Chapter nine: "Unworthy"
Knuckles felt ashamed once again, as Shelia explained to him yet more that he had
never known about the crystals. Once he thought that the Master Emerald and the seven other
chaos emeralds were all that there were. He thought once that the emeralds were good and
were a source of infinite power. Only several months ago had he really begun to understand.
There were eight master crystals, sacred stones, elemental jewels. Chaos was only one. And
it was the most evil of them all.
"I don't know much about the legend, or how the amethyst or ruby came into the hands
of my ancestors by yours... I just know what is good and bad. Just the basics." Shelia said
finally.
Knuckles was frowning, leaning back as the auto pilot continued on to the swamp. "Well...
It's much more than I ever knew..." He mumbled.
She saw the pain in his face. "Don't worry about it, Knuckles. No one can know
everything..." She said softly.
"Yeah, but I should know everything about the stones! I'm supposed to be the guardian,
and I don't even know what I'm guarding anymore! Ever since that damn diamond showed up I've
been confused! I feel like I don't know anything!" He said loudly.
She was silent for a while. "I... I'm sorry..." She said gently.
He sighed and looked over at her. "No... No, don't do that again. It isn't your fault...
I'm sorry I blew up at you... You were just trying to help..." He said, cooling down.
"It's okay..." Shelia said, "I know what it's like to be confused..."
He smiled slightly. "Yeah."
She looked up and out the windshield. "We're almost there." She said.
He looked out too. Below them the ground had grown from the sea and a thick, wet forest
had begun. They had all ready begun to descend.
"You should switch off the auto pilot now and find a place to land." She instructed.
"Oh... Yeah." He mumbled, searching for the button. She smiled at him and pointed to
it. He tried to act unruffled as he pushed it. Now he wasn't so sure he wanted to drive this
thing. Truth is, he had never driven before, much less landed. He hadn't even known the
wonders of any computer until Espio had shown him.
The fact was he didn't have a clue how to work the thing.
"So... Uh, now what?" He asked, trying to sound casual.
"Pull that lever and put down the landing gear." She said, still smiling.
"Yeah..."
"Now slow down until the needle on that dial is in the blue area."
"Yeah..."
"A little more... More... Uh, more..."
"Man that ground sure is coming up fast..." He mumbled uneasily.
"Slow down!" She yelled.
* * * * * * *
Sally had left the village to go back to the original campsite, where Rotor was
repairing the two vehicles. She caught him by surprise as he was working under the hood of one
of the crafts, and he jumped up and hit his head.
"Oh," Sally laughed, "I'm sorry Rotor! I didn't mean to startle you!"
He took of his hat and rubbed his head. "It's all right Sally. I have a hard head."
"We might be detained in the village for a time. I'm not sure how long. But I have
a feeling that they are hiding something there. Possibly the crystal Knuckles sent us after."
She explained, "I'll need you to continue to stay here and fix these ships up... In case our
requests are met with hostility, so we can make a quick getaway."
"Right." He nodded.
"I'll contact you if needed, but I just came to tell you that we are all okay... For
now." She said.
"I'll have these two fixed up in a jiffy." He said, picking up his wrench off the grass.
Sonic came dashing into the clearing with his usual recklessness, practically plowing
over them both. He came to a sliding halt right in front of Sally. "Yo, Sal I gotta talk to
you!" He said gruffly.
"What's the matter with you!" She chided, "You almost ran us over!"
"Look Sal, the tiger has the stone we're looking for." He said, ignoring her scolding.
She brightened. "Just as I thought!" She said, hitting a fist into her other palm. "Now
to go talk her out of it..."
Before anyone could doing anything else though, a red hovercar flew into through the
canopy, whooshed past them, and crashed into a nearby tree. After a few stunned seconds, they
ran to see what had happened.
The craft hummed, steam rushing from it's outlets, as it cooled down and the power was
cut off. Coughing, Knuckles and Shelia climbed out of the wreckage.
"Next time," She grumbled, "I'm driving."
"Are you guys all right?!" Sally asked.
Knuckles sighed and looked back at the craft, that now had a huge u-shaped dent in it's
nose where they had plowed into the tree. "Yeah, we're fine, but I think the car may need a
little medical attention."
"Don't worry," Rotor said, a bit tiredly, "I'll take care of it. The more the merrier..."
"Well, we're here!" Shelia said dusting herself off. "What's the big emergency?"
Sally blinked. "Er... I think you better come and see for yourself..."
