Disclaimer: I own Fistika, the Ultimate Weapon and Snipe. Celestial the Hedgird owns Yang and Lamont-the-ultimate owns Lamont. Of course, the Lamont dude doesn't seem to be reading anymore, so I can pretend he's mine! Ha ha ha ha ha! Or not. Everyone else belongs to Sega and Sonic Team.
Fistika ran down the corridors as fast as he could possibly go. All stealth forgotten, his mind determined on one thing, to be the one to kill Knuckles. Guards swamped out everywhere, shooting Fistika as he passed. The bullets passed straight through Fistika's water like complexion. The Echidna didn't even bother stopping to deal with any of the soldiers. He turned a corner, almost running in to the guards blocking the way.
"I do not have time for this!" Fistika angrily muttered. In one swift movement of his elastic like arm he caused all the soldiers to fall flat on there faces. Fistika continued running, seemingly oblivious to the soldiers he ran over or the other soldiers shooting at him. He was getting close to his target. The alarm was continually blaring out, but he didn't care. In the distance he could see a black hedgehog standing in front of a group of guards, Knuckles at the hedgehog's feet. "He's mine!" Fistika shouted, almost involuntarily.
Shadow turned to see a blue Echidna rising a knife and running straight at him. Shadow squinted slightly.
"Fistika?" Shadow barley recognised the mad man which had levitated Station Square, probably due to his Chaos energy skin. Shadow had to temporarily stop shouting at the soldiers to deal with the oncoming threat. Fistika continued to run forwards, but at the same time he was moving towards the left wall. Fistika dug his spiked knuckles in to the wall. He pushed upwards. He let go of the wall and went flying above Shadow's head. As soon as he was above Knuckles he grinned. Knuckles opened his eyes and looked at Fistika with anger written all over his face.
"You!" Knuckles shouted with all his strength. Fistika looked over at one of the soldiers.
"Just add this to my list of felonies." Fistika threw the knife straight at Knuckles forehead. Fistika flew over the group of guards and landed on his feet. For a while he didn't move. The smile slowly began to fade of his face. He turned around. The guards obscured his view, half had pointed there guns at him, while the other half were looking at something. "Did I get him?" Questioned Fistika, a look of confusion on his face. There was no sign that any death had just happened. The Soldiers ignored his question.
"Fistika, you are being arrested..." One of the soldiers started. Fistika sighed.
"Oh please." Fistika liquefied and passed underneath the soldiers feet. He de-liquefied just behind Shadow. Fistika immediately pushed past Shadow to look at Knuckles. Had he got his revenge or not? He had to know! Before him lay Knuckles, Rouge crying by his side, Amy crouched by him as well, Knife directly between his eyes. Fistika smiled again. "Sleep tight Echidna." Fistika turned to leave, when he heard a cough come out of Knuckles. He slowly turned around.
"Rouge..." Knuckles voice was barley a whisper. Rouge held Knuckles closer, as if that would save him. "...goodbye..." Knuckles coughed up blood, let a tear escape his eye, then died. Fistika no longer smiled, but didn't look unhappy. Shadow turned around and grabbed Fistika by the throat. Shadow couldn't think of anything to say, but Fistika easily guessed what he was thinking.
"When you've killed as many as I have, you realise how little a deal it truly is." Fistika turned to water in Shadow's hands and slivered off.
Rouge looked down at Knuckles lifeless body, unable to digest what had happened. Knuckles had died? No. No. here thoughts wouldn't agree or make sense. She was oblivious to the world around her. She didn't feel the tranquilliser going into the back of her neck. She barley noticed as she became tired and blacked out.
Shadow couldn't go after Fistika thanks to the many guns turned on him. A soldier ran to the group, he was holding a tranquilliser gun.
"What the heck?" The soldier exclaimed.
"We've had a causality, tranquillise the three still alive and dispose of the body." Shadow's mouth opened ajar, they had just seen a living being killed, and that's all they had to say about it. Feelings began turning in Shadow. Feelings he hadn't felt for a long time. Feelings he barley could remember. The feelings of revenge. The soldier fired a tranquilliser into the back of Rouge and Amy's neck. He turned his sights on Shadow, but was surprised to see him missing. A gloved hand sprang out and bent the gun. The Soldier turned, just to miss Shadow. The Soldiers all looked around, unsure where Shadow had gone. One by one a black, gloved hand sprang out and either bent or stole the Soldiers gun. When the entire group was defenceless, Shadow walked out of the Shadows (interesting sentence that). He looked different than a minute ago. His physical form was still the same, except his eyes. His eyes showed anger, misplaced determination, madness. Just like the eyes of Professor Gerald.
Sonic was becoming restless, running around the cell in circles. He was not meant to be locked up, that was certain. Tails was messing with Omega's circuitry and Nack, who had been caught while trying to flee, was muttering angrily to himself in the corner. The three stopped what they were doing as a huge explosion erupted from some unknown location.
"What was that?" Sonic shouted in surprise.
"It was an explosion you idiot." Nack replied. It comment was ignored and the other three prisoners ran to the bars (the bars of the cell that is, there wasn't a pub in the prison) in an attempt to see what was going on. It was from a different direction the Snipe made his appearance.
"Pathetic, still haven't made your way out?" Snipe criticised. Nack rolled his eyes.
"Well looks who's here! The man who would kidnap his own son!" Nack shouted at Snipe.
"Don't get smart with me!" Snipe warned his son.
"No worries there." Tails muttered under his breath. A second explosion occurred.
"What in tarnations?" Snipe exclaimed.
