PARTY ANIMALS
"You have disgraced us! Your Family! Your heritage!" "I'm sorry...I didn't mean-" "SILENCE! Thirteen generations of honor and tradition destroyed by you! Let you not die, but live with your shame! Let it consume your soul!" "No...please...'sob'...i never wanted this...won't someone forgive me...???" "Hey, man!" "M-Mighty?" "Yeah! Your best friend! And all your other friends!" "Why...why are you-" "Because we love you, bro. And because that's whatfreinds are for."
Knuckles slowly opened his eyes, and after a split second, he quickly sat up and looked down at his chest. 'I'm-I'm still in my own body,' he thought to himself as he ran his finger across the Guardian symbol, 'But I thought Dimitri...Where the heck am I, anyway?' He sat up, grabbed his shirt, and put it on. He then noticed three blaster holes in it and quickly took it off. He then noticed his hat sitting on a chair beside him. He picked it up and put it on as he stood up. It was then that he heard voices coming from outside. He stealthily opened the door and peeked down a long hall. When the door closed behind him, he noticed that the door was a large mirror. He stared in confusion for a minute, then decided to move on. He very cautiously snuck down the hall until he realized whose voices he was hearing.
"Jeez! This grub is good, Li!" Mighty said as he thanked the Japanese chef standing in front of him. "And the show is just as good," Tails said as he watched the chef flip and toss cooking utensils in the air. "Thank you. I learned quite a bit during my brief childhood in Japan. I figured this would be better than pizza," the chef said. "Man Todd, your crib is nice!" Vector said as he high-fived a teenager wearing a beanie on his head (three guesses who it is). "Thanks, Vec. I inherited my mom and dad's company, and also got the mansion. Now we all chill here. I was thinking of selling it, since I don't really believe in using my cash to live in grandeur, but then I ended up with a lot of roommates and needed the space!"
The Chaotix and the Freedom Fighters were rather enjoying the company of the eight teenage boys, who were rather hospitable towards them. They all sat down at a rather large table, eating and talking. One of the teenagers looked up to notice that they weren't alone and said, "Well, you look better." The rest of them looked up to see Knuckles looking around the room, a bit of confusion on his face. "Knux!" Mighty yelled as he ran up and hugged Knuckles. "R-RI-IBS..." Knuckles managed to say. Mighty suddenly let go and began to chuckle. "Sorry 'bout that. Are you okay? How are you feeling?" Mighty asked. "I-I'm fine...I guess. Where are we?" Knuckles asked as he looked past Mighty at everyone else.
"Knux, let me introduce you to the Ravagers, only...not the Ravagers," Mighty said, receiving a confused look from Knuckles.
"This is Nick," a blonde, spiky haired teen stood up and smiled. "I'm Cap."
"Luke," another teen with a blonde bowl haircut stood. "Freezie."
"Li," the Japanese chef bowed. He had slicked back, short black hair. "Vipes."
"Ken," a teen with messy hair nodded his head. "Morph."
"Zack," a teen with brown hair and a goatee waved. "F.C."
"Steve," a younger teen with long, blonde hair that went just above his shoulders nodded. "Swiper."
"Randy," a teen with a black moustache, and long black hair tied into a pony tail continued to eat his meal, only saying, "Grim."
"And Todd," Mighty concluded, pointing to the teenager with the beanie, which completely covered the top of his head. "D-D-DJ-HEY!"
Everyone stared at him for a moment, then turned back to Knuckles. "I suppose I have you to thank for my rescue," Knuckles said as he looked at them. "They pretty much did it all. Mighty carried ya inta the jet and that was pretty much all we did besides help them take on the Legion," Bunnie said. Knuckles looked down at the ground, sighed, then looked up at the teens again. "I-I want to apologize for what I said earlier. You were just trying to help out, and I jumped down your throats. I owe you eight my life," Knuckles said. Nick snickered for a second and said, "Hey! It's alright. We knew that you were a good guy deep down. C'mon! Sit!" Nick said as he offered Knuckles a chair next to him and Zack.
