THE END?

'I forget how much life can suck sometimes. Take my current situation: My best friend gets tortured for all eyes to see, almost killed, then when we save him and everything seems like it's gonna work out, this happens. Mammoth Mogul and the Chaos-powered Fearsome Foursome. We've tangoed with these clowns a lot. We thought that Mogul got sealed inside the Master Emerald, but obviously he got out. Man! We're in trouble! Mogul wants to drain Knux's power, but that would kill him! I can't let that happen. We gotta fight…even though we stand no chance. Shadow used up his last bit of energy for a warp jump to ARK, so he's still kinda weak from that. Heck, I'd be too going that distance, chaos control or not. But that means he can't super-charge Sonic, Tails, and himself to fight! We are in it sooo deep right now."

Mighty looked back at Mammoth Mogul and gritted his teeth. This was gonna be tough. They had numbers, but the opposition had chaos energy. That made up for everything tenfold. He felt sweat drip down the side of his face. It was so hot…probably from the energy the Fearsome Foursome were giving off. He jumped to attention when he heard Mogul chuckle. He smiled at them in their desperation and said, "So? Have you made your decision?"

"Yeah! Screw you!!!" a familiar voice yelled. They looked up to see the Ravagers jumping out of their jet, landing beside their friends on the ground. "Now that was a cool entry," Swiper boasted, until they were cut off by the sound of their jet exploding as it crashed into a mountainside. The Ravagers all stared into space with blank expressions, until Grim turned to yell at DJ. "You idiot!!! Did you forget the autopilot?!?!" DJ slunk back and muttered, "Uhhh…I might have…I don't remember." "Forget the jet! Who's the wide-load?" Freezie asked Sonic. "I am the great Mammoth Mogul! Show some respect for your future master!" Mogul demanded. "The only great thing about you is your size. Couldn't resist the Super Big Mac with cheese, huh?" Freezie replied, not caring about the depth of Mogul's power. "Guys! He wants to drain Knux's power, but that'll kill him!" Sally yelled, her face filled with concern. Cap glared over at Mogul and said, "You got a prob with Knux, you got a prob with us!" "Yeah, so we suggest you get outta here as fast as your fat ass can take you!" Freezie spat. "Oh, it will take more than the likes of you to stop me. I will have the unlimited power of Eclipse." Mogul said calmly. Vipes grasped his sword and yelled, "Not while we can do something about it!" Mogul chuckled and said, "Well, if you wish to stop me…you'll have to defeat my Fearsome Foursome first," Mogul said as he motioned his hand to the grinning Fearsome Four.

"Then we won't keep you waiting!!!" Cap yelled as he charged and upper-cutted Sergeant Simian. Simian, caught off guard, couldn't react as Cap performed a double spin-kick, which sent him flying backwards. Simian caught his footing and got up to hear Grim yell "Fireball attack!!!" Simian caught the huge fireball and eventually crushed it between his hands, but when he looked up, Cap and Grim's fists were right in front of his face.

Lightning Lynx was about to attack the Freedom Fighters when Freezie tackled him and yelled, "Tag! You're it!" tauntingly. Lynx growled as he got up and dashed after the human speedster. Lynx was about to catch up with Freezie, but every time he did Freezie pulled away enough to mock his opponent. "C'mon! Is that all? If you wanna catch this, you (now singing) gotta go fast! Gotta go fast! Gotta go faster, faster, faster-faster-faster!" Lynx growled and went as fast as he could and caught up with Freezie. "Now that's it! One problem though," Freezie said. "Yeah? What's that?" Freezie pointed in front of Lynx, who turned to see Sonic running towards him. "See ya!" Freezie taunted as Sonic punched Lynx as hard as he could, as fast as he could, which sent Lynx soaring into the trees. The two speedsters huffed and puffed, and then began to hurry back to the others. "What was that song you were singing? It was catchy," Sonic said. "I dunno. Can't think of it," was Freezie's reply as they hurried back. (Author's Note: If you yourself don't know, then shame on you!!!)

