.

"Ch-Chief Pachacamac if I may, I was only told that the group captured him because he let a foreign prisoner escape. They did tell me that he took down seven of our men-."

"WHAT?! YOU MEAN THIS TRAITOR… DEFEATED SEVEN OF OUR FINEST WARRIORS BY HIMSELF?!" Pachacamac barked out loud. "I will make you pay for not telling me everything Tenoch. If you want to ensure your family eats well, you'll know your place am I clear?!"

The echidna called Tenoch shivered and looked down in shame. "Yes sir."

The orange echidna beside them remained quiet while she looked at the two below them, her hands clasped together in both worry and curiosity. 'I feel like I know this person, but please be careful.'

Knuckles wasn't breaking a sweat, currently having his eyes closed as he effortlessly dodged all of Yaotl's attacks. He also noticed that his incoming swings were getting slower, opening an eye to which he saw the larger echidna breathing heavily out of his mask. The emerald guardian sidestepped another swing until eventually Yaotl stopped and thrusted his axe into the ground, leaning on it to catch his breath.

"You okay there bud?" Knuckles smirked looking at the exhausted warrior. Yaotl merely snorted and got up, readying his axe. "I'll *PANT* end *PANT* you!"

"Yeeaah I think you're too late for that. You sound tired." the emerald guardian then raised his handcuffed fists. "Now just because I have these…" and with a running start, bolted towards his opponent and reappeared in front of him within a second. "…doesn't mean I can't punch!"

"AAUUGGHHH!" Yaotl screeched in pain, feeling severe blows being dealt to his torso. Knuckles threw small repetitive punches that were so fast they looked like complete blurs, but due to his restraints wasn't able to fully move his arms. However his quick thinking knew that he just needed a bit of movement to execute powerful strikes against his foe. He may be a blockhead and sometimes gullible, but he knew how to adapt in situations where he was handicapped.

"GWUAH!" Yaotl let out as Knuckles threw a particular strong punch, knocking the wind out of him as he was raised into the air which created a shockwave around them. The emerald guardian then got under him quickly and curled up into a ball and rapidly spun in place.

'Heh good thing I learned this from that blue hedgehog.' Knuckles thought, increasing his spin speed and building up momentum. A red glow encompassed his curled form and once he gained enough speed shot up and struck Yaotl once again in the torso, the latter coughing up more blood as they both rose into the air.

Gaining enough height, Knuckles spun around the larger echidna and uncurled himself behind him. Raising his leg into the air as he executed a flip, he performed an overhead kick and struck Yaotl behind his head. The echidna warrior screamed in pain and horror as he fell towards the earth, landing with a hard thud and causing dust and debris to fly into the air. Knuckles himself fell down also and landed beside the newly made crater to which soot arose from it. With a grin Knuckles turned around and looked at Pachacamac, the chieftain looking more furious as the crowd's boos were slowing being overtaken by cheers.

"You got anything else ya old fart?" Knuckles mocked at him. Pachacamac grunted and raised his spear, the crowd going silent to which several doors from around the arena opened and many, many echidna warriors poured inside ready to fight the emerald guardian.

"Looks like I underestimated you. Now I see that I must bring in my strongest to deal with you." Pachacamac seethed, looking at Knuckles dangerously. "NOW ATTACK AND BRING ME HIS HEAD!"

The combatants yelled and charged towards the red echidna, weapons at the ready and armed to the teeth. Knuckles knew that he's in trouble now and would have to act quick, looking at his restraints and with no effort broke the link between them and crushed the cuffs themselves freeing his wrists. Punching both fists together he watched his opponents come at him all at once. "Bring it on!"

"Father please stop this!" the orange echidna looked at Pachacamac with horror on her face. The chieftain looked at her angrily and snorted. "Why would I stop this? He's a traitor to our nation and must meet his faith! Why do you care about this one?"

The peach-colored female looked down in sadness. "I don't know, but you must stop this! This isn't what Grandmother wanted!"

"WHO CARES ABOUT WHAT SHE WANTED! SHE WAS WEAK AND ONLY BROUGHT OUR PEOPLE FURTHER DOWN!" Pachacamac then looked back at the arena. "Ever since she passed I have brought our kingdom to glorious expansion. We have conquered others who have tried to conquer us and I have brought our people out of being poor. Now no one can stop us and I won't finish until the entire world is under my rule!"

"But father she still wouldn't-."

"She was a burden to everyone! We all secretly hated her and with her out of the way we are prospering. Tikal, forget what she taught you and just do as I say and you won't get hurt." Pachacamac said to his daughter named Tikal. She could only look down once again, hurt and ashamed. "Yes father."

Down in the arena the echidna warriors were getting closer to Knuckles who was itching for more fighting. The first attack came to which the emerald guardian dodged and elbowed his assailant, hearing a gasp of pain. A swing from a feathered spear almost caught Knuckles if he didn't lean back the last second and countered with a strong uppercut. While in the air he roundhouse kicked two others charging at him with the same foot and aiming his fist towards the ground, striking it with tremendous force that ruptured the earth and caused several of his opponents to fall into the gaping cracks. The crowd watched in awe at his display of power and the chieftain was surprised.

'Where did you come from to wield such strength?' Pachacamac thought, looking as his army of warriors were taken down easily by Knuckles.

The protector of the Master Emerald grabbed an incoming spear thrown at him and broke off the sharp stone tip, only holding the long wooden hilt like a staff. He spun it masterfully causing dust to accumulate in the air from the strong winds which not only shown that he isn't just an expert with his fists, but he also did it to cover the area with thick clouds of dirt to hide within.

"KEEP AN EYE OUT BROTHERS!" one of the tribesmen warned his peers. Unfortunately all he could hear were screams and shouts of pain as through the thick soot he could only see shadows of several echidnas being taken down by Knuckles. Thuds of wood struck flesh with some parrying incoming attacks but it wasn't enough to land a blow on the emerald guardian. Eventually did the dust start clearing and the native echidna male holding a bow and arrow aimed at a lone shadow being revealed. Only to drop his weapon in horror…

Knuckles smirked as he held his staff, focusing on the echidna archer while many of his comrades were taken out all bruised and heavily injured. The archer scrambled to grab his weapon, only to widen his eyes upon seeing red shoes with yellow highlights appear before him. With a gulp he looked up to see Knuckles aim the tip of his staff between his eyes within millimeters of each other.

"If you value your life, I suggest you stop doing this." the red echidna said to the archer. With another gulp the native echidna nodded vigorously, only for several shadows appearing above him.

Knuckles broke his gaze upon the archer to see several others jump above their comrade with spears aimed at him. The archer below smirked and pushed back with his legs to get out of the way, grabbing his bow and arrow before taking aim at a safe distance.

Raising his staff horizontally, Knuckles felt the tremendous force of all the echidna warriors' weapons strike at the staff all at once. A battle of raw strength commenced as Knuckles clenched his teeth to keep steady, his opponents using all their leg strength to overtake him. He looked down to see that his feet were sliding back, though with a growl he gave a hard shove and pushed back against his combatants. The crowd roared louder with mixed cheers going to the protector of the Master Emerald while others went for their native brethren.

Tenoch raised his eyebrows at the display going on. "Sir, he is one incredible young male. He bears no marks aside from the crest on his chest but even I have never seen someone like him. Let alone another one with red fur."

Pachacamac brought a hand to his muzzle to stroke it in thought. "He is indeed powerful. While he harmed my warriors in combat and allowed a prisoner to escape, he could be useful for our plans…"

Besides the chieftan, Tikal heard this and didn't like the sound of it. She watched Knuckles endure the raw might of several warriors pushing against him with several spears making contact with his staff. Her expression was one of amazement however. 'He sure is impressive. I did hear he allowed a prisoner to escape, so he must have a good heart. Please… please win.'

CRACK!

Knuckles grunted irritably at the sound of the staff starting to break. Several fractures appeared on its wooden surface and it starting bending towards him. If he didn't do something quickly then the spears would break through and slice him!

WHOOSH!

Violet eyes shifted from the opponents in front of him to the sound of a projectile being released. He looked to his side and saw the same archer launch an arrow quickly heading straight towards him. He looked back to the spearholders and heard another crack as his staff began splitting in half. "Okay, TRY THIS!"

With a shout Knuckles thrusted all his strength to the right side, his adversaries caught off-guard and flying away from him. The arrow launched in the direction to which the warriors were pushed to and was about to hit one of them unfortunate to be in its way.

"NO!" the archer shouted, stretching his arm in reflex but because of how great the distance was there was nothing he could do. Time slowed down at this point, the arrow about to hit the pink-furred flesh of one of his brothers…

…

… only for it to pass through a small opening under the forearm of him and disappear once his back covered it. Time continued to remain slow, the shocked expression of the archer turning into a relieved one. However his moment of calm would be interrupted to which the warriors fell down one by one onto the ground, revealing Knuckles who spun in place with arrow in hand.

Time quickly returned to normal speed. Knuckles has thrown the arrow back to its sender at double the velocity and struck his opponent's shoulder.

"WHA-AAUGH!"

The archer cried out in pain onto one knee, clutching his upper arm with the projectile dug deep into it and blood seeping out. His expression turned to one of terror as the emerald warrior suddenly appeared in front him in less than a second. A gloved white hand covered his vision.

BOOM!

Knuckles ended it by planting his cranium into the ground, knocking the archer unconscious with his eyes rolling to the back of his head and blacking out. The red echidna however couldn't catch a break as he narrowly dodged a spear thrown from the side, watching its snake patterns fly past his vision and striking the ground across from him. He turned towards where it was thrown and spotted more warriors charging at him. The crowd around them boomed with shouts and cheers as they anticipate the end being near, and fortunately they were about to get it.

"Okay that's enough…" Knuckles whispered as he brought his fists together. Closing his eyes and concentrating, streams of red lightning emitted from his gloved hands which slowly started covering his entire body. A faint red energy mist followed suit to which the earth started trembling, causing the attacking natives to stop in astonishment.

"Incredible…" Pachacamac's eyes widened at this sudden turn of events. His open mouth then turned into an evil smirk. "I'll definitely have you as part of my conquest."

Tikal's eyes widened at what she was witnessing. She could feel powerful energy being emitted from the emerald guardian and the gust of wind that followed as well.

"There's no way. The only way he could do something like this is if he has connection to…" the orange echidna's eyes widened further, quickly leaning forward and paying more attention. "Grandmother… I think you're right…" she whispered.

Knuckles remained in a meditative state as he gathered more energy and the electricity around his body crackled and boomed. Once he felt that he accumulated enough he lowered his arms and cracked his 'knuckles' by clenching his fists. Upon opening his eyes… violet turned into glowing crimson red.

"Get ready…"

BOOM!

Knuckles disappeared in the blink of an eye, reappearing in front of a stunned warrior who was too slow to notice. A supersonic punch met their face and they were sent flying towards the wall, impacting it with a heavy crash. Another began turning towards his but it was too late, a supercharged glowing fist making contact just like his comrade and launching him into the brick structure.

The emerald guardian didn't let up, dashing around matching his blue friend's signature speed and pummeling all his opponents. None were able to react quick enough as haymakers, uppercuts and roundhouse kicks demolished each and every one of them. The ones that did react raised their weapons to defend quickly, but proved futile as the titanic strength behind Knuckles was too much for their meager wooden spears to protect any of them and instantly breaking through for his attacks to hit them. Bodies flew everywhere as a red streak of flash and lightning lit up the area in constant movement, the warriors being thrusted into the ground, launched above in the air, or taken out where they stand.

To show how strong he was in this state, Knuckles rushed an echidna warrior who was unaware and delivered a low kick to trip them. They gasped in surprise only to scream in pain as Knuckles threw a fist into their back and pummeling them into the ground. The earth cracked under the pressure with seismic activity rumbling the stadium. Shouts from the crowd were mixed with excitement or horror at what they witnessed, several of the spectators running out of the stadium in fear for their safety.

Almost all the warriors were taken out within a minute, and only one remained…

A lone echidna warrior with an axe, covered in striped tattoos to resemble claw marks was shivering in fright at what he was witnessing. Judging from how he didn't rush in to attack he looked fresh out of warrior training. It would have been believed that his first assignment would be to go hunt for food or scout out enemy territory, but he wasn't prepared for his first task to end up fighting against possibly the strongest echidna he has ever faced in his life. He could only watch on as Knuckles destroyed his comrades and as he looked around, he found himself alone…

… suddenly meeting the gaze of the emerald guardian's icy cold glare. He froze instantly, blood red eyes staring into his soul as the will to fight left him completely. He wasn't able to react at all, only feeling a rough sensation of a hard grip on his arm and being swung around and thrown into the air.

He broke out of his stupor, looking around to see that he was flying. He looked down with wide eyes at how high he was, possibly twenty feet in the air. He couldn't do anything; helpless as he also did not learn how to glide yet unlike his other brethren. The watchful eyes of the crowd below were a mix of concern, excitement and dread to which they were itching to see what his fate might be. If anything what could he do, standing up against an unstoppable force? His fellow warriors were taken down with some having years of experience and others just like him. None of that mattered however, fate would arrive for him quickly as he started falling and noticing a familiar sharp tip jutting out from the ground… waiting to pierce through him and end his life.

"AAAHHH!" the young warrior screamed. Memories of his family, fun times, and goals he has not met but hopefully would, flashed before his eyes. The tip got closer and closer, the native covering his face as tears poured out and flew behind him. Any moment now, he would be joining any relatives he never knew of up there and hopefully be welcomed…

…

…

…

The crowd gasped and silence fell upon the stadium. Their faces watched in shock at what they were looking at, some crying their eyes out and others covering their eyes to not watch. A few however were grinning at what just occurred.

For the young echidna warrior, fate was still on his side.

A gasp came out of him as he felt a tug on his tail, effectively stopping him. Shivering in fear and not knowing of it, he slowly uncovered himself and opened his eyes. His vision portrayed the sharp tip of the spear several inches away from him, almost rejecting his right to live. His eyes widened further that he still lived, looking around frantically that he was still able to move. He looked behind to see who could've saved him, only to become more shocked: Knuckles stood there with a hand grasping his tail as he stared upfront, glaring eyes watching the podium towards the chieftain of the tribe. His electric aura and piercing red eyes were still visible in which for the young echidna warrior, it was too much and he blacked out just like the others.

The crowd instantly burst into cheers, the loudest it has ever been. Shouts of joy and excitement raged through almost all of them as few of them threw flowers onto the arena as a gesture of approval. A couple uncovered their eyes and were told of the outcome, joining in with relieved expressions and smiling happily. By the looks of it the emerald guardian won them over, but for him none of that mattered as his gaze rested solely on the middle-aged echidna leader.

Tikal was starstruck. She watched this unknown echidna male save one of her own, even if they were used for bad intentions. Her hands clasped once again in front of her close to her chest. "He's just… wow. He is… different. I must meet him somehow." she whispered.

Pachacamac meanwhile simply crouched and with little effort, jumped in towards the arena and landed gracefully. Even though he was of old age, that didn't mean that his warrior experience was out of practice. Using his spear as a cane, he walked over to Knuckles who maintained the aura around him. The emerald protector's gaze was still intense towards him but he brushed it off, standing two feet away from him. In terms of height they were about the same, but even though Pachacamac was bulkier it didn't faze Knuckles.

"I really, really have underestimated you. Not only did you defeat my best warriors, but you display a power that even I do not know of." Pachacamac said to Knuckles, feeling the pulsing energy being emitted from the red guardian. "Come join me and I will offer you riches that you have never seen before. I will strip you away as being a traitor and guarantee you a hero if you accept my offer. Not only that but you can be my high commander of my forces to conquer other lands." the chieftain then extended his hand towards Knuckles, grinning bashfully. "With your power, the Knuckles Tribe will rule the world! What do you say?"

Knuckles' gaze went towards the elder's worn gloved hand. A grunt came out of him with an annoyed expression as he walked forward and came up to Pachacamac, the latter lowering his hand and countering his stare. "Like I'd ever serve under you."

The chieftain growled lowly and leaned closer. "I'll give you one last chance, traitor."

Knuckles leaned in as well, foreheads touching one another. "And I'll tell you one last time: I will not serve under you. I know your kind; you rule with an iron fist and only kill for your selfish desire for wealth and power. It's you that caused my people to turn into savages, it's you that caused a lot of suffering to the neighboring nations, and it's you that brought the echidnas close to extinction!"

Pachacamac raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talking about? My people are prospering under my rule! We are superior to all the other nations! I do not know where you got this heretic knowledge, but you lost your chance at glory." the chieftain ended, raising his spear at Knuckles.

"Like I ever cared about glory. All I care about is protecting what is most important to me." Knuckles responded, readying his fists for battle. The crowd murmured towards one another, possibly awaiting a potential fight between the powered-up red guardian and the leader of their tribe.

Tikal heard all of it, eyes wide at what was said in the conversation.

'He… he doesn't like to fight. He fights only as a last resort. He fights only to protect what is close to him.' a smile crawled onto her face as she gazed at the male echidna still drenched in immense energy. 'You're just like Grandmother described… a guardian.'

Back in the arena, Pachacamac readied his spear and Knuckles raised his fists. Suddenly the chieftain began chuckling until it turned into a full blown evil laugh, causing the emerald guardian to watch in confusion.

"Don't think I'd be stupid enough to take you on by myself! Not without this!" he took out a horn rapidly and blew into it, a deep noise filling the air. The sound called forth numerous archers from around the stands, ready in position and aiming their arrows at Knuckles. Not only that but catapults with large flaming boulders on them were displayed and rolling up at a good striking distance, a couple of echidna warriors standing at the ready to attack as well. Pachacamac glared at Knuckles with a malicious grin.

"If you won't join me then you can rot in hell! ATTACK!"

A volley of arrows shot out which blanketed the sky and were all heading straight towards Knuckles. Flaming boulders being launched lit up the sky more and hurled down at extreme speeds towards him.

Knuckles grunted as Pachacamac jumped back under the podium for safety. However the red guardian grinned as he eyed him. "This isn't over." was the last thing Knuckles said before he shot up and dug into the dirt, disappearing into the earth.

"NO!" the middle-aged echidna cried out as the arrows and boulders landed, creating several explosions of flames and destruction. It happened all at once and the crowd started fleeing out of the stadium in terror, some tripping down the stairs while others glided away.

Pachacamac could only watch in fury at what occurred. "Don't think I'll let you get away. GUARDS! FIND THE TRAITOR!"

His soldiers saluted and moved out the stadium as well, sprinting quickly in order to search for the emerald guardian. The chieftain snorted and turned quickly, disappearing into a hidden corridor that was under the podium.

"Chief Pachacamac I'll be right with you!" Tenoch walked quickly towards the upper corridor behind him and disappearing from sight as well.

Tikal watched the destruction of the arena right before her. She wasn't concerned about it however as her focus was more onto the red echidna that escaped. 'I have to find him! He shouldn't have gone too far from the village!' the orange echidna thought before turning and running into the corridor. 'Hopefully I can be of help to you…'

In the Mystic Garden…

The sounds of running water can be heard from a waterfall that delivered its fresh clear liquid into the small lake below, surrounding a small island with a couple of palm trees. Small cliffs were present as well to which it stood tall over a large area of grass that swayed in the wind; several other flora were also present among its location.

"CHAO!"

An infant squeak was heard in the air to which the lush garden itself was not fully empty. Floating within the air were several small humanoid creatures that were light blue in color with the tips of its hands, feet and the top of their heads a yellow highlight. Small pink wings helped them to float and they were all just like how the sound represented; infant creatures. What stands out from them besides their appearance was their heads were raindrop-shaped and dark blue eyes watched innocently at the world around them. Several chased one another in happiness, playing around in the peaceful scenery with the sun currently setting. Unfortunately the peace would cease momentarily, the earth below them rumbling…

"GAH!"

The red cranium of one Knuckles the Echidna bursts out of the ground, shaking his head of the dirt and pieces of rock he accumulated from his time underground. He pulled himself out of the hole with some difficulty, groaning in exhaustion and moving his arms.

"ACK!"

Another yell came out of him, falling down to one knee. The blue creatures noticed the intruder, but instead of being frightened they were more curious on his arrival. Knuckles paid no attention to them yet as he looked over his shoulder; two arrows were embedded into his flesh making it difficult for him to move it without experiencing sharp pain.

