Friend or Foe?
Part four
The Falling Island
By: Erin Lindsey
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Legalities at de bottom, mon!
------------------------------
Author's note:
Read part one, two, and three before this one, ya monkeys!
Action! Action! WE WANT ACTION! Okay, okay, geez don't get yer knickers in a
twist! I'm finally getting to the real plot of this story. HOORAY! And it only
took me three whole parts in advance. Hee hee.. I put a little romantic scene
with Sonic in Sally kinda because it was just Valentines day. It's not anything
to worry about, just a kiss. And don't worry, no more
flash-backs. YIPPEE!! Well, maybe just one... ;')
Lastish:
Knuckles finally revealed his past with Clawz, the mysterious wildcat
who fell of the Floating Island. Although Knux thinks he died, he actually,
and fortunately, landed in a tree with only minor injuries. Sonic and Tails
were able to save him and bring him back to Knothole. Clawz was revived the
next morning, and went a bit crazy due to his concussion, but after he was
sedated everything went back to normal... for a while. Clawz finally really
woke up, this time with his wits about him, and now days later he is almost
fully recovered and back to his annoying self. Meanwhile, Sonic and Sally go
to check out why Robotnik hasn't made a move yet...
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Chapter 6: "Acceptance"
Robotropolis was amazingly quiet this evening. The dark grimy walls
of the desolate city cast cold gray shadows across the dirty streets. Piles
of broken window glass and browning paper lay strewn in the corners and
forgotten in doorways. It was sad to think that once upon a time this horrid
place had been the beautiful capitol city Mobotropolis. That was, until the
evil overlord, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, over threw the King, and assumed the throne
as the ultimate dictator. It was a awful time of war and death, but somehow,
a small group of Freedom Fighters emerged from the darkness, they're only
intent but to restore the peace to the tiny green planet known as Mobius.
Suddenly the papers were blown astray as a blur of blue dashed by.
Coming to a stop in front of a crumbling building, the speedy hedgehog
released his passenger. She was a young red-head ground squirrel, a little
bit tough looking, but none the less beautiful and elegant.
"See, I told ya Sal. There's nothing going on here." He said to her,
"C'mon lets bolt back to Knothole."
Sally sighed and stared at him for a moment. "It's just weird, Sonic.
It's almost been a whole month, and we haven't heard a peep from Robotnik.
He just HAS to be up to something..." She said.
"Maybe he's just cooling his jets for a while." Sonic said, "But
we're not doing any good here. We have to wait until Uncle Chuck figures us
out a way to get into the main computers."
"Hmmph! You? Wait? Now that's a novel idea. I thought you would be
the one willing for action." Sally said, a bit surprised at the patience
Sonic was showing.
"Yeah, well... I am but, I got other things on my mind." He answered.
"Really? Like what?" She asked.
"It's just that Clawz guy that we picked up... I mean, after what
you said about him, maybe he really isn't on our side. He was acting pretty
suspicious. He didn't even tell us what happened to him before he fell into
that tree..." He said.
"He said he didn't remember, Sonic. Maybe we should respect his
privacy." Sally said.
"When did you start sticking up for him? I would think you would
hate him, considering he hits on you so much." Sonic snorted.
Sally smiled, "I kind of like it. No one else around here ever seems
to compliment me..." She said, sending a direct glare in Sonic's direction.
He frowned. "I.. I compliment you... sometimes..." He defended.
"Yeah, right. You never say anything nice about how I look."
"I do, too!" He said.
"Is that right? Well, c'mon give me a compliment." She said.
Sonic paused, "Now?"
"Yes, now." She said, "Come on, it wouldn't hurt you to stop acting
cool for two seconds."
He sighed, and thought for a moment, "You look nice." He mumbled.
Sally frowned. "That wasn't very convincing. I want a real compliment."
She said.
"Okay, okay..." He said. He looked up at her. She really was beautiful...
he took a deep breath, "I think you're the most beautiful girl in the world,
Sally." He said softly.
Sally looked shocked for a second. She then smiled and hugged him.
"See that wasn't so hard was it?"
"I guess not." He stuttered.
She laughed. "C'mon, handsome, lets go back to Knothole." She said
kissing him on the cheek.
Sonic happily scooped her up in his arms and sped back toward the
Great Forest.
* * * *
"SNIVLEY!!!" A loud booming voice called, echoing off the metallic
walls. Instantly, a small shaky looking man entered the room.
"Y-Yessir? Is there something the matter, sir?" He asked nervously.
"Where is that stupid wildcat?!" Robotnik bellowed, "I thought we had
a deal! It's been almost two weeks!!"
"Well, s-sir... I'm not sure, sir. He said that he might have to hide
out for a while. His partner had disappeared, remember?" Snivley reminded.
"Ah yes, the wildcat's partner, Mr. Nack Weasel. I do remember him. I
hired him to kill the hedgehog for me a while back, correct Snivley?"
"Correct, sir. He failed." Snivley said.
"I know that! Hmmph!! Yes. That's why I don't trust this wildcat.
He should have brought me the materials by now. I hate working with dumb
animals."
"I'm sure he's trying as hard as he can to get here..."
* * * *
::ahem::...
::ahem::....
::AHEM::.....
"I said AHEM! What does it take to get a drink 'round dis place?!"
said a rather large brown wildcat who was sitting up in a bed, his arm and
leg in casts.
"Here you go. I take it y'all is feelin' better?" Bunnie grumbled
handing him a cup.
"Much better, Legs." The wildcat said taking the glass from her. He
smirked idly. She frowned. This guy was really starting to get on her bionic
nerves. At least he wasn't calling her "Buns of Steel" anymore.
The doctor entered the Knothole infirmary. "Hello, Mr. Wildcat. I
believe you are well enough to be on your feet now. Thanks to modern medicine,
and a wonderful doctor, your bones have healed almost completely." He said
holding up two x-ray sheets showing the wildcat's mended arm and leg bones.
"But I thought you were his doctor, Dr. Quack..." Bunnie said.
"I was." He said smiling proudly.
Bunnie rolled her eyes.
The doctor didn't notice and continued on, "Today your casts will come
off. Isn't that wonderful?" He said happily.
"I guess so, Doc." Clawz said frowning. He had kind of liked being
waited on hand and foot. Actually he loved it.
The doctor fished around silently in his bag until he produced a small
cutting blade. He noticed Clawz flinch.
"Don't worry, these are for cutting the cast off. It won't hurt a bit."
Clawz didn't seem convinced. "Ah, maybe I'll jus stick wit da casts for
a little while longer doc. They ain't that bad." He argued.
"Nonsense. I won't have a patient of mine playing hookey. Your perfectly
fine. You need some fresh air anyway." The doctor said, holding the cast that
was still on the brown feline's arm. With out any recognition from Clawz, he
started cutting away.
Clawz decided it better if he didn't struggle. Those scissors looked
awfully sharp. A couple of seconds later, the plaster came free revealing the
wildcat's healed arm. The doctor moved on to his leg. Clawz mumbled something,
but didn't object out loud. He bent his arm slowly at the elbow. It was a bit
stiff and a little sore, but that was it. He looked down at the doctor who was
almost finished cutting off his leg cast. He removed it carefully and handed it
to Bunnie. She looked slightly disgusted, and went out of the room to throw it
away.
Sonic and Sally came in just as she was leaving. Sally entered the
room first to see Clawz standing up. She was a bit surprised at his height.
He was at least a foot taller than her, unusual for a Mobian. Sonic looked
surprised too, but not for the same reason.
"Getting your cast off already, Clawz?" Sonic asked.
"Yup. Where ya been, Spikes? I missed your Little Princess..." He
said smiling. Clawz had the odd habit of calling everyone by random nick names.
Sonic found it quite annoying. He frowned. Sally was going to say something,
but Sonic interrupted her.
"We were on a mission." He said quickly.
"A mission, eh?" Clawz said, still smiling, "What are you guys? Secret
agents or something?"
"Not exactly, Clawz. We're Freedom Fighters." Sally said.
"Freedom Fighters? I've heard of you." Clawz said starting to walk out
the door, a bit stiff legged.
"You have??" Sonic said, surprised.
"Sure. I get around. You guys is a pretty hot topic. Especially the
Little Princess here." Clawz said casually, walking out of the infirmary into
the warm spring air.
"Me?" Sally said, "Who do YOU know that knows me?"
Clawz didn't seem to be listening anymore. He was blankly looking up
at the sky, as if he was searching for something. Sonic noticed a sad
expression on his face.
"Clawz... What's the matter?" He asked.
Clawz turned back to them. "Nothing. Just thinking about an old
friend." He sighed.
Sonic and Sally exchanged confused glances.
"Where's the little kid?" Clawz asked, changing the subject.
"Hmm?" Sally said.
"You know. The fox kid, the one with the two tails.."
There was a pause.
"You mean Tails?" Sonic asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yah, that's it. Duce. Where is he?" He asked.
"I don't know." Sally said, "Why do you want to see him?"
"I like the kid. He reminds me of me when I was younger." Clawz said.
Sally wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Sonic didn't either.
Tails had visited Clawz in the infirmary a lot after the accident. Clawz
would tell him about all the places he had been. And as he said, he had been
around. They had learned that he was originally from northern Mobius, but
ever since his father was roboticized, he had traveled the planet with his
older "brother," who remained nameless. Tails seemed to treat Clawz like he
usually treated Sonic. It was beginning to get on Sonic's nerves. As if on
cue, Tails ran up to them.
"Clawz! Your not sick anymore!" He said happily.
"Nope. Nothin' can keep me down fer long!" Clawz said mussing up the
kit's head fur.
Tails laughed. "That's great!" He said, "Now I can show you around."
"Good deal, Duce." Clawz said, "But only on one condition."
Tails looked confused, "What?" He asked.