Knuckles sat down and glared at Zack. Zack glanced over at him and smiled. "No need to worry. It will stay between us. I apologize for going into your memories, but otherwise the removal of the drugs from your body would have been rather painful," Zack said. Knuckles continued to glare. Zack gave him a curious look. 'What is wrong?' Zack said to Knuckles telepathically. 'That memory only helped then, not now,' Knuckles responded. 'What do you mean? I don't understand,' Zack replied, confused even more. Knuckles started remembering when Julie-Su broke up with him, letting Zack see what he meant. Zack's eyes widened in surprise. 'I-I don't know what to say," Zack said. 'Then don't say anything,' Knuckles thought grimly.
The rest of them looked at the two curiously, but when they broke eye contact, everyone went back to their meals, which consisted of chicken, steak, and rice. "So...what exactly did Dimitri want with you?" Sally asked. Knuckles looked down at the table and cringed slightly. "I don't even want to think about it," he said. "You hungry? The others told me you were a vegetarian, so I could whip up some more rice, or maybe even-""I'm not very hungry," Knuckles sighed.
Julie-Su glanced over at Knuckles, then over towards the clock, which read 8:49. "How is it only that time?" she asked. "Days are getting shorter here. Different time zone than where you're from," Ken answered. "Well, now that we've eaten, I have a suggestion for this evening," Todd said as he stood up from the table, gaining everyone's attention, "To celebrate our new friendship, and the successful rescue of our friend, Knuckles, let's all head down to 63rd street for the big party they're throwing tonight!" "Where there's a party, Vector is there!" Vector said, causing Espio to roll his eyes. "I dunno. We don't know anyone," Ray said. "You know us! And we know everyone else! So you're in!" Luke said cheerfully. "I guess we could use some relaxation," Sonic said. "Then it's settled! Zack can teleport us to some back alley, and we'll just stroll in," Nick said. "One thing," Zack said as his hands began to glow and a black, sleeveless shirt appeared on Knuckles, "There we go." Knuckles looked up at them with an unsure look on his face. "I'm not sure if I wanna-" "You're comin'! You need to kick back a bit," Sonic said as he began to pull Knuckles after the others out of the room.
When they walked into the club, the flashing lights blinded them for a brief second. Music was playing, humans and all sorts of creatures were dancing, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. "HEY! Nick and the guys are here!" someone said as what seemed like everyone in the room turned to greet them. "You guys sure are popular," Amy said as she looked around. "People like us because we know how to liven the party!" Luke said. Everyone turned to see two human girls running over to them. They were identical twins, with brown hair and clear blue eyes. They wore matching black skirts and white T-shirts. The only way to tell them apart was that one had a ponytail and one let her hair down. The one with the ponytail threw her arms around Nick, kissing his cheek, as the other did with Randy. "Guys! We're so glad you came!" one of them said. Nick smiled and turned to his new friends. "Guys, this is my girlfriend, Libby. That's Randy's girlfriend, Brittany. As you can tell, they're sisters," Nick said. Nick introduced the two girls to his new friends, which took a few minutes. He was careful to call Knuckles 'Red', being that the whole planet wanted to hang Knuckles the echidna at the moment.
