-ShaDuxX plays The Lost-

Knuckles

As we moved further into the forest, Tikal became more worried.

"Knuckles, are you sure about this?" I nodded.

"Of course! This could be that echidna you saw." Tikal grabbed my arm.

"Ok." We crossed a bridge over to an independent island, like Emerald Island. As we moved closer, I could barely see a dark figure through the trees. Sort of like a monastery. I stopped. "Knuckles, what is it?" I looked on.

"Let's go see what that is." I pointed to the monastery. I grabbed Tikal and ran forward. We reached the end of the forest. There was a small plain and a few mountains. Tikal gasped.

"That's the fortress I saw!" I looked at Tikal. That must mean that echidna she was talking about should be here. As we ran closer, I saw a purple glow at the very top. It wasn't all that big. It had seven floors, and you could see each one. We ran into the fortress. There were weird markings everywhere, and plants and vines grew over the walls and corners. We continued up the stairs to the seventh floor. The fog got heavier. There was another set of stairs, built on a hill. We climbed the 260-stair set. When we got to the top, there was a large purple gem in a slot, like the Master Emerald. Tikal gasped.

"Wh-what…. Another Master Emerald?" I hung my head and thought for a minute. What the wanking hell was going on? The purple glow made the mist everywhere glow a bright purple. It was now completely dark, and the purple fog looked beautiful. It was the exact opposite of a scary scene. I looked up and noticed, through the gem, a small purplish blue figure sitting behind it. I ran towards it. The figure jumped at the sight of me.

"Who are you? Don't hurt me, please!" She rambled on and on in this manner. I couldn't stand it any longer. I waved my hand in anger.

"I'm not here to hurt you." The figure sighed in relief. She looked up at me with her cerulean eyes. I couldn't believe it. She was…. Pretty. I don't think many people are pretty. When I looked into her eyes, I felt… comfortable. Like I do with Tikal, but a hint stronger. When Tikal walked up to me, I felt even more comfortable. It was surprising to me. When Tikal saw her, I could tell she scared the hell out of Tikal.

"Wh- who are you?" The figure stood up.

"I am Sora. Sora the Echidna. The one of two known survivors of the fall of the echidna race." I waved.

"Hi. I'm Knuckles. I'm also and Echidna. I thought me, Tikal, and Gerocina were the only survivors." She smiled and ran to us.

"You're echidnas too?" I nodded in confusion. What the hell is she thinking?

"Yeah, why?" Sora ran back towards the large gem.

"Now, the Tri-Echidna Combination can be made!" I fell on Tikal in confusion.

"Knuckles, is something wrong? I didn't know you wanted to play!" I stood up, greatly embarrassed, and helped Tikal up.

"What is the Tri-Echidna Combination?" I asked. Sora frowned.

"You don't know? It is a group of three echidnas that has the power to open the Cave Of Amethyst, where the Shadow Amethyst of Time is hidden." I fell on the back of my head in confusion. The element of surprise was against me. Tikal stood, careless about the situation. Sora could tell she'd have to explain the whole story.

"Ok. This large gem is the Master Amethyst. It is a mysterious power source of this island, Amethyst Island, on the continent Danzig. It is capable of extreme powers, such as the destruction of this solar system, and as myths say, the universe. But, that's only when it is joined with another power source. And here," Sora pointed around the empty area in front of the temple. "are the Shadow Amethysts. They hold powers, also. There is the Shadow Amethyst of Recovery, which is that lavender colored amethyst. Then, the Shadow Amethyst of Power, that really dark one. Then there's the normal colored amethyst, which is the Shadow Amethyst of Illusion." She pointed to the empty pole next to us. "That one is the Shadow Amethyst of Chaos, but Gerocina has that one. And, that one over there, is the Shadow Amethyst of Time's pedestal. But, the Tri-Echidna Combination is the only thing that will open the cave that it is concealed in. When all five Shadow Amethysts and the Master Amethyst are combined, they can unleash devastating powers, unless the Shadow Amethysts are removed from the pedestals. If the Amethysts fall into the wrong hands, destruction will rule. That is what I am for, to guard the Master Amethyst and Shadow Amethysts. This dark fog… it means that a Shadow Amethyst has fallen into the wrong hands." I nodded and thought to myself. So this is…. The Master Amethyst? A power source, like the Master Emerald? And she was guarding this treasure… like I guard mine. By the looks of this, these were as powerful as the Chaos Emeralds. And this Tri-Force Combination….. Doesn't seem like much to me. Oh, well. I thought for a minute. If we use this combination and retrieve the Shadow Amethyst of Time, we could bend the clock and defeat Gerocina!

"Sora, would you help us in defeating Gerocina?" She looked at me and frowned.

"Who will guard the Master Amethyst?" I waved my hand.

"We will use the Amethyst of Time to came back and figure out who stole what, if at all." She thought and nodded. Tikal was looking into the Master Amethyst. She motioned to come over. When we did, the Amethyst glowed brighter. It eventually glowed so bright, I couldn't see. Then, the light faded. I looked, and everyone was ok. There was a face above the Amethyst.

"Come closer." said the face. I flinched. But, when Tikal and Sora moved up, I did so. It was the face of the ghost I saw at the Echidna Temple.

