Chapter 3:
An Old Memory, and A New Scene
All knew that there was now possible way to stop Chaos, especially with Shadow and Rouge back. But Knuckles was not giving up on rescuing Tikal. All he thought about was her, being alive and tortured for years. Every minute he become more enraged by how slow their plan was moving. Tails wanted everything to be carefully mapped out, while Knuckles didn't care, just as long as he got Tikal back. His whole mind and soul were bent on finding her. Nothing else seemed to matter in his mind. As long as he had him, Tikal, and his friends, nothing seemed impossible for him to accomplish. Knuckles wanted Tikal safe, no matter if he had to give his own life in return. He would do whatever it took. Anything.
"Knuckles," Tails said sliding out from the jet he used. "Hand me that wrench." Tails looked like a gigantic orange and black grease ball. He had been working on the Tornado all night making modifications to it so that they could put their plan into action finally and rescue Tikal. Chaos was going to be a hard challenger, but Knuckles knew he'd find a weakness on him somewhere. There had to be one. Sonic knew that Shadow was a hero now. After saving the world along side Sonic, Shadow plummeted to earth, and died to save the earth from the ultimate life form, code-named Shadow. Sonic had held his last ring in his hand that Shadow given him. Suddenly Knuckles snapped back to reality, and quickly snatched the wrench from the ground and placed it into Tails' grasp. "Thank you." Tails replied as he slid back under the Tornado to make the final adjustments.
"Eh." Knuckles said, completely blocking Tails' out of his mind. Nothing even mattered to him much. Nothing but rescuing Tikal. The thing that he wanted most of all was Tikal in his arms, and just to say that she was all he cared about. He favored her more than his own life itself. Knuckles had only wanted Tikal to be safe after Dr. Robotnick had brought Chaos Zero to life to destroy them, and Tikal was a part of it. They had thought that she died, but they obviously had to be wrong if she was tortured for years until she revealed the location of the "Chaos Amulet" as they called it. If Chaos was that truly powerful, then why didn't he just wipe out Knuckles, Sonic, Amy, and Tails when he had the chance? He could have with all that power if it was true power. But maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was all just a trap. Maybe Robotnick wanted them there as a plan to kill them, and had rumors spread about Chaos' amulet to scare off the Sonic Team. Nothing but that could be the answer. Unless all of it was true. Chaos had actually been an ancient Echidna who had gift giving powers, and was the downfall of the entire Echidna race with a little help from Tikal. If Tikal was the actual reason of the Echidna's downfall, then it was all her fault. She wanted to escape, so she was sent to the future to get away from the war, where she ran into Knuckles. But Knuckles wouldn't breathe a word of it. Everything he was thinking he kept to himself. Obviously it would have been a conflict if he had told the others, and unless it was whooping the bad guys, Knuckles avoided the whole emotional gig.
"What'cha thinking about Knux?" Tails asked with his head tilted to one side. He had slid back out from under the Tornado without Knuckles even realizing it.
"Knux?" Knuckles said in question. "I haven't heard that in a long time. Not since Tikal gave me." Knuckles closed his eyes and thought back to where he used to live, an ancient Echidna civilization. He began to relive everything. Being sent to Angel Island to protect the Master Emerald, But as he was re living It, he noticed a girl standing behind the king. She looked much like Tikal, but it was impossible. He had relived this moment in his brain a million times, and she was never there. Suddenly the king left, Knuckles was sent to leave for Angel Island, where his destiny awaited him. As he turned to Leave, and hand touched his shoulder and spun him around. Obviously it was an Echidna, because they were the only being to populate that area. He turned to see Tikal standing in front of him, staring straight into his eyes.
"Tikal!" Knuckles yelled, bringing attention that he had not yet left to the King. For once Knuckles' face showed happiness while he wasn't fighting. He threw his arms around Tikal, and then the guards became uncomfortable wit this. They started to walk down the gigantic set of stair leading up to the Palace of the King, holding their spears close.