"Dad? Did you have something to say?" Nack turned his dad's attention back to him.
"Well, I knew you weren't man enough to escape, and I couldn't let my son rot in jail, no matter how wussy he is." Snipe took a key card out of his pocket, walked up to the lock, and unlocked it. The second the door was opened Sonic rushed towards the direction of the explosions.
"Wait up Sonic!" Tails called out, running after him. Omega decided to follow as well. Nack came out last and turned to his dad.
"Can you please just choose a side to be on!" Nack asked.
"Shut up." Snipe simply replied.
Sonic came to a halt in front of a group of unconscious G.U.N soldiers. A little in front of them was Rouge and Amy, both knocked out. Sonic waded through the unconscious soldiers towards his friends. He noticed the tranquilliser in there necks. What had happened? Sonic then noticed Knuckles. Sonic gently pulled the knife out of his old friends head.
"Knuckles..." Sonic muttered sadly. He couldn't believe what he had just found. One of his oldest friends, killed. Tails and Omega ran up next to Sonic. Tails gasped.
"Sonic! Is he..." Tails gulped. Sonic nodded sadly. Tails broke down into tears. Omega remained silent. Sonic turned away. He whipped a small tear away. It was in that moment that Sonic realised the perils that truly existed in what he was always leading his friends into. He had always known that someone may die in the progress of saving the world, but he never truly believed it would happen. It had never come into his mind that anything would happen to his friends, especially one as capable to defend himself as Knuckles. Sonic turned back to his old friend and rival and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Sleep easy Knuxs." Sonic stood. An explosion erupted from farther down the corridor. Sonic turned in the direction. "That must be who did this." Sonic shouted. He turned to Tails and Omega. "Omega, you come with me. Tails, you get out of here!" Sonic ordered. Tails whipped his eyes and nose. He nodded. Sonic sighed deeply, then sped off.
Fistika rose his arm over his eyes as the two fighting hedgehogs erupted in another explosion of power. The Ultimate Weapon threw a punch at Shadow, who took the attack without as much as a care. The Ultimate Weapon grabbed Shadow and threw him into the ground. Shadow jumped back at him and fired Chaos spears. The attack cut into the Ultimate Weapon's skin.
"What is with this guy?" The Ultimate Weapon shouted. "How the heck did he get this strong?" Shadow knocked the Ultimate Weapon to the ground.
"Revenge. The strongest motivation known. To revenge Knuckles he have to kill me, and if that means beating you to a pulp, he will do it." Fistika dodged the Ultimate Weapon as he was knocked down. "Now, stop talking and rid me of this pest!" The Ultimate Weapon, rather reluctantly, followed the order and returned to pummelling Shadow. Fistika watched the two man made hedgehog's fighting. He considered making an escape now, while he had the chance, but this was more fun to watch, besides, if the Ultimate Weapon lost, he could just liquefy and easily escape.
"Fistika!" A voice shouted from down the corridor. Fistika turned to see Sonic running towards him. " I should have known." before Fistika could do anything, Sonic spin attacked him in the chest. Fistika stumbled backwards, holding his chest.
"Have I angered the entire hedgehog race today or something?" Grumbled Fistika. He turned to the Ultimate Weapon. He couldn't ask for help from him as he was to involved in fighting Shadow. He turned back to Sonic. "So what brings you here?" Sonic grabbed Fistika by the neck. "Why always the neck?" Fistika muttered.
"You killed Knuckles, didn't you!" Sonic tightened his grasp slightly. Fistika smiled, which angered Sonic even more.
"Anger. The mask of sadness. Nice to see everyone around here puts it on." Fistika laughed cruelly. "Yes, I killed Knuckles. What are you going to do about it?" Sonic remained silent. "Kill me?" Sonic, possibly for the first time ever, was left speechless. Fistika pushed Sonic off him. "You, my friend, are to weak minded to exact any kind of revenge"
"He may be..." Shadow landed on Fistika. He had a hand on Fistika's throat and another hand curled into a fist.
"What happened to the Ultimate Weapon?" Fistika looked around. He saw the Ultimate Weapon gasping for breath, holding his chest. "Dang, I hate motivation." Fistika muttered. Shadow punch Fistika's face in at an alarming rate. After a mere ten seconds of the pummelling Fistika's face was barley recognisable.
"That's enough Shadow." Sonic walked up besides him. Shadow turned to Sonic.
"No. It isn't." Shadow rose his fist.
"Shadow! You're going to kill him"
"That's the plan"
"Shadow?" Sonic saw the madness in Shadow's eyes. "No..." Shadow whacked Sonic onto the ground.
"Gerald is right! Humanity is a mistake. First the Echidna, next Amy, you all live on death, unless of course it is a just death." Shadow sounded like he was going to be sick.
"Did he say Gerald is right? Plus his sudden hatred for all... Gerald isn't dead!" Fistika suddenly blurted out. Sonic put this new information together with the fact Shadow was just called to see Prisal.
"Prisal is Gerald, isn't he?" Sonic asked. Fistika smiled.
"I've heard what I want to. Bye!" Fistika liquefied and slivered off. Shadow clenched his fists.
"Fistika has escaped. It will not matter soon." Shadow walked away. Sonic just stood there and watched Shadow walk away. A combination of Knuckles death, the reaction to the death, the knowledge of Amy's coming death and his meetings with Gerald had sent Shadow down the same path Gerald had took. The path of insanity.
Authors note: I know I didn't go into everyone's feelings about Knuckles death in great depth, that was done on purpose to make a point. I'll do it more next chapter.