"Crap it looks like they got me at the last second." he muttered, using his other arm to grab at the arrows. He groaned hard in pain as he pulled them out, moving them upfront and seeing his blood staining the tips. An irritated smirk was on his face as he threw the arrows aside, said smirk slowly turning into one of surprise as he started looking around. "No way…"

The creatures in the area stared at him in wonder, with one of them floating over and examining his face. Knuckles was still in shock, however. "In my time you were extinct. Seeing this many up close… wow." he said almost breathless.

The light blue inhabitants continued to stare at him, then unexpectedly they resumed their previous activity of playing around. The one that was looking at him became distracted by another that came to it and poked its wing, and with a smile it left and followed. Knuckles chuckled at that. "Just like how they were mentioned, they're still babies hehe."

Knuckles slowly got up and walked over to the lake. Upon arriving however he fell back down and almost landed on the grass. "Damnit, I've got… hit good." the emerald guardian muttered. He looked to the water upfront and with a shaky hand, reached into it to grab some and took a drink. He did this several more times, relishing the cold liquid going down his throat that helped him relieve his exhaustion. "Man, it was a good thing I had chaos energy still stored in me or otherwise it would've taken a lot longer. Least it was something compared to just guarding the Master Emerald…"

Upon saying that his eyes slightly widened. 'That's right… I can feel its energy nearby but I'm sure they're out looking for me. I should stay here until the coast is clear.' he thought. With a hard grunt he picked himself up and wobbled a bit, finding a large rock and sitting in front of it. He could feel the blood still coming out of his shoulder slowly which was making him light-headed; add to the fact that he's been roaming inside the ground for several hours to avoid detection he was also starving as well. All this was making Knuckles heavily depleted in energy and didn't have enough to fight the echidna warriors again.

His eyes were half-lidded as he gazed at the setting sun, the sky slowly turning into an orange hue. It brought a smile to his face as it reminded him of the same scenery he normally sees whenever he's next to the Master Emerald, always on guard. It's a peaceful moment for him and he was fortunate to always experience it alone and in solitude.

"U-Um, hello?"

Not anymore at the moment.

Knuckles' eyes widened instantly and his reaction was quick, looking to the side at the source. Besides the light blue creatures, there was another presence… and he was too weak to do anything against it.

An orange echidna stood there with tribal clothing similar to the village folk he saw before. White wraps were around their dreadlock quills, arms and feet and a jeweled headpiece was worn around their head along with a necklace to match it. Instead of the angry looks that he seen from the warriors he fought, this one looked at him with a shy and concerned one. However, he wasn't taking any chances.

Using any remaining energy he had, Knuckles turned away from them and quickly struggled to get on his feet. He groaned in pain, eyes tight and gripped his injured shoulder as he tried to get away. A gasp was heard behind him and he clenched his teeth hearing quick footsteps approaching him from behind.

"Please stop! Y-You're hurt!"

His mind almost melted at the sound: feminine, angelic and soothing to his ears. His instincts still told him to get out of there as they could be a spy that was sent to go after him. He didn't make it that far unfortunately for him as small and soft hands gripped his larger hand.

Knuckles reacted accordingly, turning quickly and raising his fist into the air about to strike. Just as he was about to go further he stopped immediately, two beautiful cerulean eyes gazing at him in worry as the orange echidna held up their hands in defense. He quickly noted how much smaller they were compared to him and he could easily crush them, but their whole appearance was of pure innocence and beauty that he didn't have the will to attack.

The emerald guardian lowered his arm, stunned at the perfect form of life right in front of him in his eyes. His nose picked up the gentle flowery scent coming off from them, indicating that it was a female. For him however due to living on a floating island by himself with no social interaction besides Sonic and Tails a few times, he had no experience at all with the opposite sex and was very shy of them. His next action confirming the latter as he turned away and continued to walk.

"Please… you look really tired. Let me care for you."

The words clenched at his heart at how incredibly pleasant she sounded, almost making him want to cry. His body trembled, exhaustion slowly creeping up once again and the sharp pain returning to his injury. With a gulp he slowly walked back towards the rock, noticing the part that was stained in his blood. He almost jumped however at her hands returning, grasping his biceps carefully and lowering him down. Knuckles took the chance to look at the ground upon sitting, never taking his eyes off of it. It was made difficult however noticing that the orange echidna made herself comfortable and sat on her knees in front of him, his peripheral vision picking up her green patterned skirt.

"I-If you don't mind, may I ask of your name?" she said. Knuckles continued to stare at the ground and not say anything, not really knowing what to say since he was very nervous. Who wouldn't be when he's been discovered by someone from the tribe at his most vulnerable state at the moment? Plus because she was a girl it made it a lot worse for him that nothing came to mind.

A few seconds passed and no words were said. The emerald guardian on his part could keep this up all night if he had to or until he passed out, but for the other she wouldn't wait any longer upon Knuckles hearing the sound of grass being brushed. A hand appeared before him which moved under his chin and slowly lifted his face up, the other came to his cheek to caress it. He was no longer looking at the grass; instead he gazed at the orange echidna's gorgeous face that watched him with a mix of worry and serenity. "My name is Tikal, and do not worry I'm not going to hurt you nor am I telling the others where you are. Me and now you only know of this sacred place, you're safe here."

Tears appeared under his eyes at the gentleness he was feeling. His whole life he grew up alone and took care of himself with no one else providing for him. If he was hurt, he had to deal with it; if he was sick, he alone had to deal with it. The Master Emerald provided him with the basics of survival and he used that to adapt and learn new ways to live in the harsh world. He trained himself in martial arts so he can pry away dangers aimed at him so he can live another day. Knowing that he was the last of his kind and has the sworn duty to guard the large gem, he had to ensure that he was in top physical shape to take on anything and come out with minimal damage. This whole time he molded himself to be self-reliant, distancing himself from others and denying anything technology related so that he can be with one in the natural world. All this however did not prepare him for how others, such as this orange echidna, can provide and care for him in his time of need. It was very foreign to him, but the feeling was so strong and warm that it was breaking the walls in his heart that he built over years of self-discipline that his emotions began going haywire. It was displaying physically as his mouth trembled and he clenched his eyes, a whimper coming out.

Her thumbs wiped away at his tears however, the soft feel of them going over his face several times. Knuckles opened his eyes again, shame draping over him at the weakness he was displaying and thinking that the person before him was probably assuming he was pathetic. A gentle smile and soft eyes greeted him however, not changing one bit as Tikal continued her action. "Shhhh… it's okay. Take your time and don't worry, I don't see you any less." she whispered.

"Mhgnh!" Knuckles groaned at the pain on his shoulder, slowly moving his arm up to clutch it. Her hand stopped him however, feeling it take hold of his larger one and lowering his slowly.

"Let me heal you." Tikal said to him, releasing her grip on him as she reached into a satchel she had on. "Good thing I brought some medicine and herbs, knowing that I'm sure you wouldn't have escaped that without a scratch."

Knuckles didn't say anything as he only sat still, watching the smaller echidna reach around him and look at the wound. "Were you struck by arrows?" she asked him. A nod was all he could do and Tikal replied with the same gesture, pulling out a brown lidded cup and unscrewing it to reveal a white substance which she dug her fingers in. "This will help you heal faster." she said.

The emerald guardian almost sighed in bliss upon her applying the cream onto his injury. The pain began going away little by little in which Tikal pulled back and took out white wrappings she unrolled. Tearing off a large strip she went back to his shoulder and started enveloping his shoulder to cover his wound. Finishing it up by tying the ends she leaned back and smiled. "There you go, now you only need to rest."

All Knuckles could do was nod, still not knowing how to respond. However a certain part of his body would speak for him.

GROWL!

The red echidna blushed and looked away, another sign of weakness presenting itself. The same gesture as before returned, a hand touching his face and moving it to face her. The same smile was present which never went away as she giggled; her small laugh was music to his ears. "You must be hungry. Just wait here a bit and let me grab some fruit we have here in the garden." Before Tikal got up however she reached into her satchel and pulled out some grapes. "Eat these while you wait. I'll be back."

Knuckles saw her leave and he simply stared at the fruit in his hand. They were a nice size and looked like they were perfectly picked at the right time. How did she know grapes were his most favorite as well? Either way, he took a bite out of one of them and his taste buds cried in joy, not wasting any time as he devoured the whole thing within half a minute.

'This is… no, I still can't trust her. She was with him up there and didn't do anything to stop it, but then again she's probably a lot different.' Knuckles thought, shifting himself to get more comfortable. 'I really have to thank her, but… crap why does it have to be a girl?!'

Knuckles groaned lightly as he placed his head in his hands, thinking on what else he could do. Ideas were going through his mind on how to approach the altar without attracting much attention, knowing that almost the entire village is out looking for him. The hard part was if the Master Emerald would even take him back to his original timeline; if it couldn't then he'd be stuck here for the rest of his life. The benefit would be that he wouldn't be the last of his kind anymore and would finally feel more at home knowing that his species won't be going to extinction. However the drawback being his current predicament where he's a wanted fugitive for letting some weird guy be set free and pretty much beating up much of the echidna warrior army single-handedly.

'C'mon Knucklehead think of something!' the red guardian clenched his eyes for an answer, but sighed in the end. 'No use, I'll have to come up with an idea once I'm better.' His eyes then wandered over to the hole he made and contemplated the possibility of escaping somewhere more secluded. Knuckles simply sighed again and slowly got up with effort. 'My pride and dignity have already been shredded in front of this girl so there's nothing left for me. The jungle probably won't be a bad place to hide.'

The water he drank and grapes he ate provided him with a bit more energy that Knuckles was able to move more efficiently. He still struggled to walk normally but it was enough for him to approach the opening into the earth. It was pretty deep and enough for him to fit in without risking more injury to his healing wound. The male echidna took a deep breath and lifted his foot about to go in.

"Why…?"

Only to almost lose his balance at hearing the sweetest voice in his entire life. His plan to leave was erased and heavy guilt overtook his core. He simply brought his foot back and stood there with his head down, not wanting to look back at all. Already the waterworks were about to give way out of his eyes again but he kept them shut to prevent it, his stubbornness refusing to show more vulnerability. His ears picked up Tikal's footsteps get closer to him but he still didn't turn to her, feeling her hands take hold of his arms.

"D-Do you not t-trust m-me?" Tikal's serene voice choked, and Knuckles felt remorse at the fact that she was holding back sobs from the sniffles he heard. It was enough for him to finally feel something that he hasn't experienced in a while: a fresh set of tears running down his face and landing onto the grass below. The red guardian immediately turned. "N-No please don't-!" he started but froze.

Lines of moisture ran down Tikal's voice with her eyes puffy and red. A saddened expression was present and just like him, she looked so vulnerable. Her ocean-blue eyes stared at his soul through his own violet ones as he could only watch helplessly.

"I-It's okay, a-almost everyone in t-the village w-wouldn't trust m-me either…" she said lowering her face. More tears fell down her hidden face but for Knuckles he was able to see them, and the sight broke him apart to the point that his voice started choking out.

Tikal looked up upon hearing it and saw Knuckles' distress; he looked like he was about to cry hard. Gasping silently she went up to him and hugged him for what it's worth, the larger male releasing the water gates.

"I-It's okay i-it's o-okay, c-calm d-down p-plea…" the smaller female couldn't speak more as she also joined him in sobbing her eyes out. Her face dug into his chest as her arms wrapped comfortably around his mid-back, Knuckles eventually wrapping his own around her as he placed his head on top of hers. They continued this action for a bit and not noticing the small light blue creatures approaching around them with faces of sadness as well. The life-forms only floated there with some flying around them in comfort, both echidnas pouring their emotions out.

Only after some time did their cries became quieter and Tikal was the first to recover a bit. "Shhh… I-I'm here, d-don't feel a-ashamed." she whispered to him. Knuckles sniffed a few times and the orange echidna felt him nod above her head, smiling that he responded. She pulled back a bit to look at him and he looked back still down, his eyes the same hue of red as her own. Tikal raised her hand and cupped his cheek. "A-Are you better now?" she asked. Another nod came from him.

"I-I'm s-sorry." Knuckles spoke to her for the first time. Tikal smiled widely and nodded. "N-No worries, I'm s-sorry as well." She then gently took his hands. "Now come, let me take care of you like I promised." she said. Knuckles' frown turned upside down and a shy smile of his own presented itself, and for the female echidna she was very happy to see him return the gesture.

Tikal walked Knuckles next to the lake and sat him down next to a more comfortable rock to lean on. With the emerald guardian adjusting himself, the peach-colored girl brought with her a nice sized bowl filled with fruits and herbs she has collected for him. The bowl itself had several designs that mimicked her skirt and unlike the shrines it didn't have any snakes on it. Knuckles mentally chuckled that at least she wasn't as stir crazy as the others.

"I hope this is enough." she said, handing him the bowl and settling down in front of him. Knuckles eyed it and smiled. "I-It's plenty enough. Thank you."

Tikal returned the gesture as she watched the larger echidna take the first several bites. Her heart soared seeing the delighted look on his face as he munched down on the food. Having been one to provide hospitality most of her life by her grandmother, she had no issue doing this with many of her native people but unfortunately due to their warlike nature she felt as though it served no purpose anymore. However, she felt as she accomplished the most important goal in her young life upon caring for this male echidna she just met. She watched his actions and unlike her people, his were innocent and a bit childlike which made her giggle at times. Even though she didn't know him much, she would like to know more about him and this would be the perfect opportunity to do so.

"So um, I have already told you of my name. Are you okay telling me yours now if that's alright?" Tikal asked him. Knuckles' swallowed a bite and cleared his throat. "Y-Yeah, my name is Knuckles." he replied.

"Oh, you're named after the tribe." she stated. The emerald guardian huffed at this. "Well after what I've seen first-hand how they're like, I'm starting to regret ever being named Knuckles."

Tikal was confused by this. "Is it because of my father's thirst for power or for how the warriors treated you? And also what do you mean 'first-hand'?"

"For the first question, it's both. For your last one, it's because this is actually the first time I've ever seen other echidnas." Knuckles stated, looking up at the sky. "My whole life I've been alone as the last of my kind, and being here makes me feel as if I'm complete but at the same time I'm not."

The orange-furred female was still confused, eyebrow arched. "I still don't understand, are you from another land or so where there's none of us?"

Knuckles simply sighed. "Well I didn't want to explain this since it's… well hard to explain but might as well give it a go. I'm actually from the far distant future where the tribe has mysteriously disappeared which I don't know the answer to and because of that I'm the last of my kind in my time period. I don't know anything about the past nor do I know who were my parents and such, but the only thing I ever knew was that it is my life-long duty to protect the Master Emerald as the last guardian." he explained.

Tikal's eyes widened at all this but mainly at the last part. "Wait so y-you know about the Master Emerald?" she questioned in surprise. Knuckles nodded to this. "Yeah, I make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands to be used for world domination and stuff. There was this one incident where this fat guy who made these things called robots managed to steal it for his evil schemes, but luckily me and this blue hedgehog and his fox friend were able to beat him and get the emerald back safe and sound." he explained; Knuckles wasn't going to tell her that he was actually double-crossed for assuming Sonic was going to steal the Master Emerald. Tikal was in awe at all of this, blinking a bit.

"So… how did you get here?" Tikal asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out because the Master Emerald sent me here for some reason. All I know is that its energy dragged me into it and suddenly I traveled back into the past." Knuckles took a bite out of a melon before continuing. "Right now I'm just trying to figure out how to get back to my own time without those warriors spotting me."

Tikal slightly frowned at the last part, feeling a sting for some reason yet shaking it off. "If you know about the Master Emerald, then you must know about its past guardians… right?" Knuckles shook his head to this. "Nope, I have no clue who they were. I only know that there was a tribe because the ruins in my time match the shrine you have in the village."

"I see, well the thing is… I'm currently the guardian of the Master Emerald as well." the orange echidna told him. Knuckles' eyes widened at this revelation. "No way?! So maybe you would know how I can get back to my time?!"

A shake of the head was Tikal's response, looking at him sadly. "Unfortunately I do not. I only pray to the Master Emerald and play with the Chao who visit it. There's also the very first guardian called Chaos who protects the Chao and the Master Emerald."

Knuckles was surprised by this and looked around. "Wait so these creatures are-."

"Yes, they are Chao. Do you know of them in your time?" Tikal asked him. The red echidna nodded slowly. "Yeah, I've only seen them on the drawings that were on the ruins because in my time… they're all dead."

A gasp came out of the female echidna, hands to her mouth and eyes wide. "W-What happened to them...?" she softly said.

"I don't know, but I think that might be one reason the Master Emerald sent me back here. It wants me to stop whatever caused the tribe and Chao to die." Knuckles finished the last of the fruit and herbs in the bowl, handing it back to Tikal who took it. "If I ever want to get back to my time, I have to find out who or what did it." he said clenching his fist.

Tikal watched him silently as Knuckles closed his eyes in thought, reopening them a few seconds after. "I could start by seeing if that chieftain has something to do with it. Do you know anything about him?" he asked.

"Oh, well his name is Pachacamac and he is actually my father." she said. Knuckles almost jumped in shock. "No wonder you were up there!" he barked out. The smaller echidna raised a hand in gesture for him to lower his voice in which he got flustered and nodded silently.

"Yes, he is my father and unfortunately he is like you saw him. Bloodthirsty, greedy and selfish that all he wants is to conquer others to expand our tribe's influence. He will not stop until he takes over everything and I tried to convince him not to, but he won't listen to me. His own daughter." Tikal whispered with tears threatening to spill out. Knuckles watched in guilt at this, remembering how he told him off back in the arena with anger.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know." Knuckles said. Tikal wiped her eyes and shook her head at him. "I-It's okay, h-he's far gone to even change his ways. I just hope he doesn't do anything too drastic."

Knuckles sighed and placed his hand under his chin in thought. "Well from what you told me, he might be considered someone I'll have to look into if I want to figure out what happened."

"You won't… kill him r-right?" Tikal choked. "H-He's all I h-have for family…"

"N-NO! I WON'T EVER!" Knuckles panicked shaking his good arm upfront. "E-Even if he is bad… I won't ever do that."

The orange echidna wiped her tears again and sighed. "Okay. Thank you." Knuckles smiled at this. "Yeah. I just need to know what his main plan is besides hunting me down. Do you know where he usually is?"

"Yes, he's in the temple for most of the day. Even I don't know what he does in there but whenever I ask him he shrugs me off and tells me not to worry about it." Tikal replied.

Knuckles rubbed his chin thinking. "That's a good start. When I fully recover I'll sneak into the temple and see what I can gather up." The emerald guardian lowered his hand and grinned. "Hopefully from what I learn I can figure out what happened and not just that… maybe change the timeline where I'm not alone anymore." he looked down, a smile coming to his face.

Tikal watched him silently again, moving closer and kneeling in front of him like before. "You'll never be alone Knuckles. Even though we barely met and you barely know our people, that doesn't mean that their spirits won't live on inside you. From what I've seen of you back there, you fought to protect not just yourself but for peace." The orange echidna slightly frowned. "Though I do not like fighting, there are times when it is to be used as a last resort. I can sense in you that… you are just like me."

"Huh?" Knuckles looked up confused. The female echidna smiled and laughed softly. "Well we're both guardians of the Master Emerald and prefer living in peace. If you're the last of our kind in your time I assume you're always alone right?"

"Well… yeah, I've been alone almost my whole life." Knuckles stated. Tikal replied with a smile before continuing. "Well even if it is for a short time, today would be an exception." she replied. The red echidna grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "That makes sense so I guess I can try to squeeze as much time as I can here hehe. Though it'll only be with you since everyone else is after my head."

"That's okay, it'll only be us two anyway…" she said with a blush, it going away after a few seconds and luckily Knuckles didn't notice. "So, do you want to know more about us?" the orange echidna asked. Knuckles' eyes widened all the way at this; it was his chance at learning something about his past! "T-That'd be great!" he cheered. Tikal giggled at his enthusiasm. "Okay, so what would you like to know?"

Knuckles then started to ask her questions on how his people were in terms of living, practices, worship and culture. Tikal was happy to answer all of that in which the conversation lasted for some time and for the red guardian, this was valuable knowledge that he has been seeking his whole life as the ruins and scribes didn't provide him much with the history behind his unknown past. In several parts was Knuckles in awe at the information the orange echidna gave him and the more and more he learned, the more he started to convince himself that his native homeland back then wasn't so bad.

Reason for it was that the village started off with their first leader being Tikal's grandmother. She was a benevolent and kind individual who led a delinquent yet energetic group that practiced worship and prayed to their source of power and inspiration: the Chaos Emeralds. It was she who studied and learned how to communicate with the Master Emerald and was one of the first to meet Chaos who inhabits near its vicinity. The first guardian took a liking to her and because of that not only did it protect the Chao but it also ensured that the echidna population grew. The majority of the village liked her in which they were a mainly peaceful society and were very dependent on one another.

