Kj: Heh. Okay, I'll clear up Knuckles' promise in this chapter for you ;)
FriedBrickWall: Glad to hear it :P (Knuckles: Me too; at least Sonic's the one under attack now!)
Saffra: (evil grin) Hey, what kind of writer would I be if I didn't have cliffhangers:P
Samantha27: (jaw drops) Wow, that's gotta be the longest review I've ever had :O And yeah, I cheered when Tails whacked Sonic as well; when it happened I just sat back and said, "OH yeah!" :P Sonic's attitude towards Tails...yeah, I think he's only acting that way because he's past caring. He didn't feel like that before falling, that's for sure ;) I think there's even an unselfish motive behind acting like that; he doesn't want Tails or Knuckles to end up in the same situation as him, and so he'll say anything to get rid of them. As for how Tails is going to end up...you'll have to keep reading ;)
Treasurehunter: (blushes purple) Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter...is this update soon enough for you:P
BlueCheetah: (grins) Thanks. I love the idea of a Tails-Knuckles team...the sequels are kind of shaping up to be along those lines as well ;)
Ryopon: Thanks for the review; I'm pleased you're enjoying it :D
PyroHedgehog4ever: It's good to know I'm not the only one to lose the hits :( Wonder what caused it? Anyways, as requested – and since my muse of professional writings has taken a temporary leave of absence (I gotta get a beeper for her) – I have indeed written more ;)
Awdures: (grins) Yeah, I know what you mean; there's nothing more frustrating than getting into a story, getting as far as it's got and finding that it was last updated about six months ago ;) I'm glad you're enjoying it as well :)
Guardian's Log no. 11468
Well, that went about as well as I expected.
Actually, it was a hell of a lot worse. I don't usually have time for such luxuries, but I really did feel bad for poor Tails. Basically, Sonic laid into him and blamed him for everything...something which I admit I hadn't foreseen. Tails left him with a bruise, though. I shouldn't find pleasure in that, but I do.
We're also in some really deep crap here. I'm in this small chamber and...well, I don't know where Tails is, but by the Master Emerald, I intend to find out! On the subject of Tails, I can't believe he wanted me to make that promise. If we were outnumbered and outgunned, he wanted me to 'take care' of him and I know damn well what that means; he wanted me to kill him before Robotnik had a chance to torture or roboticise him. I told him that if it came to that, I'd 'take care' of us both. Me and my big mouth.
On the other hand, I've no idea where they took the kid, so there's nothing holding me to that. But when I get out, if I find Tails is as beaten and defeated as Sonic, I'll keep that promise to him. If, by some miracle, we manage to escape, he'll have to come back with me. Like I told Sonic, I can't very well abandon him. Especially not now.
--Knuckles the Echidna
My Memoirs by Me
How long since I've written in this thing? Two months? Three? Robotnik let me keep it, after having a long laugh at everything written inside. He found the page that Knuckles ripped out in the Casino Zones and...well, he wasn't happy about it. He thought it was some kind of attack plan that I'd ripped out before being transported here.
Damn Knuckles. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised – the guy's incurably stubborn, after all – but I did NOT want to see Tails again! Or...no, that's not true, I did. I didn't want him to see me, not like this. The shock and – worse – the pity in his expression was too much.
Did I mean everything I said to him? I don't know and that's the truth. I wouldn't say it again, so I guess that's some indication. And no, I'm not just saying that because the kid whacked me one! I never knew he had a backhand like that.
Do I feel guilty? No. That sounds terrible, I know, but the truth is I don't feel much of anything anymore. It's all very well for Tails to say he'd never become like me in my situation; he can't know that until he's been there. I used to think I'd always beat Robotnik, and now look at me.
Writing this hurts too much. I have to stop now before I pass out. Maybe I'll write more later.
--Sonic the Hedgehog
Dear Diary
I want Knuckles. I'm scared and I want Knuckles. There. I said it. Or wrote it, or whatever. I never thought I would, but I have. Knuckles helped me out when Sonic went over the rails.
I met Sonic again. He blames me for everything that's happened. Knuckles was right; he's changed. He tried to warn me but I didn't believe him. I've never thought of Sonic giving up before.
I can't believe Knuckles said that about me though. I wonder if he really would trust me with his life? Probably; he doesn't say stuff like that lightly. That's scary when you think about it, and Sonic's right; what if I screw up with Knuckles like I did with Sonic? Knuckles keeps saying it's not my fault, but he's probably only saying that to make me feel better.
