Chapter 11: Temporary Rest
Sonic lay on the cracked stairs leading to the shrine, sleeping. Though, it was a dreamless sleep. Four days passed since his arrival in this world, which Knuckles explained was the future. The exhausted hedgehog needed to rest after all of the numerous unwanted surprises.
Meanwhile, Knuckles was perched on a tilted pillar, inspecting the rock, which Dice ordered Sonic to deliver. Nothing was peculiar about the slab. It was just a piece of dirt. Sighing, Knuckles gazed at the snoring hedgehog. After all these years, Sonic was alive. The perpetual guilt, concerning his death, was now meaningless. Knuckles was not responsible if Sonic never died in the first place. For the past year, the echidna blindly waited on Angel Island, hoping for a miracle. With pure luck, Sonic appeared. Now with his long lost friend's help, Knuckles could defeat Eggman. However, Robotnik might still seize control of Dice, repeating the tragedy at Station Square. Besides, Knuckles was not free from his turmoil. Everyone he knew and cared for was gone in an instant while he survived. He knew death would be the consequence of the battle and failed to act upon his instincts. Not to mention, Tails' immeasurable hatred for Knuckles made the situation more complicated. The fox refused to assist Knuckles last time, so why would he agree to help him and Sonic now? Besides, he loathed Dice even more than the echidna. Shadow was of no help either. He consistently disappeared for months, only to reappear for a moment with Dice at Angel Island to discuss plans of attack.
Knuckles massaged the scar on his forehead. None of the pathetic plans thought up by either Dice or Shadow worked. So, why would Knuckles' and Sonic's be any different? Every time the duo was close to Eggman's whereabouts, Dice suddenly grew out of control, or Eggman would disappear to another one of his different worlds. Also, the chaos emeralds disappeared from this world, and Dice was unable to reawaken a fraction of the chaos blade's power without arousing her dangerous alter-ego. "Maybe Sonic won't make much of a difference after all," Knuckles thought. "Even if Sonic miraculously teamed up Shadow, Tails, Amy, Dice, and myself... and then defeated Eggman, it would not change anything. Everyone would still be dead, and this world would remain annihilated."
"Oh come on, lighten up." Knuckles hastily turned around in surprise. "What? You were thinking out loud," Sonic yawned, strolling towards the pillar.
"I am guessing you slept well."
"Hmm? Yeah, I guess. Well, this is definitely no vacation, but at least the sun is nice," Sonic joked as he stretched his legs.
"You really haven't changed at all, have you?" Knuckles suppressed a chuckle, shaking his head.
"Well, it doesn't seem like sixteen years to me, only a few days. So no, I haven't changed," Sonic yawned again. "You know Knux; I could really use a shower." Knuckles smirked. "What? I am covered in mud, oil, and blood. I am not trying to sound overly hygienic but I have some serious cuts and I don't want them to get infected."
"Look around you. Do you think there is going to be a shower here in these ruins?" Knuckles seriously replied, but then smiled at Sonic's expression. A wave of disgust washed over his face. "Of course I bathe Sonic! We are on an island surrounded by water. I repeat, water!" Knuckles weakly laughed and covered his face with his glove. The blue hedgehog grinned at the echidna's amusement. Suddenly, a small growl came from Sonic. He embarrassingly clutched his stomach.
"Hey, I am really hungry. What do you have around here to eat?" He licked his lips as Knuckles jumped to the ground and headed to the shrine. "I could really go for some pizza. No wait! A chili dog! Oh yeah, a super spicy chili dog right off the grill!"
"You are just trying to sound funny aren't you?"
"Well... yeah. I seriously doubt you have chili dogs in this dump... no offense."
"No offense taken," the echidna replied nonchalantly. Lifting a filthy leather bag, he snatched a piece of bread and tossed it to Sonic. The hedgehog smacked his lips, despite the obvious age of the loaf, and bit out a large chunk.
"Ew! What is this crap!?" Sonic spat, and chucked the bread to the ground.
"Food," Knuckles sarcastically replied. "Excuse me if your delicate taste buds can't handle it." A crooked smile grew on Sonic's muzzle; the echidna had returned to his former self.
"Well, I'll pass. At least Amy's soup tasted good," Sonic remarked. However, a sudden wave of sadness overcame Knuckles. Thinking of his former companions and the past was too difficult. Sensing the echidna's guilt, Sonic felt awkward. "Oh, sorry I mentioned it. You must be jealous of her cooking, huh?" Sonic lied, knowing that the problem was more serious than cuisine.
"Right, of course." Knuckles responded, not listening to Sonic's statement. He violently sat down on the shrine's top step and sighed. "So, how exactly are we going to take down Eggman?"
"Dunno." Sonic shrugged and leaned up against one of the altar's pillars. "I haven't thought that far, but it always works out."
Knuckles grimaced at the word of wisdom, "It always works out? Uh, huh sure it does." He rolled his eyes and covered them so Sonic would not see his skepticism. Despite the echidna's attempts, Sonic sensed his disbelief.
However, the hedgehog was exhausted from the guilt surrounding this future and disregarded Knuckles. "Well, what were you saying earlier, about me teaming up everyone? Why wouldn't that work?"
"Sonic, first of all, a whole army was incapable of stopping Dice; how could six people change anything? Second, Tails and Amy refuse to help Shadow, Dice, or me. Thirdly, if we were a team, Eggman could easily take over Dice again and kill us all."
"So, Dice is the one who destroyed Station Square!" Sonic exclaimed.
"We have already been through this Sonic. It wasn't her fault."