Predator Hawk was swooping in for another run with his lethal talons. He had just swiped Antoine's back and was thirsty for more. He saw Amy unprepared, and designated his target. When he came down though, his claws collided with a pair of sais. "Those who attack defenseless females have no honor!" Vipes yelled. "Oh yeah? Take this, honor-boy!" Hawk shouted as he began to slash away. Vipes, using his precise ninja skills, managed to block every strike, and come up to scrape Hawk's beak. Hawk flew up into the sky, knowing the young ninja was a formidable opponent. "That's it! You are so-" "Hey! Wassup?" DJ asked Hawk as he hovered a few feet away from him with his arms crossed. "Another human? I'll open you like a tin can!!!" Hawk yelled as he charged. DJ, flying in the opposite direction but still facing Hawk, said, "Ya see, that would work…if I didn't have this." The gauntlets on his wrists hummed as tiny green floating disks floated above them. "A good DJ always has some plasma mini-disks!" DJ yelled as he fired a barrage of the disks, which exploded on contact. As the smoking Hawk fell towards the ground, DJ fixed the beanie on his head and said, "Master Chief's got nuthin' on this!"

Jumping Frog was hopping around, kicking everyone around and laughing as he did so. However, when he threw another kick, it struck something hard, making him yelp in pain. Morph laughed and said, "Solid titanium is pretty hard, huh?" as he reconfigured his molecules back to their normal state. "I'm gonna git-" Jumping Frog began, until he discovered himself floating in the air against his own will. "Wh-what's goin' on here???" he shouted in shock. He looked up to see F.C., his arm outstretched before him, his hand glowing green. "Have you ever wondered what would happen…if you were to jump too high?" the young mage asked as he lifted his hand, raising the Frog higher ad higher until he was above the clouds. "Let's find out," he finished as he threw his hand towards the ground, and Leaping Frog came crashing to the surface.

"So much for the Fearsome Follies! Now we just gotta take care of ol' tubby!" Freezie said as he wiped the dust off of his shoulders. "Freezie! Watch it! This guys got more power than you can imagine!" Tails shouted. Freezie snickered and replied, "You mean he's got more weight than I can imagine!" DJ, Morph and Swiper couldn't help but snicker, but everyone else was deeply concerned. Freezie looked at them in confusion and said, "What's wrong with you guys? He doesn't look so scary to me! I mean, he's huge! And his nose is as big as he is! I'm sure they called him 'Shnozzy Osborne' in High School, huh tubby? I mean c'mon! He's just a big…hairy elephant!" "Yeah!" DJ said, outstretching his arms, "He's like a big teddy bear…only…an elephant." "Yeah! Besides, look at him! The only scary thing about him is his weight! I can see him walking into a McDonalds, after struggling to get through the door, and the cashier asks him 'What can I get you, sir?' And what's his answer? (In a deep voice, trying to impersonate Mogul) 'One word: Super size!!!'" DJ, Morph, and Swiper burst into laughter now, and even Sonic began to chuckle. "You know that 'super size' is two words, right?" Morph asked. "He doesn't!" Freezie answered. "You obviously cannot comprehend the magnitude of my power," Mogul said. "I can comprehend the magnitude of your weight," Freezie shot back. "I believe it's time I crushed you with my awesome power!" Mogul stated. "What he said: 'I believe it's time I crushed you with my awesome power!' What he meant: 'I believe it's time I crushed you with my awesome weight!'" Freezie said laughing, until the ground began to shake. Green energy enveloped Mogul as he chuckled. His white jacket and dress shirt ripped and tore as he became larger. His dress pants tore, and were replaced by white sweatpants. He became taller and taller as the energy swirled around him, until he finally let out a bellowing, "Now, behold my awesome power!" Freezie, his eyes widened and his shoulders sagging, could only say," Wow…you really let yourself go. I mean, as if you weren't fat enough!"

Mogul fired a beam of energy at them, but they all managed to evade it by a few inches. Grim opened the flaming palm of his hand and unleashed a barrage of fireballs, none of which doing any form of harm. Cap tried his trademark 'Kenzo Fist', but he was jolted away by chaos energy. F.C. gathered Sonic, Shadow and Tails, and began to chant, knowing that they could help in the fight. In a few short seconds, the three transformed into Super Sonic, Hyper Shadow, and Turbo Tails. F.C. of course, was drained from the high cost of the spell, and had to lay low as he recovered his energy. Freezie was running around until he bumped into something and fell over. He looked up to see Mogul standing above him. "Wow…from down here, you look like a boulder. A big, FAT boulder." Mogul growled in frustration and yelled. "You will be the first to die!!!" as he tried to stomp of Freezie, but Hyper Shadow pulled him out of the way.

