Past to Present
or
Friend or Foe? (Part 3)
By: Erin Lindsey
What happened in parts one and two:
After a sudden accident Knuckles blamed himself for the victim's
death, but what he doesn't know is that the victim, Clawz Wildcat, who was
also the young guardian's childhood friend, is still alive and recovering in
Knothole Village with the Freedom Fighters. What Sonic or Knuckles doesn't
know is that this unexpected visitor has many more secrets than one may
think. We join our favorite echidna again as he tells the story of his past
with this mysterious wildcat...
Most of chapter 5 details Knuckles past in 3rd person...
(To fully understand Part 3, I highly recommend reading Part 1 & 2 first.)
For legal information, see my disclaimer at the bottom of this file.
* * * *
Chapter 5 - Past to Present
Deep within one of the many dense tropical forests that dot the
mystical Floating Island, our story begins as we find a young red echidna
absentmindedly wandering beneath the trees. Upon this child is bestowed the
responsibilities of huge proportions. The responsibility to protect an
entire island. Right now the echidna is only in the early stages of his
education, but his curiosity fills him with a craving for knowledge. He
will have many adventures where he meets many people in his future, but at
the moment he is only concerned with one. One certain Princess. Little does
he know, as he wanders through the forest thinking of his lost friend, that
he is being watched...
"Hmmph. I don't care what he says...." The little animal mumbles to
himself, " I shoulda never told her told her to leave......" ::sniff:: "And
now I'll never see her again....." He sadly sat down on a rotting log, and
began to cry.
Suddenly he heard something behind him. He snapped around and stared
at the trees. "W-who's there?" He sniffled.
There was no answer, but the echidna crept cautiously toward the
bush he thought the sound had come from. He parted the branches, and jumped
back in fright when he saw a pair of glowing green eyes staring up at him.
The eyes growled, then lunged out of hiding and onto him.
"AHHHH!" He screamed and closed his eyes, "Don't eat me!"
The animal on top of him laughed, "I'm not gonna eat 'cha! Eww..
echidnas... too much quills...'sides, your just a kid." It said.
The small echidna opened his eyes to find himself face to face with a
even smaller, green eyed, wildcat kitten. He pushed the cat off and stood up.
He stared at him. The cat was a lot shorter than him, he was brown and white,
and had a big grin on his face.
"Who are you, and why did you attack me?" The echidna demanded.
"I attacked you because...." The wildcat paused to think, "It's fun."
He said grinning wider.
The echidna frowned, "It wasn't much fun for me."
"Sorry. 'Names Clawz. What's Yours?" He said still smiling.
"Knuckles." The echidna told him.
"Hi. Nice to meet 'cha." Clawz said expending a paw to shake hands.
Knuckles hesitated then did the same.
"Woah! Man, you got big hands!" Clawz laughed.
"So?" Knuckles said pulling away, "You gonna make something out of it?"
"Maybe I am, maybe I ain't." He said tauntingly.
Knuckles took a swing at the wildcat, but at the last split second
the cat ducked. Knuckles' hand smashed into the tree behind him. The echidna
tried to turn and take another punch at the wise-cracking wildcat, but
found that his fist was stuck in the bark of the tree. He struggled to get
free, but to no avail. Meanwhile the young wildcat burst into laughter.
"It's not funny!" Knuckles yelled at him.
"Yes it is!" The cat said continuing to laugh at the echidna's
predicament.
Knuckles stopped struggling, "C'mon, help me! I can't get it out!"
Clawz tried to stop laughing, and catch his breath. "Yah, right! If
I get you out, you'll pound me wit' dose humungois fists of yours!"
Knuckles sighed, "No, I won't! I promise!" He pleaded.
The wildcat looked at him doubtfully for a minute, then shrugged.
"All right," he said grabbing onto the echidna's shoulders, "On the count of
three, pull as hard as you can, 'kay?"
"Okay." Knuckles said, smiling.
"Ready, Onnnne.. Twooooo... THREE!" Clawz shouted and tugged on
Knuckles' arm.
After a couple of seconds of pulling, Knuckles' hand came loose and
they both fell onto the ground in a pile. Clawz crawled out from under
Knuckles and stood up, rubbing his back. The echidna stumbled back to his
feet and shook out his wrist.
"Thanks." He said to Clawz.
"Hey, no prob." He answered and walked up to the tree, "Wow. You can
pack quite a punch!" He said examining the scars Knuckles' hand had left in
the tree.
"Yah, they're the only thing their good for." Knuckles said modestly.
They both paused and stared at each other for a moment.
"What are you doing here?" Knuckles finally asked, "I didn't know
wildcats lived on this island."
"Oh... We just moved here." He said softly, "Y'know... me and my dad.."
"What about your mom?" Knuckles asked.
Clawz flinched, "Ah... She's in Heaven."
"Oh, sorry." Knuckles apologized, "My mom is gone too..."
"I guess we have sometin' in common, then don't we?" Clawz said
waving the subject off, obviously not wanting to talk about it anymore.
Knuckles nodded.
"Why were ya' cryin'?" Clawz asked.
Knuckles turned away, "I wasn't crying."
"You were to! I saw ya. C'mon tell me... who am I gonna blab it to?
I got no friends." Clawz argued. Knuckles could sense a bit of sadness in
his voice when the kitten had said that.
"Well, uh.... You know about how Mobotropolis got taken over?" The
echidna asked the cat.
"The place where everybody got turned into robots? Yah, what about it?"
"My friend lived there. I'm afraid she's....." Knuckles trailed off.
"Oh," Clawz said "That's purty sad, man."
"Yes. I'm gonna miss her." Knuckles said sadly.
"What was her name?" He asked.
"Sally." Knuckles said sadly.
Clawz tried to brighten the conversation up, "Was she your girlfriend?"
"NO." Knuckles demanded, then thought about it, "Uh, not... really..."
"Wooo hoo!" Clawz whooped, "Didja kiss her?"
"NO!" Knuckles shouted again.
"HA! I bet you did! On the lips!" Clawz danced around the echidna
laughing at him. Knuckles ordered him to stop, but the wildcat continued to
tease him. Knuckles chased after him, through the forest and fields, until
they both collapsed panting in the heat of the summer afternoon.
"Boy, it's hot today, ain't it?" Clawz asked the echidna after they
had caught their breath. Both children seemed to have totally forgotten their
earlier disagreement.
"I'll say." Knuckles answered, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Hey! I got an idea!" He said with sudden inspiration, "Lets go swimming!"
Clawz wrinkled his nose, "I never did like water much."
"Aww, come on! It'll be fun!" Knuckles pleaded, "Besides I know a
great place by Mushroom Hill."
Clawz sighed and reluctantly agreed, "Ain't like we got any thing
better to do. Lead the way bro."
Knuckles looked around, "Uh, Clawz.... Where are we any way? I was
kinda lost before, and now I really am."
Clawz sighed, "This way." He said and they both walked on a path
until they got to the Mushroom Hill Zone. Clawz turned his head to the left
as he heard a voice yelling off in the distance.
Knuckles frowned. "Uh, Clawz.... I gotta go. That's my dad calling me."
"Oh all right." Clawz said sadly, then brightened up a bit, "Maybe
I can see you tomorrow!" He said.
Knuckles smiled, "Yes! We can meet here tomorrow, around noon, maybe."
He heard his father calling him, and frowned again.
"'Kay, I'll see ya!" Clawz said.
Knuckles waved and began to run away, "See ya!" the echidna
dissapeared over the hill toward the sound of his father's voice.
When he was gone, Clawz sighed sadly. He was happy to have a friend,
but un-happy because now he had to go back home, too. Back there again. He
hoped his dad wouldn't be too mad that he had run off, but he knew he would.
He slowly started to walk back to his so-called "home", just as the sun was
setting and the many moons of Mobius began to shine.
* * * *
"KNUCKLES!" Called a large red echidna with a beard.
"Right here, Dad." The young echidna said running over the hill to him.
"Where did you go?! I have been searching the entire island for you!"
He yelled.
"I'm really sorry, Father.... I uh, got lost in the jungle." Knuckles
answered truthfully. "I didn't mean to. Honest!"
The older echidna sighed, then hugged his son. "It's okay. I was just
worried about you. Don't scare me like that again!"
"I won't Dad." Knuckles said, but had to think about how he was going
to see his friend tomorrow. He wasn't supposed to have any friends in the
first place. He was to be isolated during his apprenticeship, but Knuckles
was not into following rules that much. He was a good student, just didn't
keep his mind on his studies.
"What were you doing in the jungle anyway?" Asked his father, "One
minute you were at my side, the next time I turn around you were gone! I
thought you had been kidnapped or something."
"I just wandered off, I guess." Knuckles said, remembering his lost
princess.
"Well, don't let it happen again. Is that understood?" Said Knuckles' father.
"Yes sir, I understand." He said.
"Let's go home, and get something for dinner." The older echidna said.
Knuckles suddenly remembered he hadn't had lunch. He was very hungry.
He followed close beside his father all the way back to their lair, but he
couldn't help looking over his shoulder as they walked, wondering if he would
be able to see his new friend again. Knuckles would find a way, he was sure
of it.
* * * *
Clawz tried to creep as quietly as he could back into the tree house.
There were empty bottles lying around the floor and he had to stealthily
dodge them in order to not make a sound. One clink of glass against glass
would awaken the huge sleeping wildcat in the corner. Maybe if he could just
sneak past him, in the morning he wouldn't be so angry. He would be sober.
Just as the kitten reached his bed, which was nothing but a thin sheet on a
hard branch of the tree, he spied a half-eaten loaf of bread on the table in
the middle of the small room. His stomach growled, and he realized that he
hadn't had anything to eat in more than a day. He crept slowly toward the
table, which just happened to be the one his father had his feet propped up
on. He stood on his tip-toes and looked cautiously over the edge. He could
see his father snoring loudly at the other end. He was a large mangy looking
wildcat, with a patch over one eye. He was strong, strong enough to snap
Clawz in two if he wanted. The little wildcat gulped and reached out onto
the table. Just as he was about to snatch the food, a large black gloved
hand reached out onto the table and clamped down on top of his. Clawz yelped
in fright, and looked up to meet his father's angry stare. He whimpered
slightly as the larger cat's grip tightened around his wrist.
"What do ya think yer doin', boy?" He growled.
"Well I was just getting something to eat..." Clawz stammered.
"Where have you been all day? I thought you had run off!" His father
said roughly.
"I was just uh, I got lost... and I couldn't find my way back and I.."
"Don't lie to me boy!" He interrupted, shaking his son violently.
"Please, Dad I--" Clawz started.
"Call me Sir, you little punk!" He growled back, "Did ya get you get
anything THIS time?!"
Clawz went silent for a moment. He hated to steal, it just seemed
so... wrong. He remembered a time before when they didn't have to be
thieves, but that was when.... his mother was still alive. Ever since her
death his father, who was once a respected officer in the Mobotropolis army,
had never been the same. He had started this insanity, stealing, and running
from the cops, after he was booted from the service for drinking by none
other than King Acorn himself. Sergeant Slash Wildcat was now nothing more
than a drunken thief.
"Well?! Did you? Speak up boy!" He growled.
"No sir." Clawz whimpered softly.
Slash snarled then tossed the kitten into the corner. "I should've
left you in Mobotopolis!"
Clawz suddenly felt a wave of anger flow though him, exterminating
his pain. "Better than doin' THIS! If I were dead, at least I would be with
Mom!" He yelled.
