Pasts Revealed

Knuckles groaned as he slowly sat up. He rubbed the back of his head and mumbled. Suddenly, it hit him. She had hit him. Knocked him out and left him. But why? He stood up, feeling a little dizzy, and leaned against a tree. 'She did it, didn't she? She went back…' He couldn't believe it. He had begun to trust her, and she turned out to be a traitor after all. He growled in frustration for letting himself become soft on her and letting his guard down. He punched the tree in his anger, causing the leaves to rustle. He calmed down when something else dawned upon him. 'Why did she leave me here? Why not kill me? Or at least even take me prisoner? Why did she go alone?' Something was up. He couldn't figure it out, but he knew something was wrong with this picture. He shook the dizziness off and stood firmly on the ground. 'I gotta find out what's up,' he thought to himself as he ran into the woods, following her trail.

Back in the city, Sally stared out the window as the guys played poker. Knuckles and Julie-Su had been gone for a very long time now. She turned to the others and said, "They aren't back yet." "Probably aren't finished makin' out," Sonic said as he threw in his chips. Sally glared at him, stood up and walked over to him, and slapped him across the face. The other guys dropped their cards and their jaws as they stared wide-eyed at Sally. "You have a lot of nerve insulting someone behind their back! You are the rudest…most arrogant person I've ever met!" She growled as she left the room, leaving the others in silence. Bunnie went after her, but the guys remained behind. They glanced at one another every so often, then looked back at the ground. Finally, Vipes asked, "Did it hurt?" "…Yeah," Sonic replied, rubbing his cheek. "I hate to say it, but it serves you right. You never see us talking about people behind their backs," Rotor commented. "Yeah! We never talk about Grim's hot sister behind his back! We say she's hot right in his face," DJ said. Grim growled in frustration, but immediately tried to calm himself. 'Just relax. He's trying to get a rise out of you…' "And let me tell you…she is HOT!" DJ said. 'And it's WORKING!' "Get over here you little-" Grim shouted as he began to chase after DJ down the hall. The glanced at the door for a moment, until Mighty asked, "Grim has a hot sister?"

Knuckles crawled on his stomach under the brush until he was right next to the Legionnaire encampment. His instincts told him to stealthily sneak in and take them all out. He suddenly heard someone grunt in pain, and crawled over to the tent beside him. He peered in through a small opening in the side of the tent, and was shocked at what he saw. There was a red female echidna, wearing a black leather outfit, and standing in front of her was Julie-Su, with two legionnaires holding her arms back. "Now I'll ask you again…What do you know?" the red female demanded. "I told you! I don't-" Slap! Julie-Su was struck right across the face. Her black shades fell to the floor and cracked. "I'm telling the truth!" Now the red female came up with another slap across the face. Then another, and another. "Don't lie to me you little wench!" Knuckles wasn't sure just how to react. "I don't know why Dimitri even bothers with you! You are the most worthless piece of crap I've ever seen! Why he puts up with your disgracefulness is beyond me." Julie-Su looked at her, and said, "I don't know why he puts up with you. You've got the biggest mouth I've-uhhh!" Julie-Su moaned as the red female punched her in the gut, her eyes widening in pain. The red echidna continued to punch and slap her, until Julie-Su hung limply, only held up by her arms. "Drop her," the echidna commanded. The two legionnaires dropped her and watched as Julie-Su was kicked while she was on the ground, not saying a word or trying to stop it. Knuckles ground his teeth, and was about to do something, when the echidna stopped and spat on Julie-Su's face. "Ugly piece of trash. Throw this tramp out," she commanded. The legionnaires grabbed Julie-Su's arms, dragged her to the door of the tent, and threw her out.

Julie-Su hit the ground with a hard thud. She moaned as she tried to get up, but couldn't. Her face, her arms, her legs, all bruised. She coughed and wiped some blood from her lip as she stood up with the support of a tree. All the while she wondered why she had come back to this. Why? She moaned as she staggered over to the next tree, almost falling over as she went. Her quarters were across the camp. She would surly pass out from exhaustion before she made it. No. She couldn't let that happen. Not here. Not with her around. She staggered to get to the next tree when someone came up from behind her, threw their arm around her waist, grabbing her arms, and clamping their hand over her mouth. She tried to call for help as she was dragged back into the woods, but it was no use. She struggled to get free, but she felt so weak, and her captor held her tightly against himself. 'Oh no! I'm gonna get raped! No! Please, no!' she thought to herself as she kicked her feet trying to get free. Rape was an all too common thing in the legion. It's advised that you don't travel alone at night. Even if the victim saw her rapist, he was always wearing a black cloak. Nothing to go on, and the rapist was never even punished. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she moaned in protest, only letting out muffled cries.