* * * * * * *
Tails had separated from the group and took to the trees to search the village. Up
there he could see almost the entire thing. It wasn't that big, rather shabby, not nearly
as solid as Knothole. But Sally was right. The whole village was made up of females. They
seemed to speak every single language he could think of. All kinds of animals. Foxes, cats,
bears, skunks, squirrels, and almost every other species in the world it seemed. But around
the tall, night-haired tiger, they all spoke an oriental language, like he had heard before.
Weird, he thought. Suddenly, a stone shot up into the air and hit him on the back of the head.
Stumbling, he fell out of the tree.
"Spying s'more, eh kid?" Maria asked, sticking her slingshot back in her skirt and
staring at him in a pile of tails on the ground.
He stood up rubbing his head. "Didn't have to hit me..." He said frowning. "I was just
looking around..."
"It's called spying, kid." She said, grinning.
"Stop calling me kid. You can't be much, if any, older than me." He sneered.
"Yeah, but girls mature much earlier than boys." She retorted.
"Whatever." He mumbled, half under his breath, "For being so mature you look a little
'underdeveloped'..."
Her eyes seemed to flash. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
"Well, if you really are Shelia's sister... You seem a little... Small." He said, looking
her up and down.
She was about his height, maybe slightly shorter, with chin-length blonde hair and short
bangs. Her ears were tipped black like Shelia's but the rest of her appearance was quite
different. For one, her fur was light orange, not red, and her eyes were blue. She wore a
simple blue tank top with a odd symbol pressed onto it, and a pleated leather skirt. And
she wasn't nearly as curvy as her sister.
Now she looked enraged. "Are you insulting me?!" She growled.
"You insulted me first!" He argued.
"I did not!"
"You did too! You said that I was immature!"
"Well you are! All boys are! It's a fact!"
"It is not!"
"It is too! Go look it up!"
Suddenly there argument was interrupted by a soft voice.
"M-maria...?"
Maria looked up to see Shelia staring at her in awe.
"Shelia?" She whispered. She had simply thought these intruders had been pulling her leg
that her sister was still alive. She had given up on it weeks ago. But now, there she was just
standing there, as alive as she could be. "H-how...?" She mumbled.
But before she could ask anymore questions, her sister had thrown her arms around her,
in an exasperated hug. She was sobbing wildly. "Oh Maria, Maria...!" She wept.
Tears sprang to the little fox's eyes. "Shelia... I-I thought you were dead!" She cried,
returning the embrace whole-heartedly. "I thought, I thought... The robots, went after you into
the valley... B-but You're alive! H-how?"
"Sonic saved me," She said softly, pointing to the spiky blue hedgehog behind her. "I
made it to the Great Forest, but got injured... And Sonic saved me..."
Maria, still in total disbelief just began crying onto her sister's shoulder.
"B-but you..." Shelia asked shakily, "How did you...? Everything was burned... Dead..."
"Through the caves..." Maria choked, "Underneath the house... I found a cave... The
robots never found me... I followed the cave until I came out in the desert... All the way on
the other side of Robotropolis..."
"But... That's almost a hundred miles!" Shelia said.
"It took weeks..." Maria sniffled. "I was barely alive... Then the Amazons found me..."
They both stared at each other for a while, then began crying and hugging again.
"Er..." Knuckles whispered to Sally, "What's going on? Who's that girl?"
"That's Shelia's sister, Maria." Sally explained.
"Sister?" Knuckles asked, "But her family..."
"If... If you're alive," Maria sniffled, "What about Momma, or Jem?"
Shelia bit her lip, and cast down her eyes. "No..." He said softly. "The robot monster
killed them both..."
Maria's eyes welled again, and she buried her face in Shelia's shoulder.
The rest of them watched in awe. Tails especially. The girl had seemed so tough, and
now she had been reduced to tears. He guessed she wasn't so strong after all...
Shelia sniffled, realizing everyone, even the Amazon queen, was watching them. She
stood up slowly, holding Maria's shoulder. She smiled weakly. "Maria... These are my friends."
She said indicating the Freedom Fighters. "Sonic the Hedgehog, Bunnie Rabbot, Antoine
D'Coolete, 'Tails' Prower, Clawz Wildcat, and Princess Sally Acorn."
"Princess?" Maria said blinking.
"Just call me Sally." Sally said, adjusting her blue vest modestly.
"And this," She said, turning to Knuckles, "Is Knuckles Echidna, Guardian of the
Floating Island."