Slash suddenly went pale. His eyes darkened, but he started to
tremble. "Go to sleep Clawz." He hissed coldly.
Clawz knew if he said another word his father would snap. He had hit
the thief's only soft spot. He could tell because his father was calling him
by his name, usually it was just "boy". Clawz cringed back into his corner
and shivered under his thin cover. He tried not to think of his hunger and
pain. Clawz closed his eyes and fell asleep, to dream of better times, when
he had three square meals a day, slept in a warm bed, and had two caring
parents to love him.
* * * *
The next day...
Knuckles sighed loudly as his father paced about in front of him.
He hated lectures, especially when they had something to do with his
'spiritual development'. This cosmic mumbo-jumbo made his head spin. He
didn't understand why he couldn't just beat the crap out of anyone who
intruded on the Floating Island. Meditation had no benefits as far as he
was concerned.
"-- And while I am away today, you are to remain here in the lair.
I have some important business to attend to today. It seems as if our island
has picked up some thieves. A couple of houses were broken into last night,
and I'm going to check it out. It is my duty as Guardian to--"
Knuckles rolled his eyes. Not one of his 'It is my duty as Guardian'
speeches again. He loved his father, but sometimes the big echidna could get
incredibly boring.
"-- Insure the safety of our people and make sure justice reins
through out the Floating Island. The gods of Chaos are counting on us to
protect the emerald, and their heritage." He finished and turned to glance
at his son, Knuckles stopped slouching and sat up straight.
"Why can't I come with you to check out the burglaries?" He asked.
"Because I said so." His father answered.
Boy, did Knuckles hate that parent line cliché. "Aww, c'mon Dad! I'll
be real good and listen to everything you say!" He pleaded.
"No. Besides I want you to stay here so I know where you are. I don't
want you wandering off like you did yesterday."
Knuckles sighed, "What am supposed to do all day while you gone then?"
"Meditate." His father answered as if it were obvious.
"All day?" Knuckles said.
"Yes, all day." He said, "Just clear your mind and relax. It will do
you good. Remember, time flies when you're having fun." Then the bearded
echidna waved good-bye and strode out the door.
"Oh yah, loads of fun." Knuckles grumbled. He stood up and started
for the kitchen. Suddenly he remembered that he was supposed to meet Clawz
at the river today. What time was it? He ran to the window and looked up at
the sun.
"Hmm... maybe eleven or so." He mumbled.
His father had taught him how to tell time by the position of the
sun. It had never really proved useful to him until now, considering all
technology on the island, including clocks, was discarded for some reason
along time ago before he was born. He didn't know why, or really care at the
moment. He ran toward the kitchen again to make himself lunch. He quickly
prepared some sandwiches and tossed them into his backpack. He threw the bag
over his shoulder and raced out the door, slamming it behind him. It was a
long walk to Mushroom Hill, and he wanted to be there when his friend arrived.
If he could get back home before his father came back, he would never
know he was gone. He wasn't much into lying to his father, but he had made a
promise to meet Clawz today at noon and he didn't want to disappoint his new
friend. The first friend he had was gone forever, and he wasn't about to let
it happen again.
Knuckles raced happily along, trying to keep up his stamina by
taking deep breaths and long strides. He ran through Rainbow Valley to get
to the river. He would follow the stream around Lava Reef to get to the
Mushroom Zone. He slowed his pace slightly as he saw a dark mountain poking
above the horizon. Mount Fate had always freaked him out a bit. The black
stones on it's face had eroded and shaped into that of a huge skull.
Knuckles started to run faster again as he entered the ruins of the old
echidna civilization. Smashed columns and great white marble boulders
overgrown with weeds lay all around him. His father had told him many myths
and legends that centered around this place, but they had only furthered
his fear. He felt as Mount Fate and the Marble Zone as a place of death
and desolation. It seemed to him as if evil spirits loomed all around him.
Knuckles was glad when he reached the river. He jumped off the
cobblestone beach and glided quickly over the water. He landed on the other
side and stopped to catch his breath. He turned around to stare at the huge
spooky mountain. The black skull seemed to being staring back at him.
Knuckles felt a cold chill run down his spine. As soon as he caught his
breath he ran downstream until the mountain was no longer visible. Only then
did he slow to a jog.
When Knuckles reached the curve in the river where he had told Clawz
to meet him yesterday, he was surprised to see the brown kitten already there.
He was laying on his back lounging in the mid-day sun on a bolder. Clawz
was actually not totally brown, he was white on his chest and stomach. He
had a blank look on his face as he stared up at the clouds. His tail
twitched thoughtfully. The rock the cat was on hung partially over the
riverside, and the water lapped gently up against the edge as it slipped
it's way down river. Clawz didn't even notice as Knuckles sneaked up behind
him.
Knuckles had a mischievous grin on his face. He took a deep breath
and then yelled at the top of his lungs.
Clawz jumped up as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightening.
His fur puffed out around him and he zipped spazoticially back and forth
until he lost his footing on the rock and fell head over heels into the water.
At first Clawz didn't emerge, but a nano-second later he bolted out to the
river as if it was filled with piranha chewing at his tail. He stood there
on the shore completly drenched until he heard a noise, he found Knuckles
laughing his head off rolling on the ground.
"Hey! You scared me!" He screeched, coughing after.
Knuckles stopped laughing then looked up at the wet wildcat, and
started laughing all over again. The cat's fur was all wet down and he looked
like a dead rat.
"You-you loo-look so fuh-ff-funny!" He managed to choke out.
Clawz shook part of the water out of his ears, then shook his whole
body to the tip of his tail to his two hind feet until he was moderately dry.
His fur stuck up like it was full of static electricity. He tried to smooth it
down, but was only barely successful.
"Whe-when you w-were jumpin' uh-around--" Knuckles started to say but
burst out laughing just thinking about it.
"Yah, nice to see you too, Knuckles." Clawz grumbled.
Knuckles stood up and tried to calm down. He wiped his eyes and
stumbled up beside the fluffy wildcat. Clawz looked up at him. Knuckles
looked down at him.
"Sorry, I just couldn't help it." He said after he had caught his
breath.
Clawz just stared back up at him. Oh well, he thought he had laughed
at him when he got his fist stuck in that tree. They were even now. He started
to make conversation.
"How old are you?" He asked.
"Seven." Knuckles answered.
"Ha! I'm older than you." He gloated.
Knuckles looked skeptical. "How old are you then?"
"Eight." He said.
Knuckles laughed, "You're short!"
Clawz frowned. "So what if I ain't big yet? I will be! When I get
grown I'll be three times bigger than any ole' dumb echidna!"
Knuckles' skeptical expression returned, "Yah, and I'm the queen of
Mobius!" He said sarcastically, then stopped short of laughing in the kitten's
face. Queen of Mobius. That's what Sally would have been when she grew up.
The young echidna's face saddened. He missed his princess...
Clawz noticed Knuckles' sudden change of emotion, "What's da matter?
Was it sometin' I said?"
"Huh?" Knuckles said snapping out of the trance he was in, "Oh no. I
was just thinking about Sally."
"Yah mean yer girlfriend?" Clawz said smirking.
"She wasn't my girlfriend!" Knuckles insisted. "She was just my friend!"
"Yah, suuurrrrre she was..." Clawz said still grinning.
Knuckles just gave him a nasty look.
"What made ya think of her? Was she short or sometin' too?" He asked.
"No." Knuckles answered simply. "She was the Princess, and when I
mentioned the queen--"
"Your girlfriend was the Princess?!" Clawz said shocked.
"Yes." Knuckles said then corrected himself, "I mean no, she wasn't
my girlfriend, but she was the Princess of Mobotropolis."
"Wow!" Clawz said seemingly impressed, "I saw her once. Quite a babe."
Knuckles didn't know what to say to that. He just climbed up on top
of the over-hanging boulder and looked down at the water.
"So what are we gonna do?" Clawz asked, climbing up to stand beside him.
"I thought we were going to go swimming." Knuckles said.
"I've already been." Clawz said.
"But I haven't--" Knuckles started but was cut off as Clawz pushed
him off the edge and into the water with a splash. Knuckles quickly picked
himself up out of the water. Clawz was staring at him contentedly from atop
the rock.
"You have now." He said smiling.
"Ha, ha. Verrrry funny." Knuckles mumbled.
"Wasn't it though?" Clawz said still smiling.
Knuckles stumbled ashore and shook himself dry, splashing Clawz in
the process. Clawz jumped off the bolder and tackled the young echidna. They
wrestled for a couple of minutes, pounding on one another. Typical boys.
They were pretty evenly matched, Knuckles stronger, but Clawz faster. Soon
Knuckles had the kitten pinned.
"Okay, okay! I give up!" Clawz wheezed.
Knuckles let him go. "Ha! I win!" He said triumphantly.
"You can fight purty good for an echidna.." Clawz said panting.
"Thanks... I think." Knuckles said. "Your okay too."
Clawz got up on all fours. He arched his back and stretched it out,
then plopped down again. He yawned, opening his mouth wide and closing his
eyes, then looked back at Knuckles.
"Gee, I sure am hungry." He mumbled rubbing his stomach.
"Yeah, so am I." Knuckles said, "Want something to eat?"
Clawz's ears perked up. "Ya mean you brought food?" He asked hopefully.
"Yeah." Knuckles said picking his backpack off the ground and opening
it, "Do you want some?"
"Do I?!" Clawz said eagerly.
Knuckles pulled two sandwiches out and handed one to Clawz who
snatched it quickly. Knuckles sat down to eat his, and looked up at Clawz who
was demolishing his at a startling pace. Clawz stopped eating for a second to
see Knuckles staring at him a bit disgusted. Clawz swallowed and wiped his
mouth with the back of his hand. He sat down and tried to eat more slowly.
"I guess you really were hungry... " Knuckles said taking the first
bite of his sandwich just as Clawz finished his.
"Yep." Clawz said licking his lips.
"Why are you so hungry? Do they not feed you at your house or
something?" Knuckles asked sarcastically.
Clawz was silent for a moment. "I.. ah, missed breakfast." He said
nervously.
Knuckles looked confused. "Oh."
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes.
"Are you gonna finish that?" Clawz said pointing to Knuckles' half
eaten sandwich.
Knuckles looked down at his hands. "Uhh, no. Here you can have
it." He offered to the wildcat. Clawz took it and ate it hungrily.
Knuckles watched him in awe.
"So what do you want to do?" He asked.
"I dunno. What'd you wanna do?" Clawz said swallowing his last bite.
Knuckles thought for a moment, then got an idea. "Hey! I know!"
"What?"
"I want to show you something."
"What?" Clawz repeated curiously.
Knuckles stood up, "Come on, I'll show you." He said starting
to walk over the hill.
Clawz jogged to catch up with him then slowed to a walk. "Where are
we going?" He asked.
"You'll see." Knuckles said.
* * * *
Locke Echidna, Knuckles' father sighed as he looked at the ran-sacked
house. Why would someone do such a thing?, he thought. He looked back up at
the family. The two adult rabbit's were rather poor looking. The female had
a small child in her arms with big pink bows tied up in its ears. The mother
was crying softly as her husband tried to console her. The baby quietly
sucked on her pacifier.
"Did you see anything before it happened?" He asked.
"No, Mr. Guardian sir, we didn't see a thing." Answered the male
rabbit looking up the red bearded echidna in a white coat.
"No suspicious looking characters seen around?"