Unfortunately as time passed, Tikal's grandmother passed and her father Pachacamac took over as the tribe chieftain. Unlike her grandmother's gentle nature, his was malicious and sought for power to rule with an iron fist. Under his leadership did the population start turning into ravage yet powerful warriors that forego their late chieftain's teachings and only followed Pachacamac's ruthless war tactics. They expanded rapidly by conquering various nearby kingdoms, killed and pillaged others while bestowing themselves with immediate prosperity. However to ensure that one's wealth is guaranteed, they must pledge loyalty to their tyrannical leader or else suffer severe punishment. Pachacamac did not take betrayal lightly and had several close subordinates killed for disobeying him or planning to leave the tribe. Even though they expanded well beyond their borders and everyone had better quality of life, they had to gain it through violent bloodshed and sacrifice. Not everyone was bad though as some were against Pachacamac's rule, but had to lay low as his power was too great.

"Woah…" Knuckles was amazed yet aghast at what Tikal explained to him. His tribe started off small and peaceful for a short time until different leadership caused it to become malevolent. Half of his mind felt sorry for the echidnas that lost their lives to prosper in this harsh world, but the other half was disgusted that these same echidnas had to kill others in order for the tribe to live on. For the male echidna he didn't know how to express all of this since he never lived among them, but for sure he did know that the Master Emerald most likely sent him back to prevent this reign of terror.

"Even though my father rules the tribe with bad intentions, my grandmother taught me all she knew and so far I'm the only one that is completely against all fighting and war." Tikal said.

"Well I'm glad to hear, and it's great that I finally get to learn this much about what it was like back then." Knuckles smiled. "Thank you for all of this. Now I don't have to keep searching the ruins and waste my time hehe."

Tikal smiled back and nodded. "It's no problem Knuckles. I hope I provided you with enough about where you came from and that your outlook on us isn't anything too bad."

"No worries and although your father might be a bad egg, at least there's still some that give me hope that the tribe isn't all that bad." Knuckles stated. The smaller of the two adjusted herself and stretched a bit. "Well I've been mainly talking about my time here, now I want to know about your time." she asked.

Knuckles chuckled and rubbed his head. "Well it isn't anything interesting, I mean I barely get off the island and the only time that I left the altar was when Dr. Eggman stole the emeralds and I fought Sonic and Tails believing them to be threats as well. Eventually though we teamed up and defeated Eggman along with getting the emeralds back." Knuckles then looked up at the sky with wandering eyes. "That was actually the most fun I've ever had to be honest. I got to not only meet others but also discover places on the island that I haven't been to yet. There are times when I think 'what is my actual purpose?' and if I were to answer that, I think it isn't just sitting around watching a large hunk of shiny rock."

Violet eyes lowered down to meet blue ones, gazing at one another softly. "I think… if I were to get away from the duty of being a guardian, I would go out and explore the world. Just like that blue hedgehog…" Knuckles said, shaking his head at the end. "Oh I forgot to say that that's also their names as well hehe. Fat guy is Eggman, Sonic is a hedgehog and Tails is a fox."

Tikal laughed and waved it off. "It's okay, all that sounds very interesting."

"Well if you consider living most of your life secluded next to the Master Emerald watching the forest, sunrise and sunset everyday without moving from that spot, then I'm not sure what you mean by interesting." Knuckles grinned. Tikal looked down at her hands and gave a small sigh.

"Well… I do find that interesting. I would want to live a life like that: free of war, free of violence, free of suffering. Here I lost the most precious thing I have and the only ones to keep me company are the Chao and Chaos. Even then…" Tikal looked up at him sadly, tears threatening to spill. "It isn't enough to fill the void of losing someone very close to me."

Knuckles watched sadly as well, raising his good arm up and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm very sorry for that. I wished I could do anything to help, but that's how life is. I'm sure she was an amazing person from what you told me and is very proud of you."

The orange-furred female looked at his hand and raised her own to softly grab his. Knuckles softly gasped at this, watching Tikal lowering it as she played with his fingers silently.

'H-Holy-?! W-Wha-?! U-UM O-OKAY OKAY DON'T PANIC KNUCKLES JUST PLAY COOL JUST PLAY COOL!' Knuckles thought out loud. This was the first time he ever had intimate contact with a girl, feeling the foreign touch very different from anything else he experienced. He first noticed how small and soft her hands were compared to his, gulping as her fingers caressed his slightly rough ones and sometimes going over the two spiked protrusions above his hand. All in all, this caused his male instincts to heighten and his anxiety towards the opposite sex to skyrocket; however he stayed silent to not make a fool of himself.

"You know, if the Master Emerald had the power to bestow a wish upon anyone… I would like to leave this place and go somewhere that I can live in peace." Tikal quietly said, stopping her movements and simply holding his hand in hers. "As I said before, I don't have much of anything left for me here. Only the will of my grandmother's spirit keeps my hopes up and even though I care for the Chao and the first guardian, ensuring their peaceful livelihoods means I have to sacrifice my own well-being so they don't get hurt by anyone in the tribe."

Knuckles frowned at this yet nodded in understanding. "It's okay Tikal, heck just fighting all those guys at once I know what you mean. I'm sure you'll find some place out there and who knows, maybe the Master Emerald can grant your wish?"

A small giggle was emitted from the smaller echidna of this. "I hope so. It's that or convincing all the Chao and Chaos to move somewhere far away, though that would mean death and I don't want that on them."

The red guardian sighed, his nervousness going away as he was starting to get used to the peach-colored girl's hold. A comfortable silence filled the air as they sat there looking at the ground, Knuckles' hand still in Tikal's grasp. For the latter however she was aware of what she was doing.

'He is very different from the other males in the tribe. Even though he's from a different timeline I can't help but… feel strange. He's just like me in wanting peace and tranquility, along with neglecting violence and war. Huh, not only that but his hand… he does have the warrior's training but from what I've seen, he uses it as a last resort. Still… I feel protected with him here… Knuckles…' Tikal's train of thought went on as her eyes dazed a bit and her grasp got a bit tighter. Knuckles felt it but didn't do anything, the nervousness coming back but not as bad.

"CHAO!"

Both jumped and looked at one another flustered and shocked, immediately letting go as their silence was interrupted. They looked away in embarrassment, a red hue covering their faces. Knuckles recovered first and looked at a single floating Chao looking at him curiously.

"Hey little guy, are you lost or something?" Knuckles asked. The Chao titled its head cutely and still looked at him with the same expression. It then floated closer to him and moved around his head, like if it was looking for something interesting out of the red guardian. Tikal giggled at the display, Knuckles still watching it in confusion.

"Chao Chao!" the small blue creature let out. Knuckles however was dumbfounded. "Uh what was that?"

Tikal suppressed another giggle. "He's asking for you to pet it Knuckles."

"Oooh well why didn't you say so hehe." Knuckles reached up with his good hand and placed it on its head, rubbing it. "CHAO!" the creature cheered and nuzzled further into it.

"I take it that you don't understand them, but that's alright since in your time they don't exist anymore." Tikal said and sighed after. "They're wonderful creatures that lift your spirits no matter what. Since they're primarily babies they have that big curiosity to know a lot about things depending on what they see. For this little one, it seems to have taken a liking to you as well."

GROWL!

"… and just like you it's also hungry hehe." Tikal smiled. She then reached to the side and grabbed a vine of grapes she got during a break in their long conversation, giving it to Knuckles. "Just feed him this."

Knuckles nodded and plucked off one of the grapes, holding it out to the Chao. It looked at it strangely at first and sniffed it, cautiously taking a bite. Not a moment too soon did the small being did several backflips with a cheerful expression. "CHAO CHAO!"

"See, he likes it." Tikal said happily. Knuckles grunted in approval and fed it another grape, doing this several times until the vine ran out of them to which the Chao was content, rubbing its belly with a smile.

"These Chao aren't that half bad. They would actually make good company at the altar besides the other animals that are normally in the jungle." the red echidna explained.

"Oh some do go to the altar. They mainly stay in the garden however but those that do go there either play with Chaos or want to leave the garden for a bit to enjoy more of the outside." Tikal stated. Knuckles grinned and tickled the Chao's belly, a laugh coming out of it. "Well at least I get to experience it here and I'm kinda glad the Master Emerald sent me here."

Tikal smiled at this, feeling her heart beat faster at the sight. 'You look like a wonderful person, just like my grandmother. Not only that, but if… you and me… no, stop thinking that Tikal!' she thought, a small frown appearing on her face.

"W-Woah what's going on?!"

The female echidna looked up to see the Chao next to Knuckles beginning to glow. A gasp came out of her as the two see the being become covered in light.

"CHAAOOO!"

With a cry, the body of the creature began transforming noted by it's head morphing downward with several spikes drooping. It's 'hands' became more circular and larger in shape while its main body became a bit bulkier. Eventually the light died down and the Chao itself was revealed, only it was completely different to which Knuckles was flabbergasted.

The Chao looked almost exactly like him! Dreadlock red quills ran down its head and the red fur covering it matched the emerald guardian's own. The crest mark on its chest also matched Knuckles' very own and just like him, its hands mimicked his own spiked ones. It was a bit bigger as well and above it, a small red star shaped symbol floated above its head.

"No way it looks just like me?!" Knuckles was amazed at this, raising its hand to touch it to which the Chao responded with another nuzzle. "H-How is this-?"

"It took a great liking to you that it suddenly transformed." Tikal got out of her stunned recovery and explained. "When a Chao's friendship is strong enough with a person, it begins to take in the physical and mental traits of said person and become a Chao-like copy of them."

Knuckles felt the Chao began to punch his large palm with a grin on its face. "Well this is a big surprise but he does fit the bill just like me hehe." he said. Tikal grinned at this. "Well this is pretty extraordinary since you just met it as well. I believe it was observing you from afar and noticed how kind and strong you are."

"Well if I wasn't injured then I would show him strong." Knuckles smirked.

"I think he knows how strong you are based on what he sees in you. It still is surprising that it transformed this quick however, but nonetheless it's happy that it took on your traits." Tikal gladly said.

"CHAO!"

Another yet higher pitched voice came from behind Tikal. She turned around with the other two looking as well and noticed another Chao floating there as well, however this one was also different.

Peach-colored fur covered all over it with dreadlock quills running down as well. It had a jeweled headpiece and necklace around it with a few wrappings on its quills, arms and legs. It was smaller in size as well and instead of a star symbol above it, it had a moon-shaped one.

"CHAO!" the newcomer cheered and floated over to Tikal, rubbing its face on her own to which the female echidna laughed. "Oh I almost forgot about you!" she reached her hand onto it and petted it, the Chao squealing in joy. "This is my Chao. She transformed to mimic my own traits and unlike yours, mine took some time to bond with because she was very shy at the start."

"Huh, that's pretty interesting. The more I see it the more I'm glad I got know more about the Chao." Knuckles lowered his hand from his own to look at her Chao. "It does look pretty cute."

The orange Chao blushed and hid its face with its arms. Knuckles was too focused on how it was expressing itself to realize that his words made a great impact to Tikal herself who was completely red and stunned.

"O-Oh is that so?" she stuttered, looking down at her hands in nervousness. Knuckles wasn't aware of this and kept going. "Yeah, it's really tiny and cute."

Tikal's face turned a greater shade of red, her Chao curling up a bit more from the compliment. Knuckles noticed then and was confused. "Hey is it alright? She looks like she has a fever." he said.

"U-Um no s-she d-doesn't, just s-shy like I-I said." was her reply. Knuckles was still dumbfounded then looked back at her. "Are YOU okay though?"

"Y-Yes I a-am! J-Just a l-long d-day that's i-it!" the orange echidna said, regaining her composure after letting out a sigh to calm herself. "You know, I think we all had a long day and it's getting late. You'll need to rest as well so you can heal properly too."

Knuckles was still muddled from this but simply shrugged. "Alright that's fine, I mean we did talk for some time so I'm ready to turn in for the night."

"Okay let me just set things up while you wash yourself because I need to put a new wrap on your shoulder." Tikal said. The red guardian nodded and began getting up, noticing his Chao ascending to his shoulder height and pumping its fist. "CHAO!"

"Hehe alright looks like I'll be going off to dreamland little guy. You take care of yourself with the others and protect them like I do with the Master Emerald." Knuckles said with a fist out. The red Chao yipped and fist bumped him as he floated over to his other brethren in the distance.

"CHAO!"

It stopped however, hearing the orange Chao float up to him and levitating a few inches away from it. The two echidnas watched in wonder at this as the orange one looked at the red one in awe.

"Ch-chao chao?" the peach-colored being muttered to the larger one. A smirk came from the bulkier Chao and raised a spiked fist in the air. "CHAO!" was its reply.

"You know what they're saying?" Knuckles asked Tikal.

"It looks like she wants to do something she's seen the other day when she was out near the altar with him." the smaller of the two replied. They looked back at the pair and noticed the orange one getting closer to the red one. "C-Chao…?"

The mini-Knuckles lookalike gave a confused expression at the other's wording. It's violet oval eyes suddenly became very wide, feeling the softest sensation ever. For a few seconds, the orange Chao delivered a sweet and short kiss to the red Chao, soft blue eyes watching him then retreating and hiding its face in embarrassment.

Bewilderment was on the Knuckles-Chao as he stared at the Tikal-Chao. However he shook his head and slightly shaking, raised its small arm to the smaller of its kind. The orange one peeked through its arms and looked at his, eyes widening at the gesture in which the male Chao was looking away awkwardly.

"C-Chao?" the red Chao asked.

"C-Chao…? CHAO CHAO!" the orange Chao squealed, flying towards him with a hug. The slightly bigger Chao was shocked, then let out a cheeky grin as he returned the hug. The two then moved away a bit and watched one another happily, floating away towards the others hand-in-hand as the shapes above their heads turned into hearts.

…

…

…

Knuckles and Tikal were absolutely frozen. If the temperature of the sun was considered deathly hot, then the pair of echidna's own would've been way above that. Their muzzles were a dark hue of crimson, purple and cerulean eyes stretched out as far as possible, and mouths hanging open. It lasted a few seconds and not one of the two dared to look at the other, knowing the extreme awkwardness they would feel seeing something that resembled both of them do something like that.

Eventually though did the atmosphere become a bit more settling with Knuckles slightly shaking his head. Without a word he slowly got up and made his way over to the lake, Tikal's aloofness leaving her as well. She watched the emerald guardian go towards the lake and silently raised her hand, but stopped herself and stayed silent. Her expression was of worry and a bit of longing, hoping that what the Chao did wouldn't affect their new friendship. However all she could do was sigh and look down dejectedly, getting up a bit later to take a small walk while she waited for him.

Half an hour later…

Knuckles bit off some wrapping as he covered his healing wound with fresh white fabric. It had stopped bleeding and luckily didn't seep through the bandage, realizing that the cream she put on him was working well. The emerald guardian let out a bit of air as he looked around, seeing that Tikal hasn't come back from wherever she went. He may be dumb but he wasn't that dumb to know why she would be taking this long.

'She might've probably gone back home. It's better though so I can finally be at peace and calm myself.' Knuckles thought. He looked up at the sky to see that it was mainly black with several stars shining in the sky; evening has fallen upon the land to which the male echidna prepared for it and created a small fire with some wood he found after his bath. The Master Emerald taught him well on how to survive and he knew that things like this were essential.

Knuckles got closer to the fire and felt its warmth, feeling a bit of the ambient air becoming chilly but not too much that he'd get frostbite or something. His whole life he stayed outside without a shelter in either rain or extreme heat, and not once did he ever complain about wanting a roof over his head. He was content with whatever nature threw at him and for the red echidna, it only made him stronger both physically and mentally.

He was there for a bit until he noticed the flames dying out as the majority of the bark started turning pitch black. It wasn't of concern to Knuckles knowing that he would have to go to sleep. Fortunately he settled with moving onto the small island in the lake so intruders wouldn't come unnoticed. The splashing of water would alert him and the only ones he knew that would come to the island would be the Chao but even then, they're just infants and wouldn't be able to harm him… maybe annoy him though.

Blowing a bit into the small pile of burnt wood to release a small amount of ember, Knuckles gave out a yawn and started laying down onto the soft patch of grass he's on. Since he can't use both his arms as a makeshift pillow he settled with using the small incline that was present on the island to elevate himself a bit. As something to cover himself with, well he has been guarding the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald out in the elements for such a long time that the cold doesn't affect him anymore.

His eyes wandered the night sky in which the scenery began putting his mind at ease. It also helped him to organize his thoughts on what he'll be doing the next day in order to go back to his own time.

'Before I can go to the Master Emerald I have to find out what caused the tribe to be wiped out.' Knuckles grunted as he searched his thoughts more, focusing on the chieftain he met in the arena. 'I'm sure that guy has something to do with it, and I'll stick to the plan I said earlier today and find out what his next move is.'

SNAP!

Knuckles bolted up in less than a second from the noise. His eyes scanned the surroundings, prepared to strike even though he's still injured and exhausted.

"K-Knuckles…?"

The emerald guardian's eyes widened as he saw a silhouette walk closer to him, revealing the female echidna that was with him earlier.

"T-Tikal? W-What are you doing here?" he asked.

"W-Well I was taking a walk until I realized that you didn't have anything to keep warm, so I went to my home and grabbed a covering. I only have one unfortunately so if you don't mind sharing." Tikal answered. Knuckles nodded to her on that. "Oh well that's fine I don't mind i- WAIT SHARING?!"

The orange-furred female nodded slightly blushing. "Y-Yeah, I figured you'd need some company tonight."

"N-No it's fine it's fine! Y-You can go back to your home and rest there, I c-can take care of myself from now but I do t-thank you for your help!" he stuttered a bit. Tikal looked at the ground, stricken by what he said. "O-Oh, o-okay…" she choked, the first sniffle being heard.

Knuckles saw this and shook his palms. "OKAY OKAY YOU CAN STAY!" he yelled out, then clasping his mouth to realize he was being loud again. "I-I mean… sure, I don't mind your company."

Tikal gave out another sniffle and nodded, walking over and lying down beside him as she draped the covering over him and her as well. The two simply stared up at the night sky, not saying anything. Knuckles was glad that she came back but at the same time it made him think about the Chao's actions. Tikal was thinking similar thoughts as well and was just as nervous as he was, only enjoying his presence near her.

"S-So, how did you get on the island without swimming?" Knuckles asked her.

"Oh I flew here. My grandmother taught me when I was little and said that when I learned to fully master it, I can be free for as long as I am with the wind." Tikal responded softly. Knuckles nodded to this and didn't look at her yet, the awkwardness still dominant in the air.

"W-Why did you move here on the island?" she questioned this time. The red echidna stayed silent for a bit, continuing to look at the stars. "… I wanted to have some time to my thoughts. That's it." he muttered.

"Is it on how you're planning to get back to your time?" the orange echidna said. A nod was her response. "Yeah."

Both became silent after that. Violet and blue eyes scanned the night sky as the stars twinkled and glowed in the endless distance, all of them in several sizes and luminosities. It wasn't an awkward moment however as the pair felt at ease.

…

…

…

"It feels like you're in a hurry to go back. From what you told me, you've been wanting to see others of our kind and now you have the chance but you're not enjoying yourself." Tikal slightly turned to her side and watched him in concern. "Why is that?"

Knuckles didn't meet her gaze and continued to look up, a calm yet serious expression on his face. "To be honest… I really don't know. I should be happy that I'm no longer the last one here but… I'm not."

The male echidna sighed softly and closed his eyes. "All my life I have wished that there were others of my kind so I wouldn't have to carry the burden of being a protector. Ever since I was little I've wanted to go out and explore the world and meet new people, but a strange calling told me that I must guard the Master Emerald with my life and that it was my destiny."

A small pause filled the air, Knuckles opening his eyes again. "A moment like this made me feel like I don't have to worry about protecting the emeralds as I know there is someone here fulfilling that duty. I should be happy that a weight lifted off my shoulders and that I get the chance to meet other echidnas that are alive and well. I could neglect going back to my time and stay here with the tribe and start a new life, maybe settle down and actually have a family."

Tikal clenched her hands a bit more at the last part, feeling a bit hopeful but she continued listening.