"We have to visit the kitchen first! I'm starvin'!" He said.
Tails smiled, "Sure! Lets go!" He said and took the large wildcat by
the hand and lead him toward the main building.
Sonic snorted. "He didn't even say 'hi' to me."
Sally looked at him for a moment. She smiled and held his hand.
"Don't worry, Sonic. He's just excited to have someone new around. We don't
have many visitors, you know." She said softly.
He sighed. "I guess your right, Sal... Or should I start calling you
Little Princess?" He asked jokingly.
She shoved him. "I don't think so, Spikes." She said laughing.
He laughed, too. Sally was always good at getting him out of a bad
mood. "C'mon lets go get today's power ring." He suggested.
She smiled and nodded. He picked her up again. She put her arms
around his neck and snuggled up against his muzzle. He went limp for a
moment, then zoomed off toward the power ring pool, holding her tight in his
arms.
* * * *
Silent updrafts blew across the shimmering water sending warm breezes
upwards towards the clouds. Knuckles stood there on the edge of the Floating
Island letting the aroma of the salty sea air fill him. It was very refreshing.
He loved the feeling of freedom the Floating Island had. It went wherever it
pleased, drifting slowly among the mist. He tuned his eyes down to skim the
water.
"Well are you gonna go get them or not?" Vector asked. He was standing
beside the echidna looking impatient.
Mighty, and the rest of the Chaotix, were all swimming in a nearby pond.
Charmy wasn't swimming exactly, he was sitting in the shallow water trying to
keep his wings from getting wet. Mighty did a cannon ball into the water,
splashing Charmy and Espio, who was floating on his back reading a book. They
both started yelling at him. He just laughed.
"I will. I can't see any yet." Knuckles answered Vector.
"There's some." He said.
"Where?" Knuckles asked.
"There!" He said pointing down at the waves far below.
"Where?" Knuckles repeated.
"Right THERE!" Vector said, getting annoyed.
"Where?"
Vector growled.
"Oh-hoh. There. I see them now." Knuckles said, not really noticing
his friend's annoyance.
"Good." Vector said, "And get some good ones. None of them itty bitty
tiny ones." He suggested.
"Yeah, yeah. I know." He mumbled. Then grabbing a large bucket, he
vaulted himself off the edge. Vector watched over the side as Knuckles
dove into the water. In a graceful arch, the echidna emerged quickly letting
the warm updrafts push him back upward to the Floating Island. He landed
easily and handed the bucket, now full of fish, to Vector.
"Thanks, Knux. MMM! We're gonna have fried tuna tonight!" Vector said
smiling.
Knuckles made a disgusted face. "No thanks. I think I'll have a
salad." He said, squeezing the sea water out of his dreadlocks. Vector always
made him get fish for him when he won at tag. Vector was crazy about them,
considering that, because of the altitude, no fish could survive on the
Floating Island. Knuckles shook the rest of himself dry then sat down by the
pond. He sighed sadly. Espio sat next to him.
"Are you still upset about Clawz, Knuckles?" He asked, setting his
damp book down beside them.
"Yeah. I feel so guilty. I mean, if I didn't have such a temper and
didn't take his challenge, he would still be alive." Knuckles said.
"You have to stop blaming yourself for his death, Knuckles." Espio
said, "It wasn't yours, or anyone else's fault. Although it is a normal
reaction to death of a close one, you've been acting depressed for days. I
thought you and him were not friends anymore..."
"Even if we were, it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have reacted like
that. I feel like I've violated my duty as Guardian." He answered. "I could've
saved him. I could have tried to fly down and get him... But I didn't..."
"Well, now you can learn from your past. If you've really learned
something from this experience, you won't let it happen again, therefore
becoming a better Guardian. You can't change the past Knux, but you can
change your future." The chameleon reassured.
Knuckles stared at him for a moment. He smiled, "Your right, Espio.
From now on I'm not gonna lose my temper." He said, standing up.
Suddenly Mighty, who was standing behind them, gave Knuckles a push
sending him splashing into the water.
"Mighty! I'm gonna kill you!" He growled, spitting out some pond water.
Espio stopped him, "But you said you were not going to lose your
temper any more!" He said.
Knuckles pushed him aside, "I'll start tomorrow" He said.
"Heh, heh... C'mon Knux, can't ya take a joke??" Mighty stuttered.
Knuckles just lunged at him. Mighty took off like a shot. Knuckles
followed close behind, until he tripped the armadillo. Mighty fell headfirst
into a huge puddle of awful smelling mud. He stood up slowly, covered up to
his ears with clumps of it. Knuckles burst out laughing.
Espio sighed and slowly shook his head. "Nothing ever changes..."
* * * *
Night fell over the Great Forest. The purple skies gave way to the
dark blanket of twinkling stars and let the beautiful glowing moons of Mobius
shine. A cool breeze blew through the trees making a soft white noise of rustling
leaves. It was one of those nights that made you forget that a war was raging
the planet by day. It was the sweet serenity that was rarely experienced by
the few citizens that were left on Mobius. It was a perfect night.
"You were right Sonic. We shouldn't worry to much about Robotnik. No
news from him is good news." Sally purred to him as they sat on the steps
outside of her hut watching the stars come out.
"Me? Right? Now there's a novel idea." He said sarcastically.
She giggled, "No really. I'm glad we got to spend a quiet day together."
"So am I." He said softly, putting an arm around her. She leaned on
his shoulder. Sonic gently cupped a hand under her chin and brought her face
up to his. "I'm really glad..." He repeated.
Sally smiled. They tilted there heads slightly in different directions
and kissed each other happily.
Clawz decided that was his cue to leave. He shouldn't have been
watching them anyway. He wandered silently away from the spot where he had been
spying. He guessed it had become a habit. He had no reason to spy on them. All
the animals here treated him with an odd kindness. It made him want to get out
of the bounty hunting business. Besides, he had lost the cargo he was
carrying for that jerk Robotnik, and Nack had somehow disappeared after they
were separated a couple of months ago. They had been working as a bounty
hunters, sometimes stealing items for Robotnik, sometimes stealing them from
him. He never really had a real side in the war. But staying here in Knothole,
the peace-loving rebel village, was starting to make Clawz think twice. He had
so much going for him here. It seemed like a wonderful life, with a good purpose,
something he had been looking for a long time...
"Clawz? Is dat you?" A voice whispered.
He spun around quickly. "Wha? Huh? Who said that?"
"Over here!" It called, "In da jail!"
Clawz spotted someone looking out a small window in the tiny jail house.
He looked oddly familiar. Clawz stepped closer. He then realized who it was.
He was a large purple weasel wearing a brown, old looking fedora and had a big
front tooth sticking out of his mouth. You could barely see his eyes under his
tipped hat. Clawz knew him well.
"Nack?! What are you doin' here??" He asked loudly.
"SHHH!!" The weasel hushed, "What are ya tryin' ta do? Get us caught?"
Clawz lowered his voice, "Sorry." He said, "Bro, what are you doing here?"
"You tell me foist." He insisted.
"Well... I just uh.... dropped in." He said smiling.
"Uh.. yeah." Nack said, confused.
"What are ya doin' in a Freedom Fighters jail?" Clawz asked.
Nack sighed. "After we stole dem parts from one of Robotnik's forts, I
went to Robotrropolis to sell em back to him. After dat, he gave me some
huntin' ta do. He asked me to get rid of the blue hedgehog for 'im. I tried,
but them Freedom Fighters found me out and locked me up in 'ere." He grumbled.
"You mean ya tried to kill Spikes?!" Clawz yelled, alarmed.
"SHHH!!! Shad-up! I told ya to be quiet! Now c'mon break me outta dis
joint!" Nack demanded.
Clawz was silent. He stared at his partner, brother, and friend.
"What's da matter wit you?? Get me outta 'ere!" Nack repeated.
Clawz's large ears drooped. "I dunno Nack... I don't think I should..."
"What?? Of course ya should!" He said, trying to keep his voice down.
"I can't Nack. These are my friends--" He started.
"FRIENDS?!" Nack shouted, forgetting to whisper, "You and da Freedom
Fighters? What are ya talkin' about?!"
"I don't wanna be a crook anymore Nack.. I never wanted to be... It
was just the only way I knew how to survive... After me and yours dads
disappeared I didn't know what to do..."
"Look, brother, I saved you more times than I can count..." Nack said.
Which is to what? Three? Clawz thought to himself.
"I was your big brother for six years. I was your friend. I was tha
one who taught you everything I know 'bout bounty hunting. Don't ya think you
dats worth anyt'ing?" Nack said slowly.
Clawz was silent again. He didn't know what to do. He was so confused.
Nack stared at him hard. "Look Clawz, I'll give you some time to get
this straight. Your a thief, and your never gonna be anyt'ing more. Now, get
outta here. We're bustin' out of here. Tomorrow." He said, then stormed
off the other side of his cell.
Clawz stared sadly at the ground for a moment, then walked slowly
back to his hut that the freedom fighters had let him stay in. Who were his
real friends? He didn't know anymore...
* * * *
Chapter 7: "The Plot Thickens"
The Chaos Emerald glowed brightly in the crystal filled room,
scattering tiny rainbow across the walls of warm pink and green mineral. Energy
pulsed softly through the seemingly infinite veins of this ominous rock,
giving the island a mysterious power. The Chaos Emerald, one of eight other
magical jewels, might have been the largest and most powerful one of them all,
but this was for one reason: the world, Mobius, was more chaotic than ever.
The precious gem has been feeding on the power of evil since the peace was
shattered that horrible Day of Destruction. Only chaos can come from this
emerald, but it has been keeping the Floating Island afloat for years, only
to secretly control its fate. The echidnas had, years ago, used it's essence
to keep their beautiful home safe, but no good would ever come out of it.
Sooner or later, the emerald would decide the island's death...