"Nice to meet you all! Why don't you girls come on with us? We can introduce you around!" Brittany suggested. "Okay," Bunnie said as she, Julie-Su, Amy, Rouge, and Sally walked off with the twins. "Uhhh...bye?" Nick and Randy said together as they watched their girlfriends walk off. "HA! You two just got dumped! I told ya! Girls that hot cannot be straight! It's against the laws of the universe! Forces that we mortals cannot understand and dare not reckon with," Luke said. "You talk too much. And besides, at least we HAVE girlfriends," Nick said. "I know. I'm just waiting to get with Randy's hot sister," Luke said with a smile. "Randy has a hot sister?" Vector asked. "Yeah! She's steamin', man! If she were to lie down on the floor, you could roast marshmallows over her!" Luke said, as Randy began to turn red with frustration as his veins began to bulge from his head as he clenched his teeth. "That's it! You're dead!" Randy yelled as he tore after Luke, who happily jogged away, knowing Randy would never catch him. After about a minute, Randy came back, panting. "I'm...done...chasing that...moron," Randy said. "So what do you think they're talking about?" Nick asked his friends as they watched the girls converse on the other side of the room. "Shoes. Shopping. Painting each other's toenails," Todd said. There was a pause, which was broke when Randy said, "Feet disgust me." "I know!" Ken stated. "They're so nasty! I can't even look at my own feet!" Sonic said. After talking for about a minute, they all realized that they were discussing feet and decided to drop it.
"Well, let's hit the floor, then!" Todd said as he walked out onto the dance floor. Everyone followed, until Mighty looked back to notice Knuckles leaning against the wall, staring at the ground. He walked over and asked, "You okay?" Knuckles didn't answer. Mighty sighed and put his hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "Don't give me the silent treatment again, man. If anything is ever bothering you, you know you can-""I know. G'wan. Have fun. I'm not much of a dancer," Knuckles said. Mighty smiled slightly, nodded, and departed to join the others. Knuckles went back to staring at the ground. He couldn't believe it. Dimitri could have killed him...or done something like that. Knuckles shivered at the thought of Dimitri removing his brain and inserting his own into Knuckles' body. 'Well...at least Dimitri can't control me anymore. But what about Eclipse? Is that who I really am? Will it ever take control on it's own? Could I prevent it? Can I?' He sighed and looked up at his friends, thinking of how he'd hurt them. He noticed that Tails' arm wasn't in a cast anymore. Zack must have done it. He wouldn't have had to if he hadn't...Knuckles didn't even want to think about what he'd done.
He then noticed someone looking over at him. A red female echidna. She was about his age, with long, black hair. She was wearing black jeans and a blue tube-top. She smiled at him and he did the same, out of politeness. She then walked over towards him, which made him both nervous and uncomfortable. He still hadn't gotten over Julie-Su, and probably never would. "Hey. I'm Sara-Ka," she said. "I-I'm Red," he said nervously. "Are you here alone?" she asked. "Uhhh...no. I'm here with some friends. I just...don't dance," he said plainly. "I'm here on my own. So, do you wanna maybe dance with me?" she asked as a slow song began to play. "I-I dunno," Knuckles said. "Please?" she said innocently. "...O-okay," Knuckles said as he walked out with her.
The two twins had gone to dance with their boyfriends, so the out-of-town girls decided to sit down at a table. "Those two are really nice," Amy said. "Yeah. And those boys are pretty nice, too," Rouge commented. Julie-Su was about to add her own comment when she saw Knuckles dancing with another girl. Sally and the other girls looked over and she said, "I saw her go over to him. He's doing it out of politeness." "Or because he thinks she's hot." Julie-Su said as she glared at Knuckles. "I thought you were over him?" Rouge said with a mischievous smile. "I am! I'm just saying. Watch! He'll be kissing her before you know it," Julie-Su said in an annoyed voice as they all watched Knuckles.
"So...are you single?" Sara-Ka asked him. "Well...I am now. I used to be with someone, but not anymore," Knuckles said in a depressed voice. "That's too bad. I dumped my boyfriend last week. He was only interested in my looks, and not who I am. I think a relationship should be based on love. Real love, and trust," Sara-Ka said. Trust. That word again, making that same icy feeling start up in Knuckles' chest. "When I said I wanted to break up with him, he told me I was an ugly tramp," she said as she lowered her head. "Hey. That's not true. You're...you're really pretty," Knuckles said with a sympathetic smile. She blushed and said, "Thanks. You're...very handsome." Knuckles wasn't quite sure how or why, but she leaned up to kiss him, and for some reason, he kissed her back. Sally, Amy, Bunnie, and Rouge's eyes widened as Julie-Su's narrowed. After a few seconds, Knuckles realized what he was doing and pulled away saying, "I'm sorry," as he turned away from her. "It's okay! I'm the one that kissed you, remember?" "No. Not that. Sara-Ka...I'm still in love with my last girlfriend. I'm not the kind of guy you want, or deserve. You'd better go and find someone else. It's not you at all...It's me..." Knuckles sighed as he looked at her. She sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry you feel that way. I hope you find some way to be happy," Sara-Ka said, before Knuckles smiled and left.