"Though all that's gone now that I'm basically a traitor to even my own kind, just for letting an innocent life escape. I've also sensed that they aren't the people I'd expect; cold, ruthless, power-hungry and… just not what I envisioned. I also hurt several of them so it only made everything worse and if I go back to the tribe, then whatever hope I have left will come in my death."

Yet another pause filled the ambience, Tikal not saying a word and being patient with whatever Knuckles wanted to voice. "I expected a peaceful tribe where we just do our thing and rely on whatever nature throws at us. Sleeping, eating, getting food, building, stuff like that and they would welcome anyone with open arms. I didn't expect getting a spear thrown at me without mercy." the emerald guardian explained, stretching a bit to get himself comfortable. "I've seen how the people were like when I was carried in a cage: angry, afraid, hateful, and heartless. Just by looking at them I wasn't wanted and that made me realize… maybe I was destined to be alone in my time, fulfilling my lifelong task of protecting the Master Emerald. That is why I want to leave quickly so that I can live the life I never wanted, but if it's to avoid a life here of impending death waiting for me then so be it."

…

…

…

"*sniff*"

Knuckles looked towards her, hearing the sound coming from her as he watched a saddened expression on her face. The gentle glow of the stars made her ocean-colored eyes shine more which entranced him, though what kept him from being fully embraced by them were the moisture building up under them.

"Y-You're wrong..." Tikal muttered out tearfully.

Knuckles was shocked at this. He didn't expect her to tear up as he basically told her this before, but instead of panicking he remained there motionless. "W-What are you-?"

"N-Not everyone is cruel and heartless. T-There's… me for example…" she said quietly.

"O-Oh well yeah I know that, but I still don't understand?" Knuckles asked her. Another sniffle was his response.

"W-What I mean is… you said all the things that I have been wanting and feeling for my whole life. A peaceful society where us echidnas can laugh and play with one another as we help one another. There'd be no fighting, no war, no hurting others; just a tribe of peaceful people." Tikal wiped her eyes and clearing her throat. "I've been against my father's intentions for years and so far nothing has worked to make him change. The other people see me as a lunatic and I mainly spend my time at the altar where I'm accepted by the Chao and Chaos. My whole life was just waking up, going there and when night falls, go back and sleep. The same cycle every day."

Tikal clasped her hands close to her chest and closed her eyes. "I've prayed for a different life to the Master Emerald. Anything to get away from it all and while the Chao and Chaos lift my spirits up… it's not the same knowing that just like you, I'm also the last of my kind in a sense. Wanting peace and quiet, only hearing the sounds of nature around you, and simply making sure that those close to me are well."

Knuckles was speechless at all this. So there is hope for him… and that hope rested in the female echidna right in front of him. Without thinking he used his good arm to grasp one of her hands. Tikal gasped, looking at him surprise with a blush. "K-Knuckles what-?!"

"Come with me."

The orange-furred girl looked at the male protector in shock. "W-Wait what…?"

"Come with me. Come to my time, and you'll start a new life. It's just me, the Master Emerald and the land around. I mean I'm the only one there but it's peaceful and quiet. You can get away from all of this and start fresh." Knuckles grasped her hand tighter, the latter doing the same. "I can't convince you to do it, but if you do, you'll be free of war and suffering to begin anew."

Tikal watched him, thinking that it was all a dream. Tears fell from her eyes as her mouth slowly trembled upward, a smile making its way onto her face. "R-R-Really…?"

"Yeah, and you'll get to meet my friends as they call it hehe. They're nice and won't hurt a fly. I guarantee it." Knuckles stated.

He was not expecting her to glomp him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she cried into his shoulder. Knuckles was stunned at this then regained his composure, smiling as well and rubbing her back with his good arm.

"T-Thank you Knuckles…" Tikal said to him.

"Hehe no problem Tikal. Anything to help." the male said. His vision started getting blurry, noticing that his energy was heavily depleted as a yawn escaped him. "I think we can… talk more in the morning…"

Tikal pulled back and giggled, looking at him starting to doze off. "Yeah… let's get some rest."

Knuckles gave a last nod settling further onto the soft grass and closing his violet eyes, his vision of the smaller echidna smiling gently at him fading. The end result was light snores emanating from him.

Tikal couldn't help but get flustered at how close they were, finally noticing the proximity. Her arms slowly left his neck… but they didn't leave him, settling onto his chest. A small gulp went down her throat, scooting closer to him and slightly nuzzling.

'This is nice… so warm. So… good…' she thought and let out a yawn of her own. She looked up again to Knuckles' face, smiling at how peaceful he looked. 'This is what you meant grandmother, someone that's like me out there. Someone… yeah… you're right.'

With another scoot, her body was almost pressing against his. More warmth coursed through her body just by being near him, closing her eyes giddily and sighing happily.

'Thank you Knuckles. Even if we just met, I won't disappoint you.' was the last thing until sleep overtook her as well.

The next day…

WHOOSH!

A burst of air shot off from a gloved fist thrown out quickly. Knuckles retreated his arm, looking at it as he flexed it. "Alright I'm good to go!" he said, throwing several more punches.

Tikal watched smiling from a behind him while she tended to the Chao that were around her. "Looks like his arm is all healed up." she asked herself, petting several of the blue creatures to which some giggled at the gesture.

With a strong uppercut into the air which created a small shockwave, the emerald guardian grunted in approval and looked back at the smaller echidna. "I feel way better now! Thank you so much!"

A blush settled onto her face as she shyly looked down smiling. "I-It's no problem Knuckles. T-Thank you for everything as well."

Knuckles grinned and walked back to her, the Chao surrounding and observing him. The red Chao from before came up to him and playfully punched his once-injured arm.

"H-Hey go easy now, I just got this patched up hehe." Knuckles chuckled at his smaller familiar.

"CHAO!" the red infant being said, mimicking his earlier actions.

"Hehe he really did take after you. It's really adorable." Tikal sheepishly said. Her orange Chao floated towards them and met up with the red one of her kind. "CHAO!" it yipped upon seeing him and immediately hugging. Both echidnas turned red and looked away shyly.

"S-Still not used to that." Knuckles scratched his head nervously. Tikal peered back at him, lips trembling in embarrassment. "I-It's q-quite alright. T-They're just being f-friends." she replied playing with her fingers.

Eventually the Chao began leaving one by one to start their day of playtime and any other activities; their familiar Chao also leaving though hand and hand with one another. After another awkward moment did they sigh and looked back at each other more seriously.

"So do you have a plan on how to get to the altar without being spotted?" Tikal asked him.

"Yeah, I planned it out last night while I was bathing." Knuckles began, rubbing his chin in thought. "Though it's not the best plan and it'll probably get me captured or killed."

"What?!"

Tikal immediately grasped Knuckles' hands. "How is it going to get you killed?!" she panicked.

The red echidna sighed. "I knew you'd react like that so just hear me out. Instead of going straight to the altar… I want to hopefully rewrite the timeline."

Tikal's shocked expression turned into a confused one. "Wait what?"

"I want to save our people. Even though almost all of them are blinded by your father's ambitions, like you I believe there are some that are just like us." Knuckles said, grasping her hands a little tighter. "If I can figure out what your father is up to that caused our people to all die and left me as the last one in my timeline, then I can stop his plans and put an end to his rule so our people can exist in my time."

"S-So w-what are you going to do?" she stuttered. The female echidna so far wasn't liking where this was going.

"I'm… going into the temple and find out what his main goal is while you wait for me at the altar." Knuckles explained. Tikal gasped at this. "NO YOU CAN'T IT'S TOO-."

She was stopped by his gloved hand upon her lips, wide blue eyes looking silently at his calm expression. "Tikal, I have to or otherwise I'd be leaving here only saving one of my kind. It wouldn't be fair for the others that resist his evil intentions that can't fight back. It wouldn't be fair also for the Chao, so if I want to get a chance at saving our village then I have to do this."

Knuckles finished explaining all this as he slowly lowered his hand, his gaze softly locked onto her saddened one. "It wouldn't be fair for your grandmother to see that if she's watching not just you but also me not saving others, then her wisdom would've ceased to exist the moment our people died."

Tikal gasped at this. He was right. It would be selfish if they just went straight to the altar and asked the Master Emerald to return to his time. They would've never known what caused the village to go extinct nor would they stop her father's conquest for power. She watched Knuckles in silent awe, seeing the determination in his eyes which made her see not only a courageous male but also see a resemblance of her grandmother. This outsider, one of her kind who's like her, wants to risk his life to save others whom he never met. While she's a pacifist in never wanting to resort to fighting, he does it to defend what is good. All this made her heart flutter and knowing that she had no way of convincing him otherwise, simply nodded.

"O-Okay, s-so how do we do this?" Tikal said to him as Knuckles nodded afterwards.

"First off you'll go to the altar and check if there are any guards there keeping watch, while I go to the temple. If there aren't any wait for me there while I figure out what he's up to and hopefully stop whatever his plan is. I'll then head to the altar and we can finally ask the Master Emerald to take us to our time. Hopefully by seeing what he's planning we can prevent it so that when we return to my time, our people and the Chao can be living in peace." Knuckles explained.

A set of tears swelled up under Tikal's eyes as she sniffed. "O-Okay then, but p-please be c-careful."

Knuckles moved his hands up and wiped away the moisture under her eyes. "I will, and I am very thankful for all that you've done with healing me and making sure I was taken care of. And not just that… but for being a good friend." he smirked. The peach-colored girl blushed and returned a smile, closing her eyes and nestling her face in his palms. "I-It was no problem, and thank you as well…"

The emerald guardian nodded one more time then released his hold on her, stepping back and turning around as he picked up a pair of metal gauntlets he had next to him. Tikal saw this in confusion. "What are those?"

"Oh these?" Knuckles said looking back, placing one of them over his gloved hand. "These are shovel claws. I used them to escape the arena back there and they help me dig faster in the dirt."

Placing the other pair on his other hand, he gave Tikal a thumbs up as he crouched down. "Remember, head to the altar and I'll meet you there. I promise I'll come to you." was the last thing he said before jumping into the air and rapidly punching into the earth, disappearing within.

Tikal gulped and shook a bit. 'I hope you keep that promise. I don't want to know what happens to you… if you don't come back at all. Please Chaos, please make sure he comes back.'

"CHAO!"

The female echidna heard two high-pitched cries and turning around, saw their two own Chao coming to her in concern. She smiled petting both of them. "Oh it's you two. Do you want something?" she asked. Both of them looked at each other then pointed at her, surprising Tikal.

"W-Wait, d-do you want to come with me?" she said. Both nodded happily as hearts formed over their heads.

Tikal smiled widely at this and hugged both tightly. "Oh you two are cute! Alright then let's head to the altar and find Chaos, but we might have to sneak past any guards so be on the lookout." she said. The red and orange beings chipped yet again as the trio began running towards an exit that led out of the garden.

"Please Knuckles, come back to me."

Near the Mystic Temple…

"So did you hear about that one guy that took out half our men in the arena yesterday?" a deep voice said.

"Yeah I heard about it. Wished I was there to see it but sadly the chieftain had to keep me on duty here." another voice gruffly replied.

Two guards stood at the front of the stairs leading up to the temple with spears in hand. One guard had light pink fur with several swirl tattoos on him and with a chubby build, while the other was taller than him yet more lean and displayed triangle designs on his dark pink fur. They wore the same warrior clothing as their brethren which included snake pictures and tribal patterns. Right now they were conversing with one another with the area around them devoid of any other sort of life besides any bugs either crawling or flying about.

"So why would Pachacamac have us guard today? It's clearly our day off and we should be with our wives you know that?" the taller echidna asked his friend.

"He said that the traitor escaped and could be anywhere so we have to look out for him. I doubt he'll be coming to the temple though since he'll be in a heap of trouble if he did." the shorter one replied.

"Heh, really doubting it too. There's no way he can get past the traps anyway so we should really be spending our time somewhere else. What do you say we do just that?"

"And get executed by the chieftain? No thanks, I plan on living a while longer." the shorter echidna grunted. "You know how he's like when one disobeys him. I mean did you hear how he did away with the past guard who didn't follow orders?"

"What'd he do?" his friend asked. The chubby echidna smirked. "He skinned him alive and threw him in a batch of boiling water with his legs chained up to rocks. The bastard died a painful death and all he did was leave his post for a bit."

The leaner warrior gulped with wide eyes. "T-That's terrible!"

"Ain't it? I'm sure he's done worse but if you want to stay alive, just follow what he tells you and you'll fine." the smaller echidna replied. A nod from his taller friend was his response.

"Good, now just keep an-."

TREMBLE TREMBLE!

The earth started shaking as the two guards almost lost their balance. Surprised expressions were on their faces with clenched teeth and grunts coming out of them as they rode out the seismic activity to which after a few seconds, did the shaking fade away and the earth was still again.

"What the heck was that?!" the taller echidna yelled out. The smaller warrior regained his balance and huffed out. "I dunno, but it's probably just a quake so don't worry about."

"That's good to hear, so you got anything to talk about?"

"… no, not really. Now shut up and just guard."

…

…

…

An arm shot out of the ground next to one of the walls of the temple. Emerging from the earth, Knuckles grunted and shook his head to clear off dirt as he heaved himself out of the hole.

"Looks like I got lucky and wasn't spotted. Now then I just need to get up there." the emerald guardian said looking up the rising structure. Pumping his fists together he punched the wall and noticing his spiked knuckles embedded in them, he raised his other arm higher and began climbing.

He got halfway up the temple and stopped to look back, seeing how high he was and scanning the area for any guards. He looked towards the entrance at the bottom and noticed two of them, but their backs were facing him so he was right on not getting spotted. With a grin he continued looking around and saw several smaller temples and buildings which housed the other echidnas most likely.

"It does look a lot different than in my time." Knuckles said to himself, his smirk going down and a flat line appeared. "People being ruled by a tyrant against their own will and such but don't worry, I'll save you."

Turning back around he looked up and saw the temple entrance, seeing another pair of guards standing at the doors. "Had a feeling, but…" Knuckles began patting the rocky surface of the structure, pushing against it on certain areas. "If I remember the last time I came here in my time, then the secret entrance should be-."

His sentence was cut off as he felt a square section of the surface where his hand was go in. Instantly did a bit of trembling resonated on the wall he was on and right next to him did part of the wall move aside to reveal an entryway.

"Right here hehe." Knuckles grinned as he entered it and being greeted by darkness. Fortunately he came prepared and took out a handmade torch along with two rocks. Smacking them together lightly, sparks came off of it and landed on the wooden tip and causing to ignite an ember.

The emerald guardian smiled once again and looked at his surroundings. Several drawings of history were shown on the walls along with snake designs indicating them being worshipped. Others told stories passed down from previous generations with some displaying hunting, fighting and cultural events. Knuckles was in awe at all of this, getting to see it undamaged and not withering away compared to his time. This was a chance to learn more about his people as he grazed a palm over the writings. "This would help me learn more about the past… but no, I came here to stop him."

Knuckles swayed his torch and looked around for an exit, and luckily he found one which led to a corridor that was pretty narrow. Good thing he wasn't too bulky or otherwise he'd be stuck, and inhaling a bit of air Knuckles shuffled himself through with the torch lighting his path.

'I should be inside the walls. In my time this part of the room didn't exist so I won't be noticed.' he thought to himself. He kept going forward but then stopped, hearing faint footsteps getting louder to his position. 'Crap they're close by.'

"… make sure the doors are kept sealed so if the traitor stops by he won't get through, also tell Xiolt to ready the chem…" the voice of a guard passed by Knuckles and faded away. He let out a silent sigh of relief and continued forward.

Several minutes passed to which the inner walls led him in several directions. Since he's been in the temple during his time several times he has memorized the layout to which certain rooms and areas are, which worked to his advantage. His main goal was to get to the top but he knew that there were several traps and puzzle rooms he had to avoid; he didn't want to waste much time solving mirror areas and avoid inflamed obstacles.

Eventually the corridor inside the wall led to a dead end and Knuckles grunted irritably. "Looks like this is it." he muttered. A beam of light shined through his right and he looked to notice a hole there. Peering through it, he saw a large area with a couple of altars holding snake statues with some of the altars spewing flames. He took notice of the small wind he felt through the hole along with the slightly orange sky up above.

'This must be it! Now I just have to get out of the wall carefully.' Knuckles thought raising his arm to punch through it. Unfortunately his fist met the other side of the narrow corridor and due to how close the two walls are to his body, it restricted his movement.

'Damnit! Now I can't get out!' The red guardian undid his fist and slapped the wall in front of him… which instantly opened, and he fell out comically.

"Ow!" he barked, getting up from the floor and rubbing his face. Shaking his head he opened his eyes and saw that he was indeed at the top, the sun hovering slightly above the horizon in the distance. "Alright! Now I just need to-."

"Find me? Well you're too late traitor."

Knuckles heard a snap and instantly a large cage fell on him. "What?!" he let out grasping onto the bars and throwing a punch. Unfortunately it was more durable than the other one he was in and didn't dent at all. "Why won't it-."

"Break? Hehe well it's used to hold the strongest of creatures. It is made out of a rare indestructible stone so there's no way you'll be getting out." the voice said once again. Knuckles followed it to which he turned around and saw Pachacamac standing there with an evil grin on his face.

"Let me out you bastard!" Knuckles yelled at him.

Pachacamac simply walked up to him and shoved his spear at his throat, the emerald guardian leaning back a bit as the sharp tip dug into his neck. "Oh are we afraid now? Well good because I'll make sure you die a painful death you scum!"

Knuckles growled. "Like that'll ever happen. I'll take you down and free my people!"

The chieftain laughed at this and pushed his spear further, Knuckles clenching his teeth feeling the stone piercing his skin a bit. "Your people? They despise you after what you did to my men! Do you think that by stopping me you'll earn their trust?!"

"If stopping you will end this crazy reign of yours then I will!" the modern-day echidna stated.

"Heh if you can even get out of this cage but no, you're trapped like a rat." Pachacamac narrowed his eyes and gave a vicious stare. "And I'll make sure you'll die like one."

Knuckles chuckled at his words. "Not much of a threat you idiot. Let me out and we'll fight like true warriors or are you just a coward yourself?"

The chieftain growled and pulled his spear back. "Once I achieve my conquest of ruling the world, you'll be the first to perish under me!"

"Oh really, how are you gonna conquer it? There's probably other villages out there that are stronger than you are and will beat you anyway." Knuckles mocked. "There's no chance that'll ever happen!"

Pachacamac stared at him irked. "It would've been faster if you joined me. You could have received glory and wealth that none would ever dream of! You would have a place here in the tribe rather than live like the lowlifes that are scattered in the village! But no… you're just like my sorry excuse for a daughter."

SMASH!

"You… take… that… BACK!" Knuckles snarled. He punched the bar so hard that it actually managed to dent. The chieftain was surprised at this, but his expression returned to an angry one. "What do you know about her? Like she's worth my time so I won't speak of it."

"BURN IN HELL YOU SICK PRICK!" Knuckles yelled, clenching at the bars and giving an icy glare. Pachacamac simply chuckled and turned around. "As I told you, you could've basked in greatness but just like her you don't seek power. Therefore I will find it through the only other source here."

"And what would that be?" Knuckles seethed through his teeth. Pachacamac turned his head and grinned. "Since you'll be dying after my complete control of the world I might as well tell you. I will take the power of the Chaos Emeralds AND the Master Emerald!"

Knuckles gasped at this. "… N-No, y-you wouldn't…"

"Looks like I now know where you got your power from, and yes I know about them so this time I will take them from the altar and use them to complete my conquest." Pachacamac looked at his hand and turned it into a fist. "With the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald bent to my will, the Knuckles Clan will be the dominant clan in the entire world with me as its leader! No one will be able to stop me! NO ONE!"

Knuckles tried getting out of the cage but it wouldn't budge. "I WON'T LET YOU!"

"SHUT IT YOU WHELP! Now I'll just leave you here and once I have their power in my hands, YOU'LL be burning in hell once I'm done with you!" Pachacamac gave an evil laugh as he started walking away and disappearing through an opened door.

"GET BACK HERE!" Knuckles yelled at the top of his lungs. 'I GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE! TIKAL!'

At the Emerald Altar…

A sigh flowed into the air.

"Knuckles, where are you?"

The voice of Tikal made its presence known as the female echidna stared at the large village from a distance. She currently was sitting next to the Master Emerald which shined its radiant glory upon the area, but it didn't do much to distract her from her worries.

"He should be here by now, it's been some time." she spoke softly to herself. Indeed she was right, it has been hours since they both departed from one another on their tasks. The sun halfway setting into the horizon indicated that the day was almost over and so far the guardian from modern time was nowhere near the altar yet.

