Yeah, I'm rush posting this story as well, it's not that I don't like this story; it has good content and information, but the presentation isn't the greatest.

Genocide... the murder of a mass population. When it happens, there is no turning back. Many times has genocide been recorded in the history books. However, there is a story of genocide that only two know. This genocide, was committed; not by an army, but by a lone person. A lone person destroyed the most spiritually advanced culture in the world. The Echidna. Once a proud race, they watched over all that was chaos. Used it sparingly, wisely. They knew the dangers that could come of such power. They knew nature. They knew balance. They knew life itself. Why would someone want to destroy such an evolved species? Who, and how could someone destroy such an evolved species? The two of which I speak of, are the last of the Echidna race. My adopted brother, TR, who was adopted into the Echidna way of life after being abandoned; and myself, Knuckles the Echidna. No one knows this word and its meaning more than TR and myself do, and so I feel it is time to show you its true meaning, to reveal the lost story, the secret, that is, genocide.

Genocide, the Echidna Story

Trent, the Rabbit

It all started when TR and myself met. A small squad of Echidna, led by me, was infiltrating a near by village. Its inhabitants were the Echidna's closest friends, the Rabbit's. Eggman's father; Jase, had an army taking control of it. Back then, wars weren't fought with robots, they were fought with real people. Jase had an army of followers willing to do his bidding. Anyway, we were doing fine until an uproar started in a house right next to us. One of the bunnies had rebelled, and threw a guard out of a window. When the guard looked over at us, he called for reinforcements. Our group split prior to being shot at from every direction. We had lost two of our five members. After they lost several men, the lit the village on fire. Everything was burning, and the guards left. We searched for any survivors, we found none. The only building not on fire, was the church. Back then religion was important, and Jase wasn't about to burn such a holy building. Inside we found the village's prophecy. A small child. In that village, every thirty-fife thousand years, an immortal was born. This Rabbit, was that immortal. His name was Trent.

Trent, and the Echidna Order

When we brought Trent to the Echidna Order, we asked that he be raised to fight the evil that had destroyed his home. After all, he was an immortal. The Order; however, did not share this liking. They did not believe in the village's prophecy, they said, there is no such thing as an immortal outside of the Echidna. They ordered him to be executed. Joel, a member of my squad, and my girlfriend, asked me to take him away before his sentence was served. I did just that. The night before his death, I snuck into the jail area, and brought him out. I was almost caught, but Joel suddenly appeared and stalled the guard, just before he entered the room. From then on out, everything was easy. The next day, it didn't take long for word to get out of his absence. Officials were searching houses, looking for anything that might be of help. They found nothing. Being of high importance to the war, my home was not searched. And being of such small age, they did not conduct an island wide search.

Trent's Echidna Victory

I trained Trent, for several months, and he had already become one of the best fighters I have ever seen. He knew the Echidna way front and back. He knew the rules, the laws. He understood what we understood. In short, he knew life. I knew I could not keep him hidden forever. The next day, my worst fear was realized. Jase's army had discovered our homeland. We were caught off guard in the middle of the night. I woke to the sounds of screams next door. Trent came rushing up to me; he told me he saw an army outside the window. I stood up, and told him to wait inside. When I stepped out, several other Echidna stepped out, obviously awaken by the same cry. We immediately engaged in battle. They were trying to reach our contact tower. This told us that they have not let Jase know of our whereabouts. If we stop them, our land will remain safe. But the odds were not in our favor. Several men would attack one Echidna. Only the Elites were trained for such combat. I was doing fine. They were no match for me. Until I saw a baby crawl into the battlefield. I dove to save it, but I failed. I looked up as I saw the commander who had shot it in cold blood. I stared at him in anger, and then I got cheap shotted. With me gone, there was no defense to keep the men from reaching the tower. But when they got on the steps, Trent appeared in the doorway. The men were frozen in amazement. They knew the Echidna never allowed others to live with them. Trent jumped and landed in the middle of the army with a fierce slam on the ground, creating an earthquake that made the men fall. He then stood up and began fighting, with no signs of slowing down. No one could touch him. And there were always four or five men fighting him at a time. I got up, recovering from the cheap shot. I ran into battle, throwing them left and right until I met Trent in the middle. We fought them for several minutes before they tried to retreat. But when they did this, more Echidna were at the gates, guarding the exit. In almost no time at all, the entire army had fallen. It was at this time of victory, when I realized what everyone was staring at, me and Trent.

