ERROR AND TRIAL
The past few days had been very hard on everyone. Burying the dead alone took up a few days. Most of the survivors of the last attack were instantly hospitalized. Bunnie was in Rotor's shop, having her legs and arm reassembled after being crushed. Sonic, Tails, Antoine, Rouge, and the Chaotix were all pretty beat up. Rouge had some burns on her back, Tail's collarbone was broken, and Sonic and Mighty had several ribs broken. Vector and Espio were lucky, and had only a few bumps and scratches.
The time finally came for the trial. The trial that would determine Knuckles' fate. No one had seen him since the incident, or even knew where he was. Locke had asked to see him, but was denied access by St. John. Representatives from Downunda, Cat Country, and Station Square arrived and were welcomed by King Acorn. The King could see the anger in their eyes. The thirst for vengeance. Julie-Su sat down quietly in the courtroom next to the Chaotix. She hadn't spoken to anyone during the past week. She just couldn't get over the fact that she had died...and was brought back. Was Knuckles really that powerful, or was it a different kind of power, and not from a chaos emerald? She never felt so lost and confused before.
The sound of yelling outside alerted everyone to the fact that Knuckles was outside, being brought into the courtroom. They all turned around and gasped when they saw him. He had large black rings under his eyes, the skin under his eyes was red and puffy, and his eyes...his soft, violet eyes, were staring into nothingness. Mighty wanted to run over and embrace his friend, but Rouge stopped him. They couldn't interfere now. "All rise for his majesty, King Acorn," St. John said. The king walked over and sat down, surrounded by the representatives and Locke, who came representing the Floating Island. "Please be seated," the King said softly, "Knuckles the echidna, you are being tried for accounts of mass murder, terrorism, and treason. How do you plead?" Knuckles just sat there with his head down. It was like he was in a trance. "The king asked you a question. Answer!" St. John yelled, slamming his fists on the table in front of Knuckles. "Guilty," Knuckles whispered loud enough for the king to hear. "We have yet to decide that, though. Doctor, you may begin your defense," The king said as he pointed to an owl sitting next to Knuckles.
The owl was wearing a white lab coat and large, round spectacles. He was a bit round, but not too chubby. "My name is Doctor Hoot. I am a criminal psychologist. When I first took this assignment, I thought it would be like any other before it, but I was wrong. This is perhaps the most interesting case I have ever studied," he said, walking back and forth in front of the King. "It began about three days ago..."
Doctor Hoot walked slowly down the hall, following the security guard closely. "This one's a real treat, Doc," the guard said, "Like nothin' I've ever seen. I've seen guys fake bein' sorry, but this guy...he's really somethin'" They stopped in front of a cell numbered 3450 and the guard slowly opened the door. Inside, a red echidna was sitting in the corner, staring at his hands with frightened, tear filled eyes. He was muttering something to himself, but they couldn't make out what he was saying. Doctor Hoot stared in astonishment. "How long has he been like that?" he asked the guard. "Since he got here. Hasn't moved from that spot. Hasn't even eaten or slept," the bulldog said. Doctor Hoot didn't know what to say. This was really something else to him. "I'll never believe that this young echidna is guilty...never," he said.
"Since then, I've interviewed my patient and have learned about his life. He's a very interesting character," the doctor said with a pleasant smile. "Yes. He's very interesting. If killing thousands interests you, then I suppose he is," St. John growled. "Shut up, skunk!" Vector yelled. "ORDER!" the King yelled as he slammed his mallet on the table, "Now...please continue," the king said calmly. "Anyway," the old owl said, adjusting his spectacles, "After doing some extensive research, I have only one thing to say...this boy is innocent! He is very emotionally and psychologically unstable, and requires counseling. Punishing him for what his relative made him do would be unjust!" "What proof have you that his relative had anything to do with the incidents from last week? None! Lies! All of it!" the Cat Country representative yelled. "Although there is a lack of evidence to that fact, there were several witnesses that could testify to my statement," the owl said. "Then you may call your first witness," the king said. "I call Miles Prowler to the stand," the owl stated as he pointed to Tails.
