CHAPTER 5

When the rumbling finally stopped Knuckles sat up and found Tikal laying across his chest. She seemed to be unconcious. Or was she.........dead?
"Tikal!" Knuckles exclaimed shaking her, "please wake up!"

Tikal moaned and opened one eye. "Knuckles," she said drouzily, "what happened?"

"I don't know," Knuckles said, "but I think Angel Island fell on top of something."

"Like what?" she wanted to know.

"I'm not sure," he replied truthfully.

"We'd better check," she suggested.

Knuckles agreed it was a good idea.

The two echidnas headed to the edge of the island.

When they arrived they looked down. Tikal gasped and Knuckles felt like laughing.

The island had landed on top of the building leading into Twinkle Park in Station Square. The building was completely flattened. It was just lucky for them the park had been closed all day.

"Well," he said chuckling sheepishly, "it looks like we were able to avoid that one."

Tikal didn't think it was funny at all. She noticed how strange and deserted the city looked, as if everyone had gone on vacation.

Where had everyone gone?

Knuckles must have noticed too, by the way he stared at the empty steet. "Come on," he finally said taking her hand, "let's go."

"Are you sure it's safe?" she asked him.

Knuckles nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

The two jumped down.

The instant they landed on the street Knuckles knelt down and closed his eyes in consentration.

"What is it?" she asked looking at him.

"There's an Emerald shard near," he said his grip tightening on her hand, "many shards to be exact. Let's go."

They ran down the street.

"Where are we going?" Tikal wanted to know.

"I sense some shards over here somewhere," Knuckles answered as they ran down the street away from the train station.

He came to a stop in front of a building with a neon sign. "They're in there," he said pointing.

Tikal looked up. The huge sign boasted CASINOPOLIS. "I don't know," she said uncertainly, "are you sure they're in there?"
Knuckles nodded. "Positive."

He practically drug her into the building.

The moment they stepped inside Knuckles noticed that this place, like the rest of the city, seemed deserted. I wonder where everyone is, Tikal thought looking around and feeling nervous, I have a bad feeling about this.

Knuckles in the meantime had been searching the game rooms for the shards he sensed. He'd found about seven so far on the top floor and didn't sense anymore. Just as he was about to head back down to where Tikal was waiting the ship he was standing on crashed through the floor.

The male echidna jumped out of the ship and glided out of the way just in time. The ship slammed onto the bottom floor and broke into peices.

"Knuckles!" he heard Tikal scream.

"I'm okay!" he called from the Sonic statue he'd grabbed onto.

Tikal looked up. She saw him holding onto the side of the statue. She sighed in relief.

Suddenly the statue started to tumble. Knuckles couldn't jump off in time and fell with it. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as the thing crashed to the floor.

BOOM!

A huge choking cloud of dust rose up and Tikal coughed.

"Knuckles!" she shouted pushing through the cloud toward the fallen statue. "KNUCKLES!"

She found him under a broken piece of the statue. Groaning she pulled the giant piece of metal off of him then turned him over.

Tikal slapped his cheeks. "Knuckles," she said. When he didn't respond she screamed. "KNUCKLES!" and slapped his cheeks even harder.

He gasped.

When she heard that she sighed in relief and hugged him. "Oh I'm so gald you're all right," she excclaimed, "I thought you were dead!"

"Hey, calm down," he said pulling her away from him. "I'm all right but I think we'd better get out of here. This place is dangerous."

Tikal agreed.

Knuckles took her hand and they left.

When they were back out on the street Tikal asked. "Now where?"

"I don't know," he replied, "I don't sense anymore here. I guess we'll have to walk around a little."

Tikal thought that was a good idea and agreed. Maybe while they walked they would run into Chaos.

As they began to walk Knuckles suddenly heard a noise and put out his arm. "Shh!" he hissed.

Tikal stopped in her tracks. "What is it?" she asked.

"Listen," he instructed.

Tikal listened carefully. She heard it too.. the sound of footsteps.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Knuckles ordered.

A figure jumped in front of them. It stood up and looked at them with a fermiler grin.

Sonic the hedgehog.

"Hey Knuckles," the blue hedgehog said.

"Hello Sonic," Knuckles said causiously dredding what the hedgehog might say next.

Sonic noticed Tikal. "Hey, how did you get out of your Emerald?" he asked.

Tikal looked away feeling ashamed.

"That's not very nice," Knuckles growled.

"All I said was-"

"Just leave her alone!" the male echinda shouted, "You should be ashamed of yourself! Gettting all over her because she's no longer a spirit!"

"Okay okay," Sonic said backing down," sorry."

"You'd better be!"

"Please don't fight," Tikal pleaded clasping her hands in front of her, "I don't like it when people fight."

"Sorry," Knuckles said patting her shoulder, "I didn't mean it. It's just that Sonic gets annoying sometimes."

"Look who's talking," Sonic cut in.

"Shut up!" Knuckles shouted clenching his fists and facing the blue hedgehog.

"Make me!" Sonic challenged.

Tikal tuned out the rest of the argument. She noticed a movement around a corner. Is that Chaos? she thought, I must find out.

Without a word she went after the movement.

"Look Sonic," Knuckles said, "I don't have time for this. I have to find the Master Emerald shards."

"What for?" Sonic asked.

"The Master Emerald is broken."

"How?"

"I broke it."

"Why? Wait don't tell me Rouge tried to steal it again."

