Hello again! Lykcan here to bring another one and hopefully this one turns out well. It'll probably be ten chapters or so depending on far out it goes and will be an actual work in progress so won't be releasing it all at once. It'll also be multi-chapter this time lol. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations in this story. They all belong to Sega.
Chapter 1: Leaving it All Behind
"Just let it go. You just don't know when to give up, do you?" a feminine voice spoke.
"What are you talking about? The Emerald's mine you got that?! The Master Emerald contains special powers that neutralize the energy of the Chaos Emeralds. That makes it very powerful!" said a masculine voice until he sensed something above him. "What the…?"
A large overweight bald man with a long mustache sat in a mechanical vehicle that floated above them with a claw extending down towards the Master Emerald.
"Woah… thief!?" the feminine voice shouted.
"Looks who's calling who a thief?!" responded the masculine voice.
"I came here following the signal from the Emerald… If I'm not mistaken, this is the Master Emerald, is it not?" the man on the floating vehicle stated.
"It's you… Dr. Eggman!" retaliated the male voice.
"So that's Dr. Eggman." Said the female one.
The large man know as Dr. Eggman began floating away with the large gem. "Well, I guess I can use it for something. I'll just take it with me. Farewell knucklehead!"
"Not if I have can help it!" the male that said this leaped into the air and punched the Master Emerald, shattering it into pieces.
"AAAAHHH!" the female ran towards the male and shook him back and forth. "What was that all about?! And look what you did to MY emerald?!"
"I did that to prevent the Master Emerald from being stolen, you idiot! If it's in pieces, I can restore it. And by the way, that's not YOUR emerald!" said the male in rage.
Dr. Eggman placed a hand under his chin in thought. "Hmm, doesn't matter. I'll look into it once I get back to the base." Upon that did he fly away from the two.
The female looks on as Dr. Eggman escapes empty handed then looks towards the male near her. "I despise anyone who takes jewels from me! All the world's gems are mine to keep!"
"Yeah, we'll see about that bat girl!" the male responded.
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…
…
"As far back as I can remember, I've been living here, on this dark island… Always guarding the Master Emerald from anything that can harm it. I don't know why I was given this job… Why it was my fate… Destined to be here… forever…"
…
…
…
"You are a worthless guardian."
"Huh? Who was that?"
"You tainted the sacred relic of unimaginable power by destroying its physical form once. This shows that you are unfit to fulfill the duties of a guardian."
"Who's there?! SHOW YOURSELF!"
"You let the holy relic be stolen by those corrupted by evil and almost caused the world to be destroyed. The past guardians sacrificed themselves to ensure the Master Emerald stays safe… but you… you remain alive you piece of scum."
"I'LL SHOW YOU SCUM, NOW COME OUT YOU COWARD!"
"Such blind rage, no wonder you weren't focused on protecting the sacred relic. You deserve to be the last of your kind, wandering the earth knowing that once you die all the regrets and burdens that your people carried will be bestowed upon you in hell, where you truly belong."
"SHUT UP! COME OUT HERE SO I CAN WAIL ON YOU!"
"That blue hedgehog would have been a fine guardian, seeing that he used the Chaos Emeralds for good. His strength and courage against the corrupted Chaos and the space monstrosity ensured the world's continued existence. And all you have done… is stand there on the sidelines…"
"… shut up. I HAVE DONE PLENTY TO SAVE THE WORLD ON MY PART!"
"You merely got in the way and held back on those who truly sought to defeat the evils within the world. You are no guardian of the Master Emerald; hold whatever honor you have left and end your life. No one wants or loves you, the pathetic loner you are."
"S-S-SHUT U-UP!"
"Is the guardian about to weep? My assumption is correct, a guardian must stand firm against all threats and you fold way too easy."
"I-I SAID S-SHUT U-UP!"
"… very well. But I will leave you with this for your lack of duty."
…
…
…
"C'mon Knucklehead stop being an idiot!"
"Why did you do that?! Now you have to find them!"
"Move aside Knuckles!"