Tails stood up and walked past Knuckles. Knuckles looked up and stared in shock at Tails' arm in a sling. He quickly stood up and began to slowly walk towards him. The guards drew their weapons and told him to sit down, but the King signaled them to stand down. Tails stopped and stared at Knuckles, who fell to his knees. "I...I d-did this...???" Knuckles whispered as he put his hand on the side of Tails' face. Tails went to put his arm around his friend, but Knuckles quickly backed away. "N-no...don't touch me...I don't wanna hurt you any more..." Knuckles whispered. Tails just stared and said, "It's okay, Red...it's okay," as he put his arm around Knuckles, who began to silently weep.
Knuckles was once again seated as Tails began his statement. "Knuckles is a really good friend of mine. He's like an older brother to me...kinda like Sonic is. I know what kinds of technology the Dark Legion has, and how much Dimitri hates Knuckles, and I'm positive that Dimitri did something to him. Knuckles would never hurt anyone without a good reason, and he's the most loyal guy I know. He'd never turn on us! Never! I heard Dimitri's voice when Knuckles was talking. He was controlling him using his buried anger. I-""Yes, yes, yes," St. John said, "But how does this prove anything? Even if it was his ancestor that tipped the dominoes, it was the echidna's own thoughts that drove him to do what he did!" Tails just sat in silence. He knew that St. John was right, but he would never admit it. "No reply? I rest my case," St. John said.
They went through several witnesses, but no one could prove that Dimitri was at all involved. Although the King believed it, being that he was there, he could never convince the representatives. Right now, it looked like Knuckles was going to lose, and face execution. St. John began the prosecution, immediately calling Knuckles to the stand. "Now...tell us your side of the story," St. John said with a large grin. Knuckles took a deep breath and began to quietly speak. "I woke up on that morning...and could feel something was wrong. I was on my way to Echidnapolis, when my head started throbbing. Then I started hearing his voice...Dimitri's voice...echoing in my head...saying things. I started feeling angry...for no apparent reason. I-I couldn't control it...and that's when I lost control. When..." Knuckles said as he couldn't find it in himself to go on with the story. "When you killed your own people. That was bad enough. But then you had to go and kill people who have never even seen your face before. Women, children. What kind of monster are you?!?!" St. John yelled. Knuckles' head drooped even more than it had been. Mighty stood up, consumed with rage. "Your Majesty, you may have to give me a restraining order, because if he doesn't shut his mouth, I'll-""ORDER!" the King shouted. "Mr. Armadillo, please be seated. St. John, if you continue to harass the young Guardian any further, I will remove you from the courtroom." The king said, rather grimly. St. John nodded, but cursed under his breath as he did so, "I have no further questions."
The king looked over at Knuckles with sorrowful eyes. 'There is only one way...' he thought to himself. He stood up and said, "Before a decision is made, Knuckles the echidna, please stand before the court." Knuckles did so, looking at the ground so as not to make eye contact with the hateful representatives. Locke sat and looked at his son, knowing that this could perhaps be the end for him. The King walked down from his seat and walked up to Knuckles until he was a few inches away from him. "Your Majesty! Please! He is extremely dangerous!" St. John said, pointing his crossbow at Knuckles, who hadn't lifted his head. "Stand down. If he is going to kill me, then let him. I don't believe that he would. There is but one way to settle this fairly," the king said as he drew the sword of Acorn. "You know this sword well, don't you, Knuckles? After all, it was you who retrieved it for me," the King said as Knuckles slowly raised his head, revealing his guilt-ridden face. "With it, I can see into someone's soul. See who they are. I will do so now. You just need to stare into my eyes," the King said as he held the sword in front of his face, with his eyes set on Knuckles'.