* * * *
Rain splashed gently into the mud. The quiet night before had let way
to soft misty rains, filling the Great Forest with a mysterious, almost spooky
air to it. The bustle of the small secret village, Knothole, had faded and the
only noise heard was the small raindrops hitting the muddy sidewalks. The night
was dark, but the moon shone lightly through the dense tree tops making tiny
pools of light on the ground. A lone figure stood beside a tree. He was tall,
and rather feline looking. He didn't seem to mind that he was getting soaked.
He had other things on his mind. It must have been pretty important,
considering he hated being wet. It was important. It was a decision he knew
would change his life, for better or for worse, and he didn't know which. All
he knew was that he did have a brother, and blood is thicker than water. Even
if he wasn't his real brother, Nack was non the less the and only family he
had left.
"Well? Have ya thought it over?" Nack said, from inside the prison cell.
"Yah. C'mon, I'll get ya out." Clawz said solemnly.
"Good. I knew ya would come to yer senses."
There was a short silence as Clawz used a kitchen knife to work on the
simple lock. Nack watched impatiently.
"Did ya ever deliver dem supplies to Robotnik?" He asked.
"No." Clawz answered dryly.
"What? Why not?" He asked rather angrily.
"I had set backs."
"Set backs? Where are the supplies den? Here?" Nack continued.
"No. I lost them. I had to hide out on Floating Island." He said. The lock
clicked and Clawz removed it easily from the door. They opened the door slowly,
trying to keep it's creaking to a minimum. Nack stepped out and they replaced
the lock on the door.
"The Floatin' Island, hmm?" Nack said thoughtfully forgetting to be
angry about the lost supplies. "Ain't that the place that you lived b'fore
me an m'dad picked you up?" He asked.
"Yeah. C'mon let get out of h--"
"The place with the big green jewel?" Nack interrupted.
"Uh... Yeah. It's called the Chaos Em--"
Nack grabbed his paw, "First stop, the Floatin' Island!" He said, and
pulled Clawz down the muddy path.
* * * *
The hours passed quickly and the dark purple heavens were already beginning
to turn their beautiful morning colors. The troubled Mobian skies had cleared
and tiny rays of light were shining lightly between the cracks in the clouds.
It seemed almost peaceful. As they say, darkest before the dawn, lightest
before the storm...
"Hmmm... Interesting..." A small red fire ant mumbled.
"What?" Knuckles asked.
"Does the emerald seem different to you"?
They were in the Chaos Chamber observing the emerald. "Different?
What do you mean, Archimedes?" Knuckles said tilting his head to look at the
jewel.
"It's odd... It seems dimmer or something." He mumbled.
"Dimmer??"
"Yes. I doesn't seem to be glowing as brightly..."
Knuckles frowned, "Oh, your just imagining things. Why would it be
getting dimmer? It has infinite power." He insisted.
"Hmmm. I suppose. Lets just keep an eye on it." Archimedes suggested.
"Whatever." Knuckles said.
Archimedes jumped off the emerald onto his shoulder. "Well.. I better
go now. I'll do some research." He said and a second later he was gone in a
puff of smoke.
"Bye." Knuckles said absentmindedly. He sighed and sat down on the
chamber's floor and closed his eyes. He needed to think for a while.
* * * *
"Dimmer?" A large echidna asked, rather shocked. "Are you sure,
Archimedes?"
"Almost positive, Sir." He answered.
"But that's impossible!" He said shaking his head, "We have always
thought that the emerald had infinite power..."
"That is what Knuckles said."
"I figured as much. I did teach him everything he knows."
"Of course these are only rough theories. No one has ever really
figured out how the Chaos Emerald works." Archimedes said.
"Good point. I suggest that we take a crack at it." The echidna said.
"You mean figuring out what makes it tick?"
"Exactly." He said motioning the art to climb on his hand, "Lets
consult the Scrolls. Maybe they will tell us something."
They walked slowly into a large room filled with shelves and piles of
papers up to the ceiling. Books lined every shelf and some had been set out on
a number of small tables and desks scattered about the huge study. They were
pushed into their places with some of the leather covers draping over the
rough edges of their pages.
Archimedes groaned. "Good luck finding them." He said staring at the
messy rows of miscellaneous books strewn across the room.
"I know there here somewhere." The older echidna said setting the ant
down on one of the desks.
"Somewhere..." Archimedes grumbled starting to search through the books
piled on the table top. "By Chaos, Locke! Now I see where Knuckles gets his
horrible study habits." He said.
"It's in the blood." He said walking over to a book shelf and
scanning the many titles.
Archimedes sighed. "Well it's not over here. What do you see?"
"It might be on one of those higher shelves. I think I put it up there
so no one would find it." Locke said pointing to the top row of books on the
high shelf.
"You did a good job." Archimedes said.
He wasn't listening anymore. He stepped cautiously on the bottom shelf
and stood on it a second trying to reach the upper shelves. He stepped up
another row and reached again. He still wasn't high enough. Archimedes watched
in amusement as Locke stepped up another shelf and reached for the books, but
when he grabbed one the rest came toppling over on top of him. He was buried
in an avalanche of books.
"You know, Locke, you could have used that ladder over there."
Archimedes said chuckling and pointing to a step ladder in the far corner.
"Oh, now you tell me." He said climbing out of the books and dusting
off his white lab coat. "A lot of good it does now." He grumbled.
"Sorry. I just can't help myself." He said grinning.
"Hmmph. Maybe you should get some professional help." Locke sneered.
"Ohhh! Temper, temper Sir! I suppose that runs in the blood also?"
Locke just snorted and began to sort though the fallen books.
Archimedes jumped off the desk and went to help him. After several minutes
of sorting, Locke raised a large blue, worn covered book.
"I found it!" He announced happily.
"Thank the Gods." Archimedes said.
Locke went over to a nearby desk and pushed all the papers and books
off it's top. They fell crumbled to the floor beside it. Archimedes shook his
head . Locke flipped the book open and sat down in a chair. Archimedes climbed
up to stand on the chair's arm.
"...And the Gods set forth us a plain. A green world on which to live.
Made by the hands of thine and forged from precious jewels, stones of the
gods shall give thy power of unworldly ...." Locke read aloud tracing his
fingers over the words in the book.
"The Chaos Emerald may be powerful, but does is it infinite?" Archimedes
interrupted.
"Power shalt be in thine own world and thy shall make thine energy of
the jewels. Control is neither to be controlled or with held. None shall use
thy crystals with force." Locke continued.
There was a short silence.
"What does that mean?" Archimedes said, rather confused.
"I'm not sure. Our elders sure were cryptic with their messages." Locke
said stroking his beard.
"... And thy shall make thine energy of the jewels...." Archimedes
repeated thoughtfully. "I suppose it means that we control the emerald's
energy..." He said.
"Yes, but it also says 'Control is neither to be controlled or with
held.' I guess that means that we cannot control it." Locke contradicted.
"That makes no sense! We can control it, yet we can't? It's completely
illogical." Archimedes observed.
"True... But whoever said the Gods were logical?" He said.
Archimedes hummed softly. "Read on. Maybe we'll find something else."
He suggested.
"Chaos not controlled can lead thine destiny, yet thine life is in
thine hands. Foolish actions will bring chaos on to the world and thine
fate is decided. The Others will set the balance."
"There it goes again! Chaos controls our destiny, but we also control
it!? You know I really--"
"Wait a minute! I wonder what it means about 'The Others'..." Locke
said and began reading the verses over again. "The Others will set the
balance...."
"Maybe it means you Guardians. You do balance this island." Archimedes
said.
"Mmm. I don't think so. Have you noticed that the book never refers
to the emerald itself but as 'the jewel' or 'crystal'." Locke said, "And it's
always plural... jewel-s."
"Hmm... That brings up another mystery... Do you suppose there are
other jewels, not chaos emeralds, but others..."
"Could be... The Others will control the balance. I wish my ancestors
were more specific." Locke said.
"Well keep reading! Maybe the next verse will be more explanatory."
"There is no more on this page." Locke said, turning it to read the
next. "How odd. There is no more about 'The Others' or the emerald... How
odd... I have read these verses many times but have failed to see their
meaning. I don't know why...."
There was silence again as he flipped back from the original page to
the next. "In fact, these lines on the next page have nothing to do with
those on the first. How odd..."
"Hey... Wait... There's pages missing..." Archimedes realized.
"What?" Locke asked.
"Look, this page, the one about the emerald or whatever, is on page
132. The next page is 142." He said pointing to the page numbers. "They're
ten pages apart..."
Locke was quite surprised. "I wonder why I never noticed that before.."
He mumbled checking the binding between the pages where there was a slight
gap. You could barely see tiny edges of the margins of the ripped out pages.
"Maybe they got stuck somewhere else in the book." Archimedes said.
Locke picked up the book and closed it then shook its pages. A small
scrap of paper fluttered out and landed beside Archimedes. He picked it up.
It edges were ripped, and he could only make out one full sentence and a
fragment.
"Emerald posses evil, the chaos unknown, and shall wreak havoc when
the earth falls onto itself. It shall be balanced when the power of the Dia--"
* * * * *
Chapter 8: "The Falling Island"
Knuckles opened his eyes. He had felt a disturbance. A sudden cold
feeling had rushed into the chamber, awakening him. He stared at the emerald
for a second. Maybe Archimedes was right. It did seem a bit dimmer. He snapped
out of it. He stood up and ran down the hallway. He had felt a presence on
his island, and he knew how to deal with intruders.
He dashed out into the clearing. He stopped abruptly. He turned back
to close the door. There was no way he was going to make the same mistake
twice. He went back and began to slide it when a hand reached out and caught
him by the neck. He jerked violently away, but attacker held strong. He
covered the echidna's mouth with a wet cloth. Knuckles coughed, trying not
to breath the fumes, but the cloth was held tightly over his mouth and nose
and he could not get free. After a couple of seconds he felt dizzy and
fainted. The captor smiled evilly. This was almost too easy...