TR, the Echidna

We were instantly grabbed, and taken to the Echidna Order. They called my name and asked me several questions; did I hide Trent, did I train him, am I responsible for him, why I did this. After hours of Q and A, they asked Trent one simple question. Why did he help us. Do you know what he said? He said because the Chaos Emeralds could not be allowed to fall into Jase's hands, which is what most certainly would have happened if he was informed of our position, the Echidna land is sacred, and shall not be destroyed, or inhabited by anything, other than the Echidna, and to honor the teachings, of Knuckles, the Echidna. At these words, the Order was astonished; they began whispering to one another. Finally, the President of the Echidna Order stood up and asked one final question. Do you, Trent, accept the responsibility of helping to protect the Echidna, and their way of life? Trent did not refuse, but he did ask that he be called TR, for Trent is a name that is not of the Echidna. I was also appointed General of the Echidna, for my deeds in training TR.

Chaos, and the Echidna

It was not long after that when I was called to a meeting. In that meeting, we spoke of using the Chaos Emeralds to fight a threat that would not be described to us. As you can imagine, this made it difficult for us to say yes. And so our decision was no. I had voted yes, simply because we were not allowed to know what the threat was, therefore, it must be a dangerous one. A few others agreed with me. However, Joel's father, Singe, strongly disagreed with it. He reminded me that the Echidna were to protect, not exploit the power of the Chaos Emeralds. That they are to be used in only the most extreme of measures, and not once in Echidna history has such a time crossed our path. Which, to me says, that it's high time one came. This was the beginning of the Echidna's downfall. I returned home, it was time to show TR the Emerald Shrine. The seven Chaos Emeralds floated safely on seven pillars surrounding the Master Emerald, which sat in the center, protected by a mysterious barrier. Tikal, an ancient Echidna, was the current watcher of the Master Emerald. She knew more about it than any other Echidna who ever lived. She often talked of a mysterious monster that lives within the Master Emerald. One who was perfectly harmless, unless the emeralds were to be used by, or for evil. No one seriously believed her, as there was no proof. But she said that his name, was Chaos. Ironic, don't you think? Tikal warned the Echidna of a monster, and the monster was eventually released. I'm sorry to say that this story too, has an irony to it. TR was very interested in her teachings.

Signs of a Massive Attack

Weeks after our meeting, something happened. Several of our people went missing. Obviously, this called for another meeting. More, but not enough, said that the Chaos Emeralds would not be such a bad idea in this affair. Still, Singe lead the majority to say no. I disobeyed orders, and told TR of our meetings and plans. He as well as I, were both outraged, and disappointed. It was clear to us that an evil was brewing within our ranks, preventing us to do all that we can. Later that week, I had got married to Joel. Singe, was not a fan of this decision. In the same month, a blast blew up half of our South Sector. Immediate action was taken to find survivors and perpetrators. Never in history has our land taken such a blow. You can imagine the effect this took on our citizens. In our next meeting, we agreed that we were dealing with an army, an army not of Jase, but of a new threat. This same day, TR had been appointed as Asst. General of the Echidna. This put him in full view of the things that were going on politically. With TR's attitude, I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. TR went strictly by the book, unlike others that I know. This may cause... disagreement, in further actions of the Echidna.

The First Affirmative Action

The rest of the month had no danger what so ever. But the first of the next, had devastating results. The Asst. President of the Echidna Order went missing. And what's more, we knew no one took him. This added to TR and my self's conspiracy about a growing evil. With the Asst. gone, the first serious step towards this threat was taken. About fifty of our spies went out and searched the floating islands. Back then, there were near twenty Islands. In a few days, the Asst. returned, with no excuse of his absence. This made others a little jumpy towards our government. Several small explosions were heard in the East Sector. There were few casualties, and someone had spotted the one responsible. They said he was a hedgehog. We figured he was working for a higher man. Not long after that, I was sent to spy. I came in contact with a hedgehog; Sonic. He approached me as I stared at him. Not knowing what to expect. Then he said hi. This threw me off guard. Upon further investigation, I found that he was fighter of good, not evil. I asked for his assistance, but he respectfully declined. He had his own job of dealing with Eggman, Jase's son. This gave me some insight on the world outside of the Echidna. I had been so caught up with my own affairs. It appeared that Jase was now dead. This news was reassuring to my superiors, but did not block out the horrors of our new unknown enemy.