There was great silence for a minute or two. The Chaotix were on the edge of their seats. Sally was tightly grasping Sonic's hand as Bunnie did so with Antoine. Finally, the King gasped and dropped the sword. His eyes were filled with so many emotions. Sorrow, pity, shock, astonishment. He put his hands on both sides of Knuckles' face and said, "You...you poor, poor boy," as tears began to build in his eyes. "I, King Acorn, ruler of the Kingdom of Acorn, proclaim you innocent, and free of all charges against you." This caused a great uproar amongst the representatives and the audience. Most of them were against Knuckles. "Max! You can't just decide for all of us!!! You-""SILENCE!" the King yelled as loud as he could, causing the room to go quiet. "You have not seen the torment that I have just seen, and I hope you never will. He is a good soul, with a good heart," the King said as he turned to Knuckles, whose eyes were still filled with sorrow and regret, "Go. Rid yourself of this burden. Find your happiness." "I don't think I was ever meant to be happy," Knuckles whispered.
"I will never accept this!" St. John yelled, "You need not remove me from your services, your Majesty, because I will gladly resign if I have to treat him like a hero. I will gladly join the crowds outside, who wish to see him pay for his crimes!" With that said, St. John threw his hat to the ground and walked out of the room. The King watched angrily as St. John left the room. Knuckles glanced over at his friends and saw what he had done to them. They were all smiling, but that couldn't help. He couldn't take it any more. He turned around and ran to the entrance as fast as he could. "Knux!!!" Mighty, Sonic, and Tails all yelled, but he didn't listen. He just continued to run until he was outside.
Outside, there was a huge crowd waiting for the court's decision. "You see! The King has set him free!" St. John yelled. Knuckles quickly jumped and climbed to the top of the courthouse as the crowd began to throw rocks and sticks at him. Tears began to build in his eyes when he heard them yelling. "Murderer!" "Monster!" But one statement struck him harder than any other. "You killed my daddy!" He felt as if his insides were being torn out, There was no other way to describe it. The guilt was so unbearable...he knew what he had to do. 'I have to disappear. It's for the best,' he thought to himself. He ran to the edge of the courthouse and dove off, catching the breeze and gliding away. The Chaotix and the Freedom Fighters came out to see him gliding away. They called out to him, but couldn't get over the crowd. Mighty glanced over at St. John and smiled as he cracked his knuckles. "The King never did give me that restraining order," he said.
It began to rain heavily as Knuckles began to lose control due to the turbulence. He came crashing down into a field in front of Castle Acorn. A field he knew all too well. He got up out of the mud onto his knees and looked around him. Craters, burns marks, a long section missing from the castle wall. He growled as he pictured everything that he did here. All this rain...all the waters on Mobius couldn't possibly wash the blood away from this field...from his hands. He yelled at the sky as lightning flashed in the sky. He slammed his fists on the ground, splashing mud up onto his face. He had attacked his friends, threatened to kill his father, killed thousands of innocent creatures, he even killed the one he cared for the most. He had miraculously brought her back, but that wasn't the point. He had killed her without a second thought. "Is...Is that who I really am? A killer? WHO AM I?!?!" he yelled up at the sky, hoping the Ancient Walkers, or Athair or somebody would come with an answer. All he heard was yelling out in the distance. Then he smelt it. Smoke. There was a fire!
While all the commotion was going on at the courthouse, a hut had been struck by lightning and was on fire. By the time everyone got to it, it was too large to put out, and the owners were trapped inside! "Help!" someone yelled from inside the flaming hut. Sonic went for the door, but the arch above it collapsed, blocking the only entrance. "What can we do?" Amy yelled. "They're gonna be cooked alive if we don't do something fast!" Rotor replied. Suddenly, Knuckles ran past them and crashed into the burning hut. "Knux!!! Are you freakin' nuts?!?!" Vector yelled. Inside, it was like a furnace. The air was so thick it was hard to breathe. Knuckles saw a mother beaver and her two children huddled together and quickly ran to them. "Oh no! It's you!" the mother yelled in fright. Knuckles was hurt by this, but tried to focus more on the present situation. "Please! You have to trust me! I can get you out of here! Please let me help you!" Knuckles said with a sorrowful voice. The sadness in his voice and eyes touched the mother as she nodded. Knuckles quickly grabbed the two children in his arms and ran to where the door was. "We're trapped!" one of the kids yelled. Knuckles put the two children down and bent down to the floor. "This is gonna hurt," he growled as he grabbed the fallen, flaming archway and began to lift it up. He was growling in pain as he felt his flesh burning. Finally, he lifted it up enough for the family to run though.
