NIGHTMARE'S END

Dimitri entered the room with a large grin on his face, as he had done for several days before. For there hung his prisoner. Battered, scarred, whipped, shocked, burned, the list went on and on. Just because the cameras went off, doesn't mean the show had to end. He took pleasure in watching his troops stand him up and knock him down, kicking him as he lay on the ground. However, fun can only last for so long. Either your interest in it disperses, or the fun itself runs out of steam. In this case, Knuckles was running out of steam.

Knuckles knew someone had entered the room, but couldn't see who it was. His vision was blurred, and it was a constant battle to keep his eyes open. His eyes stung from when sweat had dripped into them. The marks on his sides and appendages ached, and his shoulders and neck were on fire from hanging there. He felt like someone had taken a sharp rake and ran it across his back, and it was probably scarred all over from being whipped. He coughed up some blood, which dripped from his lower lip onto the Guardian symbol. A drop of sweat ran down his forehead, gathered at the tip of his nose, and trickled down into a puddle of blood and sweat beneath him. How many days had it been? He wasn't sure. He was constantly losing consciousness, and who knows how long he was out for each time? Then he heard the chuckle. It burned his ears. He knew it was Dimitri's voice. Dimitri had not only been cruel physically, but mentally too. Once he referred to Knuckles as 'son', saying that he felt pity on him for having Locke as a father. He brought Lien-Da in constantly and brought up Julie-Su all the time. Dimitri knew just where to hit him. Suddenly, the lights came on, burning his eyes as he squinted them. Then, Dimitri began to speak…

"Welcome back! Today will be our grand series finale! I had hoped to go on longer, but it looks like Knuckles wants to ruin the fun. Too bad. Today…he dies. And he has a choice of how he can die, so let's see what he chooses," Dimitri said to the camera as he turned to Knuckles and stared him in the face. "If you call me 'Dimitri: Lord and Master', then I will let you die quickly and painlessly. If not…well, you get the idea," Dimitri said. Knuckles mumbled something, catching Dimitri's ear. "What did you say? I can't hear you," Dimitri said, as if he were speaking to a child. Suddenly, Knuckles spat on Dimitri's face, which could only make Sonic smile. "Stubborn as a mule…" Sonic said as they watched on in horror as Dimitri wiped the bloody spit off of his face. "And still you defy me…No matter," Dimitri said calmly as he signaled for some Legionnaires to come over and untie Knuckles, "Take him to 'the Machine'.

The Machine was simple enough. It was a big wall with all sorts of wires attached to it. Knuckles was quickly strapped against the wall with metal restraints, offering no resistance. He hung limply as they clamped his hands, feet, waist, and neck to the wall. Dimitri stood in front of him, proudly. "Do you have any idea what this device will do to you? It stimulates the sensory neurons in your skin, jump-starting your pain-receptors. In simple terms, you are going to relive every sensation of pain you have ever felt in your live-from pricking your finger to what you've been receiving here. I could just turn it on for a little while and leave you as a steamed vegetable, but I'd rather you die painfully begging for a quicker death. I want to hear you scream, Knuckles, and I'll get what I want with this device."

"DJ, can he do that? I mean…the pain-receptor to the thingie and the higory do-da yeah?" Morph asked, at a loss for words. "I dunno. I mean…I don't think Dimitri's tryin' to build up suspense here," DJ replied grimly. Julie-Su felt her heart sinking. She was about to watch him die a horrible, horrible death, without ever telling him how she felt. She felt some relief when Mighty grasped her hand, trying to give her some comfort. He smiled weakly, but she couldn't smile back. They turned back to the screen, fearing for the worst.

"All batteries charged…all systems check…we're good to go, my Lord," A legionnaire said with a bow. "Excellent," Dimitri said. "Just kill him and get it over with. I really hate when you drag these things out, Grandfather," Lien-Da complained as she walked onto the screen. She walked over to Knuckles and ran her finger down his chest. "I really hate to see such a good physique go to waste. It's a shame you wasted yourself on my tramp step-sister," Lien-Da said with a malicious smile as she ran the back of her hand along his face, receiving a disgusted look. "After all, what does she have that I don't? Enlighten me," Lien-Da demanded. "F-f-for st-tart-ters…l-l-looks," Knuckles stated. Julie-Su smiled so slightly it was hard to notice when he said that, but lost her smile when he was slapped across the face. "'Humph!' Kill him now," Lien-Da said with a snarl. "You can say good-bye to your friends now if you want to, Knuckles. You'll never get another chance," Dimitri said. Knuckles looked up at the camera, a small trail of blood running from the edge of his mouth. "G-g-guy-uy-s…" Knuckles moaned as his head drooped and he passed out.