Her kidnapper's back hit against a tree, and she began to struggle and moan even more, thinking his stopping meant the worst. Suddenly, a voice said, "Quiet! It's me, Knuckles!" She froze as a calm feeling washed over her. "It's just me. I just wanna talk. Okay?" he asked, not letting her go in case she tried to scream for help. She nodded her head and muffled a reply. "Okay," he said as he let her go. She quickly jumped off of him and spun around." What are you doing here?" she asked. "What are you doing here?" he asked in reply. "I asked you a question!" "Okay then. I came here to see why you just left me there. If you had full intentions to rejoin them, you would have killed me, or at least taken me prisoner. But you didn't. So, why did you leave? So you could get beat up?" She stared at him with teary eyes for a moment, and then shuddered. "I came here because…I don't know." "Who was that?" he asked. "She's Kommisar. My step-sister. She…she always does that to me. She blames me for everything that goes wrong and uses me as a personal punching bag. If I try to defend myself, she has guards hold me still." She paused, then continued, "One time I tried to defend myself and hit her back…and she beat me up until I was unconscious. I woke up in the medical wing and had to stay there for three days." She began to cry and said, "I hate it here. But it's all I have."

"What about Knothole? The others?" "They never trusted me. You only treat me nice because I saved your life. I see people staring at me all the time, wondering what I'm doing there. Even that little girl…that sweet little girl, was afraid of me." Tears began to roll down her face as she closed her eyes and said, "I know it's Hell of Mobius, but it's all I have. It's the only place I belong…" She opened her eyes when she felt his thumb wiping away the tears on her cheek. "Listen…Even if no one trusted you…would it be worth it if one person trusted you? A person like me, who didn't trust you before? Wouldn't that be better than living like this? If you come back with me…I promise, no, I swear…that she will never, ever hit you again." She stared at him with her teary eyes, then threw her arms around him, crying. He slowly returned the embrace, as she silently cried.

His head shot off to the side as he heard a twig snap. He whispered in her ear, "Run. Get out of here. I'll be right behind you." She looked up at him, looked in the direction he was looking in, until he gently began to motion her off to the side. "Hurry." She began to run through the trees and bushes as fast as she could. She didn't stop, even at the sound of laser fire behind her. That only made her run faster. Why was he risking so much for her? She never got to ponder that thought, because when she jumped through the brush, she found herself on a cliff alongside a raging waterfall. She turned to go back, only to see Kommisar with her wicked smile. "Thought you could get away? Too bad for you," she said as she pulled up a laser pistol, "I'll just tell grandfather that you were lost in combat." She heard the shot fire, but before it could hit her, Knuckles had leapt in the way and it struck him in the back as he knocked her over the edge with himself. Kommisar looked over the side of the cliff and smiled. 'No way could they have survived that fall. Too bad. I was looking forward to killing her myself."

"They've been gone for a while now," Cap said as he tossed yet another ball of paper at the trash bin. "Think something's up?" Grim asked. "She seemed really upset. Maybe she and Knux went for a walk or…um…went for a walk," F.C. commented. "But it's been a bit too long. Even for…for that," Tails replied. "Yeah, well I'm bored. Waddaya wanna talk about?" Freezie asked the group. "How about…what scares you the most?" "Alright. Rotor?" "Snakes." "Espio?" "Tight spaces." "Grim?" "I fear nothing. Now if you'll excuse me," he said as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door. They all jumped when they heard him scream. They burst through the door and saw him trying to barbeque a spider. "DAH! SPIDER!" he shouted as he tried to blast it, burning the floor tiles as he missed the spider in his state of panic. "Look out!" Vipes yelled as he threw a ninja star, which landed next to the spider. They all stared at him until Mighty said, "You're a ninja…and you miss?" "Well, he's not a very good ninja," Swiper commented. "Yeah. You suck," Vector said. "Shut up!" "SPIIIIII-D-EEEEEER!"