"Yes, I know that. However, none of you people have come around and just said it out loud." Sonic remarked. Then, he again, blurted out the obvious, trying to feel the words which said so much, "Dice destroyed Station Square, as well as hundreds of worlds."
"...and people," Knuckles added, closing his eyes.
"There is no time for this, Knuckles. They are gone."
"I realize that. However, you were not there; you couldn't possibly understand." There was an extended silence. Sonic was pondering how to respond. He attempted to fathom exactly what Knuckles might have experienced but stopped.
"You're right. I wasn't, and I couldn't. However, I am a little confused. If you are so mortified by this whole thing, how come you don't hate Dice with every fiber of your being?"
"It wasn't her fault. She is just a casualty like everyone else."
"I see. Well, what is stopping her from destroying something again?"
"In reality, nothing. However, Eggman doesn't need her anymore." Sonic raised his eyebrow in interest. Knuckles continued, "He got his wish for world domination. So, when it was completed, the master emerald returned Dice to normal."
"Normal? What about her creepy red-eyed alter ego? Also, that doesn't make sense; you said Eggman could regain control of her at any time."
"Well, Dice hasn't fully explained it to me. Whenever I bring up the subject, she hastily stops me, or ignores the questions entirely. All I know is that in order for Dice to properly use the chaos blade, she has to follow the master emerald's orders. Whenever she goes into battle, she becomes a relentless killing machine because the emerald tells her to. However, I really don't know any details to answer your question. Dice doesn't like to talk about it. I have a feeling Shadow knows, but he doesn't talk either."
"Oh right, Shadow!" Sonic leaped up, infuriated for not remembering Dice's request. "Did you figure out what that rock was for?"
"No, sorry. I have no idea what Shadow would use it for. It's just a rock." Knuckles handed the stone to Sonic, who was resonating with annoyance.
"I knew it! She tricked me into leaving her! What is that no-good double-crossing freak's problem!?" The infuriated hedgehog hurled the clod across the ground, splitting it into several pieces. Sonic blushed, "Oops."
"Smart, hedgehog. I give you one simple task and then you go and destroy the cargo," Dice retorted, as Sonic tripped back in shock. "I am a freak now, am I?"
"How did you get here so fast!?"
"What do you mean? It took me two days to arrive here." Dice eyed him suspiciously, while Knuckles smirked.
"Sonic, you were asleep for about that long," Knuckles stated in response to Sonic's confused expression.
"Sonic?" Dice pondered, "That is your name?!" She paced around the hedgehog meticulously. "Well, I suppose that answers how you are so fast..." Her voice trailed off, in thought. However, she paused, looking nervous. She shook it off and added, "But Sonic is dead. I don't understand."
The hedgehog, sweating, shook his hands in disagreement. "No, no! I am not Sonic the hedgehog! Um, you see I am a, uh, spy from another world controlled by Eggman. I am just going by the alias of Sonic so that no one is suspicious of me. It's just... I didn't realize he was dead for sixteen years. That is why my alias doesn't make sense," Sonic smiled nervously, as Dice observed his suspicious behavior.
"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. Dice did not trust Sonic's pathetic explanation, but wanted to hear that he was not the legendary hedgehog and thus decided to believe it. She strolled to the severed rock, inspecting the damage.
Meanwhile, Knuckles squinted at the peculiar hedgehog. They both switched glances and Sonic silently mouthed, "Later." Knuckles raised his eyebrow, slowly shaking his head.
"Did you really have to smash this thing?" Dice rhetorically asked, snatching all the pieces. "Knuckles, can't you keep an eye on this hedgehog for two minutes?" The echidna smirked at Sonic, who stood behind Dice. "You two are such children: just because you can't figure something out doesn't mean you destroy it."
"But, it is just a rock," Sonic demanded, "And you said Shadow was going to be here. You lied about the whole thing so that I would leave you! Oh, that reminds me, the last time I saw you, you were about to die. How in hell are you completely healed?" Dice angrily twisted around, staring at Sonic.
"First of all, if you had not delayed me so much, then Shadow would not have impatiently left." She declared, outraged. Turning to see the broken portions in her hands, Dice began to piece the rock together and continued, "Second, it is none of your business. All you do is interrogate. I should never have told you anything in the first place, Mr. Spy. Why should I tell you how I healed myself?" Once together, Dice fingered the slab and compressed it at certain points. "Thirdly, I never told you a single lie. It is not a rock, you imbecile!" Suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the object. It spread out into a thin sheet of green light. "It produces a 3-D map layout of Eggman's base." Dice fingered the machine, making a chart appear. However, the map quickly flickered and disappeared. "But you destroyed the circuitry inside. You idiot, it was designed to look like a rock so that no one would think of stealing it. This is of no use to Shadow now. I am gonna have to help him at the base in person." Rising to her feet, Dice nervously rubbed the back of her neck.
"And the problem with that is?" Sonic asked.
"Eggman could order Dice to kill Shadow, and she wouldn't be able to stop herself," Knuckles casually answered.
"Oh!" Sonic exclaimed in understanding, "Well, Knuckles and I can come with you." Knuckles nodded.
A low laugh came from Dice. "Very funny, hedgehog. Seriously though, I have to get to Shadow. Later." She sped away, leaving a plume of dust. Knuckles coughed, as Sonic grabbed Knuckles' arm and ran after Dice. The immense wind caused from Sonic's speed hurt Knuckles' fur.
"Hey!"
"We can't afford to lose her!" Sonic proclaimed.
A/N: Thanks, yet again, for reading my story and chapter 11! ...Wow, I am on chapter 11. Oh, and thank you all for reviewing. The more reviews, the more I am fueled to write more chapters and thus post sooner.