* * * * *
"Princezz! Princezz! Coming quickly you must!" Antonie yelled loudly
as he ran into the meeting hall. Sally and Sonic were sitting at a table
talking. Sally and Sonic jumped up as Antonie tripped on the door step and
fell on top on their table.
"Ant' can't you see that me and Sally are busy?" Sonic said rather
annoyed. Antonie was always overreacting and Sonic had gotten sick of it.
Especially when he interrupted him in Sally in an important conversation.
Actually it wasn't that important, but still...
"Oh! My thees is terr-iblest ting! Sacre Blu! There is being no times
to be wasting! We must find heem!" He yelled, letting his english get even
worse than usual. He forgot all together and starting rambling in French.
"Antonie! Will you calm down?!" Sally insisted.
"Yeah, Ant'! What's the matter? Did you lose your deodorant again?" Sonic
teased.
"No! I am smelling 'Old Spicy' today..." He said, forgetting to be
frantic for moment.
Sonic smiled, "I guess we should start calling you 'Frenchy Spice'." He
said then burst into laughter.
Antonie and Sally both gave him a look of bewilderment.
"Uh... Yeah... Now what is so important as to come in here screaming?" She
asked, turning back to Antonie.
"Oui! Oui! I have just found one of ours prizioners to be missings!"
He said resuming his earlier emotion of panic.
"What!? Our prisoners? From the jail-house?" Sally asked, becoming
serious again.
"Yezz! That's is whats I have been sayings!"
"Oh no!" She said. "It was my night to stand on watch..." She said
guiltily. Instead she had spent it on Sonic. She looked over and smiled at
him. It hadn't been a total loss...
"Why were you not watchings the jails then Princezz?" Antonie asked.
"Well what are you two waiting for?" Sonic said butting in, "Lets
go check it out!"
"Right! Lets go!" She said jumping into his arms.
"Hi-C-Ya, hold tight!" He said bolting out the door, leaving Antonie
in the dust.
"Where is he getting these dumb sayings?" He grumbled.
* * * * * *
Rotor was fumbling around his workshop looking for some supplies. He
stopped to stare at one of his empty workbenches.
"Hmm. I could have sworn I left some chemicals here." He mumbled.
Bunnie walked in at that moment. She was limping on her robotic leg.
He turned to help her as she almost stumbled and fell.
"Your circuits burn-out again?" He asked, although he already knew the
answer.
She just nodded, looking more than slightly annoyed.
"I wonder why their burning out so quickly lately. You haven't been
doing and strenuous activities with your legs, have you?" He asked.
"Naw, not really. I've been workin' at tha infirmary helpin' tha Doc."
She answered sitting down on the empty work bench.
"That's right. Well I suppose their just worn out. We should get you
some new main-function circuits. I've been repairing these for months, and
I suppose that it's just time for a replacement." He said, opening a panel
on her robotic calf.
She sighed, "Ah guess so... Ah wish Ah didn't have ta do this. It all
really gits on mah nerves. Ah mean, malfunctions, burn-outs, replacements,
everything..." She said sadly.
He looked at her with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry Bunnie. I wish I
could do something..."
She smiled weakly, "It's not your fault sugah. It's nobody's. 'Cept
maybe Robotnik's." She said.
"One day we're gonna fix this. We're gonna find a way to change you
back." He said reassuringly.
"Thanks, Rotor. I'm sure ya will." Bunnie said although still sadly.
He began fixing her legs, probing it with a small wire-thin instrument.
He got up to go get her new circuit block. He opened a small cabinet above
the table and was surprised to find it empty.
Bunnie saw the surprised expression on his face. "What's the mattah?
Loose somthin?" She asked.
"Yeah... Everything." He said, staring at the empty cabinet blankly.
* * * * *
"Oh this is horrible!" Sally groaned as they examined the broken lock.
"How could this have happened? There is no way he could get out on his own!"
"It is how you say... Weird." Antonie mumbled.
"Tell me about it." Sonic said.
"This is just great! Now we've got a bounty hunter on the loose! He
could go back to Robotnik, and tell them where Knothole is!" Sally said
sadly, "...And it's all my fault!" She sobbed.
Sonic put his hand on her shoulder with an uncharacteristic gentleness.
"C'mon Sal... It's ain't your fault. If it's any body's it's mine..." He said.
"No. It was MY responsibility. I should have been watching..." She said
in a relenting tone.
Sonic sighed. He didn't really know what to say to comfort her. He
pulled her close and hugged her.
Antonie watched the exchange looking a bit confused, but did not
interrupt. He knew when to not butt in. Unfortunately, Tails didn't.
"Sonic! Sonic! Aunt Sally!" He said as he ran up to them.
They parted slowly and unwillingly. Sonic looked down at him, trying
not to sound annoyed even though he was, "Yeah, Tails? Is their something the
matter?"
"Yes!" He said stopping beside them and panting, "I can't find Clawz!"
Sonic snorted, "Who cares about him? We got a crisis on our hands here!"
He said, unable to hold in his annoyance any longer. Sally shot him an angry
glance. He just frowned at her.
Tails looked slightly hurt but spoke, "A crisis? What do you mean?"
"Well, Tails it's just that--" Sally began.
Just then Rotor ran up to them. "Sally, ohmygosh, we gotta problem!"
He said.
"Is this running up to us for help thing becoming a trend or something?"
Sonic asked no one in particular. No one in particular answered him.
"Rotor, what's the matter?" Sally asked.
"Everything is gone! My supplies, some chemicals, even that old hover-
craft I was working on!" He blurted out.
"What? Gone?" Sally said, "You mean stolen?"
"Exactly!" He said, "Someone just up and snatched them!"
Sally noticed Bunnie hobbling towards them. Bunnie just stood beside
Antonie and looked the most annoyed of all of them. He put a arm around her to
stabilize her and she leaned on him gratefully.
"Why would anyone want to steal chemicals and robot parts?" Sonic said,
wanting to be part of the conversation again.
"I suppose Nack stole them." Sally said. "I don't figure why though..."
"Nack? Nack the Weasel the bounty hunter?" Rotor asked.
"Yeah. He escaped from our prison." She said, once again feeling guilty.
"Oh no!" Bunnie said, "He could tell ole Bot'nik tha location uh
Knothole!" She said, concerned.
Sally felt sick in her stomach. She leaned against the prison
building. "What are we going to do... He could be miles from here now..."
* * * * * *
An incredible tremor shook the island. It was harder than any than
earthquake before. You could almost feel the stress of the ground holding
together as the weight shifted from side to side throwing off the entire
island's center of gravity. Knuckles awoke from a strange dream to find
himself tied and bound to a tree.
"What in the--" He said trying to stand, but was held back by the
ties. The ropes were tight, and he hit his head against the tree as another
quake shook the island. Knuckles had a couple of obscene comments at this
point.
"Knuckles! Oh my god! There you are!" Mighty said as he found his
friend tied up to the tree.
"Mighty! What the hell's going on!?" He asked sharply.
"I thought you could tell me!" He answered, bending down to untie him.
Knuckles stood up quickly. "Someone must be messing with the Chaos Emerald!"
He ran towards the entrance, which was left open, but was thrown back again
with an even stronger earthquake. He and Mighty plowed into each other.
Knuckles didn't waste anymore time but dashed into the Chaos Chamber,
leaving Mighty in a daze. Knuckles emerged again a second later. He looked
as white as a sheet.
"Knux, who's in there?" Mighty asked sitting up.
Knuckles stared at him for a moment vacantly, "...N-no one..."
"Huh?" Mighty asked confused, "Nobody? What's the matter with the
emerald then?"
"Nothing." He said, still staring blankly, "That's just it. It's gone.
The Chaos Emerald is gone!"
Suddenly another tremor rocked the island. This one, even stronger
than it's predecessors, tilted the island back and forth violently. Then
as suddenly as it started it stopped. Knuckles could feel them falling. A
sudden snap of gravity pulling them off the ground and down to the surface
of Mobius. His stomach jumped up into his throat, and all the blood rushed
to his head. The island was falling, and Knuckles knew it meant death for
them all.
* * * * *
End of Part 4!
To be continued....
(Don't ya just hate that?!)
Part five, the conclusion of this amazing series, is coming soon! Don't
miss it, it's gonna be GREAT!
Author's (Second) note-
Hello again! It's me, Erin! Anyway, before you go, I want to say some things.
#1, sorry this part took me a while. We've been having the
writing tests, and I've had to write like, four process papers in the last two
weeks, and after that who would blame me for not wanting to come home and
write some more?
#2, as you read up there, Clawz thinks of Nack as a big
brother, but he's not really. I mean come on, how could a weasel and a
wildcat be brothers? Well, I guess they're kinda step-bothers considering
that Nack's father, who will remain un-named, sort of adopted Clawz after
the Guardian of the Floating Island (Knux's dad, at the time) turned him
and his father over to him as bounty. But that didn't last very long...
I'll get into that in part 5.
#3, If you didn't already get it, I was making fun of the Spice Girls in the
middle of Ch. 7 when Sonic calls Antonie "Frency Spice" and says "Hi-C-Ya,
hold tight!," and Ant' comments on his dumb sayings. It a lyric from the
Spice Girl's popular song "Spice Up Your Life". Personally, I think
they're REALLY annoying...
#4, I want to thank Alessandro for his praise and putting all my stories up
on his page. Thanks a lot man, it means a bunch to me. Until next time, Peace out!
Erin Lindsey
P.S. READ PART FIVE!
P.S.S. Send me your comments!
P.S.S.S. Sorry about all the P.S's.
P.S.S.S.S. What the heck does P.S. stand for any way??
