FAREWELL

Everyone was rather quiet as they entered the park and were seated. The only noise that could be heard was the sound of Lara-Le crying over the loss of her son. Among the guests were King Acorn and his family, the Brotherhood, the Freedom Fighters, Charmy Bee, the Ravagers, and the Chaotix. Espio glared over at the Brotherhood, wondering if they were here to mourn the loss of their descendant, or to contemplate over what to do now that the Guardian line was broken. But for now he didn't care. His good friend was dead. His thoughts should be with him.

It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining brightly and the flowers blossoming. Nobody really noticed, though. A small stage was built in a large clearing, with several rows of chairs opened before it. Around the park there were pedestrians who wanted to watch the proceedings. In front of the stage was the open casket, with his body lying in it. He was dressed in a black suit with a crimson red tie, which Locke couldn't tie right for some strange reason. He figured it was his son's restless spirit preventing him. They all stood as an elderly echidna walked onto the stage and stood before the microphone.

"We are here today to say good bye to one of Mobius' finest. Knuckles the Echidna, knight in the realm of Acorn, Guardian of the Floating Island and the Master Emerald, and beloved friend to many. He gave up his own life, so that we may live to see another day."

Locke was the first to go up. He had shed so many tears over the death of his son. He had lost his wife, and now he had lost their only son. All he had left now was the Brotherhood, which had only taken from him. He looked out at the crowd, took a deep breath, then began, "My son…my boy…did not deserve the life that was given to him. He was a pupil more than a son during his youth, and he spent many more years alone. I am sure you all have not forgotten the threat of Eclipse. I had thought long about it after it had happened, and I couldn't figure something out. Why did he wish to do me harm when he showed no signs of it before? Was my son perhaps…just a ruthless murderer? After much time, I came to a steady conclusion. Eclipse was not my son, and I am ashamed for ever thinking that. Eclipse was merely an explosion of suppressed emotions, which my son concealed for many years. These were the feelings of a little boy that wanted to get revenge for his loneliness. He blamed me for leaving him to fend for himself, and he blamed the world because the Great War took his only friend, Princess Acorn, away from him. I know that my son loved me, and I am ashamed for thinking otherwise. He would have rather given his own life than see others suffer…and he did just that. My son…my pride and joy…has made me the proudest father on the face of this Planet Mobius."

There was an applause as Locke stepped down from the stage. That was obviously hard for him. Lara-Le went up, assisted by Wyn. She had been rather weak lately, though there was no doubting the obvious reason to it. "I remember when I first held him in my arms when he was a little baby. He was so adorable…so playful and friendly. Although his duties required him to be 'tough', aside from that he remained as gentle as a newborn child. It broke my heart to see his go off with my ex-husband when he was still so young, but it was beyond me and my rights as a mother to keep him from his training. After many years, I saw him again, and I was so proud of him. He had grown into a polite, handsome young adult. My greatest regret is that my unborn child…'sniff'…will never know…it's big brother. He would have made such a great big brother. But…his younger sibling will only be able to hear stories and…'sob' see pictures…He was sixteen!!! Why did he have to die??? He never intended to hurt anyone! It was Dimitri, damn his blackened soul!!! Knuckles didn't deserve the guilt that rightfully belonged to that horrid echidna! If he suffered as much as he made my little boy suffer, it wouldn't be half enough of fair punishment!" she paused for a moment, walked down to the casket, and rubbed her hand against his cold cheek. "Mommy loves you, sweetie," she whispered. She turned away, threw herself into Wyn's arms, and began to cry.

She was applauded as the Ravagers went up as a whole. They gave their regards to Lara-Le as she passed by, and slowly made their way up the stage. They were still in costume, trying to keep their identities. Cap took a deep breath, then said, "We hadn't known him for that long, but it felt like we knew him for a lifetime. He was…a really great guy. I wish there were more out there like him. He never gave up, and fought hard to the very end, no matter how painful it would be. I hope…that wherever he is right now…he's happy. When we first met him, he was really out of it. Eclipse had done some damage up in his head. More than he even let on, I imagine. I was happy that we could help him with his problem. Grim and me tried to turn him to God, and I think that did help him some. I'm just glad to know that he isn't in pain anymore." He paused for a moment, then continued as he began to cry, "I promise Knux…that I will train harder than I've ever trained before. No more goofing off. Playtime's over. Now that you're gone…someone needs to step up. Might as well be me. For you, man. For you."

Cap took a step back, ad Grim stepped forward. "I just have one thing to say. Cap pretty much summed up everything about him. He was a good soul, and he shall be rewarded for it, by our Heavenly Father." He paused for a moment, looking down, then looked back up at them. "I am from the Netherworld, a land that knows not of warmth nor light. But, on certain occasions, there is the Divine Light. I have seen it. The gates to Heaven. It's amazing to behold. The dark clouds open, and a light leaks through, making grass grow and flowers blossom where there was once death and decay. Then the clouds open, and you see it. The gates are made of gold so vibrant, it shines like the sun, lined with snow white pearls that glisten like the stars." They all listened as he went on, absorbing everything he said. "Then the gate opens, and you can hear the chorus of angels, singing their angelic tunes. Those that have the fortune of entering at that point in time are then levitated towards the gates, and then you hear a voice, which says, 'Welcome home, child. Welcome home'. Surly he will be there waiting for us, as we make our own journey to these gates." He looked down at Knuckles' body, bowed with one knee, and said, "I make the same vow as Cap. I too will train, as I should have. Until we meet again." Each of them said their own little good byes, then slowly marched off the stage.