"Knuckles." Tikal said in a high voice. To Knuckles her voiced seemed heavenly. He had waited to long to hear her voice, and now he got his chance. It was beautiful. "Knuckles, take this." Tikal said placing a necklace into his hand. It had red and gray beads around what looked like two Shark teeth that hung down like fangs. The leather used to make the necklace itself was dyed with a liquid to make it turn teal, and the tie in the back had been knotted three times over, and then a steel type product had been placed around it to hold it in spot. "This will help you defeat Chaos." She said. Knuckles' eyes shot open with shock as the words left Tikal's lips.
"Chaos is here?" Knuckles asked.
"Yes." Tikal answered. "But you must not fight him. It would altar the future and changes everything about you, and everything about the world. He must left alone; this necklace has ancient power entrapped within the teeth that hang from it. And also take this." She said as she pulled off one of her golden bracelets. It was very finely made, with little diamonds encrusted into the edges, it was solid gold, and had paint around it, telling a legend of a Echidna of the past that had fought to the death to save his race. Knuckles had secretly wished that one day he could be like this Echidna, remembered within every Echidna family that he saved. Knuckles looked at both items, and then slid the bracelet onto his arm, and threw the necklace into the air, catching around his neck. It spun around once before it landed directly in the center of his chest, where the white line ran across the top of his chest like a permanent necklace.
"I must go." Knuckles said as the guard finally made it down the unnecessarily high stairs, and were out of breathe. They were leaning up against the spear that they had brought with them to force knuckles out of the city, and to the emeralds that would await him for all eternity. He leaned forwards and kissed Tikal on the lips, and then turned and broke out into a run as the guards looked up to see a smoke trail.
"KNUCKLES!" Tails yelled as Knuckles snapped back into reality. He looked around and saw Tails holding a ratchet in his hand, looking very frustrated. "If you're not gonna' help me with this thing, then leave, I need that room to move." Tails said. Knuckles was trying to think of what had just happened. 'I was standing there, and Tikal.' Knuckles said in his mind. Rubbing his hand to his chest, as if he was having a heart attack, he felt something between his hand and his chest. Quickly he looked down to see Tikal's necklace wrapped close around his neck, and her golden bracelet around his wrist. Tails laid down on his rolling bed, which was just a piece of plastic with wheels bolted to it so that he could slide under his machine more easily. As Tails lay down on his rolling bed, he noticed that Knuckles had just gotten a bracelet and Necklace.
"Hey Knux, where'd ya get the necklace and bracelet?" Tails asked as he decided to continue his work.
"If I knew, I'd tell you." He said closing his eyes and starting into a meditative state. Few seconds passed when Tails interrupted him, now asking for a Phillips head screwdriver. Knuckles then once again closed them again and meditated. How could Tikal have given him these things if he were just trying to think of some memories? It didn't make sense. Tikal had reached out from where ever she was to help him, now Knuckles knew he had to go and save her. "Tails, can't you go any faster with that thing!?" Knuckles yelled. Tails just slid out on his roll bed and gave Knuckles a frustrated look. Kind of like an evil glare, with a hint of spice added to it. It was remarkably funny to Knuckles, but that's one of the last things Knuckles did. Laugh with others. Knuckles just sat back down, trying to get Tails everything he needed as soon as he did, so that he could be done, and they could get Tikal back. Knuckles wanted her back more than life it's self.
"Is that thing almost done?" Knuckles asked Tails, now very frustrated. He wanted to leave instantly, and just get there, and get out, but Tails had to made it complicated.
"Almost, give me another hour." Tails said, beginning to get a little frustrated himself. Knuckles gave a sigh, and then sat back, his arms crossed, up against the wall. "What's your problem?" Tails had just squirted some oil onto his coat, and started to wipe it off.
"Nothing," Knuckles snapped back quickly. "I just think that we should go, and get her back as soon as possible." Knuckles looked in the opposite direction of Tails, and then started to lick his teeth with his tongue.
"You have a thing for her." Tails replied with a big smirk across his face. "That's why you are dieing to go get her back. You want to make sure that nothing happens to her." Tails gave a chuckle, and then Knuckles stood up and slammed Tails against the wall. Tails knew that Knuckles was not the Echidna to play with when he was angry. "I can have it done in twenty minutes." He quickly added, to reassure that Knuckles would not harm him.