I was grabbed and tossed in here by a robot. This place is dark and I'm curled up and it's too cramped to move; I can barely manage to write this. I don't know what they did with Knuckles. They hit him on the back of the head and he collapsed but I don't know where they took him after that. I know if he can he'll help me, but he might not be able to.
What's going to happen to me?
--Tails
Agony exploded in every nerve of Knuckles' body and the echidna groaned. He'd never experienced pain like this before, had no idea that so much pain existed in all the world, or that it could be crammed into one body. He lifted his head groggily and a white hot flare of pain shot down his left arm. Reaching out – he couldn't see a thing in this darkness – he touched his left hand gingerly with his right and the increase in pain almost made him black out.
Broken, he realised. Not only broken, but broken in about two or three places from the feel of it.
Slowly – because any sudden moves made his arm jolt unbearably – Knuckles felt around. His questing hand encountered nothing but the floor, which meant he hadn't been crammed into one of those crates. That much at least was a relief.
Where was he? More importantly, where was Tails?
Groaning again, the echidna slammed a clenched fist into the floor. Sonic had been right about one thing; they should have left while they'd had the chance. Except...except they hadn't really had that chance, had they? No. No, Robotnik had known they were there all along; he was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them.
Which is just as well, really, since you brought along enough stupidity for everyone. Right, Knuckles?
Carefully, moving as gingerly as he could, Knuckles managed to stagger to his feet, swearing when he tried to put weight on his left ankle.
Not broken, just sprained. That much at least was a blessing; he could limp fast enough if he had to.
Swaying slightly, Knuckles lurched forward until he reached a wall, which he leaned on, putting all his weight on his good arm as he tried to take stock of his injuries.
One arm, badly broken. One ankle, sprained. Cracked ribs, two, maybe three. One badly injured, possibly fractured collarbone. And the mother of all headaches. Knuckles turned to lean back against the wall and touched his skull lightly. His hand encountered a swollen, sticky lump and he winced.
Probably broke a few of my spines as well. There goes the gliding. Man, those bots must have really pounded on me after I was knocked out. What'd they do with the kid?
Searing, blinding light ignited in the echidna's vision and he jerked away convulsively, bringing his good arm up to cover his eyes. The sudden movement caused him to overbalance and he crashed down onto his side, jarring his broken arm. Black pain rocketed through his entire body, and now he had a split lip to add to his troubles. Knuckles coughed, spat blood and coughed again, then forced himself to look up, straight at a bulky, powerful-looking robot.
"Omega?" he said stupidly, then shook his head almost immediately, realising his mistake. No, not Omega, but the same kind of model.
"You are summoned to the central chamber," the robot informed him, then grabbed the echidna – fortunately not by the broken arm – and hauled him upright. Jerking away reflexively, Knuckles glowered at it.
"Keep your filthy pincers off me, or I'll tear them off and ram 'em up your ass sideways!"
The robot didn't react in any way other than to seize him again in a grip so tight that the echidna felt his extremities start to tingle, then pulled him forward so roughly that Knuckles almost fell again.
"You are summoned to the central chamber," the robot repeated as it pulled him along, either not registering the echidna's limp or refusing to make allowances for it. "The doctor wishes to see you."
"Robotnik?" Knuckles picked up the pace until he was no longer being dragged. One chance...just let Robotnik blink once and he'd been in the departed shrines ten seconds before he knew he was dead. He'd probably die himself for the privilege, but it would be worth it. If he could rid Mobius of Robotnik once and for all, it would be worth it.
The echidna's thoughts of death and self-sacrifice lasted until they'd gone about a hundred yards, when three more robots fell in behind him, each one as heavily armed as the first. Knuckles grimaced. Now if he tried anything, he'd be dead before he'd twitched more than a couple of muscles.
The central chamber was vast, and – if the curvature of the walls and ceiling was anything to go by – egg-shaped. It was also bereft of everything except a black sphere in the middle, one which looked big enough to shelter an entire house. At the moment, however, it was sheltering Robotnik, who was perched on top of it – like a sparrow on an ostrich egg, the echidna thought. The image almost made him grin, but he swallowed the urge and settled for saying, "Where's Tails?"
Robotnik put on a hurt expression.
"Knuckles! You've been a guest in my home for hours and you won't even say hello?"
"Where is he?" Knuckles repeated levelly, determined not to rise; a large chunk of echidna honour centred around the concept of honouring both your guests and your host, and implying that you didn't was a serious insult in echidna society, something Knuckles was sure Robotnik already knew.