It was time for the Freedom Fighters to come up. Sally spoke of how she had come to meet him, and how they had had a secret friendship. She told of how they spent hours just looking up at the clouds and talking about just about anything. She began to cry as she spoke, apologized, and took a step back. Each of them came up with a little something to say, always saying something positive about his character and his actions.

Finally, it was time for Sonic to speak. He stepped up, took a deep breath and simply said, "I won't lie to anyone. I never liked him. I thought he was a big jerk." There was a little dismay as the crowd began to whisper back and forth. Everyone saw this as disrespectful. "Sonic!" Sally scolded, but the hedgehog simply said, "Oh, I'm not finished yet." He turned back to the crowd and continued. "He was always thought he was better than me, always playing hero, never looking for help, even when I offered it out of the kindness of my heart." Suddenly, tears began to build in his eyes as his voice cracked.
"He was nothing but a big, stupid, idiotic…selfless…" Sonic growled in frustration and shouted, "I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU STUPID ECHIDNA!!!" as he rushed towards the casket. Everyone stood up as Mighty grabbed Sonic, who continued to yell at Knuckles' body. "STILL THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME, DON'T YOU?!?! I'M GONNA WIPE THAT SMIRK RIGHT OFF YOUR DAMN FACE!!! YOU HEAR ME?!?! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!" "Sonic! Sonic, snap out of it! He's already dead, man…he's already dead…" Mighty said as he began to cry. Sonic fell to his knees and began to sob as tears flowed from his eyes. "I always thought you hated me…so I hated you back. But you never did…You envied me and my life…I always thought it was hate. Why didn't you tell me??? Why didn't you say something so I could have known??? So we could have been friends instead of at each other's throats??? WHY???" Sonic screamed as he went back to sobbing. Sally put her arms around him and took him back to his seat, where he silently cried for the remainder of the procession.

Finally the Chaotix came up with lowered heads. Mighty was the first to speak. "We've known him for a while now, and we've had the honor of calling him our friend. He was…the best friend I've ever had. 'Sniff' I'm gonna miss him so much…He cared so much about us…he was willing to give up his life for us. I'll never forget him for that. Now that the Island has no Guardian…and the Brotherhood is working that out, we'll be taking his duties for the time being. We did it before when he had to leave the Island, and we can certainly do it again. He did so much for us…so it's the least we could do for him." He looked over at the casket and said, "Well Knux…it was fun. We had quite an adventure…didn't we? You were my best friend…Sleep well, man."

Each of the Chaotix said a little bit, including Rouge and Shadow. Finally, Julie-Su stood in front of the microphone. Her cheeks were red from crying, and even now her eyes were very glossy.

"What is she doing here? This urchin should not be here. She disgraced his image in life, and she does not need to do so whilst he is dead," one of the High Council members whispered to another. Locke, overhearing this, went berserk, grabbed him, and threw him off to the side. Everyone present was astonished at Locke's sudden outburst. "How dare you?!?! If you have no respect for her you have no respect for my son!!! Leave now, or I'll make you wish you had!!!" The High Council board member, thoroughly offended, dusted himself off and left.

After everything had settled, Julie-Su finally began to speak. "…I don't know how I could have lived before I met him. He…brought so much happiness to my life. Even though I ruined his public image in the city…he didn't care. All he cared about was me. He wasn't very open, and he had trouble showing it, but I knew he cared. We…had some trouble along the way…which was both our faults…and…I lost faith in him. I kick myself now for ever thinking that way of him. I just wish that…that things could have worked out for us. But they never did. Like he said, it was like something was trying to keep us apart. I loved him…and I still do. When he died…a part of me went with him. I don't think I'll ever get over his death…" She began crying now, the audience enveloped with sorrow. "He made me feel like I was truly special. Like I was more than anything I could have pictured myself as…I'd do anything to see him one more time…just for a minute…so I can see his smile. Heh. His smile…It made him look so innocent. Like he had never done an immoral thing in his whole life. The kind of smile that says, 'Hey! What are you worrying about? You're with me, and I'm gonna take care of you. I'll make sure you're okay…Trust me'. Then there were his eyes. His big, violet eyes. If you looked into them like I have…you would feel like you were reading his heart. His feelings were right there. All right there…I'll never forget his laugh, either. It didn't take much to get him to laugh. You just needed to find the right spot under his cheek…hehe…he was really ticklish." The smile faded off of her face as she lowered her head. "I'll never see him smile again…never read his eyes…never hear him laugh…or even speak…He had such a beautiful, soft voice. Just hearing him speak was a pleasure to me. A pleasure I'll never have again." She hugged herself and rocked from side to side, as more tears rolled down her face. "Sometimes when I close my eyes…I can still feel his strong arms around me…and I can hear his voice saying, 'What's wrong? Is something bothering you? I'm here for you'. 'Sob' It's just not fair…"

At that moment, it began to pour rain. Although they were getting soaked, no one moved. They just sat there in silence as their tears mixed with the rain. Fortunately there was a small tent over the coffin, in case it rained that day, and Knuckles' body was left dry. Randy stood up and looked up into the sky and said "Behold! The angels let forth their tears of sorrow and lament, for they know he was a good soul, and he did not deserve such a fate!"

A vigorous hunt for Dimitri was put underway not too long after the funeral. He was running out of time and hiding places. He would soon be found and have to pay for his horrible crimes. However, even if he was found, even if he was made to suffer, everyone knew it wouldn't bring Knuckles back. It wouldn't stitch up the scars. He was gone, and nothing they did would ever change that.