UNLEASH THE POWER
Sabre looked curiously and stunned at Spectre. He was on his knees with a look of fear painted on his face. His eyes were staring into space as sweat dripped down his face. "We...we're all doomed! He'll kill us! All of us! I...I never believed the stories...I never thought he existed...but it's true! The Legendary Echidna lives!!!" Locke was too shocked by his son's transformation to notice Spectre, or anything else. Knuckles was always a kind-hearted boy, but now he was out to kill him! What was happening to him? "Come now! Don't you wish to meet your son? Your creation?" Knuckles growled. "What do you mean my 'real son'?" Locke asked. Knuckles laughed "Don't you get it? I am the result of your genetic experiments. I am the son you wanted. But then again, you never did want me, did you? Did you?!?!" Locke jumped down from the balcony as the castle's defenses cleared a path for him. "Son...What are you talking about? I'm your father, and I love you," Locke said, hoping to break through to his son. "Oh, really? Is abandoning your son for nine years your way of expressing love? How stupid do you think I am?!?! I'm going to kill you, and I won't stop there! I'll destroy anyone who gets in my way! The Brotherhood will pay! This planet will crumble before my might!!!" Knuckles yelled as he chuckled maliciously.
Sonic stepped forward with Tails, who was scared out of his mind. "Knux! Stop it! We don't wanna fight you!" Sonic yelled. "Fight me? Fight me! How idiotic you are! You cannot begin to compare to my power! I will kill Locke, and anyone who gets in my way!" Knuckles said with a smile, "Not that I wouldn't have killed you afterwards anyway." Sonic would never admit it, but he was scared. Knuckles was...kind of his friend. And he's been destroying cities, including his own. His power went beyond anything he had ever seen before. He had to stop him, but how could he? Knuckles was the better fighter.
"Sal! Pass the bags!" Tails yelled. Sally nodded and tossed two large sacks at them. Tails and Sonic both grabbed one and opened it. It's contents included fifty power rings, and seven chaos emeralds!
Sonic and Tails began to float into the air as energy swirled around them. A bright flash of light transformed them into Super Sonic and Turbo Tails!
Knuckles smiled as he watched the transformation. He began to laugh again as he said, "Do you think you have enough power to stop me? Do you really?" Sonic stared at Knuckles and said, "We'll just have to find out." Super Sonic and Turbo Tails charged at Knuckles and attacked with a volley of punches. Knuckles, his feet planted on the ground, moved from side to side with his arms crossed and a smile on his face as he dodged them. Finally he said, "Time to get started then!" He yelled as he concentrated his energy, causing it to send his two opponents flying. As Super Sonic regained his balance, Knuckles had his hand right in front of his chest. Before he could move, Super Sonic was blasted by chaos energy. Knuckles turned around to Turbo Tails and smiled. "The Chosen One. The Ancient Walkers have invested a lot in the both of us. Lets see who they invested more in!" In a split second, Knuckles had grabbed Turbo Tails by the head and flew at Castle Acorn. He slammed Turbo Tails' head into the side of the castle and dragged him along the wall, laughing as he did so. When he reached the end of the wall, he tossed Turbo Tails towards where the fight had started in the field and fired an energy blast at him. Turbo Tails crashed into and dragged along the ground. When the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix had reached him, he had powered down, and the unconscious form of Tails lay there bleeding.