"CHAO!"

Two small voices yipped behind her. She turned her head to see their Chao familiars look at her in worry, more so the Knuckles-Chao given the distraught look on his face. Tikal smiled sadly and petted the red being. "Do not worry young one, he'll be here… I hope."

A large silhouette then revealed itself from behind the emerald and walked towards the three. Upon the sunlight hitting it, a large blue creature made of water with green eyes and a pink brain within its head was shown. Its body was similar to the echidna tribesmen anatomy, but its limbs were longer with three-fingered hands and two-toed feet. Its silent gaze stared at Tikal who in turn only nodded.

"Thank you for tending to the Chao Chaos, I couldn't ask for a better friend than you." she said. Chaos merely nodded and went to stand beside her, the two watching up ahead at the distant temple.

"When grandmother passed away you were the only one I can rely upon. As the guardian of the emeralds and protector of the Chao, I can't thank you enough for bestowing us with peace and prosperity." Tikal explained with a smile, though it went away as a saddened expression came. "If only my father would've followed what grandmother said then maybe none of this would've happened. But…"

She felt a long blue arm wrap around her shoulder as she looked at Chaos. It closed its eyes in a jolly expression and raised its other hand to point at her, then moved it to point at the temple. Tikal knew what it meant and she smiled, looking back towards the shrine. "If none of this happened, I would've never met him… he's kind and brave. Just like you grandmother..."

The sentient blue creature nodded once again and turned towards the Master Emerald. Tikal also watched it get closer to the gem and seeing Chaos raise its arms, felt the intense glow of the green jewel get brighter. She felt the radiant energy around her and while she was accustomed to it, she never got tired of experiencing the feeling. Closing her eyes to bask in its warmth, the Chao next to her also mimicked her gesture and smiled as well. After a few moments did the bright light fade and the Master Emerald returned to its normal state, Chaos lowering its arms and turning towards the trio.

Tikal opened her eyes and smiled. "I see, so there is still hope then."

Chaos nodded and once again pointed towards the temple. The peach-colored girl nodded and faced it as well. "I know Knuckles won't give up so we can't give up as well!"

"CHAO!" the two little beings also cheered… until the Tikal-Chao looked at the distance with curiosity. "Chao?"

"Hmm what is it little one?" Tikal asked her. Her mini familiar pointed towards the lush jungle up ahead and following her direction, Tikal's eyes widened in shock: A faint orange glow from within the trees was approaching the altar and the sounds of footsteps can be heard.

"CHAO CHAO!" both beings yelled in fear, hiding behind Tikal. She could only watch as the large glow got closer and closer, feeling an intense warmth flowing in the wind. From within the trees, dots of ember were seen arriving and carried by shadowed life forms. The footsteps themselves became loud and not only that, but the sounds of chatter was also heard meaning that they were discussing things amongst themselves. Tikal looked closer to fully see what was coming but unfortunately the sun has set and caused them be shrouded more into darkness. Fortunately did some of them come out of the trees out into the open…

… to reveal echidna warriors being led by her father.

'W-What's going on?' Tikal thought in surprise. Her shocked expression remained as she ran down the steps to meet the chieftain, the two Chao following her as well in curiosity. The army of echidnas continued to march towards the altar, torches and weapons in their hands being led by Pachacamac. The serious look on their faces meant that whatever order their leader gave them earlier, it must be carried out with no exception.

Pachacamac watched his daughter get to the bottom of the stairs and run towards him. He raised a hand, signaling his men as they all came to a complete stop. Tikal came up to him panting a bit. "W-What are you doing here father?" she asked.

"Step aside Tikal, none of this concerns." the chieftain demanded. The orange echidna shook her head however. "Please father, tell me why you brought everyone here?"

"I'll only ask you one last time: step aside, or you WILL get hurt." Pachacamac threatened. Another shake of her head was his response.

"Please father, just tell me what you need?" Tikal pleaded.

The older echidna leader pointed his spear at the Master Emerald. "That is what I'll be using to further my conquest. With the emerald's power I will be able to take over empires and rule the world under a new order! The Knuckles Clan will be the most powerful force in all the land!"

Tikal gasped at his plan. "N-No, you can't! The Master Emerald is sacred and should-!"

"ENOUGH! I DO NOT CARE IF IT'S SACRED OR NOT! I ONLY CARE ABOUT OUR PEOPLE PROSPERING SO GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Pachacamac shouted. Tikal trembled in fear at his order. Tears slowly came to her eyes and she felt the Chao behind her cling to her legs, also shaking in fright.

'What do I do? I can't fight, it's not in me. Please Chaos please tell me what I can do?' Tikal closed her eyes tightly, wishing that her father would reconsider. Suddenly an image of her and Knuckles flashed within her mind when they were at the garden. Knuckles grinned at her and gave a thumbs up in one of their talks.

'Knuckles... Yes, he wouldn't give up. He gives off courage and determination that even I can do. C'mon Tikal, be brave. Be brave… FOR HIM!'

Pachacamac's eyes widened in surprise along with some of the echidna warriors upfront. To them it was something they though they'd never see or it was something completely stupid: Peach-colored arms were instantly raised across, Tikal looking at them with an angry expression. The Chao behind her did the same thing, getting the motivation as well.

"You will not take the Master Emerald! I forbid it and if you had a heart father, you won't go through with this!" Tikal angrily stated, clenching her teeth. "Please, do not do this! Grandmother wouldn't want this!"

The chieftain was looking at her indifferent. His gaze was unreadable yet it was a good start for the female echidna in hoping he would change his ways…

"Men, march forward."

Back at the temple…

"GRAH!" Knuckles delivered another punch to the cage holding him. The result was an almost perfectly undamaged stone bar with a dent due to his earlier attack on it. The emerald guardian growled once again in frustration, seeing that none of his assaults were working on setting him free.

"This is hopeless! I've been in here far too long and I have to reach Tikal quickly!" Knuckles said to himself. He spun his arm again and gave the bar another haymaker. The harsh sound of the bar echoed in the chamber, but even though it caused a trembling effect on the environment it still wasn't enough to crack it.

"C'mon c'mon I have to get out of here! Think Knuckles THINK!"

Clenching his eyes Knuckles tried to think of an idea, but unfortunately he was out of options. Slamming another bar behind him he leaned onto the rocky cage and slid down to the slow, giving off an aggravated sigh. "I have to get out of here, Tikal is all by herself at the altar!"

The emerald guardian crossed his arms and buried his head in them. "I should've been better than this. To think I would be fooled by Eggman when he tricked me that Sonic would steal the emeralds only for that backstabber to use them for his own evil plans. This is no different." Another sigh escaped him, clenching his eyes as he felt moisture build up.

"Maybe… I deserve to be the last of my kind. What good will it do if I can't save my people from this cage, if I can't save Tikal. The one who understands me the most…" he whispered, raising his head slightly and opening his violet eyes to stare at the floor. His vision watched how it was different compared to the ruins in his time; more newer, undamaged, unprotected.

'THAT'S IT!' Knuckles yelled in his mind, getting up and almost facepalming himself. 'The cage keeps me trapped in here, but it doesn't have a floor to it which means…' Knuckles punched the ground with incredible strength, seeing it starting to crack. 'I CAN DO THIS!'

Raising his fists, Knuckles rapidly pummeled the stone ground with more cracks forming around it. However he wasn't aware of how fast they were being made and in one last aggressive strike, did it cave in and cause the red echidna to fall in.

"SHIT!" he yelled, descending towards the lower level and landing hard onto the pavement. With a grunt he opened his eyes in pain and saw the ambient light coming from the hole he made above him. A shadow soon loomed over and his vision cleared to see the cage beginning to fall as well.

Eyes widening he quickly rolled several times over, his arm almost getting caught under the hardened cage and trapping him once again. Dust and debris fell onto the structure and piled over it to become buried underneath. Knuckles watched this unfold and sighed in relief, getting up slowly and moving his limbs. "Good thing I've taken much more abuse than this. Now to get out of here!"

Knuckles then sprinted at high speeds through the corridors, following the path he memorized during the time he explored the temple within his own timeline. He avoided traps and passed through a couple of guards still stationed there, being an experienced treasure hunter teaching him well on how to use stealth. He may primarily rely on offensive tactics but at least he knows that when the situation matters, he must approach it carefully.

Turning a left corner while dodging a couple of arrows fired at him, Knuckles saw the gates to the entrance of the temple. 'Almost there!' he said in his mind as he sprinted quickly towards his, ducking a large double-sided axe swinging towards him. With a cry he raised his fist and punched through the gates, smashing the wooden barrier and severing it from their hinges.

Panting lightly, the red echidna looked around his surroundings and noticed it was dark out. "Crap I lost too much time!" he said, seeing that nighttime did indeed fall upon him and only the stars illuminated the sky. However he noticed a brighter luminescence ahead of him in the distance: an orange glow gave off at a tall structure in which he leaned more to take a closer look. Violet eyes widened at what it was, staring at the small glow of the Master Emerald surrounded by fire.

"NO!" Knuckles yelled, bolting forward and jumping into the air as he started gliding. Luckily the wind blew from behind him which increased his speed to which he covered more ground and passed through several huts and smaller temples. Upon reaching the outskirts of the village, his altitude decreased to the point where he almost touched the ground. Landing on his feet did he started running the rest of the way, about to enter the dense forest.

Only for a certain advisor to Pachacamac to block his way.

"YOU! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Knuckles barked, raising his fists for battle. The spiral-designed red echidna gave an emotionless expression yet didn't say anything. A spear was held in his hand yet he didn't point it towards him.

"Ever since I was little I wanted to be more than someone. Ever since Chieftain Pachacamac ascended to the throne did he see potential in me. Ever since that day that we met… did I enjoy more than I can dream of at the expense of others…" Tenoch explained.

"Like I care to hear your sob story! Now move it or else!" Knuckles once again demanded viciously. Tenoch sighed and raised his spear. "I have been by the chieftain's side for a while now and never did I disobey him. I did it to earn his trust so that we can grow the tribe into something more than lost souls. Now that all this is happening…"

Tenoch then moved aside and pointed his spear to the opposite direction. "You must be the one to stop all of this."

The emerald guardian watched in confusion. "And why should I trust you? You could just backstab me the moment I lower my guard."

Tenoch gave a small smirk. "I could, but from what I've seen and heard… you're our only hope. Please, save our people and the Master Emerald. We aren't strong enough to defeat him, but with you on our side we can give hope once again… just like how her grandmother wanted."

Knuckles was surprised at this. "H-How do you-."

"She's a clever young girl Knuckles. If you want to save her, you must do it now and fast." Tenoch said, pointing his spear further. "Now go, I'll follow once I get the resistance fighters together. Save the emeralds, save Tikal, and save our tribe."

Knuckles simply nodded and smiled, running towards the jungle and disappearing into the darkness. Tenoch smiled and dropped his spear. 'You were right m'lady, he's the one for you.'

SPLAT!

Droplets of red flew into the air, Tenoch's shocked face watching it as they fell towards the ground. Shaking and choking out breaths, he looked down slowly to see a spear coming out of his chest from behind. A moment after, the spear was violently pulled out from behind him as the male echidna fell towards the ground. Flashes of his memories sped through his mind until his vision went black, the light leaving his eyes with a pool of blood surrounding his body.

"Pitiful traitor." a voice came from behind the now dead Tenoch. A silhouette was seen and revealed the same echidna warrior that brought Knuckles in the cage to the arena. An icy glare with clenched fangs watched into the forest entrance as the warrior grasped his weapon tightly. "I'll take your life and have your head as my trophy. Once I do that, the chieftain will appoint me as supreme commander of his army! No longer will I sit at the bottom of the food chain, I will be the strongest warrior when I'm done with you!"

With that the echidna tribesman ran into the forest in pursuit.

Knuckles weaved through the forest at high speeds, red electricity flowing around his body as he ran. A line of crimson left behind him, dashing through the vegetation almost as quick as the Blue Blur himself in a hurry to get to the altar. The male echidna punched and tackled through several obstacles in order to get there faster, adrenaline shooting through his veins and the thought of Tikal in trouble putting his mind into overdrive. 'C'mon Knuckles faster faster!' he mentally yelled.

Bursting through an opening Knuckles found himself a short distance away from the steps leading to the altar, a gasp escaping him. Large flames covered several parts of the shrine as echidna warriors surrounded the structure, throwing torches of embers into it. The Chaos Emeralds remain perched onto the taller pillars with the Master Emerald still tucked in the center.

'Looks like I still made it after all, but-.' his thought process stopped, looking a few feet in front of him. His mind didn't focus on anything else rather than what was laid before him. Scratched and bruised orange fur presented itself to him, the fallen form of Tikal lying on the ground unconscious and not moving.

"TIKAL!" he shouted, running towards his friend. A twitch from her signified that she was still alive, also hearing some groans come out of her as she started moving. Luckily he got there in time and grasped her shoulders. "Are you okay?!"

More groans came out of the female echidna, raising her head to look at him. His heart broke at the sight of scratches upon her face with tears coming out of her ocean-blue eyes. His body trembled in both remorse and rage, wanting to pulverize those who did this to her.

"K-K-Knuc-ckles?..." she muttered, closing her eyes in pain. Knuckles slowly helped her up and used himself as support. "Easy there, take your time. What happened?..." he asked.

"M-My f-father… h-he b-brought e-every-one. T-They a-attacked t-the a-altar. T-They t-trampled m-me in the p-process." she choked out. "T-The Ch-Chao…"

Knuckles' eyes widened. "What happened to the Chao?!"

"CHAO!"

The emerald guardian heard two small voices above him. He looked up to see their Chao familiars descend upon them, both crying from what's happening. The Tikal-Chao clung onto the Knuckles-Chao tightly, both looking at him in sadness.

"I-I t-told them t-to g-get away t-to s-safety." Tikal looked up at them and smiled. "G-Good t-thing they l-listened…"

"Don't speak anymore. Rest now, and let me deal with this." Knuckles placed his arms under her and lifted, carrying the young echidna girl bridal style. "I'll take you somewhere safe and you stay there. I can't believe they did this to you." Knuckles began running away from the altar and to a more secluded area in the forest, the two Chao following. "I'll make them pay for what they did to you." he muttered, eyes looking ahead with venom and fangs showing.

Tikal couldn't focus too much on it and simply nuzzled his chest. 'Thank you.'

The four got to a small opening within the forest to which Knuckles placed her down next to a tree. The Chao came towards her and nuzzled her for comfort.

"Okay I'll leave you three here. Now don't move and I'll be back." Knuckles said to them, getting up and looking towards the altar. "It's time I get to be the hero instead of that blue hedgehog." he grinned. Red electricity imbued around his body and with a quick start, dashed towards the altar and disappearing.

"Chao Chao." both Chao said to Tikal. Her eyes were slowly widening to normal, groaning a bit in pain. "I-It's okay. I-I believe in h-him." she said softly. Cerulean eyes gazed at the altar in flames up ahead and only sadness came from the blue orbs. "P-Please K-Knuckles. Be careful… don't l-leave me alone."

Knuckles sped up the stairs leading to the top, feeling the intense flames licking around the ambient air and feeling the heat. Smoke arose from them which almost blinded his vision but he pushed on through, wanting to pulverize the ones that dare threaten the sanctuary which he was destined to protect. Upon reaching the summit the male echidna watched the Master Emerald glow in its brilliance, though it wasn't by itself.

"GET AWAY FROM THE MASTER EMERALD!" Knuckles hollered, staring at the back of Pachacamac. The middle-aged echidna's arms were pointed towards the large gem with green energy going into his body. Hearing the call did Pachacamac turn and faced Knuckles, a malicious grin upon his face.

"I was a fool to not realize the true power of the emeralds, and now that I can obtain that power NO ONE CAN STOP ME!" the chieftain roared in the air. A green aura surrounded his form to which power flowed throughout. "Not even you, traitor!"

Knuckles didn't waste time and sped towards him, ready to land a punch. Pachacamac simply laughed and raised his palm, effectively stopping the attack. "Look who's weak now, scum!"

With a small burst of energy, the chieftain sent Knuckles flying back and causing him to crash into a pillar. Fortunately it didn't have a Chaos Emerald on it but nonetheless did the modern guardian collide with it and caused debris to fall down several meters into the ground along with him.

Pachacamac turned back towards the Master Emerald and continued to gather energy. "Worthless insect, he won't stop me from achieving world domination!"

On the other side of the green jewel, Chaos itself sat on the floor leaning onto the emerald. It clutched its head tightly, green eyes pulsing as its form trembled violently from what's going on. Flames surrounded the shrine and ate away at its home that was built for the relics it protected. The same home it welcomed the Chao to play and hang around in so that they can live peaceful lives… now being obliterated by fire. All this was too much for the creature to take in, though it can do nothing as it abstained itself from committing violence.

Memories raced through its sentient mind of how it was conceived and brought forth to guard the emeralds. Flashbacks of many generations of echidnas it befriended during its time on the altar, all of them growing old and passing going through its conscious. The fun times it had with them to which it all came down towards the present, showing the happy expression of Tikal.

Tikal. Everything about her was very different compared to the many others Chaos befriended before her. She was not like the others as she did not want violence or war and did not resort to fighting to solve things. Her gentle and kind personality radiated not just towards it but with the Chao as well, being the first to earn the blue beings' trust and fully understand them as well. Not only that, but her connection with the Master Emerald was strong enough that she could control its power almost as well as Chaos can.

For all the echidnas Chaos interacted and bonded with, Tikal was the most special out of all of them. Just seeing her lifted its spirits and showed that just guarding the Master Emerald isn't enough to fulfill meaning in life. If Chaos wanted to, it could've empowered the orange echidna to become a demi-god just like itself so that they can be friends forever.

Unfortunately Tikal was happy with just being normal and providing wisdom to everyone around her from what her grandmother taught her, which was good enough for the blue mutant. All this was enough for Chaos to really care for her and would do anything to keep her happy.

The intense heat from the flames brought Chaos back to reality and it raised its head to watch the horrible scene unfold. Its green eyes glowed brighter as it noticed something: the Master Emerald was losing energy fast!

"MORE! I NEED MORE POWER!" Pachacamac yelled, taking in more of the Master Emerald's energy to which the gem began glowing dimmer and dimmer.

Chaos slowly looked back at and peeked around to watch the mad echidna. His evil expression and cackling laugh was the polar opposite to the soothing giggle and harmonious gaze of Tikal. It was very foreign to Chaos and not knowing how to react, its stress level began rising fast. Too fast that is, that the blue mutant cracked.

RAWWWWWRRRRR!

A tremendously loud cry echoed throughout the air, being heard from beyond the land. Pachacamac was startled by the outburst and the airwaves that resonated from the source pushed him back flying. He landed very close to the edge of the steps, looking back angrily.

"WHO DARES INTERRUPT MY-?!"

His words stopped in his throat, eyes widening as Chaos revealed itself from behind the Master Emerald. Vicious neon green eyes watched him with hate as it laid a hand upon the jewel's surface, the flow of energy going into Pachacamac reversing itself to flow back into the Master Emerald. The chieftain could feel the power drain away from him.

"No NO NO! YOU CANNOT DO THIS!" he cried out in horror, seeing the aura around him fade away as all the energy was sapped out. The echidna leader glared at Chaos, taking out a spear he had on himself. "I'll make you pay for this!"

RAAAAAAAWWRRRR!

Another monstrous yell erupted from the sentient being, raising its hands into the air. Seven glows from around them of different colors rose into the air from the pillars they laid upon. The Chaos Emeralds reacted to their guardian's call and sped towards Chaos.

"What are you-?!" Pachacamac couldn't finish his sentence, watching as the smaller emeralds were being absorbed into the blue mutant's body. All seven emeralds moved towards each limb within its body and casted another powerful glow, the eyes of Chaos glowing brighter as well.

With another roar coming out of it, Chaos' body started bubbling and slowly grew in size. Pachacamac witnessed all of this in shock. "NO! I WON'T BE TAKEN DOWN LIKE THIS!" he said, turning around and heading towards the stairs quickly.

"ACK!"

Unfortunately, a blue tendril sprouted out of the morphing body of Chaos and pulled the chieftain into its body. A scared expression was shown on Pachacamac's as he reached his hand out for help, slowly getting absorbed into Chaos. "No… I won't… hel…" were the last words that came out of him, disappearing into its ever-growing mass.