-------------------------------------------------------------
Legal information:
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
Part four
The Falling Island
By: Erin Lindsey
------------------------------
Legalities at de bottom, mon!
------------------------------
Author's note:
Read part one, two, and three before this one, ya monkeys!
Action! Action! WE WANT ACTION! Okay, okay, geez don't get yer knickers in a
twist! I'm finally getting to the real plot of this story. HOORAY! And it only
took me three whole parts in advance. Hee hee.. I put a little romantic scene
with Sonic in Sally kinda because it was just Valentines day. It's not anything
to worry about, just a kiss. And don't worry, no more
flash-backs. YIPPEE!! Well, maybe just one... ;')
Lastish:
Knuckles finally revealed his past with Clawz, the mysterious wildcat
who fell of the Floating Island. Although Knux thinks he died, he actually,
and fortunately, landed in a tree with only minor injuries. Sonic and Tails
were able to save him and bring him back to Knothole. Clawz was revived the
next morning, and went a bit crazy due to his concussion, but after he was
sedated everything went back to normal... for a while. Clawz finally really
woke up, this time with his wits about him, and now days later he is almost
fully recovered and back to his annoying self. Meanwhile, Sonic and Sally go
to check out why Robotnik hasn't made a move yet...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 6: "Acceptance"
Robotropolis was amazingly quiet this evening. The dark grimy walls
of the desolate city cast cold gray shadows across the dirty streets. Piles
of broken window glass and browning paper lay strewn in the corners and
forgotten in doorways. It was sad to think that once upon a time this horrid
place had been the beautiful capitol city Mobotropolis. That was, until the
evil overlord, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, over threw the King, and assumed the throne
as the ultimate dictator. It was a awful time of war and death, but somehow,
a small group of Freedom Fighters emerged from the darkness, they're only
intent but to restore the peace to the tiny green planet known as Mobius.
Suddenly the papers were blown astray as a blur of blue dashed by.
Coming to a stop in front of a crumbling building, the speedy hedgehog
released his passenger. She was a young red-head ground squirrel, a little
bit tough looking, but none the less beautiful and elegant.
"See, I told ya Sal. There's nothing going on here." He said to her,
"C'mon lets bolt back to Knothole."
Sally sighed and stared at him for a moment. "It's just weird, Sonic.
It's almost been a whole month, and we haven't heard a peep from Robotnik.
He just HAS to be up to something..." She said.
"Maybe he's just cooling his jets for a while." Sonic said, "But
we're not doing any good here. We have to wait until Uncle Chuck figures us
out a way to get into the main computers."
"Hmmph! You? Wait? Now that's a novel idea. I thought you would be
the one willing for action." Sally said, a bit surprised at the patience
Sonic was showing.
"Yeah, well... I am but, I got other things on my mind." He answered.
"Really? Like what?" She asked.
"It's just that Clawz guy that we picked up... I mean, after what
you said about him, maybe he really isn't on our side. He was acting pretty
suspicious. He didn't even tell us what happened to him before he fell into
that tree..." He said.
"He said he didn't remember, Sonic. Maybe we should respect his
privacy." Sally said.
"When did you start sticking up for him? I would think you would
hate him, considering he hits on you so much." Sonic snorted.
Sally smiled, "I kind of like it. No one else around here ever seems
to compliment me..." She said, sending a direct glare in Sonic's direction.
He frowned. "I.. I compliment you... sometimes..." He defended.
"Yeah, right. You never say anything nice about how I look."
"I do, too!" He said.
"Is that right? Well, c'mon give me a compliment." She said.
Sonic paused, "Now?"
"Yes, now." She said, "Come on, it wouldn't hurt you to stop acting
cool for two seconds."
He sighed, and thought for a moment, "You look nice." He mumbled.
Sally frowned. "That wasn't very convincing. I want a real compliment."
She said.
"Okay, okay..." He said. He looked up at her. She really was beautiful...
he took a deep breath, "I think you're the most beautiful girl in the world,
Sally." He said softly.
Sally looked shocked for a second. She then smiled and hugged him.
"See that wasn't so hard was it?"
"I guess not." He stuttered.
She laughed. "C'mon, handsome, lets go back to Knothole." She said
kissing him on the cheek.
Sonic happily scooped her up in his arms and sped back toward the
Great Forest.
* * * *
"SNIVLEY!!!" A loud booming voice called, echoing off the metallic
walls. Instantly, a small shaky looking man entered the room.
"Y-Yessir? Is there something the matter, sir?" He asked nervously.
"Where is that stupid wildcat?!" Robotnik bellowed, "I thought we had
a deal! It's been almost two weeks!!"
"Well, s-sir... I'm not sure, sir. He said that he might have to hide
out for a while. His partner had disappeared, remember?" Snivley reminded.
"Ah yes, the wildcat's partner, Mr. Nack Weasel. I do remember him. I
hired him to kill the hedgehog for me a while back, correct Snivley?"
"Correct, sir. He failed." Snivley said.
"I know that! Hmmph!! Yes. That's why I don't trust this wildcat.
He should have brought me the materials by now. I hate working with dumb
animals."
"I'm sure he's trying as hard as he can to get here..."
* * * *
::ahem::...
::ahem::....
::AHEM::.....
"I said AHEM! What does it take to get a drink 'round dis place?!"
said a rather large brown wildcat who was sitting up in a bed, his arm and
leg in casts.
"Here you go. I take it y'all is feelin' better?" Bunnie grumbled
handing him a cup.
"Much better, Legs." The wildcat said taking the glass from her. He
smirked idly. She frowned. This guy was really starting to get on her bionic
nerves. At least he wasn't calling her "Buns of Steel" anymore.
The doctor entered the Knothole infirmary. "Hello, Mr. Wildcat. I
believe you are well enough to be on your feet now. Thanks to modern medicine,
and a wonderful doctor, your bones have healed almost completely." He said
holding up two x-ray sheets showing the wildcat's mended arm and leg bones.
"But I thought you were his doctor, Dr. Quack..." Bunnie said.
"I was." He said smiling proudly.
Bunnie rolled her eyes.
The doctor didn't notice and continued on, "Today your casts will come
off. Isn't that wonderful?" He said happily.
"I guess so, Doc." Clawz said frowning. He had kind of liked being
waited on hand and foot. Actually he loved it.
The doctor fished around silently in his bag until he produced a small
cutting blade. He noticed Clawz flinch.
"Don't worry, these are for cutting the cast off. It won't hurt a bit."
Clawz didn't seem convinced. "Ah, maybe I'll jus stick wit da casts for
a little while longer doc. They ain't that bad." He argued.
"Nonsense. I won't have a patient of mine playing hookey. Your perfectly
fine. You need some fresh air anyway." The doctor said, holding the cast that
was still on the brown feline's arm. With out any recognition from Clawz, he
started cutting away.
Clawz decided it better if he didn't struggle. Those scissors looked
awfully sharp. A couple of seconds later, the plaster came free revealing the
wildcat's healed arm. The doctor moved on to his leg. Clawz mumbled something,
but didn't object out loud. He bent his arm slowly at the elbow. It was a bit
stiff and a little sore, but that was it. He looked down at the doctor who was
almost finished cutting off his leg cast. He removed it carefully and handed it
to Bunnie. She looked slightly disgusted, and went out of the room to throw it
away.
Sonic and Sally came in just as she was leaving. Sally entered the
room first to see Clawz standing up. She was a bit surprised at his height.
He was at least a foot taller than her, unusual for a Mobian. Sonic looked
surprised too, but not for the same reason.
"Getting your cast off already, Clawz?" Sonic asked.
"Yup. Where ya been, Spikes? I missed your Little Princess..." He
said smiling. Clawz had the odd habit of calling everyone by random nick names.
Sonic found it quite annoying. He frowned. Sally was going to say something,
but Sonic interrupted her.
"We were on a mission." He said quickly.
"A mission, eh?" Clawz said, still smiling, "What are you guys? Secret
agents or something?"
"Not exactly, Clawz. We're Freedom Fighters." Sally said.
"Freedom Fighters? I've heard of you." Clawz said starting to walk out
the door, a bit stiff legged.
"You have??" Sonic said, surprised.
"Sure. I get around. You guys is a pretty hot topic. Especially the
Little Princess here." Clawz said casually, walking out of the infirmary into
the warm spring air.
"Me?" Sally said, "Who do YOU know that knows me?"
Clawz didn't seem to be listening anymore. He was blankly looking up
at the sky, as if he was searching for something. Sonic noticed a sad
expression on his face.
"Clawz... What's the matter?" He asked.
Clawz turned back to them. "Nothing. Just thinking about an old
friend." He sighed.
Sonic and Sally exchanged confused glances.
"Where's the little kid?" Clawz asked, changing the subject.
"Hmm?" Sally said.
"You know. The fox kid, the one with the two tails.."
There was a pause.
"You mean Tails?" Sonic asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yah, that's it. Duce. Where is he?" He asked.
"I don't know." Sally said, "Why do you want to see him?"
"I like the kid. He reminds me of me when I was younger." Clawz said.
Sally wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Sonic didn't either.
Tails had visited Clawz in the infirmary a lot after the accident. Clawz
would tell him about all the places he had been. And as he said, he had been
around. They had learned that he was originally from northern Mobius, but
ever since his father was roboticized, he had traveled the planet with his
older "brother," who remained nameless. Tails seemed to treat Clawz like he
usually treated Sonic. It was beginning to get on Sonic's nerves. As if on
cue, Tails ran up to them.
"Clawz! Your not sick anymore!" He said happily.
"Nope. Nothin' can keep me down fer long!" Clawz said mussing up the
kit's head fur.
Tails laughed. "That's great!" He said, "Now I can show you around."
"Good deal, Duce." Clawz said, "But only on one condition."
Tails looked confused, "What?" He asked.
"We have to visit the kitchen first! I'm starvin'!" He said.