Maria's eyes widened as her eyes rested on the white crescent marking on his chest.
"Guardian...?" She asked softly. All her disbelief in the group seemed to melt away. "So they
were telling the truth..."
Knuckles nodded. "Yes, well..." He mumbled. Suddenly he became aware of a pair of
flashing yellow-green eyes upon him. He turned to find the queen, staring at him with great
interest. He looked around and noticed that all the other villagers had stopped what they were
doing and were gazing at him with wonder. He blushed slightly. What were they all looking at
him like that for? He cleared his throat, "I have come looking for a sacred stone... One that
Princess Sally informs me that she suspects you possess." He said to the queen.
"Eh, Knux..." Clawz whispered, leaning over to him, "She don't speak English..."
"Silence." The tiger hissed suddenly, in a commanding voice. She seemed to stun everyone
with her sudden speech, even her subjects. "I speak when I wish to speak." Her English was a
little broken, but none the less commanding. Her voice only hinted at oriental background.
Sally came and stood next to Knuckles. "We are sorry for the trouble we have caused you,
but what the Guardian says is true. We came looking for the sacred stone." She said.
The tiger shot her a cutting glare. "You speak only when spoken to, intruder!" She
growled. "You may be princess, but in this village I rule, yes?"
Sally flinched. "... Yes..." She said finally. 'Best we cooperate,' She thought, 'Even
if it does mean a blow to my ego.' She stiffened, "We need your stone--"
"You dare?! You intrude on our sacred land, disgrace our people, spy, lie, steal, and
expect me to hand over our most holy stone?" The queen seethed, her eyes narrowing.
"Wait a minute!" Sally defended, "We didn't steal anything!"
The queen harrumphed, and signaled two of her servants. They nodded, went into the
hut that had served as their prison and dragged a familiar purple weasel bound and tied into
the center of the group.
"This filthy beast tried to steal our opal." She hissed.
"Dammit Nack!" Clawz growled at him, "What the hell didja think you were doin'?!"
The weasel scowled up at him. "I was tryin' to do sumthin' right! I thought if I swiped
th' jewel fer you guys..." He began.
"Well you thought wrong!" Sally snapped.
"Man, how could you do something so stupid!" Sonic growled.
"What is he doing here?" Knuckles asked, indicating Nack, still tied up on the ground.
Almost everyone else had begun fighting amongst themselves, and ignored his inquiry.
Antoine, Bunnie, and Sonic were all trying to get at Nack, while Clawz defended him
reluctantly, although still cursing down at him. Tails looked unsure, and was constantly
switching sides. The tribe seemed on edge, as if readying to attack at any moment. Sally and
the Amazon queen seemed to be in a very heated staring contest, and were oblivious to the
action around them.
Those who weren't fighting were thoroughly confused. Shelia and Maria were standing
behind the big echidna, keeping as far as they could from the argument. "I don't
understand..." Shelia asked, "Who is that guy on the floor? Why is everyone arguing?"
"That's Nack Weasel, a bounty hunter. He's Clawz's brother." Knuckles answered, turning
to her a leading them back under a tree, as safer distance away from Clawz's vivid use of
curse words.
"...Brother?" Shelia asked, still very confused, "But he's a..."
"It's a long story," He sighed patting her shoulder, "I'll explain later. Stay over
here, I'll settle this."
"Eh..." She said grabbing his hand and wearily looking at the squabbling group, "I think
you should just let them cool off first..."
"No, I better step in before somebody gets hurt." He said firmly. "I know how to
break up a fight. You forget that I have to deal with the Chaotix everyday..."
She smiled. "I suppose so... Just take care. I don't think getting between Sally and
that tiger is such a good idea... You might get burned."
He smiled too and then changing his expression to something more commanding, and strode
into the middle of the fray.
Shelia watched after him, proudly. She seemed to have forgotten that her little sister
was watching. Maria looked up at her and blinked. What was wrong with her? She looked over at
Knuckles, back at Shelia, then back Knuckles again. "Hmmm..." She mumbled quietly.
"Everyone just calm down!" Knuckles demanded, stepping between Clawz and Sonic, and
addressing the rest of the crowd.
Sally snapped from her trance and finally realized that her troops were at each other's
throats. She turned to them, abruptly ending her glaring contest with the Amazon queen.
"Knuckles is right!" She said loudly, although glaring at Nack, "We won't solve anything by
quarreling like children! This is a simple matter of misunderstanding!"