"He's out, sire," Xenin said, lifting Knuckles' chin in his hand. "Well he won't be for long. Start 'the Machine'," Dimitri demanded. A buzzing sound filled the room as Knuckles' friends braced for the worst. Lights on the wall lit up in different colors as twin turbines on either side of Knuckles began to spin. Dimitri smiled and waited for the screaming to start. He waited…and waited…and waited…and growled in impatience. "What's wrong? It should have started up!" Dimitri roared. "I don't know, my Lord. I'll have out technicians check immediately," Xenin replied as he turned to the technicians behind him. Vector sighed in relief. It had bought them some time. "What can we do? We have to act now. If we don't, we'll lose him!" Sally yelled. Grim growled as he fell to his knees with his fists ignited in flame and slammed them into the ground. "Where are you, dammit?!?!" he yelled.

As the Legion and the rescue party were distracted, they failed to notice Knuckles crack his eyes open. His breathing was so slight it was as if he weren't breathing at all. "…oh my god…" he mumbled as his eyes widened, "…Oh my God…", he said again, his eyes as wide as they could get. "OH MY GOD!!!" Knuckles yelled, before screaming out in pain. This however, was no normal screaming. It was as if he were being eaten alive from the inside out, as if the very air around him burned his skin like the fiery heat of the sun. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he began to foam at the mouth, saliva pouring down the sides of his mouth as he screamed.

Dimitri turned and smiled, as his friends and family felt tears trickling down their faces as they watched in horror. He continued screaming, not even stopping to draw a breath. He took a split second breath, but not without screaming in doing it. It was incredible. He couldn't believe it. He was going to die like this. He began to see his life flashing before his eyes. He saw his mother tucking him into bed and kissing him on the head, then his father taking him to the Island for the first time. Now he saw Sally, and Rouge, then Sonic and Tails. The Freedom Fighters, The Chaotix, the Dark Legion, Julie-Su…meeting her for the first time. Mecha Sonic, Mammoth Mongul, Julie-Su…their first kiss…The Hunter, Perfect Chaos, Julie-Su…crying because of him…Eclipse, thousands of begging, frightened faces, Julie-Su…dead in his arms…Station Square, the Ravagers, the Battle, Shadow, Julie-Su…happy on her birthday…The pain…it was too much. He couldn't take it!!!

He began to pull with his arms and shoulders, trying to get free, to find some way of escaping the pain, the memories. He pulled and pulled, screaming and growling. Dimitri watched in awe as the wall began to crack. "How can he do that?!?! He's too weak!!!" Dimitri yelled to a technician over the sound of Knuckles' screams. "He's out of his mind with pain, Sire! He'll tear himself apart to escape it!" Suddenly, something gave. The wall shattered and the machine shut down. Knuckles fell to the floor, still screaming in pain as he began to flail around on the ground in what appeared to be a seizure or convulsion of some kind, his entire body shaking violently. He scrambled over to the nearest wall on his hands and knees, screaming at the top of his lungs, and dug his spurs into it. He then began to repeatedly bash his head against the wall. Anything…anything to get his mind off the pain. Slam, slam, slam against the wall, blood spilling from his head. He let out a final deafening scream as he bashed his head against the wall one last time, causing it to crumble as he fell to the ground, his body still shaking and twitching intensely.

When the wall crumbled in front of him, the room next to it caused Shadow to gasp. It was a blue, metallic room, with computers and monitors all over. In the middle of the room, there was a glass capsule. The memory of Maria came back. Her hand running down the glass as she pushed the button, jettisoning him towards the planet. "That's it!" Shadow yelled in realization, "We were always asking 'Where on Mobius is he', but he was never on Mobius! He's on ARK!!!" They all stared at him with widened eyes as he clasped a chaos emerald in his hand and yelled out "CHAOS CONTROL!!!"