The crowd cheered as the family rushed to safety, but the Chaotix and the Freedom Fighters looked in horror as Knuckles struggled with the flaming doorway. "OH MY GOD! IT'S GONNA FALL ON HIM!" Rouge screamed. Knuckles, using all the strength he had left, tossed the arch up high enough to give himself timer to roll out of the way. He fell to the ground in front of the hut, gasping for air and growling in pain as the hut began to collapse towards him. Sally screamed as the hut fell down, but sighed in relief when she saw that Sonic had pulled him away in the nick of time. "You okay?" Sonic asked as Knuckles continued to gasp for air and cough smoke out of his lungs. Sonic sniffed the air and looked down at Knuckes' burnt hands. "OH MAN!" he yelled as the others ran over. "His hands! They're..." Julie-Su began when she stopped and watched curiously as his blackened hands began to heal. Locke pushed through the crowd and ran over to his son. "Knuckles! Are you okay?" he asked, as he watched his son's hands finish healing. Knuckles looked up at his father for a second, then turned away, ashamed to even look at him. "Don't you dare do that," Locke scolded as he threw his arms around his son, tears pouring from his eyes. Knuckles couldn't return the embrace, but he could cry with his father. "Glad you're okay, man," Mighty said with a smile. Knuckles looked up to see the bandages around Mighty's ribs. "It wasn't you," Mighty said. "It sure as hell seemed like me. I don't even know who I am anymore," Knuckles whispered. "You're our friend, and what you just did proves it. That was a selfless thing you did. That's the Knux I know," Sally said.
"So what d' y'all think of Knux now? He just saved those people," Vector said to the crowd. "Yes, from a fire he probably started. He has the power of a chaos emerald! He could easily have started the storm himself! He just wants to make himself look good! Then when we have our back's turned, he'll go psycho-echidna on us!" They turned to Knuckles, who was staring at his hands again. This stirred up the crowds even more, all against Knuckles. The King rode up on his white horse, causing the crowds to silence. He stepped down, walked over to St. John, and slapped him across the face. "You are disgracing your father's memory and your family name! Direct your anger at Dimitri for the loss of your troops, not the puppet he used!" St. John started at the king until he finally bowed before him. "Forgive me, your majesty," he muttered. The king placed St. John's hat where it belonged and said, "It is done."
The king turned to Knuckles and his friends and said, "Dimitri will pay. I will spare no expense to see that he pays dearly for what he has done." Knuckles stood up and said, "He will pay. I'll see to it personally. I need to go...to Station Square." "Station Square? Why Knux?" Sonic asked. "When Dimitri was linked to my mind, I could see into his. He's gonna do something in Station Square. That's where he is. That's where I'm going," Knuckles said as he clenched his fists. "Well then, the Chaotix are right behind you, as always," Mighty said with a smile as he put his hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "Wherever there's a party, I'll go," Sonic said. "Then we're comin' too," Bunnie said. "Then it's settled," Rouge said, "We're going to Station Square."
Author's Note: Well, was that packed tightly or what? Next stop, Station Square! The Station Square Saga, as I'll call it, will be longer than my first two stories. It'll have an odd mix of action, seriousness, and comedy. Hope y'all stick with it, cuz it'll be worth it. Thanx again 4 the reviews! L8r!