"I bet you feel really silly," Sally said to Julie-Su, who was blushing from embarrassment. She stood up and walked away, not wanting to listen. She stopped and sat down on a bench, trying to cool off. While she did this, a brown, male echidna came over. "Hi. I'm Jordan. Can I join you, miss..." "Julie-Su. You can if you want," she said as he sat down. "You look upset. Anything I can do to help?" he asked. "Not unless you can make me forget about my old boyfriend," Julie-Su sighed sadly. She looked up at him when he took her hand and whispered, "I know one way I can." They both smiled as he leaned over and kissed her. Knuckles was walking over to where he was before when he saw Julie-Su kissing another guy. He felt like dirt. Like Robotnik had just been dropped on top of him. He would have given anything to be the guy kissing her. He put his hand over his heart as he felt the icy shiver and turned as he walked out the door.
Julie-Su would have enjoyed every second of this, if she could have felt it. But there was nothing. No thrill, no surge of energy that made her feel incredible. Nothing. When they stopped kissing, she sighed and said, "Look, I appreciate this...but I'm not ready for another relationship yet. Is that okay with you, Jordan?" she asked, feeling bad for him. He smiled and said, "No problem. I'm glad I could at least help out. Have fun!"
Sally was surprised when Julie-Su came back with a saddened face. "Sally...can we talk? Alone?" Julie-Su asked. Sally smiled as she put her arm around Julie-Su and the two friends walked to a nearby table. The table was in the corner of the room, with a small window next to it, letting in a cool breeze. Outside it, Knuckles stood against the wall, thinking about what he had just seen. "So, what do you want to talk about? Something to do with Knuckles?" Sally asked. Knuckles was surprised at what he was hearing. "Yes. I...I just kissed another guy. You know, a spur-of-the-moment type thing. Anyway...when I kissed him, it felt...wrong," Julie-Su said, looking lost and confused. "What do you mean?" Sally asked. "I mean...I didn't even feel it. Not like I did when I was...with Knuckles," Julie-Su said with a sigh. Knuckles wasn't sure just how to feel right now. Was this a good or a bad thing?
"Do you maybe miss being with him?" Sally suggested. Julie-Su sat in silence for a minute, while Knuckles' heart almost stopped beating in suspense. "That could be it..." Julie-Su said quietly. Outside, Knuckles couldn't help but slightly smile. "I...I realize that I blew things out of proportion. That he wasn't really 'involved' with you and Rouge. I know that he's a good guy," Julie-Su once again, said quietly. Knuckles' smile widened. "So what's the problem?" Sally asked. "Although he is a good guy...he still lied to me. He still keeps secrets. A relationship needs trust, as well as love,...and he just isn't willing to trust," Julie-Su sighed. Knuckles' smile began to fade as his heart began to sink. "I'm still his friend, but...I don't feel the same way about him as I did before. I don't think I ever will. I just hope he figures it out and realizes that we'll never be together...and that he has to move on," Julie-Su said quietly. Knuckles didn't want to hear any more. He slid down the wall until he was seated on the ground. He looked up at the stars, unsure of what to do. Move on? How could he move on? She was all he wanted. His only desire was to be with her. But now that was just a memory. Now that was just a dream. A dream that will never again become a reality. His chin sunk down to his chest, as he stared at the ground in silence, the blasting music playing in the background.
Author's Note: So? What'd ya think? Stay with it, cause the action and humor builds up! I'll post more soon after I get some reviews! L8r!