"The little pest tried to smash some of my most expensive robots. Do you realise how hard it is to get insurance on my creations? Especially given the rate you two and Sonic tend to plough through them. I understand several Mobian insurance companies now have a Sonic Enemy policy; if you're an enemy of the blue freak, they won't touch you with a ten foot pointy stick."
"You want someone to jab you with a ten foot pointy stick, Robotnik, I'll be happy to oblige. Where's Tails?"
"Well, really, I couldn't have him destroying everything I've worked so hard to build, could I? I took certain, ah, steps to prevent that happening."
A combination of fear and anger surged through the echidna and he managed to stand up surprisingly straight.
"If you've laid so much as a finger on him, I swear I'll—"
"Oh, you'll do no such thing." Robotnik steepled his fingers and regarded Knuckles over the tips. "Haven't you figured it out yet, Knucklehead? I've won. Sonic's too broken to even contemplate rising against me, and you very kindly brought his little sidekick right into my lap. Not only that, you've given me yourself, which means that the Master Emerald is left completely unprotected. But don't worry, Knucklebrain. I'll take good care of it. And your little buddy too; I always wanted a fox-fur."
Fury blazed through Knuckles, burning away most of the pain, and he took a step forward.
"You dare," he snarled, the rage in his voice unnerving even himself.
"Oh, but I do dare. And once I'm finished with you, you'll beg for the same fate, Knucklehead."
"If you think I'm going to stoop to your level by resorting to name-calling, you're sadly mistaken," Knuckles informed him through clenched teeth and then added, "you bastard."
"Is that any way to speak to your master, Knuckles?"
"My what?" Knuckles said, his tone now deadly quiet.
"You heard me. You want to save the little fox cub? Submit now, or be destroyed."
"I am the Guardian of the Master Emerald, the master of Angel Island and the last of the echidnas." Knuckles' voice rang out clearly throughout the room. "I submit to no one."
"Shame," Robotnik sneered. "Ah well, I suppose Tails will understand. I doubt he'll blame you for choosing to save your own selfish pride over his life; after all, he probably knows you well enough by now. It's rather poetic in a pathetic sort of way, Knucklehead. The sullen loner, last survivor of a once great and proud race, finds himself developing a kind of affection and sense of responsibility towards the adopted little brother of his rival. What next? The once proud Knuckles, untouched by any lesser emotions, takes the poor little orphan under his wing and loses his pride and his reputation in one fell swoop, all to help the kid?"
Knuckles looked Robotnik squarely in the face.
"You got it in one," he said calmly, and was immensely gratified to notice the momentary discomfiture on the doctor's face. That bore out his theory; this conversation was either being recorded or transmitted directly to Tails, wherever he was.
Actually, now that he thought about it, was Tails an orphan? He'd always assumed so, but he didn't know that much about him.
"Where's Tails?" he said again.
"Aren't you more concerned about Sonic? He's the one you came to rescue, after all."
"He's the one Tails came to rescue. I just tagged along for the ride. Speaking of Tails, where are you keeping him?"
Robotnik sighed patiently.
"You really don't know how to take no for an answer, do you?"
"What, didn't Sonic tell you that?"
"No, but you mustn't condemn him for being reticent. He told me everything else. Of his own free will, I might add."
"He what?" Knuckles said, stunned. Sonic, a traitor? That hardly seemed possible. Even in the light of recent events, it hardly seemed possible.
"Oh yes. He told me all about your planned invasion of this fort." Robotnik shook his head sadly, clicking his tongue. "I haven't done anything recently to deserve such an unprovoked attack, so why come all this way?"
Knuckles took a long, deep breath.
"We...wanted to ask you something."
"Ask me something!" Now Robotnik appeared, as far as Knuckles could tell, genuinely astonished. "You came all this way and suffered all this just to ask me a question?"
"You're the one who caused that suffering, Robotnik."
"It's true that I had a little disagreement with Sonic, yes. But then, I saved his life and he repaid me by trying to kill me. It's not my fault he's such an ungrateful little wretch. Still, Knucklehead, I'll admit that you've got me curious. What could you possibly want to ask so badly?"
"What is the...that thing in the sky?" Knuckles demanded hoarsely. Robotnik smirked.
"Now come on. A good magician never tells his secrets."
There was a short pause.
"You don't know, do you?" Knuckles said, staring in disbelief.