"No, I broke it because....."

"Because why?" Sonic wanted to know.

"I had to release Tikal!" the male echidna blurted, "Sonic she's become her old self again! I think one of those storms that blew in recently woke her spirit. It gave her back her body. She's real!"

"But can still vanish," Sonic said.

"What is that suppost to mean?" Knuckles demanded giving the hedghog a Look.

"See for yourself," Sonic said pointing.

Knuckles looked behind himself. The female echidna was gone.

"Where did she go?" Knuckles asked looking around.

"Don't ask me," Sonic said, "you're the one always loosing things."

"We have to find her!" Knuckles yelled grabbing Sonic's arms and shaking him, "She doesn't know her way around. Something might happen to her!"

Tikal kept following the movement until she was back on Main Street. After that it seemed that whatever it was had vanished.

That's funny, she thought looking around, I wonder where it went.

Suddenly a huge hand came out of no where!

Tikal screamed and jumped backwards. She landed on her back.

She looked up.

Chaos Zero now Chaos Two stood over her.

"Chaos!" she shrieked backing away, "W-what-?!"
Chaos Two sprang at her. It jumped into the air and tried to get at her with it's fists again.

"No! NO! NO!" she screamed rolling over and over, dodging the arms, "CHAOS IT'S ME TIKAL!"
Chaos didn't seem to hear her. It turned into its water form and went after her.

The female echidna scrambled to her feet and started running.

Someone knocked her over. She looked up. It was Sonic.

"Sonic!" she exclaimed.

A scream split the air.

Tikal looked toward Chaos. He had Knuckles pinned to the street with its huge hands.

"Knuckles!" she screamed, trying to rush over to help him.

Sonic grabbed her arm.

"Don't!" he shouted.

"Sonic!" Knuckles choked grabbing at the hand holding him down by the throat. "GET TIKAL OUT OF HERE!"

Sonic didn't ask any questions. He grabbed her up and ran down the street.

"But... Knuckles," she said.

"He'll be fine," Sonic said even though his voice betrayed his doubt, "he can take care of himself."

Tikal didn't believe that for a second.

Suddenly another earsplitting scream filled the air.

"Knuckles!" she screamed beginning to struggle. "Put me down! Something has happened to Knuckles!"

"No way," Sonic said.

With that Tikal knew she had to do something she'd regret.

"Forgive me," she said. Then she punched him in the face.

Sonic stumbled and fell. Tikal freed herself from his grip and ran back to where they'd left the male echidna.

It took awhile for Sonic to regain his bearings. By the time he did she was gone. "Man," he said rubbing the left side of his face, "for a peaceful princess she sure hits hard!"

When she arrived back to the place where they'd left Knuckles she discovered Chaos Two to be gone.

But where is Knuckles? she asked herself.

Then she saw him.

"Knuckles!" she exclaimed running over to him.

He was lying on the ground his face in the pavement. His one arm was over his head as if for protection. His other arm lay next to him but it looked slightly twisted.

No please, she thought as she knelt down.

She turned him over.

A huge blue bruize was showing on his chest. His face looked like it had been cut with wires.

What did he do to you? she thought.

She shook him. "Knuckles! Knuckles wake up!" she screamed.

He moaned and opened his eyes.

"Tikal!" he exclaiemd, "what are you doing here? I told you to run."

"I couldn't leave you here," she said resting his head in her lap, "Don't move your right arm, it looks broken."

By then Sonic had arrived. Knuckles noticed the hedgehog's one eye looked slightly swollen. "Tikal, that wasn't very nice of you to....." Sonic noticed Knuckles.

"Looks like Chaos did a number on you."

Before Knuckles could reply to the stupid remark Tikal said, "Sonic, please find something I can wrap Knuckles' arm up in. It's badly sprained and it needs a splint."

"Huh?" Sonic said.

"Just do it!" she ordered not in the mood to be nice.

Sonic stared at her surprised by her tone of voice. "Okay okay," he said finally, "whatever you say princess."

"Don't call me that!" she said.

"All right," he said, "I'll just go."

Sonic ran off to find a first-aid-kit.

Tikal helped Knuckles into a sitting position. "That was very brave of you Knuckles, going after Chaos like that to save me," she said.

"It wasn't anything really," he said shrugging, "I couldn't let him kill you."

"But why did he attack me?" she said, "he acted as if he didn't even know who I was. I wonder what's wrong with him."

Knuckles didn't answer. He couldn't. He didn't understand it either.

It probably has something to do with Eggman though, he thought.

By that time Sonic had arrived with a first-aid-kit. Tikal thanked him, took it, and began to wrap Knuckles arm up in a sling.

"How's you learn to do that?" Sonic asked as he watched her.

"My grandmother taught me," she said simply.

"It's a good thing she did," Knuckles said.

In a few minutes the red echidna's arm was up in a sling. "You won't be able to use it for a while," she explained, "so don't abuse it. If you do it might get worse."

Knuckles wasn't about to disobey. There was no way he was going to let the sprain get worse.

"Now what are we going to do?" Sonic asked after awhile.

"What are you taling about?" Tikal asked.

"I'm talking about Chaos," the male hedgehog replied, "if Eggman is using him to take over the world again........"

His voice trailed off.

"We are in major trouble," Knuckles finished for him.

Tikal said nothing. Chaos was her best friend. She didn't even want to think about it!