Super Sonic got up and glanced over at Tails' unmoving form. He turned to Knuckles in a blind rage and yelled, "How could you do that?!?! Tails is your friend!!! Why are you betraying us?!?!" Knuckles laughed. "All who defend Locke will suffer at my hands. Tails just learned this." Super Sonic growled in his anger and charged as he yelled, "I'll never forgive you for this!!!" Super Sonic was throwing punches and kicks at incredible speeds. Knuckles, however, was dodging them all and chuckling." Stop laughing!!!" Super Sonic yelled. Knuckles began to laugh hysterically until he head-butted Super Sonic. He then began t throw a barrage of punches into Super Sonic's stomach. When he stopped and Super Sonic bent over, grasping his stomach in pain, he elbowed him into the ground. Super Sonic struggled to get up, but couldn't manage it. "Am I going too fast for you?" Knuckles whispered in his ear as he levitated next to Super Sonic with his arms crossed. "Does it hurt your pride? Heh. Weakling. You always acted like you were God's gift to Mobius, all because of your stupid speed. I wonder if you'll be so cocky with your legs ripped off?" Knuckles said. Super Sonic's eyes widened. "Don't worry. I did say that I'd kill Locke first, and I intend to," Knuckles said as he turned to Locke and began to walk towards him.
Nobody knew what to do. He just defeated their greatest allies. Spectre was still on his knees, gripped by fear. The troops were all shaking. The Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix knew that it was their turn to step up to the plate, but what were their chances? "You are not my son. My son would never kill, nor would he attack Tails and Sonic in the way you have. Knuckles! Snap out of it!" Locke yelled. Once again, Knuckles growled as his violet eyes and the Guardian symbol began to reappear. "D...Dad! H-help m-m-me!" Knuckles said. Locke ran over to his son as Knuckles put his hands on his head. "Fight it, son!" "I...can't! Dimitri...in my head somehow...con...trolling me!" Knuckles blurted out. Locke gasped in astonishment. "What?!?!" Suddenly, Dimitri's voice replaced Knuckles' again. "Controlling? No. I'm just merely directing you, boy." "What the hell are you doing to my son?!?!" Locke yelled. "Oh, I'm just unleashing his buried emotions. His anger, his hate. All exploding, causing him to become what he was meant to become. The ultimate killing machine!" "How are you doing this?" Locke demanded. "It all started when Knuckles and his friends invaded my fortress to retrieve my great-granddaughter. While he was unconscious, my scientists implanted a device in his skull. We knew we could never directly control him, so we simply went to his mind instead. All of those buried feelings of his. Perfect controls to my newest weapon. My mind is linked to his. I simply unleash the emotions I want, and boom! Oh, if you could see inside his demented mind, Locke, you'd swear he wasn't your son." "LIAR!!! Are you saying Knuckles wanted to do all of this?!?!" Locke yelled. "Of course he does!!! He wants to kill you, then everyone else here, deep down. That's but one side of him. The other is the weakling you refer to as your son. Call this an alter ego or split personality if you so wish, but it is in his head. One side is the killing machine, the other, the kind, softhearted fool. Soon, he will conquer the world for the Legion, and he will ensure my reign once I have complete control of him. He's still resisting too much, but he will break eventually. Perhaps killing more helpless children will assist me," Knuckles said with an evil smile.
Julie-Su's eyes widened in horror when she heard this, along with everyone else's. "Dimitri, you twisted monster!" Sally growled. "We have to help Knuckles!" Espio shouted. "Fight it, Knux! You can do it!" Mighty yelled. "I-I CAN'T!!!" Knuckles yelled in his own voice. "Think Knuckles. Your father did so much to you. He made you a mutant freak, he abandoned you, why? Ask him!" Dimitri's voice spat through Knuckles. "Wh-why, Dad? Why did you leave me alone?!? Was I a bad son? Did you not love me? Did you love someone else more? TELL ME!!!" His eyes and Guardian symbol began to fade away again, until a familiar voice yelled out to him. "Knuckles! It's me, Mighty! Listen to me! You have to stop! This isn't you! You're better than this!" Mighty said as tears fell from his eyes. "M-Mighty..." Knuckles whispered. "Yeah. Your best friend. You trust me, right? Well, trust me when I say that you can beat this! You can do it!" Mighty yelled. "How do you think Julie-Su found out about Rouge?" Dimitri's voice said, "You only told Mighty about it. Perhaps he told her and she went to Rouge to see if it was true." Knuckles looked over at Mighty, still struggling with his inner torment. "N-No...it's a lie. He would never...." "Would he not? How else could she have figured it out so soon? He must have called her apartment after you left. Who knows...maybe he wants her for himself." Mighty looked at Knuckles' angered eyes. "Don't listen to him! I'd never-""Doesn't that make you angry, Knuckles? Unleash your anger! ATTACK!!!"