"What the heck is that?!" a random echidna warrior shouted to his brethren, pointing at the top of the altar. The others followed his gaze and saw a swelling blue lump rising from atop. The flames were instantly put out by the mass touching the areas they were in, halting their attack onto the shrine.

"I don't know but ready yourselves! For the Knuckles Tribe!" another echidna warrior ordered, raising his spear as his fellow comrades followed the same gesture with battle cries. They all rushed towards the structure, ignoring the fact that the blue mass began towering over them several meters into the air.

Chaos felt power flow through its form, relishing the intense energy it received from the Chaos Emeralds. Its body got bigger and taller to which tendrils appeared from its sides and the torso elongating to form a head, which resembled a reptilian snake-like shape with numerous sharp green teeth in its large maw. Green spikes sprouted out from its back and hardened flaps of skin were formed atop its upper body. Finally its full green eyes developed slitted pupils which blinked several times before seeing the approaching echidna army below it.

RAAAAAWRRR!

The now empowered Chaos let out a deafening roar and unleashed a giant wave of water towards the incoming warriors. Each of them skidded to a halt and watched in fright at the enormous blue wall of liquid heading towards them.

"RETREAT!" the same echidna warrior shouted as they all dropped their weapons and began fleeing. However they were not fast enough as each and every single one of them were hit by the giant wave, disappearing into the rush of water and most likely to their deaths…

A fist made its way out of a heap of rubble as Knuckles was revealed, slightly injured but nonetheless okay. "Man that hurt. The Master Emerald's power is not something to be toyed with." he said to himself, brushing away at the dirt.

A deafening roar caused him to flinch in response, clenching his eyes. Once it ended did he immediately look up and noticed a giant water beast with large tendrils around it attacking the echidna warriors that fought back against it. Each of them were either blasted away or sent crashing into trees, boulders or any other obstacle and immediately fainting upon impact. He also noticed the flames having died out due to its liquid mass overcoming them but now its basically threatening everything in its vicinity.

"What the heck is that?!" Knuckles said, running out of the altar and getting a safe distance away to see it in its entirety better. The beast covered the entire altar within its mass and looked like it was still growing. Bodies of male echidnas littered the battlefield with those still standing being pulverized by its tendrils or struck by water attacks. He also noticed Pachacamac nowhere to be seen, but that was the last thing on his mind as the emerald guardian clenched his fists. "Great first it's that old geezer and now this!"

Knuckles pumped his fists and imbued himself once more with red electricity, crimson glowing eyes overtaking his normal violet ones. "Alright, time to save my people." And he instantly charged into action.

"CHAO CHAO!" the cries of both the Knuckles-Chao and Tikal-Chao were heard in fright as both watched the enormous life form rise from the distance, hearing its terrifying roars.

Cerulean eyes watched in horror at this, pupils small as pinpricks. Tikal couldn't move or shake, seeing widespread destruction it was causing from its large tentacles and water attacks.

"No… my father didn't… h-he provoked Chaos!" the orange echidna shouted. Feeling some pain in her body she managed to get up, having rested enough that some of her energy returned. The two smaller beings noticed and floated to her in worry. "Chao?" they muttered.

"I-It's okay, it doesn't hurt much anymore." Tikal started walking forward into a light job. She looked back at the Chao who began following her. "No please stay here young ones. I'll take care of this." she asked them, turning back and disappearing from sight.

"Chao…" both Chao looked at each other in concern. The orange one floated to the red one and hugged him, tears falling down its face. The slightly bigger Chao nuzzled the top of her head, hugging her as he watched ahead also in concern for his bigger version.

…

…

…

BOOM!

A lightning-infused fist met a water tentacle as Knuckles pushed back against the physical attack of the enormous monster. He growled in frustration at the stalemate he was having, sparks of red electricity being released from the contact with a mix of white light. Tremors sounded around the air as the earth shook violently, cracks appearing on the ground and mountains of debris beginning to float into the air from the raw power.

"DAMNIT!" he shouted and pushed further, repelling the tendril back as Chaos released another roar in fury. Using its other tendrils the water monster shot them at Knuckles at high speeds. Luckily the emerald guardian was quick to react and noticed the approaching arms, a surprised look appearing on his face.

"SHIT!" he said, pushing off the tendril he punched and seeing the others colliding with one another. However, the remaining ones homed in on his position. 'Got no time to dodge! This'll have to do!'

Knuckles began spinning himself in a red lightning tornado, the tendrils impacting him and causing a large explosion. Crimson lightning shot violently across the air with fumes of black smoke being released. The tendrils quickly retreated as Chaos emitted a cry of pain, noticeable as its head lowered down a bit closing its transparent eyelids.

The body of Knuckles flew out of the dark smoke to which the echidna guardian placed his hands on the ground and pushed back doing several backflips. Upon landing his feet on the ground he looked up to see Chaos' lowered head and grinned. "Looks like I managed to hurt it, but can't waste any time. I have to finish this!"

Curling up and surrounding himself with electricity once more, Knuckles began doing a spin dash in place and building up speed. At the same time he was searching anywhere on its body for a possible weak spot, seeing seven glowing dots on parts of its body.

'Looks like I can go for those, but they're too small to hit from this far. Where else can I-.' he mentally halted upon seeing the large pink organ within its head. 'THERE!'

His spin dash at the max, Knuckles bolted off at subsonic speeds towards the water monster. He covered ground within seconds leaving a red streak behind with bits of electricity following. The head of the creature came closer and closer to Knuckles, feeling the intense velocity upon his body going faster and faster. Once he was at a close enough distance the red echidna uncurled himself and spun like a drill into Chaos' membrane, having enough speed to penetrate its surface and more than enough to reach the pink organ, striking it instantly.

RAAAAAAAAUUUGGGHRRR!

Chaos flung its head back violently, roaring in intense agony. Knuckles himself shot out of the giant being and was flung into the air, doing several flips and landed upon the ground a few seconds later. He looked up to see the tendrils flail savagely in different directions, destroying parts of the forest and laying waste to abandoned huts. What stuck out to him though was that parts of the hardened skin on the creature were falling off and disintegrating.

'Yeah that must be it! Just need to keep striking that part of the thing and it'll be over quickly!' he thought. If only it were that easy…

RAAWWWWWRRRRR!

Chaos pointed its open maw up to the heavens, charging up a vast amount of green energy within its sharp-toothed mouth and then releasing it into the sky. Seismic waves scattered throughout from this attack and Knuckles had a hard time standing still, crouching down and punching the ground once to hinge his knuckles as a lock. He groaned while covering his face with his other hand, feeling the immense pressure and energy being emitted from his opponent. 'Fuck I thought way too soon!'

Dark clouds began converging onto their location and blocked the already night sky from their view. The sounds of thunder arrived overhead and intense white lightning danced within the clouds, some striking the ground below and causing the very earth to crumble upon impact. Hard rain began falling upon the land with strong winds blowing at every direction. The emerald guardian felt all of this within moments but it didn't deter him from trying to defeat the creature, looking through his arms to keep his sight on it.

Knuckles' eyes widened however as Chaos once again lowered its head but not because it was hurt, but the back spikes on it began glowing brighter and launched energy projectiles that headed straight for him!

"Oh crap!" he quickly said, removing his fist from the ground and running to the right across the field. Unfortunately just like the tendrils, the energy missiles homed in on him to which Knuckles grunted in frustration. He picked up speed close to Sonic's own and felt the explosions behind him as the spikes landed upon the ground and narrowly missing him. Several more fired off the back of Chaos and began chasing him, the red echidna maneuvering away from them at the last second, dodging each with precise movement and several acrobatic flips.

Another sound of irritation left his throat as Knuckles dodged another set of energy missiles coming towards him, pushing him further back and away from Chaos. "Looks like I won't be getting any closer." he muttered, seeing another volley rapidly getting near. He jumped into the air and moved his body to avoid them, feeling the intense heat radiated off of them for a moment as they sped by his form, landing behind him and causing another set of explosions to erupt.

Landing back on the ground Knuckles panted lightly as he saw Chaos raise its head once again, another deafening roar coming out of it. Its tendrils quickly went in for an attack, but at the same time did it open its maw and charge up more energy within. The emerald guardian clenched his teeth at this in anger. "Can't let it fire that attack! It'll destroy the whole forest so screw it!"

Knuckles dashed towards it in another charge with the tendrils heading towards him at high speeds. He maneuvered, jumped and punched away most of the tentacles and noticed more coming his way. The red echidna was about to do the same thing…

BOOM!

He was caught off-guard by a water tentacle sprouting out of the ground. Knuckles wasn't fast enough in which it wrapped around his body tightly and suspended him high in the air.

"LET ME GO!" Knuckles hollered, feeling the water tendril squeezing him tighter and tighter, causing him to gasp for air. "Can't… breathe…"

A bright light enveloped his vision and he looked towards Chaos, mortified eyes watching the sharp maw filled with energy aimed directly at him. He was motionless, feeling the raw energy of Chaos being emitted and he had no way of getting out of it.

Tears slowly made their way in his violet eyes, seeing his life starting to flash before him. He was trapped with nowhere to go, nowhere to run, nowhere to save himself. The attack got brighter by the second and it was futile to struggle, the tendril having a firm grip on him.

'This is how I die? It's way too soon… but… maybe it's for the best. I've protected the Master Emerald my whole life and I've let it get stolen by Eggman, showing that I've failed as a guardian to it. The Chaos Emeralds were lost as well for a time being, and Sonic was the one that got them back in the first place while I… just let the bad things happen. Maybe… yeah, it shouldn't be so bad in the afterlife, right? No more pain, no more suffering, no more regrets…' he thought, the tears now running down his face as his lips trembled. 'Yeah, no more of any of that. I'm… sorry everyone for the bad things that I've done. I'm sorry Sonic. I'm sorry Tails. I'm sorry… Tikal.'

Sobbing gently he lowered his head and closed his eyes, prepared to meet his end as Chaos finished charging up his attack. Knuckles tightened his eyes hard, gulping down the anxiety.

'The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.'

Knuckles eyes shot open at a strange voice that said that in his head. 'What the? Who said that?' he questioned, looking up and staring back at Chaos' impending attack. The words that spoke in his mind somehow caused him to look at his foe in determination. Red lightning once again began forming around his body with narrowed crimson eyes looking at it with anger. "I won't give up. Not here, NOT EVER!"

ZAAAAP!

Chaos fired its energy attack at Knuckles, engulfing the smaller being within and releasing all that power in a streamlined burst. The beam flew towards the sky, dispersing some clouds as it disappeared behind them and possibly continuing its flow throughout space. The attack was so great that more thunder and tremors rattled the environment as several trees were ripped out of the ground and flew away from the scene, landing and downing other trees and destroying more parts of the forest. After a few seconds the beam ceased and dissipated, Chaos closing its maw and lowering its tendril: Knuckles was no longer in its grasp anymore.

…

…

…

"N-No… p-please no… t-this c-can't be happening."

Tikal saw all of this happen, arriving at the moment Knuckles was captured in its grasp and witnessing the attack it threw upon the red echidna. She has seen him be vaporized into thin air, no longer in sight anywhere.

She fell onto her knees, the rain falling onto her and drenching the peach-colored girl in cold wetness. It mixed along the tears that were falling from her eyes; blue eyes that lost hope in which peace could ever be restored. The one that was brought from the future to save the past, the one that fought against the tyranny of her father, the one that she could call a friend besides Chaos and the Chao… gone before her.

"KNUCKLEEEEES!"

She screamed very hard into the air, breaking down and crying intensely with her head in her hands. She shook violently and could only wail more at everything that's happening. Thoughts going through her head of the terrible life she endured: the loss of her mother and grandmother, her father's abuse and bloodthirst, the village disapproving her calls for peace, Chaos becoming corrupted and causing widespread destruction but most importantly, Knuckles getting killed right before her.

All this outweighed the good things she had in her life and more sobs came out, nobody around to comfort her. Who would anyway, seeing that the echidna army was wiped out and the Chao were nowhere around as well. Chaos himself was causing devastation and wouldn't see reason, the fact that she was still living due to the water monster not noticing her yet.

'Why? Why was I ever born? Everyone in the village hates me and the only ones that cared were grandmother, Chaos and the Chao. I would have finally had an actual friendship with a real echidna that aren't like all the others. He is brave, kind, strong, and would only fight for what is right. I've only known him for a short time, but Knuckles is unique and different… just like how you said of me grandmother. But now… he's…' Tikal couldn't think more, clutching her head tightly and releasing more loud cries into the air not knowing what to do. 'Knuckles please come back to us! Come back to me! PLEASE KNUCKLES!'

RAAAAAAUGGWWWRRR!

Tikal instantly looked up at Chaos, tears still flowing down her cheeks but its roar causing her to cease her wails. She sensed the enormous energy radiating off of Chaos, feeling the power of the Chaos Emeralds coursing through it.

'The Chaos Emeralds are within its body. They're causing Chaos to become berserk and attack everything.' she mentally said, looking at the water creature and then lowering her gaze down to the altar. 'If… If I can get to the Master Emerald I can negate the power of the Chaos Emeralds, but… I need to get close to it.' she sadly thought. 'Oh if only you were still alive Knuckles…'

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHWWWWRRRRRRRR!

The orange echidna covered her ears as the enormous being let out its strongest roar. Upon it finishing, Tikal opened her eyes to see Chaos looking up in anger. She looked up as well and followed its gaze to where it was looking.

A gasp escaped her, ocean-colored eyes widening in surprise. 'No way…'

Knuckles floated hundreds of meters into the air, surrounded by a red aura of lightning that crackled several times. The apparent rage in his eyes showed that he was now serious, clenching his fists with a scowl on his face. Not saying anything he performed a spin dash in the air, the charging to it completed within less than a second.

BOOM!

The red echidna blasted forward with a sonic boom and rushed at incredible speeds towards Chaos, the same streak leaving an afterglow behind him. Using the same technique, Knuckles penetrated the liquid surface of Chaos and drilled further towards its brain. Raising a fist, Knuckles let out a guttural battle cry and punched the organ hard.

Chaos let out another roar of pain, heaving its head back and causing the emerald guardian to shoot out of its head high into the air. He backflipped several times away from the creature until he landed back on the ground, kneeling and looking up to see his opponent losing more of its hardened skin from the attack. A grin appeared on Knuckles' face as he got up, pumping his fists together. "I have a duty to defend the Master Emerald, and I WON'T let some freak like you wipe out me or my people!"

Knuckles got into a battle stance to ready for whatever Chaos will throw out next, until he heard footsteps coming from behind him quickly. Turning around, he was caught off-guard by Tikal glomping him and instantly latching onto him. "T-Tikal?! I thought I told you to-!"

He stopped, hearing her cries radiate off from her and go into his ears. His demand on why she was here was replaced by concern on her well-being, and Knuckles hugged her back tightly while rubbing her lower back softly. The female echidna wrapped her arms tighter around his neck as she continued to sob, digging her face into his neck and nuzzling him.

"Shh calm down Tikal, it's okay. It's okay." he whispered to her; the rain was still pelting down on them but the two being together made it feel as if it didn't bother them one bit. Eventually did her sobs calm down and she moved her head to look at him, red puffy eyes staring back at him. "I-I thought y-you were…"

"It's okay, I'm here and still living. I'm not going anywhere." Knuckles replied, tightening their hug. "I thought I was a goner, but then I heard a voice… and that voice helped me not to give up." he grinned. Tikal still looked at him worriedly, placing her face back into his neck while sniffling. "D-Don't ever d-do that a-again…"

"I won't." he replied. They both released each other and Knuckles frowned a bit. "I still need to defeat it, otherwise it'll destroy everything."

Tikal's eyes saddened a bit more. "Please don't hurt him. That is Chaos and he's my friend."

Knuckles' eyes widened at this. "You mean that monster thing is Chaos?!" he barked. A nod from Tikal was his response. "Yes that is Chaos, but unfortunately the attack on the altar by my father caused him to become enraged."

"Alright well I guess that'll make things somewhat harder, so if I can't hit the part where it hurts him the most then what can we do?" the emerald guardian asked. Tikal looked back at the altar to which Knuckles followed her stare as well. "If we can get to the Master Emerald, then I can recite my prayer and negate the power of the Chaos Emeralds so Chaos can go back to his original form." she explained.

"That sounds dangerous and in no way will I let you." Knuckles said to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You can't get close enough without fighting, and there's no way I'll let you get hurt." He then noticed Tikal's lips trembling from this to which he thought quickly. "We'll just have to find another way." he added.

RAAAAWWWWRRRR!

Unfortunately the two weren't fast enough to think of a plan, hearing Chaos roar to the heavens once again. Knuckles got in front of Tikal shielding her with fists raised. "Stay behind me! Who knows what it'll do next?!"

His question was answered as the towering creature roared once again and unleashed a huge tsunami of water heading straight towards them. It was several stories tall and rushed at high speeds towards them, covering more of the sky with its rapid ascent. The ground shook upon its enormous power and the two echidnas stood frozen at the sight, Tikal herself scared beyond relief. Knuckles however was able to snap out of it and looked towards her.

"WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!" he yelled, but the smaller of the two was too stunned to move. Grunting in irritation Knuckles did like how he did before: picking her up bridal style which snapped Tikal out of her daze.

"K-Knuckles?!" she gasped. The red echidna ignored her call and charged up more of his energy, releasing it in a burst and running at high speeds towards the forest and away from the incoming tsunami.

Knuckles weaved through partially destroyed trees and vegetation with Tikal in his arms as the ferocious rumble of water pursued them from behind, the sounds of cracks and snaps from trees being downed echoing from behind as well. The only bright light source came from Knuckles' red electricity being emitted as the emerald guardian kept a serious expression, reacting quickly to the environment and sidestepping anything that would've halted his retreat. Tikal herself clung onto him, eyes closed and keeping herself close to his chest. She could feel the steps and jumps he made along with the extremely high speeds she was experiencing; she never knew that an echidna could run this fast, but then again this was Knuckles who was more extraordinary than any other echidna she has met in her life.

"CHAO!"

Tikal's eyes shot open, looking upfront and seeing their Chao familiars up ahead scared out of their minds. "Knuckles the Chao!"

"Got it!" he replied. Bolting towards the pair the orange echidna released her hold from the male and threw her arms around the Chao, embracing both into her arms and holding on for dear life. The little creatures trembled in fear and cried, Tikal doing her best to calm them with nuzzling. Knuckles couldn't look down as he focused on escaping, continuing to dodge fallen trees and boulders with the sound of rushing water behind him fueling his adrenaline.

Eventually did the emerald guardian see the first of several huts in his sight and with determination he increased his speed. Matching his pace to that of the Blue Blur himself, Knuckles exited out of the forest and followed a straight line towards the Mystic Temple. His peripheral vision also picked up several echidnas around him who watched the incoming tsunami from behind him as they all screamed and fled for safety. Several left their homes upon watching it from out their window openings while others knocked over stands to get away from the incoming wave. Total chaos inhabited the roads within the village as many echidnas ran away with some tripping, calling for help and a couple of guards abandoning their posts while dropping their weapons.

Knuckles eyed the tall shrine where he was before, seeing that it was high enough to escape the wall of incoming water. However he would have to navigate its walls to ascend up to the top and he wasn't sure if he'd make it. He took a second and looked back, the tsunami still a fair distance but closely gaining. With another grunt he looked back ahead and picked up his pace.

"HOLD ON!" he yelled to the three in his arms. Crouching down a bit he launched into the air and placed a foot parallel to the wall of the temple, quickly pushing upwards and running vertically to ascend. He approached the first edge of the shrine and became airborne once he ran out of solid wall, but he thought quickly and curled himself as best he can.

'I've never done it while holding others and I don't think Sonic did either, but one thing's for sure: I'll be the first to do it!' he thought. "HANG ON AND DON'T THROW UP!"

Tikal noticed and looked at him in confusion. "Huh what are youAAAAHHHH!"

Knuckles began spin dashing rapidly in place, a mix of red and orange colors glowing within the ball of fur. Once he achieved enough speed he released it in one go and shot towards the next platform above it, using his foot to step on and push away further up until he was closer to the top. He looked back momentarily and noticed the tsunami approaching at least a few feet away.

'This is gonna be close!' he thought, rapidly hopping up the shorter platforms which were closer together to which he didn't need to spin dash to. Taking the last step onto the very top where he was trapped before…

WHOOSH!

… he was almost swept away by the rushing water that collided with the temple. Splashes of it covered the echidnas and Chao but luckily they were able to make it, Knuckles rolling forward while keeping the three in his arms close. Eventually they came to a complete stop and the emerald guardian uncurled himself while releasing Tikal and the Chao who shivered a bit.