"Nope. None that I was aware of, Sir." He said.
"What all did they take?" Locke asked.
The rabbit looked to his wife then back to the echidna. "They took
most of our money, and a couple of other things...."
"How much money are we talking about?"
The rabbit sighed, "About 300 silver royals."
Locke looked surprised. That was a good amount of money. It had to
have been their life savings. He glanced from the female, to her baby, then
back to the husband.
"I'm sorry, but there's not much I can do until I find the thieves."
He said softly.
The female let out a sob, and held her baby tightly.
"We understand." The male said nodding soberly.
Locke felt a stab of guilt in his stomach. The world today...
full of such evil. He reached slowly into his pocket and pulled out a small
pouch.
"Here. I want you to have this." He said handing it to the rabbit.
He took it, and gently poured its contents onto his hand. At least 50
golden coins fell onto his palm. His wife gasped.
"Sir, we can't take this--" He said offering it back to Locke.
"No." He said pushing it back toward the rabbit. "You need it more
than I do."
The rabbit smiled, "Thank you...."
Locke nodded. He turned and started to leave.
"Wait, Sir..." Said the female.
Locke turned back to look at her. She had not said a word since he
had came. She handed the baby to her husband then walked up to him. He could
still see the tears in her eyes. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
Locke blushed slightly. She female quickly returned to her husband's side. He
put his arm around her.
"Don't worry," Locke said, "When I find the thieves I'll get your
money back."
"You've already done more than enough..." The rabbit said.
Locke waved good-bye and left. He felt good. He loved doing his job.
He just wished that he didn't have to. As long as there was evil he had a job,
and that's the part he hated about it. His mind wandered over the burglaries
victims he had helped today. They were all families with children. He sighed
sadly, another part he hated about being a guardian was that the his wife
had no say in the upbringing of their child, the future guardian, his son
Knuckles. That was why Lara-Le had left him. He didn't like the idea either,
but it was a rule, and he intended to follow them. He just wished that he
didn't have to. At least he still had Knuckles to keep him going. Locke
decided to go home early to take his son with him on the patrol around the
island tonight. Knuckles had been meditating all day, he deserved a break...
* * * *
"Are we there yet?" Clawz asked for the millionth time.
Knuckles grumbled, knowing the wildcat was just doing it to annoy him.
"Almost! Just keep your pants on!"
"I don't wear any pants, and neither do you." Clawz pointed out.
"It's a figure of speech." Knuckles said pushing aside some branches.
"Oh," Clawz said as he ducked when the Knuckles let go and the branches
came back in his face. He soon added, "What's a figure of speech?"
"Shut-up." Knuckles answered. The wildcat had been asking him annoying
questions the last entire thirty minutes.
"Shut-up? Is shut-up a figure of speech?" Clawz asked.
"I don't know." The echidna said stiffly. He then stopped in the middle
of a clearing. "Here we are!" He announced throwing his arms up.
Clawz looked around. All he could see was ordinary grass and ordinary
trees and ordinary rocks. Everything was ordinary. "So? What's so special
about this place?" He asked, a bit annoyed that the echidna had drug him
half across the island to see this.
"Promise you won't tell?" Knuckles said turning to look at him.
"Why? I don't see anything to tell about!" Clawz said.
"Just promise and I'll show you!"
"Okay, okay. I promise."
"Do you really promise? Do you cross your heart and hope to die if you
tell?" Knuckles chanted.
"Yep. I promise." Clawz said crossing his hand over his heart.
"You can't tell anybody! Not even your Dad, okay?"
"Believe me, Knux, he would be the last one I told." Clawz said, "Now are
you gonna show me our not?"
Knuckles hesitated. He glanced quickly around, the motioned Clawz to
follow him.
Neither of them noticed the watchful eye of one certain big brown cat-burglar.
Knuckles stopped at the end of the path where the trees and plant life
had blocked the way... or so it seemed. He sat and stared at it for a moment
as if searching it.
"What are you doing?" Clawz asked.
Knuckles turned back to scold him, "Shhh!! Be quiet. I have to concentrate!"
He hissed.
"Geez, sorry..." Clawz mumbled, but watched the echidna intently.
"Oh, here it is." Knuckles mumbled pushing aside some leaves to reveal
a small silver panel welded into a large rock, which Clawz could now see was
what all the plants were growing all over. Knuckles stared at it a minute
thinking, then put his palm against the panel, hoping it would work. It had
always worked for his father. He thought hard. Open you stupid door, open!
He thought. Nothing happened. Door, I, Knuckles soon to be guardian of this
island, command you to open! He thought. The panel glowed slightly. Clawz
watched with amazement as the rock suddenly disappeared, revealing a
passageway. Knuckles took his hand off of the panel, smiling proudly, even
though he did have a bit of a headache.
"Wo-hoh!" Clawz said excitedly, "How didja do that?!"
"Magic." Knuckles answered simply, starting to walk down the passage.
Clawz followed closely. He stopped to admire the crystal covered walls
of the hall. The sides shone a bright yellow and pink, ever changing with
the light and his perspective. He reached out and touched it gently. To his
surprise, the wall was soft and warm. It seemed to be pulsing, as if it was
alive. Clawz stood still letting his fingers run over the smooth surface of
the living stones.
Knuckles entered a large room. He Gazed around it for a moment proudly,
then spoke, "So, Clawz, what do you think?"
There was no answer.
Knuckles turned back to the hallway. "Clawz?" He called down it. He
saw the small wildcat engulfed in a study of the side of the passage. He
walked up to him. "Clawz? What are you doing?" He asked.
The kitten seemed to wake from a trance. "Huh? What?"
"Come on," Knuckles said, grabbing his arm, "If your so interested in
that wall, your gonna think this is REALLY cool."
Clawz stepped into the room. For a second, he was blinded by a brilliant
green light, but soon his eyes adjusted. He saw how the walls of the hallway
widened out into a massive circular space. All of the walls were covered in
the living crystals, but that wasn't what caught the wildcat's eye. In the
very center of the chamber floated a massive green gem. The light seemed to
becoming from inside of it, reflecting off of the walls and then back to the
emerald itself illuminating the entire place with prisms of all different
colors. The gem alone was the most exquisite thing he had ever saw. The
beautiful angles of the sides looked as if they had been cut by the Gods'
own hands. Shining, shimmering, and glowing with an immense power that he
could not even begin to describe. Clawz stood there spellbound for a matter
of minutes.
Finally, Knuckles broke the silence. "So?" He said, "What do you think?"
Clawz turned slightly to look at him, with a look of pure awe in his eyes.
"wow..." Was all he could manage to say.
Knuckles smiled proudly and walked up closer to the emerald. Clawz
slowly followed him, eyes locked on the precious stone.
"C-can I t-touch it?" Clawz asked softly.
"Sure." Knuckles said.
Clawz slowly brought his hand up to the gigantic emerald. He gently
touched it. He felt a sudden rush of warm energy. The emerald felt much
like the wall, except for it was much more stonger. The gem seemed to be
even more alive than the living walls. Clawz felt as if he was to speak to
it, the emerald would answer.
"Wh-what is it?" Clawz asked softly, drawing his hand slowly away from
the huge green stone.
"The Chaos Emerald." Knuckles said.
"Chaos Emerald..." Clawz repeated. "What does it do?"
"It contols the entire island. It's what makes it float. Without the
Chaos Emerald, we would all go crashing down to the main land." Knuckles
explained.
Clawz paled slightly at that thought. He'd never been too fond of hights.
"My dad says that our ancestors brought it here, to save the island from
being hit by a meteor." Knuckles said proudly.
"Wow." Clawz said, then stared back at the emerald. "It must be worth
a fortune."
Knuckles blinked, "I never really thought about it that way..."
"Knuckles, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Clawz said
looking back at the glowing gem, then back to the echidna, "You're the best
friend I ever had!"
Knuckles smiled, "You're my best friend too, Clawz."
They just sat there for a minute, in silence. Both of them happy to
finally have a real friend.
* * * *
The sun was fading on the horizon of the Floating Island turning the sky
a breath-taking array of colors. A single tall dark figure lurked among the
branches of the tropical trees. He watched happily as the two children, a
young red echidna, and a small green eyed kitten skipped merrily out of the
rock door way. They ran off over the hill, forgetting in their haste, to
close the door on the way out. The dark figure smiled wickedly his one green
eye glinting menacingly in the light of the setting sun...
* * * *
Knuckles sadly bid his friend good-bye. He sighed, then walked up to
his front door and opened it. To his surprise, and horror, his father was
standing there, his arms crossed and he didn't look very happy. Knuckles
felt a cold tingle go down his back.
"Hello, son." Locke practically growled, "May I ask where you have been?"
Knuckles went pale, "D-dad? Wh-what are you doing home?" the little
echidna managed to stammer.
Locke stared at him coldly for a moment. "I came home early. I wanted
to come home and take you on my patrol with me."
Knuckles cringed with guilt. "Oh." He mumbled.
"It seems that we've both been busy today." Locke said, "Now I'll ask
you one more time, where have you been?!"
"Well I... uh-humm..." Knuckles mumbled, "I was in the Chaos Chamber."
Locke looked slightly surprised. "Really," He said suspiciously, "How
did you get in? I locked the Zoot Shute up yesterday."
"Oh, I know. I used the secret rock panel entrance." Knuckles said, a
bit relieved that he had a good alibi.
Locke looked confused, "YOU used that? But you can only use telepathy
to open that door."
"I did. I commanded the door to open in my mind, and it did." Knuckles
said rather proudly.
Locke couldn't help but smiling slightly. He had never known Knuckles
to be a liar, so he supposed himself to be a great teacher. "It that so?" He
asked, "Did you use telepathy to close it or just push it shut?"
Suddenly the look of confidence drained from his face. He went pale
again with a sudden bolt of realization.
"Oops..." He said softly.
"What?" Locke said, already assuming the bad news.
Knuckles looked up at his father cautiously, getting ready to run for
cover when his father blew his top, " I... I forgot to.. to close the door..."
He said innocently.
A look of pure rage filled Locke at that moment. "You WHAT?!"
Before Knuckles could repeat himself, a quake shook the ground tossing
both echidnas to the ground. Locke got back up quickly.
"DAMMMIT! There's someone trying to get the emerald!" He shouted.
Knuckles had never heard his father cuss before. It scared him.
Locke threw open the door and rushed out. Knuckles overcame his fear
quickly and started to follow him. Locke noticed this and reeled around to
face his son again. Knuckles' fear returned.
"YOU are staying HERE!" The older echidna demanded.
"B-but Dad... I'm sorry!" Knuckles said, holding back tears.
"Well, sorry isn't good enough!" Locke said, "You're are in serious
trouble, young man. Don't push it!"
He then stormed out the door and slammed it loudly. Knuckles sat there
for a second staring at the closed door. He had never seen his father that
angry before. He sat down on the ground in front of the door and started
sobbing softly.
* * * *
Locke reached the entrance to the Chaos Camber Quickly. The door was
indeed wide open. He made a dash for the hall way, but was thrown backwards
out the door again as the island shook with another quake. He stumbled back
to his feet and sped down the hall way.
He wasn't surprised to find the large mangy looking wildcat trying to
pull the emerald from it's pedestal. Locke didn't hesitate to tackle the cat
to the ground. The surprised wildcat cat had little time to react before the
echidna had thrown him up against the wall. The wildcat stood up slowly. He
turned to see the echidna staring at him from in between him and the jewel.