An Old Memory, and A New Scene
All knew that there was now possible way to stop Chaos, especially with Shadow and Rouge back. But Knuckles was not giving up on rescuing Tikal. All he thought about was her, being alive and tortured for years. Every minute he become more enraged by how slow their plan was moving. Tails wanted everything to be carefully mapped out, while Knuckles didn't care, just as long as he got Tikal back. His whole mind and soul were bent on finding her. Nothing else seemed to matter in his mind. As long as he had him, Tikal, and his friends, nothing seemed impossible for him to accomplish. Knuckles wanted Tikal safe, no matter if he had to give his own life in return. He would do whatever it took. Anything.
"Knuckles," Tails said sliding out from the jet he used. "Hand me that wrench." Tails looked like a gigantic orange and black grease ball. He had been working on the Tornado all night making modifications to it so that they could put their plan into action finally and rescue Tikal. Chaos was going to be a hard challenger, but Knuckles knew he'd find a weakness on him somewhere. There had to be one. Sonic knew that Shadow was a hero now. After saving the world along side Sonic, Shadow plummeted to earth, and died to save the earth from the ultimate life form, code-named Shadow. Sonic had held his last ring in his hand that Shadow given him. Suddenly Knuckles snapped back to reality, and quickly snatched the wrench from the ground and placed it into Tails' grasp. "Thank you." Tails replied as he slid back under the Tornado to make the final adjustments.
"Eh." Knuckles said, completely blocking Tails' out of his mind. Nothing even mattered to him much. Nothing but rescuing Tikal. The thing that he wanted most of all was Tikal in his arms, and just to say that she was all he cared about. He favored her more than his own life itself. Knuckles had only wanted Tikal to be safe after Dr. Robotnick had brought Chaos Zero to life to destroy them, and Tikal was a part of it. They had thought that she died, but they obviously had to be wrong if she was tortured for years until she revealed the location of the "Chaos Amulet" as they called it. If Chaos was that truly powerful, then why didn't he just wipe out Knuckles, Sonic, Amy, and Tails when he had the chance? He could have with all that power if it was true power. But maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was all just a trap. Maybe Robotnick wanted them there as a plan to kill them, and had rumors spread about Chaos' amulet to scare off the Sonic Team. Nothing but that could be the answer. Unless all of it was true. Chaos had actually been an ancient Echidna who had gift giving powers, and was the downfall of the entire Echidna race with a little help from Tikal. If Tikal was the actual reason of the Echidna's downfall, then it was all her fault. She wanted to escape, so she was sent to the future to get away from the war, where she ran into Knuckles. But Knuckles wouldn't breathe a word of it. Everything he was thinking he kept to himself. Obviously it would have been a conflict if he had told the others, and unless it was whooping the bad guys, Knuckles avoided the whole emotional gig.
"What'cha thinking about Knux?" Tails asked with his head tilted to one side. He had slid back out from under the Tornado without Knuckles even realizing it.
"Knux?" Knuckles said in question. "I haven't heard that in a long time. Not since Tikal gave me." Knuckles closed his eyes and thought back to where he used to live, an ancient Echidna civilization. He began to relive everything. Being sent to Angel Island to protect the Master Emerald, But as he was re living It, he noticed a girl standing behind the king. She looked much like Tikal, but it was impossible. He had relived this moment in his brain a million times, and she was never there. Suddenly the king left, Knuckles was sent to leave for Angel Island, where his destiny awaited him. As he turned to Leave, and hand touched his shoulder and spun him around. Obviously it was an Echidna, because they were the only being to populate that area. He turned to see Tikal standing in front of him, staring straight into his eyes.
"Tikal!" Knuckles yelled, bringing attention that he had not yet left to the King. For once Knuckles' face showed happiness while he wasn't fighting. He threw his arms around Tikal, and then the guards became uncomfortable wit this. They started to walk down the gigantic set of stair leading up to the Palace of the King, holding their spears close.