Miles away, in the side of a mountain, a series of rooms stand secluded from the rest of the island. They had not been used in months, and dust had begun to gather on the contents. Suddenly, the door burst open, and two figures slowly came in. One supported the other on her shoulder as the other dragged his feet. Knuckles groaned as Julie-Su slowly pulled him into the room. She had his arm over her shoulder, trying to hold him up. His back was badly burned, and he needed to treat it fast. "Knuckles, where are the medical supplies?" she asked. He gave no straight answer. He just motioned his arm up towards the next room, and let it fall. She hurried him in and saw a bed and a book shelf in the room, along with a few dressers and a closet. She laid him on his stomach on the bed and hurried to find something to treat his wound. She opened one of the dressers and saw that it was full of medical supplies. She hurried and grabbed what she needed. "Knuckles…this may sting," she warned. "I've…felt worse," he mumbled. She applied a strange liquid to his wound, which rested upon the back of his left shoulder. He winced the first second, and then past pain rushed back to him. It was as if the shot had hit his shoulder again as he stood before the crowd. Then came the screams. He growled to try to shut them out, but that never worked. Julie-Su watched as his body shook as he growled. He slowly calmed down, then passed out. She stared in wonder for a moment, and then bandaged his injury. When she was done, she pulled some covers over him so he wouldn't get cold, and then left the room.

She sat on an old sofa in the next room, after making a fire in the small fireplace to keep warm. She looked around her and saw pictures hanging on the walls. She walked over to one and stared at it. It was a picture of Knuckles. He was with three echidnas. One was taller than him with a white robe and goatee, another was a red female that was shorter than him, wearing a yellow dress, and the other was a brown male, wearing a blue outfit. And in Knuckles' arms was a small baby, sleeping against his chest. His most distinguishing feature was that he was smiling. Not one of those wicked smiles she often saw on him. A happy smile. She had never seen Knuckles look happy like that.

"See something you like?" a voice said, she turned to see him standing strongly, the bandages off him. "What are you-" she began, until he turned to reveal his injury was gone. "I can be pretty amazing." She looked back at the picture and picked it up. "Knuckles…who are they?" he took it and stared. He sat down on the couch, and she sat beside him as he said, "That's my dad, my mom, my step-dad Wyn…and that's my baby brother." "What's his name?" "Kneecaps. I don't think he likes that too much, so I just call him Mace, his middle name." He paused for a moment, and his eyes became tearier and tearier as he spoke. "I used to go over to my mom's place and play with him all the time. I read him stories and we played with blocks…" he paused, choking back the tears, his voice cracking, "We did a lot together…me and Mace." He turned to her when he felt her hand rest on his, and she asked, "Knuckles…what happened?" He took a deep breath and began to speak, "It was about six months ago…"

The streets of Echidnapolis were filled with cheering echidnas as Knuckles was asked to come up to the podium and speak. It was the day of the naming of the island. It would be named Angel Island, after Edmund's mother, Ange-La. He stood before the crowd with red cheeks as he began. "Um…Hello. I'm not a great public speaker, but I guess I can give it a shot. This island means a lot to me. It's been my home for as long as I can remember. To me…it wasn't about guarding the emerald. It was about guarding what I loved. I've been through some hard times, but I can live with it. I owe that to my dad. He helped prepare me for what lay ahead of me. He wasn't a good dad…he was a great dad. I also have to thank my mom…for helping me develop character. And the other person I have to thank is my baby brother, Mace…for giving me one more reason to keep the island safe." The crowd cheered loudly, until they began to scream when a laser shot hit Knuckles in the shoulder. When he woke up, there was still screaming all around. He quickly jumped up and was shocked at what he saw. The Legion had attacked. No. This wasn't an attack…it was a massacre. Dead bodies filled the streets. He then noticed one body in particular fall to the ground. It was the body of his father, Locke. Tears fell from his eyes as he watched it hit the ground, among the rest of the Brotherhood! He whimpered for a brief second, then growled and charged at the legionnaires closest to him. A chilling voice caused him to stop and look up. It was Dimitri in a Legion hovercraft. "Hello, Knuckles." "You monster!" Knuckles shouted as he motioned to charge, but stopped when he noticed Dimitri pointing at the huge screen in the middle of the square. On the screen was Lara-Le, tears in here eyes, but remaining strong. "Mom?" "Knuckles…mommy loves you, sweetie. You've made me so proud…" "Mom?" He watched as a legionnaire stepped from behind her and drew a knife next to her neck. With his mother's scream of pain, he was left with an image that would remain with him until his grave. "MOM!" Dimitri chuckled as he watched the tears fall from Knuckles' eyes. "Let's go. We've done enough damage for one day." And with that final note, Dimitri left, and his attack force retreated, leaving dead bodies in the streets, and a Guardian, crying on his knees.