The wildcat smiled evilly.
"Well looky what we got 'ere." He growled, "Fresh meat."
"Hardly." Locke said confidently, "I am the guardian of this island,
and you sir, are intruding on private property."
"Is dat so?" The wildcat said, "Well, I'm Slash Wildcat, infamous
cat-burglar, and you echidna, are dead!" With that he lunged at the echidna
viciously.
Locke smiled blandly, and a split second before the wildcat was upon
him, he disappeared. The wildcat plowed into the emerald head first sending
his mind spinning. Locke reappeared behind him and promptly kicked Slash in
the stomach. The cat winced in pain holding his stomach protectively.
Locke laughed. "Stupid wildcat! You are no match for a Guardian!"
He mocked, "I'll give you one more chance to give up before I knock you
senseless."
Slash growled and took one last swing at the echidna. Locke held to
his threat and easily dodged and threw the wildcat up against the wall again,
knocking him unconscious. Locke smiled. That was almost too easy. He picked
up the wildcat, who must have been twice his size, and tried to carry him
down the hall. About half way, Locke had to stop to catch his breath.
He sat the wildcat on the floor momentarily, "I guess I'm not getting
any younger." He mumbled, rubbing his back.
Suddenly the cat's eye snapped open. Without warning, Slash grabbed
the unsuspecting echidna by the heels and hurled him out the doorway into
the clearing. Before Locke could realize what had happened the wildcat had
already pinned him to the ground.
Slash laughed, "Look who laughin' now, Mister Guardian!" He snarled
into the echidna's ear.
Locke struggled to throw the cat off, but Slash caught him around the
neck, choking him. Locke could barely breathe. The wildcat smiled wickedly
at his victim's discomfort. Suddenly something klonked the wildcat on the
head. Slash fell off Locke, this time really unconscious. Locke smiled, and
picked up the rock he had used to hit the wildcat over the head with. He
pushed the limp cat's body off of himself and stood up. He took some
handcuffs and snapped them around the wildcat's wrists and ankles before.
Turning back to the Chaos Chamber to check the emerald and close and hide
the door again.
* * * * *
Clawz had heard something back in the clearing when he had began to
walk back to his own house. He had started to go back when the earthquake
threw him off his feet. It took him a while to recover, but when he got back
up he raced to the Chaos Chamber entrance. What he found there, more than
surprised him.
"D-Dad??" He said softly, approaching the chained and unconscious
wildcat laying in the middle of the clearing.
There was no answer.
He nudged his father and tried to revive him, "Dad! Wake up! Da-aad!" He said.
"Hmm? Ugghh... Boy? Wha... What happened??" Slash said partially
awakening, half opening his one good eye.
"Dad! You're all chained up!" Clawz realized.
Slash was now awake fully. He remembered now. "I was... attacked, yah
that's it attacked, by this crazy echidna. He beat me up then put dem cuffs
on me. Help me out boy, before that mad-man comes back!" He lied.
Clawz believed him. "Oh my god. Here lemme try and get 'dese things
offa you." He bent down and began trying to pick the locks.
"Well, what have we got here?" Locke said standind over them both. "A
little accomplice?"
Clawz gasped and tried to dash away, but the big echidna already had
him. Clawz yelped as he picked him up by the scruff of his neck and held him
up in from of his face. Locke looked the kitten over thoroughly. Clawz
curled into a tight ball, as if trying to disappear.
Slash was struggling with the cuffs on the ground, but with the strong metal
and his ankles and wrists hooked together he could do nothing to help. Locke
tied a rope to the cuffs, and while still holding the kitten in one hand he
dragged them back to the lair.
* * * * *
Knuckles was sitting by the window sill waiting for his father to
return when he saw him tugging the large cat behind him and holding a brown
ball in the other. He wiped his eyes quickly and went to the door and
cracked it slightly to see out.
His father was opening the padlock to the small prison cell that they
had behind the house. He opened the door and lugged the big cat in, came out
quickly, shut the door, and locked it again. He wasn't carrying the brown
ball anymore, either. Locke turned back to the house. He saw Knuckles watching
him through the crack. The little echidna quickly closed the door and ran
back to his room. Locke sighed and walked towards the doorway.
A couple seconds later Knuckles was in his bed pretending to be asleep.
Locke opened the door and looked in. Knuckles tried to lie perfectly still
and not make a sound. Locke smiled slightly. He would punish him in the
morning. He closed the door softly and walked down the hall to his study.
After Knuckles could no longer hear his fathers footsteps, he opened his
eyes and sat up.
I wonder who he put in the jail outside, Knuckles thought. Without
another though about it, he climbed out the window and went to the back of
the house. He pushed a rock up to the doorway and climbed up on it to look
into the small barred window at the top of the door. The big wildcat was
asleep, or unconscious, on the bench in the back. He didn't notice Clawz
sitting directly behind the door until he heard the kitten sniffle softly,
trying to hold back tears.
"Clawz? Is that you??" He wispered.
The small cat looked up at him. "Knuckles? What are you doing here??"
He asked.
"You tell me first." Knuckles said.
"Me and my dad over 'dere got jumped by 'dis big crazy echidna, then
he put us in here!" Clawz said, "Can you help us get out?"
"I don't think so, Clawz." He said with a sudden tone of anger in his
voice.
"What? Why not? You sound mad." Clawz said.
"Hmmph! Do I look stupid?" He said.
"Uh... Well..." Clawz decied to be serious for once, "No. You ain't dumb."
He answered.
"Then why are you playing me for a sap??" Knuckles growled.
"Huh? What ARE you talking about?!" Clawz asked, very confused.
"That 'big crazy echidna' you were refferring to is my father!"
Clawz was silent in quiet surprise.
"You don't think I'm really gonna buy that! I know what you did..."
Knuckles said angrily.
"I didn't do anything!" Clawz defended.
"You broke a promise! You lied!" He growled.
"I never broke no promises!" He insisted.
"You did too! You told your father where the Chaos Emerald was! You
purposely made me forget to close the door so you and him could rob us blind!"
"It ain't true! I didn't do nothing!" Clawz said.
"Liar!" Knuckles snorted, "If you didn't tell him where the emerald
was who did? Someone had to because how else would we have earthquakes
unless someone was messing with the emerald? You told your dad and he tried
to steal it, but my father, the Guardian of the Floating Island stopped him!"
"Knuckles, you gotta believe me! I would never--"
"I should have listened to my father." Knuckles interrupted, "I should
have never trusted you or anybody! Friends just aren't worth it! I hope I
never see you again!" He yelled then he dissappeared from the window.
"Knuckles wait! Come back I didn't tell him! I... I... I promise I
didn't..." Clawz pleaded.
He called and called but, Knuckles didn't answer. He had gone back
through his window already. Clawz slowy slid back down the door to the
ground. He had only had a best friend for thirty minutes, and already his
hateful life had ruined it for him. Clawz realized that his father probably
was trying to steal the emerald. He would do anything for a buck: Lie, cheat,
and steal...
* * * * *
The next morning after Locke had found the hideout of the two wildcats
and returned the money and belonging to the victims, he sent word to a local
bounty hunter, a weasel, that he was willing to hand over the wanted criminal:
Slash M. Wildcat, for a certain amount, that is. The bounty hunter came as
soon as he could to collect him. He was a big weasel with dark purple fur
and a design tatooed into his left shoulder. He wore a tan fedora
that covered his eyes. He was a bit surprised when he saw the kitten with
him.
"Who-es da kid?" The bounty hunter asked. He talked with a bad lisp.
"He's comes in the package. No extra charge." Locke said, buissnessman-like.
"Hmm." The weasel thought a moment, "Well I geusses that would be okay.
Es long as 'he don't costs nothin'. He could work wiv meself and me son. They
ain't gonna give me anyt'ing for a liddle kiddens." He said. The weasel handed
Locke a small pouch of coins, then began to walk back towards his aircraft.
Locke poured the contents out onto his palm. He frowned. He grabbed the
weasel by the tail.
"The deal was for fifteen silvers. There are only ten silver royals
and five brass'. Are you trying to cheat me, Bounty Hunter??" Locke asked
angrily.
"Uh, no.. No! Of courses not, Zurr!" He stammered, "I was never being
good wiv the countings. I just forgot a fews." He pulled another pouch from
his pocket and handed it to Locke, too. He checked the amount before
releasing the weasle's tail and letting them on thier way.
Knuckles was watching all of this sadly from his bedroom window. He
had been confined to his room for three whole weeks with no playing outside
or anything. He wasn't particular upset about this at the moment, though.
He thought Clawz was his friend. No, he was just a really good lair. The
one person who he trusted, besides his father, betrayed him. He wasn't sure
if he would ever trust anyone again.
* * * * *
"...And I didn't for a long time." Knuckles finished, looking out over
the horizion. The sun had risen to it's morning hieght, sending tiny beams
of light bouncing against the tiny waves of the ocean far below the Foating
Island. "That is, until I met you guys." He said turning back to look at the
Chaotix, "Although I still don't fully trust some of you." He said eyeing
Mighty.
He smiled innocently. "What?"
"Wow. How could Clawz do that to you?" Charmy asked, changing the
subject.
"I don't know. I don't even know why he came back..." Knuckles said
sadly.
"Maybe he wanted to apologize." Said Espio.
"Yah... Maybe. I guess now I'll never know..." He said not looking
back at him. He stared wistfully down at the sea.
"Don't blame yourself for his death, Knux. Like you said, it was an
accident." Mighty said, finally showing some friendship.
Knuckles smiled weakly. "I guess your right. I can't dwell in the past.
C'mon lets go do something fun to get me outta this mood."
"Did someone say fun?" Vector said walking up to them.
"Yah, Vec." Knuckles said standing beside him. "And geuss what?"
"What?"
"Since you didn't listen to my story... TAG! You're it!" Knuckles said
wacking the crocodile against the back of the head.
"Hey! Wait no fair!!" He protested, but everybody had already ran off
into the jungle.
* * * * *
"Look! I think he's waking up!" Said a voice.
"Oh good. It's about time." Said a feminine, yet older sounding voice.
Clawz opened his eyes slightly. Everything was blurry for a moment. He
sat up, but instantly laid back down as his head began to swim.
"Ugghh..." He grumbled, putting a paw to his forehead, "Wha' happened??
Where am I??"
"Don't worry, dear. Your safe here. You had a bad accident." Said the
female, who was an elderly woodchuck. She had a warm and caring smile.
Clawz stared at her for a moment, "Who are you?" He asked.
"My name is Rosie, and this is Dr. Quack." She said motioning to the
large yellow duck to her side, "He's going to help you get better. What's
you'r name?"
"Hmm? Oh, uh.. Clawz. Clawz M. Wildcat." He mumbled absentmindedly.
"Well, Clawz, how do you feel?" She asked.
"Terrible."
* * * * *
End of Part III!
To be continued...
Woah, what a ride! Stay tuned for Part 4, "The Falling Island," where we
finally get some real action!
Don't forget to look forward to Part 5 too, the exciting
conclusion to my first mini-series!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Legalities: Okay. ready, set go!!!
Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, the Freedom
fighters, the Chaotix, Dr. Robotnik, and any related
characters are licensed characters of SEGA and Co.
and/or DIC and Archie Adventure series Comics. Clawz the
Wildcat was created by Erin Lindsey. If you want this
story on your site, want to use any of my characters, or
have any complications send them to:
diamondneko@mail.com
http://sheliacw.tripod.com
or
Friend or Foe? (Part 3)
By: Erin Lindsey
What happened in parts one and two:
After a sudden accident Knuckles blamed himself for the victim's
death, but what he doesn't know is that the victim, Clawz Wildcat, who was
also the young guardian's childhood friend, is still alive and recovering in
Knothole Village with the Freedom Fighters. What Sonic or Knuckles doesn't
know is that this unexpected visitor has many more secrets than one may
think. We join our favorite echidna again as he tells the story of his past
with this mysterious wildcat...
Most of chapter 5 details Knuckles past in 3rd person...
(To fully understand Part 3, I highly recommend reading Part 1 & 2 first.)
For legal information, see my disclaimer at the bottom of this file.
* * * *
Chapter 5 - Past to Present
Deep within one of the many dense tropical forests that dot the
mystical Floating Island, our story begins as we find a young red echidna
absentmindedly wandering beneath the trees. Upon this child is bestowed the
responsibilities of huge proportions. The responsibility to protect an
entire island. Right now the echidna is only in the early stages of his
education, but his curiosity fills him with a craving for knowledge. He
will have many adventures where he meets many people in his future, but at
the moment he is only concerned with one. One certain Princess. Little does
he know, as he wanders through the forest thinking of his lost friend, that
he is being watched...
"Hmmph. I don't care what he says...." The little animal mumbles to
himself, " I shoulda never told her told her to leave......" ::sniff:: "And
now I'll never see her again....." He sadly sat down on a rotting log, and
began to cry.
Suddenly he heard something behind him. He snapped around and stared
at the trees. "W-who's there?" He sniffled.
There was no answer, but the echidna crept cautiously toward the
bush he thought the sound had come from. He parted the branches, and jumped
back in fright when he saw a pair of glowing green eyes staring up at him.
The eyes growled, then lunged out of hiding and onto him.
"AHHHH!" He screamed and closed his eyes, "Don't eat me!"
The animal on top of him laughed, "I'm not gonna eat 'cha! Eww..
echidnas... too much quills...'sides, your just a kid." It said.
The small echidna opened his eyes to find himself face to face with a
even smaller, green eyed, wildcat kitten. He pushed the cat off and stood up.
He stared at him. The cat was a lot shorter than him, he was brown and white,
and had a big grin on his face.
"Who are you, and why did you attack me?" The echidna demanded.
"I attacked you because...." The wildcat paused to think, "It's fun."
He said grinning wider.
The echidna frowned, "It wasn't much fun for me."
"Sorry. 'Names Clawz. What's Yours?" He said still smiling.
"Knuckles." The echidna told him.
"Hi. Nice to meet 'cha." Clawz said expending a paw to shake hands.
Knuckles hesitated then did the same.
"Woah! Man, you got big hands!" Clawz laughed.
"So?" Knuckles said pulling away, "You gonna make something out of it?"
"Maybe I am, maybe I ain't." He said tauntingly.
Knuckles took a swing at the wildcat, but at the last split second
the cat ducked. Knuckles' hand smashed into the tree behind him. The echidna
tried to turn and take another punch at the wise-cracking wildcat, but
found that his fist was stuck in the bark of the tree. He struggled to get
free, but to no avail. Meanwhile the young wildcat burst into laughter.
"It's not funny!" Knuckles yelled at him.
"Yes it is!" The cat said continuing to laugh at the echidna's
predicament.
Knuckles stopped struggling, "C'mon, help me! I can't get it out!"
Clawz tried to stop laughing, and catch his breath. "Yah, right! If
I get you out, you'll pound me wit' dose humungois fists of yours!"
Knuckles sighed, "No, I won't! I promise!" He pleaded.
The wildcat looked at him doubtfully for a minute, then shrugged.
"All right," he said grabbing onto the echidna's shoulders, "On the count of
three, pull as hard as you can, 'kay?"
"Okay." Knuckles said, smiling.
"Ready, Onnnne.. Twooooo... THREE!" Clawz shouted and tugged on
Knuckles' arm.
After a couple of seconds of pulling, Knuckles' hand came loose and
they both fell onto the ground in a pile. Clawz crawled out from under
Knuckles and stood up, rubbing his back. The echidna stumbled back to his
feet and shook out his wrist.
"Thanks." He said to Clawz.
"Hey, no prob." He answered and walked up to the tree, "Wow. You can
pack quite a punch!" He said examining the scars Knuckles' hand had left in
the tree.
"Yah, they're the only thing their good for." Knuckles said modestly.
They both paused and stared at each other for a moment.
"What are you doing here?" Knuckles finally asked, "I didn't know
wildcats lived on this island."
"Oh... We just moved here." He said softly, "Y'know... me and my dad.."
"What about your mom?" Knuckles asked.
Clawz flinched, "Ah... She's in Heaven."
"Oh, sorry." Knuckles apologized, "My mom is gone too..."
"I guess we have sometin' in common, then don't we?" Clawz said
waving the subject off, obviously not wanting to talk about it anymore.
Knuckles nodded.
"Why were ya' cryin'?" Clawz asked.
Knuckles turned away, "I wasn't crying."
"You were to! I saw ya. C'mon tell me... who am I gonna blab it to?
I got no friends." Clawz argued. Knuckles could sense a bit of sadness in
his voice when the kitten had said that.
"Well, uh.... You know about how Mobotropolis got taken over?" The
echidna asked the cat.
"The place where everybody got turned into robots? Yah, what about it?"
"My friend lived there. I'm afraid she's....." Knuckles trailed off.
"Oh," Clawz said "That's purty sad, man."
"Yes. I'm gonna miss her." Knuckles said sadly.
"What was her name?" He asked.
"Sally." Knuckles said sadly.
Clawz tried to brighten the conversation up, "Was she your girlfriend?"
"NO." Knuckles demanded, then thought about it, "Uh, not... really..."
"Wooo hoo!" Clawz whooped, "Didja kiss her?"
"NO!" Knuckles shouted again.
"HA! I bet you did! On the lips!" Clawz danced around the echidna
laughing at him. Knuckles ordered him to stop, but the wildcat continued to
tease him. Knuckles chased after him, through the forest and fields, until
they both collapsed panting in the heat of the summer afternoon.
"Boy, it's hot today, ain't it?" Clawz asked the echidna after they
had caught their breath. Both children seemed to have totally forgotten their
earlier disagreement.
"I'll say." Knuckles answered, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Hey! I got an idea!" He said with sudden inspiration, "Lets go swimming!"
Clawz wrinkled his nose, "I never did like water much."
"Aww, come on! It'll be fun!" Knuckles pleaded, "Besides I know a
great place by Mushroom Hill."
Clawz sighed and reluctantly agreed, "Ain't like we got any thing
better to do. Lead the way bro."
Knuckles looked around, "Uh, Clawz.... Where are we any way? I was
kinda lost before, and now I really am."
Clawz sighed, "This way." He said and they both walked on a path
until they got to the Mushroom Hill Zone. Clawz turned his head to the left
as he heard a voice yelling off in the distance.
Knuckles frowned. "Uh, Clawz.... I gotta go. That's my dad calling me."
"Oh all right." Clawz said sadly, then brightened up a bit, "Maybe
I can see you tomorrow!" He said.
Knuckles smiled, "Yes! We can meet here tomorrow, around noon, maybe."
He heard his father calling him, and frowned again.
"'Kay, I'll see ya!" Clawz said.
Knuckles waved and began to run away, "See ya!" the echidna
dissapeared over the hill toward the sound of his father's voice.
When he was gone, Clawz sighed sadly. He was happy to have a friend,
but un-happy because now he had to go back home, too. Back there again. He
hoped his dad wouldn't be too mad that he had run off, but he knew he would.
He slowly started to walk back to his so-called "home", just as the sun was
setting and the many moons of Mobius began to shine.
* * * *
"KNUCKLES!" Called a large red echidna with a beard.
"Right here, Dad." The young echidna said running over the hill to him.
"Where did you go?! I have been searching the entire island for you!"
He yelled.
"I'm really sorry, Father.... I uh, got lost in the jungle." Knuckles
answered truthfully. "I didn't mean to. Honest!"
The older echidna sighed, then hugged his son. "It's okay. I was just
worried about you. Don't scare me like that again!"
"I won't Dad." Knuckles said, but had to think about how he was going
to see his friend tomorrow. He wasn't supposed to have any friends in the
first place. He was to be isolated during his apprenticeship, but Knuckles
was not into following rules that much. He was a good student, just didn't
keep his mind on his studies.
"What were you doing in the jungle anyway?" Asked his father, "One
minute you were at my side, the next time I turn around you were gone! I
thought you had been kidnapped or something."
"I just wandered off, I guess." Knuckles said, remembering his lost
princess.
"Well, don't let it happen again. Is that understood?" Said Knuckles' father.
"Yes sir, I understand." He said.
"Let's go home, and get something for dinner." The older echidna said.
Knuckles suddenly remembered he hadn't had lunch. He was very hungry.
He followed close beside his father all the way back to their lair, but he
couldn't help looking over his shoulder as they walked, wondering if he would
be able to see his new friend again. Knuckles would find a way, he was sure
of it.
* * * *
Clawz tried to creep as quietly as he could back into the tree house.
There were empty bottles lying around the floor and he had to stealthily
dodge them in order to not make a sound. One clink of glass against glass
would awaken the huge sleeping wildcat in the corner. Maybe if he could just
sneak past him, in the morning he wouldn't be so angry. He would be sober.
Just as the kitten reached his bed, which was nothing but a thin sheet on a
hard branch of the tree, he spied a half-eaten loaf of bread on the table in
the middle of the small room. His stomach growled, and he realized that he
hadn't had anything to eat in more than a day. He crept slowly toward the
table, which just happened to be the one his father had his feet propped up
on. He stood on his tip-toes and looked cautiously over the edge. He could
see his father snoring loudly at the other end. He was a large mangy looking
wildcat, with a patch over one eye. He was strong, strong enough to snap
Clawz in two if he wanted. The little wildcat gulped and reached out onto
the table. Just as he was about to snatch the food, a large black gloved
hand reached out onto the table and clamped down on top of his. Clawz yelped
in fright, and looked up to meet his father's angry stare. He whimpered
slightly as the larger cat's grip tightened around his wrist.
"What do ya think yer doin', boy?" He growled.
"Well I was just getting something to eat..." Clawz stammered.
"Where have you been all day? I thought you had run off!" His father
said roughly.
"I was just uh, I got lost... and I couldn't find my way back and I.."
"Don't lie to me boy!" He interrupted, shaking his son violently.
"Please, Dad I--" Clawz started.
"Call me Sir, you little punk!" He growled back, "Did ya get you get
anything THIS time?!"
Clawz went silent for a moment. He hated to steal, it just seemed
so... wrong. He remembered a time before when they didn't have to be
thieves, but that was when.... his mother was still alive. Ever since her
death his father, who was once a respected officer in the Mobotropolis army,
had never been the same. He had started this insanity, stealing, and running
from the cops, after he was booted from the service for drinking by none
other than King Acorn himself. Sergeant Slash Wildcat was now nothing more
than a drunken thief.
"Well?! Did you? Speak up boy!" He growled.
"No sir." Clawz whimpered softly.
Slash snarled then tossed the kitten into the corner. "I should've
left you in Mobotopolis!"
Clawz suddenly felt a wave of anger flow though him, exterminating
his pain. "Better than doin' THIS! If I were dead, at least I would be with
Mom!" He yelled.