"Ahh, the three I've been waiting for." I was confused. "I am Lakita, wife of Elder Echidna. You might not know me. You are Knuckles, the future protector of the Master Emerald." I was now surprised beyond all reasoning, be damned. "And, Sora, the future protector of the Master Amethyst. And last, Tikal, my lovely daughter." This knocked me into the vaccine to the battle of Man vs. Machine. I looked over at Tikal, who was now staring at the face of… her mother. She had… a mother? And she did not remember her own mom? "Tikal, my dear, I know you will have lost your memory by the time you read this, but I want you to know I love you, and good luck in regaining your memory. Now, to the point. I predict that the echidna race will sometime in the future, maybe in a few months, be wiped out. There will only be four survivors. Also, there will be an evil who will take revenge on the planet for unknown reasons. Whatever this evil is, you must stop it. I can't yet predict who or what it will be, so be careful. I… will not make it. The Master Emerald will be safe, no matter what. Here, I leave you your designated powers." The amethyst glowed a hint brighter. The remaining three Shadow Amethysts floated over to us. They landed on the ground in front of us. One then floated into each of our hands. By the looks of it, I received Power, Tikal got Recovery, and Sora got Illusion. "You must use the assigned Shadow Amethysts to help each other beat this evil. You might also need backup. Be careful. Goodbye, my brave echidnas. And I love you, Tikal." The face disappeared. I looked at the Master Amethyst. Then I looked to Tikal. She was staring into the Master Amethyst.

"Tikal?" I called to her. She kept staring.

"Mother….." She was obviously either dead or starting to remember Lakita. I walked over to her and hugged her.

"Its ok, Tikal. She'll be fine. We've got to get moving. This event is making me go insane." She looked up at me.

"Ok." I grabbed her hand and looked at Sora.

"Now to that cave. From now on, we're Team Exidna." She agreed with me, as did Tikal, and we slid down the slope to our left. Now, Gerocina didn't stand a chance. After 2 minutes of sliding, we reached the ground. We followed Sora about a mile into the forest, where the cave was. Could it take any longer to get here? We walked up to the cave, which had a giant stone door blocking the entrance. In front of us were three panels.

"C'mon you guys! Step on the panels!" We did so and the panels lit up. They turned a bright blue, and we started to float. Below us, a blue ball formed. It shot a beam to the cave door, and when the beam hit it, a picture of the Echidna Temple appeared. Then, the door faded away. We descended and ran inside. At the end of the long tunnel was a giant room. There, in the wall, was the Shadow Amethyst of Chaos. Sora ran forward. But before she got it, she was hit with a small beam. I turned and saw Gerocina.

"Hello, children. Didn't you ever learn not to play in caves?" She ran over to the gem embedded in the wall. She pulled it out. "Hahahaha…. Thanks for this precious Amethyst." She used the Amethyst and disappeared. I tended to Sora. Looks like it might not be so easy after all.

Everyone

The rest of the gang had just been nearly put down by Eggman and his new Egg Swan.
"Hahaha, Sonic! You and your friends are helpless now!" Sonic stood up.

"No way, Eggman!" Sonic, Thystan, Kari, Tails, and Bunni surrounded him. Sonic rolled into a ball. He rolled in circles around Eggman, distracting him. Kari and Tails were able to land a hit on the Egg Swan's left turret. Bunni then charged a buster shot and destroyed the turret. Frynic and Thystan now took out the right turret in no time.

"Ok Amy, you and me, right and left missile launchers. Ok?" Sonic and Amy went for their target as everyone else distracted him or attacked designated areas. But, the Egg Swan only seemed to be getting half the damage that it was supposed to. After several hits and a lot of confusion, everyone except Eggman and Marcy were down and knocked out. Just as Eggman went to kill Marcy, a figure appeared. It stood at the feet of the Egg Swan.

"What? NO! What are you doing here, you pest?" The figure ignored Eggman and started to charge. Then, it jumped way into the air by Eggman's cockpit.

"Chaos…BLAST!" It was now clear it was Shadow, but Marcy was clueless and everyone was knocked out. A giant wave of energy surrounded Shadow and spread to the Egg Swan.

"What? No!" The Egg Swan turned to scrap metal, and Eggman lay on the ground. "Sh…. Shadow… why?" Shadow walked up to Eggman.

"You lied to me, Robotnik." Eggman was mad now.

"DON'T CALL ME ROBOTN-" Shadow stepped on his neck.

"Shut the hell up! I'm done with your shit! You're just a nuisance! Haven't you realized you cannot defeat me? Or Sonic? As much as I hate him, he would have reawakened and blew your ass to hell. So, to get rid of the virus, the vaccine is the cure." Shadow raised his arms and karate chopped Eggman. He was gone. "What is going on? Who are you?" Shadow looked to Marcy, who was still in doubt.

"What? No, not you. You're Ynaffit's annoying sister?"

"You're kinda cute. Wanna fuck?" Shadow was now disgusted. He knocked Marcy out and used Chaos Control to warp. Sonic, just then, woke up.

"Wha…who.. WHAT?" He looked at Eggman's dead body. "What in the fuck did that?" Thystan, Frynic, Tails, Espio, Sally, Amy, and Team Restlex woke up now.

"What is going on?" Everyone looked at Eggman. They were confused beyond all reason. Just as Thystan went to check Eggman's pulse, Team Exidna showed up.

"Hey Knux. Glad you're back." Knuckles said hi and noticed Eggman.

"You finally just murdered him? Awesome."

"No. we were getting beat. Bad." Knuckles looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah, Sonic is right. Me and a few others were knocked out." Knuckles motioned Sora and Tikal over. Amy noticed Sora.

"Who is that? Is that…" She gasped. Knuckles nodded.

"Another survivor. Sora, the Echidna." Everyone greeted her and conversed for a while. Mijjett was busy doing the robot. He seemed to love his spinning ability. He was a comic for everyone else. Sort of a class clown. Thystan smiled then looked on.

"Yeah. Great stuff."

"Hey, you think we should hurry to the Eena's? It's almost eight." Frynic nodded.

"Yeah, they are expecting us. We are about five minutes away." They wasted no time in getting up and following Frynic and Thystan. Once they arrived, they met the Eena Brothers outside.