Tails smiled, "Sure! Lets go!" He said and took the large wildcat by
the hand and lead him toward the main building.
Sonic snorted. "He didn't even say 'hi' to me."
Sally looked at him for a moment. She smiled and held his hand.
"Don't worry, Sonic. He's just excited to have someone new around. We don't
have many visitors, you know." She said softly.
He sighed. "I guess your right, Sal... Or should I start calling you
Little Princess?" He asked jokingly.
She shoved him. "I don't think so, Spikes." She said laughing.
He laughed, too. Sally was always good at getting him out of a bad
mood. "C'mon lets go get today's power ring." He suggested.
She smiled and nodded. He picked her up again. She put her arms
around his neck and snuggled up against his muzzle. He went limp for a
moment, then zoomed off toward the power ring pool, holding her tight in his
arms.
* * * *
Silent updrafts blew across the shimmering water sending warm breezes
upwards towards the clouds. Knuckles stood there on the edge of the Floating
Island letting the aroma of the salty sea air fill him. It was very refreshing.
He loved the feeling of freedom the Floating Island had. It went wherever it
pleased, drifting slowly among the mist. He tuned his eyes down to skim the
water.
"Well are you gonna go get them or not?" Vector asked. He was standing
beside the echidna looking impatient.
Mighty, and the rest of the Chaotix, were all swimming in a nearby pond.
Charmy wasn't swimming exactly, he was sitting in the shallow water trying to
keep his wings from getting wet. Mighty did a cannon ball into the water,
splashing Charmy and Espio, who was floating on his back reading a book. They
both started yelling at him. He just laughed.
"I will. I can't see any yet." Knuckles answered Vector.
"There's some." He said.
"Where?" Knuckles asked.
"There!" He said pointing down at the waves far below.
"Where?" Knuckles repeated.
"Right THERE!" Vector said, getting annoyed.
"Where?"
Vector growled.
"Oh-hoh. There. I see them now." Knuckles said, not really noticing
his friend's annoyance.
"Good." Vector said, "And get some good ones. None of them itty bitty
tiny ones." He suggested.
"Yeah, yeah. I know." He mumbled. Then grabbing a large bucket, he
vaulted himself off the edge. Vector watched over the side as Knuckles
dove into the water. In a graceful arch, the echidna emerged quickly letting
the warm updrafts push him back upward to the Floating Island. He landed
easily and handed the bucket, now full of fish, to Vector.
"Thanks, Knux. MMM! We're gonna have fried tuna tonight!" Vector said
smiling.
Knuckles made a disgusted face. "No thanks. I think I'll have a
salad." He said, squeezing the sea water out of his dreadlocks. Vector always
made him get fish for him when he won at tag. Vector was crazy about them,
considering that, because of the altitude, no fish could survive on the
Floating Island. Knuckles shook the rest of himself dry then sat down by the
pond. He sighed sadly. Espio sat next to him.
"Are you still upset about Clawz, Knuckles?" He asked, setting his
damp book down beside them.
"Yeah. I feel so guilty. I mean, if I didn't have such a temper and
didn't take his challenge, he would still be alive." Knuckles said.
"You have to stop blaming yourself for his death, Knuckles." Espio
said, "It wasn't yours, or anyone else's fault. Although it is a normal
reaction to death of a close one, you've been acting depressed for days. I
thought you and him were not friends anymore..."
"Even if we were, it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have reacted like
that. I feel like I've violated my duty as Guardian." He answered. "I could've
saved him. I could have tried to fly down and get him... But I didn't..."
"Well, now you can learn from your past. If you've really learned
something from this experience, you won't let it happen again, therefore
becoming a better Guardian. You can't change the past Knux, but you can
change your future." The chameleon reassured.
Knuckles stared at him for a moment. He smiled, "Your right, Espio.
From now on I'm not gonna lose my temper." He said, standing up.
Suddenly Mighty, who was standing behind them, gave Knuckles a push
sending him splashing into the water.
"Mighty! I'm gonna kill you!" He growled, spitting out some pond water.
Espio stopped him, "But you said you were not going to lose your
temper any more!" He said.
Knuckles pushed him aside, "I'll start tomorrow" He said.
"Heh, heh... C'mon Knux, can't ya take a joke??" Mighty stuttered.
Knuckles just lunged at him. Mighty took off like a shot. Knuckles
followed close behind, until he tripped the armadillo. Mighty fell headfirst
into a huge puddle of awful smelling mud. He stood up slowly, covered up to
his ears with clumps of it. Knuckles burst out laughing.
Espio sighed and slowly shook his head. "Nothing ever changes..."
* * * *
Night fell over the Great Forest. The purple skies gave way to the
dark blanket of twinkling stars and let the beautiful glowing moons of Mobius
shine. A cool breeze blew through the trees making a soft white noise of rustling
leaves. It was one of those nights that made you forget that a war was raging
the planet by day. It was the sweet serenity that was rarely experienced by
the few citizens that were left on Mobius. It was a perfect night.
"You were right Sonic. We shouldn't worry to much about Robotnik. No
news from him is good news." Sally purred to him as they sat on the steps
outside of her hut watching the stars come out.
"Me? Right? Now there's a novel idea." He said sarcastically.
She giggled, "No really. I'm glad we got to spend a quiet day together."
"So am I." He said softly, putting an arm around her. She leaned on
his shoulder. Sonic gently cupped a hand under her chin and brought her face
up to his. "I'm really glad..." He repeated.
Sally smiled. They tilted there heads slightly in different directions
and kissed each other happily.
Clawz decided that was his cue to leave. He shouldn't have been
watching them anyway. He wandered silently away from the spot where he had been
spying. He guessed it had become a habit. He had no reason to spy on them. All
the animals here treated him with an odd kindness. It made him want to get out
of the bounty hunting business. Besides, he had lost the cargo he was
carrying for that jerk Robotnik, and Nack had somehow disappeared after they
were separated a couple of months ago. They had been working as a bounty
hunters, sometimes stealing items for Robotnik, sometimes stealing them from
him. He never really had a real side in the war. But staying here in Knothole,
the peace-loving rebel village, was starting to make Clawz think twice. He had
so much going for him here. It seemed like a wonderful life, with a good purpose,
something he had been looking for a long time...
"Clawz? Is dat you?" A voice whispered.
He spun around quickly. "Wha? Huh? Who said that?"
"Over here!" It called, "In da jail!"
Clawz spotted someone looking out a small window in the tiny jail house.
He looked oddly familiar. Clawz stepped closer. He then realized who it was.
He was a large purple weasel wearing a brown, old looking fedora and had a big
front tooth sticking out of his mouth. You could barely see his eyes under his
tipped hat. Clawz knew him well.
"Nack?! What are you doin' here??" He asked loudly.
"SHHH!!" The weasel hushed, "What are ya tryin' ta do? Get us caught?"
Clawz lowered his voice, "Sorry." He said, "Bro, what are you doing here?"
"You tell me foist." He insisted.
"Well... I just uh.... dropped in." He said smiling.
"Uh.. yeah." Nack said, confused.
"What are ya doin' in a Freedom Fighters jail?" Clawz asked.
Nack sighed. "After we stole dem parts from one of Robotnik's forts, I
went to Robotrropolis to sell em back to him. After dat, he gave me some
huntin' ta do. He asked me to get rid of the blue hedgehog for 'im. I tried,
but them Freedom Fighters found me out and locked me up in 'ere." He grumbled.
"You mean ya tried to kill Spikes?!" Clawz yelled, alarmed.
"SHHH!!! Shad-up! I told ya to be quiet! Now c'mon break me outta dis
joint!" Nack demanded.
Clawz was silent. He stared at his partner, brother, and friend.
"What's da matter wit you?? Get me outta 'ere!" Nack repeated.
Clawz's large ears drooped. "I dunno Nack... I don't think I should..."
"What?? Of course ya should!" He said, trying to keep his voice down.
"I can't Nack. These are my friends--" He started.
"FRIENDS?!" Nack shouted, forgetting to whisper, "You and da Freedom
Fighters? What are ya talkin' about?!"
"I don't wanna be a crook anymore Nack.. I never wanted to be... It
was just the only way I knew how to survive... After me and yours dads
disappeared I didn't know what to do..."
"Look, brother, I saved you more times than I can count..." Nack said.
Which is to what? Three? Clawz thought to himself.
"I was your big brother for six years. I was your friend. I was tha
one who taught you everything I know 'bout bounty hunting. Don't ya think you
dats worth anyt'ing?" Nack said slowly.
Clawz was silent again. He didn't know what to do. He was so confused.
Nack stared at him hard. "Look Clawz, I'll give you some time to get
this straight. Your a thief, and your never gonna be anyt'ing more. Now, get
outta here. We're bustin' out of here. Tomorrow." He said, then stormed
off the other side of his cell.
Clawz stared sadly at the ground for a moment, then walked slowly
back to his hut that the freedom fighters had let him stay in. Who were his
real friends? He didn't know anymore...
* * * *
Chapter 7: "The Plot Thickens"
The Chaos Emerald glowed brightly in the crystal filled room,
scattering tiny rainbow across the walls of warm pink and green mineral. Energy
pulsed softly through the seemingly infinite veins of this ominous rock,
giving the island a mysterious power. The Chaos Emerald, one of eight other
magical jewels, might have been the largest and most powerful one of them all,
but this was for one reason: the world, Mobius, was more chaotic than ever.
The precious gem has been feeding on the power of evil since the peace was
shattered that horrible Day of Destruction. Only chaos can come from this
emerald, but it has been keeping the Floating Island afloat for years, only
to secretly control its fate. The echidnas had, years ago, used it's essence
to keep their beautiful home safe, but no good would ever come out of it.
Sooner or later, the emerald would decide the island's death...