Slash suddenly went pale. His eyes darkened, but he started to
tremble. "Go to sleep Clawz." He hissed coldly.
Clawz knew if he said another word his father would snap. He had hit
the thief's only soft spot. He could tell because his father was calling him
by his name, usually it was just "boy". Clawz cringed back into his corner
and shivered under his thin cover. He tried not to think of his hunger and
pain. Clawz closed his eyes and fell asleep, to dream of better times, when
he had three square meals a day, slept in a warm bed, and had two caring
parents to love him.
* * * *
The next day...
Knuckles sighed loudly as his father paced about in front of him.
He hated lectures, especially when they had something to do with his
'spiritual development'. This cosmic mumbo-jumbo made his head spin. He
didn't understand why he couldn't just beat the crap out of anyone who
intruded on the Floating Island. Meditation had no benefits as far as he
was concerned.
"-- And while I am away today, you are to remain here in the lair.
I have some important business to attend to today. It seems as if our island
has picked up some thieves. A couple of houses were broken into last night,
and I'm going to check it out. It is my duty as Guardian to--"
Knuckles rolled his eyes. Not one of his 'It is my duty as Guardian'
speeches again. He loved his father, but sometimes the big echidna could get
incredibly boring.
"-- Insure the safety of our people and make sure justice reins
through out the Floating Island. The gods of Chaos are counting on us to
protect the emerald, and their heritage." He finished and turned to glance
at his son, Knuckles stopped slouching and sat up straight.
"Why can't I come with you to check out the burglaries?" He asked.
"Because I said so." His father answered.
Boy, did Knuckles hate that parent line cliché. "Aww, c'mon Dad! I'll
be real good and listen to everything you say!" He pleaded.
"No. Besides I want you to stay here so I know where you are. I don't
want you wandering off like you did yesterday."
Knuckles sighed, "What am supposed to do all day while you gone then?"
"Meditate." His father answered as if it were obvious.
"All day?" Knuckles said.
"Yes, all day." He said, "Just clear your mind and relax. It will do
you good. Remember, time flies when you're having fun." Then the bearded
echidna waved good-bye and strode out the door.
"Oh yah, loads of fun." Knuckles grumbled. He stood up and started
for the kitchen. Suddenly he remembered that he was supposed to meet Clawz
at the river today. What time was it? He ran to the window and looked up at
the sun.
"Hmm... maybe eleven or so." He mumbled.
His father had taught him how to tell time by the position of the
sun. It had never really proved useful to him until now, considering all
technology on the island, including clocks, was discarded for some reason
along time ago before he was born. He didn't know why, or really care at the
moment. He ran toward the kitchen again to make himself lunch. He quickly
prepared some sandwiches and tossed them into his backpack. He threw the bag
over his shoulder and raced out the door, slamming it behind him. It was a
long walk to Mushroom Hill, and he wanted to be there when his friend arrived.
If he could get back home before his father came back, he would never
know he was gone. He wasn't much into lying to his father, but he had made a
promise to meet Clawz today at noon and he didn't want to disappoint his new
friend. The first friend he had was gone forever, and he wasn't about to let
it happen again.
Knuckles raced happily along, trying to keep up his stamina by
taking deep breaths and long strides. He ran through Rainbow Valley to get
to the river. He would follow the stream around Lava Reef to get to the
Mushroom Zone. He slowed his pace slightly as he saw a dark mountain poking
above the horizon. Mount Fate had always freaked him out a bit. The black
stones on it's face had eroded and shaped into that of a huge skull.
Knuckles started to run faster again as he entered the ruins of the old
echidna civilization. Smashed columns and great white marble boulders
overgrown with weeds lay all around him. His father had told him many myths
and legends that centered around this place, but they had only furthered
his fear. He felt as Mount Fate and the Marble Zone as a place of death
and desolation. It seemed to him as if evil spirits loomed all around him.
Knuckles was glad when he reached the river. He jumped off the
cobblestone beach and glided quickly over the water. He landed on the other
side and stopped to catch his breath. He turned around to stare at the huge
spooky mountain. The black skull seemed to being staring back at him.
Knuckles felt a cold chill run down his spine. As soon as he caught his
breath he ran downstream until the mountain was no longer visible. Only then
did he slow to a jog.
When Knuckles reached the curve in the river where he had told Clawz
to meet him yesterday, he was surprised to see the brown kitten already there.
He was laying on his back lounging in the mid-day sun on a bolder. Clawz
was actually not totally brown, he was white on his chest and stomach. He
had a blank look on his face as he stared up at the clouds. His tail
twitched thoughtfully. The rock the cat was on hung partially over the
riverside, and the water lapped gently up against the edge as it slipped
it's way down river. Clawz didn't even notice as Knuckles sneaked up behind
him.
Knuckles had a mischievous grin on his face. He took a deep breath
and then yelled at the top of his lungs.
Clawz jumped up as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightening.
His fur puffed out around him and he zipped spazoticially back and forth
until he lost his footing on the rock and fell head over heels into the water.
At first Clawz didn't emerge, but a nano-second later he bolted out to the
river as if it was filled with piranha chewing at his tail. He stood there
on the shore completly drenched until he heard a noise, he found Knuckles
laughing his head off rolling on the ground.
"Hey! You scared me!" He screeched, coughing after.
Knuckles stopped laughing then looked up at the wet wildcat, and
started laughing all over again. The cat's fur was all wet down and he looked
like a dead rat.
"You-you loo-look so fuh-ff-funny!" He managed to choke out.
Clawz shook part of the water out of his ears, then shook his whole
body to the tip of his tail to his two hind feet until he was moderately dry.
His fur stuck up like it was full of static electricity. He tried to smooth it
down, but was only barely successful.
"Whe-when you w-were jumpin' uh-around--" Knuckles started to say but
burst out laughing just thinking about it.
"Yah, nice to see you too, Knuckles." Clawz grumbled.
Knuckles stood up and tried to calm down. He wiped his eyes and
stumbled up beside the fluffy wildcat. Clawz looked up at him. Knuckles
looked down at him.
"Sorry, I just couldn't help it." He said after he had caught his
breath.
Clawz just stared back up at him. Oh well, he thought he had laughed
at him when he got his fist stuck in that tree. They were even now. He started
to make conversation.
"How old are you?" He asked.
"Seven." Knuckles answered.
"Ha! I'm older than you." He gloated.
Knuckles looked skeptical. "How old are you then?"
"Eight." He said.
Knuckles laughed, "You're short!"
Clawz frowned. "So what if I ain't big yet? I will be! When I get
grown I'll be three times bigger than any ole' dumb echidna!"
Knuckles' skeptical expression returned, "Yah, and I'm the queen of
Mobius!" He said sarcastically, then stopped short of laughing in the kitten's
face. Queen of Mobius. That's what Sally would have been when she grew up.
The young echidna's face saddened. He missed his princess...
Clawz noticed Knuckles' sudden change of emotion, "What's da matter?
Was it sometin' I said?"
"Huh?" Knuckles said snapping out of the trance he was in, "Oh no. I
was just thinking about Sally."
"Yah mean yer girlfriend?" Clawz said smirking.
"She wasn't my girlfriend!" Knuckles insisted. "She was just my friend!"
"Yah, suuurrrrre she was..." Clawz said still grinning.
Knuckles just gave him a nasty look.
"What made ya think of her? Was she short or sometin' too?" He asked.
"No." Knuckles answered simply. "She was the Princess, and when I
mentioned the queen--"
"Your girlfriend was the Princess?!" Clawz said shocked.
"Yes." Knuckles said then corrected himself, "I mean no, she wasn't
my girlfriend, but she was the Princess of Mobotropolis."
"Wow!" Clawz said seemingly impressed, "I saw her once. Quite a babe."
Knuckles didn't know what to say to that. He just climbed up on top
of the over-hanging boulder and looked down at the water.
"So what are we gonna do?" Clawz asked, climbing up to stand beside him.
"I thought we were going to go swimming." Knuckles said.
"I've already been." Clawz said.
"But I haven't--" Knuckles started but was cut off as Clawz pushed
him off the edge and into the water with a splash. Knuckles quickly picked
himself up out of the water. Clawz was staring at him contentedly from atop
the rock.
"You have now." He said smiling.
"Ha, ha. Verrrry funny." Knuckles mumbled.
"Wasn't it though?" Clawz said still smiling.
Knuckles stumbled ashore and shook himself dry, splashing Clawz in
the process. Clawz jumped off the bolder and tackled the young echidna. They
wrestled for a couple of minutes, pounding on one another. Typical boys.
They were pretty evenly matched, Knuckles stronger, but Clawz faster. Soon
Knuckles had the kitten pinned.
"Okay, okay! I give up!" Clawz wheezed.
Knuckles let him go. "Ha! I win!" He said triumphantly.
"You can fight purty good for an echidna.." Clawz said panting.
"Thanks... I think." Knuckles said. "Your okay too."
Clawz got up on all fours. He arched his back and stretched it out,
then plopped down again. He yawned, opening his mouth wide and closing his
eyes, then looked back at Knuckles.
"Gee, I sure am hungry." He mumbled rubbing his stomach.
"Yeah, so am I." Knuckles said, "Want something to eat?"
Clawz's ears perked up. "Ya mean you brought food?" He asked hopefully.
"Yeah." Knuckles said picking his backpack off the ground and opening
it, "Do you want some?"
"Do I?!" Clawz said eagerly.
Knuckles pulled two sandwiches out and handed one to Clawz who
snatched it quickly. Knuckles sat down to eat his, and looked up at Clawz who
was demolishing his at a startling pace. Clawz stopped eating for a second to
see Knuckles staring at him a bit disgusted. Clawz swallowed and wiped his
mouth with the back of his hand. He sat down and tried to eat more slowly.
"I guess you really were hungry... " Knuckles said taking the first
bite of his sandwich just as Clawz finished his.
"Yep." Clawz said licking his lips.
"Why are you so hungry? Do they not feed you at your house or
something?" Knuckles asked sarcastically.
Clawz was silent for a moment. "I.. ah, missed breakfast." He said
nervously.
Knuckles looked confused. "Oh."
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes.
"Are you gonna finish that?" Clawz said pointing to Knuckles' half
eaten sandwich.
Knuckles looked down at his hands. "Uhh, no. Here you can have
it." He offered to the wildcat. Clawz took it and ate it hungrily.
Knuckles watched him in awe.
"So what do you want to do?" He asked.
"I dunno. What'd you wanna do?" Clawz said swallowing his last bite.
Knuckles thought for a moment, then got an idea. "Hey! I know!"
"What?"
"I want to show you something."
"What?" Clawz repeated curiously.
Knuckles stood up, "Come on, I'll show you." He said starting
to walk over the hill.
Clawz jogged to catch up with him then slowed to a walk. "Where are
we going?" He asked.
"You'll see." Knuckles said.
* * * *
Locke Echidna, Knuckles' father sighed as he looked at the ran-sacked
house. Why would someone do such a thing?, he thought. He looked back up at
the family. The two adult rabbit's were rather poor looking. The female had
a small child in her arms with big pink bows tied up in its ears. The mother
was crying softly as her husband tried to console her. The baby quietly
sucked on her pacifier.
"Did you see anything before it happened?" He asked.
"No, Mr. Guardian sir, we didn't see a thing." Answered the male
rabbit looking up the red bearded echidna in a white coat.
"No suspicious looking characters seen around?"