Julie-Su stared at him in shock. He had yet to start crying. "I went to my mom's apartment to look for Mace and Wyn…Wyn was dead. And Mace…Mace…They took him." She watched as he tried his hardest not to break down. "Knuckles…if…if you want to cry…I won't tell anyone." "No. I…I can't. I need to be strong…need to be tough." "No you don't. No one cares. Knuckles, bottling this up will kill you. It's okay…" After a few seconds, he lost it. He started sobbing like crazy, grabbing the sides of his face with his hands. She put her arms around him to comfort him as he continued to cry. "It'll be okay. It'll be okay. We'll find him," she whispered. "Y-you prom-omise?" he managed to say through the sobs. She was surprised how innocent and childlike he sounded. He tried his hardest to maintain this 'tough-guy' appearance, but on the inside he was a gentle, crying little boy. After a while, he finally settled down. "Was that so hard?" she asked. "Not…not really…Thanks." "You're welcome. "They stared into the fire for a little bit, until he asked, "How do you feel? I mean…after how she…" "I'm fine. Just…just really sore," she said as she lowered her head. "So…is there anything you wanna get off your chest?"

She looked back at him, then sighed. "Like I said, she always used to hit me. I had friends, but she transferred them to other bases. She would offer extra rations to some people to do things to me. A couple of girls pretended to be my friends over the course of a week. We went to a nearby lake to go swimming…and they jumped me. They tied my arms behind my back and dunked me in the water until I couldn't breathe. When they were done, they beat me up and left me on the shore." There was a pause, then she went on, "One night…when I was asleep, some people snuck into my room. They held me down and forced me to breathe in some chemicals that knocked me out. When I woke up…I was gagged and tied to a tree in my underwear in front of the camp. No one helped me. They would walk by and laugh as I tried pleading for help. Later on some girls untied me, but then they beat me up. It…it was humiliating…" she whispered as tears fell from her eyes. He slowly put his hand on hers, which initially calmed her down, but she wasn't done just yet. "The worst night…was one time after she had beaten me up. I was so weak I couldn't get up…and some guys grabbed me and took me into one of their tents…" His eyes widened as she turned to him. "They didn't do anything serious… but…they held me down…they undressed me…touched me…kissed me…I tried to stop them, but I was too weak. Once they were satisfied…they took me back into the woods and left me there." He was relieved when she stopped, but then her tears were renewed. "But then one of them came back…He took me to his own tent…and he…he…" Knuckles' eyes widened as she couldn't finish her sentence. "He didn't! Oh, Julie-Su…Come here," he said as he put her arms around her as she sobbed. "I guess…I should feel lucky. I didn't become pregnant or anything like that, but…but after that I knew I had to get out of there. So I left with…with whatever I could bring…and then I found Knothole." "I am so, so sorry. You were trying to forget about that…and I was treating you like you were one of them…when you never were," he said, feeling like dirt about how he had treated her.

They sat in silence in each others arms for a few minutes, not realizing it, until she asked, "Why are you still holding me?" He blushed as he said, "I'm sorry! I-I didn't…" "No! Don't let go," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder. He sat in silence, until he felt her cheek sliding against his. He sat motionless as she continued to do so until her lips met his. After a few seconds, she stopped kissing him and looked at him sadly, "What's wrong? You…you don't seem like you're really…into it." "After all you've been through…after what's…happened to you…I don't want to make you feel…uncomfortable," he whispered. She smiled at his sincerity and said, "You could never be like that. You're too gentle," as she leaned closer to him. He slowly moved forward until their lips met. All the pain that each of them had carried in their hearts for so long seemed to melt away as they held each other. It began to rain outside, but they didn't notice it. At that point in time, they only needed each other.

Author's Note: So? What did you think? I finally revealed Knuckles' dark past, and he wasn't the onlyone with one! How will things go from here? Can't tell you yet! Was it worth all that time it took me to put it up? Hope so. Any comments, good or bad? I'll take any. Any reviews would be nice. I'd like to know some opinions. Anyway, more soon.