"Yeah! So lay off!" Clawz growled, pulling his brother to his feet and untying his ropes.
Nack gave him a grateful look.
Sally turned back to the queen, who was still eyeing her viciously. "We never meant to
intrude on your privacy. We have come looking for the stone you possess, it is true, but only
for the Guardian," She said, nodding to Knuckles, "He is on a mission, and we are helping him."
"So you steal from us?" The tiger growled down at her with her flashing eyes from a
top her tall-backed reed-woven throne. She was beautiful yes, with her long black flowing hair,
elegant stripes, and long slender body, but she was also rather fearsome. To Sally, the
tiger's teeth looked a little too sharp.
"It was not our intention..." Sally stumbled, "It was simply a misunderstanding. Nack
here," She said pointing to him behind Clawz, "Is a bounty hunter... It is simply his way..."
Nack blinked at her in surprise.
"That not excuse your behavior. He is one of you, an outsider, and you act as one against
us." The tiger said, eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Wha...?" Clawz asked.
"I think she means, one of us messes up, we're all screwed." Sonic explained.
The queen turned of him suddenly. "And you..." She said eyeing him curiously, "Saved
Maria-san's sister...?"
Sonic gulped. "Eh yes... I saved Shelia..."
"From the same evil that flows from the dark city?" She continued.
"From Robotropolis, you mean?" He asked, "Yeah, we fight Robotnik. We're Freedom
Fighters."
She nodded at him. "I think I have heard of you and your little group Sally-hime." She
said turning back to Sally, "Yes, yes. Now I remember..."
"Heard of us...?" Sally inquired, "From who?"
The tiger darkened again. "I ask questions. You answer." She warned.
Sally complied, reluctantly shutting her mouth and curiosity.
"Now comes the you, Guardian." The queen said, stepping down from her throne and
walking towards him.
"Yes..." Knuckles mumbled, feeling a bit small underneath her gaze once again. "I need
your crystal..."
She circled him, ignoring his words and examining him. She came and stood in front of
him again and looked him up and down, mumbling to herself. Her eyes rested on his chest and
the white marking there. She nodded. "You are exactly what I expected..." She said finally,
looking him in the eye. "You have the mark... Definitely real thing."
He brightened. "So you will give me the--"
She held up a hand, cutting of his question. "But you must understand that because of
what has happened, because of how your... Friends... Have presented themselves... I cannot
simply give you anything. As of now, you are unworthy." She said, her expression unreadable.
Knuckles' expression however was very evident. He looked very disappointed, almost
ashamed. Unworthy... It took him a few seconds to think. Before he could say anything, Shelia
was at his side, frowning at the tiger angrily.
"What do you mean he's unworthy?" She challenged, "He's the Guardian isn't he! If you
are a keeper, you know he is the rightful owner of the stones! All of them! You have to give
it up!"
The queen stared at her in surprise, then scowled. "The opal has been in the hands of
this tribe for centuries. We have protected it from the world. I am not simply giving it to one
who is unworthy." She said.
Knuckles felt a little sick. 'Unworthy...' He thought.
"Amazons don't give up anything without a fight." The tiger said, her dark expression
changing to a haughty smile.
"... A fight?" Shelia asked, backing away.
The queen's grin broadened. "Yes. A tournament. Then we will see if you and your friends
are truly worthy... You see... The reason our tribe has come to this swamp, where my ancestors
were given the stone some hundreds of years ago, is for the 'Hasha no Taikai'... Or as you
would say, the 'Tournament of Champions'." The queen explained, "Normally we are roamers, or
nomads... But this is our sacred ground. Jibou no Opaaru, our opal, was first given to the
Amazon rulers here, long time ago. This is where we hold the tournament, every ten years."
"So..." Sally asked furtively, "You want us to fight in this tournament... And if
we win, you will give us the stone? Then we will be worthy?"
"I will see." The tiger said slyly. "But the tournament is not just fighting. There are
five events: wisdom, speed, strength, sword, and shot. Three rounds. Sword and shot in the
first, speed and strength in the second, and wisdom in the last and final round. You must pick
one contestant to represent you in each event."
Sally nodded, smiling a little. "You got yourself a deal."
The queen nodded. "Yes. But before it can begin, we must wait for the other contestants
to arrive. This year, we have allies from afar joining us. They should arrive by the next
sunrise. You can take this time to assemble a suitable team."
* * * * * * *