They looked back at the screen and saw Dimitri standing over Knuckles' shaking form. "So you've survived…well, I guess we'll just have to do something abou-" Suddenly, Shadow appeared in front of him, with a deep hatred in his eyes. "Shadow!!!" Dimitri yelled in horror as the hedgehog drew closer. "Listen to me now, Dimitri! I'm taking Knuckles to the Kingdom of Acorn, then I'm coming back here. And if you're still here, I'll rip your robotic heart out with my bear hands!" Shadow growled. Dimitri took a step back, then turned to run, followed by his remaining troops. Shadow, now showing signs of fear, ran over to Knuckles and knelt beside him. "Knuckles! Can you hear me?" he asked as he went to move him, but felt a weak zap as he did so. Shadow pulled his hand away as Knuckles let out a short scream. He couldn't be moved. Shadow then glanced up at the camera to see that it was still rolling. "Guys! I'm taking him back now! Get a doctor ready!" he demanded as her turned back to Knuckles, who was still shaking. "My friend…I'm sorry, but I have to touch you to make this work." Shadow quickly placed his hand on Knuckles' back, receiving a scream as he yelled "CHAOS CONTROL!!!"

The doctors had just pulled in a stretcher as Shadow came back with Knuckles laying on the ground. Lara-Le ran over to him crying, but Shadow stopped her. "Milady, no!!!" "Shadow? What's wrong with you??? Let me go to him!!!" "No, milady! We can't touch him! If you do, it will only hurt him more." Knowing this, the doctor quickly got him on a stretcher and wheeled him out of the room. Lara-Le cried even more, throwing her arms around Wyn as they watched the doctor take him away.

The screaming was almost unbearable. They could hear him from outside the room. Whatever the doctor were doing, they were pretty sure it wasn't helping. They all sat in silence, except for Lara-Le, who continued to sob. Finally, a doctor came out, instantly gaining their attention. "We can't put him out. Every time we try to apply a needle, he simply knocks the doctor across the room! He's just too strong. There was silence for a second, until Mighty quietly said, "I'll hold him still." As he followed the doctor into the room and the door closed behind them, they could see a look of fear in his eyes. Inside, Mighty was on the verge of breaking down to tears. He stood beside Knuckles for what seemed like forever, just staring at him. He was shaking and twitching uncontrollably, his eyes seemingly sealed shut as he gritted his teeth and growled in pain. Finally, the doctor tapped him on the shoulder, and he took a deep breath. "I am so, so sorry buddy…" Mighty whispered as he grabbed Knuckles and held him down, causing him to struggle and scream in pain. Did he even know where he was? Did he know it was Mighty? Did he know he was still alive? All Mighty could hear was him screaming as the doctor managed to apply the needle. When Mighty came back out of the room, tears were rolling down his face as he stared at the ground. He stopped in the middle of the hall and stood there in silence. Espio finally put his hand on Mighty's shoulder, and the armadillo threw his arms around him, crying.

Not long after that, they were permitted to come in and see him. They had cleaned him up, so he wasn't a bloody mess anymore, but he was still shaking and shuddering. "What's going to happen, Doctor?" Locke asked. The doctor sighed and said, "Well…we've never seen anything like this before. It's never happened before. Ever. Right now, he's in a coma. I wish I could tell you how long he'll be like this…but I can't. It could be days, weeks, months…even years." They all gasped as the doctor said this. He could wake up to discover that everyone, including himself, have aged several decades. Julie-Su sat down next to him and stared at his face as the doctor went on. "We've managed to numb him, but he's still shaking. We just can't get the shuddering to stop." Julie-Su looked at him from head to toe with great observation, then said, "He's not shuddering…he's shivering. He's cold." She pulled the covers up over him and took his hand out of his blood stained mitten. She removed her hand from her own glove and took his, rubbing her thumb atop his hand. Slowly, the shuddering began to lessen, until it finally stopped, and the look of pain washed off of his face. "I think he knows who it is," Rouge said with a smile. Julie-Su glanced back at her with a smile and said, "Me too."