"Nope. None that I was aware of, Sir." He said.
"What all did they take?" Locke asked.
The rabbit looked to his wife then back to the echidna. "They took
most of our money, and a couple of other things...."
"How much money are we talking about?"
The rabbit sighed, "About 300 silver royals."
Locke looked surprised. That was a good amount of money. It had to
have been their life savings. He glanced from the female, to her baby, then
back to the husband.
"I'm sorry, but there's not much I can do until I find the thieves."
He said softly.
The female let out a sob, and held her baby tightly.
"We understand." The male said nodding soberly.
Locke felt a stab of guilt in his stomach. The world today...
full of such evil. He reached slowly into his pocket and pulled out a small
pouch.
"Here. I want you to have this." He said handing it to the rabbit.
He took it, and gently poured its contents onto his hand. At least 50
golden coins fell onto his palm. His wife gasped.
"Sir, we can't take this--" He said offering it back to Locke.
"No." He said pushing it back toward the rabbit. "You need it more
than I do."
The rabbit smiled, "Thank you...."
Locke nodded. He turned and started to leave.
"Wait, Sir..." Said the female.
Locke turned back to look at her. She had not said a word since he
had came. She handed the baby to her husband then walked up to him. He could
still see the tears in her eyes. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
Locke blushed slightly. She female quickly returned to her husband's side. He
put his arm around her.
"Don't worry," Locke said, "When I find the thieves I'll get your
money back."
"You've already done more than enough..." The rabbit said.
Locke waved good-bye and left. He felt good. He loved doing his job.
He just wished that he didn't have to. As long as there was evil he had a job,
and that's the part he hated about it. His mind wandered over the burglaries
victims he had helped today. They were all families with children. He sighed
sadly, another part he hated about being a guardian was that the his wife
had no say in the upbringing of their child, the future guardian, his son
Knuckles. That was why Lara-Le had left him. He didn't like the idea either,
but it was a rule, and he intended to follow them. He just wished that he
didn't have to. At least he still had Knuckles to keep him going. Locke
decided to go home early to take his son with him on the patrol around the
island tonight. Knuckles had been meditating all day, he deserved a break...
* * * *
"Are we there yet?" Clawz asked for the millionth time.
Knuckles grumbled, knowing the wildcat was just doing it to annoy him.
"Almost! Just keep your pants on!"
"I don't wear any pants, and neither do you." Clawz pointed out.
"It's a figure of speech." Knuckles said pushing aside some branches.
"Oh," Clawz said as he ducked when the Knuckles let go and the branches
came back in his face. He soon added, "What's a figure of speech?"
"Shut-up." Knuckles answered. The wildcat had been asking him annoying
questions the last entire thirty minutes.
"Shut-up? Is shut-up a figure of speech?" Clawz asked.
"I don't know." The echidna said stiffly. He then stopped in the middle
of a clearing. "Here we are!" He announced throwing his arms up.
Clawz looked around. All he could see was ordinary grass and ordinary
trees and ordinary rocks. Everything was ordinary. "So? What's so special
about this place?" He asked, a bit annoyed that the echidna had drug him
half across the island to see this.
"Promise you won't tell?" Knuckles said turning to look at him.
"Why? I don't see anything to tell about!" Clawz said.
"Just promise and I'll show you!"
"Okay, okay. I promise."
"Do you really promise? Do you cross your heart and hope to die if you
tell?" Knuckles chanted.
"Yep. I promise." Clawz said crossing his hand over his heart.
"You can't tell anybody! Not even your Dad, okay?"
"Believe me, Knux, he would be the last one I told." Clawz said, "Now are
you gonna show me our not?"
Knuckles hesitated. He glanced quickly around, the motioned Clawz to
follow him.
Neither of them noticed the watchful eye of one certain big brown cat-burglar.
Knuckles stopped at the end of the path where the trees and plant life
had blocked the way... or so it seemed. He sat and stared at it for a moment
as if searching it.
"What are you doing?" Clawz asked.
Knuckles turned back to scold him, "Shhh!! Be quiet. I have to concentrate!"
He hissed.
"Geez, sorry..." Clawz mumbled, but watched the echidna intently.
"Oh, here it is." Knuckles mumbled pushing aside some leaves to reveal
a small silver panel welded into a large rock, which Clawz could now see was
what all the plants were growing all over. Knuckles stared at it a minute
thinking, then put his palm against the panel, hoping it would work. It had
always worked for his father. He thought hard. Open you stupid door, open!
He thought. Nothing happened. Door, I, Knuckles soon to be guardian of this
island, command you to open! He thought. The panel glowed slightly. Clawz
watched with amazement as the rock suddenly disappeared, revealing a
passageway. Knuckles took his hand off of the panel, smiling proudly, even
though he did have a bit of a headache.
"Wo-hoh!" Clawz said excitedly, "How didja do that?!"
"Magic." Knuckles answered simply, starting to walk down the passage.
Clawz followed closely. He stopped to admire the crystal covered walls
of the hall. The sides shone a bright yellow and pink, ever changing with
the light and his perspective. He reached out and touched it gently. To his
surprise, the wall was soft and warm. It seemed to be pulsing, as if it was
alive. Clawz stood still letting his fingers run over the smooth surface of
the living stones.
Knuckles entered a large room. He Gazed around it for a moment proudly,
then spoke, "So, Clawz, what do you think?"
There was no answer.
Knuckles turned back to the hallway. "Clawz?" He called down it. He
saw the small wildcat engulfed in a study of the side of the passage. He
walked up to him. "Clawz? What are you doing?" He asked.
The kitten seemed to wake from a trance. "Huh? What?"
"Come on," Knuckles said, grabbing his arm, "If your so interested in
that wall, your gonna think this is REALLY cool."
Clawz stepped into the room. For a second, he was blinded by a brilliant
green light, but soon his eyes adjusted. He saw how the walls of the hallway
widened out into a massive circular space. All of the walls were covered in
the living crystals, but that wasn't what caught the wildcat's eye. In the
very center of the chamber floated a massive green gem. The light seemed to
becoming from inside of it, reflecting off of the walls and then back to the
emerald itself illuminating the entire place with prisms of all different
colors. The gem alone was the most exquisite thing he had ever saw. The
beautiful angles of the sides looked as if they had been cut by the Gods'
own hands. Shining, shimmering, and glowing with an immense power that he
could not even begin to describe. Clawz stood there spellbound for a matter
of minutes.
Finally, Knuckles broke the silence. "So?" He said, "What do you think?"
Clawz turned slightly to look at him, with a look of pure awe in his eyes.
"wow..." Was all he could manage to say.
Knuckles smiled proudly and walked up closer to the emerald. Clawz
slowly followed him, eyes locked on the precious stone.
"C-can I t-touch it?" Clawz asked softly.
"Sure." Knuckles said.
Clawz slowly brought his hand up to the gigantic emerald. He gently
touched it. He felt a sudden rush of warm energy. The emerald felt much
like the wall, except for it was much more stonger. The gem seemed to be
even more alive than the living walls. Clawz felt as if he was to speak to
it, the emerald would answer.
"Wh-what is it?" Clawz asked softly, drawing his hand slowly away from
the huge green stone.
"The Chaos Emerald." Knuckles said.
"Chaos Emerald..." Clawz repeated. "What does it do?"
"It contols the entire island. It's what makes it float. Without the
Chaos Emerald, we would all go crashing down to the main land." Knuckles
explained.
Clawz paled slightly at that thought. He'd never been too fond of hights.
"My dad says that our ancestors brought it here, to save the island from
being hit by a meteor." Knuckles said proudly.
"Wow." Clawz said, then stared back at the emerald. "It must be worth
a fortune."
Knuckles blinked, "I never really thought about it that way..."
"Knuckles, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Clawz said
looking back at the glowing gem, then back to the echidna, "You're the best
friend I ever had!"
Knuckles smiled, "You're my best friend too, Clawz."
They just sat there for a minute, in silence. Both of them happy to
finally have a real friend.
* * * *
The sun was fading on the horizon of the Floating Island turning the sky
a breath-taking array of colors. A single tall dark figure lurked among the
branches of the tropical trees. He watched happily as the two children, a
young red echidna, and a small green eyed kitten skipped merrily out of the
rock door way. They ran off over the hill, forgetting in their haste, to
close the door on the way out. The dark figure smiled wickedly his one green
eye glinting menacingly in the light of the setting sun...
* * * *
Knuckles sadly bid his friend good-bye. He sighed, then walked up to
his front door and opened it. To his surprise, and horror, his father was
standing there, his arms crossed and he didn't look very happy. Knuckles
felt a cold tingle go down his back.
"Hello, son." Locke practically growled, "May I ask where you have been?"
Knuckles went pale, "D-dad? Wh-what are you doing home?" the little
echidna managed to stammer.
Locke stared at him coldly for a moment. "I came home early. I wanted
to come home and take you on my patrol with me."
Knuckles cringed with guilt. "Oh." He mumbled.
"It seems that we've both been busy today." Locke said, "Now I'll ask
you one more time, where have you been?!"
"Well I... uh-humm..." Knuckles mumbled, "I was in the Chaos Chamber."
Locke looked slightly surprised. "Really," He said suspiciously, "How
did you get in? I locked the Zoot Shute up yesterday."
"Oh, I know. I used the secret rock panel entrance." Knuckles said, a
bit relieved that he had a good alibi.
Locke looked confused, "YOU used that? But you can only use telepathy
to open that door."
"I did. I commanded the door to open in my mind, and it did." Knuckles
said rather proudly.
Locke couldn't help but smiling slightly. He had never known Knuckles
to be a liar, so he supposed himself to be a great teacher. "It that so?" He
asked, "Did you use telepathy to close it or just push it shut?"
Suddenly the look of confidence drained from his face. He went pale
again with a sudden bolt of realization.
"Oops..." He said softly.
"What?" Locke said, already assuming the bad news.
Knuckles looked up at his father cautiously, getting ready to run for
cover when his father blew his top, " I... I forgot to.. to close the door..."
He said innocently.
A look of pure rage filled Locke at that moment. "You WHAT?!"
Before Knuckles could repeat himself, a quake shook the ground tossing
both echidnas to the ground. Locke got back up quickly.
"DAMMMIT! There's someone trying to get the emerald!" He shouted.
Knuckles had never heard his father cuss before. It scared him.
Locke threw open the door and rushed out. Knuckles overcame his fear
quickly and started to follow him. Locke noticed this and reeled around to
face his son again. Knuckles' fear returned.
"YOU are staying HERE!" The older echidna demanded.
"B-but Dad... I'm sorry!" Knuckles said, holding back tears.
"Well, sorry isn't good enough!" Locke said, "You're are in serious
trouble, young man. Don't push it!"
He then stormed out the door and slammed it loudly. Knuckles sat there
for a second staring at the closed door. He had never seen his father that
angry before. He sat down on the ground in front of the door and started
sobbing softly.
* * * *
Locke reached the entrance to the Chaos Camber Quickly. The door was
indeed wide open. He made a dash for the hall way, but was thrown backwards
out the door again as the island shook with another quake. He stumbled back
to his feet and sped down the hall way.
He wasn't surprised to find the large mangy looking wildcat trying to
pull the emerald from it's pedestal. Locke didn't hesitate to tackle the cat
to the ground. The surprised wildcat cat had little time to react before the
echidna had thrown him up against the wall. The wildcat stood up slowly. He
turned to see the echidna staring at him from in between him and the jewel.