Mogul chuckled at the sight of the chaos-powered trio and said, "Well now. Things may get interesting. I have yet to see what this new hedgehog can do. But I suppose all hedgehogs are the same…weak and inferior, as all others are to me!" "Oh yeah? Well-" Before Sonic could finish his sentence, he gasped in shock as his eyes widened. Shadow and Tails followed suite as the trio fell to their knees, moaning in what sounded like pain. "What's happening to them? Is he absorbing their energy?" Amy asked amidst the confusion. The answer became clear when the energy drifted behind them, and enveloped a familiar figure…known as Knuckles the Echidna.

Somehow he was standing. Perhaps a sheer force of will. They could see from how he was standing that he shouldn't be. He was hunched over, wobbling slightly, trying his hardest just to keep his head up. His body was scarred and bruised, and patches of fur were burnt. The 'DL' that had been burned onto his chest was almost gone, but signs of it were still there. "Sorry…to have to…drain you like that, but…I need the energy…" he said as the stolen energy surrounded him, and in a flash, he was Hyper Knuckles, and able to stand himself straight up.

"Knux! What the Hell are you doin' outta bed, man?" Vector yelled. "Y-y-yeah! Your-r'e h-hurt-t," Ray stuttered. Knuckles panted for a moment, but finally answered, "If Mogul wants me, he can have me…after he beats me 'til I can't get up!" Knuckles yelled as he charged at Mogul at full speed. Mogul chuckled and said, "Well, that won't take long," as he held his hand before him and unleashed a shockwave. The shockwave hit Hyper Knuckles, sent his flying backwards, and smashed him into the side of the hospital, leaving a small crater in the wall. Hyper Knuckles' eyes widened with pain as he struck the wall. He heard his bones cracking and his skin tearing. He fell forwards, flashed back to red as he fell, and landed on his chest with a loud thud. "Now, I believe this is where I win," Mogul taunted as he moved towards Knuckles. Everyone stood in the way as he approached and Sally yelled, "No way! You won't touch him!" "Then I must deal with you first," Mogul chuckled.

Knuckles could hear the cries of his friends yelling out in pain as he lay there, growling as he tried to move but couldn't do so. He had no energy left. "No…he'll just…use my power to…kill," Knuckles muttered to himself as a small butterfly landed beside him with a smoking wing. He opened his eyes as he heard it land, and watched as it fluttered it's wings on the ground, and died. He reached over and took it in his hand as he struggled onto his knees and began to sob. "No…it didn't hurt…anyone. It didn't deserve...to die. I…I can't let…my power hurt…anyone else…". Suddenly, something snapped. He growled in fury as the tears on his face evaporated into the air. He began screaming now as he unleashed energy from his body, causing the ground to shake and the sky to darken.

Mammoth Mogul, noticing the change in the sky, turned to Knuckles and gasped, along with all of his friends. There was a green echidna with his back turned to them standing there with a similar green energy emitting from him. He outstretched his hand, it glowed with chaos energy, and a butterfly flew out of it. He stood there for a moment and watched it flutter away, then turned to Mogul, with a deep, deep hatred in his eyes. At first, they were afraid that it was Eclipse all over again, but they were relieved when they saw his violet eyes, and the white guardian band. "What-what is this?!?!" Mogul shouted in horror. Knuckles pointed over at him and said, "This is your end. You die right now." Mogul took a few steps back, horrified. The power of Eclipse had been unleashed! His own power was nothing compared to this! Knuckles took a few steps forward, and as he walked, the rubber on the bottom of his shoes began to melt, until his shoes had eventually melted away. As he walked, the air around his crackled as sparks flew around him like small lightning flashes. Mogul couldn't avoid it. This was his end. He stopped in realization and chuckled. "You won't kill me. It will weight too heavy on your conscience that you had to kill again. You'll have to live with all the guilt." "No. No I won't," was the green echidna's reply. "You-You aren't serious!!!" Mogul stuttered as his eyes widened with horror.

In a split-second, Knuckles had upper cut Mogul high into the air, far above everyone else. Mogul regained his balance and began to panic. Suddenly, Knuckles appeared before him and rammed his bare hand into Mogul's gut. Mogul shouted in pain as he felt the spurs break his skin and the echidna's hand enter his gut. Knuckles began to scream as he concentrated energy in Moguls body, creating an energy ball in his hand. Mogul, through all the pain, began to yell, "NO! You fool! Entwining our two separate chaos energies will result in a giant explosion!!!" "Why else do you think I knocked you up here away from the others?!?!" Knuckles shouted as he let loose one final burst of energy inside Mogul.