* * * *
Rain splashed gently into the mud. The quiet night before had let way
to soft misty rains, filling the Great Forest with a mysterious, almost spooky
air to it. The bustle of the small secret village, Knothole, had faded and the
only noise heard was the small raindrops hitting the muddy sidewalks. The night
was dark, but the moon shone lightly through the dense tree tops making tiny
pools of light on the ground. A lone figure stood beside a tree. He was tall,
and rather feline looking. He didn't seem to mind that he was getting soaked.
He had other things on his mind. It must have been pretty important,
considering he hated being wet. It was important. It was a decision he knew
would change his life, for better or for worse, and he didn't know which. All
he knew was that he did have a brother, and blood is thicker than water. Even
if he wasn't his real brother, Nack was non the less the and only family he
had left.
"Well? Have ya thought it over?" Nack said, from inside the prison cell.
"Yah. C'mon, I'll get ya out." Clawz said solemnly.
"Good. I knew ya would come to yer senses."
There was a short silence as Clawz used a kitchen knife to work on the
simple lock. Nack watched impatiently.
"Did ya ever deliver dem supplies to Robotnik?" He asked.
"No." Clawz answered dryly.
"What? Why not?" He asked rather angrily.
"I had set backs."
"Set backs? Where are the supplies den? Here?" Nack continued.
"No. I lost them. I had to hide out on Floating Island." He said. The lock
clicked and Clawz removed it easily from the door. They opened the door slowly,
trying to keep it's creaking to a minimum. Nack stepped out and they replaced
the lock on the door.
"The Floatin' Island, hmm?" Nack said thoughtfully forgetting to be
angry about the lost supplies. "Ain't that the place that you lived b'fore
me an m'dad picked you up?" He asked.
"Yeah. C'mon let get out of h--"
"The place with the big green jewel?" Nack interrupted.
"Uh... Yeah. It's called the Chaos Em--"
Nack grabbed his paw, "First stop, the Floatin' Island!" He said, and
pulled Clawz down the muddy path.
* * * *
The hours passed quickly and the dark purple heavens were already beginning
to turn their beautiful morning colors. The troubled Mobian skies had cleared
and tiny rays of light were shining lightly between the cracks in the clouds.
It seemed almost peaceful. As they say, darkest before the dawn, lightest
before the storm...
"Hmmm... Interesting..." A small red fire ant mumbled.
"What?" Knuckles asked.
"Does the emerald seem different to you"?
They were in the Chaos Chamber observing the emerald. "Different?
What do you mean, Archimedes?" Knuckles said tilting his head to look at the
jewel.
"It's odd... It seems dimmer or something." He mumbled.
"Dimmer??"
"Yes. I doesn't seem to be glowing as brightly..."
Knuckles frowned, "Oh, your just imagining things. Why would it be
getting dimmer? It has infinite power." He insisted.
"Hmmm. I suppose. Lets just keep an eye on it." Archimedes suggested.
"Whatever." Knuckles said.
Archimedes jumped off the emerald onto his shoulder. "Well.. I better
go now. I'll do some research." He said and a second later he was gone in a
puff of smoke.
"Bye." Knuckles said absentmindedly. He sighed and sat down on the
chamber's floor and closed his eyes. He needed to think for a while.
* * * *
"Dimmer?" A large echidna asked, rather shocked. "Are you sure,
Archimedes?"
"Almost positive, Sir." He answered.
"But that's impossible!" He said shaking his head, "We have always
thought that the emerald had infinite power..."
"That is what Knuckles said."
"I figured as much. I did teach him everything he knows."
"Of course these are only rough theories. No one has ever really
figured out how the Chaos Emerald works." Archimedes said.
"Good point. I suggest that we take a crack at it." The echidna said.
"You mean figuring out what makes it tick?"
"Exactly." He said motioning the art to climb on his hand, "Lets
consult the Scrolls. Maybe they will tell us something."
They walked slowly into a large room filled with shelves and piles of
papers up to the ceiling. Books lined every shelf and some had been set out on
a number of small tables and desks scattered about the huge study. They were
pushed into their places with some of the leather covers draping over the
rough edges of their pages.
Archimedes groaned. "Good luck finding them." He said staring at the
messy rows of miscellaneous books strewn across the room.
"I know there here somewhere." The older echidna said setting the ant
down on one of the desks.
"Somewhere..." Archimedes grumbled starting to search through the books
piled on the table top. "By Chaos, Locke! Now I see where Knuckles gets his
horrible study habits." He said.
"It's in the blood." He said walking over to a book shelf and
scanning the many titles.
Archimedes sighed. "Well it's not over here. What do you see?"
"It might be on one of those higher shelves. I think I put it up there
so no one would find it." Locke said pointing to the top row of books on the
high shelf.
"You did a good job." Archimedes said.
He wasn't listening anymore. He stepped cautiously on the bottom shelf
and stood on it a second trying to reach the upper shelves. He stepped up
another row and reached again. He still wasn't high enough. Archimedes watched
in amusement as Locke stepped up another shelf and reached for the books, but
when he grabbed one the rest came toppling over on top of him. He was buried
in an avalanche of books.
"You know, Locke, you could have used that ladder over there."
Archimedes said chuckling and pointing to a step ladder in the far corner.
"Oh, now you tell me." He said climbing out of the books and dusting
off his white lab coat. "A lot of good it does now." He grumbled.
"Sorry. I just can't help myself." He said grinning.
"Hmmph. Maybe you should get some professional help." Locke sneered.
"Ohhh! Temper, temper Sir! I suppose that runs in the blood also?"
Locke just snorted and began to sort though the fallen books.
Archimedes jumped off the desk and went to help him. After several minutes
of sorting, Locke raised a large blue, worn covered book.
"I found it!" He announced happily.
"Thank the Gods." Archimedes said.
Locke went over to a nearby desk and pushed all the papers and books
off it's top. They fell crumbled to the floor beside it. Archimedes shook his
head . Locke flipped the book open and sat down in a chair. Archimedes climbed
up to stand on the chair's arm.
"...And the Gods set forth us a plain. A green world on which to live.
Made by the hands of thine and forged from precious jewels, stones of the
gods shall give thy power of unworldly ...." Locke read aloud tracing his
fingers over the words in the book.
"The Chaos Emerald may be powerful, but does is it infinite?" Archimedes
interrupted.
"Power shalt be in thine own world and thy shall make thine energy of
the jewels. Control is neither to be controlled or with held. None shall use
thy crystals with force." Locke continued.
There was a short silence.
"What does that mean?" Archimedes said, rather confused.
"I'm not sure. Our elders sure were cryptic with their messages." Locke
said stroking his beard.
"... And thy shall make thine energy of the jewels...." Archimedes
repeated thoughtfully. "I suppose it means that we control the emerald's
energy..." He said.
"Yes, but it also says 'Control is neither to be controlled or with
held.' I guess that means that we cannot control it." Locke contradicted.
"That makes no sense! We can control it, yet we can't? It's completely
illogical." Archimedes observed.
"True... But whoever said the Gods were logical?" He said.
Archimedes hummed softly. "Read on. Maybe we'll find something else."
He suggested.
"Chaos not controlled can lead thine destiny, yet thine life is in
thine hands. Foolish actions will bring chaos on to the world and thine
fate is decided. The Others will set the balance."
"There it goes again! Chaos controls our destiny, but we also control
it!? You know I really--"
"Wait a minute! I wonder what it means about 'The Others'..." Locke
said and began reading the verses over again. "The Others will set the
balance...."
"Maybe it means you Guardians. You do balance this island." Archimedes
said.
"Mmm. I don't think so. Have you noticed that the book never refers
to the emerald itself but as 'the jewel' or 'crystal'." Locke said, "And it's
always plural... jewel-s."
"Hmm... That brings up another mystery... Do you suppose there are
other jewels, not chaos emeralds, but others..."
"Could be... The Others will control the balance. I wish my ancestors
were more specific." Locke said.
"Well keep reading! Maybe the next verse will be more explanatory."
"There is no more on this page." Locke said, turning it to read the
next. "How odd. There is no more about 'The Others' or the emerald... How
odd... I have read these verses many times but have failed to see their
meaning. I don't know why...."
There was silence again as he flipped back from the original page to
the next. "In fact, these lines on the next page have nothing to do with
those on the first. How odd..."
"Hey... Wait... There's pages missing..." Archimedes realized.
"What?" Locke asked.
"Look, this page, the one about the emerald or whatever, is on page
132. The next page is 142." He said pointing to the page numbers. "They're
ten pages apart..."
Locke was quite surprised. "I wonder why I never noticed that before.."
He mumbled checking the binding between the pages where there was a slight
gap. You could barely see tiny edges of the margins of the ripped out pages.
"Maybe they got stuck somewhere else in the book." Archimedes said.
Locke picked up the book and closed it then shook its pages. A small
scrap of paper fluttered out and landed beside Archimedes. He picked it up.
It edges were ripped, and he could only make out one full sentence and a
fragment.
"Emerald posses evil, the chaos unknown, and shall wreak havoc when
the earth falls onto itself. It shall be balanced when the power of the Dia--"
* * * * *
Chapter 8: "The Falling Island"
Knuckles opened his eyes. He had felt a disturbance. A sudden cold
feeling had rushed into the chamber, awakening him. He stared at the emerald
for a second. Maybe Archimedes was right. It did seem a bit dimmer. He snapped
out of it. He stood up and ran down the hallway. He had felt a presence on
his island, and he knew how to deal with intruders.
He dashed out into the clearing. He stopped abruptly. He turned back
to close the door. There was no way he was going to make the same mistake
twice. He went back and began to slide it when a hand reached out and caught
him by the neck. He jerked violently away, but attacker held strong. He
covered the echidna's mouth with a wet cloth. Knuckles coughed, trying not
to breath the fumes, but the cloth was held tightly over his mouth and nose
and he could not get free. After a couple of seconds he felt dizzy and
fainted. The captor smiled evilly. This was almost too easy...