As the hours stretched on, many of them left for the night, but Julie-Su stayed. At first the doctors objected to this, but Grim threatened them into accepting it. She sat there by his bedside, rubbing his hand as she watched him. "I'm right here," she whispered in his ear, "Can you hear me? Do you know who this is? It's Julie. I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna stay right here. I don't care if I spend the rest of my life in this room…as long as I'm with you," she said as she kissed his cheek, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

He groaned as he opened his eyes, wondering if he was even still alive. 'Uhhh…whole body's numb…can't feel my body. Nothing…' he thought, until he felt a warm feeling in his hand. He glanced over to see Julie-Su, fast asleep, still grasping his hand tightly. His eyes widened as they began to water. He then noticed that she was shivering slightly. He looked down and saw the cover over him, and looked back at her. For what seemed like hours, he used his toes and feet to inch the covers over towards her, and with his free hand, pull them over her shoulders, trying not to wake her. It was a slow process, being that he couldn't feel anything but her hand in his, but after what was at least an hour if not more, he finally did it. His legs were exposed now, but he couldn't feel anything in them anyway so it didn't matter. After a simple task like that, he felt extremely week and slowly lost consciousness, but managed to keep a smile on his face.

When Julie-Su woke up, she smiled at the sight of him with a smile on his face. "Good morning," she whispered as she sat up, making sure the covers didn't fall onto the floor. Covers??? Her eyes widened as she noticed the end of his covers pulled over her. 'A doctor wouldn't put a guest before a patient…and the others left last night…then who-' She glanced down at him smiling, and came to realize what had happened. She rubbed her hand along the side of his face and whispered, "It was you, wasn't it?" She stared at him for what seemed like forever, and kissed him on his brow, avoiding the scratches on his forehead.

"Wait until the others-" she began, until she was interrupted by and explosion outside. The whole hospital shook with the blast, forcing her to grab the edge of the bed for support. She checked to see if he was alright, then looked at the door. She sighed in frustration as she growled "Something always has to happen at the worst time, doesn't it?" (Author's Note: Yep, it does.) She looked back at him, and whispered, "I have to go, but I promise I'll be back," as she kissed his cheek and let go of his hand. Almost instantly, as if he knew something was wrong, he began to shiver again as she ran out the door.

When she got outside, the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix were gathered in front of the hospital, facing a large cloud of smoke. "What the hell happened?" Julie-Su yelled to them as she approached. "We don't know," Rouge replied as they prepared for the worst. "Where are the Ravagers?" Julie-Su asked as she looked around, not seeing them. "They left this morning. Talk about bad timing!" Sonic said. Suddenly, they heard a laugh. A laugh they had not heard for a long time. "Hello, children. It's good to see you again," a deep voice said. The smoke cleared, and their thoughts were revealed true. It was Mammoth Mogul! Standing before them with the Fearsome Foursome. "H-How…" Sally began. "..am I free? The answer to that mystery even eludes me. It was as if the Walkers themselves set me free. I care not, however, how I gained my freedom, but I intend to enjoy it!" Shadow had never seen this guy before, but he could smell the power emitting from him. "This isn't good,' he thought to himself. "No, Shadow, it isn't", Mogul answered. Shadow's eyes widened. "What do you want?" Tails yelled. "Me? I want power! More than I ever had before! I want the power…of Eclipse!!!" Their eyes widened. He was going to drain Knuckles' power. But in his current condition, Knuckles wouldn't survive it! "No way!" Mighty and Sonic yelled together.

"Well then,. I guess my Super Fearsome Foursome will have to deal with you," Mogul stated. Suddenly, his energy swirled around them, transforming them! Sergeant Simian flashed a bright orange, Lightning Lynx glowed a fiery yellow, Predator Hawk turned to a light purple, and Jumping Frog transformed to a sky blue. "Oh…crap," Sonic muttered as they watched the transformation. "Our young echidna friend is much to weak to summon his powers, otherwise it would be suicidal for me to take him head on. His current weakened condition leaves him helpless. Now, you will stand aside and let me drain the young Guardian's energy, or I have you slaughtered by my Fearsome Foursome and then drain his energy. Make your choice."