Knuckles once again lost control to his inner evil and charged at Mighty, punching him across the face. While he was in the air, Knuckles grabbed his foot and slammed him into the ground. "YOU LIED! YOU SAID I COULD TRUST YOU!!!" Knuckles yelled as he stood over Mighty. Mighty struggled to speak, but he couldn't even mumble through all the pain in his back. "Freedom Fighters! Move!" Sally yelled. Bunnie began to fire lasers at Knuckles, trying to avoid his vitals so as not to kill him. However, she didn't need to even bother. The shots simply reflected off of him. In a flash, Knuckles was in front of her, crushing her robotic arm and legs. As he tossed her away like a rag doll, Antoine drew his sword and attacked in a blind rage. "Bunnie!" Antoine yelled as he went to strike. Knuckles simply grabbed the sword in his hand as Antoine struggled against him. "A Frenchie that has guts? Impressive," Knuckles said with a smile, which quickly faded to a frown, "But boys shouldn't play with knives." He broke the sword in two and kicked Antoine in the chest. Knuckles chuckled and said, "Hello, Espio," as he threw a kick at what appeared to be free space. However, Espio appeared and was sent flying by the force of the kick right into Vector. Rouge threw a strong kick, which was quickly evaded. "You may be fast in other ways, but not in combat," Knuckles said as he blasted her.
Super Sonic watched as his friends were being attacked. He found new strength in his anger and slowly stood up. His body was under a lot of strain, but he ignored it. He picked his head up and began to walk towards Knuckles.
"Your majesty, we have to open fire while no one is in the way!" St. John said. The king glanced at Locke, then sighed. "Fine. St. John, Constable, Lieutenant...order your troops to open fire." Remington and Stryker both respected Knuckles greatly, and didn't want to do this. They knew deep down, however, that they had no choice. St. John, however, didn't feel the same way about Knuckles, and was willing to do what he had to. "OPEN FIRE!!!" they yelled. All of the troops stationed in front of the castle fired their blasters, hoping that it would be enough to stop Knuckles. Knuckles chuckled at the sight, put his hand out in front of him, and the laser shots stopped in mid-air! "Today's forecast..." Knuckles said as he lifted his hand up, the lasers following his hand, "is rain!!!" he yelled as he threw his hands down and the lasers poured upon the troops. After a brief second of screaming, it was over. "Th-they're all dead..." St. John whispered.
Knuckles looked over at Locke with an evil smile on his face, but turned around to Super Sonic with an annoyed frown. "You scum. Still got some fight left in you?" he growled. "Before we do this...I wanna know...why, Knuckles? Why do you hate me?" Super Sonic said, a serious glare on his face. "It isn't so much hate as it is envy," Knuckles replied. Super Sonic raised his brows in shock. "You...envy me?" "How could I not? I've been chained to that island my whole life, while you are a free spirit, able to go wherever whenever you please! You have a family, while I have sadistic ancestors, a sadistic father, and a mother who gave her love to some stranger!" Knuckles shouted. He put his head down and began to speak again. "I thought that I had something that you didn't. I thought that I had love...in a way that you didn't," he said, until his head shot up, "And now I don't even have that! How could I not envy you?!?!" Super Sonic just stared in surprise. "I...I never knew you felt like that," he whispered. "Well now you do. And now you die!!!" Knuckles yelled as he teleported in front of Super Sonic and punched him in the stomach as hard as he could. Super Sonic went flying backwards into the side of the castle. He struggled to get up, but fell down and powered down to Sonic.