* * * * *
"Princezz! Princezz! Coming quickly you must!" Antonie yelled loudly
as he ran into the meeting hall. Sally and Sonic were sitting at a table
talking. Sally and Sonic jumped up as Antonie tripped on the door step and
fell on top on their table.
"Ant' can't you see that me and Sally are busy?" Sonic said rather
annoyed. Antonie was always overreacting and Sonic had gotten sick of it.
Especially when he interrupted him in Sally in an important conversation.
Actually it wasn't that important, but still...
"Oh! My thees is terr-iblest ting! Sacre Blu! There is being no times
to be wasting! We must find heem!" He yelled, letting his english get even
worse than usual. He forgot all together and starting rambling in French.
"Antonie! Will you calm down?!" Sally insisted.
"Yeah, Ant'! What's the matter? Did you lose your deodorant again?" Sonic
teased.
"No! I am smelling 'Old Spicy' today..." He said, forgetting to be
frantic for moment.
Sonic smiled, "I guess we should start calling you 'Frenchy Spice'." He
said then burst into laughter.
Antonie and Sally both gave him a look of bewilderment.
"Uh... Yeah... Now what is so important as to come in here screaming?" She
asked, turning back to Antonie.
"Oui! Oui! I have just found one of ours prizioners to be missings!"
He said resuming his earlier emotion of panic.
"What!? Our prisoners? From the jail-house?" Sally asked, becoming
serious again.
"Yezz! That's is whats I have been sayings!"
"Oh no!" She said. "It was my night to stand on watch..." She said
guiltily. Instead she had spent it on Sonic. She looked over and smiled at
him. It hadn't been a total loss...
"Why were you not watchings the jails then Princezz?" Antonie asked.
"Well what are you two waiting for?" Sonic said butting in, "Lets
go check it out!"
"Right! Lets go!" She said jumping into his arms.
"Hi-C-Ya, hold tight!" He said bolting out the door, leaving Antonie
in the dust.
"Where is he getting these dumb sayings?" He grumbled.
* * * * * *
Rotor was fumbling around his workshop looking for some supplies. He
stopped to stare at one of his empty workbenches.
"Hmm. I could have sworn I left some chemicals here." He mumbled.
Bunnie walked in at that moment. She was limping on her robotic leg.
He turned to help her as she almost stumbled and fell.
"Your circuits burn-out again?" He asked, although he already knew the
answer.
She just nodded, looking more than slightly annoyed.
"I wonder why their burning out so quickly lately. You haven't been
doing and strenuous activities with your legs, have you?" He asked.
"Naw, not really. I've been workin' at tha infirmary helpin' tha Doc."
She answered sitting down on the empty work bench.
"That's right. Well I suppose their just worn out. We should get you
some new main-function circuits. I've been repairing these for months, and
I suppose that it's just time for a replacement." He said, opening a panel
on her robotic calf.
She sighed, "Ah guess so... Ah wish Ah didn't have ta do this. It all
really gits on mah nerves. Ah mean, malfunctions, burn-outs, replacements,
everything..." She said sadly.
He looked at her with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry Bunnie. I wish I
could do something..."
She smiled weakly, "It's not your fault sugah. It's nobody's. 'Cept
maybe Robotnik's." She said.
"One day we're gonna fix this. We're gonna find a way to change you
back." He said reassuringly.
"Thanks, Rotor. I'm sure ya will." Bunnie said although still sadly.
He began fixing her legs, probing it with a small wire-thin instrument.
He got up to go get her new circuit block. He opened a small cabinet above
the table and was surprised to find it empty.
Bunnie saw the surprised expression on his face. "What's the mattah?
Loose somthin?" She asked.
"Yeah... Everything." He said, staring at the empty cabinet blankly.
* * * * *
"Oh this is horrible!" Sally groaned as they examined the broken lock.
"How could this have happened? There is no way he could get out on his own!"
"It is how you say... Weird." Antonie mumbled.
"Tell me about it." Sonic said.
"This is just great! Now we've got a bounty hunter on the loose! He
could go back to Robotnik, and tell them where Knothole is!" Sally said
sadly, "...And it's all my fault!" She sobbed.
Sonic put his hand on her shoulder with an uncharacteristic gentleness.
"C'mon Sal... It's ain't your fault. If it's any body's it's mine..." He said.
"No. It was MY responsibility. I should have been watching..." She said
in a relenting tone.
Sonic sighed. He didn't really know what to say to comfort her. He
pulled her close and hugged her.
Antonie watched the exchange looking a bit confused, but did not
interrupt. He knew when to not butt in. Unfortunately, Tails didn't.
"Sonic! Sonic! Aunt Sally!" He said as he ran up to them.
They parted slowly and unwillingly. Sonic looked down at him, trying
not to sound annoyed even though he was, "Yeah, Tails? Is their something the
matter?"
"Yes!" He said stopping beside them and panting, "I can't find Clawz!"
Sonic snorted, "Who cares about him? We got a crisis on our hands here!"
He said, unable to hold in his annoyance any longer. Sally shot him an angry
glance. He just frowned at her.
Tails looked slightly hurt but spoke, "A crisis? What do you mean?"
"Well, Tails it's just that--" Sally began.
Just then Rotor ran up to them. "Sally, ohmygosh, we gotta problem!"
He said.
"Is this running up to us for help thing becoming a trend or something?"
Sonic asked no one in particular. No one in particular answered him.
"Rotor, what's the matter?" Sally asked.
"Everything is gone! My supplies, some chemicals, even that old hover-
craft I was working on!" He blurted out.
"What? Gone?" Sally said, "You mean stolen?"
"Exactly!" He said, "Someone just up and snatched them!"
Sally noticed Bunnie hobbling towards them. Bunnie just stood beside
Antonie and looked the most annoyed of all of them. He put a arm around her to
stabilize her and she leaned on him gratefully.
"Why would anyone want to steal chemicals and robot parts?" Sonic said,
wanting to be part of the conversation again.
"I suppose Nack stole them." Sally said. "I don't figure why though..."
"Nack? Nack the Weasel the bounty hunter?" Rotor asked.
"Yeah. He escaped from our prison." She said, once again feeling guilty.
"Oh no!" Bunnie said, "He could tell ole Bot'nik tha location uh
Knothole!" She said, concerned.
Sally felt sick in her stomach. She leaned against the prison
building. "What are we going to do... He could be miles from here now..."
* * * * * *
An incredible tremor shook the island. It was harder than any than
earthquake before. You could almost feel the stress of the ground holding
together as the weight shifted from side to side throwing off the entire
island's center of gravity. Knuckles awoke from a strange dream to find
himself tied and bound to a tree.
"What in the--" He said trying to stand, but was held back by the
ties. The ropes were tight, and he hit his head against the tree as another
quake shook the island. Knuckles had a couple of obscene comments at this
point.
"Knuckles! Oh my god! There you are!" Mighty said as he found his
friend tied up to the tree.
"Mighty! What the hell's going on!?" He asked sharply.
"I thought you could tell me!" He answered, bending down to untie him.
Knuckles stood up quickly. "Someone must be messing with the Chaos Emerald!"
He ran towards the entrance, which was left open, but was thrown back again
with an even stronger earthquake. He and Mighty plowed into each other.
Knuckles didn't waste anymore time but dashed into the Chaos Chamber,
leaving Mighty in a daze. Knuckles emerged again a second later. He looked
as white as a sheet.
"Knux, who's in there?" Mighty asked sitting up.
Knuckles stared at him for a moment vacantly, "...N-no one..."
"Huh?" Mighty asked confused, "Nobody? What's the matter with the
emerald then?"
"Nothing." He said, still staring blankly, "That's just it. It's gone.
The Chaos Emerald is gone!"
Suddenly another tremor rocked the island. This one, even stronger
than it's predecessors, tilted the island back and forth violently. Then
as suddenly as it started it stopped. Knuckles could feel them falling. A
sudden snap of gravity pulling them off the ground and down to the surface
of Mobius. His stomach jumped up into his throat, and all the blood rushed
to his head. The island was falling, and Knuckles knew it meant death for
them all.
* * * * *
End of Part 4!
To be continued....
(Don't ya just hate that?!)
Part five, the conclusion of this amazing series, is coming soon! Don't
miss it, it's gonna be GREAT!
Author's (Second) note-
Hello again! It's me, Erin! Anyway, before you go, I want to say some things.
#1, sorry this part took me a while. We've been having the
writing tests, and I've had to write like, four process papers in the last two
weeks, and after that who would blame me for not wanting to come home and
write some more?
#2, as you read up there, Clawz thinks of Nack as a big
brother, but he's not really. I mean come on, how could a weasel and a
wildcat be brothers? Well, I guess they're kinda step-bothers considering
that Nack's father, who will remain un-named, sort of adopted Clawz after
the Guardian of the Floating Island (Knux's dad, at the time) turned him
and his father over to him as bounty. But that didn't last very long...
I'll get into that in part 5.
#3, If you didn't already get it, I was making fun of the Spice Girls in the
middle of Ch. 7 when Sonic calls Antonie "Frency Spice" and says "Hi-C-Ya,
hold tight!," and Ant' comments on his dumb sayings. It a lyric from the
Spice Girl's popular song "Spice Up Your Life". Personally, I think
they're REALLY annoying...
#4, I want to thank Alessandro for his praise and putting all my stories up
on his page. Thanks a lot man, it means a bunch to me. Until next time, Peace out!
Erin Lindsey
P.S. READ PART FIVE!
P.S.S. Send me your comments!
P.S.S.S. Sorry about all the P.S's.
P.S.S.S.S. What the heck does P.S. stand for any way??
-------------------------------------------------------------
Legal information:
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