Hmph. No one reads this story, apparently.
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Well, too bad! I'm updating anyway so THERE!
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Disclaimer: Sonic not owned here
Claimer: Quill and Minastron are mine
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The Master Emerald blew apart with the force of a small atomic bomb, firing its pieces like deadly shrapnel and each piece going outwards at a speed greater than Mach One. The sonic boom this resulted in blew all the machinery located directly on the high platform into smithereens. Some nearby trees fell over, or were ripped up and also tossed into the air.
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The machinery on the ground was mostly wrecked by the blast and then by falling debris, but whether by luck or by some last favor the Emerald gave to its guardian Knuckles was unharmed.
The Echidna was a little too busy recovering to take notice of this.
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Right at that very moment, Knuckles felt worse then he had ever felt in his entire life. His head swam, his legs and arms felt like rubber noodles, and any movement sent his stomach spiraling with nausea. Even though he couldn't see straight, though, the sense of failure he was feeling made his physical discomforts seem like nothing at all.
The Master Emerald was destroyed, and he hadn't been able to stop it. Some guardian he was!
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Even as he lay there, reeling dizzying in both anger and pain, Minastron walked past him and went up the stairs, very casually. Behind his little reinforced barrier the scientist had been perfectly safe, and now he was examining the top platform, a small grabbing device in hand.
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"There we are!" the human said, delighted, and used the machine to grab something out of the small hole where the Master Emerald usually sat, "At last! The source of infinite energy is mine! The power core of the Master Emerald is mine! I am the greatest genius in the world! Now I - AUGH!"
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Weak as he was, Knuckles still managed to look up when he heard the human scream. The reason was soon very obvious: little Quill was currently latched onto the scientist's head and sinking his small claws and little fangs into the human's face.
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"GET OFF ME, YOU FILTHY LITTLE RAT!" shrieked Minastron as he held whatever he had picked up with the grabbing machine away, trying to bat Quill off with his other hand.
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Undeterred, the child pummeled Minastron's head with his wings as he moved towards the hand holding the object. There was a loud squealing screech from the human when Quill sank his fangs into the wrist, causing the scientist to involuntarily toss the object into the air. Knuckles had gotten up again and was able to see clearly as Quill swooped down and deftly snatched the item out of the air with his jaws.
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The child was low enough that the Echidna could see exactly what he was holding. Roughly egg-shaped, a dull greenish color and only just barely glowing, it was a piece of the Master Emerald.
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"If that is the power core…of course! That has to be the center of the Master Emerald!" Knuckles exclaimed.
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Quill fluttered lower, clearly wondering what he should do now. Knuckles had made no secret about his protectiveness of the Master Emerald, and the child's first inclination was to return the piece to its rightful guardian.
"That piece is MINE!" howled the enraged Minastron as he stumbled down the stairs.
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The robots that were undamaged enough to respond abruptly rose and headed for Quill. Some could fly, thanks to rocket packs on their backs, and the child flapped up higher in an attempt to avoid them.
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Adrenalin surged through his veins, giving Knuckles just enough of an energy boost to leapt up after the robots in the air. One he broke in half on the way up, and he landed on the one nearest Quill and smashed into pieces it midair.
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For a few seconds after this, he and Quill were high overhead both the island and the miniature army that had invaded it. In those seconds, Knuckles came to a very radical decision. Radical for himself, at least.
"Quill, take that piece and fly. Fly away! Find someplace to hide, as far as you can go!"
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The child shook his head, not wanting to just fly away and leave Knuckles alone with the robots and the crazed human scientist below.
0-"I'll take care of these, and then I'll come find you," Knuckles said, his tone of voice urgent and brooking no argument, "Until then you need to take care of the Master Emerald's core for me. Hide it, and guard it! I'm depending on you!"
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Very reluctantly, the child nodded, unable to speak with his mouth full of the Master Emerald piece. Quill turned and began flapping upwards, vanishing into a nearby cloudbank. Knuckles turned his attention back to the robots below.
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There were six more that had working rocket packs. They'd be able to catch up with Quill…if they weren't taken care of. And unfortunately for them, Knuckles now had a LOT of frustration to work out.
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The six were smashed in half before Knuckles let himself drop to the ground, panting. Minastron and over a dozen of the non-flying robots surrounded him. The human was sneering.
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"Your little pet rat might have escaped for now, but I'll soon catch up to him again. And as for you, I should have just killed you from the start. A mistake which I will correct now."
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The robots raised their arms up, ready to smash the Echidna underneath their heavy metal limbs. Adrenaline rush subsiding, Knuckles was practically falling over by this point, and already had one hand on the ground to brace himself with.
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That was how he noticed the first weak tremors. Knuckles smirked.
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"That wasn't the only mistake you've made today, human," the Echidna said with a sudden, sharp bark of laughter, "Or, did it never really occur to you what power holds this island up?"
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Minastron opened his mouth to say something, hesitated, and then glanced over towards the empty platform. The ground rumbled loudly as the last part of the Master Emerald's energy in the island was used up.
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Then Angel Island plummeted downwards, dropping out of the sky, falling like a rock. A really, really BIG rock.