"I'll finish him once I'm done with you, Locke," Knuckles chuckled as he walked over to Locke. Locke stood there as his son stood in front of him. He was not afraid of death. In a way, he felt that he deserved this for what he put his son through. "Any last words?" Knuckles asked. "'I just want to say...that I'm sorry that I failed you, Knuckles. That I wasn't the father that I should have been. I deserve this. Just do it," Locke said as he closed his eyes and put his head down. Knuckles smiled and powered up a green ball of chaos energy into his hand as he clenched it tightly. The Brotherhood were too afraid to even move. The King looked on in horror. As Knuckles went for the blow, he stopped when he heard a click behind his head. "Stop now, Knuckles," Julie-Su said, her blaster pointed at the back of his head, "Don't make me shoot." "Go ahead. Do it. Pull the trigger and unleash your anger. You hate me so much, don't you? After all, you said so yourself." Julie-Su felt her hand begin to tremble as tears built up in her eyes. "If you won't do it, then stand aside! I will not waste any more time!" Knuckles growled. Julie-Su lowered her blaster, but didn't move. "No, Knuckles. I'm not moving," she said. "Fine! Then you can die with him!!!" Knuckles yelled as he opened his hand, unleashing chaos energy. Everyone gasped when they saw a green explosion shroud the three echidnas. When the smoke cleared, they were all shocked.
Locke had focused the power of the Master Emerald to create an energy shield, angering Knuckles. "So, Locke, you survived? Well then, I'll just have to-""Turn around, son...and see what you've done," Locke whispered as he pointed behind Knuckles. Knuckles turned around to see Julie-Su lying on the ground. She wasn't moving, or breathing. She was just lying there. Sally gasped, "Julie!" she yelled. "Sh-she's d-dead...he k-killed her..." Ray stuttered. Knuckles' eyes widened as he slowly stepped towards her. "J-Julie?" he whispered, "G-get up..." he said as his violet eyes once again began to appear, but with tears in them. The Guardian symbol also grew back as Knuckles walked over to her and stopped. "No...NO!!!" he yelled as a green aura surrounded him. He continued to yell as the ground once again shook. "JULIE-SU!!!" Knuckles yelled as the green light began to fade. He fell down on his knees, took her into his arms, and held her tightly as tears poured from his eyes. He stroked her hair as he looked at her beautiful face. He put his hand against it and could feel her body start to get cold. "Julie-Su..." he whispered in her ear, "I'm not letting it end like this...I'm not letting go." He closed his eyes and kissed her. The green light came back and surrounded the two of them. The others watched in awe as their dreadlocks fluttered around in the air. Suddenly, they heard Julie-Su gasp as she arched her back. Knuckles pulled his lips away and looked down at her. She started panting heavily and opened her eyes. He sighed in relief when he saw her, but she gasped in shock and crawled away from him, a look of terror in her eyes. Knuckles watched her crawl away with a look of great sadness in his eyes. He looked down at his hands, clenched them, closed his eyes and began to cry. The green color of his fur faded away, and he was red once again.
St. John quickly leapt down from the balcony and put his crossbow to Knuckles' head. "Now's our chance! Time to end this!" he yelled. "Geoffory, stop!!!" Sally yelled. St. John turned to her in shock. "What?!?! Why??? Did you not see what he has done? What he would have done? He must be killed before he can kill again! He must pay for his crimes against Mobius!" St. John yelled. "Stop!" The king yelled. St. John looked up at him in surprise. "Your majesty-""I understand what should be done, but it is not our place to sentence him. The other nations that were attacked will want their say. He will be imprisoned until the world leaders can meet in what I guess will be a few days. After that he will be tried and sentenced," King Acorn said. He watched as Locke went over to his son, but the boy crawled away in fright. 'He does not deserve this," the king thought. "Take him away, St. John," the King said as he sighed. St. John growled as he slapped some handcuffs on Knuckles' wrists. Knuckles didn't even look up at him. "You killed my troops. You killed your own people. I hope you burn in hell for this," St. John whispered. The survivors of the onslaught watched as Knuckles was taken away. He glanced back at them with tear filled eyes, but when his eyes met theirs, he turned away.