"You can go find the key right Knuckles?"
"Be a good boy and just stand there while I take care of this."
"YOUR emerald? Hah you don't deserve to have it."
"Useless idiot."
"Wow you don't have any brain at all do you knucklehead."
"Worthless… idiotic… despicable…"
"STOP IT! STOP PLEASE! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"
…
…
…
"AHHHH HAUGH!…. HAA!… haa… ha."
Knuckles woke up in a panic and looked around frantically. The vast forest with grassland in front of him greeted his sight along with a staircase that led down to it. Violet eyes scanned the area in a panic.
"Wha…" he muttered out before turning around to see the Master Emerald, shining in its radiant glory and unmoving.
The red echidna turned around trembling heavily as he curled himself up while hugging his arms. "That dream… it was…"
Choked sobs started coming out of him, the voices he heard within bearing hard on him. Hurtful, unmerciful, defiant, mortifying voices.
Tears fell down his face as his sobs turned into wails, clenching his eyes shut as the thoughts thrashed around in his head. The negative words hitting him broke his will further, demanding why he was living and why he couldn't fulfill his duty well. He was one of a hardened spirit that may give some a different perspective of the red echidna, but overall he was a good individual that wouldn't hurt others. He considers himself a bastion of strength to which whenever he is needed, he will be glad to lend a helping hand. However this positive aspect of him leads to his downfall as his isolation on the island made him very gullible against those which he cannot determine whether they are good or bad. Due to this, he let the one thing he swore to protect fall into the wrong hands at times. He did retrieve the Master Emerald in the end and saved the world due to that, but it was because of Sonic the Hedgehog doing all the work that the thoughts lashed out against him.
'Worthless… idiotic… despicable…'
Knuckles cried hard at those words. Never in his life did he ever break down this hard; no one has ever even seen him gets so emotional such as this. He curled up further until his body was a complete sphere and only his quills stuck out a bit which shook terribly from the crying.
He just let it all out. His whole life living alone with no one else for comfort, having to raise himself to be independent and survive in a harsh world with no guidance. Being called an idiot at times due to how gullible he is at falling for the simplest of tricks. Being bested at things that normally wouldn't be an issue for him. And most importantly, failing to protect what was given to him ever since birth.
Eventually did his cries settle and he uncurled himself slowly, feeling the cold wind hit against him. The tears kept falling however, purple eyes sadly looking up at the darkening sky with ominous clouds covering it and the sounds of thunder being heard in the distance.
DRIP.
A splash of water hit his nose and instantly the pouring of rain made itself known, wetting his crimson fur. This lowered his spirits further with his tears mixing with the showers, his eyes kept watching above as he stayed in thought.
'What was that voice? Was it the Master Emerald?... If it was… then it is right.'
Knuckles looked down at his soaked white gloves, the drops of water creating a sheen on them as he clenched and unclenched his hands.
'What good am I to anyone? I just get in the way. Sonic. Tails. Amy. Rouge. Cream, that Big guy… even Shadow. Why am I cursed to be the last of my kind who is stupid, useless… I do deserve to go to hell.' The emerald guardian's lips twitched violently at the thought, turning to the side to see a knife he kept for carving out wood and other things.
'It's right there in front of me. Just a quick strike… and it's all over. I won't feel pain, remorse… nothing.' Knuckles slowly reached out for it, feeling the rain patter upon his arm and entire body. He hesitated upon feeling its rough hilt.
'But… I'm afraid. I don't know anything about death. I don't know anyone that has died early… no one…' Knuckles drew back his hand and hugged himself again. 'Even I'm a coward at taking my own life.'
Several minutes passed with the lonely echidna sitting upon the steps of the Emerald Altar. The only light source that illuminated the area came from the Master Emerald and the seven Chaos Emeralds that surrounded the altar in their own pedestals. Their glorious power brought radiance to the dark surroundings and their limitless energy ensures that they wouldn't go out for a long time. For Knuckles it brought a sense of relief knowing that they were in safe hands back on Angel Island, but right now his mind was in turmoil and his duty on protecting the gems were the last thing on his mind.