"You guys alright?" Knuckles asked them.

"Y-Yes… but next time, w-warn me before you do something like that again." Tikal responded, looking up clearly frightened. The two Chao had spiral eyes while trying to float steadily. "Even the Chao weren't ready for that."

Knuckles scratched the back of his nervously. "Hehe sorry about that, but what can I do when a giant wall of water's heading straight for us? That was the only thing I could come up with."

Replying with a sigh the peach-colored echidna petted the Chao gently. "Well at least the Chao are safe as well."

RAAAAAAAUUUUGGGGGHHWWRRRR!

The four covered their ears upon hearing Chaos roar from the distance. Knuckles ran towards the edge of the temple to take a better look and was in complete shock.

A sea of water covered the once vast forest that surrounded the echidna village, which was also swallowed up by the giant tsunami. Raging waves battled one another with lightning and thunder crackling overhead, the dark clouds covering the sky ominously. Wreckage of the huts and buildings that covered the land now laid waste upon the gushing sea and swerving left and right. Not only that but waterspouts also formed causing more destruction on the other temples that still remained intact, breaking away at the rocky structures which sank into the depths of the flood itself. Chaos himself gave another roar to the heavens, tendrils lashing out violently with some impacting the water to create several waves to surround itself more in the blue liquid.

Knuckles couldn't believe it: the civilization that he was born from, where he wanted to learn more about it… destroyed within a short amount of time. His hands shook from the stress and feelings he was having, not knowing what else to do.

"So… that's it? The Master Emerald sent me here to see how it all happened? Was… it all meaningless for me to save my people?' Several questions made its way into the red echidna's head. 'Why did I even come here? Was it… to feel more burden that I've lost everything? Why? WHY? WHY?!'

Knuckles clenched his eyes, forcing the tears to remain within them. His fists continued to shake, taking it all in and not knowing what else to do. 'I guess that's it then… I'll pass like everyone else. The extinction of my people will be when I die, so… I guess this is goodbye, Sonic, Tails, even you Eggman…'

'The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.'

Violet eyes opened up at the unknown voice in his head again, blinking several times and shaking his head. 'What? Why right now? Why-.'

"Kn-Knuckles?"

Turning his head around, the one in question sees the frightened yet concerned look of Tikal looking at him. "A-Are you o-okay?" she said. Knuckles could only nod, turning fully and slowly walking towards the female echidna.

"Y-Yeah, just having some thoughts…"

"I-It's okay Knuckles, you did your best." she replied with a smile. "You've done more than enough that I couldn't ask you for anything else. You are special and unique unlike the others in the tribe, and it was a blessing that I have got to have met you." Tikal then stood up and got closer to him, bringing her hands to her chest.

"Grandmother said that there would be others that care for what is right and what is not. That they would save those that have no one to depend on. Even if some of them do follow the wrong path, they would eventually find themselves back on where they belong based on who they truly are." she explains.

'She's right… I was on the wrong path before, when Eggman tricked me into thinking Sonic would steal the Chaos Emeralds.' Knuckles thought, grimacing on that event. 'But in the end, he accepted me because he knew I was never bad to begin with… heh.'

"I believe in you Knuckles. The Master Emerald sent you here for a reason and although we may be facing our possible end here, at least you've got to know how it was like in our tribe." she stated bowing a bit. "Thank you for being a good friend."

Knuckles was slightly stunned at this with his mouth open a bit, but smiled afterwards. "Hehe I have to thank you actually. You were the nice one out of everyone and I doubt I would've learned so much from the others compared to you." he grinned. Tikal looked back laughing a bit with the Chao floating towards them and giggling, circling around them happily.

"Least the Chao are happy now and that's what matters." Knuckles said, getting a nod from the smaller echidna. He looked back once again, seeing the present widespread storm going on with Chaos roaring out in the distance. He would miss it all but in the end he'd have no regrets, watching the endless sea that formed upon the land that disappeared beneath it, the once intact temples damaged with its surface crumbling into the water, and the radiant glow of the Master Emerald shining in the distance…

'Wait WHAT?!' Knuckles did a double take and peered at it again. The Master Emerald was indeed seen from where they are, except Chaos was nowhere near it. The water monster has moved away from it and left it all by itself.

'There's nothing guarding it, which means…' Knuckles then looked back at Tikal, suddenly placing his hands on her shoulders to which the female jumped with a blush. "Kn-Kn-Knuckles?! What are you-?!"

"You're right, I still have a purpose that I must accomplish here!" Knuckles then unhanded her and walked over to the center pillar that rose higher than the platform they were on. "Now to fulfil my duty as protector." With that the emerald guardian jumped up and landed atop the pillar overseeing the temple.

"CHAO CHAO?!" both the Knuckles-Chao and Tikal-Chao questioned at his antics, Tikal looking up at him in shock as well. "What are you doing…?" she muttered.

BOOM!

Knuckles felt the rumbling of the thunder and lightning roaring overhead, the hard pellets of rain landing on his red fur yet it didn't deter him from looking straight at Chaos himself. He stood proudly above the pillar, watching the empowered foe with serious yet courageous eyes. His hands laid on his sides yet began to crackle with red lightning once again. Around him the sea continued to reign havoc upon the environment, swallowing up wreckage or destroying whatever is left over.

"I am Knuckles, last of my kind and protector of the Master Emerald! For my whole life have I existed without a purpose, without guidance on who and what I really am! I have kept a watchful eye upon the glorious power of the emeralds, ensuring that it does not fall into the wrong hands!" Knuckles then closed his eyes, tilting his head downward. "It was to be that way until an evil madman in my time tricked me of another who wanted the emeralds for their own plans. My duty to make sure the emeralds stayed safe clouded my judgement, and because of that I followed the wrong path in almost causing the world to fall under evil."

Knuckles opened his eyes again, red glowing orbs taking place of his original violet. "Then another showed me what is right and what I can become beyond just guarding the emeralds! Not only that but another that I met showed me that even though my people were blinded by hate and violence, THEY STILL HAVE HEART!"

Suddenly a white glow began surrounding Knuckles, new bits of energy swirling around him and replacing the red lightning. "I come from a proud tribe that I may not know much about, but I do know that I'm proud to be their descendent! I was sent here to continue my duty, to show that I can save what I can!" His quills slowly rose up a bit as the white glow started pulsing, making his fur become lighter in color. Chaos noticed this, turning his head towards the echidna and roaring at his direction. What was different however, were seven streams of colors radiating off the Chaos Emeralds from inside the water monster and going directly to Knuckles.

"I may be the last of the guardians of the Master Emerald, but I am more than that!" The seven energy trails surrounded the male echidna and morphed into seven spheres, transforming into the Chaos Emeralds. From below Tikal and the Chao watched all this in awe.

"I AM MY OWN DESTINY!"

The Chaos Emeralds converged into him, covering him in a blinding white aura that created a pillar of light reaching up into space. Lightning raced throughout the sky more rapidly with the water below creating whirlpools that slowly engulfed the waterspouts, thunder creating seismic waves throughout. The dark clouds swirled around the endless pillar, dispersing the rainy weather and revealing a bit of the night sky overhead. Chaos roared from the distance, firing energy spikes from his back which headed towards the pillar but fizzling out upon contact.

Eventually the pillar receded, only a sliver of light cascading down to the temple. The wind was calm in its vicinity, eerily so to which the water below dispersed to reveal the rest of the temple as well. Above the very top stood Knuckles, but completely different than before.

Red fur pulsated to a lighter shade until becoming white, then back to red and repeating the cycle over and over again. His quills were raised midway and flowed with the wind. An aura of white energy surrounded his being and encased him in a coating of unlimited power, small amounts flickering about in the ambient air. His eyes were closed upon completing the transformation, slowly opening them to look at Chaos with the same serious expression. Chaos' reptilian green eyes met Knuckles' shining ruby ones.

"Incredible…" Tikal muttered, watching the fully empowered male echidna up above her. The Chao were also astonished, silently gazing alongside her.

WHOOSH!

Knuckles disappeared in a blink of an eye, appearing right in front of Chaos in less than a second. The water monster leaned back in surprise, roaring in defiance and shooting out several of its tendrils against his foe…

… only for Knuckles to raise both hands and block every tendril aimed at him. Flicking his wrists he repelled the tendrils with tremendous power, then clapping his hands once in front of him to create a strong shockwave against Chaos and sending the beast skidding back.

RAAAAAUUUGGGGGWWRRR!

Another chilling cry echoed in the air, Chaos opening his maw to charge up another energy attack. Within a few seconds he let out the attack full blast with the beam heading towards Knuckles who remained unfazed. It struck its target, but the beam split once it made impact in which it wasn't even touching Knuckles; an invisible energy field protected the empowered echidna.

The attack faded and Knuckles pumped his fists together, narrowing his eyes at Chaos. Reeling his arm back his fist began glowing bright white with swirls of energy surrounding it. Faster than a millisecond Knuckles punched the air with it, an energy fist propelling off his hand and traveling towards the water creature to which it was directly hit.

Chaos roared in pain from the blast as it shook its head side to side. Knuckles maintained his serious expression, crimson eyes locked onto his adversary but took a moment to look at the altar. The Master Emerald remained sitting on its resting place untouched.

'I can get close to the Master Emerald but I can't risk it without Tikal and the Chao getting hurt. Wait… THAT'S IT!'

"Tikal!" a voice snapped the orange echidna out of her gaze on the emerald guardian. 'W-What was that?' she thought.

"It's me, Knuckles! I'm speaking to you telepathically but we don't have much time! I need you to go to the Master Emerald and have it undo the Chaos Emeralds' power!" Knuckles mentally asked.

"Y-You want me to do it? B-But what if-?"

"Don't worry I'll deal with Chaos! Just fly over there and tell it to negate the emeralds! I know you can do it Tikal!" and with that the voice of Knuckles left her mind. Tikal looked at the altar, seeing the glow of the Master Emerald shining in the distance. She looked back at the Chao who watched her in worry, her eyes looking back at both Chaos and Knuckles.

'H-He's right! I can do it! C'mon Tikal he believes in you. HE BELIEVES IN YOU!' she mentally shouted, a determined look on her face slowly appearing. She turned back to the Chao. "Okay you two, we need to get over there so I'll need some assistance."

"CHAO!" both yipped determined as well. The female echidna nodded and walked backwards a bit before doing a running start and jumping up into the air at the edge of the temple. Extending her arms in front of her and feeling the Chao grasp onto her shoulders, the trio glided over the violent waters towards the Emerald Altar.

Chaos' green eyes noticed this and roared another cry. Its spikes began glowing on its back to which they shot off and immediately homed in onto the trio who saw the volley heading towards them in terror.

WHOOSH!

Knuckles teleported upfront the energy spikes and extended his arms, creating an energy field that destroyed all of them single-handedly. Lowering his arms he glared at the water monster, sharp fangs menacingly revealing themselves. 'You're dead…'

"LOOK OUT!" Tikal cried out, dodging a waterspout that started forming in front of her and the Chao. They weaved around it feeling the endless pouring of rain upon them with the wind slowing them down a bit. Lightning and thunder continued to dominate the skies as nearby, Chaos and Knuckles continued to duke it out with the latter preventing the former from harming the three.

"CHAO CHAO!" the Knuckles-Chao pointed to a giant wave coming their way. Tikal's eyes widened as there was no way around it, closing them and reeling her head back a bit…

…only to feel sprinkles of water upon her face. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked up and saw Knuckles had chopped through the wave allowing them to cross through safely. He looked back at them and nodded, flashing away and continuing his fight against Chaos.

'Whew. Thank you Knuckles!' she mentally cheered, seeing the altar only a few feet away from them.

Chaos fired another energy beam at Knuckles, the latter deflecting it with another force field. Countering the creature's attack Knuckles charged up another fist and launched it, sending an energized attack that landed upon Chaos and having him reel back in pain. More hardened skin fell off the enormous being from his back, breaking away at his defense.

Knuckles grinned at this, but then felt something off as he sensed the aura around him dissipate momentarily then return back. 'Crap, it looks like I'm almost out of chaos energy. I don't have the actual emeralds with me so they only lent me their power for a bit, meaning that I have to be careful on what I do.' he thought, looking back at Chaos who readied himself. 'I can only hold him off for a bit more. C'mon Tikal tell me you're almost there…'

Fortunately his prayer was answered, the person in question landing upon the rocky structure of the Emerald Altar. Tikal and the Chao rushed towards the Master Emerald, stopping in front of the large jewel which radiated power. Raising her hands towards it, she closed her eyes and let out a breath.

"The seven Chaos Emeralds are the servers… Our hearts intensify their power… The controller serves to unify the chaos!"

The Master Emerald glowed brighter upon hearing this, the luminescence overtaking the altar and engulfing Tikal and the Chao in its light.

RAAAAUUWWWGGGRRRRRRR!

Chaos let out into the sky, the seven emeralds inside him glowing bright then beginning to dim and eventually lose their light. The large creature flailed about, its tendrils and large form slowly receding into the water below as if being dissolved. Its lower jaw separated from its head and fell down into the sea along with more of its hardened skin. Its reptilian green eyes lost the slitted pupils and began morphing back into an oval shape, more and more of its large frame becoming smaller by the second.

Knuckles felt the energy drain from him as well, the aura around him beginning to fade away and the pulsing color on his fur resonating slower. He looked at the light coming from the altar, it also receding back into the Master Emerald and revealing Tikal and the Chao standing there safe and sound. The male echidna sighed and started flying towards them…

…eyes widening as a water tendril was speeding towards them.

"WE DID IT!" Tikal cheered.

"CHAO CHAO!" the smaller beings cried out in happiness as well, flying around the peach-colored girl and dancing about. She laughed at their playfulness until she opened her eyes, looking in horror at the tendril coming towards them.

'N-No…'

SMASH!

An empowered fist knocked away the attacking tentacle, a flash of light zooming past the trio and colliding into one of the pillars. Tikal and the Chao covered their eyes, feeling dust and small debris flying around them until it settled a few moments later. Opening their eyes they looked at a glowing figure rising up, the water tendril on the ground dissolving into just that: water.

Knuckles stood as the last bits of emerald energy left his body, his fur returning to its normal shade of red and his eyes becoming violet once again. Flexing his fingers from the punch he gave, he looked at what used to be the tentacle with a grin. 'Don't ever touch her.'

"OOF!"

The emerald guardian almost lost his balance, feeling a strong force make contact with him and soft arms wrapping around him. He looked back and saw Tikal digging her face into his neck, sniffling coming out of her. "H-Hey, I'm alright I'm alright hehe don't cry now." he replied sheepishly.

Tikal moved back a bit and looked at him sadly, causing Knuckles to falter a bit turning around to face her. "It's okay, everything's alright now." he smiled. The female echidna didn't say anything and hugged him close to her again. The Chao flew towards them and also hugged the male, letting out happy chirps and nuzzling him.

"Haha c'mon guys it's fine! We did it haha stop!" Knuckles laughed, enjoying the affection he received. Eventually they moved away and he looked at all of them proudly. "Thank you for the help. I couldn't have done it without you three."

"No Knuckles, we couldn't have done it without YOU." Tikal said.

"CHAO CHAO!" their familiars also added in joy.

Knuckles nodded with a smile then widened his eyes a bit. "Hey I think it stopped raining?"

Tikal also noticed this, looking up at the sky and gasping. "You're right it did."

The group watched the surroundings, seeing the storm clearing up with bits of daylight breaking through the clouds above them and dispersing to reveal blue sky. The lightning and thunder began fading with the waterspouts receding back into the clouds. The water has calmed with the waves being at a minimal and not high enough to cause anymore destruction. Unfortunately the entire forest and village was still underwater so the scenery was that of an ocean.

The red echidna looked at the horizon letting out a sigh. "Well it looks like we won't be seeing the village anytime soon. It'll take some time until the water goes down." he said. Tikal nodded in response. "Yes, it is most unfortunate but at least Chaos is at peace now."

"Heh, your friend did pack a punch. I'm sorry for your loss though…" he whispered, lowering his head. The smaller echidna got closer to him and grasped his arm. "It's okay, you didn't mean it. Though I will miss Chaos that doesn't mean my memories with him will go with him as well."

Knuckles smiled, looking back at the calm waters and seeing a floating body brushing onto the edge of the altar. Wait…

"What the heck?" Knuckles said, he and Tikal rushing over to take a better look. It was indeed a body with red fur and was currently floating on its stomach so they couldn't see who it was. Knuckles grabbed it by the arms and heaved it up onto the altar, the face of a middle-aged echidna shown to them.

"FATHER!" Tikal yelled in shock, immediately getting to his side and placing her head on his chest. Getting back up she pushed her palms into his chest to pump out any water he might've swallowed, to which indeed he did as several spurts came out of his throat and coming into a coughing fit. Knuckles silently stood there, seeing Pachacamac awakening and shaking his head in the end.

"W-What happened?" the chieftain muttered, eyes half closed upon seeing his worried daughter looking at him. "It's okay father. You're safe and everything's okay now." Tikal replied.

Pachacamac clutched his head in slight pain. "I…I-I don't remember much. Just… seeing a blue creature in front of me and then… that's it." he explained, slowly getting up with the help of Tikal. "A-All I felt was cold and darkness… like I wouldn't be coming back at all…"

"You got that right." Knuckles said, stepping closer to the two. "You let this happen, and I had to fix this mistake for you."

"Knuckles…" Tikal was about to shush him, but Pachacamac interrupted. "N-No, he's right." The chieftain regained his composure and cleared his throat, looking at the emerald guardian. "You… You saved the world from an imminent danger to us all. If it wasn't for you then no one would have survived."

The echidna leader sighed, closing his eyes and bowing. "I apologize for all that I've done. It was not right for me to treat one or any of my kind with such disrespect." Pachacamac stood back up and continued. "All my life all I ever wanted was to ensure that our people would prosper, that they would not live in poor conditions. We had very limited resources and food that without expansion our race wouldn't survive. That is why when I took over the clan I set out to conquer others in order to provide for what is best for us."

Pachacamac then turned his eyes to Tikal. "Your grandmother was a kind soul and everyone loved her for it. She led with peace in mind and I destroyed it by not seeing what our people really wanted. For that I am truly sorry my daughter, and even if you do forgive me my sins will stay with me for eternity upon my passing."

Tears pricked in Tikal's eyes, immediately hugging her father who became shocked at the action. "M-My g-grandmother o-once s-said, 'Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does change the future.'" she muttered, looking up at him with a smile. "E-Even if you committed horrible things, you are still my father."

Pachacamac slowly started to smile, returning the hug and nuzzling her head with the latter into his chest. Knuckles and the Chao saw this with smiles on their faces, happy to see a parent and child reunite and reconcile.

'If only I have known my parents, but then again… this works too.' Knuckles chuckled to himself, setting his eyes onto the Master Emerald. He walked slowly towards it, feeling the glow on his fur and placing his palm on its surface. 'The Master Emerald taught me many things, so I guess I can call it a parent somewhat.'

"I'm ready to go back." he told it.

"Knuckles?" a feminine voice came from behind him. The red echidna turned his to see Tikal and Pachacamac walking to him. "A-Are you going back now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I have to. Being the last guardian of the Master Emerald I still have to fulfill that duty. My time has no guardian at the moment so I have to return." Knuckles stated.

"Chao Chao…" the Knuckles-Chao muttered sadly at him, floating to his taller look-a-like and lightly punching his arm. The emerald guardian chucked and moved his palm to it, feeling the Chao's punches on his hand. "Yeah little buddy, can't stay here or Eggman might steal it."

"Eggman?" Pachacamac asked.

"Yeah, this big round guy that tried stealing the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald for his evil plans until me and Sonic and his friend Tails defeated him." Knuckles explained. The chieftain averted his eyes somewhat ashamed. "Well I guess I wasn't the only one…" he muttered, Tikal giggling at this.

"Alright then." Pachacamac walked up to Knuckles, giving him a somewhat stern look. "You are a fine echidna Knuckles, one if not the strongest of our kind. In the arena I've seen you as an excellent warrior that fought not for bloodlust but for defending what is right. You let one of our prisoners escape but in truth, he meant no harm. That shows that you are someone of heart and courage, and for that I thank you."

Pachacamac then changed his stern look to a smirk. "If I wasn't blinded by power and war and you lived in our time, you would've made an amazing chieftain. One just like her grandmother." he said looking at Tikal as well who beamed in happiness. "Heh not only that, but I would have allowed you to take my daughter's hand."