A muscle twitched in Robotnik's bulbous cheek once or twice before he said, "Of course I know, Knucklehead. But don't expect me to tell you. Such scientific knowledge is far above your puny reasoning capabilities."
"Liar." Knuckles' voice was working on automatic, his brain racing.
It was all for nothing. Sonic's accident, the hunt...it was for nothing. Robotnik's not behind this; he's as clueless as we are.
"As you have been incredibly helpful to me, I'll pretend that you didn't say that."
"If this is about the time you lied about the Master Emerald—"
"Not at all. You told me about all the Chaos Emeralds, about what they did and how to harness their power."
"Ha!" Knuckles spat onto the floor. "In your dreams, maybe."
"So many of my dreams have already come true, Knucklehead." Robotnik pulled out the first Chaos Emerald. "This is almost too easy." He shook his head. "You didn't think I wouldn't plant bugs in every inch of this place, did you?"
"Every inch?" Knuckles spat more blood onto the floor. "Man, that must make going to the bathroom one hell of an embarrassment."
"Not as much as it is for poor Sonic." Now Robotnik was practically purring, savouring the victory. "Although I shouldn't speak too harshly of that little pest; like I said, he's proved to be a very good spy. Admittedly it took almost an entire month of torture before he cracked. I thought he'd break when he couldn't run anymore, but he lasted a surprisingly long time. Still, there's a level of pain and suffering that'll conquer anyone in the end." As if to illustrate the point, he waved a hand and a side door flew open to reveal Sonic's battered form, held between two robots.
Knuckles stared at him.
"You set me up? You lying...you traitorous..."
Sonic shook his head. "I'm sorry, Knux; believe me, I am so sorry but you haven't seen...you don't know what he does. He said once I'd persuaded you to tell me about the Emeralds, he'd let me go."
"And you believed him?" Knuckles spat again, this time in pure contempt. Words – at least, Mobian words – failed him. "You karagi pretman piece of gujek—"
"Now, now, is that any way to talk to your old comrade?" At a gesture from Robotnik, one of the robots lunged forward and rammed its stunner into Knuckles' ribs. The echidna screamed – there was no way he could have stopped himself – and dropped to the floor, writhing in agony. Raising his voice, Robotnik continued. "Of course, I don't speak the echidna language, but what you were saying to poor Sonic didn't sound very polite."
"Wait 'til you hear what I'm gonna say to you, murtel," Knuckles said through gritted teeth.
"There'll be time enough for all that later. I did indeed agree to let Sonic go, although he's not being very specific. I told him—"
"I know what you told him." Amazingly, Knuckles managed to stagger to his feet and glower at Robotnik. "You told him you'd kill him."
Robotnik chuckled. "Not as stupid as you pretend to be, are you, Knucklehead? Yes, I did say something along those lines to him, but since I'm not by nature a murderer, I changed my mind."
"What?" Sonic stared at him.
"You've been very useful, both of you, and they say that misery loves company. You'll go down together. Not into the same cell, of course – I don't want you talking and getting any ideas about a jailbreak – but you'll be able to look at each other and realise that you're not the only one in this situation. In fact, maybe I should get other people in to look at you as well. Open it up as a tourist attraction, let Mobius see what's become of their national heroes."
"I'm no damn hero," Knuckles said flatly. Gawping...that would finish Sonic utterly. The echidna had retained some slim visage of hope; the hedgehog had retained enough of himself to give orders, so maybe the rest of him was still in there somewhere.
"My dear Knuckles, do you really think they care?" Robotnik said pleasantly, then flicked a finger. "No, don't answer that, it's of no real consequence. The point is that I heard everything you said to Sonic about these beauties. Including the fact that you have one hidden somewhere, and you will tell me where." He lifted the blue Chaos Emerald and pointed it at Knuckles. "But later. Now it's time for you to join Sonic in your new home. You really were incredibly stupid to trust him with the secrets of these things, but I suppose even you can work that one out."
A radiant turquoise light of such staggering beauty that even Robotnik seemed momentarily silenced lanced out from the end of the gem and struck Knuckles squarely in the chest, spreading rapidly over his body.
"As I kept telling Sonic," Robotnik sneered, "resistance is futile."
The light cleared from Knuckles, leaving him still on the floor, but with all injuries gone. Straightening up, fully healed, the echidna grinned broadly at the stunned Robotnik.
"And as I kept telling Sonic, I'm not the trusting type."
So...yet another chapter is added to the Finished pile :P If you read it, please leave a review :)