'Maybe it was right, that another should take my place as guardian. Sonic would've been better than me at the job, but his thrill for adventure would leave it constantly unguarded. But… would I have fared better if I was like him?' Knuckles thought raising his head, the rain running down his face and dripping off his chin. 'He sure is one heck of a hedgehog, saving others and making new friends far and wide… unlike me.'
Another couple of minutes passed by with the emerald guardian feeling the intense might of the storm raging on. The wind didn't help him on staying warm as Knuckles shivered horrifically with teeth chattering, eyes closed hard as he rubbed his arms to keep warm. Normally he would seek out shelter close to the altar to get away from the storm, but his mind was too devastated for that.
'I'm just a coward… what good am I… maybe I should… and leave it unguarded…' Knuckles was going through several different things in his head and was having a hard time finding a solution. He wasn't one to be very bright but that didn't mean he lacked that much intelligence; he was clever and brilliant when it came to battle tactics as he even punched Sonic out of his super form!
BOOM!
Lightning flashed across the sky with the roar of thunder coming after it. This didn't faze Knuckles as the sound undeterred him from the idea he just thought of, raising his head with wide puffy eyes.
"Yeah, I'll just…" he didn't finish, getting up from his seat and walking towards the Master Emerald. Its remarkable beauty was highly sought after by a certain bat girl and evil genius, but because of how its guardian was adamant in keeping it safe did it almost never fell into their hands.
Things were about to change however, the red echidna raising his hands in the air as a determined expression was shown on his face.
"The servers are the seven Chaos! Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart! The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos!"
Upon Knuckles saying all this did the Master Emerald began glowing brighter, the guardian feeling its divine energy warming him from the frosty breeze biting on his fur.
"Master Emerald, I hereby relinquish my duty as your guardian! I have been stricken by thoughts of malice and hate for how I have acted during my duty! I cannot keep moving on carrying this lifelong burden on me any longer! May you find a worthy replacement to take on the mantle as guardian! That they'll be able to protect you! That they… will make you proud unlike the worthless scum that I am!"
Knuckles finished saying all that in which the Master Emerald glowed even brighter for a few seconds, then dimmed down to its original luminescence afterwards. The red echidna breathed heavily upon saying all that and lowered his arms slowly. The rain kept hitting his body but for Knuckles this didn't matter to him at the moment.
'I… I… I did it… I am… free.' he thought as a fresh set of tears went down his face, another set of sobs coming out of him. Unlike before however he cried in happiness falling down to his knees.
"I no longer have to carry this burden. I can do whatever I want now… no one to stop me. No one to… depend on me." he said to himself. Raising his head he thought more on the last part. "I would be leaving everything behind doing this… the people I met… the people I've known… everyone…"
Knuckles smiled at this. "I wouldn't drag anyone down anymore. They're free from me…"
Turning towards the Master Emerald, the now former emerald guardian looked back at the altar and nodded. "Thank you Master Emerald, now you can find a better successor… may you bring peace and harmony to the world. If you ever get taken into the wrong hands… it falls onto your next guardian."
Looking away from the altar, Knuckle smiled with tears still running down his face as he closed his eyes in bliss.
He felt the wind and rain strike hard on his crimson body, until in a flash of light he disappeared altogether from the altar.
A great weight was lifted off Knuckles' shoulders. No longer having to guard the Master Emerald as it has been destined, he can now roam free on wherever he went with no regrets, no looking back, and certainly no bringing anyone down for his doings…
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…
…
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
A small and light noise was heard near the altar, coming from where the Master Emerald was. Upon closer inspection, the noise continued and became more prominent and distraught. Getting even closer to the gem's surface… a white gloved hand with a blue bracelet was shown pounding it from the inside.
'NOOOOOO!'
End of Chapter 1
Alright this is the first one down! I'll most likely be updating this during the week with new one-shots or stories every weekend since I have a bit more free time! Til next time!