"What?" Knuckles asked, confusion written all over his face.

"FATHER!" Tikal yelled in embarrassment, red on her face as she covered it with her hands. "Don't say that!"

"Haha there's nothing to be ashamed of Tikal, he's a fine young man!" Pachacamac teased, laughing happily. Knuckles still watched all of this in confusion; apparently being alone almost his entire life guarding a jewel made him very clueless in topics such as this.

'Does he really not get it?' the chieftain thought, shaking his head and clearing his throat. "Aside from that, again I am truly sorry for what I have done and can only wish good fortune and prosperity to you in your time. May you continue our legacy in the future and that you make us proud with the bravery and heart you show." the middle-aged echidna turned around to stare at the horizon. "While we rebuild our people here and this time, we will do it right."

RAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGWWWWRRRRR!

The altar shook violently as the group covered their ears, eyes clenched at the sudden cry that filled the air. They slowly opened their eyes to peer where it came from and were stunned at the revelation: Chaos emerged from the watery depths with his head held up high in the sky.

"WHAT?!" Knuckles shouted, glaring at the not downed water monster. Pachacamac stared angrily at it while holding his daughter close who trembled with fear, the Chao hiding behind the emerald guardian in fright as well. Knuckles growled and pumped his fists. "Round Two it is then!"

"Wait what's that?!" Pachacamac yelled, pointing at Chaos' head. They followed his direction and saw that the pink organ inside the creature's head was pulsating. It was getting faster by the second and was getting bigger as well.

"I think it's gonna blow!" Knuckles panicked, looking back at the others. "We have to get out of here!"

"YOU have to get out of here! You have to go back to your time, we'll be fine!" the echidna leader replied.

A green glow encompassed their peripheral vision, the group turning to see the Master Emerald illuminating stronger. "GO KNUCKLES! DON'T WORRY ABOUT US!" Pachacamac yelled.

Knuckles hesitated, looking back at the pair and then at the Master Emerald. He also felt a push behind him to which he looked back and saw the two Chao shoving him. "CHAO CHAO!" they yipped.

'Even you two? …Crap why does this have to happen?!" Knuckles clenched his teeth looking back at the Master Emerald. "I have to go now!" he thought, starting to run towards the green jewel. "Thank you everyone…"

Pachacamac looked down at his trembling daughter. "Go with him."

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!" Tikal yelled. Pachacamac grunted and pulled her away a bit. "Listen to me! You have a full life ahead of you, mine is full of regrets and things that I should have never done! I sense how you feel towards him and I won't allow my daughter to neglect her calling just because of my faults!" he explained.

The peach-colored girl looked up at him in shock as he continued. "Take care of him my daughter. He's the last of our kind in his time so it must be very hard for him to live by that, which is why you must go with him to rid of that burden." he finished. Tikal became teary-eyed once again and she hugged him one last time. "Th-Thank y-you f-father! I-I'll a-always love you!"

Swelling with tears himself after a very long time, the chieftain returned the hug with a smile. "I'll always love you too Tikal. Now go before it's too late!"

Nodding rapidly, Tikal rushed over to Knuckles in which the latter was being surrounded by Master Emerald's energy pulling him in. "KNUCKLES!" she called to him.

"TIKAL!" he replied back, reaching his arm to her. "C'MON YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!"

RAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHRRRRRRRRR!

The roar of Chaos continued on as the pulsating brain inside him got bigger and bigger, the glow on it breaking through the surface and surrounding the area with intense light. Knuckles saw this and looked back at the approaching female echidna terrified. "WE HAVE TO HURRY!" he barked. Tikal raised her hand to reach for his.

SPLAT!

…

…

…

Knuckles saw it.

Something he'd never wanted to see.

Something that he dared not use ever again in his life.

But he did and it was staring at him. He for the love of god didn't want this to happen at all.

The sharp tip of stone, wrapped onto a wooden staff. It was a nice weapon to have and can save and protect, but it wasn't used for that purpose in this moment.

In this moment, it has pierced right through Tikal's chest.

The echidna girl coughed out blood, feeling her breathing fade away. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, seeing the spear come out from behind her and intense pain flowing through her body. She couldn't scream, she couldn't move, she could only watch how the weapon was covered in her own blood as she started falling towards the floor.

"TIKAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!" Knuckles shouted to the heavens, a horrified expression on his face and grief going through him as he saw Tikal slowly dying. He looked up at whoever threw it, seeing the outstretched hand of a lone echidna, his eyes seething with anger. It was the echidna that mocked him while he was in the cage.

"Heh, sucks it wasn't you but at least it was that annoying worthless brat!" the echidna warrior said with malice. Knuckles' anger was through the roof as red electricity flowed through his body. He tried to run towards him but unfortunately the Master Emerald's energy was pulling him in. "FUCK YOU!"

"Look at you, so helpless. Did I accidentally stab your girlfriend? Well too bad, now you can suffer knowing that I killed someone dear to you!" the lone echidna shouted.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Pachacamac's voice rang through the air as the chieftain tackled the echidna, sending him to the floor. Straddling him did Pachacamac unleash the haymakers of a lifetime, punching his face with intense ferocity. "YOU JUST MURDERED MY DAUGHTER YOU BASTARD!" he cried, tears falling down his face as he kept up the brutal assault.

RRAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHGHHHRRRR!

Chaos unleashed one more roar into the heavens and finally the brain inside of him detonated.

A silent explosion made its way across the area quickly and engulfed everything in its path. Knuckles saw pure blinding light heading towards him as the last thing he saw were Pachacamac beating the echidna to death, the remaining temples and shrines that weren't fully engulfed being taken in by the light, and lastly… Tikal's lifeless body on the floor.

Back into modern times…

"GAH AHA AH AH!"

Knuckles awoke with a gasp, breathing heavily with sweat covering his fur and wide eyes looking around quickly. He saw the large forest and area of grass that surrounded the altar he was on, seeing that the sea of water was no longer there. He looked behind him, noticing that the altar was how it was, partially damaged with several altars broken and all seven chaos emeralds resting on their respective places. The Master Emerald remained sitting in the center in all its glory, undamaged and untouched.

The emerald guardian quickly got onto his feet and ran to the edge of the stairs, seeing the landscape just like it was when he wakes up every day. Several ruins encompassed parts of the area and large trees swished with the wind hitting them. Everything that was drowned in water back then was uncovered right now, seeing that he has indeed returned back to his own time.

"W-Was it a d-dream? N-No it was too real to be a dream!" Knuckles panicked, rushing back towards the Master Emerald and touching it. "Please send me back I have to help her!" he begged. However the Master Emerald didn't respond and simply glowed normally.

"C'mon Master Emerald she's dying! PLEASE! PLEASE!" Knuckles slowly fell to his knees, clenching his fists as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "I CAN'T! I CAN'T GO ON KNOWING I COULDN'T SAVE ANYONE!" he yelled. Like before the Master Emerald didn't do anything.

Knuckles sobbed hard feeling the reality sink in, knowing that he was sent back just to fail upon returning. 'What good was it that the Master Emerald take me back to the past to save it, but see that the people I made friends with all died in front of my eyes! WHAT WAS THE POINT IN ALL OF THIS?!" he thought, smashing his fist into the ground which created cracks.

His cries became light hiccups as the emerald guardian turned and sat down, looking into the distance without a care. "What was the point then? Was this all to break me down mentally? Why show me this if they all die in the end!" Knuckles crossed his arms and lowered his head in them. "I finally got to know what it was like back then with my people. Especially her… she was the kindest, smartest and most gentle person I've ever met. To be killed in front of me… it should've been me instead of her…" he began weeping again upon saying it.

'Tikal, you were an amazing friend and a great person. Probably the first real friend I had besides Sonic and Tails, and someone that I can relate to. Now that you're gone however… I don't think…'

"Mhghuhh…"

Knuckles' train of thought was interrupted by a strange groan near him. His head perked up at it and he looked around quickly to see where it came from. The groan was heard again and his ears picked up the sound coming from behind the Master Emerald. He ran over to where it would be and his expression turned into shock:

An orange echidna was on the floor, moving slightly.

"Tikal!" Knuckles yelled, rushing to her side and grasping her upper body. Turning her over, his eyes widened again upon seeing the wound that was on her chest not there anymore. It was like it never existed at all!

'What the?! But I saw that she was-?!' Knuckles shook his head and looked at the Master Emerald, the sun reflecting off its surface to make its brilliance more pronounced. Its guardian slowly grinned widely, tears going down his face in happiness. 'Thank you for everything Master Emerald.'

"K-Knuckles?"

The red echidna looked down to see Tikal looking at him wide awake, worry in her eyes to which she reached up and brushed away his tears with her hands. "A-Are you okay?"

"U-Uh y-yeah yeah, just… I'm doing great. I saw you get hit by that spear though… I almost lost you…" he whispered. The smaller echidna noticed his distress and cupped his cheek. "I-I felt it too when it hit me… but I also felt something remove it and close the wound. I-I think the Master Emerald did that…" she replied.

"Hmm…" was all he said, nuzzling her hand to which Tikal smiled to. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore. You're here now safe and sound… though for the others…"

"CHAO CHAO!"

The two perked up at the sound, turning their heads and seeing two Chao that looked like them float over in happiness. Knuckles and Tikal were in shock at this.

"NO WAY?!"

Knuckles-Chao and Tikal-Chao laughed as they floated around them and doing some flips. Knuckles was astonished at this, thinking that only Tikal made it back to the present. "I didn't know you two came as well?"

"CHAO!" Knuckles-Chao said, raising his fist in the air with a grin. Tikal-Chao came up to her bigger self and nuzzled her face, making Tikal laugh. "Haha it's great to see you too! I'm so glad that you were able to come as well!" she said.

"CHAO!" both their familiars replied. However curiosity got to them as they took in their surroundings, looking in awe as the land around them is very different compared to their time in the past. Tikal-Chao looked at Knuckles-Chao shyly and held out her hand. "C-Chao?"

The red being looked at it with a dark hue on his face and slowly grabbed it. "C-Chao chao." It responded. They both smiled at each other and leaned in to give a small kiss, flying away into the forest to explore the new yet still similar land they were in with hearts above their heads.

"… they really need to stop doing that." Knuckles muttered rubbing his neck with a blush. "Heh the Chao really do have short-HUH?!"

Knuckles was caught off-guard as Tikal pounced on him and made him sit, leaning on the Master Emerald. The female echidna straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, gazing at his stunned violet eyes with her half-lidded blue orbs. The emerald guardian gulped slightly, both of them visibly flushed.

"Now that everything is peaceful and I am here to stay in your time, I do believe my hero deserves a reward~." Tikal said seductively, though inside her mind was a trainwreck. 'OH MY GOODNESS I'M SO EMBARRASSED OH NO OH NO PLEASE SAY YES AAAHHHHH!'

'What the, where'd this come from?! She's usually very reserved!' Knuckles mentally shouted. "Uh I don't think I need one haha I'm good and just glad you're he-!"

He was cut off by the sweetest sensation of Tikal's lips meeting his own. He didn't know how to react, frozen by it yet experiencing hidden feelings that were bursting out of him. Her movements were shy and inexperienced, but to him they felt incredible and unbelievable. Eventually did he close his own eyes and kiss back, wrapping his arms around her waist and delved into the exchange. A small moan came out of the female echidna's throat as she squealed from his reciprocation, moving her hands to cup his face and further bringing him in.

Their hearts were beating quickly as a volley of emotions rushed into their minds, mainly of affection and happiness. Tears fell down both their faces, the sense of want and need for one another incredibly strong. It was as if they were the missing halves of one another throughout their entire life, not realizing it until they fully accepted their feelings.

Tikal boldly pushed her tongue into Knuckles' mouth to caress his own larger one, the red guardian returning the gesture as both continued their passionate exchange and hugging each other tightly. Sadly they were both aerobic creatures so the need for air became too great, hesitantly separating with a string of saliva connecting them. Opening their eyes slowly did they watch each other in awe and tender care.

"That was…" Knuckles started off, keeping his hold on Tikal well while feeling that she may disappear. Tikal herself nodded slowly, moving her head towards his neck and settling there as she looked up at him dreamily. "It was wonderful~…"

Knuckles looked down to her as well and smiled brightly, hugging her closer as he nuzzled the top of her head with the latter doing the same. Both laughed happily, no longer fearing of hiding their feelings for one another and simply enjoying the moment. Their chuckles and giggles died down eventually, simply watching each other with adoration.

"I love you." they both said, going back in for another kiss which lasted several minutes. Hands caressed each other's bodies which sent jolts throughout, their love for each other growing stronger and stronger. They separated once again hesitantly, Tikal resting her hands on his strong chest while Knuckles kept his on her lower back.

"So… will you be okay knowing that Chaos and your father are no longer with you?" Knuckles asked in concern. He understood how deeply attached she was to the water lifeform, the only good friend she had outside the village that treated her fairly unlike her father and almost all the echidna tribe. He was also aware how both she and Pachacamac reconciled after a bitter relationship and was now worried if it will affect her.

Tikal sadly smiled and nodded. "It's okay, I'll be alright. Chaos was a great friend ever since I met him and gave me hope that peace will be restored in the future. I'll still hold the memories close and will never forget them." she leaned into Knuckles and sighed, tracing his crescent-shaped mark with a finger. "My father was once a kind man, wanting everyone to stay safe and gaining the trust of his friends to make their lives happier. It was until my grandmother passed that he changed and became something I didn't recognize anymore. In the end however, he apologized for his mistakes and I do believe he is now at peace."

Knuckles watched her sadly, feeling how her words made a great impact. "Well if you want, we can ask the Master Emerald if there's a way to-."

"No, that won't be necessary. Chaos would've wanted me to live a better life away from the pain and suffering of war, and my father's last words were to go with you to live that better life." Tikal responded.

The emerald guardian was surprised at this. He would've thought the peach-colored echidna would've fallen into depression knowing that her loved ones were no longer alive. He said his next words carefully. "So if you were that close to them, how come you chose to come? I mean I did offer but if they were more important that's-." Knuckles was stopped by a finger meeting his lips.

"They are important to me, but not as much as you." Tikal shifted herself back up to his level, cupping his face once again and looking at him in the eyes. "My grandmother told me that I'd find someone just like me. I believed in her words and never forgot them, knowing that one day the tribe would reveal a person with a brave heart and strong courage. Her words came true… you're that person."

Knuckles silently watched her in amazement, though he had some doubt. "T-That's great to hear, but unlike you I normally don't use words to settle my fights." he said softly. Tikal simply smiled, rubbing his cheeks with her thumbs. "Yes, but you fight to protect and not to harm. I sensed it when you took on all those warriors by yourself. It wasn't to gain power or prove that you're the strongest, it was so that you can preserve peace."

The red echidna was simply astonished; she was able to piece everything together so well that his fears and internal conflicts were vanishing rapidly. The weight on his shoulders became less and less to which his regrets of not saving everyone in the past were leaving his mind.

"Not only that, but when you said that you were the last of our kind in your time… I felt how awful it must be knowing that you carry this burden your entire life. Guarding the Master Emerald with no one around, it must've been very distraught for you." Tikal lowered her eyelids in sadness, opening them again after a few seconds. "Well you no longer have to carry that burden anymore. I am here for you now, to be by your side. You don't have to worry anymore… I am here."

Knuckles choked back sobs, trembling at all of this. All his life he only thought of protecting one of the most powerful relics in the universe. Never did he assume that any of his people would come back to life in front of him. At times he would think there are some echidnas still alive in hiding or if through many generations they became unrecognizable. His sole purpose was to keep an eye on the Master Emerald, and he took it seriously. What he never thought of was how he would react if any one of his species were to return and spend the rest of their life with him. A gullible, stubborn, thick-headed, yet powerful loner echidna.

It was too much for the red guardian as he hugged her tightly, digging his face into her neck. "T-T-THANK YOU! I-I-I-!"

"Shhh, it's okay… i-it's o-okay I-I'm he-here." Tikal couldn't contain it either, crying softly into him as well. The two echidnas poured out their feelings and simply enjoyed each other's warmth. All of Knuckles' troubles and regrets evaporated just like that while Tikal's horrible experiences in her past vanished just as well. In their minds, it was only them that they perceived and they relished more on their new life together.

Separating a bit once they calmed down, Knuckles looked down at her and pecked her forehead with Tikal giggling gently. "And you won't be alone as well. I'll make sure to keep you happy for as long as I live. If anything tries to hurt you I'll see to it that it doesn't happen. Ever." he said moving a hand through her orange quills. "You gave my life meaning again. The burden of being the last one has lifted off my shoulders and now I can have an actual purpose to keep going."

Knuckles moved his large hands to her face, settling them on the sides. "I now have something very close to my heart to protect. Something more important to love and cherish than the Master Emerald."

Tikal smiled the biggest she's ever done upon hearing that. "I love you, now come here you~!"

They got back to it, the best kiss they're giving to one another so far setting off fireworks in their heads. No longer are they alone. No longer do they have to experience the bad things in life by themselves. No longer do they have to feel cold without someone there to keep them warm. No more of that; they now have each other to depend on, to go through life together, to tend and cherish. They can love and adore each other, ensuring the other is happy and safe.

Once again did the need for air became great and they slowly separated, panting a bit from the small make-out session. Their smiles were genuine and warm, looking at each other as if they won the best prize ever.

"So um, does that mean we can save our species?" Knuckles asked. Tikal giggled happily. "Well if you want to that's fine, but for me I want to wait longer. I want to spend as much time as I can with you and you only." she said. The larger of the two grinned, nodding to that.

"That doesn't mean…" Tikal looked down nervously, playing with her fingers. "…that we can't do if you want."

Knuckles was confused on what she meant, raising an eyebrow. "I don't understand?"

'Hehe I forgot he grew up all by himself so he doesn't know.' she mentally said. "Don't worry, I'll show you what I mean."

"Well alright. Also I'm not sure if you know this, but as guardians of the Master Emerald it gives us a very long life. Pretty much we're immortal." Knuckles explained.

Tikal was surprised; even she did not know of this and she was with Chaos almost her entire life. "Wow, so we can be together forever until the end of time."

"Hehe yeah, but that doesn't mean we're invincible so weapons and stuff will hurt us." the emerald guardian added. "Why you saw me with the arrows and such."

"I hope nothing like that happens ever again." Tikal said to him. "It hurts me so much to see you injured my love."

Knuckles got close to her and rested his forehead against hers. "It'll hurt me a lot more to see you hurt as well, my love. I can take hits all day and won't feel a thing, but if you were to get hurt… I'll make sure that never happens."

Tikal smiled at this, going up and pecking his lips before separating. "I love you my handsome guardian."

Knuckles softly returned the same gesture. "And I love you my beautiful princess."

It was then that the orange echidna began removing her white top which made Knuckles flustered. "W-W-Wait w-what a-are you-?!"

"I want to show you how much I love you. I want us to become one right here, right now. You can show me around afterwards but for now, my hero still needs his reward~." she responded sultrily.

"N-No it's okay. I-I-I mean w-we can d-do this a-another time! T-The C-Chao might b-be watching!" Knuckles panicked, covering his face with his hands. Smaller hands removed his larger ones, frightened violets orbs looking at sincere blue ones.

"They'll be exploring the whole land so it'll take a while my love, meaning we'll be alone for a good time." Tikal then removed her headpiece and necklace, setting them to the side. "It's okay, I'm new to this as well so just relax and let us be one."

Knuckles gulped lightly and nodded, sitting up a bit more to adjust himself. "O-Okay, for you I will."

And with that did the newly made echidna couple delve into the mysterious wonders of mating. It didn't take long for both Knuckles and Tikal to fully release their desires on each other, exploring the many things they didn't even know their bodies could do. Due to it being their first time, they finished relatively quickly but because of Knuckles' high stamina did he keep the pace going throughout the night. Tikal was incredibly happy for how he performed and loved every second of it. Once the sun rose the next day, the couple were sleeping in each other's arms on a small patch of grass next to the Master Emerald. Tikal cuddled into Knuckles' chest while the emerald guardian rested his head on top of hers. The Chao have not returned yet, but they didn't worry on it as the small beings were curious on exploring the land in their new time.

For Knuckles and Tikal, it was a brand new beginning. Tikal getting another chance at a new and peaceful life just as she wanted, along with getting a new boyfriend. Knuckles no longer being the last of his kind anymore and no longer alone, getting a new girlfriend. A great new beginning indeed.

Fin.

Phew that was a long one. Apologies for not putting it into chapters as I kept going and going hehe. Until next time!