The wildcat smiled evilly.
"Well looky what we got 'ere." He growled, "Fresh meat."
"Hardly." Locke said confidently, "I am the guardian of this island,
and you sir, are intruding on private property."
"Is dat so?" The wildcat said, "Well, I'm Slash Wildcat, infamous
cat-burglar, and you echidna, are dead!" With that he lunged at the echidna
viciously.
Locke smiled blandly, and a split second before the wildcat was upon
him, he disappeared. The wildcat plowed into the emerald head first sending
his mind spinning. Locke reappeared behind him and promptly kicked Slash in
the stomach. The cat winced in pain holding his stomach protectively.
Locke laughed. "Stupid wildcat! You are no match for a Guardian!"
He mocked, "I'll give you one more chance to give up before I knock you
senseless."
Slash growled and took one last swing at the echidna. Locke held to
his threat and easily dodged and threw the wildcat up against the wall again,
knocking him unconscious. Locke smiled. That was almost too easy. He picked
up the wildcat, who must have been twice his size, and tried to carry him
down the hall. About half way, Locke had to stop to catch his breath.
He sat the wildcat on the floor momentarily, "I guess I'm not getting
any younger." He mumbled, rubbing his back.
Suddenly the cat's eye snapped open. Without warning, Slash grabbed
the unsuspecting echidna by the heels and hurled him out the doorway into
the clearing. Before Locke could realize what had happened the wildcat had
already pinned him to the ground.
Slash laughed, "Look who laughin' now, Mister Guardian!" He snarled
into the echidna's ear.
Locke struggled to throw the cat off, but Slash caught him around the
neck, choking him. Locke could barely breathe. The wildcat smiled wickedly
at his victim's discomfort. Suddenly something klonked the wildcat on the
head. Slash fell off Locke, this time really unconscious. Locke smiled, and
picked up the rock he had used to hit the wildcat over the head with. He
pushed the limp cat's body off of himself and stood up. He took some
handcuffs and snapped them around the wildcat's wrists and ankles before.
Turning back to the Chaos Chamber to check the emerald and close and hide
the door again.
* * * * *
Clawz had heard something back in the clearing when he had began to
walk back to his own house. He had started to go back when the earthquake
threw him off his feet. It took him a while to recover, but when he got back
up he raced to the Chaos Chamber entrance. What he found there, more than
surprised him.
"D-Dad??" He said softly, approaching the chained and unconscious
wildcat laying in the middle of the clearing.
There was no answer.
He nudged his father and tried to revive him, "Dad! Wake up! Da-aad!" He said.
"Hmm? Ugghh... Boy? Wha... What happened??" Slash said partially
awakening, half opening his one good eye.
"Dad! You're all chained up!" Clawz realized.
Slash was now awake fully. He remembered now. "I was... attacked, yah
that's it attacked, by this crazy echidna. He beat me up then put dem cuffs
on me. Help me out boy, before that mad-man comes back!" He lied.
Clawz believed him. "Oh my god. Here lemme try and get 'dese things
offa you." He bent down and began trying to pick the locks.
"Well, what have we got here?" Locke said standind over them both. "A
little accomplice?"
Clawz gasped and tried to dash away, but the big echidna already had
him. Clawz yelped as he picked him up by the scruff of his neck and held him
up in from of his face. Locke looked the kitten over thoroughly. Clawz
curled into a tight ball, as if trying to disappear.
Slash was struggling with the cuffs on the ground, but with the strong metal
and his ankles and wrists hooked together he could do nothing to help. Locke
tied a rope to the cuffs, and while still holding the kitten in one hand he
dragged them back to the lair.
* * * * *
Knuckles was sitting by the window sill waiting for his father to
return when he saw him tugging the large cat behind him and holding a brown
ball in the other. He wiped his eyes quickly and went to the door and
cracked it slightly to see out.
His father was opening the padlock to the small prison cell that they
had behind the house. He opened the door and lugged the big cat in, came out
quickly, shut the door, and locked it again. He wasn't carrying the brown
ball anymore, either. Locke turned back to the house. He saw Knuckles watching
him through the crack. The little echidna quickly closed the door and ran
back to his room. Locke sighed and walked towards the doorway.
A couple seconds later Knuckles was in his bed pretending to be asleep.
Locke opened the door and looked in. Knuckles tried to lie perfectly still
and not make a sound. Locke smiled slightly. He would punish him in the
morning. He closed the door softly and walked down the hall to his study.
After Knuckles could no longer hear his fathers footsteps, he opened his
eyes and sat up.
I wonder who he put in the jail outside, Knuckles thought. Without
another though about it, he climbed out the window and went to the back of
the house. He pushed a rock up to the doorway and climbed up on it to look
into the small barred window at the top of the door. The big wildcat was
asleep, or unconscious, on the bench in the back. He didn't notice Clawz
sitting directly behind the door until he heard the kitten sniffle softly,
trying to hold back tears.
"Clawz? Is that you??" He wispered.
The small cat looked up at him. "Knuckles? What are you doing here??"
He asked.
"You tell me first." Knuckles said.
"Me and my dad over 'dere got jumped by 'dis big crazy echidna, then
he put us in here!" Clawz said, "Can you help us get out?"
"I don't think so, Clawz." He said with a sudden tone of anger in his
voice.
"What? Why not? You sound mad." Clawz said.
"Hmmph! Do I look stupid?" He said.
"Uh... Well..." Clawz decied to be serious for once, "No. You ain't dumb."
He answered.
"Then why are you playing me for a sap??" Knuckles growled.
"Huh? What ARE you talking about?!" Clawz asked, very confused.
"That 'big crazy echidna' you were refferring to is my father!"
Clawz was silent in quiet surprise.
"You don't think I'm really gonna buy that! I know what you did..."
Knuckles said angrily.
"I didn't do anything!" Clawz defended.
"You broke a promise! You lied!" He growled.
"I never broke no promises!" He insisted.
"You did too! You told your father where the Chaos Emerald was! You
purposely made me forget to close the door so you and him could rob us blind!"
"It ain't true! I didn't do nothing!" Clawz said.
"Liar!" Knuckles snorted, "If you didn't tell him where the emerald
was who did? Someone had to because how else would we have earthquakes
unless someone was messing with the emerald? You told your dad and he tried
to steal it, but my father, the Guardian of the Floating Island stopped him!"
"Knuckles, you gotta believe me! I would never--"
"I should have listened to my father." Knuckles interrupted, "I should
have never trusted you or anybody! Friends just aren't worth it! I hope I
never see you again!" He yelled then he dissappeared from the window.
"Knuckles wait! Come back I didn't tell him! I... I... I promise I
didn't..." Clawz pleaded.
He called and called but, Knuckles didn't answer. He had gone back
through his window already. Clawz slowy slid back down the door to the
ground. He had only had a best friend for thirty minutes, and already his
hateful life had ruined it for him. Clawz realized that his father probably
was trying to steal the emerald. He would do anything for a buck: Lie, cheat,
and steal...
* * * * *
The next morning after Locke had found the hideout of the two wildcats
and returned the money and belonging to the victims, he sent word to a local
bounty hunter, a weasel, that he was willing to hand over the wanted criminal:
Slash M. Wildcat, for a certain amount, that is. The bounty hunter came as
soon as he could to collect him. He was a big weasel with dark purple fur
and a design tatooed into his left shoulder. He wore a tan fedora
that covered his eyes. He was a bit surprised when he saw the kitten with
him.
"Who-es da kid?" The bounty hunter asked. He talked with a bad lisp.
"He's comes in the package. No extra charge." Locke said, buissnessman-like.
"Hmm." The weasel thought a moment, "Well I geusses that would be okay.
Es long as 'he don't costs nothin'. He could work wiv meself and me son. They
ain't gonna give me anyt'ing for a liddle kiddens." He said. The weasel handed
Locke a small pouch of coins, then began to walk back towards his aircraft.
Locke poured the contents out onto his palm. He frowned. He grabbed the
weasel by the tail.
"The deal was for fifteen silvers. There are only ten silver royals
and five brass'. Are you trying to cheat me, Bounty Hunter??" Locke asked
angrily.
"Uh, no.. No! Of courses not, Zurr!" He stammered, "I was never being
good wiv the countings. I just forgot a fews." He pulled another pouch from
his pocket and handed it to Locke, too. He checked the amount before
releasing the weasle's tail and letting them on thier way.
Knuckles was watching all of this sadly from his bedroom window. He
had been confined to his room for three whole weeks with no playing outside
or anything. He wasn't particular upset about this at the moment, though.
He thought Clawz was his friend. No, he was just a really good lair. The
one person who he trusted, besides his father, betrayed him. He wasn't sure
if he would ever trust anyone again.
* * * * *
"...And I didn't for a long time." Knuckles finished, looking out over
the horizion. The sun had risen to it's morning hieght, sending tiny beams
of light bouncing against the tiny waves of the ocean far below the Foating
Island. "That is, until I met you guys." He said turning back to look at the
Chaotix, "Although I still don't fully trust some of you." He said eyeing
Mighty.
He smiled innocently. "What?"
"Wow. How could Clawz do that to you?" Charmy asked, changing the
subject.
"I don't know. I don't even know why he came back..." Knuckles said
sadly.
"Maybe he wanted to apologize." Said Espio.
"Yah... Maybe. I guess now I'll never know..." He said not looking
back at him. He stared wistfully down at the sea.
"Don't blame yourself for his death, Knux. Like you said, it was an
accident." Mighty said, finally showing some friendship.
Knuckles smiled weakly. "I guess your right. I can't dwell in the past.
C'mon lets go do something fun to get me outta this mood."
"Did someone say fun?" Vector said walking up to them.
"Yah, Vec." Knuckles said standing beside him. "And geuss what?"
"What?"
"Since you didn't listen to my story... TAG! You're it!" Knuckles said
wacking the crocodile against the back of the head.
"Hey! Wait no fair!!" He protested, but everybody had already ran off
into the jungle.
* * * * *
"Look! I think he's waking up!" Said a voice.
"Oh good. It's about time." Said a feminine, yet older sounding voice.
Clawz opened his eyes slightly. Everything was blurry for a moment. He
sat up, but instantly laid back down as his head began to swim.
"Ugghh..." He grumbled, putting a paw to his forehead, "Wha' happened??
Where am I??"
"Don't worry, dear. Your safe here. You had a bad accident." Said the
female, who was an elderly woodchuck. She had a warm and caring smile.
Clawz stared at her for a moment, "Who are you?" He asked.
"My name is Rosie, and this is Dr. Quack." She said motioning to the
large yellow duck to her side, "He's going to help you get better. What's
you'r name?"
"Hmm? Oh, uh.. Clawz. Clawz M. Wildcat." He mumbled absentmindedly.
"Well, Clawz, how do you feel?" She asked.
"Terrible."
* * * * *
End of Part III!
To be continued...
Woah, what a ride! Stay tuned for Part 4, "The Falling Island," where we
finally get some real action!
Don't forget to look forward to Part 5 too, the exciting
conclusion to my first mini-series!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Legalities: Okay. ready, set go!!!
Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, the Freedom
fighters, the Chaotix, Dr. Robotnik, and any related
characters are licensed characters of SEGA and Co.
and/or DIC and Archie Adventure series Comics. Clawz the
Wildcat was created by Erin Lindsey. If you want this
story on your site, want to use any of my characters, or
have any complications send them to:
diamondneko@mail.com
http://sheliacw.tripod.com