"Knuckles." Tikal said in a high voice. To Knuckles her voiced seemed heavenly. He had waited to long to hear her voice, and now he got his chance. It was beautiful. "Knuckles, take this." Tikal said placing a necklace into his hand. It had red and gray beads around what looked like two Shark teeth that hung down like fangs. The leather used to make the necklace itself was dyed with a liquid to make it turn teal, and the tie in the back had been knotted three times over, and then a steel type product had been placed around it to hold it in spot. "This will help you defeat Chaos." She said. Knuckles' eyes shot open with shock as the words left Tikal's lips.
"Chaos is here?" Knuckles asked.
"Yes." Tikal answered. "But you must not fight him. It would altar the future and changes everything about you, and everything about the world. He must left alone; this necklace has ancient power entrapped within the teeth that hang from it. And also take this." She said as she pulled off one of her golden bracelets. It was very finely made, with little diamonds encrusted into the edges, it was solid gold, and had paint around it, telling a legend of a Echidna of the past that had fought to the death to save his race. Knuckles had secretly wished that one day he could be like this Echidna, remembered within every Echidna family that he saved. Knuckles looked at both items, and then slid the bracelet onto his arm, and threw the necklace into the air, catching around his neck. It spun around once before it landed directly in the center of his chest, where the white line ran across the top of his chest like a permanent necklace.
"I must go." Knuckles said as the guard finally made it down the unnecessarily high stairs, and were out of breathe. They were leaning up against the spear that they had brought with them to force knuckles out of the city, and to the emeralds that would await him for all eternity. He leaned forwards and kissed Tikal on the lips, and then turned and broke out into a run as the guards looked up to see a smoke trail.
"KNUCKLES!" Tails yelled as Knuckles snapped back into reality. He looked around and saw Tails holding a ratchet in his hand, looking very frustrated. "If you're not gonna' help me with this thing, then leave, I need that room to move." Tails said. Knuckles was trying to think of what had just happened. 'I was standing there, and Tikal.' Knuckles said in his mind. Rubbing his hand to his chest, as if he was having a heart attack, he felt something between his hand and his chest. Quickly he looked down to see Tikal's necklace wrapped close around his neck, and her golden bracelet around his wrist. Tails laid down on his rolling bed, which was just a piece of plastic with wheels bolted to it so that he could slide under his machine more easily. As Tails lay down on his rolling bed, he noticed that Knuckles had just gotten a bracelet and Necklace.
"Hey Knux, where'd ya get the necklace and bracelet?" Tails asked as he decided to continue his work.
"If I knew, I'd tell you." He said closing his eyes and starting into a meditative state. Few seconds passed when Tails interrupted him, now asking for a Phillips head screwdriver. Knuckles then once again closed them again and meditated. How could Tikal have given him these things if he were just trying to think of some memories? It didn't make sense. Tikal had reached out from where ever she was to help him, now Knuckles knew he had to go and save her. "Tails, can't you go any faster with that thing!?" Knuckles yelled. Tails just slid out on his roll bed and gave Knuckles a frustrated look. Kind of like an evil glare, with a hint of spice added to it. It was remarkably funny to Knuckles, but that's one of the last things Knuckles did. Laugh with others. Knuckles just sat back down, trying to get Tails everything he needed as soon as he did, so that he could be done, and they could get Tikal back. Knuckles wanted her back more than life it's self.
"Is that thing almost done?" Knuckles asked Tails, now very frustrated. He wanted to leave instantly, and just get there, and get out, but Tails had to made it complicated.
"Almost, give me another hour." Tails said, beginning to get a little frustrated himself. Knuckles gave a sigh, and then sat back, his arms crossed, up against the wall. "What's your problem?" Tails had just squirted some oil onto his coat, and started to wipe it off.
"Nothing," Knuckles snapped back quickly. "I just think that we should go, and get her back as soon as possible." Knuckles looked in the opposite direction of Tails, and then started to lick his teeth with his tongue.
"You have a thing for her." Tails replied with a big smirk across his face. "That's why you are dieing to go get her back. You want to make sure that nothing happens to her." Tails gave a chuckle, and then Knuckles stood up and slammed Tails against the wall. Tails knew that Knuckles was not the Echidna to play with when he was angry. "I can have it done in twenty minutes." He quickly added, to reassure that Knuckles would not harm him.