There was a giant explosion that seemed to shake the planet itself. Then, from the explosion, the limp body of Knuckles the Echidna came falling to the ground. Julie-Su went running towards him, crying and screaming his name as he hit the ground. She knelt down next to him and lifted his head, afraid for the worst. A tear fell from he face and landed on his cheek, and he weakly half-opened his eyes. "H-Hey…there," he whispered with a smile on his face. She looked at him with great concern, but also a smile. "You're…You're okay. We're right in front of the hospital-We'll-" she began, until he put a finger to her lips. "No…Not this time. Can I…tell you something? I'm scared, Julie. I…don't wanna die," he whispered. Her eyes widened with horror as he said that. "No! No! You're gonna be fine! Please…it isn't fair," she said as she began to cry even more. "I know. It's like…there was always some force…trying to keep us apart. I'm just glad…I got to see you…one last time," he said as he moved his shaking hand up to her face. She took it in her hand and held it against her cheek as she stared down at him.

He looked behind her and saw their friends, standing in absolute silence. "Guess...this is good bye," he said with a smile as they fought back their tears. "S-Sonic…take care of everyone." Sonic nodded as he fought desperately to not cry. Knuckles turned to the Chaotix and said, "Guys…I need you to watch…after Julie for me. Promise?" They nodded as tears began to roll down their faces. "We promise, Knux," Vector replied. The dying echidna then turned to the Ravagers and chuckled. "You…did say you'd be there…for us. Thanks." None of the teens could find a reply as they stood there in silence. He looked at Shadow and said, "Shadow…me, Sonic and Tails are…supposed to be some kinda…trinity thing, so…I need you to…take my place." Shadow nodded and replied, "I will." "I just...want you…to know…that I love you all. Even though…we've had our…ups and downs during…the time we knew each other…even though we…only knew each other for…a little over…a year…even though my life was terrible…up to that point…it was worth it…to have a family…like you." They all flinched as the tears flowed more freely.

Knuckles looked down at Julie-Su's knees and saw his hat sitting there. He reached over, grabbed it, and gently placed it on her head. "Take care…of this old thing…for me." "Please don't die," she begged as she rubbed his hand against her cheek. "You are so, so beautiful. I'm…ashamed I couldn't say that to you until now. I'll always…be with you…no matter what. I love you…now…and forever," he whispered as he brushed her tears away with his thumb. "Could I have…one last request?" he asked her weakly, his voice cracking. She nodded, and he asked, "Could…you kiss me good bye?" She smiled as much as she could, leaned over and kissed him. The moment was so perfect, she never wanted it to end. Suddenly, he stopped kissing her as his head went limp, and his hand slid slowly down her face and onto the ground. The warm tingly feeling she had gotten faded away, and was left with a cold emptiness. She stared at him for a moment, then threw her arms around him, crying uncontrollably.

Mighty fell to his knees as he burst out crying. Sally threw her arms around Sonic, as Bunnie did with Antoine. Vector rested his forearm against a tree, placed his forehead against it, and stared at the ground as his tears rained down. Espio and Ray tried their best to comfort Mighty and Vector, but had trouble as they shed tears of their own. Rouge buried her face in her hands as she sobbed. Shadow just stared at Julie-Su, grasping onto Knuckles' unmoving form. Sonic couldn't cry. He was just too shocked. Tails tried to comfort Amy, only to find himself sobbing with her. Rotor removed his cap and held it in his hands as he closed his eyes. Cap trembled as he heard Julie-Su crying. They had gone to so much trouble to find him, and he died anyway. He didn't keep his promise. Vipes drew his sword stabbed it into the ground, and knelt down on his two knees as he muttered something in Japanese. Grim simply closed his eyes and muttered to himself. All the others could make out was, "Oh Lord, in all your infinite wisdom, show his the road to your holy gates and…" Freezie and Swiper hugged each other as Morph's frown sagged down to the ground. DJ hugged himself, trying to seek comfort. They were all crying, but Julie-Su's cries could be heard over all the others. Shadow glanced off to the side and saw Lara-Le, Locke, Wyn, and King Acorn rushing towards them, unaware of what they would discover. 'God…if there is a God…please don't let his mother die of a broken heart,' Shadow thought to himself as they drew closer. He then turned back to Julie-Su. 'His mother and his love.'